Yeah, I felt like an anime-only for pretty much the second half of that episode. One thing I was most surprised by is that they didn't show Beta after Shadow disappeared. But, it turns out that it is mentioned in the Kage-Jitsu short, but still not shown. So, I sure hope that they provide some more context/explanation in the movie about Beta and how she got to where she is. To be honest, I don't even know how much I can say without it being considered a spoiler now since they didn't show or mention it in the show.

The situation they have set up with Shadow seemingly being on his own in Japan, reuniting in this way with Akane, and the whole situation with Beta being omitted means there are likely to be some major changes in the movie from the LN, at least early in the arc until they can steer all those things back on track. The movie is going to be interesting for sure. I really hope the same team is working on it because, in general, I have been very happy with the adaptation they have done in these first two seasons. I know it was a bit controversial among source readers when it aired, but having the first episode be the Nishino auxiliary chapter has really proven itself by the time they get to this upcoming arc. It really gets people interested in what's to come.