©遠藤達哉／集英社・SPY×FAMILY製作委員会
While there’s a lot to love about the ending to Yor’s first arc as the main character, my favorite part is the end montage. Loid, having some major Loid/Twilight disconnect as he realizes that his first concern is that he “neglected his family again” for a mission and Yor, being told that her actions don’t just matter. They gave a child a future, it’s a way to show how both adults’ perspectives are ever-so-slowly shifting. We saw Yor beginning to question why she’s still an assassin, and the quiet images of her patching herself up and preparing to meet her husband and daughter indicate a certain peace in her mind. Her work may not have been strictly for Anya, but it still saved a child who otherwise would have been killed, and that gives her a direction. Putting aside the issue of whether or not she’d be able to quit Garden or have any say in her missions, Yor has now seen firsthand how what she does can help. Her dual life therefore has meaning where she was starting to question whether any existed.
Loid’s journey is one that he’s been on from the start of the series as a whole, but this is one of, if not the, first times when he has consciously thought about Anya’s care being compromised by his lifestyle. It’s not like he could have chosen not to disarm the bombs, although I suppose he could have escaped overboard in a lifeboat with Anya, but the presence of his child makes things much more fraught. He wants to make sure the ship doesn’t go down, but he also doesn’t want to just abandon his child so he can go save it, and that’s a distinction that hasn’t been as clear in his mind before now. His little meltdown at the end is him fighting against the realization that this family isn’t just a “mission” to him anymore; he’s now a dad. This is beautifully shown when he catches Anya when she rolls off her bunk; not only is he attuned to her movements, but he cradles her for a moment instead of putting her down immediately. The smile on his face says that he cares, even if he’s not comfortable with the idea.
Anya may be the only one fully comfortable with anything, and of course, that’s because she has an unfair psychic advantage. The girl should get a pulling prize this week because she is pulling more than her weight in the finale of this arc. I love that Yor’s dodgeball lessons come back to help her save the day when Anya has to throw “Mama’s stabby thing” to the upper deck, and the little girl’s various bizarre excuses – having to poop and there being a booger on the clock – are the perfect combination of clever and very, very typical for her age. Even when she’s saving the day she’s still a believable small child, right down to how she blithely escapes from daycare, something my middle sister and I did routinely at about her age. Yor and Loid get emotional development in this arc, but Anya is still the glue that binds them together.
Yor’s arc ends here, more or less, although we still get their family vacation, which by this point is mandated by two separate agencies. It has been a treat to get a sustained storyline for this many episodes, but it will also be fun to watch the aftermath of it as time marches on. Will Loid be more comfortable with his Forger role? Will Yor be more assertive? How will Bond deal with finally being reunited with his family? And will Anya finally impress Damian? The season’s not over yet, so stick around and find out.
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