Disarm The Time Bomb
Episode 14 of Spy x Family starts with Yor and Keith staring at each other. Keith is bewildered that Yor managed to take down Kurt and indicates that she’s Anya’s mother. He orders one of the dogs to attack Yor, but Yor gives off a terrifying atmosphere, causing the canines to back off. More people start to appear, causing Keith to flee the scene, leaving the white dog behind with Yor and Anya. Yor attempts to chase after Keith but stops. She realizes that chasing Keith would result in Anya fleeing from her again. Yor decides to stay at the scene and tie up Kurt with a belt. Anya informs Yor of the situation involving the terrorists and bomb dogs. Yor comedically checks the white dog to see if he has a bomb on him. Thankfully, he does not. Anya apologizes for running off without Yor’s permission, but Yor’s glad she’s okay. Yor then rushes to a nearby telephone booth to inform the police of the details. While Yor’s on the phone, Anya reads the white dog’s mind and finds out he’s peering into the future again. Anya sees everyone smiling in the living room but notices Loid’s strangely missing. She looks into the canine’s mind further and discovers something horrifying. A bomb will go off in one of Keith’s hideouts, and she’ll rush toward that location. She’ll find Loid’s lifeless corpse below a bunch of rubble from that building. This indicates that Loid will trigger one of Keith’s bombs and die. Then the world will receive a news report stating that Westalis and Ostania will be at war with each other because of this bombing incident. Anya’s shocked at what she saw but doesn’t want to inform Yor because she doesn’t want her to know about her powers. Therefore, Anya makes up an excuse for Yor to flee from her once again. Once Anya leaves, Yor decides to track her down, but again, she seems to have lost track of her daughter. Meanwhile, Handler receives a report that her men have spotted some of the terrorists. She orders the gentlemen to have the team stand by that route but to proceed cautiously since they may be carrying bombs. We see Keith’s allies arrive, but Handler’s men ambush them. Her men capture Keith’s four allies, their three dogs, and a case that’s possibly filled with bombs. Another team reports that they’ve caught more of Keith’s men but haven’t spotted Keith yet. Keith lurks in the shadows and stares at the group. Keith wonders if these people are working for the Secret Police or work for Westalis. Keith’s agitated by the debacle but remembers he hgas one more place he set bombs up. He plans to set them up and ignite them on his own. Meanwhile, Handler’s men interrogate Keith’s men, asking them for the explosion site and Keith’s location. The terrorists mock Handler’s men, resulting in her stepping in. She asks them what they’re after, and one of the men say they want the extermination of the West and Ostania government. She kicks one of the men and utilizes scare tactics to install fear in these terrorists’ minds. At the same time, Keith’s giving orders to his lone dog and demands that he doesn’t fail him. He contemplates his next move and realizes that guards may be guarding the plaza, considering many of his locales had been infiltrated by the West. He plans to lure his enemies into a bomb trap to eliminate them. Meanwhile, we see Loid in a car with two of Handler’s men. While driving, we learn that Handler assigned him the task of investigating Keith’s B1 hideout location. Keith’s suspicions about the summit being guarded are confirmed as Anya runs past a television set. Anya and her white canine companion visit the bombing location she saw in the dog’s vision. Anya recalls the town’s clock going off at the time of the explosion. However, she doesn’t know how to read the clock and decides to ask a nearby citizen. The citizen informs her that the clock will go off in thirty minutes. While trying to find the bomb’s location, the white canine picks up Keith’s scent, grabs Anya, and rushes her to a nearby corner. Keith opens his door, and his canine jumps out of the vehicle and picks up Anya and the white canine’s scent. Keith drags his dog back to the car, unaware that he picked up Anya and the white dog’s location. Anya reads Keith’s mind from afar and learns that Keith’s in charge of causing the explosion. Anya assumes that Keith placed the bomb inside the building next to the clock tower. Anya realizes they have seven minutes left and rushes into the building with her canine companion at her side. The white canine sniffs the area and discovers the room with the bomb in it. Before Anya touches its doorknob, the white canine barks, reminding her that touching it would set the bomb off. Anya enters the room through a nearby window. She spots the bomb but doesn’t know how to diffuse it. She recalls that spies normally disarm bombs by cutting the red wire, but this bomb’s wires are all black. She decides her best action is to tell Loid not to enter, yet doing so would result in him being suspicious of her powers. Anya spots a nearby ketchup bottle and uses it to write the word “No” on the door. Meanwhile, Loid and Handler’s men arrive and find the building and room Keith placed the bomb in. Loid tells the man to proceed carefully, but he rushes to the door and attempts to grab its knob. At the same time, the clock tower goes off, and Anya realizes the explosion she saw in the vision didn’t occur. The white dog peers into the future again, and Anya sees Loid appear alongside her and Yor. This indicates that her message was successful, as Loid grabbed the man’s hand before he made contact with the doorknob. Loid tells the man that he had a bad feeling about the door because of the message Anya left behind. Loid finds some reflective glass and the window, showing him that a bomb was placed on the door. One of the men’s curious about who wrote the message on the door. Loid notices that the Secret Police have caught on and that they need to leave immediately. He says it’s best for the police to disarm the bomb. Loid and Handler’s men discuss their current predicament and failure to capture Keith. Loid suggests they head for the minister’s location since Keith may plot his next move since this one failed. One of Foreign Minister Brantz’s men informs him it’s time to depart. Brantz notices the secret police are nearby, as one of his men tells him that terrorist activity has risen since he arrived. Before he leaves, someone from Intelligence introduces himself, most likely Loid. After their exchange, Brantz walks out and confronts Yor’s brother, Yuri. Yuri tells him that the Secret Police will move ahead to avoid any issues. Before Brantz enters the vehicle the Secret Police assigned to him–he denies their offer and rides alone in a nearby car. Keith monitored the situation and headed after the minister. Little does he know that this isn’t Brantz but Loid in disguise, who knew Keith would make such a move. At the same time, Brantz yells at Handler for not informing him about this switcheroo scheme sooner. Handler apologizes but tells Brantz that Loid needed his scent to throw the dog off, which is why he needed to borrow his clothes. She informs him that it’s safe to leave his location now that Keith’s tracking down Loid. As Keith’s chasing down Loid, Handler’s men spot him in the act and inform her about his vehicle and canine. They plan to surround him near the Blue 4 location. As Keith’s chasing Brantz, he starts picking up that things aren’t what they seem. However, he doesn’t think about it too carefully as he believes Brantz’s new destination will benefit him. At the same time, Handler’s men drive by Keith’s vehicle and unload bullets on them. Keith’s taken aback but remains calm. He throws a Molotov at their vehicle–to stop them from pursuing him. Handler’s men crawl out of their car, informing Loid via a walkie-talkie that Keith’s on his way. Keith reaches Brantz’s car but doesn’t see him inside. He looks around and spots Brantz running. Keith tells his dog to go after Brantz and plans to detonate the bomb as soon as the dog bites him. Keith pursues Brantz in his vehicle while his dog’s chasing him. Keith’s taken aback by Brantz’s athleticism and agility. The dog chases Brantz toward a nearby alleyway and prepares to attack him. The episode concludes with Loid revealing himself as Brantz as he prepares to shoot the dog down with his pistol.
The Episode Review
This was an exhilarating thrill ride from start to finish. Everyone except for Yor received time to shine in the spotlight. From its fluid animation to its joyful facial humor, I couldn’t help but smile the whole way through. While this episode felt more action-packed than the previous one, I had some issues with it. My problems mostly pertain to Anya’s powers and the sidelining of Yor’s character again. I argue this was the first time in the series that Anya had trouble peering into someone’s mind from a far distance. I appreciate the anime for informing the audience about the range of her abilities, as I always felt that she had her limits. What I find a bit questionable is her ability to peer into the canine’s mental imagery alongside his thoughts. It’s never stated in the anime that she can also witness images people conjure up inside their minds. We’ve only seen her listen in on people’s thoughts. Although one can say that her powers are developing further, I find her ability to look into one’s mental visuals somewhat contrived and plot convenient. Otherwise, her moments are charming and humorous. While it was cool to see Yor kick some butt last week, I’m worried she’s being sidelined in favor of showing more of Loid’s spy life and Anya’s adorable antics. Considering the next episode’s hinting at the white canine joining the family, I worry that Anya and the dog will dominate the series moving forward. Overall, this was an adrenaline-pumping episode with fun action sequences, enjoyable comedy, and high stakes. Despite Keith’s plans going awry, he proved himself to be a clever and formidable opponent for Loid and WISE.
