We got the answer to the one major looming question about this show – will there be a recurring plotline? With two cours to fill it always seemed as if there would be, but for five episodes Tiger & Bunny seemed quite content to be an enjoyable superhero slice of life series. After this week we’re starting to see the skeleton of the overarching plot.

Hello, Clarice…

The show was certainly due for a serious episode after the last few weeks. There were several strong scenes here, but I especially enjoyed the brief and seemingly throwaway exchange between Barnaby and Kotetsu during the photo shoot. Tiger lectured Bunny for his unconcern about the death of the three inmates – to him, lives are lives and who they are doesn’t matter. Barnaby, with surprising vehemence, tells him not to “shove your values down my throat.” Very revealing about both men, I thought.

While I’m starting to get tired of the running gag of Tiger getting dumped on all the time while everyone fawns over Barnaby, between themselves they do have a nice chemistry. Barnaby is not an especially nice guy – not to Kotetsu, and not generally. And Tiger’s influence doesn’t seem to be changing him much. He’s obsessed with one thing only – finding the one who killed his parents. And that’s where the running plot takes shape. Ouroborous is obviously the key – but just what the heck are they? The guy from the elevator is a red herring, as it turns out – he was simply out to silence everyone who could ID him. But who’s the crazy blue flame guy who offed him? Presumably the one who killed the other prisoners as well – and what does that ouroborous on Elevator Guy’s hand really imply?

Fire Emblem got his turn in the spotlight, which makes sense given the theme of the episode. Aside from being the token cliche gay character, he’s not a bad addition to the cast – a little dry wit never goes amiss, and it was welcome in an otherwise serious episode. With so many more characters in the wings and so many eps to go, the sense here is that everything so far has really been a prologue, and the real series is only now beginning.