Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 16

Yor’s Most Dangerous Mission

Somehow, the beginning of Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 16 baited a lot of people. I know I shouldn’t expect intelligent conversation from Crunchyroll comment sections. But, I still scrolled down after watching the episode. And what I saw there was shocking, to say the least.

The title of the first half of the episode is literally “Yor’s Kitchen.” But, even if you didn’t read the title, it should have been obvious what was going on. Her injuries were consistent with someone injuring themself while cooking. And there have been previous comments about the quality of her cooking.

I get that Yor’s (second) job is that of an assassin. But, it was so obvious that the shots at the beginning of the episode were bait that I can’t understand falling for it. I won’t complain anymore, though. I take responsibility for making the mistake of looking at the comments.

Okay, actually I lied. I have another complaint. But, it has to do with the content of the episode, not comments about it. I’ve often brought up the fact that Yor doesn’t feel like a main character. She’s not like Loid and Anya. Compared to them, she’s a supporting character.

She’s often portrayed as dumb — sometimes Anya-level dumb. And what we saw of her in this episode was related to that. Instead of giving Yor a real conflict to overcome, she got the “female character who’s bad at cooking” trope.

I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for the author to write Yor like his other characters. All he has to do is not rely on sexist tropes. It’s that simple. And no, I’m not saying I could write better. But. we know he can write characters normally. So, why not Yor?

Yor x Family

Something we saw a lot of in Episode 16 was how Loid and Yor view their family status. Or, at least, how they convince themselves they view it. In reality, I think we can all agree that both Loid and Yor view their family as real and valid.

But, that’s not how they talk about it. Starting with Yor, let’s take a look at why she wanted to learn how to cook. She said that it’s because her cooking put Loid in the bathroom for a full day. But, that’s only the surface-level reason.

Beneath the surface, she believed that if her cooking continued to be that bad, Loid would divorce her. And if he divorced her, she’d be under suspicion from the secret police for being a single woman at her age. If she loses her family, it would make her assassin gig harder.

Loid is the same way. Multiple times in this episode, he told Franky that he only had a family because of his mission. While that may have been true at first, it certainly isn’t at this point. So, it’s a bit disappointing to see Loid still saying that.

And then there’s Anya. To her, the Forger family is a real family. Of course, she knows the truth behind the formation of their family. She Loid started it as a cover for his job as a spy. And she knows Yor uses it as a cover for her job as an assassin.

But, even though Anya knows those things, that doesn’t make the family any less real for her. This is why it’s a bit disappointing that both Loid and Yor are still thinking of their family as fake. How do you think reading those thoughts makes Anya feel?

Monica McBride

In the second half of the episode, Franky confides in Loid that there’s a woman he likes. He knows basically everything there is to know about this woman. But, he doesn’t know how he’s supposed to ask her out on a date. Oh, and I’m thinking he knows a lot less about her than he believes.

Despite all Loid’s help, Franky didn’t get the date with Monica that he wanted. However, I’m convinced that her name isn’t Monica. I also don’t believe she actually looks as we saw her in this episode. And, I’m going to guess she doesn’t really work at the cigar club on Fifth Street.

You see, there’s another woman who looks similar to Monica in the ED for this season. She doesn’t look quite the same, though. She has a different hairstyle and color. So, my bet is that “Monica” is working at the cigar bar undercover.

The main question for me is who “Monica” works for. Is she an agent of WISE like Loid? She could be. That might explain why we see her and Loid talking together in the ED. She’s not pictured interacting with any of the other characters.

And, this could be why she rejected Franky so harshly. If she works for WISE, she may know that he’s one of their informants. And so, she didn’t want him around her because it could blow her cover. Or, it could actually be as Franky assumed and she doesn’t like what he looks like.

Regardless of why “Monica” rejected Franky, I’m still assuming she’s not who he thinks she is. And I’m assuming she has a connection to Loid, such as being his kouhai. Yuri looks up to Yor unconditionally. “Monica” might do the same for Loid.

Conclusion

What do you think of Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 16? Do you think Yor’s getting the short end of the stick, writing-wise? When do you think Loid and Yor will finally admit their family is real, if ever? And, what do you think the true identity of Monica McBride is? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 17 is available now.