Izuku watches the rest of his classmates fight in their practical exams as they remember why they want to be heroes.
The episode begins with the final stages of Uraraka and Aoyama's match against Thirteen, where they're trying to avoid getting sucked into Thirteen's holes by hanging onto a railing. Aoyama picks up that Uraraka is asking herself "What Would Deku Do", and tells her so. Uraraka is shocked into letting go. Thirteen is forced to either turn off their quirk or outright kill their student, and chooses the former. Uraraka's combat training with Gunhead kicks in and she's able to cuff Thirteen.
The next match is Kaminari and Ashido vs. Nezu in an urban labyrinth. Nezu continuously demolishes their escape routes while they try to find the gate to no avail, and they fail the test as time runs out.
Jiro and Koda are up against Present Mic in a forested area. Although Present Mic's sound-based Quirk is much more powerful than theirs, the students manage to win by having Koda convince bugs to travel underground and attack him.
Next, Snipe has Hagakure and Shoji cornered in a building. When Snipe creates a smokescreen, Shoji distracts Snipe while Hagakure gets the handcuffs on him.
The final match of the episode is Sero and Mineta vs. Midnight. By this point, Midnight has knocked out Sero with her Quirk and is coming after Mineta. Although initially willing to throw in the towel, Mineta realizes why he wants to be a hero — to be cool — and is able to use his Quirk to trap Midnight far from the gate and pass.
Izuku then leaves, preparing to face his match with Bakugou against All Might.
Tropes exclusive to the anime:
- An Aesop: Mineta learns that being a hero doesn't make you cool. Being a hero is cool if you put in the effort.
- Accidental Pervert: Snipe accidentally jostles Hagakure's breasts. Granted, she discarded her remaining clothes beforehand to be completely invisible.
- Adaptation Expansion: Shoji and Hagakure's fight against Snipe was an offscreen fight in the manga, but is shown here.
- Big Damn Hero: When Sero is knocked out by Midnight, Mineta runs off. He then has an epiphany about being a hero, allowing him to outmaneuver the teacher and carry Sero to the gate.
- The Chessmaster: Nezu "wins" his exam by knowing the course so closely and having planned it out so well that from the starting bell to the machinery to the chaos that defines the rest of the time, everything's exactly as planned. It's suggested that it might have been possible for Kaminari and Ashido to surprise him in the context of the exam, but they don't, and he claims — while privately gloating like a maniac — to have left exactly one way out "because [he's] so nice", but whatever it was, they didn't find it.
- Cutting the Knot: Present Mic is waiting for the Jiro and Koda team to get through the forest to him, but starts screaming to get them to hurry up because he's bored.
- Ear Ache: Jiro starts bleeding from the ears because Present Mic's shouts are hitting her harder than it would others.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite being a colossal pervert, Mineta chooses to power through and pass the exam with Sero in tow. He is no less jealous of Sero succumbing to Midnight's Quirk and lying on her lap.
- Evil Laugh: Nezu gets to laugh very evilly a couple of times. According to Recovery Girl, it's an allusion to his Dark and Troubled Past.
- Greek Chorus: In addition to Midoriya and Recovery Girl, Tsuyu, Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Uraraka (after her match finishes) commentate on the matches.
- Left Stuck After Attack: Mineta uses his Quirk to get Midnight's whip stuck to the floor after she attacks him.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Koda finally gets serious after realizing Jiro's been injured by Present Mic's attacks.
- Pervert Revenge Mode: Hagakure snaps at Snipe for accidentally touching her chest seconds after he gets handcuffed. It doesn't help that she is perpetually invisible and must be naked for the complete effect, so he didn't expect to be that close to her.
- Ship Tease: Midoriya and Uraraka get a moment that's not in the manga, when Tsuyu asks Uraraka what happened to make her let go of the railing. She furiously blushes and says nothing happened.
- The Snack Is More Interesting: Kaminari and Ashido are so outmatched by Nezu that he's casually drinking a cup of tea while keeping them on the run.
- Spanner in the Works: Aoyama's Ship Tease causes Uraraka to let go of the railing, forcing Thirteen to hold back their Quirk to prevent killing her. Uraraka manages to take advantage and cuff the teacher, allowing Aoyama and her to pass.
- We Need a Distraction: When Shoji notices Hagakure discarded her uniform and is fully invisible, he tries his best to get Snipe's attention, in order to give her a chance to sneak up on Snipe.
- What Would X Do?: Uraraka asks herself "what Deku would do" when Thirteen has her and Aoyama on the ropes.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Koda can control bugs, but he's also terrified of them.
