For the first nine episodes, DARLING in the FRANXX seemed like a show primarily driven by its innuendo-filled action. Once the middle arc kicks off though, it became more known for taking one sharp dramatic turn after another with game-changing episodes.
- Episode 10 hints at a lot of interesting new developments when Zorome talks to one of the adults living in the underground city. Several subtle hints are given, such as the man giving the children an award refusing to shake Zorome's hand, the lady he meets nonchalantly spraying disinfectant around her apartment while chatting with him, and one of the other adults examining him outright claiming they're infected with something. (Quite possibly infected with anything at all, as it's not hard to imagine Plantation life leads to compromised immune systems.)
- Episode 12: Zero Two's hatred of her inhumanity and her conflicting emotions regarding Hiro's love confession cause her to have a psychotic break. Also, Ichigo discovers the reason why Zero Two's partners always die; she intentionally drains their lifeforce in order to power herself up.
- Episode 13: Hiro and Zero Two's past is explored in this episode which reveals and confirms that the two had not only met before the series and that Hiro was Zero Two's original Darling, but also that Hiro (and also possibly Zero Two) had his memories tampered with as punishment for taking her outside. Also Zero Two's original form is revealed here as well.
- Episode 14: Squad 13 turns against Zero Two after Ichigo exposes the truth about why her partners always die, Zero Two is subsequently reassigned back to the Nines, and Ichigo confesses her love to Hiro.
- Episode 15: Just as Hiro and Zero Two accept each other's love and the rest of Squad 13 finally accept Zero Two, a gigantic Klaxosaur hand tears itself out of the ground and destroys Plantation 13 in a single attack. Adding this to an earlier Wham Shot where a human shaped body was found inside a Klaxosaur's core confirms there is much more to the Klaxosaurs than the characters and the audience knew.
- Episode 16: Despite being a more laid back episode, especially after the events of Episode 15, there's still a couple of shocking twists.It's been a month since the events of Episode 15, and the children have been seemingly left to fend for themselves, and a few of them aren't doing so good. Miku's hair is starting to turn white, and Futoshi is revealed to have contracted a bulimia-like eating disorder. Finally, the last shot reveals another human-klaxosaur hybrid, who looks similar to Zero Two.
- Episode 17: Oh yes. The Nines are staying with Plantation 13 for the time being, and seem to be doing surveillance for Papa. Hiro is growing horns like Zero Two's. Kokoro's feelings with Mitsuru are explored more, with her admitting she wants to have a child with him. Her book about reproduction is found by the Nines and revealed to the squad, with Nine Alpha lambasting Kokoro for wanting to reproduce. Kokoro is interrogated by Hachi and Nana about her book, and Nana collapses from a headache as she argues with Kokoro, apparently reverting to Puberty, and potentially being removed. Finally, as the end shot reveals, Kokoro and Mitsuru do indeed sleep together. Oh, and meanwhile, two adults from Papa's group try to threaten a "Klaxosaur Princess" into surrendering, then attack her when she refuses and get butchered. She then refers to APE as "wannabe Humans", raising a slew of questions regarding the true state of humanity and Papa's true goals and motivations.
- Episode 18: Mitsuru and Kokoro get married! And then the real wham happens as APE soldiers and the Nines attack the wedding, dragging Kokoro and Mitsuru away to have their memories erased.
- Episode 19: Not as big as some of the others on this page, but it still counts: We learn the origins of the current society ruled by APE and how Dr FranXX started his path to become a cyborg. We also find out that Zero Two is a modified clone of the Klaxosaur Princess.
- Episode 20: The klaxosaurs are revealed to be biological weapons piloted by "klaxo sapiens", who are the "real" humans of Earth, and the reason they are black and blue and glowy is because they consumed magma energy, transforming them into their current state. Magma energy itself is not magma at all, but instead derived from other “klaxo sapiens” who “returned to energy”. The FranXX operate on the same principle, as they are klaxosaurs modified to be usable by humans. APE sends Strelitzia to fuse with the Star Entity (the giant hand from Episode 15), but the Klaxosaur Princess, aka Code:001 intercepts it, throws Zero Two out and pilots it with Hiro, fusing with the Star Entity to fight against APE's space fleet. The Klaxosaur Princess is caught by a trap set in the Star Entity's systems for her, and the fusion of Strelitzia and the Star Entity shuts down. Also, the APE leadership including Papa are revealed to be members of an alien species known as VIRM, which seems to want to assimilate all life on Earth into itself and then blow up the planet.
- Almost lost in all that is the confirmation (to the audience) that Kokoro is pregnant! But with her memory wiped, she doesn't realize this in-story. No one does. Which means she's in for a very big and difficult surprise.
