[Kamen Rider Die]

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

I think, Ren's Contract as a Rider is unrelated to Eri's condition right? Darkwing's still there and still will eat Ren if he doesn't feed him, so it's inevitable that he needs to keep fighting because of how a Rider works in this series. Whenever Eri truly returns or only temporarily awake, if Ren's truly want to change I think he has to deal with his Rider self like, deal with Darkwing (can't think any ways of doing this, I do want some enlightenment of this, correct me if you can), right? The consequences of becoming a Rider, even if you get your wish prematurely, still...

The show does push back a little bit on whether Ren's situation has even improved with Eri's recovery ("recovery") when Shinji tries to be all But Now You Don't Have To Fight and Ren reminds him that they're still in a battle to the death. That could be a compelling thing, Ren dedicated to fighting in a Battle that can't help him, trapped by his choices. It's just, that doesn't seem to be what the show is dramatizing? If Eri recovered, you can do a storyline where Ren has to keep fighting, but only for his own survival. But if Eri's perpetually only 1% alive or whatever, you've still got Ren fighting for her survival, not his own. Nothing's really changed in the nuts and bolts of the show, and that's a disappointment for me.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

The other characters plans are still new (I mean SSSS just recently gets introduced, even if Nakamura already appeared early), just wait until they also get stuck in the loop. I think this series is just hopeless, I can't even think of headcannons to solve this. Dunno if you actually read above, but what other ways Shinji could do to prevent Mirror attacks again, not just for Yui but also everyone else? SSSS are seemingly another one that probably has a way to end all of that, other than Tezuka previously, and they are seemingly ideal for Shinji to work on (at first glance, he stumbles more upon their dark secrets bit by bit).

But, like, I think that's a failure of the writing, not of the concept. There've been plenty of places on this show where things seemed hopeless, and the writing provided an in-character, in-universe solution. The Zolda/Ouja fight from just a couple of episodes ago! That was one where Kitaoka had no chance, until he had every advantage. Plenty of other characters, Reiko being a prime candidate, have found ways out of dead ends. Right now, though, all three of the main characters seem to lack, if not direction, then a plan of action. It's cool if it's just one (Shinji is someone who will totally charge in without a plan), but when it's all three... ugh.