I may have the unpopular opinion because I don't mind that there are many characters. I like seeing different characters intersect and seeing their impacts on each other. <33 We got a break because there was no Hiyori this episode LOL (yes, I'm still not happy at Hiyori telling Haru that everyone our protagonist swims with tends to suffer -_____-), and I will assume that Ikuya is swimming and reflecting on how to approach his middle school friends.
I like the comedy at the beginning LOL. We know that Amakata Sensei can drive, but she's scary when she turns LOL. Rei ended up vomiting in the car our team rented, and poor Shizuru was unconscious LOL!! At least Nagisa and Romio had fun looking out the window and appreciating odd-shaped rocks xDD
I enjoyed seeing Rei as a supportive senpai! It's so nice to see how much Rei has grown, compared to season one when he wasn't interested in swimming and had difficulty at first. Now, Rei can swim with confidence and motivated Romio :)) I love the moments when Nagisa and Rei exchanged eye-contact, as they knew to split up: Nagisa had his eye on Romio, and he and Sousuke learned why Romio is afraid of starting; Rei went shopping with Shizuru and learned that Romio had a false start in middle school and their swim team lost. Overall, I liked that the feeling of wanting to swim and swimming with his Iwatobi peers was what led Romio to dive with a clean start! :) It'll be nice to see Shizuru and Romio grow as swimmers, and I think they'll do well in leading the swim team once Rei and Nagisa graduate. <3
It's always nice to see how energetic Momo is! :) I adore Momo's passion for swimming, and it was nice to see him reunite with Aoba Usami; the two played tennis together in the spring at a hot spring xDD Congrats to Samezuka for winning their practice relay!
It's great that both Sousuke and Natsuya attended the training camp as alumni of their respective schools. I forgot that Natsuya graduated from Sofukan High School lol, so I was almost surprised to see Natsuya there. :P I liked the moments Sousuke and Natsuya shared together! There was such a nostalgic feeling when Sousuke and Natsuya talked about Rin (both parties were unaware they were referring to the same person though), as we saw Natsuya's passion to swim and Sousuke certainly wants to swim with Rin again. I loved that scene where Natsuya suggested having a bet by flipping a coin (heads mean Sousuke pursues his dream and moves forward, while tails mean Sousuke takes a break). I like that in the end, Sousuke chose to not see what the coin was facing, because he made his own decision. I'm not sure if Sousuke wants to swim competitively, but it's always good to take baby steps because he certainly wants to swim and swim with Rin again. <3 Sousuke will be fine though, and the coin was suggesting that too because it was facing heads :))
I like that Makoto is teaching at the pool, and he reunited with Misaki, the boy he encountered last episode and in Free! Take Your Marks when Haru and Makoto were looking for an apartment for Haru in Tokyo. :)) The dots are now connected, since Misaki visited the apartment of his old swim coach who just moved out in Free! Take Your Marks, and Nao just moved in episode 0 and said he didn't get to say goodbye to a student. Now, it's confirmed that Misaki's old swim coach was Nao. Now that Nao is visiting the public pool, I'm looking forward to Nao and Makoto's reunion!! :) Makoto and Nao haven't seen each other since middle school, so it's been a good four years, huh?
The preview is showing us moments of Hiyori and Ikuya, including when they were younger. It seems we'll learn about Hiyori and Ikuya's past next episode! Learning their past may be helpful in letting us know why Hiyori is so protective of Ikuya LOL. |