The following contains spoilers for Episode 20 of Blue Lock, "Super Link-Up Play," now streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
Episode 20 of Blue Lock saw the start to what is likely to be the final, most climatic game of the series so far. Blue Lock is slated to only have 24 episodes, and considering "Super Link-Up Play" barely broke the surface in the match, three more episodes are likely going to be needed to see the full game. We are trying to not even entertain the possibility of the season ending on another cliffhanger of who moves onto the next stage, but we will cross that bridge in a few more weeks.
The backbone of this episode was established in the first five minutes, when the members of the Red and White Teams paired off with one another. They paired up for various reasons, and then as the episode played out, we could see whether the pairing actually worked or not. It will likely continue to affect the rest of the match, so let's look at why the pairings happened and if they were helpful or not.
Chigiri and Aryu
Chigiri and Aryu had the most superficial reason for pairing up, and it happened the quickest and set off the chain reaction of the other team members shifting who they would be focused on. Aryu is obsessed with image and "glam," as we learned when he was first introduced. He also has long, beautiful hair, a feature he and Chirigi share. And that hair was what drew Aryu to Chigiri in the first place. Since everything Aryu does has to have "glam," he decided that Chigiri had the kind of "glam" he wanted to face.
Aryu and Chigiri worked well as a balanced pair, even though the reasoning behind the pairing was not based on anything that has to do with soccer. They both have incredible speed, and spent most of the episode trying to outrun the other. Chigiri rarely has much competition in regard to his speed, so Aryu helps keep things interesting. Aryu, though, has a longer physical reach than Chigiri, which so far has worked to his advantage.
Barou and Tokimitsu
Barou and Tokimitsu were a more unlikely pairing. Predictably, Tokimitsu's nervous nature did not stand up well to Barou's rough and overbearing attitude. Just being around Barou sent him into a fit, and he descended on a dark, pessimistic spiral that rubbed Barou the wrong way. Wanting to end him and seeing him as nothing but a negative person, Barou declared Tokimitsu his enemy whether the anxious boy wanted it or not.
We did not get a lot of chances to see Barou vs Tokimitsu this week, but what we did see showed that they are an interesting pair at least. Barou has always dominated the field with his physical prowess and strength, overpowering smaller and more lithe players like Isagi all the time. But Tokimitsu also has incredible physical strength that does not match his personality, which really shocked Barou. Tokimitsu can actually stand up to him, which is exactly what Barou needs to grow.
Nagi and Rin
Nagi and Rin were an unexpected pairing. We had assumed that Isagi and Rin would be the pairing, considering they both stand at the center of their respective teams as leaders. But when Nagi left Reo behind, he did so because he wanted to only play the best soccer, against the best players. Rin seemed like the strongest member of the Red Team (which may or may not be true now), and the core of their strength, which is what attracted Nagi to him.
Nagi and Rin's pairing is more complicated to analyze than the ones above. The two are really skilled players, and both are adaptable on the field. They were playing off of one another a lot on the field, but Rin's ability seems more like Isagi's than Nagi's as he is able to see the whole field of play and make his moves by predicting what will happen next. Our prediction of Isagi and Rin as a pairing may have been more interesting, as we could have seen their strategies playing against one another more clearly.
Isagi and Bachira
Finally, we come to the old friends Isagi and Bachira. Isagi became paired with Bachira because that was the only person left, but their pairing does make sense. They are friends, and are trying to play together again. Plus they both have the "monster" that controls them on the field and helps them excel, something we learned about very early on in Blue Lock.
We went back and forth about whether Bachira and Isagi was the best pairing or not. At first, we were stuck on Isagi and Rin being a better match. But as Episode 20 continued, we started to see that actually Bachira may be the top player on the Red Team. He also could see the strategy on the field, could predict even what Rin was going to do. Importantly, he and Isagi are both the ones who can "devour" other player's moves and make them their own.
Chigiri and Aryu, and Barou and Tokimitsu are both great pairings. They compliment one another well and push the other character to up their skills and be challenged on the pitch when few others could do the same. Rin and Nagi, and Isagi and Bachira are more complicated. Nagi and Isagi have been going back and forth on who was the better player for a while now, and Rin and Bachira are now doing the same. We will be waiting to see what happens in the next part of the match in Blue Lock!