Episode 27

BOND'S STRATEGY TO STAY ALIVE / DAMIAN'S FIELD RESEARCH TRIP (MISSION: 27 ボンドの生存戦略 / ダミアンの野外学習) is the twenty-seventh episode of the SPY x FAMILY TV anime series and the second episode of the second season.

BOND'S STRATEGY TO STAY ALIVE
Bond sees an ominous future and believes that it's Yor's food that's going to cause it. In order to change this fate, Bond leaves the house to search for Loid!

DAMIAN'S FIELD RESEARCH TRIP
Henderson orders Damian, Emile, and Ewen to go on a field research trip with Mr. Green.

BOND'S STRATEGY TO STAY ALIVE
While lazing on the couch, Bond receives a vision where everything is pitch black. He wonders what it means and assumes a scientist from Project Apple will come to kill him. As Bond frets, he sees the family photos and imagines his family mourning for him but says he died happily. Bond accepts his fate and goes to Anya’s room to say goodbye, but she says she is busy with homework and shuts the door on him. Bond trudges to Yor, who apologizes to him for forgetting to buy more dog food. Since Loid is out working, Yor decides to cook his dinner.

Recalling his mysterious vision, Bond concludes that he will die from eating Yor's dinner. Bond starts to panic, then realizes he can refuse to eat the food. However, he recalls Anya telling him that Yor will kill him if he makes her upset, then imagines Yor killing him when he refuses. Defiant, Bond starts thrashing around the house but comes up with an idea: if Loid comes home early, he can make Bond’s dinner and, in turn, prevent his death. With this resolve, the family dog unlocks the door and runs away, bewildering Yor.

Bond runs around the streets of Berlint, sniffing for Loid's scent. He eventually tracks down Loid, who is outside the Born Industries facility. His current mission is to steal a sample of "Gerrulimus," a new truth serum developed by the company. However, because he has no time to collect intel for impersonation, his only option is to infiltrate directly. He is surprised when Bond shows up and tells him to go home. Bond refuses and tries to explain his situation to Loid. Loid is confused, so Bond guides him to a route free of people. Loid wonders how Bond knows this and recalls that Born Industries was presumably involved with Project Apple. Assuming Bond knows this and wants payback against the scientists who abused him and his friends as test subjects, Loid lets him tag along to complete their missions.

The two infiltrate the facility and make their way to the laboratory, which is full of specimen lockers, one of them containing the serum. While Loid works to find it, Bond has another vision. He foresees the staff returning to the lab, causing Loid to hold them off, and orders Bond to run home. Bond becomes distressed and warns Loid to hide. Before hiding, he leaves a note saying the Gerrulimus has been stolen for the staff to see, tricking them into opening and checking the locker with the serum. Loid and a masked Bond jump down on the men and knock them out. Loid thanks Bond as he retrieves the Gerrulimus sample and says he can go home early. As a result, Bond has a vision of Loid making his dinner while Yor happy for his safety, and he barks for joy.

DAMIAN'S FIELD RESEARCH TRIP
In the morning, an alarm at an Eden Academy dorm wakes its residents. Emile Elman and Ewen Egeburg wake up and tell Damian Desmond to do the same, or he will miss morning muster. After morning muster passes, Henry Henderson looks at Damian, who has woken up with dark circles under his eyes. As punishment, Damian is tasked with helping the dorm mother with chores and is forbidden from leaving school grounds until he finishes. Behind the corner, Ewen and Emile watch worriedly.

As Damian helps the dorm mother, his friends come to check on him. Damian, who studied all night, wants to earn more Stella Stars, and Ewen says he is pushing himself too hard. They mention that their dorm tutor will take all the boys to the movies and get roast beef on the way back. Damian is firm on not going and will study instead, hoping for his father's praise if he works hard to better himself. After being shooed away by the dorm mother, Ewen and Emile purposefully loiter around the halls in an unkempt manner. Henderson sees this and decides to punish them as well, which they accept with excitement.

Damian is surprised to see his friends join him, who say they will help him so they all can go to the movies. Damian tells them to go ahead without him, but they stay to help him do the chores anyways. Ewen adds that they can pretend to be Imperial Scholars, wrapping a sheet around himself like a cloak. While the boys play around, Henderson watches from the inside and thinks about how there is nothing more elegant than the precious elegance of youthful friendship. While they play, Damian looks at the sky in a daze. Mr. Green, the school custos, jokes that Damian has the face of someone who would rather be at a picnic, which an embarrassed Damian denies. Henderson decides to give the boys a new punishment for their tomfoolery while doing chores: going on a field research trip with Mr. Green.

Mr. Green takes the now frantic boys on a fast-paced canoe ride, planning to take them to a lake for a picnic. As Damian spots an approaching "waterfall," he accidentally falls off the canoe. When he cries for help, Ewen and Emile jump after him, only to end up in the same situation. They decide to let Damian survive to live on their dreams, which moves him. Green interrupts, revealing that the water is shallow, and embarrasses the boys. After starting a warm fire on land, Green tells them to catch some fish for dinner. With Green's help, the friends prepare to fish. They look for bait and turn over a rock to find some earthworms, which frighten Damian. After Ewen and Emile chase Damian around with worms, they start fishing and successfully catch fish for each of them. As they enjoy their hard-earned meal, Green tells Damian that it is okay to enjoy oneself every now and then. After eating, he takes the boys to "Stella Lake," which Damian is excited to see.

Upon reaching their destination, the boys are amazed by the lake, where the stars reflect on its surface and look like they can be reached, hence the name Stella Lake. Damian is shocked there are no Stellas, but admits that the trip was not wasted. He, Ewen, and Emile lie down on the ground and look at the stars. While taking in the sight, Emile says the stars look like sugar sprinkled on the sky, which makes Damian burst into laughter, and the other boys follow. Green then says they should be heading back and reminds them to write out a proper field report.

After returning to the dorm, Green sees Henderson with the reports in hand. Henderson thanks Green and asks if he was able to "let the boys loose," which he confirms. While Henderson reviews the reports, he says Damian's needs some work, noting how brief it is.

Anime Notes

 * This episode places its adaptation of Chapter 40 before Chapter 39.
 * The intro theme does not appear in this episode, while its opening credits appears before the ending theme.