WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Girlfriend, Girlfriend, "A Place for Three" now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Things are starting to heat up in Girlfriend, Girlfriend, with the competition between Saki and Nagisa growing by the day. The harem that Naoya has built for himself with these two girls has been a fragile thing from the start, but now a giant crack has formed. Saki, Naoya's original girlfriend, starts to really feel the weight of Nagisa's presence in their relationship and her insecurities get the better of her.
Episode 3, "A Place for Three," shines a spotlight on how Saki is handling this new type of relationship. Unfortunately, she's not doing too well. In a desperate attempt to affirm her position with Naoya, she attempts to have sex with him, only to be soundly rejected.
This was all prompted by Saki's anxiety over Nagisa. They've been having lunch together at school more and more, which lets Saki learn more about her rival. One thing that Saki quickly notices is the effort and dedication Nagisa puts towards Naoya, which is shown through all the things she does for him -- making him delicious lunches, working out and going above and beyond for Naoya's every need. In comparison, Saki feels completely incompetent and that she's a bad girlfriend.
She quickly tries to correct this but fails every time. When she tries to go grocery shopping to make Naoya dinner, she ends up at home with nothing but gummies in her bag. When she tries to make him curry, she gets too absorbed in her phone and ends up burning the whole thing. These failures make Saki feel as if Naoya would prefer Nagisa over herself and that he'll eventually just dump her altogether. This is why she desperately tries to make a move on Naoya.
While Naoya definitely may have wanted to sleep with Saki, especially after she forces him to touch her, he promptly declines. At the end of Episode 1, Naoya had made a promise that he wouldn't do anything with either girl because it wouldn't be fair to either of them. Now he sticks to this promise because it wouldn't be fair to do things with Saki and not Nagisa. Saki is devastated, feeling completely rejected and as if Nagisa has won. She quickly grabs her things and runs home, which is awkwardly just the house next door.
The rest of Girlfriend, Girlfriend Episode 3 shows Naoya trying to get Saki to talk to him, which he struggles with. While Saki's actions may have been hasty, they were almost understandable. The amount of anxiety that is coursing through both Saki and Nagisa is something to be feared, as they've both been put in the compromising position of sharing the one person they both love. Saki's in a vulnerable place right now, and her actions reflect her need to understand her importance in Naoya's life.
Both Saki and Nagisa need to hear from Naoya how he feels about both of them, and how he intends to make this three-person relationship work. Considering it was his idea, he needs to take responsibility for what he's created and make sure that these girls don't get hurt in the process. Saki is a strong person, but will she be able to rejoin Naoya's selfish harem?
