Sometimes great anime episodes can be poetry.  Boku no Hero Academia has delivered a few among its very best efforts, in fact.  But sometimes the great ones are prosaic, too.  Over the centuries of the English language’s development that’s a word that’s taken on a negative connotation – unimaginative, uninspired, plain – but in its most literal sense it doesn’t pass judgment.  There can be great prose, just as there can be awful poetry (I know – I’ve written some of the latter, and read a lot of both).

What we had here was an episode that had a very important job to do, and accomplished it brilliantly.  Along with prosaic we in the anime subkingdom have our own pejorative buzzwords – setup episode, exposition – but the same rule applies.  Those are only negative if the execution is flawed, and here it was brilliant.  For an ep to be almost entirely comprised of explaining what’s going on (sometimes literally) and teasing what’s to come and yet still be so riveting is a testament to the writing and direction.  I’m impressed with the job Mukai Masahiro is doing here (and he has some true Bones legends working with him), and this ep was deeply stylish when it had to be.  With material so straightforward, all of the eccentricity had to come from the direction and art.

By now it’s obvious that fateful encounter by the alleyway was the butterfly wing moment for the entire season.  Not a lot else about that moment was obvious at first, but in a very clever way Horikoshi has altered our perception of it by degrees.  At the time Mirio’s decision seemed perfectly rational and indeed, correct.  And Izuku’s reaction impetuous and rash.  Yet in the end, Izuku was right (and he was thinking as well as reacting, as witness his reasoning that doing nothing would be more suspicious than walking away).  What’s more, Sir Nighteye would have done exactly what Mirio did and All Might what Deku wanted to do – and Nighteye knows it.  And he knows that’s why All Might was loved as a hero in a way he can never be, and why All Might chose Deku and not Tintin to succeed him.

Still – Nighteye can only be the hero and man he is.  And his way is to gather the forces of heroism around a table and figure out a way to proceed, meticulously and carefully.  That includes the kids of Class 1-A’s work study, because their mentors are directly involved in the events unspooling around Shie Hassikai, the League of Villains, and Eri.  Slowly and meticulously Nighteye and his team (and Mukai-sensei) lay out what’s happening here and what’s potentially at stake.  And despite his best efforts to be dispassionate and clinical, the emotional component steadily ramps up over the course of the meeting – including for Nighteye himself.

There’s a lot going on here, to be sure.  Really, Deku and Tintin’s anger at themselves is the simplest and most straightforward consequence – it couldn’t be otherwise.  But the matter of what to do next is anything but.  With this golden opportunity gone Overhaul’s guard will be on high alert, and Eri – who Nighteye surmises is central to Shie Hassikai’s entire plan – will be well-hidden even by underground standards.  Eraser is faced with the dilemma of what to do about Izuku and Mirio.  The danger inherent in this operation is obvious, and logically no students should be part of it.  But he has to weight the damage to their psyche depriving them of the opportunity to make amends would do, even if the operation were to succeed without their help.

Another very striking part of this episode is the light it sheds on just what a burden Sir Nighteye’s ability is to him.  Even other heroes, who should understand quirks if anyone does, are tempted to see his quirk as a Deus ex machina – a cheat code to game the system in their favor.  But in addition to its logistical limitations, there’s the existential cost to consider.  Ultimately it’s Nighteye who has to bear it, because if he recklessly predicts someone’s future and sees their death, he’s the one who has to live with knowing what that will do to them.  Nighteye has no choice but to be strong, because the baggage strapped to his back would be enough to crush any normal person under its weight…