Sword Art Online - Episode 17

Cheating on your wife with a loli, eh, Kirito?

The inevitable has finally happened. After a full episode of fawning over her brother's cousin's return to the real world, it doesn't come as a surprise that Suguha "coincidentally" meets him in the virtual world. If she hadn't, Episode 15 would've been all for nothing. Personally, I still can't get over how unexciting ALO is compared to SAO. The lack of tension and anxiety in the players makes watching the characters play the game slightly boring. I think the only amusing thing about this arc thus far is how both Kirito and Suguha are oblivious to each other's true identities. I simply can't wait for the moment when they find out, especially if Asuna's also in the picture; the love triangle-type conflicts that would arise are definitely things to look forward to.

Speaking of Asuna, her captivity at the hands of none other than Mr. Creeper could be seen coming from miles away. While I didn't really dislike Kayaba Akihiko or anything, Sugō is a totally different story. His repulsive and disturbing behaviour is sickening, and his tone of voice when he speaks is despicable as well. And even though I know it'll be a while before Kirito will make it to the top of Yggdrasil to confront him, I really hope it happens sooner than later. Another character added to my "dislike" list in this episode is Recon. Annoying, whiny, and socially awkward are only some of the words that can be used to describe that little runt. Not to mention his avatar looks extremely ugly.

Back on the topic of the story, the following is how I predict the timeline will go: three episodes (18-20) to travel to Yggdrasil, two episodes (21-22) to ascend to the top, two episodes (23-24) to confront and defeat Sugō, and a final episode (25) to wrap things up. With this in mind, the next few episodes should remain relatively low in action while the final ones are filled with it. I've got a lot of catching up to do so off to the next episode!