[Fish Sandwich]

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Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

The fight against the nightmare is good, with the supporting cast desperately trying to help Baku

I didn't really mention this beyond Fujimi's goofy finishing move, but I did really enjoy that the episode made it a point to have Baku's allies involved in the action? With everything else going on, it'd be easy to forget to make a big deal out of it, but as I remember, the show (perhaps consciously) held off on having anyone who wasn't already a lucid-dreaming agent actually directly confront Nightmares any of the previous times they were attacking the "real" world. So having the whole crew show up, and having dedicated beats for them like Fujimi finally getting a chance to lay the smackdown on one, or Minami immediately grabbing a gun since we know she's really an agent now, it all stresses the extra "realness" of the situation this time around, which is good, because without a way to level up the scale like that, that part of the plot probably wouldn't have felt particularly fresh.

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Originally Posted by Mesnick

Maybe it's a matter of taste, but I seriously think this episode should have been split into two.

One thing I like about the structure as it is now is that it implicitly makes Baku's struggle within his own mind the "fight" scene for this episode that lacks any and all Rider action? Baku finally transforms at the very end, but it's more like the finishing move, right down to defeating the actual monsters. I can see how the normal thing to do would've been something along the lines of Baku dying as the shocking cliffhanger, and then him building the new Driver as the premise for the back half, which would climax with a proper fight scene for the new form right away, but I feel like we'd lose out on a beautiful point this episode ends up making, intentionally or otherwise, by making the struggle of creation itself a battle worthy of just being the climax of an episode.

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Originally Posted by Mesnick

I also didn't like how Minami and the others are calling for Baku to surrender. It's a stark contrast to them in reality, fighting alongside him and for him. And the fact that it's a projection of his subconscious is even worse. It implies that he doesn't appreciate and/or understand the support of his friends. Again, I'd rather use Dawn and Three for this kind of effort.

The ZEZTZ Room is a essentially a direct reflection of Baku's own heart, so it only makes sense his enemies have no place in it. Likewise, I think that's maybe a harsh way to read into why those thoughts are coming out of the mouths of the people he cares about?

Deep down, when he sets about to his long labor, Baku worries he's being irrational in believing he can fix his Driver himself, so Fujimi and Nasuka act as the voices of the rational, as they often have for him. As the grueling effort begins to wear him down both physically and emotionally, Minami, Nem, and even Odaka are the faces that speak for the part of Baku who wonders how anything could be worth this suffering, because all of them are people who Baku knows have cared about him getting himself hurt. When he chooses to persevere in spite of all this for the sake of completing the new ZEZTZ, Zero has nothing to say at all, because in that moment, Baku understands his father's feelings better than he ever has, and thus no words are needed -- their perspectives are already aligned, just as Baku has aligned all the parts of himself to accomplish his goal.

There's actually pretty specific intent with the appearance of each character and how they represent the way Baku thinks of them, so -- especially since they're all clearly happy about him pulling through in the end -- I'd argue it implies the exact opposite of him not appreciating his friends, if anything? It's certainly a lot more complex and interesting than just a bad guy saying "give up", at least.

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Originally Posted by Locke

That wig and fake ass goatee thing though, oh boy what are we doing.

I feel like they had to know it would look silly, but chose to do it anyway because it just makes sense visually? The immediate reaction a lot of viewers will have is probably going to vary from a slight smirk to outright laughter, but I think everyone will still come away with a much, much stronger impression of just how long Baku has been working than if they tried to convey it just with the shots of clocks and empty cans and whatnot. It's definitely pretty funny, but it's still sad on top of that, you know?