Yor’s Kitchen / The Informant’s Great Romance Plan
Episode 16 of Spy X Family begins with Loid wondering about Yor’s late arrival home as Anya and Bond play with each other. When Yor arrives home, Loid notices her grim demeanor and flesh wounds. ..
Anya and Yor are having dinner without Yor’s presence, when Anya notices Yor crying. Yor tells Anya that if she fails at something, she’ll lose Loid and Anya.
On the next day, Yor visits a nearby shop to pick up something and arrives at Camilla’s house. Camilla and Dominic greet Yor. We flash back to three days before this incident and at Yor’s workplace. Yor’s shown asking Camilla if she can teach her how to cook because Yor feels she’s in danger of losing Loid and Anya. After some nagging from Dominic, Camilla agrees to teach Yor. Yor visits a nearby shop on the next day, intending to pick up something before going to meet Camilla at her house. However, upon arriving, she finds that Camilla is already there - and that her husband Dominic is also present. It’s revealed that 3 days ago, Yor had asked Camilla if she could teach her how to cook in order to keep Loid and Anya safe; after some persuasion from Dominic, Camilla had eventually agreed. ..
Yor begins her cooking attire and is ready to start cooking. Dominic informs them that he invited someone over to taste test Yor’s cooking. Yuri arrives. Yor tells him not to let Loid and Anya know that she’s trying to get better at cooking. Camilla scolds Yor for buying ingredients she doesn’t need and for her poor preparation skills.
Yor is preparing meals for her and her two children. One day, Yor injures herself and Yuri provides bandages. Camilla tells Yor that she should divorce Loid since she doesn’t have much hope for her. Yor worries, but Camilla comforts her. Yor finishes her first dish and Camilla and Dominic insist that Yuri test the meal. Yuri pretends to like the meal even though Camila sees him throwing it up.
Dominic and Camilla try a few meals by themselves, but they all end up with negative feedback from Camilla. She wonders if Yuri’s taste buds got messed up after their mother passed away. Camilla asks Yor and Yuri to recall a meal their mother made for them. Yuri tells Yor to try making the fried egg stew their mother used to make. ..
Dominic and Camilla are cooking a meal for Yor and Yuri. Yuri tells Dominic that the dish smells great, but he is not sure if it is good. Camilla tests the stew and finds it to be okay. She recommends that Yor add some sour cream to make it taste better. All three test the dish and find it to be delicious. Dominic and Camilla leave Yuri’s residence as Yuri and Dominic flirt.
Loid and Bond discuss the upcoming training session. Loid is excited to learn more about defensive tactics. Yor arrives and tells Loid she’s planning to make dinner tonight. Yor informs Loid and Anya that she had Camilla teach her how to cook.
Loid and Anya taste the fried egg stew and find it delicious. Yor’s happy about the scenario after seeing these two smiling and enjoying her meal. Loid says he plans to count on her from now on. The next day, Loid visits Franky in a nearby alley, who tells him he fell in love with a girl. Franky asks Loid for advice on how to score a successful date. Loid advises Franky to be himself and not try to act like someone he’s not. He also tells him that it’s important to make sure the girl likes him for who he is, not what he can do for her. ..
Loid stares at Franky menacingly, causing Franky to offer Loid a new and free small recording device if he helps him out. Franky goes over all the information he dug up on his date while Loid finds his behavior stalker-like. The two get into an argument about romance.
Franky goes on a wild tangent about Loid’s work as other people are in the area. The anime informs us that they’re whispering. Not wanting to continue the argument further, Loid asks Franky if he wants him to analyze his potential date and conjure a plan. Franky confirms. Loid hands him a conversation flow chart that should help him on his date and explains in detail what Franky should do.
Franky finds Loid’s flow chart scheme complicated, resulting in Loid offering to disguise himself as Franky’s date and do a pretend session. After a long session, Franky thanks Loid and departs. Franky arrives at the woman’s workplace and plans to execute all he learned from his mockup session with Loid.
The Forger family arrives at the obstacle course event. Anya greets Franky and he tells her that his date with her backed out last minute. Anya reads his mind and comforts him. After their exchange, Franky goes to a bar to wallow in shame. ..
Franky is upset that the girl didn’t want to date him because of his hideous appearance. Franky asks the bartender for the cheapest drink he can offer him, but the bartender gives him the more expensive one. Franky asks why and learns that Loid ordered it for him. Loid also happens to be in the bar, and Franky notices him. ..
In the episode “Franky and Loid”, Loid asks Franky if he’s at the bar to mock him, but Franky tells Loid that it’s okay for people like them to get emotionally attached to others. He tells Franky that even if his date went successful, his line of work would make it impossible for him to follow up with her. The episode concludes with the two sharing beers together.
The Episode Review
Episode 16 of Spy X Family is a risky and giant leap for the series. While other episodes featured one self-contained narrative, this one offers fans an episode structure with two shorts. While this is a gamble for the show, there are ways to make it work. However, this episode didn’t execute this concept properly. ..
The second short involving Franky needing help with a date feels out of place and unnecessary. While the segment had some humorous moments, this episode repeats former ideas already touched upon in better ways in prior episodes. At the same time, it was hard to buy into the idea that no one heard Franky’s big mouth in the diner when he was discussing Loid’s line of work.
The first segment of this episode was a bit of a letdown. Yor wanted to learn how to cook, but the episode made it seem like she was grieving because of her assassin work. The payoff wasn’t that great either.
While the first part’s title clearly states it involves Yor indulging in activity concerning kitchen work, there are many ways the episode could’ve gone given Yor’s occupation. As stated earlier, the episode has some heartwarming and delightful scenes. The wait to see Yor participate in some awesome assassin work is a bummer. ..
This episode of Spy X Family was okay. It had some good scenarios, but the shorts don’t really offer new life lessons or key plot points. It just repeats old ones in a better way. Hopefully, the next episode features something refreshing and vital to Spy x Family’s overarching storyline.
