Rough day at the office? Yeah, I know how you feel.

— We see a couple in a park; he’s a parasyte and she’s not. At first, it didn’t look like he has any intention to hurt her, but when she pulled out a few strands of his “hair,” he had few choices left to consider. Unfortunately, it’s kill or be killed. So if you want to live, what else can you do? Hope that the girl wouldn’t report him to the authorities for the rest of their lives (they probably work together)? No, I’m not saying that killing her is the moral thing to do. But at the moment, it is what you do if you want to live.

— The female parasyte says she doesn’t like meat that has alcohol in it. This is a morbid thought, but I wonder if the parasytes have ever tried cooking humans.

— It might make more sense to ask the humans what they should do. The truth is, this hair-pulling thing is a trap. If you’re alone with a disguised parasyte, and you suddenly discover his or her true identity, it’s not like there’s anything you could do about it anyway. The parasytes are stronger and faster than you in every possible way.

— In fact, you’re better off not knowing who’s human and who’s parasyte. It’s time to just trust. I know that sounds foolish, especially considering how most parasytes eat humans for sustenance, but like I’ve said, even if you out them, it’s not like you’ll get away long enough to tell anybody about it. So you either trust that the parasytes around you aren’t going to kill you, or you just become a hermit ’cause that’s honestly the only way to not run into an alien buddy.

— Kana is having quite the nightmare. Yes, I think that this is a rape metaphor, and let me explain why. But first, I wouldn’t call these monsters parasytes, because obviously, the girl has no idea what a parasyte really looks like. They’re just caricatures of a parasyte from Kana’s silly mind. In any case, I’ll even forward the idea she does get raped by these monsters, but of course, we’re not going to see something like that literally play out in this anime (maybe if this was Cross Ange…). After all, she’s in a white dress, sitting amongst a field of flowers — flowers being the symbol of female sexuality. When the monsters show up, the flowers suddenly turn grey as if they’ve been corrupted. The sky also turns crimson red, and well, I won’t spell it out to you, but it wouldn’t be difficult to draw a connection between the color red to a certain aspect about female virginity. The point is, the world has already been sullied. Still, the manly Shinichi saves her, and they get it on anyway. And when they do so, suddenly everything is perfect again.

So how does this all make sense? It’s characterization. After all, Kana’s supposed to be a bad girl; she runs with the wrong crowds. As a result, this dream isn’t just about banging the nerd-turned-stud that is Shinichi. It’s also about getting that former nerd to accept Kana regardless of her past — regardless of the fact that she’s been “tainted.” She’s competing with Satomi, after all, i.e. the innocent childhood friend. Kana is obviously insecure about how she measures up to her rival. And when you look at it from this perspective, these monsters don’t really represent the parasytes even in a crude way. Rather, they represent the wrong crowd that she often finds herself hanging out with. She’s just using crude parasyte imagery as a stand-in, however, because that’s how the human mind works. We replace what really scares us with made-up monsters, because the latter is easier to cope with. And until she sees a parasyte firsthand, they’re just made-up monsters to her.

— Even the poor horse is a “parasyte” in her dreams.

— It seems that Shinichi would like an ally. After all, he’s different from everyone, and when you’re different, it can be lonely. It doesn’t help either that Satomi hasn’t really been a great friend lately, but supposedly, that will change. Even so, Kana might be someone that he can open up to, but Migi quickly shoots that idea down. I would trust Migi’s instincts.

— Like a lot of other people, Kana thinks it would be safe to pluck a parasyte’s hair. But c’mon, she saw what Shimada did to the entire school, right? So why would you ever want to anger a parasyte?

— Satomi ends up asking Kana if the latter has noticed that Shinichi has changed. Kana never really knew Shinichi in the past, though. As such, all we get to see in this scene is a couple of blushing girls talking about the boy that they like. In any case, Kana doesn’t really have a chance. As much as I loathe mopey girls like Satomi, it’s clear that she’ll always be the girl in Shinichi’s heart.

— Elsewhere, a parasyte walks into a building full of yakuza gang members, and murders them all in cold blood. It was a startlingly long scene. At first, I was like, “Well, at least they’re gangsters.” But a life is a life, and even if these guys are gangsters, they deserved to tried properly. In any case, this is the parasytes’ intention anyway. Sure, the authorities will investigate into the matter and wonder why a bunch of gangsters are suddenly dead, but few people are going to lose any sleep over this. So if you want to test your limits and kill a bunch of people, the yakuza was the way to go…

— Oh look, Yuko seems to have recovered.

— As far as Shinichi’s concerned, however, he has a date with Satomi. They do the usual things like watch a movie, stop by a diner, visit the park, etc. I guess Satomi has finally decided to warm up to the guy even though she still has her doubts.

— Shinichi is constantly reminded of his late mother, though. Satomi can’t help but ask about that one time he took a break from school. Then later, they find a puppy and its protective mother. Last but not least, he sees a frustrated mother about to slap her own child before finally relenting. As a result of all of these moments, Shinichi has a bit of a mini-breakdown on the park bench. As he clutches his chest, he thinks, “A hole… There’s a hole…” Later in the day, he gives us a quick soliloquy:

“Sometimes, I feel as though my body’s being ripped apart. But that feeling goes away after a while. That’s when I feel as though some part of Migi’s become a part of my heart. But I still do like her. I really care about her. That feeling is mine alone. When things are going well with me and her, I always wish you would stay asleep, Migi.”

How I interpret this is that Shinichi is clearly still human. This is the part where he feels his body being ripped apart.

He is clearly still heartbroken over his mother’s actions, and this is why seeing the frustrated mother at the park affected our hero so much. It’s almost like PTSD, and the thing is, he’s never really had a chance to really heal. Shortly after that ordeal, he quickly went back to school and pretended as though everything was normal. This is Migi’s doing; this is Migi’s practical thinking, which is why he thinks Migi has become a part of his heart. Migi is trying to help his human host in his own alien way, and that is to dull the heartache inside him. The problem is, Shinichi needs more than to just ignore his emotional trauma. Otherwise, it’s never going to go away, and Shinichi will always feel as though he’s not in full control of himself because Migi will constantly have to “sedate” him. This is why it’s so therapeutic for Shinichi to spend time with another loved one. He’s happy with Satomi, so obviously, Migi doesn’t have to do anything for the hero’s sake except give him tremendous stamina or whatever.

But more importantly, with his mother’s death, there’s clearly a void in Shinichi’s heart. He used to have his mother’s love, and he no longer has it. Normally, as we grow up and become more and more independent, maternal love gradually subsides as we learn to love other people. Our hero never got this luxury. Maternal love was cruelly and brutally yanked away, and that’s why he feels as though there’s a hole in his heart. The hope is that being with Satomi can somehow fill that hole up. Unfortunately, it seems that Satomi hasn’t quite cleared away the doubts in her own heart, and the kiss that they share only seems to amplify her misgivings.

— To make matters worse, Kana sees the kiss, and she intends to interfere with what is already a fragile relationship. Furthermore, the girl has an infatuation with Shinichi, but she doesn’t really understand him on any significant level. Nevertheless, she asks him to meet her somewhere…

— The next day, Shinichi arrives at the location to meet Kana, but instead, he sees six parasytes doing a public demonstration. These are the same parasytes responsible for the death of those gangsters just earlier in the episode. Furthermore, these parasytes intend to run for office. Well, our alien friends think they’re superior to us in every way, so it’s not surprising that they would also want to rule us…