Predictions and Observations:
The Fortune Cup Finale II

Episode Aired: March 7, 2009
This Post Posted: March 14, 2009

That was anticlimactic. Having made all those grand predictions last post I feel kinda silly. Nevertheless, I will press on. Maybe, I keep telling myself, it was just anticlimactic because I missed something important. It seems as though there wasn't time or cause to duel out even what seemed to me to have been revealed for the express purpose of doing so.

However, the B.F. was shown for a reason, I'm sure of it. The best answer I can think of, beyond the connotations at the time such as Jack's intention of giving Yusei the ability to make this duel for real by releasing him from the same dilemma, is that Jack told us how he came to occupy the position he holds in New Domino. Yusei came by his championship very differently, but he *is* champion. Most of what we've seen of the New Domino higher-ups has been focused around Jack; now that Yusei is champ, all of that is going to change. It could be very important that we saw what Mina thinks of Yusei, as her job may change, for instance.

But even more importantly, now we've got the powder keg of Yusei and Goodwin on the same side, more or less. To begin with, Goodwin's had it easy, with Jack as champ. Not only did Jack trust Goodwin, but he owed him. Yusei detests Goodwin and doesn't trust him one bit, and having reached the top by going through the card theft, unjust laws, police, more police, blackmail, and a whole tournament Goodwin threw at him, owes Goodwin nothing but perhaps some payback. Luckily for Goodwin, Yusei not only has a heart, but also some bigger fish to fry, unaware that Goodwin also happens to be one of those fish, being the fifth Signer and all. Seems to me that Yusei, being the champ but not yet having any sort of pro contract, is in a prime position to make some demands of Goodwin. A place for Rally, Blitz, Tank, and Nervin in the city, what he's been fighting for all along, just for starters. Greiger being released. A bit less trash and a bit more freedom for the Satellite. Then there's the real bargaining: the Signers. Goodwin staying the heck away from them and ceasing his attempts to bring them all under his thumb. Action taken to avert the huge purple spider of doom. Information. And if Goodwin refuses? Well, I could almost hear Yusei tell him: 'Then send someone who *will* sign a contract with you to win the championship back from me.'
But first, I feel, there must be some sort of truce. Yusei doesn't trust Goodwin at all, and hasn't since he first met him, when Goodwin came to the Facility and essentially attempted to buy him off. While Yusei can make these demands, he might be reluctant to because he doesn't feel comfortable putting Rally, Blitz, Tank, and Nervin under Goodwin's protection; doesn't think Goodwin will follow through with any social change for the Satellite he promises; will just get sneaky when it comes to manipulating the other Signers; will lie with any information he gives. Yusei doesn't know a thing about pro contracts in the city, and there's no way for him to know whether or not the deal is fair. In short, Goodwin's word is worth nothing to Yusei, so no agreement can be reached. I'm in some doubt how this will work. Seems to me that the easiest way would be for someone Yusei trusts slightly more, who knows Goodwin, to moderate such negotiations. The first person I think of is Jack. Okay, hear me out; Jack and Yusei may not get along, but Yusei knows that Jack will speak straight to the point. Even when he tied up Rally and pushed him out to sea in a tiny boat, he told Yusei honestly that it was he who had done so, on purpose. He has some experience with pro contracts, and though he might mess with both of them, he doesn't like Goodwin enough to let him cheat Yusei *too* badly. In fact, Jack might rather like the idea of ordering the pair of them around. However, the problem with this is that Yusei assumed a heavy mantle with this duel. Before now, Yusei and Jack were deemed equals and the Crimson Dragon appeared for both of them. However, Yusei just beat Jack, decisively, and Jack himself said that this is Yusei's chance to be a hero. I get the sense that Yusei must stand alone, at least for now, and Jack is no longer that equal, but just another Signer like Luna or Akiza. The only other Signer left who challenges that position, that authority, is Goodwin, setting the stage for a hero-vs.-villain showdown. The Signers must unite and be on the same side; the tension between Yusei and Goodwin must be resolved somehow. Right now, though, we've got negotiations, because Yusei is the new champion and somehow I don't see him going back to the Satellite now that he has Stardust back.

Okay, so what about the duel itself? It wasn't, as I so fallaciously predicted, about any of the backstory between Jack and Yusei. At all. I feel like it could've been but we didn't have the time to add that nuance. What about the notion that Jack was more deserving of the power, the championship, and Stardust because he sacrificed everything for it? Interesting dichotomy of that: Yusei, although he's known to put others' safety ahead of his own (Lockdown Duel, anyone?), was still willing to launch the final attack here. I think the difference was that, Jack was posed the same question as before: is he willing to sacrifice Yusei, just like he did the day he took Stardust, to benefit himself? When he was about to launch a final attack, he specifically said that this was why he was destined for greatness and Yusei for defeat. However, with the revelation of the purple spider, Yusei is worrying about something bigger than himself, and attacks out of necessity and the need to get both of them home, and for that necessity he's willing to sacrifice that principle and do something he otherwise wouldn't ever do. But sacrificing principles is an extremely dicey business, a slippery slope; where does the line fall between doing something you don't want to do and not doing what you feel is right because you feel you have to do something else? Will Yusei regret it? As the Heart of the Cards proves, intention is everything, and cards aside, the intention to get them home safely, rather than to prove himself superior to Jack, is why Yusei won instead of Jack.
When Yusei pulled ahead of Jack, that was quite a moment. I was reminded, off the look on Jack's face, of Kaiba's having once said during Clash sometime that the moment a duelist starts thinking of defeat, they've already lost. That's the only time I can recall seeing Yusei out-speed his opponent before the duel ends.
The path of light is endless, the dragons frozen in time when they returned. It seems that this duel was, in some sense, eternal. If Yusei had not finished it, they would have raced on forever. The only way to break the stalemate was for one of them to race ahead and abandon the other, and indeed Jack and Archfiend faced Stardust's final attack alone. But when they returned, the two dragons were frozen in time, seconds from clashing, and did not move from that place until they disappeared. One of them won out over the other, but this fateful tableau does not show it; it shows them as Jack and Yusei once were, equals, rivals, in that eternal dance where neither ever gets too far ahead of the other for long. It shows something that, I feel, is no longer true.
It seems to me that, although there are five Signers, one of them must take the lead, be the master of the Crimson Dragon. Between Jack and Yusei, the balance of power was, as it were, too close to call, so the Crimson Dragon pitted the two of them against each other such that the tie would be broken. That interpretation, fair warning, is straight from my gut based on Jack's concession of the honor to Yusei: "You always wanted to be a hero... now here's your chance." With the end of this duel, the dynamic between Jack and Yusei has profoundly shifted; Yusei is no longer the 'loser' Jack left back in the Satellite, no longer the underdog. Anyone he duels is challenging for the championship. I'm thinking of the shift when Yugi became King of Games; it was the last thing on his mind -- the first being grandpa and the Kaibas -- but it's a big deal to everyone else.
But what about him and Jack? I feel that something has indeed shifted in that dynamic; Jack gracefully conceded when he lost! I think they aren't enemies anymore. I think there's still a balance of power, I think there's still a rivalry, but they aren't enemies anymore. So I guess, somehow, Yusei's goal of making a friend of Jack, to unite the Signers, was also successful. I think Yusei has won Jack's respect, and proven that what Jack saw as weakness in him is strength: he surpassed Jack without settling for anything, including choosing between winning and having friends. And somehow Yusei didn't have to make that choice in this duel, either; he won, but I don't *think* Jack's dead. I highly doubt it; it's rare, it's usually identifiable right away from the universal shock of it all, and man, that would really stink. I wonder if anyone else would have had to 'play for keeps' and make that tough decision, but Yusei's very intention, who he is as a duelist, made it possible to have both. Did he attack and seem to choose winning over friendship the same way he dived in after Rally and seemed to choose friendship over winning? With the blind faith that he was not choosing exclusively?

Okeydokey, so we're still trying to figure out what exactly Goodwin is after here. He was planning to harness this power, but as soon as the Crimson Dragon appeared he realized it was too much and told Zigzix to shut it down. But if he had any use for that much power, surely he would have planned to do this successfully, especially considering that the Crimson Dragon alrady blew out the generator once; why repeat the mistake? What did he need the power for, besides cheaper electric bills for all of New Domino, conservation of non-renewable resources, and so forth? Though if you thought *nuclear* power was risky, try having your town be powered by the Crimson Dragon. No, I think Goodwin must have a better reason for trying to tap the Crimson Dragon's power. Even he wouldn't be fool enough to call on such power for casual purposes. So, what's his scheme? I think it has more to do with Zigzix's ambiguous proclamation about the generator: "...And as long as it keeps on spinning a-round, a-round, a-round... we, sir, will be the masters of the universe!! That is to say, um, *you* will be master of the universe, Mr. Goodwin sir, that's what I meant of course..." That's my best guess.
Okay, so once Goodwin tried and failed to harness the power of the Crimson Dragon for the generator, he then revealed he was the fifth Signer and called on some spooky magic. What the heck was the deal with the bubbly liquid and stuff? If Goodwin knew all five Signers as of the last match, why didn't this happen as soon as Yusei's Sign showed? Why hasn't Goodwin's Sign been showing up for any of these matches? Why didn't it show until he wanted it to? Does his saying that he'll show them what "our" enemy plans mean that he's on the same side now? He was probably counting on Jack winning, but does that mean he will become allies with Yusei? Did Goodwin already know what "our" enemy plans, or did he see the same vision the other four Signers did? Who *is* this enemy? And as a final note... darn it, why did Goodwin have to be the fifth Signer?! But at least, I tell myself, it's not Lezar. Now, what's Goodwin's dragon?

Benedict Arnold was a Major-General during the American Revolution for the Continental Army, who switched sides and joined the British. Looked him up on Wikipedia, just for the sake of the post.

That was really cool, how Jack's face was juxtaposed with Archfiend's head like that. That was an amazing visual effect.

Yup, only bad weather you get at a tournament is the scary magic... Same with Battle City, where the only cloud in the sky came from the Shadow Realm.

If Trudge is being mentioned again, it was important. Or not. Didn't seem too important. Just more foreshadowing.

So Akiza's back in her pod... what is the pod for? I'm so curious. And it looks as though Sayr isn't beating a hasty retreat from Yusei as much as I thought, and that Akiza actually is that tired.

The bolt of red lightning through the Sphere was evocative, and prophetic. It went right through Jack's head.

Check out the look on Sayr's face... So, so much for stopping Goodwin and leading the world down the right path.

Giant *spider*? Why a giant *spider*? Only other canon instance is Tanner's Girai Gumo, as far as I recall, and even then 'creepy crawlies' were mentioned. It's far-fetched, but I'm reminded of Yusei's bug phobia. What if it was prophetic, and had nothing to do with that roach? If 'spider' is classified as insects in general, there's definitely a theme going: three mentions of roaches,
It's around New Domino? I never knew that New Domino was spider-shaped... but apparently the Satellite is not.
*There's* the dark purple! In the color scheme of things I spelled out last week, I noticed that there was no dark purple amongst the Signers, so the unknown fifth might wear dark purple. Nope-- the purple is the spider.

I noticed that Jack is the one who realizes that they have to keep dueling to get home.

"It's just like when *I* duel people!" Coincidence? Is this *exactly* like, as in the Crimson Dragon causes both? Or just vaguely alike?

"Now you'll see what it's like to duel with more than just your lifepoints on the line!" Come on, Jack, like Yusei's never done that before!

"- Still as annoying as ever.
- I never was one to give up..."
This exchange reminds me of another pair of lines:
"- You never could let go of anything, couldja, Yusei?
- I never was one to forgive and forget."
To me it seems the two are nearly equivalent, except this time they said what they meant: Jack doesn't just idly say that Yusei is persistent, he says that he finds that annoying. Yusei doesn't just say that he doesn't just forgive and forget, he says what he means which is that he doesn't give up.

Why is it such a big deal to Lezar that Jack lost?

Did Akiza and Luna disappear, or just go into some kind of trance?

Is Jack okay? Man, I hope so. The outcome of the duel seems to suggest that Jack is no longer in direct competition with Yusei for the power of the Crimson Dragon, and also that Yusei must stand alone, at least for the time being.

"The duel's over. The winner's Yusei; tell them all." Why did Goodwin specifically tell the announcer to announce it? Other than breaking the nasty tension? I'm reminded of when Yami Marik reminded Roland to announce the end of the duel in Mind Game, but let's not go there. Goodwin already knew that Yusei was no pushover; he's kept tabs on Yusei this whole time. It seems erroneous to say that Yusei's finally gained Goodwin's respect, to the point that Goodwin might actually treat him like a human being or something, but what if it's true?

"From the refuge of refuse he rose..." That is some clever alliteration, and the announcer does seem to like it. I feel like writing a silly, but stirring, poem out of all of the announcer's hype during this tournament.

I've kept resisting and resisting sending this post because I can't shake the feeling that I've missed something important. To pass the time until the next episode, often I write small and very amateur fanfic. I'm getting glimpses of what I think will happen next, or at least what I want to have happen, but it won't form into any sort of image this time. I think of Yusei reuniting at last with Rally, Blitz, Tank, and Nervin, and Blister too. I think of what his next conversation with Goodwin will be like, and how the two of them can reach any sort of agreement. Yusei is champion and as such it's of interest to have him under some kind of contract to duel in the City with the pros. Yusei has that to bargain with and in exchange his big superobjective so far, getting his friends out of the Satellite, suddenly looks not only doable but downright easy. How will the Domino City public react to having a champion like Yusei, an unknown convicted criminal from the satellite? The crowd in the stadium saw him duel and decided they liked him, but they're the people who were actually there. Word of mouth and media hype could end up souring that mood. I think of Akiza and whether she'll come looking for Yusei once she's out of that pod, if only to compare 'what the heck just happened' notes with him and Luna and (if he's okay) Jack. I think they are more of a team now, bonded by trauma as it were. We'll have to see what that's like, what the dynamic is now that Yusei and Jack are no longer at each other's throats. And of course I still think that if Yusei and Akiza ever so much as speak to each other again, Sayr is going to make a fuss.

We're in rerun land. It's very sad. We're at episode 26. 26 is half of 52, the standard length of a GX season, so I guess that's why this is our stopping point. That, and it's a good stopping point plotwise. I will be keeping an eye out for new episodes, and I'll post when I see any coming up. I miss it already. -Clio

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