[Mesnick]

I looked. Well, I myself didn’t fully believe my words, but it seems that those who predicted Hanto’s dark arc were really in a hurry (at least at this stage of the show). He again proves that he is different from the typical aggressive secondary obsessed with revenge and already in the first third of the episode he logically realizes the correct state of affairs. And the preview of the next episode promises his reunion with Shouma, which means all (or at least most) misunderstandings between them will be resolved. At least until more information comes to light about his mother's fate.
I was thinking about criticizing Hanto for getting Sachika involved in what was happening by telling her that Shouma was Granute, but in fact, here he did the most correct thing.It’s too dangerous to leave her in the dark, plus Hanto didn’t say a word about the riders. If they decide to leave Sachika in the dark, then we can simply blame everything on Bitter Gavv.
Lakia takes the news of Shouma's nature even easier. Apart from the reason he gave, I would also like to point out that Lakiya lost his younger brother, and Shouma is hated and despised by his older siblings, so they subconsciously need each other.
Yes, Vram is still dismissive of people, but that’s it for now. Plus, he advised to forget about Valen at the beginning of the episode and at the same time he himself comes to his aid at the end. The victims of his kidnappings seem to have really decided to bring everyone back, although I have no idea how the people from the trial survived. I can only assume that due to the high quality of the product (aka lucky victims), it was intended for the VIP line, and it is not designed for large volumes.
It's funny, but his own fears and conscience hit Shouma much harder than the resentment of his allies. At first I thought he just couldn't create Gochizo when he was unhappy, but it seems to have something to do with Bitter Gavv since it came down to fainting. Or maybe it’s a coincidence, and because of all the excitement, Shouma forgot to eat properly again.
Regarding the darkest rider, I can say that since Kabuto, the evil counterparts have become much more impressive. He is truly a dark reflection of Shouma in both behavior and ability. The costume is beautiful, the special effects are both disgusting and exciting. But so far little is known about him, we are waiting for the next episodes.
And I think it's time for interim results. This time my opinion is not too different from the majority. The show is good. So good that, if something doesn’t happen, it will objectively become my favorite.
This is the ideal golden mean between his two G-predecessors, one of which solved problems faster than the viewer could realize them, and the other frantically tormented its characters even at the expense of logic and fascination. In general, with its perfect balance, Gavv reminds me of W, which is not the best at anything, but is good enough at everything, which ultimately makes it the best (subjectively). And although I have some concerns about the future of Gavv, I have hope for Komura. In any case, I'm already too attached to these characters to follow their future with interest.