Sure, as soon as I call Andrei the most prominent character outside the main trio, he disappears for two episodes. I stand by it, though – his absence is purposeful, and the episodes where he’s gone still mention him. Here, with his return, we see a ramp up in the big story arc and his undeniable involvement in it.
The kids receive a message from Katherine Alice, a young friend of theirs in the Wayne (one of the episodes I didn’t review featured them “collecting” other kids in the building who know about WPs.) Katherine Alice has no voice and communicates through origami figures that she enlivens with rainbow gas, and she sends signs for Ansi, Olly, and Saraline to follow, so they can help her out of a dicey situation. She’s seen something important, and she and the trio need to get to it before the spy does.
Again, very arc-based. Things are coming to a head in a big way, and I assume the season finale will lead to some sort of culmination, even as it likely introduces new questions. But different elements are starting to come together, and the kids and the spy are both hot on the trail. The spy is insistent that the kids don’t truly understand what they’re messing with, that’s she’s not the villain they’ve been painting her as, which is intriguing. It reminds me of the later Series of Unfortunate Events books, when the Baudelaires start to worry that the lines between wicked and noble person are less distinct than they thought, and they’re less sure of where they stand on that divide. The kids on this show aren’t buying too much into that idea yet, but the exchange does lead to this great bit from Ansi: “You’re the bad guy – uh, girl. You’re the bad girl. You’re a very bad girl! …This got weird.”
In other news, the animation really outdoes itself in this episode. I’ve liked Katherine Alice and her origami figures since she was introduced, and this episode features a life-sized paper forest she created, which is just too cool and too lovely. Not to mention, it’s an excuse for the awesome line, “Do you know how much paper had to die to make these trees?!” Olly-Ansi and Saraline-Katherine Alice both have some nice friendship moments along different themes.
I’m glad to see Andrei back and intrigued by what’s going on with him. I won’t get into it too much, to avoid spoilers, but he’s both physically affected by the strange qualities of the Wayne and personally invested in the spy’s plan, which she needs him to complete. However, I’m a bit disappointed that we don’t see any interpersonal fallout from the conflicts that came up near the end of Andrei’s last episode. It was the cited reason for his two-episode disappearance, that he was upset with the kids and had run off, but when the kids find him again, neither side deals with why he was mad to start with. I suppose it’s possible that that’s still coming – the situation in this episode is urgent enough that maybe they just haven’t had time for it yet – but it’s hard to say. I hope we get something to that effect, because I was hoping to see what Andrei’s dynamic with the kids is when he’s at odds with them.
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