This episode is split into two stories, although the first one is longer than the second one.

In “Yor’s Kitchen,” Yor has decided to secretly learn how to cook after Loid was stuck in the bathroom all day because of the breakfast she had made (which, of course, is a reference to the previous three episodes that introduced Bond to the series). Camilla, Yor’s bitchy co-worker we met early on in the series, ends up being recruited to teach Yor. Yuri’s co-worker (who seems to be dating Camilla) invites Yuri over to taste what Yor cooks. At first, the humor derives from Yuri tasting what’s obviously bad and saying it’s so good, and even asks for more of one of the dishes. But after your realize this tastes like what he ate when Yor was taking care of him as they were growing up, you realize that he would think it’s good… and then you realize this isn’t quite as funny as you think it is.

But Camilla actually comes up with a good idea, and asks if the siblings remember anything their mother made before she passed away. They both answer the same thing, and Camilla thinks she can help Yor recreate it. Yor actually listens to Camilla this time (since earlier, Yor is shown not truly paying attention to Camilla’s instructions), and the stew Yor makes almost tastes right. After asking where the siblings grew up, Camilla comes up with an idea of an ingredient that their mother likely added. Sure enough, Camilla’s guess is right. I have to give this story credit for letting the audience see another side of Camilla than just the bitchy woman she appeared to be when she was first introduced. She can still be kind of rude and a little mean, but by the end of this story, the audience was able to see that there’s more to her than the bitch who tried to make Yor look bad at her party.

This story ends with Yor making the stew for Loid and Anya, and they both think it’s delicious. It was so sweet seeing Yor react to Loid and Anya smiling as they ate her cooking. Unfortunately, Yor does something right at the end that brings the humor back to Yor’s cooking. But you have to give Yor credit for at least trying to learn how to cook and improve her skills. She may have only successfully done it with one dish, but it’s a step in the right direction. Maybe now that Loid knows that Yor wants to improve her cooking, he can work with her on that.

The second story, “The Informant’s Great Romance Plan,” focuses on Franky, which marks his first appearance in this cour. In this story, Franky has fallen in love with a girl who works at a cigar bar, and he asks for Loid’s help. We find out that Franky has snooped around and found out information about this girl, and Loid calls him a stalker. Yes, Franky does this kind of research while helping Loid with work, and I think Loid was right to point out the difference here. But Loid does agree to help Frank with his problem. At first, Loid’s ideas are over the top (especially the conversation flowchart), but he finally decides that he should help Franky practice conversation skills. And yes, Loid puts on a disguise to look like the girl Franky is interested in. And I can’t forget to point out during most of this, they are in a cafe. At one point, as they argue, the text on the screen claims they are whispering. Obviously, they weren’t. *chuckle*

Near the end of this story, Franky and Loid have a bonding moment at a bar after Franky attempts to ask the girl out on a date. It was interesting for Loid to nicely point out how Franky is the one constantly warning Loid not to get too attached to other people, and I found this to be a poignant statement. This episode shows that while Franky can think rationally when it comes to his job, he is still human and has the potential to become attached to someone.

It looks like the next episode is going to include three short stories in it. I haven’t had the chance to read the Spy x Family manga yet, but I’m suspecting we’ve hit a point in the manga where it included several shorter stories before hitting the next story arc. While having more than one story in an episode hadn’t been done prior to this, I’m finding it to be a nice change of pace. However, it won’t be such a nice change of pace if we get too many episodes in a row that don’t have an overarching story. As long as this format is kept to a minimum, I think it’ll be fine. But after having a heavier storyline with Bond, I think a couple of episodes of more light-hearted fare is needed.

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