The episode opens with Natsuo and Fuyumi Todoroki, visiting their mother Rei in the hospital. Natsuo tells that he would never forgive their father for what he put his family through. Rei tells him that she feels he has been trying to make up for what he has done to them and deserves another chance.
Meanwhile, Endeavor is fighting the new High-End Nomu (a.k.a Hood), which is on a league of its own unlike other Nomus. Hood is not only stronger and faster than Endeavor, it can also think and is capable of rudimentary speech. Hood destroys a skyscraper, but Hawks successfully evacuates civilians while Endeavor pulverizes the building to prevent the debris from causing damage.
The fight continues, but Hood is notoriously tough and has a resilient regeneration Quirk. Hood scars Endeavor's face and knocks him out. The citizens panic because there is no All Might to protect them, but Endeavor rises and channels every iota of his strength towards defeating Hood. Hawks uses his feathers to propel Endeavor. Endeavor thrusts his flaming fist into Hood's mouth, but it is still not enough. Endeavor desperately takes Hood to the sky and pushes his limitations, channeling his Prominence Burn to incinerate Hood, defeating it for good. The crowd celebrates Endeavor's victory.
Shoto and the remaining classmates heave a sigh of relief after watching the TV coverage. In the post credits scene, Izuku is sleeping in his dorm. He then has a mysterious vision where he sees Nana Shimura and the previous users of One For All lined up. He watches a memory where the evil All For One transferred the power stockpiling Quirk to his younger brother, the first user of One For All. Much to Izuku's astonishment, the first user identifies him as the ninth user and their hands touch. Suddenly, a window shatters, and Izuku wakes up, shocked that One For All activated on its own.
Tropes in this episode:
- Artistic License – Biology: Hawks apparently doesn't actually have any bones in his wings, as they appear to be just stubs when he's used up most of his feathers.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Endeavor and Hawks, the #1 and #2 heroes respectively, work side-by-side to take on Hood, Endeavor focusing on combat and keeping its attentions with Hawks keeping the civilians safe and using his feathers to support Endeavor.
- Book Ends: The fight between Endeavor and Hood is almost a complete inversion of All Might's final fight with All For One. Whereas All Might's fight took place at night, ended with All For One being pounded into the ground, and symbolizes the end of an era with All Might's time as the #1 hero over, Endeavor's fight takes place during the day, ends with him burning up Hood high in the sky, and is framed as the dawn of a new era with Endeavor as the #1 hero, this fight being nothing more than his start. To solidify it they even assume the same pose in the end, only with Endeavor raising his right fist instead.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Endeavor internally remembers how much he loathed the "Plus Ultra" catch phrase, but uses it when performing his final move on Hood.
- Casual Danger Dialog: While they're falling back from Hood after Endeavor blows up half a crumbling building, Hawks chides Endeavor about his demolition job. Endeavor tells him to shut up and focus on the fight.
- Combat and Support: The difference between Endeavor and Hawks when fighting Hood, Endeavor being the Combat relying on the raw power of his attacks and Hawks being the Support using his speed to a provide a distraction and his feathers to give Endeavor additional agility.
- Easily Forgiven: Rei gives a downplayed example for Enji. She's still afraid of him, but the fact he still visits her, albiet implied to be indirectly, is a sign that he is trying to make amends.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Endeavor observes how Hood, in his ruthless pursuit of power, is much like him from the past or another future. He then tells it to burn up and be put to rest, followed by incinerating it with a Plus Ultra Prominence Burn, symbolizing him casting of his past self and beginning his new path of self-improvement.
- Not So Stoic: Shoto, even when remembering the pain his father caused to him and his family, reacts in tense worry when Hood starts to overpower Endeavor. And at the end, when Endeavor emerges injured but victorious, he collapses in a heap with clear relief and hands raised in prayer.
- Rousing Speech: One Endeavor fan yells one out over the crowd to stop panicking, telling everyone to have faith in Endeavor to protect them. He even points out the flames among the buildings that backs up Endeavor's intent to protect them. When the critically injured Flame Hero bursts out of the wreckage to keep fighting, it works.
- Rule of Symbolism: Endeavor's final attack to destroy Hood involves Hawk's red feathers boosting him into the air so that Endeavor can release his full-powered flames, bringing to mind the imagery of a Phoenix. Making this even more apparent is Endeavor's comparison of hood and his recent past of being blinded by ambition and abusing his family, telling both the Hood Nomu and his past self to "burn to ash and be at peace," heavily paralleling the death and rebirth of the firebird.
- The Stinger: Izuku has a strange dream/flashback to the origins of One for All.
- Wham Line: Two of them!
- Hood's entrance attacking Endeavor and Hawks is dramatic enough, but then he does something no other Nomu has done: speaks.
Hood: Which of you is strongest?- Way, way back in the Sports Festival arc, All Might assured Izuku that the visions he saw when he broke out of Shinso's brainwashing were just echoes of previous heroes, visions that couldn't interact with the current wielder at all. One line proves them wrong:
All for One's Brother: So you're the ninth...
