Predictions and Observations:
The Forbidden Ritual II
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So Adrian intended to encounter resistance? This ritual needed a duel. He was probably expecting Jaden to champion Echo, though, come to think. Jaden would've, usually. Adrian was counting on Jaden being who he usually is, in which case he would've been disappointed, but luckily for him, Aster had a sudden attack of heroism.
"I'm stoppin' you, and Exodia!" In that moment Aster reminded me of the only other person in the canon who knew his opponent was after the big Exodia-summon and set out to win anyway. That was Yugi.
Duel action is snapping Jaden out of it. Jaden's starting to talk again, and notice what's going on, and not collapse with fever. I think it's the duel excitement.
As soon as Aster thought to himself, "I just need to last one more round", I was fairly certain that he was not gonna last one more round. We knew how close he was; it makes it all the more tragic that he did lose in the end.
So Adrian was after Exodia so he could overpower Yubel and no longer have to be allies with her and wouldn't have to share power? Okay. Makes sense.
Everyone gets their heroic last stand here, don't they? And for the record, you rock, Aster! I really want to note that this was one of few times Aster has taken a stand on something and thrown down like he meant it. It's quite something.
Jaden had Superpolymerization, and Adrian has Exodia. We were SK-less for all of almost two episodes there. It also just occurred to me that Jaden still has Superpolymerization. Is it a temptation to fall prey to the darkness again, or is it concrete symbolism that what doesn't destroy us, makes us stronger? And also, Superpolymerization had never been heard of, or unleashed, before. Even Jaden's evil is more original than Adrian's!
A score that needs settling? Is Adrian going to go have Exodia stomp Yubel? Who else would he have any grudge against? Unless we're about to find the third missing person, Viper?
Adrian saw Jaden vs. Brron? Where was he lurking? And for the record, Jaden was tricked into it and regretted it afterwards as though he'd decided to, and Adrian did it intentionally and then pretended afterwards like it wasn't his fault; big difference. And Adrian should also be learning from poor Jaden's example that betraying and destroying your friends is really, really not fun.
Hey-- the sky's kinda dark again. Maybe it's 'cause Adrian's the SK now? Will the comet come back?
Jaden swears off dueling? This could get interesting. When will he stop beating himself up? YES, dueling is dangerous, which is why we need smart, caring, courageous people like Jaden, Yugi, and their friends and rivals out there. Otherwise the championship, the power, and the role of model goes to punks like Weevil, Bandit Keith, the D (who is the current pro league champ, boo hiss), and so forth. And right now, Jaden's friends need him to be the duelist he is. The duelist Jim, Axel, and Jesse risked everything for. Who will give Jaden the requisite kick in the rear to stand up again and take on the world like he means to win, instead of like he's afraid of losing? My money's on Syrus, who still has yet to challenge Jaden after his conversation with Zane, or Winged Kuriboh, who always has a wise coo for any duelist smart enough to listen to it.
An unrelated note on Millennium Item wieldership, just really quick. If you read this post a lot, you know how I love to tire myself out figuring out what the rules are regarding possession of Millennium Items. So far, my theory, in a nutshell, is that possession is nine-tenths, but possession is not wieldership; one can physically steal an Item, as Bandit Keith did to Yugi in Mystery Duelist, but cannot use it, which is why, if one actually wants the Item for anything other than such blackmail as was used on that occasion, they'll have to duel for it. An Item's initial wielder is chosen by the Item itself, and those deemed unworthy by the Item are driven insane or otherwise killed off (Aftermath; Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh). An Item may not always choose the worthiest person, but rather the person who, by wielding the Item, will cause what destiny intends. Once the Item is "at large" as it were, you'd think that it'd still somewhat shape destiny and find its way from wielder to wielder when necessary, and they do, somewhat, as the Necklace did in A Duel With Destiny, resulting in my favorite saying, that the Millennium Items serve destiny first and their wielders second. However, physical rules must govern wieldership so the Items can change wielders. By canon evidence, the rules that govern wieldership must include: A fair duel with a Millennium Item at stake between the current wielder and a challenger is a valid change of wieldership (Friends 'Til the End III; but not Aftermath-- Bakura was considered as having stolen the Millennium Eye, even though a duel was fought. It was clearly a stacked game since Bakura hunted down Pegasus when he was already exhausted from dueling Yugi. Therefore, since people duel for Millennium Items all the time but this was considered a theft, the game must be somewhat fair.), as is the current wielder freely giving the Item to someone else (The Tomb-Keeper's Secret). A Millennium Item is usable only by its true wielder (impostors, body-borrowing, etc. doesn't count. The Item knows who's controlling it. This is how I explain the fact that Yugi gave the Millennium Puzzle to Joey while he was being controlled by Marik, but Marik knew it wouldn't work for him. Probably would've worked for Joey himself, but Joey wasn't to know that or he'd use it to send Marik packing. Friends 'Til the End III). Now what I realized tonight, while watching the first round of Battle City (don'tcha love the internet?), incidentally also Friends 'Til the End III, is that Marik kept saying that if Yugi and Joey ended up both drowning, he would win anyway; but then why don't wielders of Millennium Items get assassinated or whatever more often, if their deaths mean the Items' wielderships are up-for-grabs? Yami Bakura tried to pull a stunt on Yugi in Evil Spirit of the Ring, seal him in the Shadow Realm and take the Puzzle, but I've got this little theory that Bakura didn't need the Items' wieldership, only their possession, to stick 'em in the Millennium Stone. Anyway, it seems to me that perhaps the golden rule of Millennium Item wieldership is that the wieldership must be somehow won or deserved; preying on someone who doesn't have a chance is not a fair change of hands, as proved by Yami Bakura's theft of the Millennium Eye. A duel counts as sufficient contention between equals that the Item goes to the winner; the gift of an Item is a gesture of high esteem by a wielder and the significance that the original wielder is willing to give such power and responsibility to the new wielder, and give up such power for themselves. But perhaps the strongest point in this argument is Duelist Kingdom. Pegasus mentioned at several points that he was guiding Yugi, teaching him, to ultimately take the Millennium Puzzle away from him. I asked, why? Why go to the trouble? Why not just take the Puzzle from Yugi while he is still ignorant of its power, while he's unprepared to fight back? I theorized an obscurer rule around wieldership, entailing that for an Item to be taken from someone, they first must have a basic understanding of what it is they wield, or thieves like Bakura could easily prey on those the Items had chosen themselves. But what's that but this golden rule of fairness?The Items are too important, too powerful to be taken in by petty tricks duelists play on each other, after all. It's not too far-fetched to say that they will brook no foul play? However, wielders have cheated. Marik used the Millennium Rod to blackmail Yugi into dueling Joey to the death; Yami Bakura almost stole the Millennium Puzzle in Evil Spirit of the Ring and *did* steal the Millennium Eye in Aftermath, with help from the Millennium Ring. In addition to that, these two preyed on defenseless and weak-minded innocents, terrorized present-day humans, and so forth. Pegasus used the Millennium Eye mostly to spy on his opponents' hands. Mahad almost succeeded in killing off Bakura during their duel. The Millennium Items are accessories to cheating all the time. However, As said earlier, they serve destiny first and their wielders second; how much of Duelist Kingdom was a function of Pegasus being near-unbeatable? Would Yugi and Kaiba have made friends? Would Yugi have grown and matured as much as he did? Bakura's actions gave Yugi's friends the first clue that Yugi is not all he seems, and without the theft of the Millennium Eye, Pegasus' future would have been radically different, and Kaiba would never have gone to the Ancient Past. My point is, it's part of the storyline that it happened, and that's destiny, but there must be some rules or it'd basically be, try something else and see if the Item works now. Or ask the Item. Or something. Maybe this golden rule of fairness only applies to wieldership, not actual usage; the Millennium Items don't mind you cheating with them, as long as you come by them honestly. There's some twisted logic for ya.
The next episode is Conquering the Past I. Whose past? Adrian's? He has some past he'd want to conquer, either with being forgotten or overlooked or whatever or with Yubel. Jaden's past? Which also includes Yubel, along with sending six of his closest friends to the stars and leaving a seventh behind to fall prey to some sort of fiend or other? We're down to a fairly limited selection of characters. Zane's past, which includes lots of very harmful pain, defeat, and disappointment? Syrus', which includes, the part we know about, a lot of Zane being disappointed in him? Crowler's past, which (I'd imagine) includes lots of pink ruffles, nine years of duel school, and (a long time ago) even actual duels. What about someone we haven't met yet? Is some one-episode-wonder with past-related issues going to wander along? As a result of contemplating the Battle City Finals as a possible epic poem, I have just one person on my mind when I think of someone who wants to conquer the past. Three guesses: Kaiba, Kaiba, and Kaiba.
That's about all I've got to say. 'Til next week! -Clio
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