This episode had me a bit worried, if I’m honest.  Well – it still does.  The first few sketches this week didn’t do much for me laugh-wise, and frankly seemed a bit tired.  This whole self-referential “Why are we even doing a third season?” motif we see repeating itself sounds suspiciously like a cry for help to me.  But the last chapters was easily the best of the week, and also the longest and meatiest by far – which cuts through the anxiety factor at least a little.

• Starting off, the aforementioned “why are we doing this” bit – in the form of a chat show by the three “normal” sextuplets.  Not a lot was notable here apart from that it was a little uncomfortably on the nose, though Totty speculating that Jyuushimatsu was tweaking was a dark turn.
• “Hatabou Eats” – a missed opportunity, IMO.  I’ve seen the rapid rise of Uber Eats in Japan over the last year and it’s rife with potential for satire, but this wasn’t it.
• The bit with Totoko as the surgeon was basically just unfunny and too long.
• The thing with Jyuushimatsu and the chair at the konbini was amusing, a good gag at least.

The last chapter, however, was a marked improvement.  The A.I. skit was both the funniest and most thought-provoking part of the episode, and hinted at the potential for a recurring plotline.  Two cute A.I. (none of the boys know what that stands for) show up at the house, offering to enslave themselves to the sextuplets.  They, naturally, are suspicious – who wouldn’t be – but the offer to “do anything” is enough to win Osomatsu over, at least.  There are some really good bits here – the shogi bit with the cry for help from “Chida-san” was very clever.  The funniest moment, though, was Miyu-Miyu acting out Totty nearly having an orgasm as he gets a massage from Salmon and Rice Ball.

Now – who sent those two, and why?  If indeed this is going to be a recurring storyline I admit I’m sort of curious to find out.  And their defense of being a NEET was sneakily subversive, and I think may betray something of Matsubara and Fujita’s true perspective with Osomatsu-san.  The fact is if such A.I. helpers really did come available, the people who need them the most would be the last ones to ever get them – which is also sort of the point, I think…