So, Taiga was in
... Hm, I really like how the series tells and shows us new insights into the characters personalities and private life after 17 episodes allready.
In all, it was another great episode with small character developments for Taiga and Ami, and Minori, who is still uneasy around Ryûji but who tried to be more open and friendly by apologizing for not hanging around him and Taiga like she did before. The episode was devoid of (high) drama until the last few minutes ... poor Minori, must be really hard for her.
The relation between Ryûji and Minori begins to deepen more in this episode - the last minutes are touching. And Ryûji speaks to Minori, for once, rather bluntly about his feelings for her. Not in a classic お前が好きだ! way, more in an symbolic way, but still rather directly for japanese.