#take it from someone who wound up with both a parent like shigeki and a parent like misaki

[night-heron-writes]

Episode 10 Promo Video/Predictions

So, like a lot of y'all, I'm not thrilled to see Misaki again, but I'm not surprised. We've known she has a bigger part to play in the series than just in episode 3 for a while now, with the opener and the staff interviews. I'm hoping that she's returned for a good (plot-relevant and not contrived) reason. Ideally, the reason that makes the most sense is that Kyutaro masterminded the whole thing to keep Miri out of the conflict we all know is coming.

I'd be less than thrilled if Misaki simply had a "change of heart" and wants Miri back because of that. I had a decent amount of respect for her because she was able to admit she wasn't cut out to be a mother, and a lot of my respect for her would go away if she did a 180° turn in regards to motherhood. Even if she has a "change of heart" can she really give Miri a better, more loving home than she has with Rei and Kazuki?

The title of the episode is "Lost at Sea", which usually means "adrift", and it can apply to lots of our characters. Rei and Kazuki will almost certainly feel lost after their family with Miri is ripped away from them again. Misaki will likely feel adrift having to cope with parenting again, after having not had to for the better part of a year. Miri is drifting between her two families, and probably won't understand where her papas have gone or why she's back with Misaki.

In the PV we see a clip of our main trio back in their favorite store, shopping for Miri again, likely as a going away present or something similar. But if you look closely, you'll notice Kazuki is moving around exaggeratedly, like in episode 6 when he was trying to convince Miri not to hate him. He's probably trying to act normal about having to give Miri back and failing miserably.

We also see them approaching what's likely a fairground/amusement park, perhaps as part of Miri's big send-off. That might be where they're meeting Misaki to give Miri back to her? Probably safer for everyone involved than either Rei's apartment or the shady bar Misaki was working at in episode 3. Interestingly enough, we only see Kazuki and Rei's faces while they're on the Ferris Wheel, nothing to tell us if Miri is there or not. I also found the role reversal here interesting: Kazuki is the one with a closed off expression, while Rei is showing his feelings (of shock? surprise? anger?) more openly. Kazuki might be saying that Misaki will be able to give Miri a better life (whether he believes is is another thing entirely), and Rei might be realizing that wanting to protect his family doesn't just mean from his father boss, but also from other circumstances that try to tear them apart. It would be interesting to see him take a more active role in here in the last arc of the series, since the family was largely founded without his input.

Overall, this episode is likely going to be somber from start to finish. We've entered the final arc of the series, and the stakes are getting higher. What is Kyutaro going to do? The ball is still very much in his court, and I have a hunch that Misaki's reappearance is his doing. Though how tf did he manage to stall until Decemeber if he got the request for information in August? FOUR MONTHS? HOW????

I'm a little surprised at how many people are convinced the show will go to shit now that Misaki has showed up again. We knew she had more to do than just episode 3, and from what we know this seems logical. I have faith in the writing team, since thus far the writing has been amazing. I just hope they do Misaki's character justice. I think she's an interesting character who's been well handled so far and I hope they continue that. The writers have done a good job dealing with complicated issues and showing the nuances of things, so I'm fairly confident they'll continue to do that here.