[DreamSword]

Act 28

In terms of plot, you can tell Kobayashi wrote herself into a bit of a corner.

Main in terms of how, in order for the heroes to actually be able to win, she had to change the rules of how teleporting worked.

But despite that hiccup, this was an overall really strong finish to what I consider the second act of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon as a whole. And almost made up for the small stumbles I felt it had entirely.

The episode is all about addressing the divide that's happened between the girls over these past handful of episodes, and more importantly, Amy's' feelings on both that, as well as her own guilt over what she'd done when under Malachite's' control. And true to her character, she's rather hard on herself over it.

There's alot of nice visual symbolism that goes along with this story too, such as the four girls literally breaching a divide in the episode's' climax, resulting in them getting a team attack to beat the monster of the week with. And, more on the more subtle side, there's Amy and Serena wearing eachother's' colors, symbolizing them reinforcing their bond.

That all said, I think the thing I appreciated most was the ultimate lesson when it came this episode, which is one that the show has said before, but it's emphasized here: Friendships take effort. Sure, there are going to stumbles along the way, and everyone can't be together and on the same page 100% of the time, but so long as everyone is willing to put in just the smallest bit of understanding, true bonds will shine through, and work wonders for all involved.

PGSM absolutely stuck the landing on the end of this arc. Bravo.