My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex

Episode 8

Raise your hand if you immediately turned to dust the moment that Isana called that volume of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumia old! I feel like this episode went back a little bit to the slower pacing of the early episodes because we basically spend half of it playing dress-up. It was nice and fun but it also went on a bit longer than expected. It was also somewhat jarring considering last week's bombshell revelation when Isana got rejected by Mizuto; it didn't feel like the fallout of that situation is going to be addressed, but the direction the episode is taking is no less believable.

That said, there were a lot of moments during this episode that I found surprisingly impactful despite taking a while to get there. This episode is all about the idea of preconceived notions about relationships and how even friends can have a little bit of possessiveness in each other's lives. We all want to feel important and we all want to feel like we hold a special place in someone's heart, especially when they hold a special place in ours. That confrontation towards the end where Isana is explaining that while she would still like to go out with Mizuto, she's more worried and concerned about not being his friend anymore hit me very hard, considering that is a difficult thing that a lot of people kind of need to come to terms with. Yume's reaction to that was also noteworthy; I wonder if she's piecing together that this is arguably the problem that she is currently dealing with. Isana is hands-down the star of this episode: she's probably the most naïve of the group but she's also the most straightforward and answers questions directly when asked. In fact, I'd argue that she is the one member of the cast that seems to have everything about herself figured out even if she's not in a situation that she might personally find ideal. I usually hate love triangles in romances, but seeing one person potentially learn lessons from another romantic rival is interesting. It really does solidify the fact that the character arcs in Stepmom's Daughter are more important than the actual romance. If anything, the romance is used more as a joke here and my favorite bit was when Yume accused Isana and Mizuto of already dating in secret for so long considering how close they were.

As far as our two exes go, we get more flashbacks about what their relationship was like, which is nice. But I particularly liked Mizuto's insight and ending monologue because it felt like there was a tinge of melancholy there. He stops himself before he starts spiraling with “what if” scenarios but it's hard to say if he's lamenting the fact that he can't let go of a previous relationship or if he's just accepting it. Maybe I'm reading too much into this but it almost feels like he is saying that if he didn't date Yume in the past, then he would be more open and happy with falling in love with Isana. It really does solidify this idea that even if you can get close to multiple people, every friend or lover in your life sort of fills out a specific role and those things are worth treasuring. I'm gonna stop myself now before I start getting too emotional.

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My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.