‘Spy X Family’ Season 3 dives into history for a secret origin

By Katlynn Rossignol

An undercover spy, a deadly assassin and a first grade telepath live together as a make-shift family, each hiding their true identities for the safety of themselves and their missions. With two seasons and a movie already released, “Spy X Family” continued its run with a third season full of slice-of-life antics and action showdowns. 

What set this season’s promotions apart from previous ones, is the focus on the mysterious backstory of Loid Forger’s, a.k.a. secret agent Twilight (voiced by Takuya Eguchi). Placed near the start of the season, the backstory dives into Twilight’s memories and shows how the war between East and West nations interrupted his peaceful childhood. These segments did a phenomenal job revealing the characters motivation and history, without giving too much away. Even in his memories, Twilight’s real name is never revealed, leaving more questions about his identity to be explored. 

While Loid Forger is distracted with missions out-of-town, his adopted daughter Anya (Atsumi Tanezaki) is caught in a hostage situation. A mulit-episode arc is spent in suspense as Anya and her classmates are captured by a terrorist group holding the students of Eden college hostage. Anya’s charming innocence in the face of danger has been the character’s strength for the previous seasons, with season 3 being no exception. The power of telepathy in the hands of a child continues to be a whimsical use of plot potential and classic family dynamics. 

Yor (Saori Hayami) gets to rest for a season after her epic showdown on the season two cruise vacation. After helping a fellow mother during a shopping run, Yor joins a mom’s volleyball club to learn more about what it means to be a “normal” wife and mother. Perhaps by fate, it’s revealed that the head of this group is Melinda Desmond, wife of Director Desmond, Agent Twilight’s prime target. 

The best part about “Spy X Family” is the constant tension of its character dynamics. The push and pulls of secret identities and who is aware of them makes for constant intrigue. Even with the crazy powers and eccentric lines of work, the family retains a quirky relatability as they over think the simplest interactions. This season pushed these dynamics into new teamups, a personal favorite being Franky and Nightfall. While multi-episode arcs keep up the action of the show, the episodic adventures bring much of the show’s heart. 

As always, the artwork is a pleasure for the eyes. Detailed, expressive and clean, “Spy X Family” remains visually stunning. The music and sound design is clear, with a soundtrack reminiscent of classic spy thrillers. While music is serious and action oriented during the spy plots and action, Anya’s sections are filled with lighthearted parody versions, complete with off-kilter flute renditions of each theme.  

Season three proved itself to be a meaningful addition to the “Spy X Family” run through its humor, heart and a sprinkle of tragic backstory. It remains to be seen if the family’s secret identities will be revealed to one another, or if Operation Strix will achieve its goal. 

As a newcomer to the series, I’m ecstatic to see where the Forger family heads next… but it’s reported to be a long wait. Season four has not yet been confirmed, but there was a special live event announced in Tokyo for next November. For those of us not journeying to Tokyo, it may be time to invest in the Manga until more news is released. 

“Spy X Family” available to stream on Hulu, Crunchy Roll and Disney+

Katlynn Rossignol is a senior Strategic Communications student and A&E editor for Cedars. She loves messy crafts with friends, absurd amounts of the color pink and raving about superhero movies. 

Images courtesy of Wit Studio and CloverWorks