Well, I believe I am going to have to eat my words. This episode definitely marks a major turning point…completely blowing up my prediction that Ryuuji and Taiga WON’T end up together. I mean, what else can I say when Ryuuji swears in his head that he’s never going to let Taiga go, and then Taiga admits out loud that she loves Ryuuji (albeit not directly to his face). It’s a slippery slope, my friend…
So given that by the end of the season, Ryuuji x Taiga is pretty much a certainty, how will the other characters react? Minorin will probably gently let go, for the sake of her friend, but she’ll do it sadly. Ami will….I have no clue how Ami will react. Possibly with jealousy, possibly with understanding maturity. I’m not sure I can quite predict Ami’s actions. Meanwhile, everyone else will probably just say, “It’s about time you two got together.”
The fight between Ami and Minori, both in the room and out in the snow the next day, were really intense. We definitely see a side to Minori that we haven’t seen before…and we have Ami’s constant prodding to thank for that. Ami certainly knows how to get on her nerves.
I love the way Kitamura reacts to situations. When he hears that Ryuuji has a crush on Minori…the first thing he does is drag the guys over to the girls’ room and try to get a an answer from her. Except..Kitamura already knew beforehand that Taiga was in love with Ryuuji. What in the world, Yuusuke?!
So in the next episode, Ryuuji will probably have lots of internal conflict and angst about his own feelings for Taiga, and then we’ll spend the rest of the series wrapping up the loose ends of the other main characters and then finally letting the Ryuuji x Taiga ship set sail. Ah well, at least that Maya girl will finally have Kitamura all to herself.
All in all, I’m a bit sad that Ryuuji won’t end up with Minori, but I guess that’s the way the plot flows.
Episode Rating: 9/10 (It left a strong impression on me, but I suspect there’s better to come)
~eNamorD ( with all the beautiful white powder perfect for skiing)
Psychedelic SoulJam 
That’s true but Taiga said to him that she was trying to forget Ryuuji for Minori’s sake. I don’t think that Kitamura’s action was wrong.
Having already made a loooong post on this episode which can be read on a different blog, I think I’ll reserve myself to some shorter comments here.
First, I’m in agreement with you that this episode certainly points to the inevitability of the Taiga X Ryuuji pairing. Ryuuji’s learning a hard lesson in how limited control we have over our own hearts. I’m concerned for all the girls, though. Ryuuji is a coward on the outside, with a steely center and I’m wondering how hard Ami, Minori, and Taiga will have to work to force him into a choice.
I am still totally crazy about the artwork in this series. I love watching Taiga’s face carefully, since the animators put a huge amount of care into her expressions. Similarly, Ami and Minori’s multiple facets really come out in this episode’s artwork. It was great watching Ami shift seamlessly between her “nice” and “manipulative” selves as Minori tried to save face as hard as she could.
The fight in this episode was great. Having though about it for a week solid, I’ve come to think that Ami actually instigated the Minori incident so force Ryuuji to choose knowing that she wouldn’t be chosen. Ami wants to move on, and she can’t do that while her heart can cling to the hope that Ryuuji might choose her. The only shortcoming here was that Yuri-sensei didn’t get a super-cute 30-something ski-bunny outfit. ‘Cmon, teach! There are plenty of cute, available, men who go skiing. And they’re usually rich! Go get some!
In traditional harem style, we’ll probably get Ami forcing the final issue by kissing Ryuuji. It will force Taiga’s hand, and Ryuuji to admit what his actual feelings are. Ami, sadly, will be left on the sidelines by her own maturity. 😦