Predictions and Observations:
The Darkness Within

Again, a bit short; I don't want to be up all night, though this is worth it, and so some of the notes I took I left unelaborated. Weekend #2 of Urinetown is coming right up-- *and* I got called back for West Side Story! Dance moron that I am, I didn't think I had a chance and I wasn't sure I wanted one! But I nailed my singing audition and I got called back! Sorry- I'm just too excited not to mention it wherever possible… Now, on with the post!

*Dorothy* serves Slifer meals? Is that the missing link? Is that how the Slifers get food with no apparent headmaster?

I knew it! It's gonna be Sy!

Sheppard went to Atticus… It always kinda seemed like Zane and Atticus had been friends at some point. We might find out more about their friendship at some point, but from Atticus' actions, we can guess that it was a close one and still is; either that, or Atticus is very, very, very grateful for the keykeepers' rescue. I find it hard to believe that this is even mostly that, though; Zane didn't even fight that duel, remember?

Under the control of an evil force, Sheppard says. Is he as misled as Atticus is and we are? I for one agree, but Zane keeps denying it, and you have to admit that he's gone through a lot of the standard cures for brainwashing: fighting against your favorite monster, fighting against people you used to care about, heck, Atticus almost got himself brainwashed again and Zane didn't bat an eye. Will Syrus be able to get through to him, if indeed it's possible? Who knows, but he's going to try, and he's not about to lose! Normally Syrus wouldn't even think of taking on Zane, but he's fired up enough to do so, so I'd say he's fired up enough to win!

"After all, you're no stranger to battling inner demons, are you, Rhodes?" Interesting…

"I probably don't need to tell you this, but if Zane goes too far, the dark powers of the Underworld Deck will consume him entirely!" No, you don't need to tell him that; he probably can figure that out himself. Kidding; why on Earth would Sheppard think that Atticus would already know something like that? I mean, *we* could probably guess, since that's pretty much the standard procedure (kinda like "everything's settled with a duel"—it's one of the unwritten laws of the Yugiohverse).

"If he's truly your friend, then duel him!"

As always, Zane could be found at the lighthouse. Why maintain that habit, when he's changed everything else?

Where Jaden dueled Nightshroud—Atticus *would* pick that location, dramatic guy that he is.

Atticus can DO that?! Was that a shadow game?!

"Nightshroud will always be a part of me, but now, I'm in control."

Does anyone else think that Atticus was completely asking for it…? You don't mess with the Shadow Realm lightly… unless you happen to be Yami Marik or Yami Bakura and you really don't care about much beyond causing havoc, chaos, and destruction and thus are well-versed in it…

Zane's comments imply that this *isn't* just him in control, even though he insists that he is; otherwise why would he be trying to persuade Atticus that he is under Nightshroud's control or should be so if he plans to win?

Oh, LEXI!!!! Where aaaare you?! Your brother's almost getting himself brainwashed again to save one of your best friiiends!! Oh, right. Darn it. Dumb Society…

Manifestations: At least they have different names this time! Though I'm starting to have some trouble with Zane terminology that is doubled by the fact that we're not really sure if it's a separate
personality altogether or what, or if it's something we've never even seen before. I have a feeling we're finding out in the near future.

Similar to how connection with duel spirits has become innate in certain lucky individuals, whereas before it was a real rarity, I think that more duelists in this generation have developed, one way or another, built-in alter-egoes, like Atticus and Nightshroud, or Zane and whatever the heck is going on with him. Before it was sort of a certain-Millennium-Items-and-dark-magic-only thing, and in a way it still is. What about Yami Marik's emergence? In fact, that may be the most solid precedent for this: my history-of-the-Ishtars is a bit shaky, but the basic idea is that Marik was miserable, in pain, and so on, and so from the anger and general violent unhappiness that resulted from all this came Yami Marik. For the record, it had little to do with the Millennium Rod except that it happened to be there for the taking and using when Yami Marik took over, and he used it… to send Marik's dad to the Shadow Realm. So therefore, it would seem that in the Yugiohverse, pain, despair, misery, and perhaps a dose of dark magic seem to be the ingredients for causing an evil alter-ego to emerge. In Atticus' case there was definitely all those, trapped in the Shadow Realm for about half a year and so on. In Zane's, there were most certainly the first three, we saw them, and I have my suspicions that electricity wasn't all that was in those cuffs. In
Marik's case, there were the first three and I wouldn't be too surprised if the tombkeepers' initiation also contained some shadow magic.
Need I include the scientific element that real multiple personality disorder is quite similar? Often the patient was deeply traumatized in his or her youth, so badly that he or she couldn't cope with it, and so another personality, another consciousness, split off; usually a tougher or more strong-willed one that can cope with it. The "weaker" one doesn't even remember the traumaticness. The personalities have their own names and identities, and often one identity has no idea the other exists except when they find that they can't remember what they've been doing.

Blazers, exteriors, and Champ or Chazz-Been, *or* Back in Black, Bad in Black
It seemed a theme today, with Chazz back and Atticus changing into the blazer Nightshroud wore, that a character's attire is a barometer of their state of mind; if they're not dressing the way they usually do, there's something wrong. But something else occurred to me; it seems to also be a theme in the show that your blazer color doesn't matter-- I'm reminded of Chazz's line in Champion or Chazz-Been: "Maybe now you'll see that the color of your coat doesn't mean squat. `Cause an Obelisk Blue, who's supposed to be the best of the best, just got schooled by a Slifer Red. Face it, kid—whether we're wearing blue, yellow, red, or polka dots, you'll always be the same loser! And I'll always be The Chazz!"

Showdown in the Shadows, anyone? Between Nightshroud and Zane, who *knows* who to root for!

Red-Eyes Symbolism—say it ain't so! To me it seems clear that Red-Eyes represents Nightshroud in GX, but that makes no sense! Especially not in this duel! In Doomsday Duel there was a connection to Red-Eyes symbolism in the past, because Atticus and Lexi's relationship came up in that duel; here, I guess I could say that this duel is about Zane and Atticus' friendship, and that connects, but more importantly, as the episode title concurs, it's about alter-egoes and inner strength. On the other hand, inner strength is something Joey Wheeler is well-known for (among me, myself, and I); his mind's ability to defend itself is essentially unmatched! I dunno, I guess I can see it, but Nightshroud himself has little connection to the Red-Eyes we've known and loved for a while now.

"Zane, I'm gonna duel you… and I'm gonna WIN!!!" Take `im down, Sy! I'm entirely convinced right there that indeed you will!

That has got to be one of the most expressive silent scenes in YGO history, right there at the end with Sy! I kept wondering if one or the other was going to say something or make a move, if Zane was going to even notice the look on Sy's face or if Sy was going to *make* him notice right then and there, call him out, and yet there was something in Sy's eyes when Zane had passed by that astounded me at the fact that he wasn't breaking down and crying, or even really showing much emotion at all. Let's see, what would some other contenders be for best silent scenes in YGO history? The end of One for the Road, when Yugi and Joey meet at sunrise, is definitely high up there; the Truesdales have another couple nice ones back early in the show (the end of Tag Team Trial II comes to mind); the end of the Final Duel, of course; I can't think of any more, but I know there are more. I like those scenes mainly because they express power and intensity that
isn't filtered through words, and because it expresses the bond between the characters in that they don't have to say anything at all, or an understanding of some sort or another.

Atticus Rhodes: from surfer-boy to shadow-duelist in the blink of an eye! Wow- this is the most we've seen of Atticus for a long, long time, and the very first time since he got back that we've seen him do more than annoy Alexis incessantly. I think that the scene with the girls in the start of the episode sort of lets us know that, shadow magic aside, this is still the same ol' Atticus.

Did Atticus mean to let Nightshroud take over? Or did things just happen to work out? If I'm not mistaken, though, Zane actually destroyed Nightshroud; looks that way, and Atticus *did* say that he was gone for good. Why would Zane do that, except perhaps to weaken the competition should Atticus feel like trying this again?

Is Atticus okay? Some of Zane's past opponents have broken limbs, you know, and like Sy said, Zane was showing off with power there. Sheppard seems fine, though…

One year to the day! Seriously, I'm not kidding; last year, on this day, Doomsday Duel II showed for the first time! Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of Field of Screams I, and believe it or not, Field of Screams II falls on Groundhog Day.

Identity issues and masks- what about shadow charms? So it seems that the mask is representative of Nightshroud; that makes it unlikely that it's also a shadow charm, or I would think so. Does that mean that Titan, the other Rider with a mask, was also under an alter-ego's
control? Like it matters, but still…

That's all for now—tomorrow's episode will be Pro-Dueling! -Clio