Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we have the privilege of bearing witness to a key moment in alternate European history, as the Forger clan cement their alliance through the conscription of their final family member. That’s right, Anya wants a dog, and I doubt your usual mundane mutt will do. Considering the secrets that define the Forgers’ existing family members, I’m fully expecting their pet to transform into a giant robot, or at the very least shoot plasma rays out of its eyes.

Given both the ominous conclusion to the last episode, as well as Spy x Family’s consistent focus on the legitimacy and poignancy of found families, I’m expecting this episode will involve some sort of rescue from an animal testing facility, or perhaps a daring breakout staged by the dog in question. But regardless of the narrative details, I’m sure the execution will be a delight; Cloverworks’ preceding dodgeball episode was both one of the funniest and most impressively executed episodes so far, leaving me eager to see what they’ve been cooking up since. Let’s get on with it then, and find these Forgers their perfect pet!

Episode 12

“Penguin Park.” Or we just go to the zoo and look at some penguins, that’s fine too

The capital of Ostania is “Berlint,” in case anyone had not yet gathered that this show takes place in fantasy Germany

These sequences of Loid at work really emphasize the distinct visual vocabulary of spy dramas relative to the show’s usual situational comedy mode. These sequences are all partial body shots and low angles, shots intended to obscure visual information, and thereby foster in the audience a sensation of missing something, and a desire to peer “behind the curtain” of the camera’s framing. The camera thus inherently builds a sense of mystery and distrust. In contrast, the show’s conventional comedy scenes are largely framed through mid-distance shots that capture all the characters fully in frame, instructing the audience to focus more on what they are watching than what they might be missing

Loid has apparently been given another mission. I guess we gotta complete a side quest before we can get that dog

“Will we ever see a day when we’re not needed anymore?” This is the second episode in a row where they’ve directly reflected on the instability of this current political moment. Obviously the manga could just spin in circles on some specific stage of Operation Strix for as long as it feels profitable, but that doesn’t seem to be its intention so far – outside of goofy larks like the dodgeball episode, each episode has progressed the plot in some meaningful way. That makes me quite curious as to how things will change when Loid actually gets close to Desmond, and the show’s background political machinations are drawn closer to the camera

And with a tidy post-OP bombing, Loid’s side quest is complete. Efficient work, Loid!

The end of his rendezvous offers a silent question as to whether he can be both a perfect spy and perfect family man: having quit smoking for Anya, he now draws attention to himself by coughing after pulling from a cigarette

“I bring you my dish!” I’m very appreciative that these subtitlers were able to capture Anya’s formal, stilted manner of speaking. It adds a lot to her character

Pretty common choice to have the series premise restated for the cour finale, but Loid stoically reflecting on “the soul of an agent” feels closer to his characterization from earlier in the series

The gossip of his neighbors seems to set him straight, reminding him that he needs to be playing a convincingly loving father

I love that while Anya’s doodle of a “penguin” could really be any animal, the fact that it’s holding a pistol with a silencer is undeniable

And so Loid suggests a weekend trip to the aquarium, to reaffirm their happy family image

“I think our family is completely normal.” I don’t think Anya’s efforts to gracefully support Loid’s mission will ever stop being funny

“We need to hurry, or the aquarium will go out of business!” Much of this story’s humor and charm comes from Tatsuya Endo’s keen understanding of the specific ways children tend to think and speak. “If we don’t hurry the building will collapse” is precisely the kind of threat a child might envision facing during their day on the town

Surprise surprise, there’s also a mission regarding some handoff at the aquarium

“If terrorists get their hands on this information, many will perish in our country.” I suppose as the show continues, this tension will be continually exacerbated as well, with Loid progressively siding more and more with the fate of one family over the fate of a nation

Unfortunately, the folks from across the hall are also at the aquarium, so Loid still has to maintain his performance of happy family time

“They smuggled in a capsule containing film by making a penguin swallow it.” Yep, this all seems like standard spy procedure to me

This task is so uniquely preposterous that I’m feeling tempted to inflict it on my household’s D&D party

“Exactly which penguin is my target?” This mission works very well with Loid’s half-asleep affectation, as it seems like precisely the sort of mission he’d face in his nightmares

“It’s hard to read the minds of penguins.” Nonetheless, Anya has just proven communication is possible with the animal kingdom. I imagine this will end up playing a key role in her relationship with the family dog

Loid slips into a penguin minder uniform, and immediately intimidates his new boss with his terrifying ability to recognize penguins

I was eager to get to the family dog, but “Loid must fend off an army of penguins” is such a good concept that I can’t really complain about the delay

“Loid applies spy rigor to ridiculous or mundane activity” is another of this show’s comedic perennials, and these ominous diagrams of penguin social structure and dietary preferences is an excellent riff on the format

The man who was actually supposed to receive the handoff’s name is “Hurry Taylar,” which clocks in as a 7/10 Gundam Name

Incredible play by Anya, as she grabs the enemy’s coattails and yells that she’s being kidnapped. Anya has already learned how to use Yor’s obliviousness as a weapon

Also lots of fun, smear-heavy animation for this fight scene, with the excellent payoff of this dude’s feet hanging from the ceiling in the followup shot. A natural joke in the distance between these two visual styles: Yor’s kick is presented as a highly exaggerated, cartoonish smear of movement, leading into the blunt stinger of his realistically drawn legs, emphasizing how much damage she actually did to this man

Loid is exhausted, but abandons any thoughts of a vacation upon seeing Anya’s warm smile

Here’s another neat joke of composition: the meeting between Anya’s previous and new stuffed animal is presented in those close-angle shots that are normally reserved for Loid’s spy sequences, with the production thus visually playing along with Anya’s spy meeting fantasy

And then of course, there are the simple classics, like “Anya struggles to carry the penguin because she is small”

And Done

Well Spy x Family, I suppose I can’t fault you for leading me on this time. In spite of this episode’s conspicuous lack of a fluffy dog, its vast preponderance of penguins and penguin-associated drama served as a fine substitute. Normally it requires some assistance from his family members to render Twilight’s missions ridiculous, but “extract the secret tape from inside a penguin” basically packed its own jokes, and Anya provided some fine assistance as well. Whether it’s Anya attempting to help Loid’s actual missions, or Loid playing along with Anya’s fantasy missions, “the family collaborate on a spy endeavor” is always an inherently winning proposition. This production is so comedy-rich that basically any friction between any of its elements will spark hilarity. I’m still waiting for that dog, though!

This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.