Episode 20

INVESTIGATE THE GENERAL HOSPITAL / DECIPHER THE PERPLEXING CODE (MISSION: 20　総合病院を調査せよ / 難解な暗号を解読せよ) is the twentieth episode of the SPY x FAMILY TV anime series and the eighth episode of the second cour.

INVESTIGATE THE GENERAL HOSPITAL
Anya has to write a report about an occupation she's interested in, so she ends up going to Loid's place of work, Berlint General Hospital. As soon as Loid was out of sight, Anya starts to explore!

DECIPHER THE PERPLEXING CODE
Anya becomes very interested in deciphering codes after seeing it done in her spy cartoon, so she makes her own code and sends Loid and the others secret messages. Will they be able to crack the codes?!

INVESTIGATE THE GENERAL HOSPITAL
Henry Henderson instructs the children to investigate an occupation that interests them for their upcoming social studies project. He suggests various methods, such as interviewing their parents about their jobs, making inquiries at a local business, getting their parents to arrange an interview with a prominent figure in their field, or even asking himself about educators. He adds that they will each prepare a report about their chosen profession and present it to the class on Friday. Becky Blackbell decides to pick her father's company and asks Anya Forger about her choice. In the back, Emile Elman asks Damian Desmond if he will interview his father, to which Damian replies that he will if he can get hold of him.

Anya goes home to choose Yor for the job investigation. Anya explains that she has to ask how someone got their job and why they chose it and watch them at work. While Yor is confused about which job to talk about, she imagines bringing Anya to her secret job as an assassin, with Anya dressed in an assassin outfit similar to Yor's. Yor explains that she initially took the job to provide for Yuri but now does it with pride as the Shopkeeper says it is a noble calling and should be proud as any soldier who devoted their lives to their homeland.

The phone rings as the Shopkeeper calls Yor with a mission. Yor looks at a document with a photo and details of her latest "customer," calling him a traitorous scum but refrains from telling Anya about a list of his deeds. Yor runs to meet her newest customer, telling Anya to keep up with her. Yor explains that "The Shop" analyzes the target's capabilities and defenses, so all she needs to do is finish the job. She adds that she should kill on sight but killing the wrong person would be out of the question, so she studies the photos carefully. Yor states that she does not skulk as she should not be the one ashamed.

As Yor expertly disables several guards, Yor clarifies that she feels that the job is rewarding as she gets the feeling that she is digging in and doing her part to clean up the country, which invigorates her to think of all the lives saved by her work. Yor explains that properly honing your body and skills are important in this line of work, along with a good understanding of human anatomy. She reminds Anya to always remember that the target is a human being who deserves a painless death as she politely asks the target for the honor of taking his life, demonstrating and explaining several methods of quickly killing the target and liberally splashing Anya in blood. Seeing the blood-covered Anya, Yor says they will tell Loid they were at a tomato festival.

Back to reality, Anya stares at Yor and decides to report on Loid's job instead, having read Yor's imagination. Yor agrees since her work at City Hall can be a bit dull. When Loid returns home, Anya explains her assignment, and Loid agrees to help.

Two days later, Loid brings Anya, dressed as a detective, to Berlint General Hospital, where he works in the Psychiatry Department. Anya is amazed at the large size of the hospital. Loid comments that it is the capital's most prominent hospital. Anya overhears Loid's thoughts that a private-practice clinician might have made for an easier cover story, but Loid chose to work there as it provides opportunities to steal intel and forge connections, as there are many major figures in politics, industry, and the military using the hospital. Anya quickly notes Loid's thoughts in her notebook, to his confusion. Loid asks Anya why she dressed like a detective, and she answers that it is how investigators dress.

Loid changes into a lab coat, explaining that while psychiatrists do not generally wear these, he finds it looks more professional. Loid asks what Anya wants to know about his work as they walk down the hallway. Anya looks at her notebook and asks why he chose this occupation. Loid replies that everyone catches colds sometimes, but many people catch colds in their minds as well. He adds that he thought it would be good to try to help those people and that many people, especially veterans still suffering long after the war ended. Anya reads Loid's mind as he thinks about how he hoped that working as a doctor would allow him to approach Donovan Desmond if he ever got sick, and she writes it down in her notebook.

As Anya asks what Loid's workplace is like, some hospital staff recognize Loid and greet him. Loid introduces Anya to the staff members, who quickly coddle her. Anya asks them what Loid is like when he is at work. They praise Loid, saying he is always polite and kind to the patients and that everyone at the hospital adores him. One of the staff tells Loid the director wants to play golf with him. Anya overhears Loid's thoughts saying that maintaining a diverse collection of contacts is vital to make it easier to gather information, forge new connections, and reduce suspicion of him being a spy.

Anya then asks Loid what the hardest part of his job is. Loid explains that the wounds he deals with are not visible, so treating them can be difficult as doctors cannot see inside others' minds, causing Anya to smirk. Loid tries to explain the importance of building a trusting relationship with patients, but Anya gets distracted as the staff continues to indulge her, making Loid wrap up the interview. The staff hopes Loid can hone his skills so he can open his own clinic in the future, but Loid says he is always busy with his research, then thinks that the hardest part of this job is keeping it secondary to his mission.

After the staff head back to work, Anya wants to see Loid work. Loid says he cannot let her see him work with a patient as it would violate medical ethics, nor can he show his research to the public. Loid shows Anya one of the empty consultation rooms. Anya begins to fiddle with the bookshelf in boredom, and Loid quickly stops her, revealing an emergency escape route for when he goes on missions in the bookshelf through his thoughts. Someone knocks on the door, and Loid recognizes it as one of his WISE colleagues. He asks Anya if she wants Loid to have Yor pick her up, and Anya says she will wait for him to finish his work. Loid provides Anya with a sand table to play with while she waits, but not before warning her not to touch anything else as he leaves. Shortly after, Anya quickly gets a scheming look.

Outside the consultation room, Fiona Frost gives Loid some documents, disguising another mission for him. In his thoughts, Loid explains that WISE has placed several assets in the hospital to support his cover story. Fiona asks if the little girl with him is Anya and comments that they seem close. Loid sighs, saying Anya's unpredictability annoys him, and Fiona is surprised that someone can get the better of him.

Back inside the room, Anya pulls a lever hidden in the bookshelf, revealing a ladder leading below the room. Anya investigates the escape route, squeezing past a tight passage before she hears a voice from a vent. Below, several men have a meeting regarding the neuroscience behind the paranormal perception. Anya is excited about ghosts and lies down to listen but accidentally hits a metal pipe. The men are confused about the sudden noise but nervously dismiss it. Anya then remembers she needs to return before Loid does. However, she realizes her leg got stuck under a pipe and struggles to get out. The men mistake Anya's struggling sounds for a ghost, terrifying them. Anya gets her foot free and quickly hurries back. The men decide to keep an open mind when patients speak of ghosts.

Anya returns just in time to hear Loid's thoughts as he returns. She quickly makes something on the sand table before he comes in. Loid analyzes her sand table to observe her subconscious mind but is shocked by her sand table being utter chaos. Loid believes Anya is subconsciously stressed by her recent adoption, blaming himself for failing as a parent and a spy, and decides she needs immediate care. Anya tries clarifying that she just mixed it all up but flushes in embarrassment at Loid's conclusions. Loid suggests they buy the new Spy Wars on their way home and offers to work on the report together. He picks up her notebook to read, causing Anya to panic as she wrote about his spy work. However, Anya's writing is unintelligible, so Anya says she will work on the report herself, and Loid praises her. When they return home, Yor asks if Anya got to see Loid perform his concussive therapy, describing how he punches, kicks, and leg sweeps his patients, and Loid desperately tries to explain to Yor that it is only for extreme circumstances.

On Friday, Anya reads out her report to the class. While initially presenting Loid's regular activities as a psychiatrist, Anya mentions aspects of his spy job and even how Loid sometimes punches and kicks his patients, shocking Henry. While on a briefing with Handler, Loid gets a shiver and is later summoned to the school, where he manages to talk his way out of trouble with his equivocation skills.

DECIPHER THE PERPLEXING CODE
Inspired by a scene from Spy Wars, Anya decides to make a top-secret code for a rendezvous. However, Loid points out that because of Anya's terrible handwriting, the code will be unreadable, let alone solved. After Loid leaves for work, Anya gets Yor to help write down several copies of her secret code. Anya hands the pages to Bond, the neighbors, then Franky, refusing to reveal its contents. On the next day at school, Anya gives Becky her code, but she gets upset when Anya refuses to say anything. She then gives a copy to Damian, who quickly crumples it up and throws it away in irritation. Later that night, Anya sets her alarm clock to one hour before the rendezvous and has a dream about someone showing up after cracking the code.

Meanwhile, Franky returns home and remembers the code Anya gave him. Upon noticing the nice handwriting and smell of the paper, Franky assumes it is a love letter from a beautiful woman. The next day, Franky arrives early at the rendezvous, dressed in a suit and tie while carrying a bouquet of roses. While Franky had successfully cracked the code, he stayed up all night out of excitement. As he waits, he starts wondering who the mystery woman might be. At the Forger home, Anya sleeps through her ringing alarm clock, which Bond promptly shuts off.

Anime Notes

 * Decipher the Perplexing Code is an original story exclusive to the anime.
 * Franky's house first appears in this story, while in the manga its first appearance is in Chapter 60.
 * The mailman that Anya tries to give the code to is the same mailman from the end of Episode 1.
 * Due to censorship reasons, all the blood in Yor's imagination sequence of showing Anya her job is colored pink, instead of red.
 * Anya's detective outfit has a different appearance in the anime. In the manga, the hat and jacket both have a checkered pattern. In the anime, the checkered pattern is only on the sides of the hat while the front of the hat and the jacket lack the pattern. However, the concept art of Anya wearing the detective outfit that appears on the cover of the episode script keeps the outfit's original appearance from the manga.
 * At 08:00 in the episode, while Loid and Anya are talking to the hospital staff, the shot zooms out and a shadow can be seen around the corner on the left - which leaves shortly after. This shadow likely was Fiona Frost, but it's also possible it was Gerald Gorey overhearing the praise Loid is receiving from his coworkers.
 * In the manga, Damian, Ewen and Emile's reaction to Anya's report was not shown.