The Tower of Wisdom

Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 25 is the final episode of the season. And yes, I mean the season, not only Part 2. We have confirmation that there will be a Season 2 and that it will begin airing in 2023.

But, today’s article isn’t about Season 2; it’s about Part 2 Episode 25. In this episode, the Imperial Scholars and their parents attend the social gathering. This is the event Loid wants to get into so he can develop a relationship with Donovan Desmond.

But, Anya doesn’t have enough Stella Stars for them to attend just yet. And although Loid is a master spy, he has to admit that it would be difficult, even for him, to sneak in. That’s because the social gathering takes place in the Tower of Wisdom and security is tight.

If Loid’s mission was only to assassinate Desmond, it wouldn’t be much of a problem. He’d be able to get in once. But, that’s not his mission. His mission is to get close to Desmond so he can gather intel from him over an extended period of time. And to do that, Loid needs to meet Desmond as himself, not in a disguise.

Meeting Desmond in a disguise could cause issues. He can’t disguise himself as a celebrity because Desmond might meet them “again.” And he can’t disguise himself as a waiter, because then he wouldn’t get to have a conversation with Desmond.

With all this in mind, Loid comes up with a plan to meet Desmond outside the social gathering. He finds out that Damian is going to meet up with his dad in a courtyard. And so, all Loid has to do is happen to be in that courtyard at the same time.

First Contact

Loid’s plan to meet Desmond is simple. First, he pretends that Anya lost the keychain she keeps on her bag. Then, he asks Damian and his friends if they’ve seen it anywhere. Of course, he knows they have. Loid planted it in the courtyard where they’re waiting for Damian’s father.

So, when Damian returns the keychain to Loid, that’s Loid’s opening to introduce himself. Loid’s then able to stall by talking to Damian about Anya until Donovan Desmond arrives. And, once Desmond arrives, it’s time for the second phase of Loid’s plan.

Loid assumes that Desmond has heard that his son was assaulted at the opening ceremony. And, this assumption turns out to be correct. So, he introduces himself as the father of the assailant and apologizes for Anya’s actions. He then attempts to go a step further and invite himself over to apologize at the Desmond home.

However, Desmond shuts Loid’s self-invitation down. And once this happens, Loid doesn’t push further because he doesn’t want to make Desmond too wary. Instead, he shifts to talking about their children and how hard it is being a parent. He’s trying to figure out what Desmond’s relationship with his kids is like.

And when Desmond mentions that he doesn’t understand what his kids are thinking, Loid has his in. That’s when he brings up Desmond’s meeting with Damian and how it means he wants to be closer to his son. Regardless of whether Loid is right, he at least gets Desmond’s attention with this.

While Loid wasn’t able to get close to Desmond, this interaction was very important. It accomplished 2 things. First, Loid learned more about the dynamic of the Desmond family. And second, he got Donovan Desmond to remember his name. That’s a win.

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Donovan Desmond’s Secrets

Why does WISE want to get Loid close to Donovan Desmond? Desmond is the chairman of the ruling political party in the country. That doesn’t mean he’s the leader of the country. But, it does mean he holds significant power and influence. And, he has access to a lot of information.

If Loid can get close to Desmond, he can help the West in 2 ways. First, he can get critical information out of Desmond and provide it to the West. For example, he could find out that the East is planning a false flag attack and the West could prevent it.

Information is also powerful when it comes to negotiations. If Loid provides state secrets to the West, they could use them when negotiating with the East. And that doesn’t necessarily mean blackmail. It could mean offering things they know the East needs, but hasn’t asked for.

The second way a position close to Desmond could help is if Loid can influence him. Let’s say the West really wants the East to agree to a particular treaty. Loid could drop subtle hints about it when around Desmond and influence his stance over time.

If Operation Strix is successful, the West will be able to be proactive in how it deals with the East. They’ll be able to act on intel before the East makes its moves. And they’ll be able to push the East in the direction they want before it chooses an alternative course.

Now, what I’m wondering is what the future of the series is going to look like. It’s not like Operation Strix is over once Loid has a relationship with Desmond. But, how will the series change once that relationship is in place? Will there be a new target?

Conclusion

What do you think of the final episode of Spy x Family Part 2? Are you looking forward to the next season coming in 2023? How were you expecting Loid’s first contact with Desmond to go? And do you think there will be a new target once Loid gets close to Desmond? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

The Role of a Mother and Wife

Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 24 starts off with “The Role of a Mother and Wife.” This part of the episode is all about Loid reassuring Yor that he isn’t going to replace her with Fiona.

And, I just want to point out that we’ve stopped pretending like Yor’s good for more than being a mother and wife. It’s literally the title of this part of the episode. The author of the series has made it clear how he feels about his adult female characters.

It’s not only Yor. You can look at Fiona too. What’s the most important thing in both of their lives? It’s being a good wife to Loid. You could even argue that Becky got thrown in with Yor and Fiona, too. And that kind of makes sense when you consider how the author treats her as an adult.

Of course, this episode didn’t only pigeonhole Yor as a mother and wife. It also doubled down on Yor’s ditzy personality and superhuman strength. She chugs alcohol, gets wasted, and then knocks Loid out after sending him flying across the bar.

Can you tell that I’m losing interest in this series? At this point, I’m considering lowering my score for the season. And I’m hoping that a Part 3 or another season isn’t coming any time soon. I need a break from the disappointment of hoping Yor would be a good character.

But, Episode 24 wasn’t all bad. The second half of the episode almost redeemed the first half. It wasn’t exactly interesting content. However, seeing Anya and Becky hang out and try on clothes was cute. In fact, Becky’s a better character than Yor. So, maybe she should replace Yor as Loid’s wife. It can’t be any worse.

High Fashion with Becky

In general, I think Spy x Family has good character designs. Loid, Yor, and Anya all look good. But, this episode made it clear that we’re missing out on seeing them wear a wider variety of outfits. Forget good characters. Spy x Family needs good outfits.

Now, you may be thinking that most anime don’t change their characters’ outfits. And that’s true. But, that’s not the case for all anime. For example, there’s Rent-a-Girlfriend. In that series, the girls actually wear different outfits. Why? Because seeing cute girls in cute clothes is part of the appeal of the series.

And I’d argue that the same could apply to Spy x Family. I know a lot of people would love to see the main trio wearing different things. A huge appeal of the series is Anya acting and looking cute. Having more outfits plays into that.

Since we got all these different outfits for Anya, we might as well talk about them. My favorite outfit she tried on was the yellow vest and pink skirt on the right of the image above. After that, it’d have to be the graduation cap and plaid skirt outfit. And in third, the pink space-like outfit.

I can’t leave out Becky. Her best outfit is, undoubtedly, the Yor outfit. The second is her cute outfit, the first one she tried on. And the third is her winter hat and blue jacket outfit. I can’t say I’m a fan of her stylish or sophisticated outfits.

And going back to Anya, she had quite a few outfits I didn’t like. For example, all the high fashion outfits – the final 5 outfits she tried on. Everything before the butterfly outfit was fine and would be cute to see her wear again.

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Shopping With Friends

Obviously, the second half of the episode wasn’t only there so we could see Anya and Becky try on cute clothes. It also served to give Becky’s character some development. Though, she didn’t exactly develop between the start and end of the episode.

Instead, we got a flashback showing how she used to be before she met Anya. She was mean to other kids and viewed herself as above everyone because of the family she comes from. It wasn’t until she met Anya that she started wanting to make friends and spend time with others.

But, Becky still has a way to go. Even though she treats Anya, a commoner, as her friend, she still hesitates at times. We see this when Anya gets herself and Becky matching keychains. Becky isn’t sure if she should accept the gift because it could clash with her family’s image.

Episode 24 also introduced us to Martha, Becky’s assistant (servant). Martha is an older woman who drives Becky around and carries her shopping bags. It’s also implied that Martha was the one who actually raised Becky. So, she likely views Martha as a mother or grandmother figure.

It’s also clear Martha is concerned with the effects of Becky’s privileged upbringing. When Becky was younger, it was Martha who told her she had to get along with other kids. It was Martha who convinced Becky to attend Eden College. And, in the end, it’s Martha who convinces Becky to accept Anya’s gift.

Oh, and let’s not forget Martha’s reaction to Becky and Anya’s conversation in the car on the way to the mall. When Anya flashes her wad of cash, Becky comments on how it isn’t that much money. In response, Martha loses faith in their generation’s grasp of reality.

Conclusion

What do you think of Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 24? Who wore it better, Yor or Becky? What was your favorite outfit Anya tried on? What about the outfits Becky tried on? And, do you agree that Becky is the most developed female character other than Anya? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 25 is available now.

Match Point

In Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 23, the Campbell siblings break out all the stops to defeat Loid and Fiona. But, no matter what the Campbell siblings do, Loid and Fiona have the skill to turn it around on them.

At first, the siblings have their henchmen manipulate the surface of the court to trip up the spies. When that doesn’t work, they resort to raising and lowering the net depending on who’s hitting the ball. And then they throw in some strong wind gusts in an attempt to blow the ball off-course.

None of this works against the WISE agents. So, the siblings resort to more extreme measures. They instruct a sniper to target their opponents. The sniper can’t actually kill the spies, though. That would only expose the Campbell’s cheating. For this reason, the sniper shoots rubber bullets painted the same color as the court.

Of course, even the inclusion of a sniper isn’t enough to stop Loid and Fiona. So, as a last resort, the siblings also have two other people start firing rubber bullets at the pair. I like how this tennis match was somehow the most action-packed scene of the entire season.

But, let’s go back to the rubber bullets for a moment. I thought it was a pretty neat detail for them to be the same color as the court. However, it’s also funny that the siblings went into that much detail to try to hide their cheating.

With all the crazy stuff happening on the court, it would have been obvious to anyone watching. And yet, they made sure the rubber bullets were the same color as the court. Though, even if people noticed, was anyone really going to call out the Campbells for cheating?

Spoils Go to the Victor

Since Loid and Fiona won the Campbelldon, they got to take a piece from Campbell’s art collection. And, naturally, they chose the painting Lady in the Sun because that was the target of their mission. This painting allegedly holds a secret that could start a war.

But, after they choose Lady in the Sun, Campbell informs them that he can’t give them that piece. Toward the end of the tennis match, he learned of the secret the painting hides. And so, he’s planning to hand it over to the government.

This doesn’t stop Fiona and Loid from getting their hands on the painting, though. Loid uses one of his disguises to replace the painting with a fake and take the real one himself. But, that still leaves Fiona to select a different piece of art as their prize.

So, what does Fiona choose as the prize? She picks out a few expensive rings and a gaudy vase that definitely looks cursed. The appearance of the vase itself could be as far as the gag goes. But, I’m hoping that it’s going to come up again later in the series.

Neither Fiona nor Loid actually likes how the vase looks. It’s creepy. It looks like a ball of human body parts and even has an eye. But, they decide to give it to Sylvia Sherwood as a gift. So, it’s possible that we’ll get to see it again, even if only as a prop on Sylvia’s desk.

Alright, but what about the secret message hidden in the painting? Well, it turns out there really was a secret message. However, it wasn’t quite as important as WISE believed. It revealed that the former colonel had a thing for taking photos of young actresses.

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Yor vs. Fiona

At the end of the episode, Fiona challenges Yor to a tennis match. She wants to defeat Yor, thus proving that Yor isn’t fit to be Loid’s wife. Because, you know, that makes sense to normal, rational people.

The thing is, Fiona vastly underestimates Yor’s physical abilities. It’s true that Fiona is probably the better tennis player of the two. But, that doesn’t mean she stands a chance against Yor’s brute strength. And what I thought was funny was that Loid tried to warn Fiona about this before the match began.

He said something along the lines of, “Fiona, don’t.” And at the time, it seemed like he was trying to tell Fiona not to go all-out against Yor. However, after the match, it’s revealed that Loid meant, “don’t challenge Yor. She’ll destroy you.” And he didn’t mean Yor would destroy Fiona in tennis. He meant physically.

Yor’s first attempt at serving results in her racket dicing the ball. And her second attempt results in a serve faster than the speed of sound that shatters Fiona’s racket. It seems that Loid should have brought Yor as his tennis partner to the Campbelldon.

But, my favorite thing to come out of this scene is the knowledge that Loid knows what Yor is like. He knows she’s a freak of nature. He doesn’t know that she’s an assassin. But, he knows that he likely wouldn’t stand a chance against her in a fight.

And this is Loid we’re talking about; the guy who can do anything.

It makes you wonder what he actually thinks about Yor. What kinds of explanations does she give for her strength? Does he believe what she says? Is Loid being held against his will by Yor? Does he fear her?

Conclusion

What do you think of Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 23? Did you like the detail of the rubber bullets being the same color as the court? Do you think we’ll ever see the cursed vase Fiona took again? And, what do you think Loid thinks of Yor’s brute strength? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me 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 for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 24 is available now.

The Campbelldon

Loid and Fiona’s joint mission begins in Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 22. Their mission is to acquire a painting currently owned by a member of the government. This painting is important because it may hold information that could start a war.

The exact information held within the painting isn’t clear — if it even exists at all. It could hold secrets about war crimes committed by either country. But, WISE’s mission is to prevent war from breaking out at all costs. So, no matter what the information in the painting is, they can’t let it come to light.

So, how are Loid and Fiona going to get their hands on this painting? By entering and winning an underground tennis tournament, of course. The winners of the tournament can take any one piece of artwork from Mr. Campbell’s collection.

Since the Campbelldon is an underground tournament, the rules are more like suggestions. Competitors can use performance-enhancing drugs. They can use specialized equipment, such as a jet-propelled racket. And they may even need to dodge traps built into the court itself. But, the one thing the event organizers frown upon is rigging matches.

The thing is, it’s hard to say where the line is when it comes to rigging matches. Everything I mentioned in the previous paragraph is fair game. But, we can assume that paying off the opposing team would cross the line. So, what about drugging the opposing team so that they play worse?

You could make the argument that it’s fair. You could view it as drug use or a trap. I mean, just because the other team is drugged doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to lose. It’s not the same as throwing a match.

Fiona’s Mission to Win Loid’s Heart

Despite not having any real experience playing Tennis, Loid is a pro. In fact, he’s better than a pro. And Fiona is just as skilled as Loid is. However, I have a feeling she’s not new to the sport.

I don’t think she mentioned this in the episode, but she definitely practiced a lot. There’s no way she didn’t spend every waking hour training for this tournament. This is her best shot at showing Loid how much better she is than Yor. She’s not someone to let that chance slip away.

The only problem is that Fiona doesn’t realize that she can’t replace Yor. She’s so busy obsessing over Loid that she doesn’t see the issues that would cause. Fiona can’t replace Yor for the simple fact that Yor was already chosen to play the role of Loid’s wife.

Remember that Eden College has some very strict rules for the families of its students. Why did Loid need to get married in the first place? Because students needed to have 2 parents who were married. Appearances are everything at Eden College.

How would it look if Fiona suddenly took over as Anya’s mother? Not good. The only reason Yor was acceptable is because of the backstory Loid came up with. His first wife died years ago and he only married Yor after a proper mourning period. Also, he retconned their marriage date back a year.

The school now knows Yor as Loid’s wife and Anya’s mother. So, nobody can replace her without causing problems. Even if Yor died, that would be an issue.

At the end of the day, Fiona’s fantasies of being with Loid won’t ever become real. And it has nothing to do with him loving Yor.

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Campbell vs. Phony

In the final match of the Campbelldon, Loid and Fiona face off against Campbell’s children. And this is where the legality of drugging your opponents comes into play. The Campbells have been drugging their opponents before each match.

But, the thing is, they seem good enough to have won all those matches on merit anyway. Well, as long as you consider their specialized rackets to be legal. So, was there a reason for them to resort to drugging the other competitors? Not really. They’re definitely the best players other than Loid and Fiona.

Anyway, in the first match of the finals, the Campbells sweep Loid and Fiona. This is because Loid and Fiona are feeling the effects of the drugs. They didn’t get a very high dose. But, it was enough that they weren’t able to respond to the Campbell’s pressure.

In the second match, it’s Loid and Fiona who do the sweeping. Up until this point, they had been playing as if it was a singles tournament. But now, they begin to play like a real team. It’s the only way they can keep up with their opponents.

And at the very end of the episode, the third match of the finals begins. This is when traps on the court come into play. By traps, I just mean that parts of the court can raise and lower to throw players off balance. It’s not as if buzzsaws are coming up out of the floor — yet.

I’m expecting Loid and Fiona to win in the end. And I’m looking forward to how they celebrate their win. Whatever Loid does, Fiona will probably take it as him confessing his love to her, or something. It should be entertaining.

Conclusion

What do you think of Spy x Family Part 2 Episode 22? Do you prefer Fiona’s tennis player look over her normal appearance? How do you feel about Fiona as a character overall now that we’ve had an episode focusing on her? And, do you think Loid and Fiona will win? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me 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 for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 23 is available now.