Predictions and Observations:
Fire It Up!

Episode Aired: November 1, 2008
This Post Posted: November 6, 2008

How many characters get introduced by saying that you only get to meet him if "You make a mean barbecue sauce, or he's mad." I take it that this battery of tests was Bezon's idea to find out whether or not Yusei actually was a Signer. My first thought was that we all should have known that just treating a satellite like an actual person was completely out-of-the-question. Goodwin didn't even expect them to find anything (unless it was barbecued), and they still put him through all that. This may have been one of many mistakes that completely antagonized Yusei before he even spoke to Goodwin; they weren't counting on Yusei figuring out who must have told Armstrong he might be a Signer.

"There's nothing about who he is or where he came from!" You're not the only one frustrated about that, Goodwin. Why not ask someone who's known him since they were both little kids *coughcough*?

HE *DOES* KNOW!!!!!! Yunagi DOES know about Signers! Is that whom he thought Yusei was?
Yunagi has said five Signers, and it's canon now. Who are the other three, and have we met them yet?
Yunagi said five different dragons. Goodwin only mentioned one, and implied that Yusei might have something like the left wing of the same Crimson Dragon. What's going on here? Five Signers for each dragon? It's like the spirit gates/spirit keys thing, when for a week I thought there were forty-nine total spirit keys after Sheppard said the phrase "seven keys for each gate".
Of course they're cards, we should've known... Now where are they? The only candidates for being such important cards we know are Archfiend and Stardust.
Goodwin's and Yunagi's stories differ. If Goodwin's not lying entirely, he's more likely to have his story straight, but Yunagi wouldn't lie to Yusei even if he might not quite remember all of what he knows or have gotten the right information in the first place.

One thing that kind of surprised me was how hard Jack took it that he wasn't the champion anymore. This sets him sharply apart from Kaiba, who mostly refused to admit that Yugi was a better duelist, or even that Yugi was right about something. Jack asks how Goodwin can think he's some great Signer when he can't even beat Yusei. He takes it personally, calls himself a loser, doubts his own worth. I think that the duel actually restores his confidence a lot, because symbolically he means a lot to the fans, even if they don't know what they're talking about. That he would have lost to Yusei means nothing to them, even if it means everything to him. His match with Hunter makes it clear to him, though we already saw it, that he and Yusei play at a whole other level, and even if Jack's not quite as good as Yusei, it doesn't take that to cream someone like Hunter. Compared to that duel the other night, the official matches are nothing special. Jack already lost his title and found the value he has to people beyond the title itself; he no longer has to fear losing face. This has been difficult to explain, and I hope I made the point I was trying to articulate.
Once again Jack looks at the moon, like I'd been noticing before on the night they dueled (we saw it at the end of "Creepy Crawlies" when Jack looked at it in New Domino, and then Yusei saw the same moon in the Satellite, and then again when they were face-to-face at the end of "Pipe Dreams"), the same moon shining onto the wall of Yusei's cell. And by the way, it's only been one day; the moon doesn't change phase that fast.

Rex Goodwin- finally we get a full name. And is Director-General the full title, as opposed to the "Director" we heard before?

I get it! Hunterpace is the OLD champ!
Isn't "unprecedented rematch" an oxymoron? Maybe he simply meant that there had never been three championship matches between the same two duelists? It would have to be turbo-duelists, because Yugi and Kaiba had exactly that. Or maybe it meant that no one had managed to stay in the league long enough for two rematches after a fall from grace like that.
Considering the more than slight feeling of deja vu leading up to the match, I was comparing it with their duel in "On Your Mark..."; this time, the question "Will the competition ever show its face?" could apply to Jack, who was last into the arena. But remember with that particular line, the scenes were intercut such that we thought it might apply to Yusei in "On Your Mark...", who practiced and fine-tuned his runner to take on Jack. If this match is what the fans think it is, the former champ versus the current one, then Yusei would be Jack's opponent, not Hunter. At the end of the match, Jack pulls it out by reminding himself that "Hunter's no Yusei", and remarks that Hunter was just warmup for a rematch with an old friend of his, namely Yusei. So in a way, Jack's match in this episode parallels Yusei's test-ride in "On Your Mark...".
Just as a one-liner, are the duelists MIKED?! It sounds like it.
It actually raises my opinion of Jack that he was reluctant to call himself the champion when he wasn't, even when he technically didn't lose. It's a matter of honor; he knows that he would have lost, and he knows that someone he wants to believe is a loser is in fact the better duelist.
I noticed something interesting; Jack is undeniably the Kaiba of 5D's, and in contrast to Kaiba's speeches declaring that this is not a show, not a game, this is all-out war, etc. etc. such as at the beginning of KCGC: "I'm gonna make this brief: this is not a SHOW. If you came for a friendly game, then I suggest you go home.", Jack states before this duel even begins that this IS just a show. It's not the action-packed championship duel they think it is, but if they want to be entertained, he'll oblige. I'm almost wondering if Jack started off slow on purpose, gave Hunter a lead to beat intentionally to make the duel entertaining.
Would Jack have left the Satellite if he hadn't beaten Yusei first? He couldn't have called himself the champion then, either.
This is canonly Hunter's third loss to Jack. We heard about the first, and we saw the second and third, and it's stated here that there's no more, no less. Just for the record.

(I've written an essay. Unlike an essay in school, it's not forced and it's about something I really care about. This is new territory for me, but it sure is fun to challenge myself.)
Throughout this episode, we saw Goodwin attempt to "gather" Yusei as a Signer. This is the same guy who hired meek and mousy Mina to keep a rein on Jack, so this could be blamed on similar incompetence, but given certain actions on Goodwin's part here, I have trouble believing that Goodwin's intentions are as noble as he claimed to Jack last episode. The way he went about it was stupid at best and incriminating at worst.
The first place Goodwin went wrong is by not consulting the best possible resource on dealing with Yusei, one that happens to be VERY easily accessible, his old friend Jack Atlas. Jack could tell Goodwin far more than that file he pulled up, even what Goodwin was missing, "who he is or where he came from". But more importantly, the incentives Goodwin implied in his speech at the Facility might be enticing to some people in his audience, and to satellites as a rule, but Jack would have been able to tell Goodwin what to offer Yusei himself. I think Jack would have said to appeal to Yusei's heart, his long-standing dreams of getting his friends out of the Satellite. What he wouldn't risk for himself, he might risk for them. But even more importantly, Jack could have told Goodwin not to underestimate Yusei, or to condescend. He would know better than anyone just how formidable Yusei is. In addition, Jack, unlike Goodwin, knows firsthand from living as one that satellites are not any less intelligent or less human than the "Chosen", and would know better than to act as though they were. Especially if he was trying to get something from Yusei of all people, who sees treasure where other people see trash. Most importantly, Jack understands Yusei himself; when we saw them duel, they were such perfect rivals because each one really knew what made the other tick. As Jack noted in this episode with the line, "Don't you realize dueling is more than just paydays and trophies? Funny how the only one who understands is Yusei..." that they operate on the same wavelength and what they share, such as a love of the game beyond win or lose, runs deeper than their enmity. I'm not sure quite what advice Jack might give Goodwin on it, but Jack knows how to strike the right note with Yusei; he's already shown in bantering with Yusei before and during their duel just how good he is at hitting the wrong one on purpose. One may argue that Yusei would be just about the last thing Jack would want to talk about, but I would argue that if it's in the interest of getting him that rematch, he'll be more than happy to help.
The second mistake was that Goodwin came at this in the most manipulative way possible. First he tried to find out what he wanted to know without even meeting Yusei face-to-face or asking for it, ordering Armstrong to do all those tests. It was cruel, crude, and completely under the table, and Yusei found out about it. That's Goodwin's credibility and any respect Yusei could have had for him already shot when Yusei figured out he knew about Signs. Then he gives the big speech. Why gather the whole prison, when he could easily have had Armstrong's guards grab Yusei for a private word? Obviously he was expecting Yusei to be surprised that he was the one Goodwin chose, when Yusei saw it coming from the "mark of a champion" line. He was expecting Yusei to consider it some sort of prize, a sweepstakes win, when Yusei has put two and two together and knows the reason Goodwin came is for the mark on his arm and he never considered "choosing" anyone else. That Goodwin attempted such deceit shows him to be dishonorable, untrustworthy, and demonstrates his prejudiced disdain for Yusei and thus all satellites. That he didn't expect Yusei to notice proves that he clearly does not respect those he deceives enough to raise his game above the level of, say, duel preschool. That Yusei did notice is fatal to anything he may have to say.
Thirdly, Goodwin's presentation of the "program" suggests that the person he chooses will win a chance to ingratiate himself; how degrading. The City, as always, tosses scraps to the Satellite and expects it to beg and be thankful for that which no one better wants. Goodwin asserts that power over his audience in the Facility and talks down to them. He even later compares himself and Yusei to that relationship between City and Satellite: "We all use each other! Look at our City; the Satellite needs the trash that we give them, and they recycle it for energy and heat that we in turn use, Yusei!" Yusei replies, paraphrased, that they make treasure out of trash, the best of a bad situation, but that doesn't mean that they should consider it some benevolent gift, particularly when that which they actually need is withheld. This is not an exchange of equals or even a fair trade; as Goodwin himself one so aptly put it, "those from the Satellite exist so that the Chosen may prosper." (002, "Creepy Crawlies") Exist, not even live, so that the "chosen" may prosper. Thank you, gracious City, for allowing us to exist to serve you. Despite such a situation, Yusei is neither desperate nor stupid enough to compromise his dignity by blindly accepting Goodwin's offer. That Goodwin acts as though he is shows a prejudice that serves him very poorly indeed.
Finally, the worst bit of all this was that Goodwin outright lied to Yusei. He said that he didn't know anything and needed Yusei's help to unravel the mystery of his Sign. True, there's much that they don't know, but if Goodwin had any brains and good intentions at all, he would have told Yusei everything he knew, everything we just saw him tell Jack, because according to him, the Signers are the ones who can save the world, not he, and the more they know, no matter who they're allied with, the better. Yusei would have seen it as a show of good faith, and might have been more inclined to trust him.
That Goodwin treats Yusei like just a lowly satellite and forgets that Signers are born duelists and psychology is half the game, forgets the breathtakingly even match he saw the other night, suggests that he is either a complete buffoon or that asserting control over Yusei is more important to him than the sacred duty he spoke of to Jack: finding the Signers and preparing them to defend the world.

"It's not trash that we need. It's freedom." In this simple, powerful line, Yusei connects two of the major themes of the series so far. I'm trying to wrap my mind around this. Yusei himself is someone who sees treasure where others see trash, strength where most see weakness. But to me it seems that Yusei's saying that the City cannot consider itself giving as much to the Satellite as the Satellite gives to it by giving it that trash. Goodwin suggested that people using each other is simply the foundation upon which society is built and can function, each benefiting from, or "using" the others. But the City's "use" of the Satellite is fairly one-sided.
Somewhere worse? Oh, here we go. But one thing I'm wondering: what if Goodwin INTENDED to antagonize Yusei into refusing? What if this is another test? Goodwin said he knew of a way to find out what he wanted to know; he didn't say it was anything so civil as asking nicely.
Did Jack have a similar "program"? If Jack used to be a satellite, how did he get to the City? I still want to know.

So what's next? Jack resolved to get his rematch with Yusei very soon, considering Hunter warmup for it. What's he scheming? He doesn't want a token victory, he's already got one; technically the duel did not end, so Yusei only WOULD HAVE won. He wants to duel Yusei with both of them at their very best and prove to himself that he's better. Therefore, Jack may also be helpful in getting Yusei his deck and runner back.
What's Goodwin planning to do to Yusei to test/get back at (depending) him? If there's a worse part of the Facility, Tanner or Yunagi might know about it, and know whether or not Yusei should try to make a break for it before Goodwin can make good on his threat. Either way, I think that Yusei will not be in the Facility much longer.

I think Hunter's voiced by Chazz, by Tony Salerno. I'll look it up sometime, but I think I recognize the voice.

New poem, based on this episode:
If you're here for a duel, then I'm afraid I'll let you down.
Today's the same as any day here, if you look around,
But sitting as a spectator, there's much that you don't see.
And you no longer know the real me.
If you're here to see the champion, he isn't here today.
You'd find him in a jail cell, far too far away,
Getting tested like a lab rat and dueling to survive;
The competition never will arrive.
But if you came to see a show, a medal made of plaster,
Look no further, keep your eyes on me, the Master of Faster.
If what you cheer, you scream for, is something false and pretty,
Here's your singing, dancing runner-up of New Domino City.

The next episode is "The Lockdown Duel I". 'Til then! -Clio

READ A TRANSCRIPT OF THIS EPISODE HERE