I was really hoping for some Twiyor goodness to conclude this arc...and I was not disappointed ❤️
I love how Yor went from lashing out and becoming a bumbling mess whenever she had physical contact with Loid, to being able to clearly express her feelings to him in an important moment - no stuttering or making excuses, she just let her love for him show briefly by hugging him and telling him straight up what she felt (yeah, she gave him one little smack, but nothing crazy!)
Of course, once she realized she's getting a little too close to him, in a way that he could possibly suspect her true feelings, she backs up and says that it would be terrible for Anya if anything were to happen to him.
But when Loid doesn't seem to take the situation seriously, Yor channels a bit of Thorn Princess energy by telling him, with probably the most serious, no-nonsense expression ever, how easy it is for people to die.
I'm not sure if she's saying this because, as Thorn Princess, she knows all too well how lives can be snuffed out in seconds, or if she's perhaps remembering whatever happened to her parents 👀 It could be a bit of both, but the fact that Yuri agrees with her makes me think it's the latter (though he agrees with her all the time, so...guess we'll have to wait and see with the eventual Yor backstory arc 😢)
Regardless, Yor's reaction made Twilight reflect on his own actions...and finally, since the Wheeler arc years ago, he's again beginning to see how compromised he is. He tells himself not to become emotional, but when wondering what he's emotional about, his thoughts go to Yor...
In the Wheeler arc, he didn't kill Yuri and risked his identity being revealed because he knew it would devastate Yor. And in this arc, he was willing to let himself get shot so Yor wouldn't be harmed. Even though he boils it down to "Yor is an important part of his mission, and he must sacrifice himself for his mission" he still realizes that emotions are at play here, emotions he, as a spy, has no business having. What's interesting is that, in the blurry text panel that highlights his thoughts, it seems like he's telling himself he must sacrifice himself "for the sake of my mission" but then it becomes "for the sake of my family" before going back to "for the sake of my mission." I interpret this as him being torn between the two concepts, like, in his head he would only ever sacrifice himself for his mission, but in his heart he's realizing that protecting his family is actually the main reason. This is better shown in the Japanese text, which has him say "自分を ([sacrifice] myself)" Not sure why the English translation omitted that in the second instance of "sacrifice".
But all the Twiyor goodness aside, I love the ending with all the characters riding in the tank(!) back home together, specifically characters who never met before, like Becky and Yuri, and Franky and Martha.
I always had this headcanon for whenever Becky and Yuri met that she'd think he's so cool and handsome, but once she saw how weirdly obsessive he is about Yor, she'd then think he's gross 😆 We'll see if that happens at a later encounter.
But rather than end on a silly tone like Endo sometimes does, this chapter ended on a serious note with Yor, looking noticeably exhausted, saying how hard it is to "play a part," obviously referring to how she has to play the part of a "pretend" wife, being unable to not only reveal her identity as Thorn Princess, but also unable to tell her "fake" husband that she actually loves him. This reminded me of what Loid said to her way back...
Loid agrees with what she said, since he too is playing a part of course, but to what extent he feels he's unable to admit whatever real feelings he has about his family is still up for interpretation. After this chapter though, he's obviously aware of some of those feelings at least.
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