Spy x Family Season 3 Ep. 42 “The Mommy-Friends Scheme”: The Mystery Mom Intro [Review]

Spy x Family Season 3 gives us a critical meeting between Yor Forger and a new important character in Ep. 42 “The Mommy-Friends Scheme”. As you might’ve noticed from the title, this new important character is in fact Damian’s mother. Now that Melinda Desmond has made her appearance, the plot is all set to enter high gear.

Spy x Family Season 3 Ep. 42 “The Mommy-Friends Scheme”: Details in Brief

Spy x Family Season 3 Ep. 42 “The Mommy-Friends Scheme” is the fifth episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, and Ep. 4 here) of the third season of this spy action-comedy anime, and the 42nd overall in the series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the ongoing Spy x Family manga series by Tatsuya Endo.

Wit Studio (Attack on Titan S1-3, Ranking of Kings, Suicide Squad Isekai) and Cloverworks (The Promised Neverland, Bocchi the Rock!, My Dress-Up Darling) remains the animation studios behind this anime, just as they have for the first two seasons. In fact, longtime readers at THS will recall that we reviewed the first and second seasons, plus the Spy x Family Code: White anime film as well. The staff is a bit different this time around though. Yukiko Imai has replaced Kazuhiro Furuhashi and Takahiro Harada as the director, but all other staff are reprising their roles.

The opening theme song for this third season of Spy x Family Season 3 is “Hi o Mamoru” (灯を護る) by Spitz. Meanwhile, “Actor” by Lilas Ikuta is the ending theme song for the same.

Synopsis

Alas, Spy x Family Season 3 is still an ongoing anime series. In fact, Ep. 42 “The Mommy-Friends Scheme” only made its debut on November 1, 2025 on Crunchyroll and Hulu. Thus, to avoid spoilers, here’s the synopsis of this episode from Crunchyroll:

“Yor goes out shopping and happens to save someone quite unexpected.”

Spy x Family Season 3 Ep. 42 “The Mommy-Friends Scheme”: The Good

The appearance of Melinda Desmond (voiced by Kikuko Inoue (JP)) in Spy x Family Season 3 Ep. 42 “The Mommy-Friends Scheme” is the highlight of the episode story-wise. Because Melinda herself is a critically important character in the story, at least in part due to being the wife of Donovan Desmond and being the mother of Damian Desmond (voiced by Natsumi Fujiwara (JP) and Caitlin Glass (EN)). However, it’s her relationships with her husband and her son that are the most plot-critical details. There is a small detail near the end of the episode where Melinda spoke nervously about her own son, which is clearly an example of foreshadowing. What that little act foreshadows is unclear, and is unclear even in the manga, let alone the anime. However, the drama that bit of foreshadowing creates is why audiences are sitting on the edges of their seat here.

However, before all that happens, there is some hilarious comedy involving Yor Forger (voiced by Saori Hayami (JP) and Natalie Van Sistine (EN)) establishing a friendship with Melinda. First by saving Melinda from a bad fall from an escalator, and then via being talked into a volleyball match that turns into a match of superpowered proportions.

That particular match shows off not only Yor’s near-superhuman abilities, but also the animation efforts of the animations teams at Wit Studio and CloverWorks. The smooth and fluid animation of Yor leaping about like a gazelle and smashing the volleyball with the force of a gorilla all demonstrate much time and effort spent on animating their movements. The cinematography also contributes to the hilarity, since the angles of the shots resemble those of an action film…during what is supposed to be a relatively casual volleyball match among housewives.

The comedy at the end of the episode involving highly detailed animations of Anya (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki (JP) and Megan Shipman (EN)) trying (and succeeding in the most comedic way) to use a yakisoba burger to get Damian’s attention is just the cherry on top of this comedy.

Spy x Family Season 3 Ep. 42 “The Mommy-Friends Scheme”: The Bad

Honestly, as good as the animation during the volleyball match was, it could’ve been better. Almost all of the characters aside from Yor were just still images, making it look as if Yor was standing amidst statues rather than living, breathing people. However, this could be forgiven for story reasons due to Yor simply moving at much higher speeds relative to everyone else, as well as some of the scenes having the people involved be distant enough that you don’t have to render their designs in too great a detail. Ultimately, the result is a scene that could’ve looked better, but is still overall enjoyable to watch.

Anime Recommendations

If you wish to watch more action-packed sequences like Yor’s attempt at playing volleyball like a normal person, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, and May I Ask for One Final Thing?. Alternately, if you wish for more relaxed or just slow-paced fare, then I bid you check out Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, and/or This Monster Wants to Eat Me.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Spy x Family Season 3? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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