Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re diving right back into the drama of Spy x Family, in the midst of a high-stakes adventure involving psychic children, future-sighted dogs, and an attempted political assassination! The show is certainly wasting no time in its second cour, and appears to currently be charging towards the fulfillment of one of its most tantalizing promises: the whole Forger family in full battle array, coordinating their powers to solve some grand political crises.
This lever was pulled only once before, during that purse-snatching incident near the beginning of the series, but it’s looking like preventing this assassination will require all hands on deck once again. The key staff also look quite strong for this one; episode director Takahiro Harada has credits ranging from Idolmaster to Birdy the Mighty, while storyboarder Takahiro Miura appears to be something of an action specialist, with regular Ufotable credits on Demon Slayer and the various Fate adaptations. Given Spy x Family’s split studio production, I imagine the team has been afforded plentiful time and resources for what is essentially a “second premiere” of the second cour. Let’s see what they’ve got on offer!
Episode 14
“Disarm The Time Bomb.” Hell yeah, we’re doing it
Amused by this OP’s clear Yor bias. She gets all these fluttery dagger cuts and lushly animated glimpses at the camera – where’s the Loidservice!?
Yor’s counter-stare for this intimidating dog is even better than I expected. I sorta figured they’d just do the “red killer’s eyes” thing they usually do, but instead she actually bares her teeth in a similarly dog-like growl. I appreciate these rare moments when Yor gets to look frightening in a way that isn’t also attractive; there’s often a sense of disconnect in how Yor is portrayed (effortlessly cool and hot) versus her actual personality and intentions, so I’m all for more moments that portray her as basically feral
Also getting some welcome Yor interiority, as she actively tempers her usual killer instincts to prioritize Anya’s safety
“I’m sorry that I ran off without permission.” “I’ll have to give you a talking-to when we get home.” Ah, this is all so good. Removing Loid from the equation for this encounter has paid off magnificently. In the past he’s often been the narrative glue binding these disparate characters together, but now the overall structure is firm enough to provide sequences like this, where Anya and Yor carve out a distinct dynamic between just the two of them. They are each more hesitant in their embracing of familial dynamics than Loid, but they’re also more earnest – they are essentially teaching each other how to be mother and daughter, rather than following a script provided by Loid
Spy-adjacent missions like this also provide opportunities for the family to bond over activities they’re already comfortable with. None of them know much about being a family, but Yor’s pretty confident dispatching villains
This dog’s visions are going to traumatize our poor Anya. She receives a series of images indicating that Loid will die in the upcoming terrorist attack, and that war will inevitably result. It’s now genuinely up to Anya to save the country!
God, I love that the narrative solution to Anya having these stubby little legs is to just invent a giant dog for her to ride everywhere. Genius plotting
They smartly simplify the conflict at this point, allowing Handler’s team to capture all of the terrorists except for Keith. This is a good choice for multiple reasons. Not only does it bolster the sense of Loid contributing to a meaningful larger organization, rather than being the man who does everything for them, it also clarifies the dramatic variables as we approach this story’s climax. At this point, Keith’s subordinates are narrative clutter; Keith is the only one we need active for this final confrontation
The terrorists proudly declare their intent to provoke a war, to which Handler responds with a detailed description of what war really means for the people who are caught in the middle of it. It’s the closest this show has gotten to a flourish of actual politics, though it’s also in keeping with the values Loid has espoused from the start. His whole motivation is preventing more victims of war like himself, more tragedies like Handler is describing. Loid and his compatriots are not fantasists hoping to completely resolve this conflict; they are pragmatists seeking the route of least harm, always conscious of how many people would suffer the consequences of any grander ambitions
“I agree with you, Handler. I am absolutely done with war.” And here we set Loid’s priorities as well: he’s come to care about his family, but he will still sacrifice himself in the hope that fewer children will suffer like he did
Ahaha, this show’s preposterous dog animation. Exhausted by his run, Anya’s dog assumes a pose like a fatigued old man, resting in a human squat rather than laying like a dog
“The bomb went off when the clock hand was at the top, which means we have… I can’t read the clock!” Anya’s earnest but somewhat underequipped attempts to act as a Top Spy are always good for a laugh
When there’s no time to lose, the dog actually picks Anya up by her hoodie, carrying her like a cat carries its babies. Inspired work
“The explosion may cause a few unnecessary casualties… but they’re necessary sacrifices for our goal.” Unsurprisingly, Keith’s philosophy is framed as the precise opposite of Loid’s, with no concern paid to the lives sacrificed for his ambition
More strong gags built on the contrast between Anya’s self-serious spy affectation and general adorableness; the show switches towards the same sorts of close shot, low-angle layouts it uses for Loid’s spy business, but here applied to Anya putting on her tiny little gloves and facing down the bomb
Realizing she doesn’t know how to defuse a bomb, Anya elects to instead write a warning on the door in ketchup. She’s actually doing some remarkably quick thinking under pressure here, though I suppose she’s “aided” by the fact that her spy drama fantasies mean she doesn’t really understand quite how dangerous all of this is. Like with those student terrorists, the only cure for naïve confidence is experience
Anya literally says “my dying message,” so I’m a little surprised the translators shifted it to “my message in blood.” A dying message is a specific spy drama trope, meaning the joke is unnecessarily lost in translation here
Man, just that single shot of Anya and Yor in the apartment in the wake of Loid’s death is heartbreaking. This is a very warm, upbeat story that’s always half a step removed from an extremely tragic one
“So this was a bomb, not an eggplant?” Anya’s going to have to improve her drawing skills if she intends to keep saving the world like this
In order to track down Keith, it seems that Loid is impersonating the minister himself, and thus drawing the final threat out of hiding. Damnit Loid, Anya’s gonna have a hard time saving you if you keep pulling shit like this!
“What the hell? The Minister of the West is insane!” The show wisely embraces the comedy of Loid in this minister suit doing crazy vaults all around the place. Yes, parkour was actually the minister’s first passion
And Done
Ah shit, it’s the moment of truth! Can scarcely believe the audacity of building an episode cliffhanger out of “will Loid have to shoot a dog,” but I think we all know the answer, and that was nonetheless a thrilling episode from start to finish. One of Spy x Family’s greatest strengths is that its spy drama isn’t just a tonal gimmick; when it wants to, the show can actually pull off utterly convincing thriller sequences, fully leaning into the layouts and lighting of action and noir tales. The actual plotting of these little adventures is equally strong; I was consistently surprised and impressed by Anya’s clever plays, and appreciated the further payoff of Loid subsequently showing how a professional handles this madness. I would have liked to see Yor given something more to do, but that’s basically my only complaint about this action-packed installment!
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