天下制覇

Are living room bars really a thing?

Impressions:

They're doing a significantly better job developing Rika's character than the rest, although I have some issues with the ending of the episode, particularly the "I need to cut myself to keep myself sane." You would think that would be the starting point and a character learns to NOT cut themself, but instead, it's presented as her triumph. In a show all about depressed and suicidal girls, I don't think glorifying self-harm is the way to go. The suicldal-girl-of-the-week is also another one that I don't know really deserved to be saved. She was taken in by a cult and spent the entire thing trying to get Rika killed too. Even after being 'saved,' all she did was insult and disparage her. Yes, nobody deserves to be preyed upon, but I feel like at least at some point understanding that they were in the process of becoming a similar monster should be a requisite. 

But the dramatic and character development sides of the episode were still very well handled, with a mix of exposition from Rika and just showing that her mother is a struggling woman who isn't a complete monster, but also that Rika is really desperately feeling abandoned and starved for affection. Cognizent enough to realize what she hates about her mother, but also aware that she's turning into her. We also avoided the Mama Mia schtick it looked like it was flirting with at the start, and thank god for that.