WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 7 of Tower of God, "Lunch and Tag," streaming now on Crunchyroll.
Since entering the tower in the anime's first episode, Bam has had very little control of his own path through the mysterious kingdom's cut-throat tests. This is has been both a blessing and a set back for him. He's enjoyed a great deal of assistance from others, from Yuri gifting him her Black March just before Headon's test to Khun extending the hand of friendship in the second. But while clinging to the coattails of others has enabled him to get this far, Bam has had little opportunity to prove himself independently as a capable climber. We've only seen flashes of his true power as an Irregular, which have been dampened just as quickly as they ignite.
By Episode 6, Bam found himself without either his legendary weapon or the affections of the girl he chased into the tower -- Rachel, now going by Michelle Light in order to drive a wedge between Bam and herself for both of their "protection." Now, at the end of the most recent episode, "Lunch and Tag," Bam is stripped of something else he holds dear: his teammates, Rak and Khun.
As the episode title reveals, the next test that Bam and the others must face is a game of Tag. But, as you'd expect, this will be a big step up from an innocent, schoolyard activity. As Test Director Hansung Yu explains, the test is designed to put the remaining 28 participants who have yet to pass their battle position exams through their paces. That means that Rak, who nailed his Spear Bearer exam, gets to just sit and observe the action in comfort with a bucket of chocolate bars to munch through.
The group is split into an A and B team; points will be doled out based on individual performance with 100,000 up for grabs for all of the winners. (Points are the tower's currency, so the empty stomachs in the room grumble at the sound of this.) Two players are designated as 'It," one from each team, who will be wearing badges. The theft of a badge earns you 200,000 points. But there's a catch: the Rankers, Lero-Ro, Yu and Quant, are also taking part, with Quant being their "It." And if Quant steals a badge, it's Game Over.
This is where Bam loses Khun, too, as the pair are sorted into opposite teams. Rak, the self-proclaimed "leader" of their trio has always been its muscle while Khun has been its brain. Bam, on the other hand, is its beating heart, and Khun leaves us in little doubt that he'll take advantage of his friend's perceived weakness to win this test. Immediately, he takes command of his Tag team as a Light Bearer, ordering Shibisu -- a Scout -- to act as bait for Quant. While the tracksuited young man sits nervously out in the open on his own, he idly asks Khun how he feels about going head-t0-head with his closest friend. "Bam will fail," is the blue-haired boy's cool response, and then by way of explanation: "That's how tests work."
As much as Khun has appeared affectionate toward Bam so far -- even nurturing -- this episode makes it clear that he's still as fiercely competitive as everyone else climbing the tower. But, this could provide the chance for Bam to truly come into his own at last. Though Khun's words are cutting, there's none of the malice behind them that seeps through Anak and Endorsi's tense standoff at the episode's beginning. Rather, Khun's refusal to coddle Bam any longer means that he sees him as a proper opponent; one who, without any of his usual props, will now have to sink or swim.