It’s like this show is making up for lost time in the recaps by showing off its high gear constantly. In addition to the conclusion of a great flashback, we got an absolutely killer stinger for the engineering competition. This is Ayumu Watanabe’s natural rhythm.

Thanks to his stoic dispostion, displaying the emotions of adult Vince Bold has always been a challenge. The flashbacks over the past 2 episodes have done a pretty good job getting around that, with the transitions providing a window into Vince’s thoughts without needing to resort to an internal monologue. It’s easy enough to tell that the sound of the quarry isn’t a happy one for him.

The sound accompanying these shots was just about at empty as noise gets

The conversation between young Pico and Rick after Pico showed up with the black eye was another highlight of the episode . The black eye itself was pretty striking, but the way the camera angles worked in Pico-vision that scene, looking at Rick at first and then shifting downward as Pico no longer feels capable of looking him in the eye, was vintage POV camerawork. To Heart had similar scene, which I’ve previously raved about. It amplified the pain in a scene where Rick was facing down the reality that his group’s dynamic might be done. That was played out in more explicit form a short while later, when the fist bump didn’t happen, and again in the subsequent scene in the hospital. But that scene was the one where the knife that the show eventually twisted in my gut first penetrated skin.

That’s where I’d be staring if I had to say what was said there

Do I even need to say anything about the scene in the hospital? It speaks for itself pretty darn well. The emotions were literally oozing out of the screen, from the way the boys moved to their clenched faces to their overflowing tears. In terms of expressing raw anguish, it got up to E-Card match 11 levels. It was just great, end of story. What an amazing flashback.

And for a kicker, he’re some hot-blooded Freddy. I bet those party poppers they used came from his personal storage space allotment.

Yea

I’m not sure how the rain problem is going to get solved, but I’d bet on team E salting the tires on the rover to deal with moisture. It’s what I would do. Doesn’t add much weight or take long to pull off (though it might not last for long enough). We’ll see how they salvage the situation.