Score: A

This was another great episode! I liked the split between what could have simply been a cute “visiting the MC when he’s sick” episode and Yuki firing her opening shots in this election showdown! The best part was that both parts of the episode were very much interconnected. There was no waste in this one. The twist of Yuki making her move took nothing away from how cute it was having Alya visit while Masachika was sick. And I like the interesting move in that we don’t get to see Yuki when she’s not with Alya and putting her plan into motion. Whatever her feelings are about this are things we’ll have to guess at based on what happened.

That’s a look that will mess with a kid

I’m sure in a show like this that Masachika’s mother has things going on. There are likely stresses within that family that we haven’t explored. At the same time…she really let her son down. She both hid whatever was really going on and also made him feel like garbage. This kid was just desperate for his mother’s love and approval and she didn’t give him anything. It is completely justified that Masachika is so angry at her. No wonder he went with his father. The negative for him was having to leave Yuki in that household. Getting away from his mother was probably a win for a kid that was so lost and confused about why his mother was treating him that way.

The memories are bad enough that Masachika got sick! Ok, I’m sure would have gotten sick no matter what. She probably isn’t a plague. But it sure feels like the stress of seeing his mother was enough to weaken him.

There were some upsides

The Masachika and Alya pair got hit hard this week. Naturally it set that up pretty well. Masachika sleeping really hard after he took the medicine (and ate) the first time was a sign, but nothing extreme. I think plenty of people have slept pretty hard when sick regardless of medication. But it should have been a much bigger red flag that he slept so much the next day. It was such a well-handled attack too. It took advantage of Alya’s trusting nature and her concern for Masachika’s wellbeing. Not to mention it took advantage of Masachika being too sick to think clearly. Then even Ayano was used both as a distraction and to make sure Masachika was taking that medication.

It was a flawless ambush. The only problem honestly was that there was no way Yuki could know that he’d get sick. Although I guess it’s possible that she knew seeing their mother would affect him badly? She was there to see the angry expression on his face and could possibly guess at what would happen. But maybe it was simply an attack that made use of the opportunity. But geeze, I didn’t think Yuki would pull a stunt like that. She does have pressures at home and so it makes sense. But that’s pretty cold. Taking advantage of her brother being sick to have him drugged and kept out of the way while she tried to crumble Alya’s campaign? There are positive ways to interpret this though, so I’m not slinging mud here.

Yuki played her cards well

There’s truth to Alya not being able to stand up to Yuki right now. While Alya has her will and pride that doesn’t mean she’s got the same level of cunning or experience. Alya is a good-natured girl that works hard and is more set for straight forward sort of showdown. Tricks, traps, and manipulations are certainly expected to some degree when it comes to an election, but they aren’t ways she’d want to win even if she could use them. But her opponents sadly aren’t going to refrain. We already saw it with setting plants in the crowd before that one debate and Yuki hammered her pretty well in this case too.

What could Alya really do? Even if she wanted to expect traps and tricks…it’d be hard to predict that sort of move! The phony apology was fine, but busting out the sob story? All the more effective since it was only partly a lie. And Yuki can honestly get away with saying she didn’t really lie since her brother was gone (when he left with their father). Alya’s too kind of a person to be left unaffected by something like that.

This was a learning experience

The best thing I can say is that this was a warning shot. The impact on the election was minimal since barely anyone was in the school. At worst it could have led to Alya’s mental state crashing and her confidence evaporating. But much like the reason she’d want her brother out of the way before making a move, I’m sure Yuki knows he could help her recover. So, I’ll treat it was a warning to the both of them. She can and will play dirty if it means winning. And Masachika can’t trust his sister so implicitly that he should allow Ayano close enough to drug him in the first place.

I guess in that sense you could say she’s fighting honorably since she’s telegraphing that now. I don’t want to read even deeper into this than I already am. But it’s also possible she wanted to give her brother a kick in the rear and get him fired up. Not a good fight if she’s not facing him at his best. An ironic thing to say since this is all coming off of him being sick! If that was her plan it certainly worked! And hilariously it further helps the Masachika and Alya ship. Since Alya was left with an expression that said “he’s hot when he smiles like that!”

I can’t wait to see what happens

Things should get interesting in the next episode! The shots have been fired and the counter-punch is coming! I’m not entirely sure what kind of deal Masachika cut with Nonoa and Sayaka. But it sure sounds as if they’ll be providing some sort of support to Alya’s campaign. And I like the idea of gunning for something more substantial than a draw. If Yuki wants a true fight to come out of this campaign, then she’ll get it!