Episode 33

THE SYMPHONY UPON THE SHIP / SIS' HERB TEA (MISSION: 33 船上の / 姉のハーブティー) is the thirty-third episode of the SPY x FAMILY TV anime series and the eighth episode of the second season.

Synopsis
The deck is filled with passengers enjoying the fireworks show. Anya and Loid were also enjoying the fireworks. Meanwhile, Yor's mission finally reaches its climax. She tries to help Olka and the others escape, but they are surrounded by assassins!

THE SYMPHONY UPON THE SHIP
Just as the fireworks show is about to begin, Yor leads Olka, Gram, and Zeb to the ship's third storage area, where they will meet with Matthew McMahon to have Olka leave the boat and onto the rendezvous ship. The group unknowingly passes by the Assassin Leader, who catches a whiff of the group's scents. After recognizing them and confirming their numbers, he grins ominously after finally finding them.

Meanwhile, Anya and Loid head out to see the fireworks show. Anya sees a child getting a piggyback ride. Anya tells Loid that she cannot see the sky because of the crowd, prompting him to carry her on his shoulders. Anya looks around the crowd for Yor and tries to listen for her thoughts, but is unable to due to the crowd's excitement.

On the way to the ship's bow, Yor peers down a hallway to see two men on the other side. Yor quickly realizes that all the passages have been guarded by the enemy and decides to go up to the deck. Just as they step out, the fireworks show starts. While Anya and the rest of the crowd are excited by the spectacle, Yor's group is startled by the sudden noise. After calming down, they continue onward.

From above, a sniper watches them and prepares to shoot Olka as another firework goes off. Yor quickly grabs Olka out of the way but her arm gets grazed by the shot. The surprised sniper barely dodges Yor's weapon after she throws it at him. Shortly after, another assassin with knives attacks, which Yor fends off. Suddenly, a large number of assassins reveal themselves and surround the group. Having not sensed them until their appearances, Yor realizes how good they are and draws her weapons, preparing to fight.

While Yor sees no escape, the sniper prepares to take another shot but is killed by Matthew, who uses his rifle to shoot down several assassins. Matthew blows the lock of a hatch cover, which Yor directs Olka's group to hide in. However, she gets held back by other assassins. As the others head inside the hatch, an assassin reveals himself and aims his gun at Olka. Zeb quickly grabs Olka, shielding her and Gram from the bullets fired. As they tumble inside the hatch, Zeb shuts the cover. Inside, it is revealed that Zeb is wearing a bulletproof vest as he complains about his pain.

Yor kicks a crate over the hatch, securing it. When an assassin tries blowing up the hatch, Yor kicks him off the ship and turns to the others with a wicked glare. Assassins begin to attack Yor, but she takes them down with little effort. Meanwhile, Matthew shoots down the others that are in open view. Matthew comes down to assist Yor and clean the deck, telling her to try keeping things as bloodless as possible. Yor apologizes and says she did not have much choice, and Matthew agrees. While he acknowledges the talents of the assassins, he says they are hardly in the Garden's league and tells Yor not to leave any of them alive.

While Loid and Anya watch the fireworks, Yor and Matthew kill many assassins with varying gimmicks, from claws, gases, wire, and chakram. Yor swiftly and mercilessly tears through each of them while McMahon follows close behind, cleaning up after her and disposing of the bodies.

As the fireworks show reaches its finale, Yor is shocked by a man with an electric baton and punched by a man with big fists. The baton user goes for another strike, but Yor catches his weapon and throws it in his mouth. As the fireworks come to an explosive finish, Yor kills the other man with an endless barrage of spear-hand strikes. Afterward, she complains about jamming a finger, leaving the remaining assassins dumbfounded while Matthew cleans up the mess.

The Assassin Leader speaks up, astonished that she killed them all, and calls her a heartless woman. Yor is nonchalant and proposes that the remaining assassins walk away, but the Leader says it is out of the question, stating that they have already been paid in advance. He adds that there is no way to walk away on the boat and that Matthew has no intention of letting them leave alive.

The Leader prolongs a conversation about his beliefs with Matthew long enough to allow a Swordsman to ambush the Garden assassins. Yor and Matthew duck the slash, and before Matthew can shoot back, he is struck in the chest by the sword sheath and is knocked unconscious after getting thrown to a wall. Yor fights the Swordsman on her own, but when they clash, Yor's grip strength weakens, and her weapon flies down to the lower deck. The Swordsman goes for a swing, which Yor manages to block with her foot.

As the Swordsman tells Yor to give up, her feet start to feel heavy again. She thinks back to an earlier conversation with Matthew, who tells her that in the event that she dies or is seriously wounded, Loid will be informed that she was "forced to take an emergency transfer." Yor remarks that she is a heartless woman to disappear like that from Loid and Anya without saying a word. The Swordsman slashes at Yor, slicing off some of her hair. This worries Yor, who momentarily frets about returning to the Forgers with a different hairstyle. Sensing Yor's hesitance, the Swordsman tells her to withdraw if she fears death. Yor refuses, as she will not let them lay a hand on Olka or the others.

The Assassin Leader tries making a business proposition for Yor, offering a share of the bounty if she steps aside, saying that they all kill to support themselves. Yor turns down the offer, saying she is not like them, then thinks about her reason for becoming an assassin. Struggling to find the answer, Yor asks herself why she is doing this job. Before she can think any further, the Swordsman swings at her face. Yor dodges him, but she steps into a small gap and stumbles, allowing the Swordsman to strike her with his sheath and knock her to a wall.

The Swordsman points his sword at Yor, who is in a daze, and her thoughts are in disarray as she thinks about her daily chores at home with Loid and Anya. She then sees Yuri flashing before her eyes and remembers how he received a job offer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and got his first paycheck. Yor acknowledges that Yuri has grown into a fine man and does not need her support anymore, and decides to end her assassin job here. However, when the Assassin Leader heads off to finish Olka and the others, Yor tears off and throws an earring at him, stopping him in his tracks.

Yor recalls Olka's desire to live a quiet life and remembers why she became an assassin: the desire to protect Yuri's carefree life. She says the world is soiled with needless tragedies and requires thorough cleaning to prevent them. She reaffirms this now that she has her new family in the Forgers. Reinvigorated, Yor grips the Swordsman's blade and shatters it. Yor then charges at the shocked Swordsman, who slashes her chest, but Yor is unfazed. Yor tells herself that she does not need to be at peace or care if she has to bloody her hands. She believes that if she dies or has to leave the Forgers, Loid will understand, reminiscing the night he expressed his admiration for her dedication to her work. Yor lands a powerful kick on the Swordsman and declares that she will not give up this fight.

SIS' HERB TEA
In an after-credits scene, Yuri chases a suspect with his captain until he suddenly collapses on the ground, having caught a cold. After returning to headquarters to rest, Yuri explains that his immune system breaks down whenever he remembers that Yor is away. Yuri apologizes for letting the suspect escape, but the Lieutenant tells him not to worry and rest up while he gets medication. As he heads out, Yuri asks for a specific brand of herbal tea. As Yuri lies down, he flashes back to a familiar memory of when he was little.

One day, Yuri got a fever, and Yor wondered what to do. She tried everything she could to help him recover but unknowingly overdid it, from covering him with numerous blankets, strangling him with green onion, and picking up any healthy things she found outside, to the point of getting stung by bees and slaying a boar. Worried for Yor's life, Yuri vowed to himself to grow up healthy and strong. While Yor brewed him tea, Yuri told her he was lucky to have a sister like her. Yor said the same and asked Yuri to stay strong and healthy forever. In his thoughts, Yuri wished to make the world a kinder place for Yor's sake.

In the present, Yuri wakes up in a sweat as he remembers the tea Yor made for him and its strange effects. The Lieutenant has the herbal tea for Yuri, but says it tastes awful and asks Yuri if he wants it. Yuri says it is the one that works best and tastes most like Yor's brew. After throwing up the tea, Yuri energetically tries to get back to work, but the Lieutenant yells at him to go to bed.

Anime Notes

 * There are additional scenes of Yor dodging the Swordsman's attacks before she is told to withdraw.
 * As Yor reflects on what her reason for being an assassin is, there are multiple additional scenes.
 * When Yor thinks of returning Anya's library books, there is an extra scene of Yor imagining Anya reading a book.
 * When Yor remembers Yuri gifting her a bouquet of roses, there is an extra scene showing Yor holding the bouquet.
 * As Yor remembers why she became an assassin, there are extra scenes of the young Briar siblings together.
 * Unlike the manga, the Assassin Leader is positioned to Yor's right instead of her left. As such, Yor removes her right earring when she throws it at him.