The following contains spoilers for Episode 3 of My Home Hero, "The Correct Path," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
After last week's cliffhanger ending in My Home Hero, it looked like Tetsuo and his wife had not gotten away with Nobuto's murder, after all. They were doing everything they could to throw Kyoichi and his goons off their path while keeping their daughter innocent and unknowing to everything happening just under her nose. And they really managed to come up with a great and seemingly fool-proof plan - that is, until the very end of the episode, when they were both captured. We were sure they were already done for.
However, this week on "The Correct Path," it turned out that they were not as screwed as we had thought; actually, Kyoichi and his goons were still just trying to find out what was going on and get some real proof. And yet again, seemingly meek and useless Tetsuo surprised us yet again with his ability to outsmart his enemies. It was not the same tricks that he pulled last week to hide the body, either, as he had to work under even more pressure this week. How did he do it? Let's have a look!
A Thorough Plan Laid in Advance
Tetsuo was questioned this week under intense pressure, with his face completely covered so he could not see where he was or what was happening, and while being cut, punched, kicked, hung upside-down, and more. And yet, despite his situation, he was able to stick to an elaborate plan that he had been laying out ever since first killing Nobuto. When Kyoichi had first encountered Tetsuo at the scene of the crime, he had escaped initial suspicion by dressing as a cleaner named Suzuki.
Now, even in this intense situation, Tetsuo was able to convincingly lie that Suzuki was the name of the private investigator that he and his wife had hired when they found out their daughter had a stalker - also part of the lie they began to weave last week, when they knew their house was bugged. He even put a contact for Suzuki in his phone contacts, and was able to come up with stories like all of their conversations had to be deleted because of the nature of Suzuki's work. This plan took time to lay in advance, and it paid off for Tetsuo when it mattered.
A Wife on His Side
Additionally, Tetsuo would have been caught in his lies if his wife had not been in on out - but she was! We saw a bit of the script that Tetsuo wrote for her last week when they made up the story about the stalker, but it turns out the script was even more advanced than first shown. It also had the story about Suzuki, along with answers to possible questions she might face. And she was thus able to give the same story and answers to Tetsuo, collaborating on the story.
Acting independently, she was also able to waste enough time that the goons holding her gave up and left. She noted them checking their watches, and rambled on and on about irrelevant topics until they became irritated and frustrated. She was able to get away safely, and keep her daughter safe as well, by sticking to Tetsuo's plan when it mattered and making her own smart decisions when she had to.
Some Quick Thinking
While most of what saved Tetsuo and his wife this week was a plan that had been laid out in advance and was beautifully executed, without being able to think on his feet Tetsuo would have lost everything right at the end. While his wife and daughter were released, Kyoichi was ready to kill Tetsuo to cover up his own mistakes and lack of information found. And he was going to go through with it, too, except Tetsuo made him an offer he could not refuse right at the end.
He offered to work with Kyoichi to find Nobuto's killer, claiming that he had more information from the fake investigator Suzuki that would help. This was enough to give Kyoichi pause, considering how desperate he has become to come back to his boss with information about Nobuto's whereabouts. It was a smart move by Tetsuo, though decidedly dangerous, but enough to buy him time. Next week, he is going to have to continue to weave his web of lives if he wants to evade further suspicion.
My Home Hero has picked up since the first week, and the writing continues to improve with each episode. It seems to be going under a lot of people's radar this season, but it is worth giving a watch to see just how Tetsuo continues to outsmart everyone around him despite coming off as a very normal guy. We will be waiting to see what he does next week now that he is working directly with Kyoichi, and the stakes are higher than ever.