[Fish Sandwich]

I generally try to stick to focusing on a few broader points in these posts to try and keep things contained, but that's tricky this week, because the big overall thing that jumps out at me is how much I enjoy so many of the smaller moments in this episode simply on their own, rather than because of how they speak to a larger unified goal. Or, heck, I guess if the goal is still just to establish the foundation for a brand new ZEZTZ, maybe this does all connect? A lot of the reason I'm happy watching so many of those scenes was because of what they suggest the show wants to emphasize going forward.

I'm always worried after the halfway point in Rider shows nowadays about old toys being forgotten about. Sure, that new opening still makes sure to emphasize that ZEZTZ is supposed to have four variously colored main forms, but like, what are the odds at this point that Wonder actually gets a second appearance in *any* capacity, let alone another major spotlight? So it's really reassuring to see the show go out of its way to introduce a new facet of how Capsems work seemingly for the sole purpose of justifying the continued use of the basic forms even as the show also wants to present newer threats as being more powerful.

I also loved that scene because it's really lighthearted and fun -- Baku being the viewer at home once again, relatable as ever in his frustration at getting the same old thing out of a gashapon machine when he's trying to grow his collection. Much like the even more humorous scene at the start where he insists upon keeping up the English mission objectives even without the help of Zero or his own subconscious knowledge of the language, I thought that was a great return to something about the overall tone of ZEZTZ that (understandably and appropriately) went away as we approached the end of that bad dream. Despite what the emphasis on agent coolness and the darkness of night and all that might make you think for a second, this show generally had a pretty upbeat vibe, so it was also nice to see that reemphasized here too.

But then, just asserting all over again what we've seen so far wouldn't make this second half a very new experience, so of course, there's the actual big new element here, in the character of Sieg, who makes a stellar first impression. There's a ton of visual power to the way he changes the show at the start and the end of the episode especially -- in both his weird oppressive Nightmare hell prison, and in how he tears down a familiar classic ZEZTZ climax to replace it with something far more chaotic and unfamiliar. 15 is a particularly special episode for me, so as much as I really get Baku's desire to speedrun through it in this new playthrough to do the story path that unlocks NOX as a party member, I also like that the episode stresses so firmly that it isn't going to be that simple for the characters, because it shouldn't be that simple for the show.

And I guess those are about the broad strokes after all! As always, lots of little things I could talk about, like how neat it is to have that little flashback where Seven remembers how the previous fight with the Shadow Nightmare went and uses it to his advantage. Also lots of longform speculation things where I generally prefer to just wait for clearer answers, like how it definitely seems like the show wants to imply Nem (and NOX?) also experienced Baku's premonition on some level? Overall though, I'm still really having a good time with this new chapter of the show so far. I'm feeling very optimistic about it, even though it's based on an idea I completely wrote off as a bad one early on, and I think that means they're doing something right.