Another one for the bubble I suppose, though Oshi no Ko is kind of in its own category. A show this big that I know as well as I do has its own considerations that are quite different from the usual bubble series. I frequently find OnK frustrating as hell (as I did this week) but I also recognize that it has a spark of brilliance to it. That sets it apart from most other tweener series, which tend to be more mediocre across the board.

As far as the resolution to the whole Abiko-GOA-Raida kerfuffle, it was the classic Akasaka mushy middling conclusion. Aqua engineers a peaceful solution by giving Abiko-sensei a ticket to GOA’s play at Stage Around Tokyo. Raida conveniently grows a pair and switches from sycophancy to doing the right thing for the show. And Abiko – the least reasonable person in the world when that suited the plot – gets religion and decides to play ball. Everyone gets together via LINE and draft a script that was better than they could come up with on their own.

That’s all a big pile of meh for me, though the impact is lessened by how expected it all was. But Akasaka does make a silk (well, maybe acrylic) purse out of that sow’s ear with where it takes the story. At the drop of a hat we’re back inside Aqua’s recurring plot, for the first time all season. This new script is demanding on the actors, and naturally for Kana that’s a gift from the Gods. The others all respond in various ways. Idiot boy Melt is dismayed at being asked to actually act, and the Lala Lai troupers feel right in the zone. But for Aqua, it’s complicated.

This new script demands things from Aqua that he’s not equipped to deliver – emotional intensity primary among them. Kana thinks she knows him the best, and she does get to the heart of the problem. But she fails to realize what impact this will have on Aqua, and in this sequence we see that Akane (being a stalker really paying off) is the one who knows Aqua best in some ways. Kana’s clumsy comment about how actors cry on cue is bad enough. But the real problem comes when she tells him to remember things that made him happy to rise to a key scene in the play.

In effect, Aqua has PTSD from Ai’s murder and his role in it. It’s bad enough to cause a physical collapse, and as he doesn’t want to alarm Ruby he has Akane call Gotanda-san (likewise appearing for the first time this season). Gotanda was involved in a lot of the first season’s best material, and things invariably get more compelling when he returns to the narrative. He’s rather surprised to find out Aqua has a girlfriend (not knowing that she actually isn’t) and winds up giving Akane enough of a push that she’s able to connect the dots and figure out what’s really going on with Aqua. Well, most of it.

If anything I’d say Akane confirms what she already suspected. It’ll be interesting to see if this changes the dynamic between them. Just as it was interesting to see what came to Aqua’s mind’s eye when he briefly allowed himself to feel happy. Kana has a certain type of connection to him and a certain sort of insight, Akane a very different connection and insight – but which is the stronger? And with whom does he feel the stronger emotional bond? I may be leaning a different way than I was when the season started. Irrespective of that I think it’s healthy that we’re getting back to the core plot – both because “Tokyo Blade” is feeling kind of played out, and because it’s the basis for the entire series.