This was a good episode, and bodes well for the second cour of the season.

Yashiro finally pulled himself out of that self-defeating circle of refusing to take the girls seriously, refusing to give them any guidance, then treating it as their fault when they couldn’t fight well. Instead, he gave them a sound strategy to follow, then got out of the way and let them follow it, and they did great. And he even acknowledged her value when Jogamine came to his aid. Which also allowed for some of the charming chemistry between them that’s been sort of hovering around the edges, unfulfilled, since the beginning.

And if that wasn’t enough, he faced up to the fact that he constantly belittles the idea of a Brave being genuinely honorable and decent because that used to be his own ideal, but then he wasn’t strong enough to live up to it.

So to all appearances, we’re actually set up for a deeper plot and actual character growth and genuine affection between the characters and satisfyingly cooperative fights. And with 13 more episodes to come.