Yo, I’m back! So I know the title of this post may seem odd, but I have a reason for this! Before we jump in, however…We have some new people to meet! Let’s go! Time for my rambling all of my inner thoughts on the latest piece of the story.
(A little note, however. There is more in this episode with Asahi, Ikuya, Hiyori, and Makoto (Makoto’s sweetness is amplified at least a million times here. If he doesn’t become the #1 choice for imaginary husband for y’all, I don’t know who else can), but what I’m about to touch on is content that made even a transition episode such as this one that much more powerful for me.)
(Also, I’m in love with the image below. My heart cried in happiness.)
Now I’m ready.
So at the start of the episode, we finally get to meet two unknown characters who showed up in the intro song to every episode and whose identities we did not know at all until today. But, the first character gave me some heartwarming feels (and brought back some comical nostalgia too).
Meet the newest Mikoshiba member, Isuzu Mikoshiba!
She is not only afemale swimmer, but also a passionate gamer and a leader. I did not see this coming, but I am glad that they placed a seemingly strong-willed female character into the series. After seeing her, I wish that they introduced her earlier in the series (especially because she is the first female swimmer that we have been personally introduced to during the entire franchise), but I am excited to see just how good she is. Plus, she noticed Haru’s triceps as well! Perhaps… she’ll be Gou’s new best friend? I won’t be surprised if that happens… After all, both of her brothers like the young lady!
(And Haru’s imagining all three Mikoshiba siblings laughing in their usual Mikoshiba manner… I feel you, Haru).
I do look forward to seeing what role she plays in the rest of this season, especially because we do not really see her do much aside from ask Haru whether he can compete with her (and I bet Isuzu and Momo bond over their older brother locking them with his arm and most (probably) putting them through a hell-of-a swimming training, haha).
However, the first time we meet Isuzu is also the first time we meet this super blonde, purple-eyed tall guy: Albert Wahlander.
This gigantic foreigner creams Isuzu in gaming, which at first didn’t leave much of an impact on me until he is in the water. On that topic, during this entire episode, I loved that there were multiple clues floating around that suggested his prowess. Some were explained to us through the other characters in the series, and others seemed more symbolic. So, let’s list the ones that weren’t blatantly mentioned by the rest of the cast, because why not?
1) He goes for mackerel as his meal.
Alright, so now you see where my title came from, eh? Well, Haru, being the now smileyversion of himself, helps out a lost Albert when it comes to ordering food. More specifically, mackerel, since the tall guy seems to want to eat it. And, this new character is so darn cute with his usage of chopsticks that I was wondering for a moment what his role was in the episode/series. But, back to this topic at hand, he and Haru begin to form a bond through their both eating mackerel (despite their massive language barrier, which really wasn’t a barrier since they oddly understood each other. This made me smile, so much.)
2) He is good with his hands.
He not only uses his finger dexterity to beat Isuzu in gaming, but also learns how to handle chopsticks in seconds after first not knowing how to pick things up with them. And Haru, being the sweet boy/young man he is, goes to get a spoon and fork for the guy, but then is amazed that the tall, blonde foreigner dude would master chopsticks in one go? This makes me think back to when Haru was carving a massive amount of Iwatobi-chans in high school, haha.
3) He floats around in the water like Haru does, but he is ahead of Haru.
So this is where things became interesting for me. During the episode, we find out that Haru is one of three Hidaka University Swim Team members to enter the strengthening camp in preparation for the All-Japan Meet (in addition to the older Mikoshiba and Isana Kiryuu). In the middle of swimming, Haru sees Albert swimming next to him, and then we flash to the two of them floating underwater like Haru did for the last three seasons.
But,Albert is ahead of Haru the entire time.
Why does this mean anything? For the entire franchise, we have neverseen anyone swim ahead of Haru. This makes sense, because Haru was known for his affinity and love for the water, unclouded from the influences of competitions, friendly rivalries, and societal expectations. More commonly, we saw Haru’s friends follow behind and try their darnedest to reach his level. Haru is the hero that his friends needed during troublesome, lonesome, and confusing times, and Haru is also a source of strength for young men like Rin, Ikuya, and Makoto to strive for their goals. To do this, Haru has to be ahead of them in the water.
Now that we see this difference with Albert’s appearance, even if you haven’t watched the episode and read this post first instead, you may be able to infer what happens when Albert, Haru, and other swimmers at the camp have a friendly 200m freestyle race against each other.
And this is where our latest cliffhanger begins.
We don’t know how Haru reacts to this loss, as it is the first time that someone out swam him by so many bodies that I won’t even try to count. I mean, the guy was out of the water by the time Haru reached the wall . Knowing Haru, he might react in one of two ways.
One, he may be devastated. After all, freestyle is his forte, and for his entire life he has been known as a prodigy in this specific stroke. It is okay if Haru lost the IM in the last episode; after all, he does not regularly compete in backstroke, breaststroke, or butterfly, and Ikuya has more experience in this specific event than Haru does anyway. But, when it comes to freestyle, the only characters we have seen who are on-par with Haru are Rin, Ikuya, and maybe Asahi, but nobody has surpassed Haru to this degree. As such, no wonder everyone in the pool is shocked by this revelation, including Makoto, who ran in just as this scene unfolded. Losing to this extent for the first time his life can be upsetting and frustrating at the same time, and I wonder whether Haru will express such a natural human response.
Two, if Haru is as positive as Asahi is, then Haru may see Albert as someone to look up to and strive for. Although this is less likely, purely because the human psyche does not always work this way, I sincerely hope that this is the way he reacts to his loss. For all of Haru’s life, he has had companions, rivals, and supporters who have been by his side, butneverhas he had someone to directly look up to. In particular with swimming, Haru has been in his own world this entire time. Why? He is the only one of his friends who has an innately keen relationship with water, and it is Haru’s affinity with water that Albert picks up on immediately after swimming/floating together.
Haru has never had anyone float so freely with him in the water until now (we could potentially count the pool scene with Makoto in the High Speed! movie, but that was part of their reconciliation. This scene, however, is purely one of connection). Also, the fact that Albert sees swimming as fun is refreshing and an epiphany, both for Haru and for us as viewers. It not only implies that Albert may have just as strong as an affinity with water as Haru does, but also that Albert’s love for water may surpass that of Haru. Should this be the case, then Haru may be forced once again to confront his own beliefs with regards to his love for swimming, his skills, and his ability to swim on the global stage.
I wish the best for Haru. After all, Ryuuji (who we find out is an Iwatobi High School Swim Team alum, thanks to Gou’s amazing muscle-identifying skills) has mentioned before the Haru still a ways to go with regards to improving, and Albert may be the key to unlocking that potential. Plus, Albert honestly seems like a nice person, so I hope that he and Haru can get along. The fact that Haru still has that much room for growth, maturity, and progression, both literally in his swimming and figuratively in his own life, is what truly kept my attention with the latest episode of “Free!” and is allowing me look past some of the other flaws with this season. And, I hope that this tidbit is enough to keep you guys interested in the series and in the boys’ story as well.
(Albert, despite his size, reminds me of a little boy. Perhaps his personality truly is that of one, since he seems to be drawn to old arcade games and finds everything fun. He even whines like a boy when the waitress rips the meal ticket >.<, which is just so endearing and makes me want to hug him)
So, now that this ramble has finished, I’ll add these cute little GIFs because I internally squeal whenever I see a baby, and my heart beats faster every time I see a man playing with one:
(And Nitori… way to give us a total plot-twister this episode! Rin was thrown for a shock there, I’m sure.)
(I can’t wait for the next episode! But honestly, the event I’m looking forward to the most is the 100m free at the All-Japan Meet since it’s going to have so many of the characters we love in it. Anyone else with me on this one?)
