Although the episode’s title is about Iroha, the entirety of episode 3 doesn’t really focus on our favorite girl. Instead, week 3 we get to see two more old faces: Hiratsuka-sensei and Saika, in much less significant roles they have in previous seasons. Especially for Saika as we see his usual “antics” with Hachiman and nothing else. Hiratsuka-sensei fares much better, especially in episode 4 as we eventually learn that she’s about to leave school. In OreGairu, along with its sharp dialogues, there is a big focus on characters’ glares and gestures. It’s all about the silence, the brief moment of hesitance which speaks just as powerful those spoken lines and monologues. We see lots of it here, even to side characters like Hiratsuka-sensei. Her gaze and her gentle smile to her Yukinon’s sister inform you a whole lot about their relationship. Or Iroha’s little-but-effective screen time, when we see a deeper and more vulnerable side of her: her fear (or shame?) of using people to get her way, especially towards the ones dear to her.
These last two episodes follow up the prom subplot, and while at week 3 I thought that the prom was going to happen soon, episode 4 shows its true colors when Yukinon’s mother interferes, which ties to the whole Yukinon’s personal growth. With the mock prom, things are going well. Maybe a bit too well when Hachiman has a chance to dance with Yui, and Yukinon being “the prince” dances with Iroha. I was a bit surprised to see Hayato not joining this, and it’s a nice detail to see how Hachiman is completely out of the loop because he doesn’t use any social networks.
But of course, Mama always knows best. Yukinon’s mother shows up to destroy that little effort (and confidence) from her youngest daughter. I find the whole confrontation scene a bit too dramatic for my taste, especially how OreGairu frames it more like the manipulative adults vs. flawed kids, thus I still have my reservation towards Yukinon’s Mom character at the moment. As for our main trio, I love how Hachiman self-describe their relationship as “triangle love” (EVERYONE KNOWS THAT BUT STILL…), and the full context of what Haruno whispers to Hachiman hit the nail on the head on the wall our main trio has faced thus far: codependency. As a society, we tend to rely on each other because “two minds are always better than one”, but as Hachiman and Yukinon learn, the more Hachiman is involved in Yukinon’s affair, the more she won’t be able to stand up for herself. Despite that fact though, our Hachiman decides to run back to help her. It’s certainly one of the highlights in this season so far.
And that leaves Yui as the odd girl out – the one who is the most perceptive out of our trio, hence the one who gets hurt the most. As in the previous episode Yui realizes Yukinon’s feelings for Hachiman, the last 5 minutes of the latest episode serve as another confirmation on how Hachiman feels about Yukinon. For Yui’s character, this season has certainly pushed her the hardest to that love triangle’s territory, at which I find both appropriate (given the CLIMAXin the title) and kind of a missed opportunity at the same time. Her current arc and emotional weight are from the foundation of 2 plus seasons, hence it’s powerful. But at the same time I do miss the cheerful Yui who is always upfront about her feelings to everyone around her, something that is sorely missed in this new season.
