[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Frontier

So I see Zero's just straight up leaving the entryway open now. Imagine if Fujimi and Nasuka actually came back.

It's cool to see how the two sets, Baku's bedroom and the CODE base, just exist next to each other like that.

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Originally Posted by Frontier

NOX thought he was done with one Nightmare but he wasn't prepared for Zeztz. Enter INAZUMA PLASMA! A form with a shocking entrance, superspeed that rivals the Flash, and a Plasma Bow that can do a lot of damage! Finally Zeztz catches up to Nox Knight!

Man, I really love super speed upgrades like this! With the mysterious rainy backdrop as well, this episode reminds me a lot of Build RabbitTank Sparkling's debut.

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Originally Posted by Frontier

Oh, so they do the pre and post-show teasers now!

I only saw the "brought to you by key to fun Bandai" part once before when I watched the first episode RAW, so I was surprised to see it in the official stream!

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

And part of the process of me coming to terms with the feelings that bad dream represented was done via me taking inspiration from that dream to make into one of my OCs. In other words, channeling the nightmare into something more positive. And that's exactly what Baku does here. And has been seen with NOX(and apparently, CODE)'s' tendency to "erase" things; If you run from the problem, that typically only holds things off for a little while, if not makes them outright worse.

NOX's' personal fears are what hold him back from being able to return to reality; keeping him in the dramatic irony of the exact thing he accused Baku of. Baku, meanwhile, is facing various truths head on, and chooses to instead try and channel his personal darkness into something better. I think it's rather telling that rather than follow his mission to a T and kill NOX outright, Baku instead disables his target and demands answers out of him. He doesn't want to be in a never ending dream, regardless of how much he embraces the ideal of being a secret agent. He's a dreamer, but he's not delusional.

That's a great mature and healthy reaction to adversity. Trauma only wins if we don't take the inspiration to learn and grow from it. Nox would rather wage war against evil, by committing more evil, than use the evil for good. Which is why he's stuck, literally, in his past, fighting a Nightmare who's untouchable as long as he denies its root in his mind. How pitiful that a lucid dreamer would inhibit himself like this. Shows that even with the difference in experience, Seven beats Four in natural talent.

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Originally Posted by Blade

i really enjoyed Gavv but i appreciate the different approach Zeztz is taking. its more restrained and serious (but not super serious). also doesn't feel like its constantly trying to sell me toys.

I mean, Kamen Rider Zeztz is pretty serious, sure, but I think human trafficking drug dealers was also serious.

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Originally Posted by ThirstMcGurst

I can definitely understand that. Maybe they are not entirely evil, but are about "the end justifies the means", similar to Nox.

Yeah, while CODE seems ruthless and ethically questionable, we should expect that from an organization of agents. As Zero tells Minami, Baku knows the unpleasant side of the job and he's prepared to eliminate the enemy, as an agent would. After all, CODE's enemies aren't going to play fair, so they can't afford to either. Reminds me of when Ace taught Keiwa this important moral in Geats Episode 2, which some people mistook for malice. Sometimes a moral is best learned and remembered the hard way.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

It really is interesting how I keep seeing people filling in the blanks of Zeztz episodes in such wildly different ways. For the record, I think DreamSword is right on the money with this one? The way that scene smartly plays off an established catchphrase by having Baku saying "arise" right before the lightning strikes especially gives it a rare level of clarity in this show. He wasn't shoving Nem aside there, she falls over as a consequence of what Baku is actually doing, which is helping his younger self to his feet. Baku helps his younger self stand tall against his fear rather than cower in terror, all in the name of waking up. It tracks with the larger decision he's making to embrace the power of bad dreams, and is even cohesive with a lot of what made me love the premiere so much. It's pretty much exactly the kind of moment I want to see from Zeztz more often?

I agree that DreamSword has the better take on this. Baku's excitement from lucid dreaming comes from his desire to take control of his present, in a way that reality denies him. Nem is an empathetic person and naturally comforts the scared kid Baku, can't hold that against her, but Seven understands that this nightmare is something he needs to confront alone, or else he cannot move on and take back control of the dream. Seven will "use anything to end the bad dream", as that's what an agent and a Kamen Rider does. I also like the detail of Seven instinctively knowing there's something he's forgetting, since he "knows his own mind". Even if he can't see the truth hiding in darkness, he won't turn away from it.