History Recap / MobPsycho100S2E7Cornered

A twitching boy--purportedly possessed--is brought onstage, strapped down to a wheelchair. The show's producers tap Kirin Jōdō to do the live exorcism, but he defers to Reigen instead. Reigen resorts to his time-honored and useless Salt Splash technique...but wait. It seems to be working here? This kid is ''acting.'' If this is an act, surely all in attendance know this too? He pulls out every flashy move in his arsenal for half an hour until Jōdō reveals to the audience that the child isn't possessed at all. Jōdō, the host, guests and audience then proceed to dismantle him in front of the watching world, shattering his carefully-built reputation in seconds.

Reigen seethes in his office, in the dark. He has no plan. All his attempts to contain the media dumpster fire fail, including recruiting the regulars at his local bar as character witnesses. When he gets home one day, the reporters staking out his apartment complex--now a regular occurrence, it seems--harass him into holding a press conference.

It's morning. Reigen sits onstage, blinded by camera flashes. His mind has drawn a blank: why are these people here again? Ah, right. To rake him further through the muck. In the hail of questions, one he isn't sure how to answer triggers a flashback...

Back to the present. Reigen breaks his silence to send a message... to someone. The room rumbles in response. Cameras and other breakable objects take flight; the floor under the reporters rolls as if sitting atop an angry seismic fault, filling the air with screams. While the whole room panics, Reigen snidely ends the press conference and heads home.

* JerkassRealization: And hard. Reigen dissociates during the [[BlindedByTheLight press conference]], returning to the first day he met Mob. He acknowledges that--despite his admiration of the child--he had ''used'' him for years, that he had been contributing to Mob's social isolation, and that he'd said some incredibly cruel things to him. He becomes a [[BenevolentBoss much kinder and far more respectful boss]] after this.

** Reigen was willing to listen to him, without judgment, and offer some (actually ''really good'') advice despite not taking his claims of psychic ability seriously at first. That kindness and the emotional space the man held for Mob since is not lost on the teenager, despite the disrespect he'd endured at Reigen's hands over the years. The phony psychic's bullshit ''saved Mob's life''.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Reigen--like Jōdō--correctly deduces the possessed kid isn't possessed at all, but fails to realize that the audience isn't in on the joke ''and'' that he's not on a fully-scripted show. [[HilarityEnsues Cringe ensues]].

** Reigen was willing to listen to him, without judgment, and offer some (actually ''really good'') advice despite not taking his claims of psychic ability seriously at first. That kindness and the emotional space the man held for Mob since is not lost on the teenager, despite the disrespect he'd endured at Reigen's hands over the years.

A twitching boy -- purportedly possessed -- is brought onstage, strapped down to a wheelchair. The show's producers tap Kirin Jōdō to do the live exorcism, but he defers to Reigen instead. Reigen resorts to his time-honored and useless Salt Splash technique...but wait. It seems to be working here? This kid is ''acting.'' If this is an act, surely all in attendance know this too? He pulls out every flashy move in his arsenal for half an hour until Jōdō reveals to the audience that the child isn't possessed at all. Jōdō, the host, guests and audience then proceed to dismantle him in front of the watching world, shattering his carefully-built reputation in seconds.

Reigen seethes in his office, in the dark. He has no plan. All his attempts to contain the media dumpster fire fail, including recruiting the regulars at his local bar as character witnesses. When he gets home one day, the reporters staking out his apartment complex -- now a regular occurrence, it seems -- harass him into holding a press conference.

...Three years prior. Reigen is sitting in his office, bored out of his skull, ready to quit ''again''. His door creaks open to reveal a shy little boy who announces that he has psychic powers. He can't control them and is scared. Reigen decides to humor him for a bit and send him home. He serves him some hot tea with a side of life advice (read: bullshit). When he spills his own cup everywhere, the boy halts it in mid-air-splash and returns the steaming liquid to its vessel, giving the no-longer-skeptical man an idea...

* JerkassRealization: And hard. Reigen dissociates during the [[BlindedByTheLight press conference]], returning to the first day he met Mob. He acknowledges that -- despite his admiration of the child -- he has used him for years, that he had been contributing to Mob's social isolation, and that he'd said some incredibly cruel things to him. He becomes a [[BenevolentBoss much kinder and far more respectful boss]] after this.
* NiceGuy: Mob. After [[TranquilFury calmly]] [[RageQuit rage-quitting]] Reigen's employ for an unspecified length of time, he forgives the unkindness that prompted him to do so. Mob tells the phony psychic that he always knew his ''shishou'' was a good person.

A twitching boy--purportedly possessed--is brought onstage, strapped down to a wheelchair. The show's producers tap Kirin Jōdō to do the live exorcism, but he defers to Reigen instead. Reigen resorts to his time-honored and useless Salt Splash technique...but wait. It seems to be working here? This kid is ''acting.'' If this is an act, surely all in attendance know this too? He pulls out every flashy move in his arsenal for half an hour until Jōdō reveals to the audience that the child isn't possessed at all. Jōdō, the host, guests and audience then proceed to dismantle him in front of the watching world, shattering his carefully-built reputation in seconds.

Reigen seethes in his office, in the dark. He has no plan. All his attempts to contain the media dumpster fire fail, including recruiting the regulars at his local bar as character witnesses. When he gets home one day, the reporters staking out his apartment complex--now a regular occurrence, it seems--harass him into holding a press conference.

...Three years prior. Reigen is sitting in his office, bored out of his skull, ready to quit ''again''. His door creaks open to reveal a shy little boy--a boy who bravely announces that he has psychic powers. He can't control them and is scared. Reigen decides to humor him for a bit and send him home. He serves him some hot tea with a side of life advice (read: bullshit). When he spills his own cup everywhere, the boy halts it in mid-air-splash and returns the steaming liquid to its vessel, giving the no-longer-skeptical man an idea...

Back to the present. Reigen breaks his silence to send a message...to someone. The room rumbles in response. Cameras and other breakable objects take flight; the floor under the reporters rolls as if it were sitting atop an angry seismic fault, filling the air with screams. While the whole room panics, Reigen snidely ends the press conference and heads home.

* JerkassRealization: And hard. Reigen dissociates during the [[BlindedByTheLight press conference]], returning to the first day he met Mob. He acknowledges that--despite his admiration of the child--he has used him for years, that he had been contributing to Mob's social isolation, and that he'd said some incredibly cruel things to him. He becomes a [[BenevolentBoss much kinder and far more respectful boss]] after this.
* NiceGuy: Mob. After calmly [[RageQuit rage-quitting]] Reigen's employ for an unspecified length of time, he forgives the unkindness that prompted him to do so. Mob tells the phony psychic that he always knew his ''shishou'' was a good person.

This bad news has ''legs''. Inukawa lets Mob in on the buzz: his master is now a laughingstock, but Mob assumes it's part of his ''shishou'''s plan. Reigen seethes in his office, in the dark. He has no plan. All his attempts to contain the media dumpster fire fail, including recruiting the regulars at his local bar as character witnesses. When he gets home one day, the reporters staking out his apartment complex--now a regular occurrence, it seems--harass him into holding a press conference.

...Three years prior. Reigen is sitting in his office, bored out of his skull, ready to quit ''again''. His door creaks open to reveal a shy little boy--a boy who bravely announces that he has psychic powers. He can't control them and is scared. Reigen decides to humor him for a bit and send him home. He serves him some hot tea with a side of life advice (read: bullshit). When he spills his own cup everywhere, the boy halts it in mid-air-splash and returns the liquid to its vessel, giving the no-longer-skeptical man an idea...

Back to the present. Reigen breaks his silence to send a message to someone; the room rumbles in response. Cameras take flight; the floor rolls under the reporters as if it sits atop an angry seismic fault, and screams fill the air. While the whole room panics, Reigen snidely ends the press conference and heads home.

* JerkassRealization: And hard. Reigen dissociates during the press conference, returning to the first day he met Mob. He acknowledges that--despite his admiration of the child--he has used him for years, that he had been contributing to Mob's social isolation, and that he'd said some incredibly cruel things to him. He becomes a [[BenevolentBoss much kinder and far more respectful boss]] after this.

* StatusQuoIsGod: Averted. The PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure changes the dynamic between the two forever.

* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Reigen, implied. It's implied he'd left his previous successful career in sales [[AllergicToRoutine out of boredom]]. We see him contemplating another career change right before the then 11-year-old Mob walks into his office; he reckons he's become little more than a glorified masseuse at this point. While he seems to be highly skilled at it--judging from the glowing client leaving Spirits and Such--it doesn't satisfy him.

...Three years prior. Reigen is sitting in his office, bored out of his skull, ready to quit ''again''. His door creaks open to reveal a shy but little boy--a boy who bravely announces that he has psychic powers. He can't control them and is scared. Reigen decides to humor him for a bit and send him home. He serves him some hot tea with a side of life advice (read: bullshit). When he spills his own cup everywhere, the boy halts it in mid-air-splash and returns the liquid to its vessel, giving the no-longer-skeptical man an idea...

A twitching boy--purportedly possessed--is brought onstage, strapped down to a wheelchair. The show's producers tap Kirin Jodo to do the live exorcism, but he defers to Reigen instead. Reigen resorts to his time-honored and useless Salt Splash technique...but wait. It seems to be working here? This kid is ''acting.'' If this is an act, surely all in attendance know this too? He pulls out every flashy move in his arsenal for half an hour until Jodo reveals to the audience that the child isn't possessed at all. Jodo, the host, guests and audience then proceed to dismantle him in front of the watching world, shattering his carefully-built reputation in seconds.

Bad news has ''legs''. Inukawa lets Mob in on the buzz: his master is now a laughingstock. Mob assumes it's part of his ''shishou'''s plan. Reigen seethes in his office, in the dark. He has no plan. All his attempts to contain the media dumpster fire fail, including recruiting the regulars at his local bar as character witnesses. When he gets home one day, the reporters staking out his apartment complex--now a regular occurrence, it seems--harass him into holding a press conference.

...Three years prior. Reigen sits in his office, bored out of his skull and ready to quit: he'd left his previous successful career in sales out of boredom too, and here he'd become little more than a glorified masseuse. His door creaks open to reveal a shy little boy--a boy who announces that he has psychic powers. He can't control them and is scared. Reigen decides to humor him, give him some hot tea with life advice (read: bullshit) and send him home. Then he spills his own cup everywhere. The boy halts it in mid-air-splash and returns the contents to the cup, giving the no-longer-skeptical man an idea...

Back to the present. Reigen breaks his silence to send a message to someone; the room rumbles in response. Cameras take flight; the floor rolls under the reporters like it sits atop an angry seismic fault, and screams fill the air. While the reporters panic, Reigen snidely ends the press conference and heads home.

* JerkassRealization: And hard. Reigen dissociates during the press conference, returning to the first day he met Mob, then 11 years old. He acknowledges that--despite his admiration of Mob--he has used him for years, that he had been contributing to Mob's social isolation, and that he'd said some incredibly cruel things to this kid. He becomes a [[BenevolentBoss much kinder and far more respectful boss]] after this.
* NiceGuy: Mob. He forgives the unkindness that prompted him to RageQuit Reigen's employ for an unspecified length of time, and tells the phony psychic that he always knew his ''shishou'' was a good person.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Reigen--like Jodo--correctly deduces the possessed kid isn't possessed at all, but fails to realize that the audience isn't in on the joke ''and'' that he's not on a fully-scripted show. [[HilarityEnsues Cringe ensues]].

...Three years prior. Reigen sits in his office, bored out of his skull and ready to quit: he'd left his previous successful career in sales out of boredom too, and here he'd become little more than a glorified masseuse. His door creaks open to reveal a shy little boy--a boy who announces that he has psychic powers. He can't control them and is scared. Reigen decides to humor him, give him some hot tea with life advice and send him home. Then he spills his own cup everywhere. The boy halts it in mid-air-splash and returns the contents to the cup, giving the no-longer-skeptical man an idea...

** Reigen seems to run into this often: despite his years-long association with Mob, who sees spirits ''all the time'', he assumes that the world around him shares his skepticism.