Zero Two Episode 50: Epilogue

In this episode, Hermione ends up marrying Ron and everybody's kids go off to Hogwarts. Or something like that.


Time jump epilogues sound like a great idea. They offer closure, tell the audience what happened to all their favorite characters and serve as a reminder that lives don't end just because the story does. There's always an after. Truth is, they are damn near impossible to pull off. Often they end up too predictable and everything happens as you would expect, which is not only unrealistic but adds nothing to the narrative. There are also cases where the future is so unexpected that you're more likely to wonder how the hell all this came about, completely forgetting about the actual ending and the message contained within. That's what's going on here. The Zero Two epilogue is probably the most notorious three minutes in the franchise. Therefore, we are breaking it down with an entire post.

Before we get into the digidestined and their dubious career paths, the most troublesome part of this future is that everybody knows about the Digital World and has a Digimon partner. This will be a complete disaster. Because when they say 'everybody,' that also includes the assholes. Assholes that may use their Digimon (who may very well also be assholes) for nefarious purposes and create a negative impression of Digimon in society. Hell, Gennai spent half the season hacking out information about the Digital World so people wouldn't know about it. Now the secret's out and private investors are free to turn it into a theme park.

The real meat of the epilogue, of course, is the fate of the twelve digidestined. With some of these, unexpected doesn't begin to describe it. Instead of pondering the message about keeping your dream alive or how awful it will be when the Digital World is parceled to the highest bidders, we're left shrugging our shoulders over how some of these careers came to pass.

The good news is that Joe, Izzy, Mimi, Kari, Ken and Davis are just fine and dandy. They ended up doing just what we thought they would. Not that we expected Davis to become a noodle magnate prior to this episode, but if that was really his boyhood dream, he sure rocked it. TK, Tai and Sora's careers actually make a lot of sense too. TK's following in his mother's footsteps and would be the ideal scribe, being the only digidestined to participate from start to finish. Tai's leadership ability and tendency to figure out the best plan for dicey situations would help in the political realm. Sora's fate as a fashion designer also confirms that the tomboyish scamp we met at the beginning of season one was actually nothing more than a rebellious phase. Once she realized her mother didn't hate her, Sora mellowed out and stopped fearing her feminine side. Fashion design lets her be creative while still doing something her mother would deem acceptable.

I got nothing for Matt, Yolei and Cody though. Those three are just screwed up. Cody, Mr. Ethical, becomes a lawyer. A defense attorney even, whose main job is to make sure criminals get off easy. The cases where he helps the legitimately falsely accused are few and far between. How long before he develops a drinking problem? Yolei, Miss Go Get 'Em, is apparently a stay-at-home mom, married to Ken... even though they never really had any lovey-dovey interactions other than Yolei crushing on him like she crushed on every other guy in the show. There's no way she'd be content as a housewife and I doubt she's even capable of a monogamous relationship. And I don't even know where to start with Matt being an astronaut. Maybe he listened to too much David Bowie.

It's not the slap to shippers and fanfic writers the way people say it is. If anything, it's a treasure trove of story ideas as we attempt to explain all this crap. And yes, the total package does have an inspirational feel to it. It's just... an astronaut? Seriously??

My Grade: B-

Loose Data:
  • The epilogue takes place in the year 2028 (2027 in the Japanese version... don't ask) and there are little snippets of future technology here and there, especially in TK's office. TK's using a speech-to-text program on his computer and has a holographic monitor that disappears when he leaves the room. His office door also vanishes when Takuya walks in.
  • Um... yeah... the big fanfic I wrote used this canon ending and gave names and personalities to these kids. I will be using their names from that here. Not as a cheap plug... that's seriously what I still know them as and just calling him “TK's son” instead of Takuya seems really weird to me.
  • Some have speculated that Matt and Sora didn't actually get married as it wasn't stated explicitly the way Ken and Yolei's nuptials were. This is debunked by the fact that Matt's son looks like Sora and Sora's daughter looks like Matt. While I suppose it's possible they were born out of wedlock, are you really such a stubborn shipper that you'd picture that fate for those kids? They're the offspring of Matt and Sora; little Michi and Kori are gonna be angsty enough as it is!
  • Unfortunately, that also means I'm forced to consider Mimi and Michael canon based on Tony's looks.
  • We all understand the circumstances of Kari's partner defaulting to Champion while everyone else's defaults to Rookie. But why the hell is that passed on to her son? All the other kids have In-Training forms (except for the baby, who gets a Baby), but Adam has a Salamon. What's so special about him that he gets a Rookie?
  • Yolei, outgoing and enterprising young woman, ends up settling down as a housewife... no indication that Ken was any more special to her than any of the other guys she's crushed on... daughter appears to be the eldest of the next generation. Yeah... Ken knocked her up.
  • Mima asks Papa Cody if she can sue if she gets tagged it. As a defense attorney, presumably an ethical one, wouldn't he frown upon frivolous lawsuits? He should not tolerate that kind of language.

28 comments:

  1. Disagree about Cody being a denfense attorney being wrong. The point of that is that Cody's finally learned to stop being so super-ethical that he sees things in black and white. He's seen two bad guys, Ken AND Oikawa, turn out to be not so bad in the end, the latter in particular inspiring him he alter his outlook on right and wrong. He's not the unforgiving stubborn prick he once was.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Because when they say 'everybody,' that also includes the assholes. Assholes that may use their Digimon (who may very well also be assholes) for nefarious purposes and create a negative impression of Digimon in society."- Digimon Savers would like a word with you!

    Wow...your analysis of how Sora's job makes sense is pretty good! Her fate as a fashion designer never made sense to me until now. But I disagree about Cody- he did make some sense to me.

    Matt makes zero sense though (My "reasoning" is that he's trying to go into space to avoid Jun and his other fangirls x_D). And Tai does make sense in hindsight, but I dunno, I find it a little hard to picture Tai in a suit- or being happy in a suit- or cutting his hair...

    ReplyDelete
  3. lol, if you look at the screenshot with Yolei and her kids in the future when she appears to be changing the baby's diaper her son is staring at it...little perv...

    ReplyDelete
  4. T.K. and Kari should have ended up together. Anyone else agree? Seriously, they're the couple that makes the most sense! Ken and Yolei... really!?

    Some of these futures it seemed like they just put stuff together. Disappointing...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tk and kari not really i would have it as ...
      tai - 1 son
      matt & sora 1 son & 1 daughter
      izzy - 1 daughter
      joe - twin sons
      mimi - 1 son
      tk - 1 son
      kari - 1 daughter & 1 son
      davis - 1 son & 1 daughter
      cody - 1 daughter
      ken - 1 daughter then 1 or 2 sons
      yolei - 1 daughter , 1 son then 1 daughter
      preferably with completley different digimon in
      fresh / intraing stage
      because really how hard would it be to invent a few more cute little baby or in training digimon

      Delete
    2. I agree with TK and Kari
      apparently they are married in the japanese version

      Delete
    3. I'm not sure where the rumor about TK and Kari being married in the Japanese version came from (although the finale poster where they're holding hands is a likely culprit), but it's definitely not the case. If it were, it would have been retained in the dub as Ken/Yolei were.

      Delete
    4. Sad to say that they're not married :( it's confirmed. Though tri may change that.

      Delete
    5. No they are not married in the japanese version see http://jippy-kandi.tumblr.com/post/84836795201/digimon-creator-sorato-sora-matt-takari-tk-kari-marriage and the epilogue is canon to Tri. see http://kazarinn.tumblr.com/post/137401816962/otomedia-february-2016-digimon-adventure-tri.

      Delete
  5. i wonder what digimon jun , gim and yolei's simblings got .

    ReplyDelete
  6. i would have prefered all the originals to be there plus a few extras like ken , davis and some one that isn't yolei
    also minus the armor digivolving

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've always wondered if having Miyako/Yolei marry Ken was less to contribute to her side and more to show that Ken was able to grow up and have a stable, happy family, and in order to show that image have the 02 writers throw him with the female that seemed closest to him. It certainly is a nice capper for Ken after all that he went through in 02.

    Miyako/Yolei becoming a housewife makes a little more sense after hearing her Japanese character song where she expresses a desire to embody the image of a traditional Japanese woman (yamato nadeshiko). As it's never actually shown in the series though, it does still feel a bit out of nowhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fair point for Ken's side, but "Yamato Nadeshiko" was actually released towards the end of Tamers on a Girls Festival CD (her original song, "Crash de Bingo," is far more Action Girl). That whole CD stretches characterization a lot, as if they're taking a really hidden sliver of each girl's personality and sending them way out of their comfort zone. That's the only reason I can see for making a song called "Yamato Nadeshiko" a doowop number. That said, I love Ruki and Juri's songs from that CD.

      Delete
  8. Honestly, I don't see why people are so upset that Miyako and Ken got canon. Well I understand why, but when people say they had no real moments together, I just get so irritated. Miyako and Daisuke are a lot like each other, same goes with Kari and Ken. Since Miyako is Kari's Jogress partner, (vice versa with Daisuke and Ken) it's understandable that Miyako would be able to understand Ken since Ken and Kari have the same issues with the dark ocean and all. While it's true Ken is more sensitive and Miyako tends to put her foot in her mouth, it just proves to show that Ken got over all his angst in the future. Miyako was able to help Hawkmon digivolve into Aquliamon once she realize she was wrong about Ken and accepted him. Next to Davis and TK she was forgiving of Ken. (It's also odd how Miyako is the only one who seems to have felt Ken's fear during the dark gate inncident) I'm personally a Daiken fan, which is probably why it's easy for me to understand Kenyako completely without complaints. (I'm just bothered by how their daughter seems to be the oldest)

    No one ever said Sorato was canon (Expect of course the Spanish version, other than that there isn't any real hints they are currently canon in the future) and seeing the distant between the two unlike Ken and Miyako, I tend to think that they were canon but then got divorced or something. I am pleased with how Kari and Takeru did not get canon. I don't dislike the ship, it's a nice ship and all. Granted, just because they're vegans and are "holy chosens" doesn’t mean they are destined to be together. They weren't that close in Adventures, and their relationship barely got any screen time in 02 (which people kept complaining about) but I think the reason for that is simply that there wasn't anything TO show. It's obvious that Kari feels nothing romantic against Takeru, while I can't say the same for Takeru himself, he's only 11, what does he know about love and all that? I wouldn't be surprised if he got over that phase, Kari was never in that phase to begin with. It irritates me how people don't tend to see that maybe they didn't get canon because they were perfectly fine with being great friends. My best friend is a guy and we trust each other a lot. That does not mean I should start taking it to another entirely new level. Your best friend doesn’t always has to be girl girl, boy boy. You can have a platonic friendship between female and male. Shame no one can see that.

    Matt being an astronaut was... stupid beyond all reason. But in MetalGarurumon's evolution scene, he's on a moon right? While I think Matt should just have stayed with music, I think he became an astronaut more for Gabumon's sake than himself. After all if this is truly a time where Digimons are everywhere, there has to be issues with Digimon roaming free and working. Considering in Adventures, Gabumon was Matt's first real solid friend. They even promised to be best friends. So as random and stupid as it sounds to have Matt as an astronaut, I've stopped complaining about it when I remembered about MetalGarurumon's evolution scene.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Sorato is canon see http://jippy-kandi.tumblr.com/post/84836795201/digimon-creator-sorato-sora-matt-takari-tk-kari-marriage with a portion of an interview where a man of the staff confirms it and the epilogue is canon to Tri. see http://kazarinn.tumblr.com/post/137401816962/otomedia-february-2016-digimon-adventure-tri.

      Delete
  9. And I agree with the others about Cody. While it's true his morals and black and white point of view makes him being a defense attorney sound stupid beyond all reason, It's nice to think that Cody grew up and finally start seeing things logically. People to be more precise.

    I understand how it seems really odd to have Miyako as a housewife and all, but in her little "fantasy" thing she wanted to know what it would be like if she didn't have any siblings. This should imply that she might have felt lonely as a child, she is the youngest in her family, and with that many siblings I wouldn't be surprised if her parents sort of just shrugged her off and left her care in the hands of her siblings. So Miyako most likely grew up without the affection of a parent. Which would explain why she didn't want her own children to feel the same way she did, making her content with being a house wife/stay-in-home-mom.

    Anyways, these are just my thoughts and opinions on the subjects most people keeps complaining about. Being a writer, it's saddens me that people hate the way the writers choose to go about with their characters. I've read all your reviews and laughed so much (died a couple times from lack of air) you really pointed out a lot and a few things I myself did not notice. (As well you gave me a 3rd reason to dislike Takeru, which I thank you for) What's more amazing is that you did your reviews based on the dub! I always found the dub of 02 intolerate-able since as you said their gag jokes as reach a boiling point. At least Adventures was tolerant and amusing. In 02 it was just becoming to much but still despite that they did a good job. And these reviews of yours really brings highlights the good in the dub. So thank you for giving my childhood a chance at pride again.

    (Sorry for double comment, apperantly there was a character limit)

    ReplyDelete
  10. kari and tk was just something that made sense and was shoved in everyones faces only to be glossed over and forgot about. As i agree with the above analysis of their relationship, its hard to forget about someone when you have been with them for so long, and done so much with them. At least show everyones spouses to! i wouldn't have been upset if i saw another guy standing beside her, but it just kills me thinking about how they could be but werent said to be. Its just ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  11. If anyone wants a truly excellent rewrite of 02 I recommend The Story We Never Told by ker-plop

    ReplyDelete
  12. I find it almost laughable how you praise Sora for maturing and yet you're mystified when the same thing happens to Yolei. *shakes head* I personally don't give a lick about what the creators say. As the saying goes "I reject your reality and substitute my own."

    ReplyDelete
  13. Well so much for Takari and stuff but hey, at least we enjoyed their adventures. Although back then I really did want Hikari and Takeru together the ending seems so weird and all. Speculating that Kari might want to shed her light to the next generation, TK sharing his source of hope and all, I don't get how the moon connects with friendship, or a noodle-cart for courage/friendship (maybe miracles made it work).Tai, Izzy, Joe and Ken were fine, Sora and Yolei tolerable, and Mimi maybe from all the migration and stuff she acquired a taste for weird taste. Well Cody might make it better to be a i don't know a prosecutor? Yup, serve justice to those who deserve it, if they don't want give them a tail hammer, a torpedo or a gold rush. Yep, maybe. Any way nice analytic prowess, this way this series will never be erased from our hearts.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I honestly wished that Joe and Mimi(my favorite male and female characters of the entire series) got together. They showed signs(although not much) that they were kind of interested in each other at some points or another. Maybe I just prefer the Nerd-Beauty coupling, but I felt like their two personalities would work in a relationship. Also, a little side note: whenever they show a shot of the kids, it seemed like Joe and Mimi were almost always right next to each other and even their names are go in unison when introduced to us, the viewers.

    ReplyDelete
  15. My preferred pairings would be Tai-Sora, Joe-Mimi, T.K.-Kari, and Yolei-Michael(at least there's proof of him asking her on a date at least.) Everyone else would have had their spouse not mentioned, but acknowledging that they do have one. (Hell, I would even have Matt tolerating Jun and seeing her as more than just a fangirl, Izzy meeting a girl while he's working, etc.) Anyways, personally I didn't have that big a problem about the ending but it could have been handled better. It does seem rushed and put together at the last moment just to give an end to the series we've been watching the last 2 seasons. That being said, although random and strange as this ending is, the last scene with the kids and their Digimon running along the field with T.K. narrating it was heartfelt and it made me feel good inside. Its definitely not a perfect ending, but it has its moments and is not as bad as some people make it out to be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michael only asked Yolei on a date in the dub it cannot be consdered really canon.

      Delete
  16. I was real disappointed that the spouses of the characters who didn't end up together wasn't seen or announced. It would have been much easier that way, for me at least lol

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think Devis ,Kari and TK love triangle is like Nobita , Shizuka and Dekisugi .
    Except , We were forced to cheer for Nobita since he was main character while Dekisugi was a referring character.
    But since Both Devis & TK were main character so Fans were free to chose.
    I wonder what will happen in New Adventure 03 series !
    Will Adventure 02 cut off ? Therefore making Adventure epilogue a Non-canon.
    Or It will follow after Adventure 02 .
    That would mean , We might finally see Tai wife and Kari's Husband.

    After all , Everyone of us want to know that Lucky Bastard that will Steal Kari from TK and Devis .
    Off Course , I don't want her Husband to be another perfect Gentleman/Ledisman like TK . Thats the reason I supported Daikari over Takari.
    I prefer a Incredibly Smart and Strong Boy who's keep his Maturity .
    Such as Souma (Shokugeki no Soma)

    ReplyDelete
  18. id hate to be the cynic here but as for Matt and Sora not being married, well, he did grow up in a broken home and unlike TK he was old enough to witness the nasty divorce and he did get to live and grow up with his obviously bitter dad so... yeah.

    As for Cody yeah what a jerk how can he stare some poor kid in the eye as the guy who killed his father gets off on a technicality (hypothetical, but still possible). I think he got some of the dark stuff on him when TK left him alone on Kens Ship



    ReplyDelete
  19. When I was younger I actually thought Tamers was a weird sequel to this. It made sense at the time. It would set in the future and my idea was the digidestined stories got so popular a kids show was produced. I figured at some point our new heroes were gonna meet the original. I made these assumptions when I was probably 10. When I found out they are all in different alternate universes or whatever. I was a bit surprised.

    ReplyDelete
  20. There is an explanation for Matt's profession see http://jippy-kandi.tumblr.com/post/53629782203/digimon-adventure-02-epilogue-jobs-matt-sora. In short the astronaut thing is because there are enemies in the universe it is a remaining of an idea that the developers had of a sequel with enemies coming from the outer space but that was abandoned.

    ReplyDelete