Sure, but my complaint isn't that Storious doesn't have the weight or significance to be the final villain -- it's that the actor/performance/direction isn't charismatic or compelling enough to match the effectiveness of the heroic side of the cast. Master Logos wasn't even mentioned for the first dozen episodes, if I can recall, and he still managed to be a captivating villain, thanks to the actor and the direction. Storious... no? Not for me?

I mean, all I'm saying is that Zooous's ridiculous, tension-negating flips are at least more memorable and entertaining than whatever Storious is going for. Don't put words in my mouth!

Obscure Saber trivia: did you know that, in addition to Storious and Zoous, there were originally three members of the villain group. To this day, nobody remembers who the third member was or what he contributed to the story.

His name was Kamen Rider Calibur, can't believe you would do this to my guy.

Fish Sandwich also watched Kamen Rider Saber Episode 41

Funnily enough, at the time this episode aired, I was not entirely sold on the thematic relevance of Storious as the big bad, despite enjoying his character well enough to this point -- pretty much the opposite of how Die feels. I liked the direction this episode moved him in for similar reasons, mind you, but it still felt like a few more pieces were needed to really click the guy into place for me as the show's ultimate villain. Of course, I also wasn't sold on Solomon right away either. But I can talk more about Storious later.

If there's one thing I most want to single out from this episode, it's absolutely got to be Tassel. Saber makes a real habit out of taking innocuous concepts from early on and giving them much more interesting dramatic context later on, and I feel like the move they pull here with Tassel is one of the finest examples of that in the series. His role in the show at the outset was to fill screentime and provide easy exposition, and it wouldn't have been that unthinkable for Saber to mostly leave him acting in that capacity. He's a wacky dude whose function as a storyteller fits the thematic trappings of this Rider show about stories. You don't need too much more, right?

But of course, throughout the show's run, he's been gradually wrapped more and more into the actual world of the narrative proper, and here, Saber takes another round of what could be dry exposition in a lesser series, and turns it into an opportunity to show us some true emotion from Tassel after all this time. All the dots you may have already connected by yourself if you were invested enough go from being implied subtext to outright text, and we have it shown very explicitly that underneath the colorful outward appearance, Tassel is a man bearing the profound sorrow of being unable to end a conflict that has dragged on for millennia. The hope he found in Touma then reframes a lot of his enthusiastic raving about the series in those bookend segments of all those episodes it took to get here by giving it a real motivation. I like to think I'm fascinated by these characters and their story, but even I can't compare to Tassel, the guy who is, beyond all doubt, Kamen Rider Saber's first and biggest fan.

It's the best of times, it's the worst of times!

The best of times: I love how Desast's path has lead him here. He's the first to stand in defense of the world here, and not with having been talked into it by anybody, just of his own personal conclusions. And isn't the best first person to stand up to someone who's despaired so much of creation, his own disregarded former creation?

Cool as his fight was though, hate to see my guy hurt. Hang in there, bud...(?)

On the other hand. Tassel's exposition. I hate what he establishes about the Wonder World here, it makes this setting a nightmare for me. There's nothing less inspiring for me in a storytelling themed show, then making ~all human knowledge and creativity~ from this... ancient aliens type outside source. That's just kinda insulting to me- especially when its alongside the real world based stories like Peter Fantasia in this show. It's so... demeaning to credit that all part of the Magic Only Original Source instead of JM Barrie's authoral voice. Just don't like That Whole Deal much at all!

And even then for Isaac, his reception also can still be mixed, he can be considered thin villain with motives that aren't explored very well. Or for better part, he is considered entertaining but his villain stint can be revealed/done earlier rather than waiting until near the end of his arc. Though I also didn't find Storious entertaining or memorable, thus I can't say many about him here other than new legion-like voice, or that he was the one who corrupted Zoous and Legeiel back in the past, but Storious can be even more disliked for following reasons later. The performance and presence may be henchman level, but typically, central antagonists primarily care about how threatening they're as a threat in battle.

About you saying that it's an accidental heroism here, honestly, people should recognize more that there can be evil vs evil in media, and that someone isn't good merely just because they target bad guys (and that someone isn't heroic only because they created good outcomes, or the reverse of someone isn't bad when they accidentally created bad outcomes in a mistake). And there has been this stuff in many KR series like Gai vs Horobi.

I do think that this is Ren sorta opening himself up to Touma, instead of being petty and hostile like he is usually (still hostile, but less so, kinda like Shindai siblings). Now Ren instead sorta asking for guidance to him instead of being on denial for Touma's capabilities or him compared to Kento.

Dunno if I get you here, but actually taking a 3rd option is often what happens when people like Touma who strives to be all-necompassing in his care is faced with this impossible choice. Especially in stories considered more "childish" or light-hearted, this is often criticized in how the writers lack courage to really portray the situation as something that has no any easy way out with them always successfully taking that 3rd option that gives every party good outcome. Though as you said, it's a recurring theme for Touma to ignore destiny, but it still applies on how the situation here would be written later.

Yeah, technically there's Mei in it as a Rider..... Angela Mei and Mei Hanakawa. :lol

Yeah, Tassel serves this bizarre function of both Omniscient Narrator for the first half of the show, and then Integral Backstory Character for the second half, but it's all a straight line of him being super-excited about what Touma's going to do to save the day. It never feels arbitrary, the use of Tassel in the main plot.

Huh! I can't say it really bothered me, because... like, I think these things are always more allegorical than literal, even if a green-haired ancient dude is literally telling you these things. All of the Wonder Ride Book/Book of Omniscience stuff always struck as more symbiotic with human imagination than straight-up cause/effect. But, either way, I think it's fair game to disregard the specifics of what Tassel's saying, and just focus on the Storious Went Nuts of it all.

Sure! Ren's definitely more open to hearing Touma's point of view, which is a step in the right direction. It's just, this is all sort of where we left things a few episodes ago: Ren is soul-searching, and Touma is willing to give him space. Seems a little weird for Touma to show up to still give Ren space, but I guess Touma just felt like checking in.

KAMEN RIDER SABER EPISODE 42 - “SO IT BEGINS, THE BEAUTIFUL FINALE”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber42a1.png

Very strong episode for Desast, maybe less strong episode for the rest of the cast.

Everyone else… it’s okay? We’re setting up an endgame that’s somewhere between 41 episodes and two thousand years in the making, so there’s going to be a little bit of ramping up. Tassel’s death is the major plot development for Storious’s slow-motion armageddon, and it lands as well as it can. There’s real pathos to Tassel’s sense of guilt – his dream of a better future for mankind ended up getting all of his friends killed – but it’s left behind by Storious in the next scene. The whole point is that it doesn’t bother Storious that he killed his friend, because he’s seen this all play out millennia ago. There’s an awareness of how far Storious has fallen from a more idealistic self, but he’s ready for all of this to end, and there’s no turning back. It’s a sad end for Tassel, but the episode sort of doesn’t really have anyone to mourn him, or any time to linger on it?

Desast, though! That guy’s got… well, not friends, sadly. Acquaintances?

The one-sided friendship between Ren and Desast, as Desast has played chummy brother to Ren’s mopey lunkhead, is one of the best subplots for this show. Ren’s so unaware of his own deficiencies that he’s never been able to see that Desast is what happens when you’ve got nothing to believe in besides power and battle. Desast, meanwhile, refuses to acknowledge his personal growth, insistent on undercutting his burgeoning humanity whenever it bubbles over. It’s two guys who are identical in their low standards for themselves, and yet they’ve somehow managed to become better people for their companionship.

The most fascinating part of all this for me is that Desast kind of isn’t wrong about his outlook? He frames it in a self-defeating way – living without friends or purpose – but this is a dude who fought to live, full stop. He wasn’t guaranteed anything, and almost no one would’ve cared if he died. But he fought to build himself as close to a life as he understood, and then he fought to defend it from Storious. He’s someone like Ren who doesn’t even understand how much of a credo they constructed from just punching in every day, rather than dressing it up in speeches and slogans. There’s beauty in living a life, even if you don’t know what it’s for. Not every story needs to explain itself, you know?

We’re not done with this story, though, which is another mark of ambivalence for this episode with me. We’re starting to explore things like Desast’s isolation and Ren’s ethics, but it’s just, like, raising the question this time. Artfully done, for sure, but there’s a big ellipsis where a cliffhanger should be. I like thinking about Desast and Ren and how hard it can be to be a good person when the world doesn’t think you’re capable of serious feelings. It’s an interesting subsection of this show’s thoughts on belief, and the necessity of curiosity in a world of expectations and assumptions. Ren and Desast are two more characters that don’t understand how to be more than what people see them as, and don’t get how to change the story that was written for them. But we’re just tossing that around, not really coming to a point on it yet.

For everyone else, it’s a lot of setting up the board. Storious is starting his incursion on the Real World. Luna is, as always, as slippery as an eel. (That Mei post-credit thing! THE SECOND SHE TURNS HER BACK ON LUNA! NAIL THAT KID TO THE GODDAMN GROUND!) The swordsmen are getting ready for the finale, just like they were fifteen years ago. It’s solidly dramatic, but mostly just preparing things for the climax.

But that’s still a few episodes away. In the meantime… this was okay.

—

THE WORST HAS YET TO COME

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/kr/saber/saber42b1.png

Daishinji could do this.

He had suffered greatly for the Sword of Logos. Being a swordsman was a constant struggle against the forces of darkness to maintain balance between this world and the Wonder World. He’d lost friends. He’d abandoned the guild to save the guild. He’d lost his sword, twice. He had weathered adversity, and done it without hesitation. He’d never wavered in his sense of duty. The swords were put here to guard mankind, and Daishinji could do no less.

He leaned on his friends in those times where he came closest to giving in, but this time, he’d be on his own. He just needed to hold out a little longer, stand his ground, and he’d be free of this pain.

He could eat this rice ball, and tell Sophia it was good.

Seasonal allergies hitting me real hard tonight! Sorry this was short/bad!

Funnily enough both of my favorite gags this episode involved food. The first was with Daishinji and his Jelly Filled Donut, in which he's put on the spot and everyone is like "You can do it" silently as Sophia watches him eat her cooking.

The next is Desast getting mad at Ren for not eating his Red Ginger. This is a quintessential Desast scene for me if I'm being honest.

As for the rest though, we're very much still in the setup phase for endgame and this was an episode I didn't have much feeling on before and even now. There's some cool moments to be had, the Touma vs. Desast scuffle was fun to watch in a saddening way, in where Desast would normally brush a wound like the one he got off... except he can't. And it's clear he's living on borrowed time.

So yeah, star of the episode is Desast with Daishinji at a second place because of Jelly Filled Donut mishaps. Which, speaking of the story this time... not much, but I do like how simple it ends up being because really, you just need a good inner monologue by Daishinji to sell just how desperate he is to not offend Sophia.

No Desast Walk... yet. We'll be getting back to it soon, like really really soon, don't you worry.

Yes, this is a pre-episode. It seems to me that if the show had the same pace as at its beginning, then its events would be divided between 41st and 43rd. However, I like it. The death of Tassel, the suffering of Desast, the moon reminds of itself, the fun of the swordsmen. So I'm glad this episode exists.
Fanfiction is funny. By the way, I also remember this moment of onigiri.