[Matrixbeast]

41, 42, and 43.
I tend to watch 2 episodes at a time, but I thought 42 and 43 were connected. Then I found out that 43 ended on a cliffhanger. I didn't want to forget my thoughts on 41 before posting, so I'll put ep 44 on hold.

Anyway, 41.
The Kujaku story arc seems to have finished, and what a story it was. I found it pretty interesting how they handled it. Something I didn't think of was that as soon as they used the Peacock Tear to heal Kujaku, she'd just start deteriorating again since it'd just heal her, not adapt her body to the current time. It was a nice twist that I didn't anticipate.
We are also presented with the option that the Peacock Tear could remove the pollution in the world. While a good idea on paper, there are numerous problems with how that could work out, notably what qualifies as pollution. The episode presents the idea that in removing pollution, we also remove our bodies' various immunities to viruses and bacteria. I don't think that quite makes sense, but the concept of just wiping out pollution in one fell swoop might not just fix the world's problems.
For the story proper, we finally end Gara and Kujaku's rivalry, with Kujaku choosing to use the Peacock Tear to heal Gara's scar (And blindness, which she received in battle earlier) to finally thank Gara properly for saving her life earlier. Throwing the Tear into the lake/river/ocean, she loses her chance to heal, and soon dies. It was a touching scene, watching her fade away, her KiRyoku flying off into the distance as a rainbow peacock and Kujaku becoming Mahamayri Vidyaraja.

That's not all, though.
42 and 43 don't relent at all.
Picking up the story of Kou becoming a Gouma, we find that his birthday is close at hand, barely having a day to fix things. For good news, they are finally able to save Kou's mother, but unfortunately, they lose Byakko Shinken, who is necessary to the ceremony, and Kou is still missing.
As the YouRyoku surges through Kou's body, he finds himself in a helpless trance and attacking the Dairangers before spontaneously retreating. But that's not all. Shadam is also kind of an asshole (Shocking, I know). Choosing to screw over Akomaru's plan, he gets his son banished from Gouma, causing him to go into a rage to keep the Dairangers and Kou's mother from reaching Kou.
And the icing on the cake is that DaiJinRyuu has noticed that the fighting has continued, and returned to Earth. Rather than just destroy at random, though, he chose a more creative path to get his point across. Hypnotizing as many humans as he can, he lines them up across buildings, ready to jump to their deaths at a moments notice if the fighting doesn't cease.

The stakes are certainly being raised with Kou having little time remaining to meet with his mother and DaiJinRyuu making his comeback. We also get the shocking revelation that Akomaru is, in fact, Kou's brother, which I initially assumed. We still don't have 100% proof that Shadam is the father to both of them, but I'm fairly positive he is.

Things are getting tense. Gouma the 15th is seemingly afraid of Shadam, we have no idea how Kaku managed to retrieve Byakko Shinken from Gouma's hands, DaiJinRyuu is ready to have an entire city perform a mass suicide to get his point across, and Akomaru is hellbent on making sure Kou transforms into a Gouma.

EDIT: Episode 44
Wow, so that was one hell of a conclusion.
We learn why Kou's mother never really met Akomaru, choosing to abandon him to save the life of Kou. While it is kind that she chose the route that saved both her sons' lives, it does justify why Akomaru is so cold hearted, being raised by the cruel Gouma with his heartless father. We also get, for certainty, that Shadam is Kou's father, too. Poor kid.

Anyway, Kou is finally cleansed of the Gouma and is back to his normal self. However, the ceremony causes a cave in, trapping Kou's mother for certain death. Tearfully, they share a loving moment before Kou is forced out and aids in defeating the monster. Akomaru finally gets to share a brief moment with his mother, too, being near death after an attack by Shadam himself.

We also learn how Kaku got the Byakko Shinken back and created the true peace treaty, requiring the Dairangers to disband and Kaku return to the side of Gouma. I do love this twist, but because I'm a bit too media savvy, I anticipated it ever since they revealed he had a secret path to the Gouma's base.

With Akomaru's monster defeated and Gouma having formed a peace treaty, DaiJinRyuu removes the hypnotism and departs from Earth once more, but the terms of said treaty don't leave much in the way for wiggle room. I'm super curious to see where this goes next.