[DreamSword]

Episode 11: Gold Seal

It's part one of the final battle!

And there's so much going on in this episode I don't even know where to start. As soon as I was like "Oh yeah, I'm gonna hard focus on this" the episode would throw another curveball at me.

So uh, if you want the short version without any spoilers, just know that while everyone involved gets serious, the comedy is also the craziest it's been in awhile.

It's really impressive to me just how this manages to balance both paying ode to so many common toku tropes, while also putting their own spin on them, whether they be comedic or dramatic. Like, this is beat for beat the final battle of a Sentai show, and yet Dogengers also parodies alot of aspects of them, like everyone just ending up in the quarry inexplicably.

I think the secret to what made this particular episode work is how well timed everything was. I've already bagged on the modern MCU for its poorly timed comedy, but this episode had none of the sort. All of the comedic bits were saved for when the heroes were on the upswing, and were done in ways that not only complimented the personalities of the characters involved but showed that they were standing triumphant over the Secret Society of Darkness.

Meanwhile, the menace of said villain group is never really understated despite their own quirks. One of the biggest moments in the entire episode is when Yabai Kamen gets his second wind. The voice filter and LED visor he normally has completely shuts off, and the actor does a great job delivering lines that would easily be mocked in a lesser executed scene. Which ya know, is then followed up by him outright impaling Rookie through the torso! This dude is the big bad for a good(bad?) reason!

But yeah, this episode is filled with hype moments: Ohgaman's' return(he can apparently time travel!?), Rookie's' Memory Mode, Fukuokalibur letting El Brave borrow a sword, El Brave elbow dropping a hand puppet, and the totally expected return of a former villain rescuing Yuki!

Next up is the final battle proper, and after that incredible roll call that capped off the episode, I am very much looking forward to it!