Well damn, these past two episodes were the very definition of being smacked with a ton of bricks. When we first started out it was more about the problems held within the school itself, now we diving deep into certain problems between both Komaba and Mikage's families. So all the anticipation of Silver Spoon hinting at it and finally revealing it was worth the wait, but it is the bitter taste of the no-so-perfect real world problems that plague anyone running a business -- that be in the agriculture field or otherwise.
The eight episode was our last moments of peacefulness as it started out with Nakajima-sensei letting a select group of people "assist" him with his cheese making. It was mostly cleaning for the students, but we got an interesting peek at the process of creating cheese; how it has a lot to do with chemistry and environment controlling to keep certain bacteria from damaging the cheese.
It was an interesting way to ease the viewers into what was coming next considering the metaphor it brought with it as the event unraveled. That metaphor itself was pretty subtle but the connecting still fits pretty well; like the event of Komaba's team losing right before he made it to nationals, it is like a single bacteria can affect the cheese production results. So when the one thing that Komaba was passionate about collapsed under him and we found out that his families business went bankrupt because of debt, we see how fast this cheese gets ruined as that single bacteria begins to spread throughout.
In a sense, Komaba was putting all his eggs in one basket and since that basket fell, he was left with nothing but broken eggs shells and a lot to account for. It is sad to see this type of situation happen to someone with both talent and big dreams; and as I stated back in episode 7 he was one of the few that had something to work toward, but real life just smacked him down back to the ground and welcomed him to his new working life -- after Komaba himself deciding to drop out of school.
After both Komaba and Mikage's trouble have been finally revealed, Hachiken was first to refuse to pretend that he isn't going to worry about such an issue. And the episode ended in the cliffhanger of Hachiken just standing firm and butting his head into all the troubles that were held from his for so long -- even if that meant him getting hurt along the way.
And this is where things get weird logically, but humans tend to do this type of stuff so it makes the characters seem more real. For the most part everyone involved continues to try and disregard their own hopes, dreams, goals to help their family or friend. Obviously Komaba has a more legitimate reason considering he was going all out before losing the semi-finals; but more people are more concerned about other around them, even if they themselves are in need of help.
Continuing on to the next episode, we finally see Mikage able to open up -- almost completely with her quick recovery of a partial confession toward Hachiken. Regardless, this is the second time we see Mikage crying this season, only this one was more in relief that Hachiken stepped in to, at the very least, be there for her at times like this.
Every now and then this episode had comedic relief sprinkle throughout, but the majority of it was serious toned, which pretty much implies that the climax is coming soon. And the most important issue facing most of the character is the conflicting nature of a dream you wish to pursue and the actually reality that might be preventing you from achieving it.
A lot of this topic has the sinking feeling of hopelessness lingering it it -- especially after what happened with Komaba. However, to really counteract this feeling, the encouragement of Hachiken, Mikage gain the courage to confront her parents after they began to suggest selling the horses for quick cash. We are really getting cliffhangers pretty much every episode now as the no-so-peaceful bits of Silver Spoon quickly start to be revealed.
This episode surprisingly felt pretty short for whatever reason, but I do want to talk about the struggle between dreams and reality. This is a bit difficult for me to have a solid opinion on because, using the examples from Silver Spoon, there are some legitimate reasons to be more practical as well as more risk oriented. When it comes to doing something in a safe way, it is easier and there isn't much to worry about besides something like a debt. On the other hand, risk taking is something far more fulfilling in the long run. And the thing about taking risks is that is might not always work, however there is a more rewarding feeling when you actually accomplish it. When it comes to the safer route, there is still a chance of failure, at least in the case where you owe someone money.
Really it is about the person's current stance on what they value most; if they rather feel more safe but not as fulfilled in life, then the practical option is the plan that will be more appealing to these type of people; and the opposite is true for the those that are up for the risk and in the end will feel more accomplished. So with the more recent event happening in this episode, we found out what Mikage had chosen with the last few second in; which I'm pretty excited to see how her family reacts to this new stance from Mikage Aki.
