‘Spy x Family’ review: Bond and Damian save themselves in “Stay Alive/Research Trip”

This week’s episode of Spy x Family Season 2 focused on two characters whose perspectives we have yet to follow — Bond, the dog with precognition, and Damian, the “Second Son.” It’s a nice change of pace for the show that broadens the world more, a necessary step for a second season to take. 

In the first story, “Bond’s Strategy to Stay Alive,” Loid and Anya are too busy to take care of Bond. That leaves Yor to feed Bond, but they’ve run out of dog food. Bond runs through a series of different futures where Yor’s meal-making leads to his death. Thus, his need to strategize to stay alive. 

The way Bond processes his visions is similar to how Anya processes the information she gets from reading people’s minds. They both spiral into the anxiety rabbit hole of worse case scenarios. I love this parallel between two characters who’ve experienced similar trauma showcasing familiar patterns of ways of thinking. Loid and Yor also do the same thing as they attempt to navigate their life as the Forgers while maintaining their respective secrets. At this point, it’s a Forger family trait. 

The focus on Bond allows the episode to bring in our main characters and their usual antics in a different way. Loid is on a mission that includes obtaining a sample of truth serum from Born Industries. This is a last minute mission, so he had no time to prepare a disguise. Bond, having escaped from Yor’s horrible cooking in a desparate attempt to save his own life, finds Loid just as Loid is about to break into Born Industries.

Because of rumors that Born Industries was involved in Project Apple, the project that carried out experimentations on Bond and other animals, Loid assumes Bond is there to get revenge on the people who harmed him. The two team-up to infiltrate Born Industries and obtain the truth serum, with Bond’s precognition saving them every step of the way. As a reward for helping him, Loid offers to make Bond a tasty dinner. Thus, Bond’s life is saved from Yor’s cooking!

The next story in the episode, “Damian’s Field Research Trip,” gives us important insight not just into Damien but into his henchmen Emil and Ewen as well. Haunted by his father’s expectations, Damien is determined to earn his Stellas to live up to his family’s name. He’s studying all the time, which means he’s not participating in the fun activities around the school. This weekend, they’re all going on a trip to the movies, but because Damien’s constant studying means he misses out on roll call, he’s punished from participating in fun, anyway.

But he’s not concerned. Banned from leaving school grounds means he has more time to study. However, he secretly longs for the fun his fellow students are having. Emil and Ewen see this, and get themselves in trouble so they can also be banned from leaving. Up to now, Emil and Ewen have been obnoxious characters, there to cheer Damien on and protect him at the risk to themselves. They’ve mostly come across as only doing these things because of who Damian’s family is, but this episode showcases them in a different light. Their willingness to get in trouble and force Damian into having fun means they’re also concerned for his well-being. 

Despite the fact that Headmaster Henderson is the one who delivered Damian’s punishment, he too has noticed how hard Damian is on himself. He orchastrates another punishment that involves sending Damian, Emil, Ewen on a research field trip with the school’s eye patch-wearing custodian. Instead, the three kids learn how to fish, white water raft, and how to work with each other to accomplish their goals. The custodian takes them to a lake free of city lights and the brightness of the stars reveals to Damian that it’s okay to take a break once in a while. In fact, breaks are essential to improving his studies. 

These two stories do well to open the world of Spy x Family by allowing its side characters to flourish. 

Spy x Family Season 2 drops new episodes on Crunchyroll and Hulu every Saturday.

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Featured image ©Tatsuya Endo/Shueisha, SPY x FAMILY Project