What makes Classroom of the Elite such a good show is that the viewer never really knows exactly what’s happening. Most of the time we’re just as lost as the characters. The only one who seems to be truly in control is Ayanokoji. But what could possibly be going through his mind? What are his motivations? Will he successfully lift Class D to the top of the school’s rankings? Season 2 Episode 5 answered some questions but also posed many more.
Plot Summary
To start off, it’s only right that we recap the plot of the episode. This show has so many different storylines and intricacies that can get lost in the shuffle. To begin Episode 5, Ayanokoji informs Horikita that Kushida is the traitor who is selling their secrets to Ryuen. It’s not clear exactly why Kushida is betraying Class D but we do have a theory on that which you can read below.
Later, the duo of Ayanokoji and Horikita confront Kushida about her treachery. A key detail here is the fact that Kushida never denies selling out her classmates. She simply says she doesn’t understand why Horikita would suspect her.
The episode continues into the Sports Festival where Class D and A (red) are teamed up against Class B and C (white). The Red team jumps out to an early lead with Sudo standing out as a star. Interestingly, Koenji refuses to participate in any events. We know from season 1 that he is extremely athletic. He should shine at the sports festival but instead he’s apathetic. In fact, Koenji hasn’t once attempted to help his class succeed since the school year began. He may be a character to watch out for.
But the most pressing matter is the sports festival. The tides begin to turn after Class C uses underhanded methods to cut down the Red team’s lead. Horikita is even injured by another student. As Class D’s morale fails, Ayanokoji explains that the traitor has leaked Class D’s participation list. They have intentionally rigged the matchups, dooming the Red team from the start. But for some reason Ayanokoji never had any intention of trying to win the sports festival.
Instead he recommends Horikita use their failure as a chance to manipulate Sudo. As Horikita leaves to carry out this plan, she is met by Kushida who explains that the girl who injured Horikita earlier is seriously injured herself. Horikita and Kushida run towards the nurses office where they are confronted by Ryuen who slyly extorts Horikita. He demands she grovel and hand over a million private points or else she’ll be blamed for intentionally injuring the girl from class C. He gives Horikita until the end of the sports festival to come up with an answer. The episode ends after Horikita runs into her brother and explains that she won’t become a bother to him.
Analysis
Why Is Kushida a Traitor?
There are actually a couple of reasons for why Kushida could be betraying Class D. I’ll present my theories here.
1 – Kushida Needs Private Points
This is offhand explanation that Ayanokoji presents to Horikita when he explains that Kushida is a betrayer. Perhaps she has run low on private points. We know many students weren’t exactly frugal with their points. Maybe Kushida was one of them and now she’s desperate for points. Or perhaps Kushida wants to take a similar route to Ichinose and buy her way into Class A using private points. Personally, I don’t think these explanations are very likely. It’s a very serious thing to betray your class and while points are very useful, I doubt Kushida could be solely motivated by them
2 – Kushida Wants to Eliminate Horikita
This theory seems much more likely. We know from season 1 that Kushida is not as friendly as she appears to be. In fact, her true personality is rather terrifying and manipulative. We also know that despite her outward kindness, she desperately hates Horikita. In fact, she seems jealous of the closeness between Horikita and Ayanokoji. At the same time, Ryuen is similarly motivated to eliminate Horikita. He believes she is the mastermind behind Class D’s success so far. With similar goals, it doesn’t seem unlikely that Kushida and Ryuen could strike a bargain to move Horikita out of the picture. It also lines up perfectly with the events of episode 5. Horikita was targeted during the events, leaving her physically and mentally exhausted. Afterwards Kushida led her to Ryuen where he manipulated her. It makes all too much sense that Kushida and Ryuen are in cahoots.
3 – Kushida Isn’t Really the traitor
Many have probably already accepted that Kushida is betraying Class D but hear me out. There’s no evidence against her. As a matter of fact, the only thing even pointing to Kushida is Ayanokoji’s accusation. We know Ayanokoji is always thinking 10 steps ahead. Perhaps, Ayanokoji constructed this whole scenario in order to make a move of his own. We know Kushida previously threatened Ayanokoji. She also has a lot of sway in the classroom. It might be in his best interest to have the class turn against her. That way he can eliminate her as a threat. It’s not clear what his intentions would be in concocting this situation but it’s not unlike him to pit people against each other. Only time will tell what’s truly going on.
Why Didn’t Ayanokoji Care About Winning the Sports Festival?
You’d think that winning the sports festival would be the most important thing on Ayanokoji’s mind. He wants to reach Class A and the sports festival represented a unique opportunity to improve his class’ ranking. But it becomes clear in episode 5 that winning the festival was never one of his goals. It’s clear that establishing the dynamic of Class D is a more pressing issue. Ayanokoji is a manipulator who seeks to control the people around him. That’s why he sees the sports festival as a great opportunity. It puts a mental strain on all of the students and weakens their mental barriers. Every other class has a clear leadership hierarchy. Sakayanagi Arisu rules class A. Ichinose is in charge of class B and Ryuen oversees class C. But for Class D, there’s no one person in charge. If Ayanokoji wants to reach class A, he’s going to need to make the other class members fall in line. But he also wants to stay out of the limelight. That’s why he deflects all the credit to Horikita. If he can use her as a puppet to run the class, Ayanokoji can easily achieve what he wants without risking being targeted by his enemies. The sports festival represents an opportunity to make Sudo obedient to Horikita.
Conclusion
It’s clear at this point that Ayanokoji isn’t really a friend to anyone in Class D. He sees them all as dispensable pawns that can be moved as needed. I wouldn’t put it past him to be manipulating much of the class D drama behind the scenes. We’ll just have to wait until episode 6 to find out what he’s really up to.