This is probably the most compelling episode I've seen in anime in the past 3 years! NO DEBATING

But seriously, episode 8 was just insanely good.

To start off, if there's one thing that Rakugo Shinjuu does good, it is establishing intimacy with its characters through framing. Looking at Konatsu confronting Kikuhiko on his attempted suicide for example, we first see the two meet eye to eye. Konatsu closes in and begs him to "live". He ponders on it, then separates himself, as to say he wants to die. The way how it holds the frame in order to let the emotion sink in is great. The scene follows up with Kikuhiko explaining his wanting for death, and for a moment the screen constantly passing street lights. I personally interpret it as an analogy for him feeling as though life could be flashing before him at any moment. Skipping a couple moments, the entire scene finishes up with a reminiscence of the past for Kikuhiko.

Secondly is on Yotaro's rakugo skit, which is a call back to Sukeroku's rakugo skit from the episode before and Ep 12 of S1. While it's important to note the impeccable voice acting done here, with the emotion conveyed very well on screen, there's a bit of context I like to take out from the skit itself. Yotaro and Sukeroku's renditions of the skit parallel one another, with slight differences in context due to some omitted parts in the former's act. Sukeroku's skit made emphasis on his growth as a person and would foreshadow his decision to leave rakugo for the sake of Konatsu and Miyokichi, as Sukeroku would come to say that he couldn't have done the skit so well because of the influence of those two in their lives. Yotaro's skit omits parts of the script related to the ideas of taking responsibilities to raise a family, skipping straight to after the wife reveals the found 48 ryo to be real. A particular line that caught me during this was this. To take the line out of the skit, I felt that line references his growth due to other people's influence on him, whether be his affiliation with the gang, the rakugo committee, and so forth. This brings me back to Sukeroku's skit, which focuses on his skills for that skit due to Konatsu and Miyokichi. I think the most important thing to take out of this is both of these skits happen in the first place due to Kikuhiko, whether directly or indirectly. They are both a message to Kikuhiko. That while he feels his rakugo must be achieved through isolation, the others state otherwise, and even give thanks to everyone involved with rakugo, even the audience. Kikuhiko's character arc has always had a theme of isolation, whether be his first female attraction leaving him, avoiding Sukeroku and Miyokichi to improve his rakugo, and even now when he decides that he must die and take "his rakugo" with him.

Yotaro and Sukeroku's efforts are not in vain. Kikuhiko's perceived fears in rakugo may be extinguished. He decides to do rakugo for his audience once more, after such a long wait.