[DreamSword]

Episode 12: The Reflection

This finale comes SO CLOSE to being perfect!

Okay, so here's the basic premise. Wraith manages to feed off of all the negativity circling the area now that the riot has broken loose, and thus begins to grow even stronger as a result.

Not only does he manage to possess nearly every Reflected there, but he begins to use his newfound power to summon an eldrich horror from beyond the skies as a means to plunge the world into eternal darkness. If he is doomed to be a being of negative emotion, then so too shall everyone else.

The action is intense, and the emotion runs incredibly high for every character involved. It's really great stuff!

And yet, in the end, who do I end up caring about the most?

Yeah, the idol group is actually a squad of magical girls who each control a different element, and they fight similar to how I-Guy does; Blaring their theme song as they battle. It's a match made in heaven!

That's not to say that I-Guy is outdone though. His rivalry with Dead Wing at long last comes to a close, and when everything starts to literally go to hell, who's the one leading the charge? I-Guy, and he doesn't care if he has to shred every bit of his armor to scrap in order to do it.

But it's not like only 9th Wonder(magical girls) and I-Guy get to shine. Pretty much everyone gets there moment here. From Lisa being determined to face life head on despite her struggles, to Michael and Vy reconciling, to Steel Ruler realizing that she doesn't have to live life in desperation anymore, pretty much everything comes together super well!

So of course, the one weak spot lies in what the show considers its two main characters: X-On and Eleanor.

Eleanor regains her senses from within Wraith pretty much out of nowhere, and while her speech about trying to find light in even the darkest times is great, it's sort of undermined by not only her just suddenly showing up out of nowhere, but also what they pull with X-On.

X-On, in a total bait-and-switch, is revealed to not actually be a Reflected, but actually a genetically altered superhuman experiment, and as such he not only still has his powers, but is able to copy Wraith's', and thus put in the bulk of the work in saving the day.

Now, it's not a complete misstep, since in the end, it's Ian who finishes Wraith off(excellent choice!), but man, it all would've been so much more powerful had it either been a unified effort, or heck, even just have Eleanor herself put a stop to everything after some introspection.

Regardless, Wraith is put to rest, and everything appears to be wrapping up for a happy ending.

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And then the show decides to bait for a second season in the literal last moment. A second season which will, unfortunately, never happen, thus ruining the entire mood the episode had built up really well up to now and ruining any chance for an epilogue.

I've already stated in my talks about other shows that I can't stand things like this, and The Refection unfortunately serves as a prime example as to why. Yeah, sure, a second Reflection Event happening in the show's' universe is believable and would make a greating starting hook for a second season, but to serve as the ending to the show, and not giving a send off to all of these characters who've been built up all throughout? I don't agree with that choice at all. Major letdown.

Despite some minor setbacks though, I do still feel that the episode is a pretty solid finale overall, and left me with more positive feelings than negative.

Final thoughts post coming next time!