[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER W EPISODE 44 - “THE O CYCLE - SHROUD’S CONFESSION”



So, first thing’s first: Shroud just completely abandons her two daughters to a life of USB drug metaphor enmonstering, right? Like, her whole tearful confession to Terui is that Ryuube stole her son, and she was forced to become Shroud in order to wage a multi-year shadow war to destroy her husband, but… she definitely walks out on those two crying little girls, right? Because we see her do it? On camera? Just, walks out the door? And no one involved in listening to this confession bothers to flag that up as being sort of monstrous, and hilariously hypocritical? We all saw that? Okay, cool.

Putting aside the sort of half-assed way this show decides to try and redeem Shroud after a season of machinations (I love how she’s just like I’ll Stop Helping Altogether – you can’t still make cool weapons without shitting all over Shotaro or aiding and abetting serial killers?), this was a pretty fun episode with a terrific moral center. It’s ballsy to land the episode’s dismissal of revenge as just a way of not processing your own anger on TERUI, but that’s pretty much why it works at all. This story needs a guy who’s walked that path to not only reject it once and for all (since he’s got Shroud to thank for Isaka getting the Weather Memory), but also finally understand that you’ll never fill a hole inside yourself with hatred, but you might be able to with love. It’s a very sweet message for Terui to sell.

I like how this one… it’s just about needing one person to stop a cycle of hatred and vengeance, and it sort of doesn’t even matter who. Just be the person that forgives, and let that form a counter-reaction to all the spreading hatred and pain of revenge; collateral kindness. Terui could try and kill Shroud, but who’s that going to make happy? And who might he inadvertently hurt if he does it – Philip, probably? Shroud’s spent years on all of her dumb schemes, and it didn’t get her anything other than isolation and rage. Maybe trying to solve these problems with love is worth a shot.

With all the time spent on Shroud’s redemption and Terui’s humanity, there really isn’t a ton else to talk about from this one. The fight scenes continue to be a delight, as Takaiwa incorporates a bunch of Old Guy body language to the usual CycloneJoker repertoire, and the Old Dopant makes for a fun, sleazy foe. This one’s basically all Terui becoming a real part of Team Double by fighting for Shotaro and Philip’s version of heroism, while finally and definitively closing the door on revenge as a way of dealing with pain. (I mean, it helps that he already killed the guy who killed his family, but I don’t want to ruin the moment.) And it’s all the better for its tight focus on a compelling story, and an admirable moral. Perfect two-parter!

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DIE-A MEMORIES



-Foundation X pays the Museum with a check? From a checkbook? Does… does Ryuube need to go to the bank to deposit a check for mad science? What’s on the subject line, “Villainy”?

-It is still amazing to me that Shroud couldn’t spare one line of dialogue about her other two kids. Nope! She loves RAITO, the end!