[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Also, I think my feelings about Tendou/Hiyori (do not like) are getting a little tangled up with Hiyori/Worm (pretty into, didn't love how the show handled the fallout) as far as how I'm communicating my feelings about this episode. There are two reveals, and it's really the Secret Siblings one that I regret the show pursuing.

Thinking about this more, I feel like I've accidentally hit upon why the execution of the episode mostly didn't click with me: it's maybe trying to do too much, too quickly? We had just come off of the huge Hiyori Is A Worm cliffhanger, but instead of getting to deal with that story fully, to really grapple with how Hiyori feels about this new aspect of her identity, the show immediately adds in the reveal that Tendou is Hiyori's brother, which pivots the lens onto Tendou's feelings towards Hiyori: his protectiveness, his fears, his need to control the situation, etc. There's a whole middle section of this episode that becomes about a completely different thing than the last episode's cliffhanger?

Like, I feel like this episode would've been better served as two episodes? An episode that's more directly about Hiyori being a Worm would've felt like the show was taking that change seriously, while a following episode that let Tendou react as her brother would've been... I mean, I still wouldn't be in favor of it as a story, but I think it would've felt more organic (and less intrusive) than it did here.