Zero Two Episode 48: Oikawa's Shame

In this episode, Oikawa's plan goes horribly, horribly wrong. At least for him, Arukenimon and Mummymon. The mastermind behind all this thinks it all came together quite nicely.

Yep... it's Myotismon. Of course it's Myotismon. It's always Myotismon. It would be one thing if he hadn't already revived himself once in the first season. It would be one thing if there were no alternatives, as introducing a completely new villain at this point would be completely absurd (you know, like Apocalymon). But we've had Dragomon sitting on the sidelines for thirty-five episodes. His influence on the dark towers and Ken's original dark digivice would have made Dragomon a very plausible final villain. No... instead, we roll with Myotismon again.

That said, Myotismon was the best villain in season one for a reason and it doesn't take long at all for MaloMyotismon to show us just how effective and frightening he is. He relishes in fear, which is in abundance in this strange world. Oikawa's afraid that he's been used this whole time, the digidestined are afraid they're up against something they can't beat, the dark spore kids are afraid of this world and all the scary monsters surrounding them. Arukenimon and Mummymon are slow to catch on, but they too become terrified in a hurry.

After Myotismon happily absorbs the dark flowers from each of the frightened dark spore children and takes his new hideous form, he's strong enough that the only thing Arukenimon and Mummymon can do is serve as an example to how powerful and cruel MaloMyotismon is. We've always praised the bastard for his strategic brilliance (most sadistic monsters tend to be less organized and more crazy) and this applies here as much as it does to his possession of Oikawa. Eating Demidevimon last season was for energy and treated mostly as an afterthought. Not so this time. He has plenty of energy and no longer needs two bumbling sidekicks. So he tortures Arukenimon, inflicting pain based on what she's afraid he'll do to her. It's violent, excruciating, barely permissible on television and MaloMyotismon only kills her once she wishes for it to be over. Overcome with rage, Mummymon attacks MaloMyotismon, who shrugs it off and kills him without blinking. His goal in all this was to scare the digidestined into submission. He succeeded.

We've seen the digidestined frightened before. We've seen them hesitant and discouraged. They have never been been utterly paralyzed the way they are here. The torture and murder of Arukenimon and Mummymon set up their battle by making them each fear that their Digimon is destined for the same treatment. That, combined with this freaky world that is neither the real world, Digital World, nor DigiQuartz has them feeling alone and scared. As their road had been relatively easy prior to this, none of them were prepared for this monstrosity. Not even TK and Kari were ready to be thrown back into this mess.

Davis, despite his outward attitude, is not an exception. He's just as scared as everybody else, and hesitates in letting Veemon fight alone due to the same fears. He just chooses to ignore it, putting on a brave face because he knows that's what he's supposed to do. It's part ignorance and part idiocy, but he also recognizes that if he doesn't do it, the world's as good as gone. That means that no matter how unlikely his odds are or how stupid he looks challenging MaloMyotismon alone, he doesn't see any other option and charges ahead.

The series gets a lot of flak for for going back to the Myotismon well again, the way he is defeated and the confusion over how Oikawa entered this world. The episode's animation is sub-par and the first half is mostly meaningless filler. Still... dude knows how to make an entrance.

My Grade: B+

Loose Data:

• It's a pretty dick move on Izzy's part to ask Matt if he's nervous about Tai and Sora tailing Noriko together. Matt waves it off with a smile, but the fact that Izzy's even suggesting anything foul, risking the chance of putting some doubt in Matt's head, would be seen as an effort to manufacturer some drama if it came from anyone but Izzy.
• The business with Izzy's mom was pretty pointless but also very cute. It would have been better served if it had been established that more parents than Hiroaki and Nancy were actively helping. The cutaway of Sora's parents is the first time they're even seen together (Jim's there too) and there's some guy going through a filing cabinet that I needed the Japanese version to learn was Ken's dad.
• These kids did a terrible job of watching the dark spore children. They all turn away to cheer Kari up and the next moment Oikawa's there and leading them away.
• So... what exactly was it that pulled Oikawa and the kids to this other world? Was it BlackWargreymon sealing the gate and denying access to the Digital World? Was it Myotismon's intention all along? Was it Oikawa using the Agumon keycard instead of the Gomamon card on his laptop? If it was the latter, which is the popular belief, how was he successful sending Arukenimon and Mummymon to and from the Digital World? It's implied that this method of opening a gate was routine to him, so he'd know which cards to use.
• Let it not be said that Mummymon didn't go out in a blaze of glory. For a moment there, he actually looked cool... before he was blasted away.
• It's certainly not the fault of this season, but it's hard to consider MaloMyotismon as being unbeatable after you see Marcus and Gallantmon and the like swatting dozens of them down like flies in Hunters.