After being saved by Mami Tomoe, the two friends are invited to her apartment where she explains to them the magical world of Magical Girls and the Witches they fight. The next day, they join her on a witch-hunting mission.
This episode provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: An embarrassed Madoka admits that she only brought her fanart for the witch hunt which leads to Sayaka and Mami laughing affectionally over it.
- Anger Born of Worry: A subdued example. When Junko asks Madoka why she returned home late last night and Madoka tells her she was invited to a friend’s house, Junko just quietly, but firmly tells her daughter to let her know where she is before dinner next time.
- Claimed by the Supernatural: A victim who's targeted by a Witch is given a "Witch's Kiss" which appears as a tattoo on their neck.
- Crazy-Prepared: Sayaka brings a metal bat for her first witch hunt and Mami applauds her for bringing it.
- Driven to Suicide: The office lady that Gertrud targets is hypnotized into taking a swan dive off an abandoned building. Fortunately Mami uses her magic ribbons to save her.
- Eldritch Abomination: Contrary to what traditional witches look like, the Witches in the Madoka universe resemble abstract monsters with grotesque features. In Gertrud's case, she resembles a giant snail with butterfly wings.
- Essence Drop: After a Witch is killed, they leave behind a small black item called a Grief Seed. These are useful for Magical Girls as they can purify their Soul Gems after ongoing usage.
- Finishing Move: Mami's signature move is summoning a giant gun called Tiro Finale.
- Foreshadowing:
- If you pay close attention to Kyubey’s explanation about Witches, you’ll notice that he only says that Witches are born from curses, but he never says where the curses come from. This is our first hint that he’s not telling the full truth.
- When Mami is sitting seiza at her table, the way she places her hands in her lap and the reflection of the glass eerily makes it look like she's holding her head.
- Madoka asks her mother what she would wish for. Her mother talks about what she would change about her job, like getting two crappy co-workers fired and forcing the current CEO to retire. Madoka asks why she doesn't just wish to be CEO, and her mother's answer is that it never occurred to her. Her mother is making the same mistake all magical girls make with their wishes. She's wishing to remove obstacles to her goal rather than wishing to succeed in her goal because she never thought it was an option. It foreshadows Madoka's wish and her reasons for making it.
- When Madoka asks Homura what she wished for when she became a Magical Girl, the latter gives the former a Meaningful Look, but doesn’t answer her question.
- When Madoka draws examples of her future possible costumes, she draws herself with black eyes, rather like various soulless beings in stories like Coraline.
- When Mami fights Gertrud, in retrospect, you can see how careful she is attacking from only long range, going for the weak spot, and even setting up a trap. The fact that she starts fighting recklessly in the next episode ends up sealing her fate.
- Heteronormative Crusader: Hitomi is horrified after she inaccurately believes that Madoka and Sayaka have become more closer after spending the night together.Hitomi: You're both girls! Girls can't like girls! Girls can't like girls! Girls can't like girls!!!
- I Work Alone: Unlike in traditional magical girl anime where the heroines work together for a shared goal, Mami explains that most magical girls prefer to work by themselves as the rewards they obtain from defeating Witches can't be shared as evenly.
- Magic Enhancement: Before going into the Labyrinth, Mami uses her magic to turn Sayaka's bat into a magical one. This makes it even more effective while fighting the Familiars.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The office lady has this reaction after she wakes up in Mami's arms worried that she almost kiled herself.
- Psychic Link: Thanks to Kyubey, Madoka, Sayaka and Mami are able to communicate with each other via telepathy.
- Title Drop: Madoka ends the episode with the line "That would be truly wonderful" after seeing the good Mami accomplished with her magical girl career.
