How do you take an episode of people sitting around and table and talking and somehow make it tense, chilling and lowkey horrifying? The atmosphere, that’s how and this episode was ripe with it. Right from the start, there is this tension in the air. As all of the work-study students start heading in the same direction, onto the same train. Such a simple thing creates so much tension and even more so as they run into the Big Three outside the building and walk inside to find not only the people that they are working under but several pro-heroes and local heroes, along with Aizawa all for a meeting with Nighteye to discuss the investigation into the shie hassaikai and their plans.
The most chilling realization of all in the episode comes when Fat Gum starts talking about what happened to Tamaki’s quirk when the bullet hit him in the last episode. What the hospital found, and what data was extracted from the second shot that bounced off of Kirishima’s skin. Which is that the serum in the capsule is something that targets and destroys quirk genes. Right now, it’s imperfect and it doesn’t last long and doesn’t do any permanent damage but if allowed to keep going. It could go that way.
Even worse then that, is what it’s made off. Cells. human cells. A stolen quick, bottled and used in this villainous plan. Before any of the pro-heroes say it before it hits Kirishima, Ururaka or Tsuyu. It hits Midoriya like a sack of bricks, it’s clear on their faces and of course. How could they not know? They both saw her, saw the bandages and sat her fear and pain.
Overhaul is using Eri’s body, to make these quirk destroying rounds.
It becomes a source of hot debate about where to go with that information. She needs to be saved, of course, she’s just a poor abused child. I can’t say I much enjoyed it when Rocklock tried to imply that Midoriya and Mirio did something wrong in letting her go. Midoriya was more than willing to try to save her, Mirio was trying to help in his own way as well. My heart broke as both of them felt so helpless and upset ‘Greatest Hero? What a joke.’, ‘Save a million people? Yeah right, I couldn’t even save one little girl.’
There is also an argument over the use of Nighteye’s quirk and what he can and cannot do with it. His absolute fear of witnessing the moment of someone’s death again is something that weighs on his mind heavily.
The scene that got me the most worked up in the episode is after the meeting. As Mirio and Midoriya tell the whole story to their classmates about what happened that day and Aizawa enters the room. What he says to Midoriya, how he says it. Being there to support Midoriya, if only to keep him from doing something stupid or dangerous. It’s really sweet actually and it pulled at my heartstrings so much that I was nearly in tears. A mood that carried into the after credits scene, when Eri is curled up in bed. Thinking about how safe Midoriya made her feel and how she’s never felt anything like that before.
Poor Eri.
I want her to be safe. I want her to be cared for. Next episode “Go” is when things will spring into action.