[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER KABUTO - EPISODE 39



What an exceptional episode.

It's chockablock with callbacks and minutiae, full of so many clarifications and examinations. There's so much old business in this one that's dragged out into the light (much to Yaguruma's dismay) that it felt like I was watching Kamen Rider KabutOH RIGHT. We get a long, hard look at the life Worm Widow destroyed before the show even started; the bi-monthly return of Daisuke and Gon; further developments in Tsurugi's pursuit of Misaki, along with Misaki and Kagami's opposition to that pursuit; and a touching sequence where Tendou spends time inside Hiyori's heart.

It's so fun to see a production team that wants to spend some time before the endgame dotting i's and crossing t's. Not in some bullshit No Loopholes way, something to validate the opinions of wiki editors, but to illuminate unforeseen consequences, and to add resonance to stories. It's all about reminding you of what you've forgotten, and this episode does it in some beautiful, sad ways.

I mean, I don't think I ever once thought about where Worm Widow came from, what her deal was. The idea that the person whose life she stole had value, had dreams... it never crossed my mind. But Reina's story is heartbreaking, truncated and abandoned by a monster she can't even remember she is. She had dreams, had goals. They weren't a lot. A tiny apartment, a love of singing. The shot of Worm Widow standing in that room, Reina's life, and trying to make sense of how it got cast aside... it's so minor, so specific. It's a monster that thinks it's a person, trying to understand how they've lost so much. It's her confusion, you know? This sad, scared look she has. The... it's like she can feel how her life was invaded, sense that her home isn't hers anymore. She wants to take up her life again, to hide away the trauma, but it's just one more layer of deception.

It's a nice counterpoint to Tsurugi's story, the question of how much we should empathize with a Worm who thinks it's human. She's not Reina, after all. She killed Reina, stole her life. Everything about what she's doing is sad because of how much she's had taken from her, but the person we're meant to pity is the exact one who took it all away. Does her inability to remember her crime make her innocent? Does it absolve her of her sins if she thinks they were committed by someone else? Does the excuse of Well She Won't Do It Again mean anything, when they're already a killer?

And the thing is, I don't know how I'd answer any of those questions? Reina's a character like Tsurugi, where there's so much there that you want to celebrate, or protect, that it's incredibly easy to forget that you are mostly responding to echoes of a murder victim. You want Reina to live her dream of performing in the opera, even as you struggle to keep in mind that Reina's already gone. So much of what's happening in this episode, with Reina's story, it's pure emotion. You feel everything that's happening to her so viscerally. The shame of her failures. The frustration of her missing time. The delight of her friendship with Daisuke.

Which, hey, Daisuke! And Gon! A super sweet episode for both of them, and one that trades their normal About Them dominance for something that fits in with the episode's theme. It's not an episode about Daisuke or Gon, despite them being one of its major draws.

This is an episode about whether Worms are worthy of love, after all, so what better Rider to fall for Reina but Daisuke, much to Gon's chagrin. (You could read it as jealousy, but I think it's Gon's innate ability to protect Daisuke from himself. She just knows Reina is trouble.) It's an episode that uses Daisuke as an audience surrogate, falling for Reina in real time. We need to see her through his eyes. Not just beautiful, but the most beautiful. A... a... (miracle) Yes, yes! That, that! Reina needs to be worth protecting, and Daisuke is willing to be the face of that protection.

It's not... I mean, it's a fun episode with Daisuke and Gon, it always is, but they're in a much lower gear this time. Subtler, I guess. There's still some super funny gags (Daisuke cradling the unconscious Reina until nighttime and Gon wondering why they haven't called an ambulance yet is some outstanding comedy), but it's letting them support Reina's arc, which I appreciated. They don't pull focus, which is a credit to how firmly this episode sticks to the question of Worms deserving love.

So much so that, for a change, Tsurugi's weirdo subplot is thematically relevant! I KNOW! It's a funny one, even if I'm way less enamored of Tsurugi Is Enamored With Misaki than, well, Tsurugi is enamored with Misaki. It's always going to be slightly (to very) gross, that subplot where some dude won't stop pestering/legit harassing a woman. Even at its most harmless, it's still a guy who won't stop at No, and that's never going to be a story I'm looking to cheer for, or even anticipate.

But I'm sort of okay with it here? Some of what helps me tolerate it is how broad it is, with Misaki pretending she's dating Kagami, as Kagami's eyes bug out in a double-take. Or the comedically overwrought devastation Tsurugi faces when he's shot down and betrayed by best friend, him spinning himself in a circle at the front of his food cart. But, honestly, it's mostly just that this dismaying story actually belongs in this episode, since a big part of Kagami's objection to Tsurugi dating Misaki is that Tsurugi's a Worm.

Tsurugi is an adorable collection of idiotic quirks and bottomless self-confidence (he is now the man who stands at the top of repetitive stress injuries), but he's also the monster who killed Tsurugi and his sister. Kagami may be his best friend (he absolutely is his best friend), but he's also concerned that Tsurugi's one bad break away from killing the people closest to him. Is it safe to let Tsurugi have happiness, have love? Is Kagami safeguarding his friend's world, or denying his friend a shot at happiness? Once again, I don't know! This episode has some real quandaries in it!

Luckily, there's one super straightforward part, and that's the reveal that Hiyori had a home.

It's, again, something I'd never considered, and I love that the show wanted to delve into it. Hiyori's been missing for weeks (months?) and Sally from La Salle's like Tendou You Gotta Feed Her Son, by which she means Hiyori's bird. Because Hiyori has a bird! And a room! With her things in it!

Everything about that scene is great. Tendou's conflict of feeling like he's violating Hiyori's privacy, peering into her heart, while feeling more connected to her than ever. Just... she's got a bird! In a cage! Because of course Hiyori's pet is a bird in a cage! Hiyori is someone who feels trapped by herself, by all the ways she wishes she could be free! Of course she bought an animal defined by freedom and then caged it so it can't get away!

And then there's the callback of Hiyori opening a restaurant after Tendou's insistence, and she's creating recipes with little food drawings at the top, and he starts making those recipes to feel like they're talking to each other again, because they talk about their feelings through food, I love it so much. It's a scene, him making her recipes, that's such a celebration of their connection. It's the most I've missed Hiyori since she disappeared, and it comes in the same episode where Tendou finds himself back in Heightened Contrast Dimension, face-to-face with Hiyori again.

As well as with Dark Kabuto.

A QUESTION

The Dark Kabuto suit makes its debut in this episode! Thoughts?