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Nice episode.
It's not surprising that the person behind this was an unknown. None of the characters shown so far would fit in his position, except the christ guy who flew away a while ago, but that would've been a serious let-down imo. The guy was an unknown and dissappeared because in the end he was just a tool created by "the programmer" (of angel player), and he was insignificant. His biggest contribution was to let Yurippe experience being an npc, and help her piece together a little more of the puzzle behind that world.
What impressed me the most with the episode was that Yurippe, the one who seemed the least likely amongst the SSS to ever come to terms with the life she lived and move on, was able to overcome her hatred and find meaning in her new life. I believe it was because this time she was able to fight for and protect the ones she loved, as opposed to her helplesness when her siblings died. It was done pretty convincingly imo.
All the major players, Yurippe, the programmer and Kanade, are trying to do the best they can for the people in that world. The shadows seemed evil at first but it's just the mechanism to reset the world and prevent the creation of a utopia, that would alter the purpose of that world and interfere with the path of the souls living there.
What makes Yurippe different from the programmer and Kanade is that, while Kanade would try to force the SSS into conforming to the afterlife laid out for them, and while the programmer would try to forcefully manipulate the world, Yurippe's ideal was to let each person chose their own way to confront their fate; wether in means finding the strength to keep living for a dream or continue fighting against their fate, Yurippe would let each one make their choice. It was only Yurippe's lack of understanding of that world's purpose, and Kanade's lack of understanding of the SSS members that had initially brought them into conflict.
Another interesting point was that the programmer had been happy with the life he had lived for the sake of others, and merely wondered into this world due to amnesia. In other words, exactly like Otonashi. When Otonashi died he was satisfied with the life he lived, having been able to help other people and redeem his inability to help his sister. As soon as his memories returned he could have dissapeared, but like the programmer, he had found other reasons to stay.
Overall this was my favourite episode so far. Not surprising, since Yurippe is my fav character. It was only a bit touch-and-go when Yurippe did the crazy laugh, as it could've easily spiralled down (for me at least), so I'm glad she was more important to the plot as she is than to have her character ruined.
I hope the last episode will reveal who the programmer is, why Kanade has the angel player program and a resolution for Yurippe, Kanade and Otonashi *fingers crossed for a happy ending*
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