Wonder Egg Priority episode 3 was great! I feel like I've been saying this for each episode, but this show understands how to handle mature topics and visual storytelling with finesse!

Here's a thread about some of the visual observations I made throughout the episode!

Right from the first shot, we're already greeted with a lighthouse which will be an important setting for an emotional conversation later in the episode. A lighthouse is a symbol of guidance, fitting for a character like Rika who certainly needs it.

Rika always says this line when introducing herself to a new person. I do think she has pride in her appearance, but she also probably does this as a means of creating a wall between herself and others because of how much she actually hates herself on the inside.

There's a lot of invasion of space that appears throughout this episode, between Rika stepping into Ai's space, Rika leaning in towards the screen as we're taking Ai's perspective, and the last two shots. Taking space is one of many signs in this episode of Rika's selfishness.

Giving Rika money, followed by a handshake and the line "Come see Rika again, okay? Just kidding" is actually heartwrenching considering how she wants to bring Chiemi, the person who used to do this for her, back from the dead. She wants Chiemi to come and see her again.

Her selfish front that she initially puts on is reflected more in the cinematography. There's a nice division created by the wall leading to Ai's home before Rika enters that space. This even extends into the hospital visit where Rika is framed next to Ai within the door frame.

As much as I'll comment about Rika's self-centered behavior, I don't think that Rika is an entirely selfish person, but she presents herself as such. Gluttony is a clear indication of selfishness which is why we can see her taking two pieces of fruit instead of one.

OOO! THE CONTRAST! I love how Ai is always at the edge of the screen, dividing Neiru and Rika in the background. Notice how Rika leans forward and Neiru doesn't which makes it appear as if Rika is entering Ai's space again. It really sells the contrast between both characters.

Ah, yes, KIWI! This could mean many things but for the sake of character limit space, I'm going to go with the most obvious interpretation being that, much like a kiwi, Rika puts on an offputting exterior but, on the inside, she's soft and fragile. Also, lol, I love Neiru's face.

I don't know the entire situation with the teacher, I'm assuming Ai's mother and the teacher have some feelings towards each other. Ai is framed in between them, she has issues with the teacher, but it seems like she doesn't want to cause problems with her mother.

I think one of the ultimate foods to use as a means of conveying gluttony is a cake since they're meant to be cut into pieces for a bunch of people. Rika wanting to eat Ai's cake is another clear sign of her selfish behavior.

Ai yelling at Rika because she had the gall to imply that Ai simply became friends with Koito because Koito was pretty while having Ai's frustration being paralleled to a beverage toppling over gives me so much energy.

The lines being spoken about how "scratching the surface" reveals how people are "slimy" is paralleled with her self-harm cuts. She's literally scratching the surface of herself to reveal the slimy layer underneath her skin. She views herself as slimy and hates herself.

Water could be used as a symbol of rebirth here since Rika promises she won't self-harm again. Admittedly though, because of my own personal experience with this subject matter, I'm not sold that she won't cut ever again.

I have no idea what's up between the teacher and Koito, it doesn't look good, hella sketchy. Anyways, clear division imagery here with the door and Ai not stepping beyond the entryway once again showing how her past self used to avoid confronting issues.

The lockers on both sides of Ai really does "wonders" *ba dum tss* in showing how Ai's mind is feeling compressed with all of the issues surrounding Koito stacking up. She's framed between the two shoe lockers as she's crying in despair and feeling suffocated.

I think that Rika puts on a prideful facade just to cope and try to remove herself from feeling self-hatred. She covers up the cutting marks and brushes them off simply as a "youthful whatever". This adds to the idea of the need to confront one's issues that this show explores.

It's revealed that Rika is actually a caring person but she just didn't know how to properly convey to Chiemi that shoplifting for her is terrible. Her solution was to call Chiemi fat which caused her to develop an eating disorder and die. Rika must be feeling so many regrets...

Ooo! A shot angled down on Rika through a window? Amazing! Since we're looking down on her, this is an indication that Rika looks down on herself. She's boxed within one of the window panels too, this feeling of self-hatred is suffocating to her.

The parallel between the 1st and the 2nd shot is really heartwrenching. Rika is now at the other side of the table, wanting to connect with Chiemi like how Chiemi wanted to connect with Rika. Rika has to deal with looking at Chiemi's skinny body, knowing her words lead to this.

*Breathes in* *Breathes out* *Contains hype* *Hype uncontainable* MY MC! *UNINTELLIGIBLE GIBBERISH* MY FUCKING MC!!!

Hey, is that Rika talking to me and giving me the thumbs up for writing this thread? It really feels like it is lmao. But man, what a cliffhanger!

Anyways, this is the end of this thread! This episode was great, I'm really loving this show, and doing these threads on a weekly basis has been a splendid experience.

If you made it this far into the thread, thank you for reading it! I love y'all~