Predictions and Observations:
Champion vs. Creator I -
Duel Identity II

Champion vs. Creator I | Champion vs. Creator II | The Night Before Duel Identity I | Duel Identity II

Champion vs. Creator I - 2/17/07
"We've known each other for a long time. And now we'll see if the master is the Duel Monsters creator or the champion! You have nowhere left to hide, Pegasus!"
“So basically it’s meant to intimidate us, huh?” Yes. Yes it is. Especially Yugi. Either that, or give Yugi another reason to fight. By now, Pegasus would know that Yugi and Kaiba have become more than just rivals. If the recent duel between them and the fact Yugi threw it didn’t tip him off, what about the duel with the “impostor” the day before and the fact that Kaiba came to Yugi’s rescue? Pegasus knows by now that capturing Kaiba’s soul would get a strong reaction from Yugi, and Pegasus has shown throughout the tournament that he wants to duel Yugi at his strongest. Speaking of…

“I certainly did. Yugi has passed all of the tests that I have presented him with.” Another mention of this grand purpose Pegasus has for Yugi. Could it be that Pegasus can’t take the Millennium Puzzle until Yugi knows how to work it, because otherwise it wouldn’t be part of the fight even

Champion vs. Creator II - 2/24/07
"And you've lost much more than just this duel, haven't you, Kaiba? You've lost the only chance you had of rescuing your baby brother. You let him down. But don't worry, my dear friend; I will spare you the agony of carrying on in this world without him..."
What is it about this? I’m not really sure what it would have been like to see these the first time and still be getting used to the characters. Maybe it’s just because I’m so familiar with all of this, but I kept laughing when I watched this, just because it’s so incredibly clear that Pegasus loves to mess with Kaiba and for good reason. It bugged me that I wasn’t worried for Kaiba’s sake, I guess, for the most part. I’m so curious to remember what it was like seeing this for the first time about three years ago, or to hear from someone else what it was like to be seeing all this for the first time anyone ever did, and nobody knowing how it would end. When I watch these episodes now, I watch them with an ep-guider’s eye, looking for little-known facts such as that there were 3,013 episodes of Funny Bunny or noticing things I missed in my recollection of them. What questions would I have asked then? What crazy theories would have occurred to me?
Atem took over even when he and Yugi were on the outs, is the main thing I notice about that final scene. Perhaps both of them were so mad at Pegasus that they declared a temporary truce. Or maybe Yugi was just so angry that he didn’t really care if Atem did something to Pegasus.

The Night Before - 2/24/07
“It was all just a dream! Or was it?”
There were paintings of Shadi and Cecelia in the dining room. No riddle where the painting of Cecelia Pegasus came from, but there’s some subtle foreshadowing going on by showing that Pegasus has seen Shadi before. He probably painted that himself; I’m not that much of a judge, but it looks kinda like his work. We don’t discover how Pegasus met Shadi until Rage of the Egyptian Gods (um… I think… Aftermath is not an episode to watch only partway with little understanding of the show at the time…), midway through the Battle City Finals.
“You really think he beat Kaiba this morning by cheating?” ‘This morning.’ It’s canon. Ayiyi, It’s been very difficult to pin down the chronology of Duelist Kingdom, because that would have meant that Yugi and company had been down in the catacombs an entire twenty-four hours, dueling and running from boulders. I found that unlikely, and so I was more inclined to believe that Bandit Keith misspoke (“Well *that* was a fun way to spend the morning!” – Face Off III) and the Face Off duel happened at sunset. It went from daylight to later, from the looks of it. Did the Powers That Write make a mistake, or is there something funny going on?
“With all the guards around, we’ll need help from Yugi and Joey.” To do what, fight them off by dueling? Y’know, back then it actually wasn’t common for dueling to be a standard defense against soul-stealing and the like.
So what *is* the purpose of the tower being there and the moonlight window? I mean, we learned that it was Pegasus’ private study, but why was it there of all places? Pegasus, we know, wouldn’t have needed a spy, even if someone might have been able to from there. But why make it so they could?
The Night Before is actually the first episode I distinctly remember seeing, followed by Aftermath (which I haven’t seen since, hence the confusion). The one image I remembered was their thought that someone could be spying from the tower with a telescope.
Must be fun to whistle in voiceover like Bandit Keith did in this episode; the tricky part would be keeping the mic from only hearing it as blowing on it.
How much of a threat *was* Pegasus? What was his plan? It’s the very beginning of everything and everyone knows it like the back of his or her hand, but there are still some lingering mysteries about it. That is very cool.
Guys chanting… man, the continuity from myths to actual ancient past is a problem to run away from very quickly and leave alone.
Did Yami Bakura erase Pegasus’ mind, too? In theory, the Millennium Eye probably would have shielded him from that. In theory. But the only proof I have of that is Yami Marik’s statement in Back to Battle City I, regarding the Millennium Necklace and its additional advantage of protecting Ishizu from the Millennium Rod, and that protection by a force of equal power to the one that is trying to erase your mind would be par for the course with such magical items.

Duel Identity I - 3/3/07
“I used to think the only person on Earth a duelist could trust was herself... Then I met Yugi, and I learned through him that even the strongest opponents in the arena can still be friends outside it…I owe him a very great debt. I promised Yugi an honorable duel, and that’s just what I’m gonna give him. But if he thinks that means I’m not gonna battle all-out, he’s dreamin’. I’m gonna give this match everything I’ve got, so when Yugi goes down, it’ll be a victory I can be proud of…I promised him an honorable duel, not an easy one!”

How did Joey know Keith stole his ten chips? Maybe he just guessed? Maybe while they were trying to get out they heard what was going on through cracks in the boulder or something? It might have carried…

I think it rather amusing that whenever Bandit Keith is announced formally, it's still as Bandit Keith, which is not likely his actual name. However, I noticed something else interesting just now: when Pegasus addressed each of the finalists in this episode he addressed them by the name they more typically go by, even if it isn't quite their name: not only did he say "Bandit Keith", but he also called Joey "Joey". However, I refute myself, Roland did the same thing at one point or another (though this could be inaccurate; it's a previously, so it's, as it were, secondhand information). Still, I wanted to make the point here that Pegasus, though he maintains a slightly dignified manner, addresses pretty much everyone very informally, and seems to make a point of it. I think that this is sort of meant to subtly allude to how very well he knows them even though they're *not* on friendly terms; through a combination of mind- reading and being quite perceptive, Pegasus would already know and understand them very well. This is bound to be annoying at least, and unsettling more likely. Even without the Millennium Eye, perhaps it's the insight it temporarily granted him that allows him to more often than not understand the situation very, very well.

The title King of Games = world champion, in this episode. At this point, Pegasus defeated the world champion (Kaiba, more widely known) in an official duel, so I suppose that he, Pegasus, would be considered the world champion, and therefore defeating him would earn that title. I stand corrected; there never was a distinction between world champion and King of Games, and you had better believe that Yugi is still undefeated in GX (meaning that he canonly kept the title for over ten years or that the Powers That Write are goofing shamelessly!).
P.S. How do I figure? When Zane Truesdale was nine, Battle City duel disks were common enough to be used by people other than tournament pros (like nine-year-old kids). Hence, unless Sheppard was on-top-of- it enough to notice as soon as they came out and before they really took off and get some for his rather elite trainees (wouldn't put it past him, but still…), Zane was nine a couple years after Battle City at least. Even if Sheppard did get some duel disks as soon as they were released, it's still a margin of about nine or ten or eleven years from when Zane was nine to present-day GX. Yugi got the title King of Games in Duelist Kingdom, which was before Battle City, so hence, he's held the title King of Games for at least ten years, if not more. Also, it occurs to me, Sartorius may have a point ("Not only haven't you aged in years, but you're as shrewd as the day you stepped in." – Taken By Storm II): Kaiba didn't look any different, but according to this new chronology, he would be around the age of thirty right about now ("Not bad, for a twelve-year-old", said of when he was adopted by Gozaburo, shortly after Noah's accident. Noah hasn't aged in six years. 12 + 6 = 18 years old during Battle City, Q.E.D.)

I was wondering about the red and black dragon designs on the tournament chart. Foreshadowing, perhaps? After all, Red-Eyes plays a huge role in the final duel of the tournament itself. Also, according to my English class (I can't believe I'm saying this), in literature red and black are often colors that represent power.

Joey knows what Yugi's doing wrong by now; he has enough experience that he doesn't just know that Yugi's acting strange, he knows what mistakes he's making.

Remember back in The Dueling Monkey when Mai realized that she was getting bored crushing wannabes, that she couldn't enjoy it anymore after she lost to Joey? Now, I notice, she says that one of the reasons she duels is for the thrill of trouncing a *worthy* opponent. That also has changed. A lot.

Funny that Mai should describe Yugi right there as "afraid of his own shadow". That's another mark for great dramatic irony in this universe, next to "Yeah, keep foolin' yourself, Kaiba! Yugi's *twice* the man you'll ever be!" (Joey, Face Off III)

"A fear I plan to cure you of… when I make your Puzzle mine!" This, I believe, is Pegasus' first declaration in words (silent words, but words) that he plans to take the Puzzle. However, if I recall correctly, he mentioned it indirectly by saying something about using the Items to bring back the dead in The Night Before; he also, I seem to recall, mentioned interest in the Ring.

"Could it be that your motives aren't entirely unselfish?" I wondered about this quote for *so* *long!* It took me about a year of reciting the dialogue it was found in before it hit me why it would be that Mai might say something like that. I think Mai is basically saying that if all Yugi were fighting for was his grandpa, it would be enough to keep him dueling through anything; if he's letting this stop him, then what was keeping him going must not have entirely been that.

Duel Identity II - 3/3/07
"In that game, you taught me that a duelist can learn more from her defeats than from her victories. You taught me to face up to my fears, not just try to bottle them up. So, Yugi, have you faced up to your fears?"

"Mai, thank you for reminding me that a true duelist faces his problems!" I don't think that Yugi was the only one who was nervous about saying something or working this out. Atem's pretty shy himself (Steppin' Out comes to mind). Come to think of it, pretty much everyone thinks of how Yugi goes from being shy, quiet, and meek to commanding, assertive, and confident, but I think it's more that Atem is so comfortable in the arena that he doesn't ever have to worry about what to say or do; it's interaction, but it's in a format, if you will. Yugi, smart guy and born duelist just as much as his counterpart that he is, isn't quite there yet at this point.

Man, it's so absolutely frightening (worse than No Pain, No Game, even) that I still don't even like to mention this, I almost left this out, but I used to recite the first section of this in which Yugi and Atem first really speak face-to-face and decide to work together: "I meant no harm; I was only trying to help. And I vow never to go against your wishes again." Well… Fate of the Pharaoh.
I'll just leave it at that…

Yugi's also very incredible at bluffing, and this is one of the most exemplary examples (lol, fun with words) of that that I can think of. In later episodes they mostly focus on the cards and the strategies, but in Duelist Kingdom they take some time out to give us a real reason to root.

It's so very amazing to realize that this is where the central concepts, the core of the Yugiohverse, were first stated and defined. Back in this time, nobody knew if Yugi could win, or if he could trust Atem, or that Yugi's draws were anything more than luck. This is the first time in the show and the first time in the story for a good while that a duelist rose up against all odds and showed that honor and heart make all the difference.

Same music, same section of it even, as back when Yugi drew Exodia, when they had to draw for it this time.

"Once we put our hearts in the game, there is nothing we can't do!" Déjà vu. They (for lack of a more definite distinction in the early episodes; it was sorta both of them dueling) told Kaiba the exact same thing: "You play only for power, Kaiba, and that is why you lost. But, if you put your heart in the game, there is nothing you can't do."

"The forces of light and darkness intertwine, opening the gates of Chaos…" Like fries and ketchup?

Mai would rather not see her harpies destroyed

Someday, they'll duel again…but, darn it, not any time we get to see! These two never duel again in the canon series, and it really stinks because they had so been hoping to. When Mai decides to come back and she's dealt with all her weird guilty feelings about having Orichalcosed them or tried to, they have got to have their rematch sometime! These are the sorts of follow-ups I spend serious time daydreaming or even actual-dreaming about; there's so much left unfinished with regard to Mai that it's really a tragedy. One of these days, I hope Mai remembers or someone reminds her that this duel was all about facing up to your fears and problems, and that she comes back and faces up to hers. Joey had already forgiven her; that's why he lost. All that's left is for Mai to forgive herself.