When Nozomi notices her student, Rumi, anxious about moving away from her school, despite her best efforts she can't do anything to help her:
When she asks the principal to implement a system to help Rumi stay, he coldly but correctly tells her that they can't implement it on a whim for just one student. She suggests that they give her a scholarship instead, but when the principal asks if Nozomi is willing to pay for it she meets his question with silence showing that she herself may be dealing with money troubles of her own.
Nozomi's attempts to talk to her Rumi's father also paint a tragic picture of her home life: her father is stressed at the prospect of losing his business and has begun to drink heavily, lashing out and verbally abusing Rumi; his wife also filed for divorce.
Eventually the stress of the situation leads Nozomi to kneel over and cry. That's right, the heroine and once legendary Precure of hope feels so helpless that she gives up and blames herself for not being able to help someone, while Rumi does manage to cheer her up, it's heartbreaking to see just how the stress of adult life can wear down even someone as optimistic as Nozomi.
Episode 2
The episode starts with a fun reunion where the girls drink themselves silly and take about life. Urara casually reveals that she's a quite a heavy drinker and that the director of the play she's starring in yells at her on set often. While the girls cheer her up, the next day we see just what Urara is talking about: her acting is much stiffer and she has trouble getting into character. The director eventually stops her, unimpressed with her showing, and simply tells her to leave, causing Urara to cry.
Komachi's daily life shows just how much of a rut she's in. Despite having achieved her dream of finishing her novel, despite having grown into a responsible adult who tends to the shop and is liked by all her neighbors, she simply doesn't feel like she's done enough. On top of that she suffers from writers block, as a writer being unable to do the one thing she loves has taken its toll on her and left her quite depressed.
Karen is a successful doctor but despite this, she isn't always able to solve every one of her patients problems. She saves the life of a patient of hers yet he hardly eats and refuses to speak. A nurse explains that he will recover from his sickness/surgery but during his stay in the hospital he lost his job. Having been the Student Council President who thrived to make sure that everyone at her school was treated fairly, the sad look in her eyes when she hears about this speaks volumes.
The viewpoint of someone who has had their shadow stolen is shown, with them reliving recent memories of where they failed to make the most of what they had, with a voice telling them to go to sleep and stop thinking about what might have been. That the person is Nozomi is the most tearjerking aspect of it... until she gets her Heroic Second Wind.
Alternative Title(s):Kibou No Chikara Otona Pretty Cure 23
