Spy x Family Episode 4

Spy x Family Episode 4

The Exam Begins

Spy x Family Episode 4 is all about the second phase of Eden College’s entrance exam. The first phase of the exam was the written test, on which Anya scored a 31. And, that was somehow good enough to pass to the second phase.

I have to imagine that the 31 Anya scored wasn’t a 31/100. We don’t know what the highest score possible was. But, I’m going to assume it was 50. That would make a score of 30 the same as a 60%, which seems like a good, albeit still low, cutoff point.

The second phase of the exam is the family interview. But, it only takes Loid a few seconds to realize there’s more to the exam than meets the eye. From the moment families arrive on campus, teachers are observing and scoring them. The exam has already begun.

The Forger family paying their respects to the statue of Eden College's founder from the anime series Spy x Family Episode 4
The Forger family paying their respects to the statue of Eden College’s founder

My favorite part of the episode was this first part before the actual interview. Everything the Forgers did was over-the-top in an attempt to appear as the perfect Eden family. For example, they were the only family to stop and pay their respects to the statue of the school’s founder.

Also, rather than avoiding the traps laid by the school, they came prepared to go right through them. One of the traps involved a child stuck in a sewage drain. The idea was that if you tried to help him, you’d get your clothes dirty, which would be grounds for failure.

While everyone else ignored the boy, Loid stepped into the sewer and helped him out. But, he came prepared. He cleaned himself off and then changed into one of his (at least) two spare suits. Henry Henderson’s reaction to this was great.

Family Values

Once in the interview, the Forgers have to answer some questions about their values. Eden College doesn’t want to admit anyone who could bring shame upon the school’s name. And that goes for parents as much as it does for students.

Something that surprised me was that the school was wary of fake families applying. Since the interview required a complete family unit, some single parents may fake it. Of course, that describes the Forger family exactly.

Now, I can understand the housemasters questioning the circumstances of Loid’s remarriage. They may want to know whether he’s divorced or if his first wife died. But, I wasn’t expecting fake families to be so prevalent that the school would be on the lookout for them.

How often does that have to happen for it to be an official part of the screening process? And it’s not like it’s a simple thing to fake. If Loid wasn’t a spy, he wouldn’t have been able to get a forged marriage license.

The Forger family from the anime series Spy x Family Episode 4
The Forger family

Anyway, I found the questions that were being asked to be much easier to answer than expected. It seems like you’d have to have some pretty terrible answers to fail the interview. I guess it’s not as hard to get into Eden as it seemed.

As we saw, the interview wasn’t a complete breeze. But that’s only because one of the three housemasters was trying to fail families. And he wasn’t trying to fail families who didn’t deserve acceptance into the school. He was trying to fail respectable families out of spite.

While I said my favorite part of the episode was the start, the best part came at the end. The scene of Loid ending the interview and saying that it seems they chose the wrong school was great.

The Headmasters

A panel of three housemasters conducts the family interviews. The housemasters the Forgers get are Walter Evans, Henry Henderson, and Murdoch Swan. If I had to guess, I’d say that Henry Henderson is going to be the main housemaster going forward in the series. I bet Anya gets assigned to his house.

So, let’s start off with Henry Henderson since he was the first housemaster introduced. He reminds me of Gan Fall from the Sky Island Arc of One Piece. But, you could also say he’s like Dumbledore or Gandalf, I guess. They’re all pretty much the same character, after all.

The primary thing Henry Henderson concerns himself with is elegance. He wants the students and families of Eden to exude elegance at all times. And, of all the parents he’s seen during this year’s exam, Loid Forger is the most elegant. Loid’s actions impressed Henry Henderson every step of the way.

Housemaster Henry Henderson from the anime series Spy x Family Episode 4
Housemaster Henry Henderson

Walter Evans is the nice housemaster. Henry Henderson seems nice too. But, if you had to choose the nicest of the three, you’d choose Walter. He was the one attempting to keep the interview on track by asking lowball questions. That doesn’t mean the answers to his questions weren’t important, though.

Murdoch Swan is the final of the three housemasters who partook in the interview. He’s the son of one of the former headmasters and received his position due to this family connection. That’s to say, he’s not a housemaster at this prestigious school on merit.

According to Loid’s intel, Murdoch was recently divorced by his wife and lost custody of his child. This is why he’s going out of his way to ruin the entrance exam for families that appear happy and functional. While he might show up again, I doubt he will.

Conclusion

What do you think of Spy x Family Episode 4? What was your favorite part of the episode? Do you think you would have passed the interview? And do you think that’s the last we’ve seen of Murdoch Swan? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi for supporting this blog at the Heika and Senpai tiers this month. I’d also like to thank Rob, Toma, and Pepe for supporting at the Kouhai tier. To learn more about how you too support DoubleSama.com, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 5 is available now.

Leave a Comment