Original Air Date: April 23, 2018
The second stage of the Advancement Exams takes place in Sapporo, Hokkaido. The students are tasked with making a noodle dish, with the rebels finding themselves with more sabotages from Central.
This episode provides examples of:
- Challenge Seeker: The only ones who are excited about dueling a member of the council are Soma and Takumi. All the others are understandably terrified.
- Chekhov's Classroom: Erina's very first lecture is about potatoes as the main product of the Hokkaido region. This ends up saving all the rebels in the next episode, since the teachers sided with Central reduced their supplies of flour for the noodles test. They end up doing potato udon to pass their exams.
- Commuting on a Bus: At the same time the Elite Ten is shown flying to Hokkaido, Isshiki, Kuga and Megishima, who weren't seen since Azami booted them off the council, are shown traveling to Hokkaido by their own means.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: By the end of the episode, Megumi, Soma and Takumi could barely sleep at the expectative of facing a member of the Elite Ten the following day. While Megumi didn't sleep from nervousness, Soma and Takumi were actually excited and eager.
- Friendly Enemy: Despite being on the Enemy's side, Rindou is still nice to the rebels, to the point she offers them some breakfast.
- Jerkass Realization: After Ikumi admits that she always admired Erina and she somehow could relate to her being Lonely at the Top, Erina starts feeling guilty for cutting Ikumi off after her defeat to Soma.
- Lonely at the Top: Despite being at Sapporo many times, Erina never noticed how beautiful the city was. She later realizes that this is the first time she could really enjoy a normal evening with real friends.
- MacGyvering: Without enough supplies and in the middle of a blizzard, the rebels are forced to improvise noodles using potatoes and potato starch.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Ikumi tells Erina that she could sense that they were similar in their upbringings. They both come from rich families that pressured them into behaving in a determined way. Erina is surprised to know how close to home it hit.
- The Reveal: Erina finds out that the shojo manga she borrowed from Soma were actually Megumi's, who lent them willingly to her.
- Rigged Contest: For this test, the teachers called the rebels last so they could only get the bare minimum of ingredients, meaning no proteins, flour or noodles for their dishes.
- Training from Hell: A flashback reveals that, along the lectures, Erina also exhausted the rebels with cooking sessions as well, to the point everyone ended up passing out on the kitchen's floor.
- Wham Shot: The group discovers that Akira Hayama has joined Central and will be Soma's opponent.
