[DreadBringer]

So they aren't playing around in tearing the Riders apart, even among the core trio.

The DezaStar mission card can be more free and ambiguous than I thought compared to the previous one shown where the mission is just clear by hitting other Riders with a fruit bomb. Now it's simply written as sabotaging them with any way. Dunno what qualifies as sabotaging or not in GM's eyes. Though the stakes here states that if the DezaStar is exposed, their wish will be invalid forever. Like, are there players permanently banned from DGP or that even if she joins another one and wins she'd not get any wish? Either way, the mission sounds more tame than I thought, but the consequences of failing here can be really hard, but it's what's needed to push Neon into behaving like this - dunno what'd happen for more depraved actual mission.

Among the main Riders, the series have displayed their flaws in a disastrous way for them before, such as Michinaga's hateful and reckless nature getting him seemingly killed and Keiwa's overly trusting nature getting him to be deceived or even severely injured, now it seems to be Neon's turn for that. Her desperation causes her to lose her cool and less think things through, like how she may've gotten this far due to being anonymous, but now she pins the blame on Ace in a pushy and tryhard way, similar to Daichi which makes her more openly suspicious, moreover these 2 already knows how she usually behaves, as this desperation also brought the worst in her with her becoming more cutthroat here to not only win but also risk losing her ever another chance such as using gaslighting.

The traps are the part of the game (and how Na-Go fulfills her mission of sabotaging other Riders), and it's the setup used to make Tycoon butt of the jokes, but at least it didn't come from nowhere like ep. 17. I actually hoped that Keiwa will figure out that Neon's the DezaStar, and it actually happens, due to his keen senses, he has enough awareness to not only know that Neon only focuses on pinning Ace, unlike non-DezaStars that can change assumptions multiple times based on situation, but also on knowing Ace's characterization better, that while he's untrustworthy, he's a very precise man who plans far ahead and won't be reckless such as accidentally shooting her, which causes her plan to fall apart. It's good that they're keeping Keiwa's ability here, but I hope this'd be still something consistent for him in the future.

The focus on the core trio here also had Ace repeating his 'shipping' about saying the other 2 of having lover's quarrel (and I just recently watched Saber ep. 25 with Mei accusing Touma and Rintaro as having lover's quarrel). I mean obviously they aren't couples, but they way they stand in union is done in exact same way as ep. 1 too. Otherwise, Ace is more involved in interacting with the other 2 regarding the DezaStar problem, he's the one who sees through Neon deliberately leading Keiwa into a trap and pointing it out, which is probably what kickstarted Neon into pinning it all to Ace to the point of getting herself shot.

Though as Ziin pointed out, his untrustworthy nature also can be his downfall of him being suspected as one. But well, do sponsors know how someone is assigned as DezaStar? Because it seems to be not done by the Rider's choice, so their natural characterization don't matter, Daichi acted more DezaStar than anyone else. And the sponsors continue to show themselves as far than just bystanders who rig the game with Ziin being a Kamen Rider - his Laser Raise Gun is his Rider weapon. His design is distinct from other DGP Riders, likely to highlight himself as dimension hopper.

Unnamed in the episode, but Kyun is shown to be someone who gets bad impression about Neon and makes all sort of worst assumptions about her, like viewing her as shady for pinning the blame on Ace, or calling her as ungrateful for running from home, as he points out not everyone who watches her channel are fans, and deeming her as totally selfish and uncaring for anyone else's happiness but her. Kyun claiming that she's too naive for him to be left alone also seems as if Kyun shares some of Irumi's overprotective and controlling nature. She's the DezaStar, but I wonder if sponsors know that she's the DezaStar (of which it's often assumed that she's DezaStar due to her sponsor giving her the role or her connection to DGP) which is the context behind her behavior here, but she still reflects on Kyun saying karma will bite her for "wishing horrible things on others" after being exposed.

It's an irony where the DGP is framed as a reality show, yet Ace notes that Neon is acting strange and different from usual, much more hungrier and desperate, even antagonistic. Highlighting the part where reality shows can be staged and is the opposite of showcasing what's real, it cares more about audience's ratings and what the producers would think it's fun for them to watch. And Chirami is a sadist who thinks the audience wants to watch the Riders distrust and being at odds with each other, thus he sets his game with DezaStar stuff to pit the Riders against each other using their desperation, even trolling Neon herself in placing the DezaStar mission card in her room. Chirami also seems to be more on good terms with Archimedel compared to Girori, who begs for him to unleash Jamatos for the entertainment and ratings. Wonder if actually the other DGP staff also see nothing wrong in Archimedel, only Girori himself too.

Daichi showcases his intellect here by correctly deducing Chirami's plan after they purposely didn't release the Jamatos, that to keep the ratings high, he'd create the game himself by acting as the opponent against the Riders as Glare2 (should be Glance then for him), in a hide-and-seek game, but also with GM Riders to disturb the players looking for him. Chirami's batshit insane and it extends fo his fighting as Glare, using worm dance to dodge bullets, though he seems to be able to use Glare2 abilities well, though Geats manages to pass through the 5 Hypnolays. But Chirami's sadistic nature to watch the core trio bicker ends up getting him open to Beroba's attack. It's offscreen, but apparently Beroba's Rider is huge and strong enough to easily beat Glare2 and take the Vision Driver to access Goddess of Creation? To the point that Glare2 calls all the GM Riders back to help him. Otherwise, Nadge-Sparrow actually really fights as entry form here (really empty, even his head) like Buffa, Tycoon, and Lopo (to Tycoon), and he can beat a hound with Monster.