Yoshiko continues to methodically tear down the Gals’ rep by digging into their love lives…or lack thereof. Turns out the only one with a “boyfriend” has neither kissed, held hands, or even told him she likes him. Yoshiko is ruthless in her mockery of the surprisingly pure gal, but does get her to express her feelings to the guy.
Yoshiko then inserts herself in the middle of the little kids’ field trip snack-shopping mission, where she dissuades them from buying chips or chocolate lest they get crushed or melt. She also points out the high-priced deluxe Pocky that must not be purchased no matter what…only for Nozomi to not only buy it (with all her money) but is nice enough to share with everyone.
Fuuki Iinchou has to be taken to the roof by Sayaka to try to get her to stop acting so crazy around A-kun, but Fuuki, blinded by love, has no idea how erratically or insanely she’s behaving. When Sayaka tells her the truth, Fuuki is so devastated Sayaka has to take it all back as joking around. This is beyond Sayaka’s ability to deal with alone, if at all.
Lastly, Yoshiko and Dog meet Sayaka’s dog, Pomi the Pomeranian. At first Yoshiko thinks she’s ludicrously tiny and weak, until it’s Dog cowering in fear behind her skirt. Yoshiko misreads their romantic interactions for aggression, but Dog is ultimately too embarrassed and runs off, with Yoshiko riding him, of course.
Kamine and Gouda make more progress by learning that both are okay with the other being clingy and even a little possessive; everything in moderation. To that end, Kamine draws closer, cuddles, and holds hands with Gouda, who decides to surprise her by giving her her first kiss in the middle of which she unfortunately coughs.
But hey, it’s a kiss, out in public, which is more than Kana and Chiaki can manage. They try to work through the problem through the excessive use of soccer metaphors, and even when Chiaki thinks he’s angered Kana to the point she won’t speak, she still offers him “stoppage time” in order to kiss her. Unfortunately, she moves her head at just the wrong moment, and all he gets is her nose; a second attempt is thwarted by onlookers.
Meanwhile, Masafumi and Ryouko are one of the most comfortable couples, and even have to go to the library because they’re fooling around too much at home. But Masa still likes to keep Ryouko on her toes, asking if it’s okay to touch her boobs. His persistence eventually bears fruit (no pun intended), but he doesn’t go through with the feeling-up; he just wanted her to know that he’s holding back.
Finally, Kazuko once again comes upon Shinichi, who is battered and bruised after a fight with…someone; possibly (but probably not) the “god of romance.” Kazuko wants dearly to be his, and he hers, even whipping out her own ultra-speed moves to counter his. Shinichi is definitely the weirdest of the guys we’ve seen, but he seems to have found someone just as weird.
After the Rumble in the Marble, most Servants take a step back and assess the situation. Kiritsugu sits in a dark hotel room and pores over intel as he chats with Maiya on the phone…and that’s about it, really.
“I like the way your tent your fingers. Why don’t you work for me?”
Reports and conversation are the name of the game again, but instead of interacting with Saber and Rider, Archer is stuck with Kirei, trying to connect the dots as part of his larger plan to make him one of his men. Kirei delivers his report on the motivations of the other Masters to Archer, who points out that the one that seems to interest Kirei the most is Matou Kiriya, who also seems to be enduring the most pain and suffering.
“I mean, this isn’t how I would drive, but this is fine too, I guess…”
Pain doesn’t seem to be an issue for Iri, while Saber doesn’t seem to be feeling the lasting effects from her throughout putting-down she endured at the hands of Rider and Archer. But Saber does find it odd that Iri has her drive and perform every other task that requires the use of her hands. When she asks Iri about it, she reveals she’s become extremely physically weak as a result of shutting down her sense of touch (a homonculus ability, apparently).
While she believes she can recover a bit of strength by sitting in the right kind of magical circle, the bottom line is that she’ll be relying on Saber more and more as this War progresses. Saber, obviously, is up to it. I must say I underestimated her mental toughness. That circle is drawn in a storeroom on a Japanese mansion that looks very much like the place where Emiya and Saber live and practice in UBW.
“Feel that sting? That’s pride, fuckin’ with you!”
From there it’s back to Archer gradually wrapping Kirei around his finger, Emporer Palpatine-style. He gets Kirei to pretty much admit that he is actually capable of joy, and even if he’s previously considered such feelings to be a sin, Gilgamesh isn’t a fan of this newfangled puritanical philosophy that generated people like Kirei and Saber. Joy is joy, and leads to happiness.
So Archer gets Kirei to ‘find his bliss’, and Command Seals suddenly reappear on his hand. Archer believes it’s proof the Holy Grail isn’t done with him; indeed it’s almost as if the Holy Grail rejected his previous role as Toosaka’s ally and spy and reinstates him as a full Master. Archer also suggests Kirei go out and steal a new Servant, and not-so-subtly picks up the Archer piece from the chessboard to indicate who he should pick.
While there were some nice character beats, you can really only portray two people sitting around talking for so long from so many angles before it gets a bit tedious. In other words, another cool-down episode on the heels of a solid 10. That leaves one episode left in the first cour.
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