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- This is literally every parent's worst nightmare when it comes to kids addicted to gaming. Eyes glazed over, mouth open ever so slightly, headphones to shut out annoying calls for dinner... I remember my mother screaming at me about this shit all the time.

- Kirito learned that his parents aren't actually his parents, and Sugu isn't his real sister, once he turned ten years old. However, he still questions her identity as his sister and to an extent questions the importance of his time together with her.

This is actually understandable.



Of course it's not the equivalent of, say, child custody horror stories where your mother since birth was actually a kidnapper who snatched you from the hospital ward, but that doesn't make it any less sudden when the rug gets pulled from under you. Everything you knew since you were born becomes a lie of some sort. You start questioning your family relationships. You start to question human relationships. Nothing seems authentic at first glance anymore. Once the circumstances get serious enough, these kinds of reveals can cause major psychological damage. Kirito's discovery is relatively light in comparison, but not far-fetched as a justification of his character.

That sense of mistrust you gain from a mild identity crisis is used to explain Kirito's reclusion and subsequent gaming addiction, and by that extent explain the origins of Kirito's "lone wolf" mentality back when he was playing SAO. He doesn't form parties or join guilds because he's afraid of people not being who they "actually are". Him meeting all those girls, Klein, and Egil in those early vignettes is a testament to his growing comfort with opening himself up to other people, albeit on the internet. Asuna represents the culmination of those efforts, falling in love so hard that he would share his entire being with her for the rest of his life.

The problem lies in the execution, however. Kirito's reluctance to make friends in SAO does not seem to stem from his personal weakness: it's because he's too damn strong for the rest of the filthy casuals to handle. And his encounters with people in SAO? Not once were we shown compelling developments in Kirito's behavior to justify the above paragraph's line of reasoning, as he was already capable of such communication before meeting up with any of these people. Which then begs the question: if he was so reclusive and anti-social thanks to his real life issues, where the [radio edit] did he get the time to improve his social skills? If he acquired them off-screen and early in the story, it kind of renders all of his character development up to this very episode pointless. That's why this entire flashback is stupid from a character development standpoint. Shit, the [radio edit]er included Kayaba [radio edit]ing Akihiko in his little list of friendsies. You remember what that guy did? Killed almost four-thousand people by trapping them in a videogame, that's what!

- Oh man, remember when Kirito first woke up from SAO and he was walking out of the hospital ward with his IV? I can only imagine the process it took to restrain him and place him back in time for his family to arrive. No, let me go! I have a [rainbow]Perfect Waifu[/rainbow] to rescue! UNHAND ME, YOU SWINE.

- My god, he doesn't even give Sugu enough time to cry. But it's okay, you see. Suguha would never lambaste her onii-chan's lack of decency! In fact, she admires it!

- Hi, unimportant person! How are you doing today?

- Oh shit, Recon poisoned his captors and escaped their clutches? I feel like I'm watching Paper Luigi right now. I wanna watch Recon's story instead. Please save me.

- Uh oh, Sugufa is unimpressed by your efforts and is leaving for Kirito! Better add up some more friendship points. I think that deserves +5 friendship points.

- "I-I'll always be by your side!" +10 friendship points.

- "I'll never leave you alone, here or in the real world!" +50 friendship points! This guy's on a roll!

- "Leafa-chan... Suguha-chan... I love you!" Whoa there. WHOA.



Slow the [radio edit] down. You don't have enough friendship points for that. Go directly to the Friendzone. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

- "I thought all I needed to do at this point was to muster up the courage to confess to you."



this guy

- I'm seven minutes and thirty seconds into this episode and what the actual hell are they doing here. Don't we have a [rainbow]Perfect Waifu[/rainbow] to be saving right about now?

- "Onii-chan, let's duel" Come on, Kirito doesn't have time for this shi- oh my god he's actually doing it



- Okay, if we're gonna have a Sibling Argument Online you might as well show us an epic duel. LOLNOPE AFTER 30 SECONDS OF LITERALLY FLYING AROUND LEAFA HAS THE HIGHER GROUND.



YOU UNDERESTIMATE KIRITO'S POWER

- So she flies all the way up there with a kendo stance ready to swoop down and... fall on him? The [radio edit] did you challenge him to a duel for, you prick?

- They're spinning in mid-air right now. I can't imagine that to be comfortable for either of them.

- WE INTERRUPT THIS IMPORTANT INCEST SUBPLOT CLIMAX WITH KIRITO'S BIG BLACK BLADE JUST SWINGING ACROSS THE SCREEN LIKE I'M WATCHING MEATSPIN OR SOMETHING.

- ARE THEY STILL SPINNING

- GOD [radio edit]ING DAMMIT STOP SPINNING.

- I SWEAR TO [radio edit]ING GOD IF YOU KEEP SPINNING FOR FIVE MORE GODDAMN SECONDS Admittedly, that last pic is a nice (if overly contrived) shot.

Anyways, Sugufa resolves to put off her lingering affections and feelings until after Asuna is saved. Her entire character arc was literally put on a bus and thrown off a cliff. What the actual [radio edit], SAO.

- "What happens now?" Good question, Recon! We're almost eleven minutes into this episode and we're still at episode 22 for all intents and purposes.

- I'll tell you what: Yui happens! [radio edit] Yui.

- Kirito: "It feels like I'm running out of time"



In all honesty, we're three days into this arc and the wedding was supposed to be in a week. Nevertheless, Kirito a shit.

- THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP COMPELS YOU. [radio edit] off, Yui.

- Ah yes, the tried and true tactic of letting Kirito do all the work!

- TWELVE MINUTES AND THIRTY SECONDS INTO THIS GODDAMN EPISODE AND WE'RE FINALLY BACK AT THIS SHITTY PENULTIMATE "GRAND QUEST" BULLSHIT

- Wow, those sentinels just keep on multiplying!

- And multiplying!

- and, uh, multiplying...

- I literally can't, this is too perfect.

- Wait Recon, you went into the Grand Quest, notorious for requiring a literal army to pass through, without first figuring out why you're doing this?



+15 friendship points.

- is he doing what i think hes doing

are we self-sacrifice

- "That's dark magic..."



Yup. Definitely looks like dark magic.

- Huh? Bowl cut is evolving!

Congratulations! Bowl cut evolved into SUPER SAIYAN!

- So I was right. Recon used Explosion and now the gate is open.

- Really, shedding tears for our fallen comrade? This is ALO. His death doesn't count.

- I don't think that's enough swords in Kirito's body. Here's let's add some more!

- So apparently the Sylphs and the Cait Siths, the group Kirito saved earlier, came in with their [radio edit]ing cavalry. Thus rendering Recon's sacrifice to be completely pointless. I doubt we'll ever hear about him until the epilogue.



That's what I'd do if I were him.

- AND THUS THE LORD SPAKE UNTO DITIGAL JESUS-SAMA:

GO FORTH AND SMITE THEM WITH YOUR SICK AS [radio edit] DUAL WIELDING

- w h a t



where the hell did he learn that

man, [radio edit] this game.

- The door can only be opened using sysadmin privileges, you say? Good thing we have this convenient keycard from the [radio edit]ing sky to rely on!

- Sugou secretly an X-man

- "Papa, give me your hand!"



I can't.