[DreamSword]

Something I noticed about alot of the stories I've consumed in my lifetime is how many times, they preach about people being better and changing, and the mere mention of that results in them being easily forgiven. While I do somewhat understand that in terms of kids media: The lesson about not holding onto grudges and to accept people's' apologies, it's also something that, if it's not also in adult media, then it tends to swing in the opposite extreme of zero forgiveness.

So to see Zero-One not only continue its themes of self-improvement and redemption, but to then also have damn near every character go "Gai, you can't seriously expect us to just forget all the crap you did" was incredibly refreshing and brought me completely on board. The previous episode already set a great stage with Gai's' backstory; Continuing the show's' message about the cycle of hatred, but this episode nailed it on Gai working to be better.

It's not that we as the audience should just instantly forgive Gai, but rather acknowledge the root of his psychology and see that he is genuine in his attempts to make amends. Because that's the thing: Yes, people can change and turn around for the better, but only if they actually desire to do so. I felt that Zero-One really nailed it in terms of showcasing this idea. Redemption is very rarely instant; It's alot of hard work!

Plus, the showcasing of the importance of therapy via Ai is always welcome in whatever episode that it's in.

...And yes, Dancing Thouser is absolutely incredible and I take no shame in stating that.