mutsumi is definitely not okay
hey i'm back with another analysis. let's do this a weekly thing after each episode where I hyperfocus on a specific aspect of it.
Today's focus is on mutsumi and the fact that she did not catch a single break. From the start, the worst thing happened to her: her mask is broken, she cannot hide anymore. The identity of mortis is gone, all that's left is comedian Wakaba and Minami Mori's daughter. We clearly see the panic and anxiety slowly building up from this point on.
second comes soyo's anger. We start off the scene with the withered cucumber plant. The cucumber plant that mutsumi is proud of as her own work. It is important to note that soyo had been helping her tend to the plants. In episode 12 of MyGO, soyo giving back the cucumber can be interpreted as her rejecting any form of friendship with mutsu. The withered plant this episode can also symbolise two things: soyo and mutsumi's relationship souring even further and/or mutsumi's destroyed mental state.
third comes nyamu's frustration. she immediately notices that a lot of the online attention is placed on other members more than herself. she probably doesn't intend to actively hurt mutsumi, but her words keep reminding the poor cucumber that once again she is in the spotlight again. Once again, she is in photoshoots, taking interviews and staring at the cameras. A life she had known since childhood and wished to stay away from.
fourth comes her mother. we finally meet her and her personality is a far cry from mutsumi's. from her interactions with the band, it is shown that she wants to be accepted by her daughter's peers. "Cool Mom" personality. She makes them an elaborate dinner, offers a business opportunity to nyamu, makes them watch her own movie and invites the band to use the room as "no one is actually using it". But that isn't true as we see the torn and used chair that mutsumi has been using. There are two possibilities: either minami is aware that mutsumi is using the room but doesn't give it any importance or she is unaware of it. At best, it is obliviousness, at worst it is negligence. also, mutsumi calls her own mother by her first name. as her own character screamed in the movie, it is likely that minami mori is a negligent mother.
fifth comes sakiko's panic. her pet project has started unraveling with the mask reveals. she is forced to write a new script, and to steer the ship in another direction. mutsumi's words during the interview further deepens sakiko's turmoil. now, media is talking about a possible breaking of the band. the only thing left for sakiko who went all in on ave mujica. as mentionned before, mutsu doesn't talk a lot because she is cursed to say the worst thing at the worst possible time.
"I never found being in this band fun." In soyo's eyes, that was the nail in the coffin for crychic. a sentence that completely eroded tomori's self esteem.
"It won't last long" she said openly during a live interview after a major shift in the band's image, which sakiko is having a hard time reconciling. (exemplified by telling the interviewer to refer to them as their stage name and not their real identity). As previously said, ave mujica is the only thing left for sakiko, and mutsumi accidentally threw a wrench into it.