Another really good episode, with a movement towards the main plot of the track team.

Summary:
Following the events of last episode, Suzuka seems to be avoiding Yamato and he is depressed because he's afraid things can't go back to the way they were before. That night, Saotome and Megumi come over drunk. After Megumi passes out, Saotome talks to Yamato about rejection. She starts criticizing his reaction, but then asks him if it would be better not to have confessed and let some other guy do it. She tells the story of how she liked a guy in high school, didn't say anything to him for a long time, then decided to confess when more confident, and got rejected multiple times, but she never gives up. Yamato says he's not going to give up and yells it out so loud that even Asahina hears him. The next morning, he tells Suzuka that they should go back to the way things were and she agrees. Souichi continues to try to convince to join track at school, but this time, tells him to think about it as long as he needs to. Meanwhile, Yasu advises him not to be a stalker, especially with regards to joining the track team. Asahina also disagrees with him joining, says he would need to be serious. Finally Honoka tries to convince him not to, out of her own concerns of losing more time with him. The next day, Yasu tries to get him to apologize to Suzuka for not being serious about track. While they're on their way, Suzuka is with Souichi, who is researching what Yamato did in that relay race in junior high... he actually did much better than expected and made up a lot of time for the rest of the team. When he arrives, Yamato starts to apologize, but then changes his mind and joins the track team.

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Well, we get our answer on whether Yamato joins the sports team. But first, we get more of the reaction to the confession and rejection. I thought Yasu would be the one to bring Yamato out of his funk, but as it turned out, it was an unexpected character like Yuka Saotome (I'm not clear on which is her first name anymore). She really points out how Yamato isn't like her if he gives up so easily. She doesn't give him any easy answers - she tells him a story and then lets him make the decision. In doing so, Yamato proves himself more of a man than he had previously had in this series, and he really does snap out of the funk he's been in. This scene felt real, and it was really interesting that they used a character like Saotome to bring out the best parts of Yamato.

Still not sure what Megumi's role is, but maybe she has a "Saotome moment" ahead of her with Yamato or Suzuka.

We also get some good interaction out of Yamato's aunt and cousin. Miho takes the time to try to cheer up Yamato, and it's a really cute scene, showing how perceptive and caring she can be for her older cousin. We haven't had a lot of background or information on these relatives since the first few episodes, and they've mostly become just "mealtime wallpaper" for the show, so anything making them into fleshed-out characters can only improve the drama.

The track team decision was expected, even in the face of opposition of Yasu, Honoka, and especially Suzuka, simply because we've seen it it coming from other events and the end credits. I just hope they make Yamato have some sort of struggle involved, or the whole thing will feel cheap. Yamato shouldn't just walk onto the track team and be a track god: he should have to work hard and suffer a bit to make the results realistic. The track team should also be a bridge to other characters, and who knows? Maybe a little understanding between Suzuka and Yamato can be reached.

Honoka is right to be concerned... she's about to get pushed out of the picture.