The eighth episode of Spy x Family finally introduced Yor’s brother, Yuri Briar, leading to a plethora of comical moments between Loid and Yuri. The lack of Anya in most of the episode was certainly felt, but even then, this was a thoroughly enjoyable look at how hard it is to meet someone’s family, especially when everyone involved keeps enormous secrets from one another.
Pretty quickly, “The Counter-Secret Police Cover Operation” does an excellent job of establishing how intense Yuri is. At his core, he loves his sister dearly, and everything he does revolves around keeping her and the country she lives in safe. It’s borderline creepy for the first half of the episode, but the established backstory between them near the end of the episode makes this obsession feel less weird and more genuine. The fact that Yuri ruthlessly interrogates spies and views Agent Twilight (secretly Loid) as his enemy adds another layer of secrecy and comedy to the proceedings. I also like that all of these characters are keeping secrets upon secrets from one another, and I can’t wait to see this power keg go off later on.
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Once Yuri finally meets Loid, he decides that he must be put through the wringer, as Yuri suspects Loid isn’t good enough for Yor. Since Yor didn’t tell Yuri about their marriage despite a year having supposedly gone by, Yuri is fully ready to crush Loid. The fact that Yuri is unknowingly meeting his greatest foe, only to make Loid his enemy in an entirely different way, is pretty fun. Loid’s attempts at pleasing Yuri are great as well, as Loid really does seem to be the perfect husband.
All the cooking, chatting, and friendliness begins to grate on Yuri, leading to some hilarious scenes where Yuri inquires about the Forger’s pet names. Once Yuri talks about how hard his sister worked to have him be happy and educated when their parents died, it’s easy to understand why he holds his sister in such high regard, which makes for a touching moment in between the laughs.
Most of the episode is focused on the meeting of Loid and Yuri, as Yor tries to keep the peace. Anya has already gone to bed by the time Yuri arrives, so we only see a few of her goofy antics in this episode. While I wish we got a bit more of her, the banter between Loid and Yuri is quite satisfactory, making for an episode that is no less funny than those that came before it. Yuri provoking Loid and Yor to kiss to prove that they’re married is comedically difficult for the couple, and ending with a cliffhanger as to whether or not they’ll do so is a good gag in and of itself.
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The preview for the next episode seems to suggest that things will only ramp up in this dire situation, and I’m looking forward to seeing if this fabled kiss can convince Yuri of the Forger’s bond. Either way, Loid’s mission is about to get even harder.
SCORE: 8/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 8 equates to “Great.” While there are a few minor issues, this score means that the art succeeds at its goal and leaves a memorable impact.
Disclosure: The critic watched the episode on Crunchyroll for ComingSoon’s Spy x Family Season 1 Episode 8 – The Counter-Secret Police Cover Operation review.
