First Contact
Episode 25 of Spy X Family begins with several parents attending Eden Academy’s semi-annual Imperial Scholar event. This is where parents of former and current Imperial Scholar family members meet leading figures from multiple different businesses. Meanwhile, Loid monitors the scene from afar. He notes that many Western Intelligence agents have tried infiltrating the event but failed. After pondering it over, Loid decides that it’d be best to meet up with Donovan Desmond as himself and to make preparations for the next event. Meanwhile, Anya and her classmates depart from class after being reminded by their teacher that the Social Gathering is taking place soon. Any glances at Damian. He doesn’t seem thrilled about his female classmates discussing his Imperial Scholar brother and Donovan with him. The other night, Damian calls his brother, Demetrius. Damian asks Demetrius if he can ask their father to meet with him after the event. Demetrius accepts his offer but tells Damian not to get his hopes up since he’s a busy man. In the present, Damian tells his female classmates off and leaves. At the same time, Anya reads his mind and knows Damian plans to meet with Donovan soon. Anya trails after Damian, who tells her to cut it out. In her mind, Anya plans to defeat Donovan herself. Damian leaves after badmouthing Anya as Anya asks Becky if she should knock him out again. Meanwhile, Anya overhears Loid’s thoughts. He’s concerned about Anya’s behavior but wonders if she’s trying to make up with him by her means. Loid flees from the corner and plans to follow Damian as he feels he might get a chance to meet Donovan outside. Damian and his friends notice several Imperial Scholars and their families heading to the event. He stops himself and has second thoughts about meeting his father. Loid’s flustered as he doesn’t want this chance to slip past him. Suddenly, Anya confronts Damian and taunts Damian. He’s bewildered and wonders if she read his mind and knows about his problems with his father. Anya switches the topic to test scores to avoid Damian discovering her esper powers. Damian flees with his friends and heads to his father’s meeting location. Damian waits for his father as Anya stalks them from afar. Becky thinks Anya’s seriously in love with Damian. She also thinks Anya plans to ask him to marry her and wants to introduce herself to his parents. Anya passes out. Becky asks Martha to pick Anya up and take her to their car so they can leave the school. Eventually, the Social Gathering concludes, and Loid makes his move. He approaches Damian and asks if he knows where Anya’s lamb keychain is since she supposedly dropped it. Damian hands it to him, and Loid bows in front of him and apologizes for Anya’s crude behavior toward him. Suddenly, Donovan arrives with his cronies, and Loid confronts Donovan. He apologizes for Anya’s dishonorable behavior toward Damian. Meanwhile, Handler and one of WISE’s workers discuss the attendees of the Social Gathering. As Loid apologizes to Donovan, we peer into Loid’s mind. He admits to researching Donovan to prepare for his eventual meeting with him. He’s found no records of his personality profile and ponders what he can do to get him interested in his alias, Loid. Donovan says he’s heard of the incident but never took the time to investigate further. Damian’s overjoyed by his father’s remarks. He’s bewildered that he’s shown some interest in his well-being. Donovan says not to worry about it, angering Damian and shocking Loid. Loid feels it’s best not to pursue this angle further while Damian clenches his fist and retorts his earlier belief that his father cared about his well-being. Donovan looks at Damian with menacing eyes, and Damian apologizes for what he said. Loid tells him that it’s okay for him to feel that way and promises to discipline Anya better to prevent a similar exchange in the future. He finishes his sentiment by claiming that child-raising is a challenging task. Donovan agrees and says aloud that he may be bound to his son by blood, but they are not the same. Loid gives a sentimental speech to Desmond about Damian’s report about his work. Loid says he was touched by Damian’s words and respects Desmond’s work as Party Chairman. He shares that he was concerned about the National Unity Party’s platform, but Damian’s report helped him change his views on the matter. Donovan promises to remember Loid’s name as he needs to attend a new meeting. Loid leaves the scene but asks Damian not to disclose his words toward Anya. Damian tells his father that he doesn’t remember what he wanted to ask him. He recalls Loid’s words about how important it is to create a dialogue with others. After remembering Anya’s words, Damian can tell his father about his achievements and language test failure. Desmond praises him and asks Damian to continue to work hard and not bring shame to Desmond’s name. From afar, Loid realizes that it’d be significant to improve Damian’s relationship with his father in the next phase of his plan. He plans to take the intel he received from their conversation and report it to HQ. Loid returns home to Yor, Anya, and Bond. Bond and Anya are fast asleep. The episode concludes with Loid having no idea why Anya’s blabbering about stopping villains.
The Episode Review
This chapter was an intriguing set-up for many exciting events to come. We finally got to see Loid interact with his target Donovan Desmond. As I anticipated, Desmond isn’t an ideal father figure to Damian, despite showing some ounce of care for his son. This was a dynamic I wanted to see explored in earlier chapters, so I’m glad the topic reared its head here. I would have preferred if we’d gained more insight into how the Desmond household’s run. However, it was nice seeing Damian stand up to his father and share his achievements and failure. With more exposure and screen time, I can see him becoming a fan favorite. On that note, many will find the anime’s decision to exclude Anya from the events refreshing. Having Anya butt in on this significant moment would’ve been slightly infuriating. Many will adore Loid’s character in this episode. Peering into his mind as he goes over the variety of ways to approach Donovan captured the feelings I’d get watching spies tackle missions in films. It was exciting seeing him examine Desmond’s persona during their conversation. At the same time, it’d be great to see how the Desmond brother’s relationship differs from Damian’s bond with Donovan. Overall, this was a fun chapter of Spy X Family. We’re finally back in the saddle regarding Operation Strix’s progress. While it would’ve been better if the series started doing this sooner, it’s great to see it back on track. Hopefully, the next season can maintain this episode’s momentum.
