[Fish Sandwich]

"What are dreams to ZEZTZ?"

That's a big question I've been trying to find an answer to these past few months. It's the theme of the show, but what makes that theme unique? Just the word itself is broad and dramatic enough that at least a couple Rider shows, One of which was even from this writer, have already made it a focus before.

This last week or so, something that's been staring me in the face from the start finally came into focus after seeing Inazuma Plasma's debut -- answering that first question starts with answering another:

"What are bad dreams to ZEZTZ?"

The answer to that has become the crux of this first "season" of the show, and will possibly prove to be the same for the rest of it. Bad dreams are the things we fear, and that's another thing that arguably ties just about every individual story ZEZTZ has told so far together, right back to our hero's fear of being powerless and without purpose in life. If exploring different fears and the different ways that different people deal with those feelings has always been the cohesion I've been so desperate to find in this series, then I honestly can't imagine a more perfect climax to end the year with? A story where Baku once again has to face something he personally fears, contrasted against the main villain in the usual Dreamer role, struggling to do the same against what is perhaps the most primal and universal fear of them all. Like, it's pretty brilliant, actually?

For probably the first time in a good while, I genuinely feel like I "got" this episode. There are many details of the plot I'm no less clear on than usual, because as usual, it deliberately leaves a lot up in the air, but as a story, I feel I understood the emotions of the characters as they went through those experiences, and what I was supposed to take away from that. I mean, how much have I complained about this show not making use of the toys in the normal smart ways Rider does? And then suddenly they hit me with a scene like Baku regaining all his other Capsems here. They needed an excuse for his toys to be back in his hands, and they made it a symbolic representation of the certainty he feels about his true mission in that moment, all while Zero turns out to be misreading the subtext instead of me for once. And I single out that beat in particular because I think it stands as proof that ZEZTZ has been using its time better than I've maybe given it credit for? There are several layers of interesting things going on at once in that scene, and it's all because it builds out from what was previously established, like any good serialized drama.

It's just a good episode, full stop. ZEZTZ is a show I've been struggling with, and one I've seen lots of people struggling with, for a myriad of reasons. I'm not exactly sure yet if I really trust how smart of a series it is, but I think I've come to be a firm believer that it at the very least is a series that trusts how smart its audience is? My basic media literacy skills regularly fail me when watching this show, but that's always been at least as thrilling as it is frustrating? The whole nature of that means I can't offer logical justification for this, but I definitely get the sense the people making this show are keeping track of everything like usual, for the most part, and are simply consciously choosing to tell their story in an unusual way?

If I'm right about that, then that's kinda the light returning for me, because I had a fear too. I feared going into this show that the newfound effort to appeal to a global audience would result in something overly concerned with giving people what they already know they want, rather than showing them what they never realized they needed. 15 episodes in, it turns out that's absolutely not the vibe of ZEZTZ at all, and while leaving so many people confused isn't quite ideal either, the fact that it can be in that territory to begin with also demonstrates its potential. I've seen that potential shine bright a few times already; hopefully the show makes it a mission to have that same lightning striking all the more often next year. Good luck, Kamen Rider ZEZTZ.