[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

KAMEN RIDER REVICE EPISODE 33 - ?LOVEKOV REBELS!? SAKURA?S RESOLVE?

The rest of the episode was delightful, though. Sakura?s solution for Aguilera?s Lovekov-esque moody defiance is to ask Aguilera out on a date, and that was about it for me being able to seriously find fault with this plotline. It?s like a dumb joke a fan might make, but it?s too perfect a twist to not go ahead with. Sakura?s flaw earlier wasn?t that she wanted to separate Aguilera from her demon, it?s that she didn?t let that be a thing the two of them went through together. Aguilera feels adrift and isolated; Sakura needs to be an anchor for her, regardless of the tough love Sakura needs to show.

But it?s not even really tough love, it?s just love. It?s Sakura showing a sheltered girl from a demonic cult that the world has more to offer her than Tamaki and a nightclub-spaceship-church. Aguilera loves Sakura, and Sakura clearly loves Aguilera, so the best way to address Aguilera?s despondence is to just be there for her. Take her to a theme park, buy her ice cream, and have an incredibly cute day together. It?s a statement of intent as strong and useful as a vow to save Aguilera from demonic servitude, and it?s equally as necessary. Sakura?s strength is in her vulnerability, and this episode was a testament to that heroism.

I guess I should warn here that this is going to be a big complaint, that some people might disagree with.

I was willing to give Sakura the benefit of the doubt, when she interrupted Kamen Rider Revice's finisher and promised Aguilera what she wanted. For all her flaws, the show had yet to give me any reason to question her morality, as she was still one of the alleged heroes. Sure, I disliked her, a lot, but I didn't think she was a bad person.

I'd even say that adding a condition to that promise was a rare smart move, as it gave Aguilera an incentive to go along with the date, an experience Sakura hoped would change her mind. Aguilera fulfilled her end of the bargain, even enjoying herself a little, but ultimately, she was set on getting her honorable battle to the death.

Except, that's not what happens at all....

"Can she really depend on Sakura to honor her last wish?"

Aguilera had been betrayed by Gif and Olteca before, but now even Sakura had betrayed her with another false promise, denying her the coup de grace at the very end, turning their whole fight in to a sham and tainting the memory of the date preceding it. Sakura refused to take no for an answer and forced her ideals on her, ruining Aguilera's happy ending with cruel mercy.

The episode concludes with Aguilera suddenly being totally okay with this development, having joined the Weekenders as Sakura's sidekick. Everything went exactly the way Sakura orchestrated, but at the cost of Aguilera's autonomy as a human being. Those last ten minutes left me astonished for all the wrong reasons, as I wondered how Kinoshita could conceive of such a hollow narrative.

I've seen a decent argument that the moral of this episode isn't about Sakura doing the right thing, it's about her doing what her heart is telling her, which she does. Fair point. But when I compare that to Ryuki, where doing the right thing even when it hurts is shown as a respectable and heroic trait for Shinji, there's no way I can actually condone or forgive Sakura's actions and how she becomes yet another toxic influence to Aguilera.

Remember when the Deadmans trio were like something from a Coyote and Roadrunner cartoon, coming up with goofy schemes to get Ikki killed at the onsen hotel, while Kagerou kept getting in their way?

Overall, Episode 33 was the final nail in the coffin for any motivation I had to continue watching Revice weekly and thus I started my 12 week hiatus, only sticking around for the last few episodes of Legacy Vail. Just over a year later from the airdate, it's still the worst episode I've ever seen of Reiwa Rider and one of the worst in general.