This was a damn good ep.

Well I must say this is a mighty fine episode we got goin. Seeing DJ being a hologram was cool, seeing the villains plots advancing more, more suspense. The Hase thing was suspected for a while now. Seeing the people in the hospital was pretty cool, seeing them with the vines, I mean its good to see the civilian side of things. The fight was good, seeing Shin Zangetsu in action was nice. Now when watching this I thought, hmmmm maybe, Sigurd could be the DJ I mean he was a hologram, but he has a body in his box right so.

That was an interesting episode. I like that the introduction of the Energy Riders is at a real turning point in the story, and not just because toys. It's a shame about Hase, but Team Jonouchi for life so it's not like Hase really matters. In seriousness, it looks like he's getting written off well, if he does indeed get written off here.
Bravo, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be making much sense. Why did Takatora even recruit his help when he could easily take out both Gaim and Baron on his own, especially with Melon Energy? It's not like taking both out and then Bravo would be much of an issue for him, seeing as he took out practically everyone in Helheim. At any rate, I can't wait for more.

I'd think that the reason is so Takatora could openly investigate on his own without interference. Plus, he could do it in private by having the populace focus on Oren Pierre Alfonso as their "hero" in this crisis while also denouncing the Beat Riders without having to get himself directly involved.

It's obvious in the episode. Takatora wants to focus on the invess and Helheim. He doesn't want to be bothered with the beat riders.

This as well.

Bravo will make an excellent "transition" for when the Energy riders take center stage, verses having the public worry about more riders and having to distinguish the two types. Having Bravo, an established rider, be the hero means moving that onto the Energy Riders will be easy.

Fair enough. I was going off of the assumption that Takatora was planning to have the Energy Riders to come in and start publicly hunting down the Beat Riders after everyone's opinion of them drops really low, but that would just kind of leave Bravo hanging there. I suppose it could happen in lots of different ways, so I'll just hold out for more episodes.

I sense Bravo's downfall.....

I loved this episode. Bravo is my favorite Character overall and this episode just proves why is a complete and utter badass. Gaim banana arms is freaking amazing and that should be used more often. One final note, Hase turning into an invess seems out of place here slightly... but lock seeds may have an addicting quality like gaia memories did if you didnt use a belt .

They've been building up to this since the first episode, though?

Adding to that this episode he had a mad desperation for power. It was warping his mind to be left behind, hence the delusions. The entire episode built to that moment of him seizing this otherwise deadly power for his own.