[GoldenXtreme]

This was a good episode, but I didn't exactly love it to bits either. I liked how they paralleled Baku's fear about learning the true nature of CODE and his job as an Agent with Odaka's own fears, I think it made for a cathartic payoff to Baku's whole willfully not asking questions deal for the whole show by having him finally become brave enough to try and figure out what is actually going on behind the scenes. He's even trying to ask questions about CODE in the next episode preview! We also see a shift in Baku and Odaka's dynamic, as while they are each affiliated with the other's enemy, they don't hate each other as individuals. Zero meanwhile seems to be poised to be an antagonist for the next arc of the show, but it was interesting that the writing very deliberately gave him some sympathetic moments this episode too. Still, I just can't get my heart invested in what is going on even if my brain appreciates some of the stuff that went on this episode. I think it's because the characters still feel more like plot devices than actual people to me. Since we are officially entering the second arc of the show with the next episode, I'm hoping the inevitable Yuuya Takahashi Story Shift will help the show really come into its own.