Predictions and Observations:
In the Name of the Pharaoh

*How* did Tristan know the symbols again? I mean, he was both out of the room and possessed at the time. I doubt that, even if Tristan could have seen what was happening, Bakura actually went into the name room, because the test was magical and therefore it couldn’t be cheated just by jumping off at the right time, so he probably just found himself in the next room, rather than actually going into the name room. Particularly because Zorc took until the hourglass ran out to awaken, where Bakura would probably have been able to use the name right away. Anyway, Tristan doesn’t know the symbols, so how could he have helped them appear along with the others? Actually, wait a minute- after the duel, they went back the way they came, which means through the name room if we can trust normal physics (which we can’t). Though I would guess that there’s no way to reach the name room but through the test. The traps in the tomb point that that would be more than possible.

The creator of Light- I didn’t know that the Egyptian Gods could fuse, did you? One of the most frustrating things is that they never bothered to mention this being’s name. So he/she/it (I’m goin’ with “it”) is known simply as the creator of light, as opposed to Zorc’s being the creator of darkness. It fits. Light vs. darkness, light kicks darkness’s butt easy. Okay. I was kinda unimpressed that it ended so quickly though. I mean here we’ve been fighting Zorc for episodes and episodes, right? Suddenly something no one could have foreseen comes out of the blue and mops the floor with Zorc. Not only that, but also tells Atem basically the answers to all of the questions (the ones that weren’t already answered when he got his name back anyway) that have been plaguing him for what is it, three, four years? It seemed far too tidy to me, but that’s just me. I was a bit disappointed, or at least it wasn’t what I’d expected.
And to know it’s over? There won’t be another baddie for them? I guess we already knew that, but to have it confirmed…It’s like the last week of school or something, senioritis like crazy. We all know it’s about to be over, start to get nostalgic, no matter how hard the fight was, they’ll still miss it, you know. Sure there’s less risk to soul and limb, but still, these tournaments, no matter how large-scale, would seem so commonplace after this. They stood up to the creator of the shadow realm, kicked his evil butt. It’ll be interesting to wonder where they next find challenges in dueling and in life.
However, the creator of light’s appearance did tie up a few less obvious loose ends, such as Shadi’s “the light of hope will soon arrive with the information you need!” So the light of hope is actually…the creator of light. Makes sense, lol.

Kaiba’s little comment there, “Maybe there *is* some truth to this junk.” It’s possible that he said it and then denied it just to bug the heck out of Joey (you can bet that Joey’ll never drop it), but I think he might have meant it. Probably won’t mean anything in changing Kaiba’s own mind once they return to the present (he was hallucinating; of course he said and did things that made no sense! He might’ve meant it then but that was because he was hallucinating!) either, so maybe it doesn’t matter, but then again will he really believe in his heart that it was all just a dream, a trick, a mind game? Kisara, Seto, Blue-Eyes, Zorc, the Egyptian Gods, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon? Can he really chalk that entire experience up to a joke? I guess we’ll find out—or have we already? After all, we’ve seen in GX that Kaiba’s changed a fair bit.

What about the other guardians? Are they all right? Since Seto and Mana are, chances are so are Isis, Shada, Karim, Shimon, and Hasan, but who knows about Mahad, Akhnadon, Shadi, Kisara (probably not, didn’t seem to me)…

Seto as Pharaoh—well, we’ve seen in the past that he’s a leader, in that the other guardians followed his lead. He definitely knows what he’s doing. I think he’ll make a great pharaoh. It’s obvious that Atem trusts him, and that he’ll loyally carry on Atem and Akhnonkannan’s legacy. One of the first things I thought of was, who will his court be? If I’m right above and the people who were, like him, just plain ‘realmmed, are back, then it’ll probably be Isis with the Necklace, Shada with the Key, and Karim with the Scale, but who knows about the Rod, Ring, or Eye? I had wondered before if Mana, Mahad’s student and Dark Magician’s companion, might step into his shoes and wield the Ring, so there’s one. But who do we know who would be willing to give up an eye for a magic replacement? And unless Seto wields two Items (unlikely), he’ll need a successor to wield the Millennium Rod. Now, come to think of it, I’m not sure if Akhnadon would be a candidate, considering that he wasn’t exactly properly ‘realmmed (so he might not be properly back) and he turned traitor before that, but we all know that that was Bakura’s manipulation, and Seto, in The Dark One Cometh I, expresses regrets for his father’s having been shadow-realmmed. So that’s one possibility.

The Mighty “Hand-Thing”: when they put their hands in the center, it’s time to kick some tushy! I notice that they overlap them now, rather than make the symbol Tea originally drew. Wonder why the sudden change?

Where it will all end: probably right here. Now I’m really scared. What will bring closure? What will bring it to a stopping point? Will any minor plotlines (such as Joey and Mai; promises of rematches; Duke, Tristan and Serenity; Rebecca and Yugi; Tea and Atem) be resolved? Will any more duels occur (keep in mind that this duel coming up in about half an hour as I write this makes a total of, oh, three actual card duels—Kaiba v. Yami Bakura; Yugi v. Bakura; and now Yugi v. Atem—since KCGC!!!); will Joey get to duel at all? I’m sorry for the bluntness, but may I take a moment to say that Joey *is* one of the major three in the series, this *is* the series finale we’re talking about, and it’s just not fair that he takes backseat as a minor character for this whole adventure! Let’s see some Joey action! But I digress.

What about GX’s baddies? How far does this ‘no evil’ thing go? Apparently not superintendents who want to rule the world, shadow charms, people getting jumped and forcibly ’realmmed… So how far *does* it extend? Maybe the creator of light just meant that there won’t be another Zorc, there won’t be another being of pure evil. Because if you’ll notice, all other major Yu-Gi-Oh! villains with the exception of Zorc/Bakura saw the error of their ways and turned good: Pegasus, Marik, Noah, Dartz, even Kagemaru. But maybe not Camula. Huh. I don’t *think* so, at least…

Speaking of Bakura, is good Bakura back and still around? I hope so, I happen to like the poor guy. Maybe he can lead a normal life now and not have to worry about being possessed and ’realmming his friends. However, in Battle City when Yami Bakura was shadow-realmmed, so was Bakura, so I’m not sure if it’s the same thing this time but it’s likely. I also liked Yami Bakura, because he lent an interesting side to good Bakura’s character (and also because he was darn fun to imitate…), but ya know, you can’t win ‘em all…

Atem (could be spelled Atemn, Ahtem, Ahtemn… but for now I’ll stick with the simple spelling. Pronounced “ah-TEHM”) In what form will he return to the Present? Will he have his own body? Since he gave the Millennium Puzzle to Seto, will he and Yugi still wield it in the future? If I had to guess, I’d say because Atem has no body of his own, he will continue to exist alongside Yugi. However, now that he has his own identity, he will probably not be content with that for long. Though it will pain everyone, I believe that Atem will soon complete his final task and leave them. I think that Atem’s and Yugi’s reflections there after the creator of light leaves (“It’s hard to believe that my journey is almost complete. Does this mean after I accomplish my final mission, Yugi and I will separate? (spoken) It’s strange. I finally feel like my own person.” “Ever since I solved the Millennium Puzzle, the Pharaoh’s been sharing an identity with me. But not that he’s regained his lost memories, he’s ready to be himself.”) are obvious foreshadowing. Speaking of which, this concept of sharing an identity rings quite a few bells, not least of which is why usually Atem was able to stand up and keep fighting despite fallen friends, to keep going for their sake but Waking the Dragons, when Yugi was captured, marked a change in this. He was absolutely devastated, almost couldn’t go on. At the time, I was going on about losing the person he’s closest to, closer than the dearest friend you or I could have (they’ve spent pretty much every second for the past four years together and read each other’s thoughts), in the most painful possible way, how Rafael manipulated it so that it was by his own hand that he would have destroyed himself, but instead it was by his own hand that Yugi was captured. However, I believe another, more extreme, factor in this was that Atem shared an identity with Yugi, and with Yugi gone he was not only grieving but also unsure of himself. Without Yugi there and with no memory, he was unsure of his identity, and this whole time first Rafael and then Weevil had been telling him that he was evil. The scene inside that mystic circle thing where he first meets Yugi’s spirit again, I seem to remember this statement, “…without your light to keep me pure, I’m becoming *evil,* Yugi.” It seemed a bit of a far-fetched statement at the time, testimony to his inner disquiet, but actually with a sudden lack of identity being filled by grief and what the SC’s had been telling him, it’s quite possible that he felt that way.
The big question: WHAT IS his final task? If I had to guess, putting this together with the fact that he and Yugi are about to duel, his final task is to play a final role in Yugi’s development as a duelist. For four years now, they’ve fought side by side, Yugi learning all of the best tricks and strategies from his expert counterpart. Once again, I refer back to the night before conversations: “But ever since we met, it seems like you’ve helped me far more than I’ve helped *you!* Think about it- before you came into my life, I spent most of my time alone; I hardly spoke to anyone. But the minute I put the Millennium Puzzle together, my whole life changed! You gave me the confidence I needed to be myself, and to make new friends- friends that I’ll have for the rest of my life. And that’s not all- I wouldn’t be the duelist I am without you! Face it; teaming up with you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my entire life!” It seemed like an afterthought, but keep in mind also that Yugi just defeated Bakura in a duel, and has shown what he’s made of. He’s learned and grown a lot, and I believe that as Atem grows restless sharing the identity of another once more, now that he’s found his own, he and Yugi will realize that it’s time to set the final test of whether both of them can stand alone. I’m not sure if I put that right, but it’s the best way I can think to. Before anyone knew of the Ancient Past, back in Duelist Kingdom, it was said a few times: “You’re here to guide and protect him? Then protect him against this!” (Yami Bakura, referring to his playing Change of Heart in Evil Spirit of the Ring) and Pegasus mentioned it following when Yugi fainted during Match of the Millennium, but my notes on that are abominably poor and I haven’t seen it in ages. My point is that before the Ancient Past even came into the picture, Atem set out to guide and protect his new host as a duelist and as a person. Even though his memory was gone, he still felt bound to help and teach Yugi. I had chalked this up to his being a nice guy and being able to tell, naturally, that Yugi could use some help (barely talking to anyone because he’s so shy; just inherited a powerful magical object he has no clue how to wield and that is coveted by plenty of nasty folks like Pegasus, Bakura, Marik…; grandpa kidnapped by Pegasus…), but now if I’m right about this I’d also chalk it up to some sort of tug from destiny that this is important, which leads down to this battle right here. I’d also like to note, while we’re talking about pre-Duelist Kingdom episodes (both of them lol), that Atem didn’t have to free Kaiba’s mind—that was probably destiny too!
By the way, my transliteration (translating unfamiliar characters into phonetic sound) in Name of the Game was actually pretty close, I noticed. Though the last character, the chick, seems to be a bit superfluous, translating to an “oo” sound pretty much, or “v” or “w”, but I guess they had to fill space, and of course no one was actually going to try to translate it (they said, unaware of freaks like me)!

In predicting what might happen next, I also refer to Yugi’s night-before conversation with Bakura: “A spirit world? If that exists, it could be where the spirit of the Pharaoh belongs…Are you saying that if this portal opens, the Pharaoh will be set free?” “You’re catching on! So don’t you *want* to help your *friend*? After all, he’s been imprisoned inside that Puzzle for over five thousand years!” “Of course I do!!” I believe I mentioned at the time that Bakura was playing on Yugi’s inner conflict of supporting Atem to find his destiny and have his spirit rest and do what he needs to, and not wanting to lose Atem forever if/when his spirit finally rests. He wants to help his friend, but that’s going to be hard if it means never seeing his friend again. I have a feeling that this issue will be a key point of this upcoming duel, because Atem has just one final task to complete before the end.

Talk about your time loops…I give up! Fine! It’s dark magic, it’s destiny, heck, forget about cause and effect or “post hoc ergo propter hoc” (Latin: “After it and therefore because of it”) or any of that: it works, somehow. As far as I can tell, here it went: In the Ancient Past, Atem was able to lock Zorc away with his name as the key, erasing his own mind as a safety measure so Zorc couldn’t be released. However, to finish it once and for all, he sealed himself inside the Millennium Puzzle, where, five thousand years later, give or take, Mr. Moto (then Dr. Moto, an esteemed archaeologist) stumbled upon it by fate, giving it to his grandson Yugi and daring him to solve this unsolvable puzzle. Yugi, a shy and introspective kid, made a wish as he solved the Puzzle: to find a true friend. And so he did; first Joey (whom Yugi became friends with due to events centered around the final piece of the Puzzle) and his friend Tristan, then Atem himself when the Puzzle was complete (if he’s not a true friend, I would like to know who is!), then Tea and later Kaiba (yes, Kaiba *is* Yugi’s friend…). Anyway, Atem existed in the future with no memory or direction except having taken it upon himself to guide and protect Yugi as he grows as a duelist, and to help him rescue his grandpa and the others and defeat Pegasus. Later, he discovers what his mission is, and through Battle City wins the necessary pieces: the Egyptian God cards. After all, if he’s going to win this for good as he had originally meant to when he was sealed away, he needs to know their names, because only then can he command them. Therefore, the Tablet of Lost Memories was created so that it could not be unlocked, he could not return, without the Egyptian Gods’ first being in his possession, meaning he would have to know them, which was what he needed. After a few more wacky adventures, he finally reaches the Tablet, and arrives back in his own body, right when the conflict was first beginning. However, unbeknownst to him, his foe, the human embodiment of Zorc, had also sealed himself away inside the Millennium Ring, followed him to the future, and then followed him back to the past again, having grown more formidable, just like Atem, for the journey. Therefore, the playing field is set once again, and no one can say what plays out the same and what plays out differently than it did last time (except Bakura but he’s not telling), except that in the end Atem is able to destroy Zorc forever.
Now, if I were to continue, I would then say, therefore there is no need to seal Zorc away for later, no need to erase his memory, and therefore no need for Atem to come to the future, therefore undoing all of it. Then there *would* be need for him to, which would redo all of it. And so it goes back and forth infinitely. Well how about this, then: we wonder why Atem disappeared when he had no memories of Egypt beyond that point. My theory is that in an alternate universe, the original battle was just fought, with the original outcome, and that moment in time was when Atem probably handed rule over to Seto before locking himself away. Therefore, Atem knows he has to create the same temporal outcome, by handing the throne to Seto probably under very similar circumstances to the original. Therefore, he disappears from the time stream at the same point and the rest of time plays out as it should, and he essentially re-enters the time stream when they return, after the whole fact.

Tea seems to share a connection to Dark Magician Girl. She was the only one who noticed Mana on the balcony there, for one. It reminded me of when Dark Magician Girl was her deck master in Freeze Play, and also of Dark Magician Girl’s duel with Jaden in Duel Monsters Spirit Day. In both of those duels, and most notably in no others, the monster Fire Sorcerer was summoned, as she was Tea’s monster in this episode. Therefore, Fire Sorcerer’s connection to both Dark Magician Girl and to Tea is once more highlighted.

Atem and Tea seemed to be really being emphasized this week. I wonder why? Probably just because of the cartouche, but still. She seems to be acting really nervous, kinda shy, around him. We’ve seen that they’ve hung out together (Steppin’ Out, Obelisk the Tormentor, One for the Road), with Yugi intentionally taking his leave to give them some time, and of course we can hardly forget (I laughed my head off) that in Steppin’ Out, Yugi was the one who first got them to spend some time just the two of them, which would point that he noticed something between them. I’m reminded also of Tea’s nightmare in The Past is Prologue, in which Tea sees Atem walking through a large door set into a canyon wall, and tries to follow; Atem tells her that he must go and seek his destiny, alone, and tells her goodbye.

All I know about next week’s I learned from the preview, except this: it’s called The Final Journey. So like I said, the preview: Atem asks Yugi if he’s ready for this; Yugi replies that that’s what they’re here to find out; final five-part Duel! Why would they duel? For what purpose and what stakes?
The final five- is this the end? I’m pretty sure this is the finale duel, that’s what the commercial hinted, but I wouldn’t say no if it weren’t!

So that’s it (she wrote, half an hour before the next episode) for this post. I really will do better on the next one! For an hour or so, that’s all, folks! -Clio