Watch Analysis
The video and audio above contain the full unfiltered analysis. What follows is the razor focused version of the strongest point(s) I had to make.
Setting the Stage for the End
Despite the fact that Kamen Rider Zeztz 49 is the penultimate episode, or maybe because it is the penultimate episode, it spends a lot of time setting things up for the finale. That’s good and important, but it also means we’re moving the board and setting everything up once again for something still to come.
The status quo changes in some important ways. Baku brings Nem back from Oblivion, which consequently brings the Oblivion Gore Nightmare back too. The Lady dies after finally breaking free from the Phantom Gore Nightmare. Odaka is reinstated in the Public Security Bureau and returns to the Paranormal Affairs Division. Baku tells Minami that he’s pretty much a goner, while she clearly wants him to stay.
There’s a lot happening here. It wasn’t frustrating or unsatisfying. It wasn’t boring. It wasn’t not entertaining. I liked the episode.
But I don’t know. It’s almost a little unfortunate that it had to be done this way because we know these things have to get set up like this. I’m impatient to see the conflict fully evolve, be fully on display, and finally see the conclusion of the series.
Not because I want Zeztz to end.
Because everything deserves a good ending.
To echo something I said last episode, the endings and temporariness of things are part of what makes them beautiful, important, and special. I’m ready to see Zeztz come to a close, say what it has to say, and finally let us know exactly what the point of all this has been.
Because right now, I really don’t know.
What Is Kamen Rider Zeztz Ultimately Trying to Say?
I feel like only by ending can Zeztz really give us the resolution of these ideas, tie everything together, and let us understand exactly what its message is.
I’m looking forward to finding out what that message really is because I don’t know what it is yet.
Even the moral question surrounding Nem keeps shifting.
Previously, we had the issue of whether it was right to sacrifice one person to save the world. But Zeztz ultimately sidestepped that issue because Nem sacrificed herself. Nobody else made that decision for her.
Now we have almost the inverse problem.
Is it right to bring back someone who sacrificed herself to save the world if bringing her back puts the world in jeopardy again?
Is it moral to save one person if saving that one person puts everybody else at risk?
That’s essentially the accusation Oblivion makes against Baku and the others after Nem returns. They brought one person back knowing Oblivion would return with her.
At first, that felt weird and morally complicated to me. But the more I thought through it, the less complicated I found it.
Saving Nem Doesn’t Make Baku Responsible for Oblivion
Baku isn’t actually the one choosing to destroy the world.
Oblivion is.
Bringing Nem back creates the circumstances in which a bad actor can cause tremendous harm, and Baku knows that risk exists. But Oblivion destroying the world isn’t an automatic consequence of Nem existing. Oblivion is choosing to do it.
That distinction matters.
And if Baku has the ability to stop Oblivion, then his responsibility becomes to stop him. That’s exactly what Baku says he’s going to do: save Nem and save the world.
So I guess the morality of the situation isn’t ultimately as complicated as I initially thought it was. It felt complicated. It felt weird. But I’m actually pretty comfortable with Baku’s choice, and I think it lands as fairly standard superhero fare: save the person in front of you, save everybody else too, and stop the person who’s actually trying to hurt them.
Now Zeztz Has to Give Us Its Ending
That’s ultimately where Kamen Rider Zeztz 49 leaves me.
I liked it. I wouldn’t call it an amazing episode, although there were definitely some cool things in it. More than anything, it feels like a penultimate episode doing the work necessary to get everything into position for the final act.
And I’m ready for that final act.
I’m ready to see this conflict fully evolve. I’m ready to see these ideas reach their conclusions. Most of all, I’m ready to find out exactly what Zeztz has been trying to say with all of this.
Maybe that’s what a penultimate episode is supposed to leave me wanting.
MJ Muñoz 