[Kamen Rider Die]

KAMEN RIDER ZI-O EPISODE 49 - “2019 - APOCALYPSE”



It’s really the only way this show could end.

Beyond the previous episode’s declaration that Sougo’s true power comes from his friends, or this episode’s declaration that the true victory belonged to everyone who believed in and sacrificed for Sougo, this series had a number of Sougo speeches regarding what the best future looks like. As opaque as this show’s plotting and logic have been at times, there’s been remarkable clarity in what the best outcome for this story was, what the ideal future looks like to Sougo.

The ideal future is the one we all get to live in together.

That’s it, really. It’s not about defeating foes, or ensuring Oma Zi-O never exists. It’s creating a world where people are safe to dream of the future they want to see, and given the support necessary to realize those dreams. The fact that it all looks like the Webtoon spin-off of Kamen Rider Zi-O is just a bonus, maybe. It’s cute. It’s a very cute ending, for a very cute show.

The episode that preceded it was a messy pile of weird plotting, heartbreaking performances, epic action, and boring villainy. In all ways, this was the ultimate Zi-O episode.

Geiz’z death scene, for example. The emotion in the scene is touching, and the long-awaited moment of Geiz calling Zi-O “Sougo” – with his dying breaths – was exactly as devastating as you’d imagine. (Are we all crying right now?) But it comes on the heels of a somewhat random Geiz sacrifice, and directly before Tsukuyomi decides that she’d rather wait until after Geiz has been murdered to turn on Swartz, so it all feels a bit tainted. The entire final battle has that same taint to it, with Swartz’z goal of stealing Oma Zi-O’s power being thwarted by, like, him not actually being able to do that? It retroactively confirms Swartz’z plot to be even dumber than you could’ve feared, which is not the ideal note for the climax of a year-long series. It makes the events of the middle of this episode feel arbitrary and irrelevant, an action-packed distraction from anything that makes sense or is worth investing in.

But on either side of it, you’ve got this show’s expertly calibrated character work, as precise and dependable as a well-maintained clock.

That little breakfast scene with Sougo and Uncle! It could be maudlin and funereal, but it’s warm and goofy and bittersweet and resolute in its humanity. (The bit where Uncle tells Sougo this can’t be his last supper, because it’s breakfast!) Just when everything in this show should be preparing Sougo for a death march, the wacky uncle delivers the key to victory, and makes sure that Sougo knows to bring everyone home.

And then the aftermath, as we’ve wound things back to the beginning, to September of 2018. But it’s a better version of the beginning, a future version, where the lessons of the last year are built into the foundation of the world. Where the battles and rivalries of this show get recast as supportive friendships and second chances. Where Oma Zi-O still might exist at some point in the future, but Sougo’s support network has never made him feel farther away. Where everyone gets to see what future awaits them.

It’s really the only way this show could end.