The Chaperone Wife
Saya is sleeping on the sofa, her head resting on a can of beer. Her eyes are closed and she seems to be in a deep sleep. A can of beer is strewn across the table, next to her. It’s clear that she’s been drinking recently and she’s clearly depressed.
Sota feels helpless as he heads out for a run in the morning. He reflects back on happier times with his wife when she was actually a better runner than he was. If that wasn’t enough, Saya is standoffish with the other women too, shrugging off their attempts to socialize with her.
Sota receives a call from his marathon club inviting him along to camp that weekend. They want Saya to show up too but she quickly declines, claiming he doesn’t know anything. Sota urges her to run again but she shrugs it off, claiming he doesn’t know anything about running marathons. ..
Sota snaps, demanding his wife open up and try to talk to him. He’s been working hard and trying to provide for them both while she slouches around, but she simply turns around and tells him he’s changed too. Flashbacks show exactly how.
Sota actually encouraged her to give up her job and become a housewife. In doing so, it caused her fitness levels to drop and while out for a run, Sota encouraged Saya to head home when she had a stitch. This explains why they’ve been drifting apart, with the emphasis on Sota being selfish and not taking his wife’s considerations into account.
Saya heads back to her apartment, only to find that the place is clean and Sota is gone. She assumes he went home, but when she looks in her bedroom mirror, she sees that her hair is messed up and she has a bruise on her cheek from where he hit her.
Ran confronts Sakura about her infidelity and not breaking up with Haruto. As things grow heated, Haruto tells her to leave and tells Sakura not to pay any attention to her.
The pair head out to a glassblowing shop before arriving at Haruto’s “secret spot” which happens to be on the beach. He was raised strictly and couldn’t live up to his father’s expectations, who always expected more from him, pressuring his son to do his best. This explains partly why Haruto wants a quiet life, unwilling to take over his dad’s company.
Sota finishes his run and contemplates ringing Saya. Unfortunately, she’s still hung up on Takuya. That is, until the shaman happens to be in the elevator with her. ..
The shaman encourages her to start running again, but Saya instead winds up in Takuya’s arms. The pair kiss and start to become intimate.
Sota rings, breaking the mood, declaring through panted breaths that he’s going to run all the way home for her. Sota opens up and admits he’s been a fool, apologizing and wanting to run together. Only, his phone runs out of battery before he can continue.
Saya decides to head back home after deciding not to cheat on Sota. She dons her running shoes and decides to run and meet her lover.
In the street, the pair reconvene where Saya gives a teary confession. She just wants to spend more time with Sota, not caring about money and regretting not speaking up before about how she’s feeling. She apologizes to him too, as the pair hold hands and embrace. It’s a beautiful moment (even if it comes off the back of Saya cheating on her husband).
As the episode ends, Takuya meets a guy called Kazama. What does he do? We’ll have to wait and see!
The Episode Review
This episode showcases the growing disconnect between Saya and Sota. Money is materialistic and can’t substitute real feelings, which is something this episode manages to personify beautifully.
The episode begins with Saya and Sota running away from the core issues in their relationship. They run away from each other’s expectations, their beliefs, and their expectations of themselves. They run away from the things that are holding them back and they run towards one another. This is a beautiful journey into one another’s arms.
The story between Haruto and Sakura seems to have stalled. There’s not a lot going on here and even Takuya just shows up now whenever the plot calls for it. Having him as the suitor for Saya’s desires is a bit of a weird turn and it’ll be interesting to see if the show returns to that in the future.
This episode of Fishbowl Wives was a lot of fun, with a great tone and some great storytelling. I hope that the tone continues for the next episodes.
