[Guido]

Spoiler for Episode 40: Setsuna and Love: Mom is in Danger!:

This particular episode deserves special mention because the manner how they portrayed Setsuna's eventual response to calling Mrs. Momozono as her real mother was both beautifully done and natural.

That aformentioned event marked another development for Setsuna's personal growth as both a main cast character, and as resident of the Momozono household.

The episode also deserves some other mention because IMO Northa ranks amongst the top 10 scariest villains in the Pretty Cure franchise. She nicely setup the frightening mood before Mrs. Momozono to have her replaced by a Sorewatase replica of the latter posessing the nastiest grin on-screen.
Too bad that Pretty Cure villains are very bi-dimensional when it comes to explaining feelings, because our heroines, Setsuna in this episode, aren't fooled by copy-cats behaving mechanically with no trace of warmth and affection.

However, I do give kudos to that particular Sorewatase for tricking Love, that Setsuna attacked it (disguised as Love's mother) and producing a temporal rift in the two girls' trust.

So, right now I've finished about 80% of the total series, and I'm just 10 episodes away to conclude Fresh Pretty Cure.

Spoiler for Episode 41: Inori and Kento's Cruise Party!:

At first sight, when I watched the preview for this episode I thought it stupid, taking for granted how would the plot both head and end. However, when I watched for real it turned out unexpectedly decent and good. There was an excellent chemistry development between Kento (glasses, tall-guy) and Inori engaging in conversation about how both felt nervous being at an out-of-place environment.

It's been a long while since any of the guys trio actually made an individual attempt to date of sorts with anyone of our heroines.

The conversation shed into light that Kento and Inori shared many things in common, and they can support each other. Furthermore, this episode wasn't ruined at all because for starters-
a) Chiffon, miraculously, did not turn into Infinity for a change, and
b) one Pretty Cure was able to beat the Sorewatase, assimilated into the ship, without Cure Pine having herself backed-up by the rest of the other Cures.

I believe Cure Pine defeated the Sorewatase by herself, because Kento and the animals were present helping her to fight it. Although it's true she defeated the monster with help, what's to take to notice is that supposedly all Pretty Cures in each and every fight have to be present to defeat the monster, as it's a magical-girl standard. However, it only took one Pretty Cure in this fight to defeat the Sorewatase.

Good episode to end this year while waiting for the last batch of episode to properly conclude Fresh; only 9 episodes remaining.

Spoiler for Episode 42: Invitation from Labyrinth!:

Minna-san, a Happy New Year to you all.

CureCom were quickly able to release this episode about a week after my last review.

Gotta tell you that this episode was beautiful and epic, conveying lots of Setsuna drama and characterization. I now see why many fans of Fresh Pretty Cure praised it when they watched it.

It goes like this: Setsuna as Cure Passion embarks on a solo mission as an undercover to destroy by herself the Sorrow Gauge, as she doesn't want to drag her friends to be tainted forever by misery once she manages to destroy it. Unfortunately, Northa thought ahead and played Passion to fall into a trap, believing she can sever Setsuna's bonds with Pretty Cure by talking how the latters' actions caused the other Pretty Cure to come to her rescue and be locked into a stalemate of suffering.

The thing is that Setsuna should know that Pretty Cures' power increases infinity-fold when all of them are together, as long as there are no internal feelings of discord and dissent, but all love and harmony. With just one missing then the whole team's power goes down.

This is why Love feels the premonition and calls the other girls, urging to go together to find the mansion and free Setsuna. Of course, Wester and Souler, once again, get in the way with another Sorewatase. The tides were abysmally turned against the girls due to Setsuna missing, which is the ripe moment for Northa to talk her mind games into Setsuna's psyche to make Setsuna believe she's no longer a Pretty Cure due to all the misfortune she brought upon her friends.
And true to all the pinky and white Pretty Cures before Love, she makes her stands and burns with a clinging passion believing in Setsuna and her rescue, which inspires Setsuna to will her inner strength back into Passion much to Northa's shock and confusion.

The last part against the Sorewatase paid homage to the first Pretty Cure series, because that particularly Sorewatase was smart enough to block and hold down the combined attacks of Peach, Berry, and Pine all at once, and then managing to push it back to them little by little. However, too bad for the one-eyed guy, because it didn't count with Passion rising again and catching it off guard with her power to overwhelm it.

So, Fresh rises again into its glory that made me to cherish it at the start of the series, and we're heading what seems to be the penultimate arc of the story with the girls already at the entrance to the Labyrinth's territory. Now's just eight more episodes, and I'm finished with Fresh Pretty Cure.