[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 27 - “THE DAY IT ALL BEGAN 2009”




Third part of a four-parter!

I can see why a few people included stuff from this episode in the discussion for last episode. A big chunk of this episode is the other side of events from the last episode: the true cost of Geiz Revive (absolutely hilarious that Woz thought that pointing out that Revive will kill its user might dissuade Geiz), the Kamen Ride-Along with Decade, and Swartz’z random Hey Did I Ever Tell You Guys I Tried To Kill Zi-O backstory.

This is a real Cards On The Table episode, despite a solid emotional scene I’ll talk about in a little bit. It’s about getting our ducks in a row for next episode’s big conclusion, as well as spelling out some of the show’s earlier mysteries. It’s a plot-heavy episode, which is not the most fun to talk about.

It was fun to watch, though. I like Woz and dislike Hat Woz, so this episode’s triumph of The New Kamen Rider Woz is exactly the sort of story beat that forgives a lot of stalling. (This episode has a lot of stalling!) The cleverness of the Woz/Heure team is really thrilling, and I geeked out over them full-on outsmarting Hat Woz. Woz is just cool, I guess. I like how the performance has modulated a bit more into something that feels less… manic? Woz has been humbled by the strategies of Hat Woz, and he’s come out the other side a man of renewed dedication, but less certainty. He can’t just sit back and let the future play out; he’s going to have to speak up for what he wants.

Which leads us into Uncle’s speech to Sougo. I really loved it! It’s nothing we didn’t already know about Sougo (he’s hiding how much it hurts him to lose his friends, even briefly), but it reinforces how difficult it’s been for Uncle to be the best guardian for a lonely boy with strange aspirations. Uncle’s constant need to be a positive force has maybe given Sougo the wrong template of adulthood, creating a sad boy who doesn’t want to burden people with his unhappiness. That’s not great for a kid, and it’s probably extra not great for a budding time overlord. Sougo can’t live his life in isolation, smiling through his pain. He needs to be honest and vulnerable in his need for connection, like everyone does. As a corollary to Tsukuyomi’s lesson about putting Sougo on a pedestal, Sougo can’t put himself on a pedestal, either. He needs to treat his emotional concerns with the same validity he treats the emotional concerns of others. He can’t save people unless he can save himself.

Otherwise, he’d be Geiz, who is single-minded in his urge to reach emotional catharsis by fighting someone who is Definitely Not Anyone He Cares About to the death. Most of Geiz’z stuff this episode is, like Sougo’s, not really new information, but it’s handled as deftly as a Cards On The Table episode can manage. He feels guilty over Tsukuyomi’s trip to 2009 and her presumed murder/suicide bus tour. He’s practically re-energized by Woz’z pep talk about the Revive watch’s list of side effects. (Side effects include: dry mouth, minor headache, minor diarrhea, heart stoppage, and chapped lips.) He’s mostly just wandering around this episode, waiting for his chance to kill Definitely Not His Best Friend.

It’s that sort of episode? Beyond a new, better Kamen Rider Woz, and Uncle’s impressively delivered chastisement of Sougo’s bullshit sunny demeanor, this is mostly just an episode that fills in backstory and begins to connect series arc dots. We get to see some of Sougo’s “dream”, revealed here to be some weirdo test by Swartz to reveal Zi-O’s identity, but it’s not a pressing detail for Zi-O or Geiz’z present. It’s stuff that matters to the series, but not to the characters.

Not a bad episode, for sure, but definitely one that feels like half of 26 and half of 28.