The Counter-Secret Police Counter Operation
Spy X Family episode 8 begins with Anya answering a question incorrectly during her classes. We transition to Loid and Handler, discussing that Anya needs to obtain eight Stella Stars in four months. Handler also tells Loid that one of their informants got taken down and that he should watch his back. Meanwhile, we shift to Yor’s workplace because that is where the State Security Service (SSS) found this informant, who works for the same company as Loid. However, this informant is currently undercover as a finance worker for city hall. This is the same establishment where Yor works. One of Yor’s co-workers had seen him get taken away by the SSS and retells the tale to Yor. Apparently, this informant was selling official documents. Suddenly, Camilla walks in and greets Yor and asks her if she told her brother about getting married. Yor is flustered because she forgot to tell Yuri that she married her new boyfriend (Loid) and give him her new home phone number. Camilla also tells Yor that Yuri plans to call her about it, as she shows her co-workers a picture of her and Yuri all grown-up. Then, the scene shifts to the State Security Service Office (SSO), where we see a man interrogating the same informant Handler spoke about earlier. He refuses to share any intel with the SSO’s staff. Viewers also receive information about the SSO’s duty to hunt spies and monitor people for suspicious activities. The SSO’s top workers, “The Secret Police,” do all their dirty work, and we find out that Yuri is one of them. Yuri plays the good cop role to squeeze information out of the informant. During their discussion, Yuri asks the informant if he knows anything about Twilight (Loid’s spy alias). According to Yuri, Loid will bring mass destruction to the world, and he’s the Secret Police’s nemesis. Luckily for Loid, Yuri doesn’t know what Loid looks like. On the other hand, Yuri says he never told his sister about his Secret Police job. He doesn’t want to worry her. He also doesn’t want her to know that he’s done some dirty things behind her back, like harming those he deems as criminals. We shift to the Forger household, where Anya’s watching the Bondman cartoon with Loid. After Anya successfully answers a mathematical question right using cartoon logic, Loid discovers that he could possibly use cartoons to help Anya study. Suddenly, Yor barges into the room to tell Loid that Yuri is stopping by to meet her new husband (Loid). Although shocked at first, Loid reassures Yor that all will be fine since he’s been preparing for that occasion. Nightfall arrives, and Loid and Yor put Anya to bed for the night while they await Yuri’s arrival. Then we shift to Yuri, who is making his way to Loid and Yor’s home with flowers. He’s a bit late since he went overboard with the interrogation involving the informant. Although he’s upset, he’s excited to see his sister again as it’s been a year, but he wonders why she never bothered to message him about her “marriage.” Despite acting goofy, Yuri pulls a front and tells himself he will eliminate or lock up anyone who causes his sister harm, even her spouse (Loid). But he promises himself he’ll hold back his anger because he doesn’t want to show his grittier side to his sister. Yuri arrives and greets both Loid and Yor before making himself at home. Yuri, Loid, and Yor all share internal monologues about not wanting to expose their darker truths to the other. Furthermore, Yuri asks Yor why she didn’t tell him about the marriage for over a year. We then get a brief flashback where Loid asks Yor why they cannot tell Yuri that their marriage was a lie. According to Yor, making Yuri upset could spell doom for Loid, so it’s best that they keep pretending to be a married couple for Yuri and Loid’s sake. We swiftly return to the present, and Yor responds to Yuri by saying she forgot to reach out to him about the marriage. To Loid’s surprise, Yuri accepts Yor’s explanation. Although Yuri enjoys Loid’s cooking, he doesn’t want Loid to win over his heart as he did with his sister. The three eat, and Yuri breaks the ice by asking them police-formatted questions. Mostly questions regarding the five w’s (who, what, when, where, and why). When Loid tries to answer Yuri’s questions, Yuri goes on a crazed tangent when he hears Loid call his sister’s name without any honorifics. Loid gives him water to calm down. Unfortunately, Yuri can’t cope with Loid being a great husband to his sister and starts losing it. Loid examines the situation and asks Yuri about his work as a diplomat and how he spent his time. While Yuri casually explains his time at a fancy restaurant, Loid understands that what Yuri is saying is a mere cover-up story. The viewers learn that Loid had Franky uncover info about Yuri. With this information, Loid speculates that Yuri works for the Secret Police and hasn’t told his sister about his real job. Although he’s somewhat worried, Loid instructs himself to play it cool. While drunk, Yuri approaches Loid and tells him about the poor lifestyle he and his sister endured. Viewers learn that even at a young age, Yor was assassinating targets to help bring Yuri and herself some money for food. He claims that his sister’s part-time job (he still never found out about) encouraged him to push himself. He tells Loid that he doesn’t want someone who can’t go beyond his expectations to be with his sister, and asks Loid if he can promise that he’ll protect Yor, even if his life’s on the line. Loid shares an impressive, heartfelt speech to prove himself to Yuri. Suddenly, Yuri’s frustrations with Loid lead to Yor spilling a drink on the table. Loid and Yor try to clean it up, but when their hands touch each other, they back away for a second. This causes Yuri’s suspicions of their marriage to skyrocket, leading to him wanting Loid and Yor to prove they love each other with a kiss. If they fail to kiss, Yuri claims that he’ll make city hall revoke their marriage certificate. Yor blushes as Loid tries to kiss her, despite Loid not being nervous. Thus, ending the episode with a dramatically hilarious cliffhanger.
The Episode Review
One can say that the ending for this episode was “chef’s kiss” despite us not knowing if Yor or Loid will kiss. This episode gave us another twist concerning Yuri’s job and his introduction. This whole family’s built on deceit, which I find hilarious and wholesome. While laughable, it does make you wonder if other characters are hiding truths about themselves in the series. Yuri’s role as a secret police lieutenant was a brilliant move on the author’s part. It adds more stakes and weight to both Loid and Yor’s shoulders. Loid utilizing his spy wit to see through Yuri’s lies was an excellent display of his craft. It would be great to get more scenes of him using his spy skills in that form. As for Yor, it’s great to see her struggling for a change, as she’s seemed to have it the easiest compared to Anya and Loid. Although this episode introduced some clever twists and humorous physical bits regarding Yuri, Loid, and Yor, there were some things that threw me off. Some dialogue overlapped a lot in the episode whenever two characters were talking at once, making it hard to follow. Furthermore, I understand that Yuri loves his sister, but some of his outbursts felt overwhelming. In any case, I’m eager to see Yor and Loid share their first kiss.
