My Hero Academia Finale Season Episode 10 Recap & Ending Explained: Why Does Uraraka Blame Herself?

The final season of “My Hero Academia” has reached its penultimate episode, and the brilliant storytelling has still maintained its momentum so well that even the concluding character arcs have left quite a mark among viewers. The last episode brought much-needed closure to the Todoroki family’s fraught dynamics through a reconciliation between Toya and his family members. In the latest one, titled “The Girl Who Loves Smiles,” the narrative focuses on two segments. The first one being Shigaraki’s identity as leader of the League of Villains and as a friend, as seen through Spinner’s perspective. The second one highlights Uraraka’s plight as she grapples with PTSD in the aftermath of the Final War.

Spoilers Ahead 

The episode begins with former villainous couple Gentle and La Brava getting acquitted for their crimes in light of recent events, as they aided the heroes in a major way during the Final War. For the same reason, Hawks, who is currently working in the Hero Public Safety Commission, has agreed to release Lady Nagant from captivity. However, the reformed supervillain wants to atone for her crimes and feels that she needs to remain in prison for the time being so that she doesn’t get exploited by another criminal mastermind like AFO.

The narrative focus shifts to show excerpts from several public interviews, debates, and media discussions to portray a rough sketch of the late supervillain, Tomura Shigaraki. The teenage villain is seen as some sort of disruptive force whose emergence ruined lives and destabilized the existing balance forever. People’s perception of Shigaraki is shaped by fear, hate, and disdain, a stark opposite to what villains like Spinner, who idolized the second host of All For One, felt towards him. Deku meets with an imprisoned Spinner, leader of the Heteromorph movement and close confidante of Shigaraki. Spinner’s unstable, monstrous, mutated quirk-loaded state has finally reverted to normalcy since his incarceration. Spinner’s rebellion against Heteromorph-hating bigots had found strength in Shigaraki’s belief in him. Needless to say that more than loyalty or friendship, what truly motivated Spinner to join hands with Shigaraki is his firm belief in his anti-heroism and iconoclastic ideals. As Deku relays Shigaraki’s final message to Spinner, the honorable Heteromorph leader is overwhelmed by strong emotions and grows into a monstrous form. Spinner nearly attacks Deku while recalling who Shigaraki was as a person and as a friend and laments not being able to save him at the end. In a twisted sense, Shigaraki was a symbol of hope for Spinner and everyone else wronged by the world. Deku consoles Spinner by mentioning Shigaraki was loyal to his cause and people till his last breath. 

As Deku takes leave, Spinner mentions he will immortalize Shigaraki by penning his chronicles, the fear he invoked in a world where heroes couldn’t uphold the ideals of equality. Deku suggests Spinner make his chronicle a comic, and the statement acts as a meta commentary on the relevance and impact of the medium. Spinner’s last message to Deku is to send his regards to Shoji, a heteromorph who channelled his rebellion in a much more positive light. 

On the other hand, an imprisoned Overhaul, aka Kai Chisaki, is visited by his former boss, Shie Hassaikai, who reprimands him for failing Eri and for all the heinous actions he committed in the past. It seems during his time in prison, Chisaki grew a conscience, as he seems troubled upon recognizing the gravity of his actions. 

At UA High, freshman-year students are fanboying over now upperclassmen heroes, Bakugo, Deku, and Shota—future legends who inspired future generations through their actions in the Final War. While receiving adulations from junior students, Deku can’t help but feel a sense of loss and pain; his interaction with Spinner made him realize that they couldn’t do justice by everyone despite their best efforts. Later on, a memorable scene follows as 2-A and 1-A join hands for a restoration drill in a neighborhood, and locals share their food with them as a gesture of gratitude. 

The narrative focus shifts to Uraraka, who seems a bit distracted even while being surrounded by her friends. Unbeknownst to everyone, Uraraka is still scarred by the passing of Himiko Toga, whose act of self-sacrifice ensured Uraraka’s survival. Himiko was moved by Uraraka’s compassion and, in her final moment, chose to use her blood transfusion quirk to save her life by sacrificing her own. Spending most of the time keeping a fake smile on her face, Uraraka excuses herself from her friends at night and mourns alone near the hilltop. Ridden by survivor’s guilt, Ochaco blames herself for not being able to save Himiko when Deku eventually finds her. Deku assures Uraraka by affirming his faith in her, mentioning how kind and compassionate she has acted from the beginning. Deku is also able to relate to Uraraka’s plight, as he too feels that he could have saved Shigaraki. Soon, they are joined by the rest of their friends from 2-A, who comfort Uraraka and help her to process the grief of Himiko’s tragic demise. In the meantime, the news of Deku losing One For All becomes known by everyone, and now it is almost confirmed that it’s a matter of time till the embers of the legendary quirk leave Deku as well. The episode comes to an end as 2-A students organize Aoyama’s farewell party, and Deku’s monologue conveys how the true significance of One For All is realized through everyone’s unified efforts. 

In the post-credits scene, a dishevelled, tormented-looking kid is seen coming out of a dilapidated house and manifesting a mysterious, tactile quirk of unknown nature. Even in the brief span of screentime, the sequence shows a strong parallel with Shigaraki’s arc and makes me speculate that the final episode of the series will end on a commentary that the new world order created by Deku and co. will try to save every neglected, tormented soul. It feels unreal how amazing this final chapter of “My Hero Academia” has been, and it makes my heart heavy that we will not get further continuation. Still, what matters the most is to end a story on a high note, which is surely achieved by the creative minds behind the much-beloved anime series.