Love Shack, baby! Love Shack!

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Futaro and Ichika try to figure out an escape plan from the shack, though soon realize that brute force will only trigger the alarms and just ruin things for everyone else. Not to mention the awkwardness that would arise amongst the sisters if they found the two of them alone, regardless of what actually happened…or what Ichika may secretly want, even if she tries to repress it. Though whether Futaro notices that or not, he does seem considerate enough to avoid asking why she was crying before.

So, she tries getting his attention by mentioning she might take a break from school for acting, though he only gets annoyed he might get paid less. She then decides to hold up her end of the deal before by just having them do a private dance around a make-shift campfire. However, a falling log trips them up, forcing Futaro to catch her and send all her feelings rushing back. This also triggers the alarm and the sprinklers, just in time for Miku and Itsuki to arrive.

The next day, the last day of the trip, Ichika and Futaro are starting to get sick from getting sprayed. Though while he wants to rest, Yotsuba forces him to have fun with everybody in the snow. To his surprise, Ichika is also up and around AND questioning him if he said anything about last night. But before he can parse that out, he skis right into a tree. And through a series of events of his own making, he ends up on the run from Nino AND Yotsuba, ending up hiding out in an igloo…with Miku, who is also split on her own feelings. Though through some more discussion about how each of the sisters each have the same potential but have also learned different things, she also learns that while they may not be equal, Miku should pursue her feelings fairly.

OUR TAKE

Alright! Finally more Ichika time! Well, half of it at least, but still a push forward for my personal pick, even if it’s more about her trying to avoid feeling that way for Miku’s sake. A lot of this episode seems to be focused on both Ichika and Miku sorting themselves out on their feelings toward Futaro, which marks some crucial development for them down the road, despite not much of it amounting to much by the end of this season. And, having caught up a bit with the manga, is actually kind of relieving to see when compared to how things have turned out recently. Makes things going on here that initially seemed like a pretty shallow pool feel like a beach during a rising tide.

Besides the intimate cabin fever moments with Ichika, I’d say an equally important scene comes between Futaro and Miku in the igloo, which serves as sort of a follow up to his talk with her at the end of the second episode. Whereas that first discussion was about showing how each of the girls had it in them to learn anything if they put their minds to it because them being identical allowed them the same potential, this served to highlight that their differing chosen skill sets means they all have an even playing field when it comes to something they might be competing for. Whether that be a game of tag, which Yotsuba seems to excel at, or in the game of seducing a chaste harem protagonist. All is fair in love and war, as they say, even though the latter might just arise out of the former if people aren’t too careful with their well-meaning advice.

Though like a few episodes prior, this week seems more about set up for the finale than an episode on its own. Miku is trying to find a right course of action, Ichika is failing HARD trying to keep her impulses down, Itsuki is still trying to properly judge whether or not Futaro is a good guy or not, and Futaro is just trying to survive amongst this brewing storm that seems to be accumulating around him (which is not going to get easier). And yet, while there is a bit of resolution to a few of those things, it doesn’t quite feel like a proper cut-off point based on how the season started. I’ll discuss this more next week, but this arc seems like a pretty anti-climactic place to cap things off.

Score 8/10