Last week’s Dr. Stone left us on a pretty surprising cliffhanger. When choosing who would be the third member of the cave exploration mission, Senku took the tough and semi-crude Magma as his third member. Well as we learn in this episode, that choice was well made. The exploration starts off simple enough and our trio enter the cave without too much worry. Unfortunately, trouble strikes when Senku discovers an area of the cave made from a weak rock mineral and is then subsequently pushed by Magma causing the floor to collapse. Senku tries to hold Magma’s big girth up but both fall into a pit and seem doomed at first. Using his intelligence--as always--Senku commands Chrome to use a water tube to fill the pit with water allowing them to reach the top. Chrome immediately blames Magma for nearly killing Senku but Senku knew that secretly, Magma tried to save him when he heard the floor crack under his weight! Chrome apologizes to our big warrior and the team discovers the much needed Tungsten to make the vacuum tubes! Forced to leave early due to Magma’s insistence, the trio return home to have Senku blind folded and thinking they secretly wanted to use him as leverage to save the village. As a surprise, he is unblindfolded and sees a telescope made for his birthday that Gin remembered! Senku really needs to realize these people in this village aren’t enemies but are his friends/allies and that trust will no doubt help them in the upcoming battle! Folks...two episodes remain and no doubt these last two will end this arc in a truly explosive way! We’re ready for the season finale but are you?

With Thorfinn, Askeladd, and Thorkell under his princely aegis, Canute marches right up to his father’s throne room to demand the respect he deserves. King Sweyn is surprised by his son’s radical shift in personality, realizing that he can’t dispose of him quite as easily as he initially planned to. He sees in Canute’s eyes the intent to kill and replace him, just as Sweyn himself had once done to his own father, but warns the prince that “the will of the crown” controls whoever wields it (meaning that, if Canute wants to create a new paradise on Earth as he says, the very nature of being king means that he’ll always be power-hungry). However, Canute is determined to carve out his ideal peaceful world, even if it means becoming a demon in the process.

Meanwhile, pieces are gathering together to form the new band of Vikings who will help Canute assassinate the king and ascend the throne. Thorfinn keeps his strength and agility sharp even as his broken arm heals, Askeladd is emboldened to overthrow the king because Sweyn insulted his mother, and Thorkell is having a grand old time canoodling with other Viking leaders and out-drinking the newly cleaned up Priest Willibald (who, contrary to his usual scraggly appearance, is actually only 23 years old). Ragnar’s brother Gunnar comes out of the woodwork to assist Canute, but Askeladd doesn’t trust his weaselly words. What exactly is everyone planning, anyway...?

Having decided to join the basketball team, Kenji's desire to win is instantly tested. with the help of Sora, Yasuhara, Chuckie, and Nabe, Kenji tries to convince Satsuki to let him join the team, but Satsuki tells them there is nothing they can go about his suspension. Not knowing when to quit, Sora persists in his efforts to reverse Kenji's suspension and continues to badger Satsuki into letting Kenji come back to school. Thankfully, Kenji's suspension is overturned after the principal overhears Kenji's heartfelt request to Satsuki. However, things don't go as planned when the boys who attacked Kenji and got him expelled show up to fight again. Despite Yasuhara, Chuckie, and Nabe showing up to fight alongside him, Kenji decides to not fight back and let the boys beat him up.

The last few episodes with Kenji have all been building up to this moment and it sure was great. Getting to know Kenji and his backstory was great and seeing him make sacrifices for the team brings a tear to your eye. What made this so great though, was that it not only was a great moment for Kenji, but it was a great moment for the rest of the team as well. We got see Sora continuing to pick fights knowing he can't win and we get to see the care and dedication Yasuhara, Chuckie, and Nabe have to both basketball and their friends. We also got to see Satsuki finally take the team seriously and do something as their advisor, which certainly bodes well for their future.