EPISODE CONTEXT

Episode 22 sits at a critical inflection point — four episodes from the finale — following "Honest Feelings," which appeared to strip characters of their emotional defenses and force genuine confessions. This episode likely converts that honesty into consequential choices about who Naoto truly needs, setting the stage for Episode 23's "A Story from Another Time," which may pull back to recontextualize these decisions through backstory or an alternate perspective. The series is clearly in its climactic phase where long-simmering relationship dynamics demand resolution.