My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex

Episode 10

This episode felt surprisingly low-key compared to some of the more major dramatic beats that have happened in the past couple of episodes, but that doesn't mean that there wasn't a lot to consider. This episode can best be summed up as teenagers fighting with their desires for the sake of understanding a new status quo. The overall premise of the show might be unconventional, but I think anybody who's trying to remain close to their ex, whether they planned to or not after a messy break up, could probably empathize with what's going on. In this episode there are a lot of instances where it's made painfully clear that these two still feel some kind of desire towards each other but they are constantly putting that down for the sake of this new situation that they genuinely didn't ask to be put in. It's like torture, because you feel bad and almost want them to try again though maybe this is a blessing in disguise? Maybe the current situation they're in makes it easier to not cross lines that just shouldn't be crossed at this time.

In my experiences, when you break up with somebody that you've had a strong attachment to, it's easy to let those lingering feelings take over sometimes, even if things ended badly and it was rather sad when our leads revisited the spot of their first kiss. You want to get swept up in the emotions of everything and go back to the way things were for a brief moment but in doing so, you run the risk of ruining where you are now. Unfortunately, you can't go backwards and sometimes your relationship doesn't just affect your happiness, it can affect the happiness of others. I think that's why I like Isana's inclusion in the show so much because she establishes a level of affection and closeness that you could argue our two main leads should almost strive for. It's a level of physical and emotional comfort that doesn't quite cross the line into romance which can be more fulfilling in and of itself. Sure, there will always be a part of you that wants to cross that line and be more involved but things are definitely more complicated than that. I will admit Isana's explanation for how being fuck buddies would technically satisfy her since she can have the emotional closeness they share now on top of a physical relationship. The point is that relationships can take so many different forms and in order to explore those other relationships you need to be willing to let go of others no matter how much it might hurt. I'm actually genuinely curious what direction the show is going to go in when it ends and I'll be genuinely impressed if it ends up leaning more towards redefining their relationship instead of potentially making a mistake and trying to go back to the past.

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My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.