Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3, “****’s Memories II,” continues to explore Loid’s (Takuya Eguchi, Mashle: Magic and Muscles) history as war ravages his once peaceful world. It explores deep themes and guides us to the moment when the young man took his first steps from being just another cog in the military machine to the super spy Twilight we’ve known him as.
This episode marks a significant departure from what fans have come to expect at this point in the series’ run. While there are a couple of moments that bring the charm and goofiness the show is best known for, there is far more heartache here. As young Loid’s world is torn apart by war, Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3 does a great job of depicting the pain and horror war leaves in its wake, despite never veering from its TV-14 rating.
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As Loid struggles to recover from the onset of war, we see the loss of innocence and childhood portrayed in the most painful of ways. As home, family, and friends slip away one by one, it feels inevitable that Loid would come to hate those perpetrating these actions and enlist in the fight.
Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3’s focus on Loid’s motivations is the greatest work of the series so far.
It is here that Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3 does its best work. As exhaustion begins to set in, Loid comes into contact with an Eastern soldier who has gone AWOL. This luckless trooper happens to be none other than his future informant, Franky (Hiroyuki Yoshino, Kaiju No.8).
As the two soldiers share a quiet moment, Loid has an important revelation. Through Franky, he learns about the lies and pressures his enemies are forced to bear, and the often unwillingness with which they fight. Everyone is blaming everyone else, and many don’t know what the truth actually is. The troops on both sides are largely pawns being sacrificed because the authorities at the top couldn’t play nice.
The choice to use Franky for this moment is a great one. Firstly, it helps explain why Loid would put up with Franky’s frequently troublesome antics and spotty usefulness. This is a critical moment for Loid, and to owe it to Franky undoubtedly means a lot to him, making him something of special importance to the master spy.
Using Franky to deliver this revelation also helps the moment because the character is generally portrayed as a joke. Seeing him step out of this role and be allowed to exist in a more somber light would grab attention, no matter what he said.
It is important to question things, and Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3 illustrates this in spades.
With this fresh understanding of the larger situation, Loid shows his strength of character by beginning to question the things around him. It would be easy to reject the notions of the enemy and cling to the drive and anger that have propelled him since those first bombs decimated his home. After all, if the situation isn’t what he thought it was, does that mean everything he’s done may also be wrong? It’s a hard question to face, given the blood on Loid’s hands.
As lives are recklessly thrown away in Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3, Loid’s displeasure continues to grow. While he is recovering from injuries, he is approached by an unnamed WISE recruiter (Kenjiro Tsuda, Jujutsu Kaisen) who looks to bring him into the intelligence service.
The most important element of the pair’s meeting in Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3 is one that goes unspoken. When Loid accepts the invitation to join WISE so his government has better information, and presumably makes better decisions for its people, Loid states that he doesn’t care about his country anymore. When asked why he would choose to join then, he gives no reason. But as a group of children passes by laughing joyfully, Loid’s motivation is clear. He will serve to protect the people, not the government.
War shapes everyone, and Loid and his enemies are no exception.
This motivation and messaging do a lot for Loid’s character. It strives to separate him from the failings all governments possess, allowing him to simply be a heroic character. This can only be so successful, of course. As a critical element in his government’s decision-making, he does much to empower its actions, both good and ill. But for a simple series like Spy x Family, it’s enough to keep Loid’s hands clean.
Another element that makes this meeting so great in Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3 is how the WISE agent is handled. Both the writing and incredible voice work by Tsuda create an air of mystery around the character that is matched only by a strange sense of understanding. The subtle hints Tsuda lends to the dialogue craft the impression that he fully understands Loid’s unspoken motive, and that his genuineness is part of why he has stepped forward at this precise moment to bring him into the agency.
Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3 does a fantastic job of laying out the motivations and history of its most central figure. It explores the pain and ruin that war brings, as well as how those caught in its maw can be easily convinced of things that may not be true. By the end, Loid is a deeper character. No longer just the cunning super spy, but far more importantly, a human being.
Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.
