Predictions and Observations:
The Final Journey

The Big Question: I think that it’s fair to say that this duel’s outcome does not even in the wildest sense rest solely on which King of Games is the better duelist. As I’ve been mentioning, for one, Yugi’s performance in his duel against Bakura proved him to be, in theory, Atem’s equal, pulling off a similar save to Atem’s performance in his duel with Leon, winning with only one card. One could argue that this is a feat of incredible luck, not skill, but it took skill to be able to play one’s card right (she said, paraphrasing Joey) in such a difficult situation and indomitable heart not to give in under such impossible odds. The even bigger question, I think, is this: when the time comes to separate, will they be able to? I think that Yugi, because how much he cares for Atem pushes him forward as well as holds him back (by which I mean, it makes it harder to strike the winning blow but it also drives him to, for Atem’s own sake), just might be able to, but I have to wonder if Atem really wants to leave. Sure, it’s been a long five-thousand-odd years, but he said it himself, right in the beginning of the episode when they were worried that he didn’t end up returning with them: “I’m right here, where I belong.” I have to wonder if, when the time comes, he’ll really want to leave his friends forever. Moreover, regarding this, I noticed something interesting. This ‘only if you lose’ scenario also means that the only sure way of letting Atem stay rests with Yugi, because Atem can’t throw the duel to stay, only Yugi can. So therefore, if Atem really wants to stay, he has to defeat Yugi, which is no small task, or Yugi has to decide the same, which seems unlikely because to him it’s also a test of how far he’s come, if he’s ready to stand on his own, which means, basically, that backing down is not an option. Nevertheless, in more conventional Big Question terms: Skill- about equal, though Atem might be a shade better; Power- inconsequential; Heart- anyone’s guess, but probably Yugi, because of all that’s going on with this duel for him (his own independence and ability to stand on his own; his dearest friend’s wellbeing; losing said friend forever…); Plot- no clue, in such a huge way it boggles my mind. Plot, as always, is the big one, and I really have no idea, especially because there is no story that comes after this duel; this is It.

Risa mentioned that we already kinda know what happened; when Jaden ran into Yugi in The Next King of Games, Yugi wasn’t wearing the Millennium Puzzle, a fact Jaden would probably be grateful for, considering he ended up running right into him. However, I think that there’s margin for either possibility, especially considering that the Yugi Jaden ran into, if it was indeed Yugi himself, was at least a few years older, indistinguishable from Atem. Therefore, some years have passed, and it would have become common to see Yugi without the Puzzle, so much so that Dimitri would not have painted a Millennium Puzzle on his shirt to imitate the King of Games. Therefore, it’s entirely possible that the animators goofed or something, because they send conflicting messages in GX.

I noticed some familiar cards in this episode: Kaiba’s offered briefcase of cards included the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, and Heart of the Underdog was among Yugi’s cards when he was arranging his deck.

“We both want to see the seven Items returned to their resting place, united once again within the Millennium Stone, just as they were so many years ago.” That’s what Yami Bakura said back in Spiritual Awakening. What makes this ritual different from what awakened the Dark One? For that one, too, normally they would have needed Atem’s name. So what makes it different? Perhaps who it is that opens it and what they choose to do? I’m reminded of the quotes, “I know that when the seven Items are returned to the Stone, a gateway to the spirit world will open. / A spirit world? If that exists, it could be where the spirit of the Pharaoh belongs!” (Spiritual Awakening also) and “So let’s review the clues. Five thousand years ago I locked Zorc’s spirit away, along with my own, using my name as the key. Then, as a safety measure, I erased my own mind.” (Name of the Game). The Name and Millennium Items are the key to both, I conclude. So therefore, what if… I dunno. It seems to me that they should be connected in some way. Perhaps Atem’s resting place and where he sealed Zorc were one in the same? Perhaps that’s why Atem was unable to go there; he forced Zorc into his place for safekeeping. Now that he’s taken care of Zorc, the spot’s free again.

Why was Yugi sorry that he thought Tea wanted to say goodbye to Atem? Why didn’t he let him? Perhaps it’s because Atem went to such a far-distant corner of Yugi’s mind that Yugi couldn’t reach him, and was upset that he couldn’t give Tea and Atem that chance? After all, he was the one who played matchmaker and got them together in the first place (kinda…) in Steppin’ Out (“Ready or not, Pharaoh, this is where you take over!”)!

In this episode, there were four main characters for whom I perceived this was particularly momentous (besides, of course, Atem), whose thoughts, feelings, and motives should be addressed:
Yugi- Since the beginning, Yugi has been determined to, as Atem’s friend, help him fulfill his destiny. There’s very little chance he’ll back down from this duel, even though it’s painful for him, because it’s his devotion to Atem, among other things, that drives him. This same friendship once drove Yugi to get himself Sealed; to pretend with flawless conviction that he hated Atem, and to almost Seal him, to force him to do what had to be done. Yugi’s will is strong, and his devotion is even stronger. If it’s simply a matter of win-or-lose, then I have a feeling that Yugi, fighting for so much, will prevail. It’s true that it will be very hard indeed for him to give up his closest friend, but he’ll struggle with that and overcome it because more than his own feelings he cares about Atem’s success; if Atem needs to enter the spirit world, then he can count on Yugi to get him there!
Joey- It’s true that Joey has come a long way since he met Atem. For one thing, the Millennium Puzzle led him to become friends with Yugi. In Duelist Kingdom, under both Yugi’s and Atem’s guidance, Joey grew into a duelist to be reckoned with, and in Battle City and Waking the Dragons, he matured even more. I think Yugi put it best (in as early an episode as First Duel, but it still applies): “I’m proud of you, Joey. You went from a guy with nothing but eagerness and attitude, to a winning duelist, who battles with his head…and his heart.” I do think that what Joey said about Yugi having to be the one who duels is true, and Joey reveals the maturity that he has gained over the past four years in articulating it. The one thing I couldn’t help thinking about, though, regarding both Joey and Kaiba, is that an adventure isn’t complete without discovering how far they’ve come, without having them duel against Yugi (and by Yugi I mean both). Neither have since, oh, Battle City. And now, the two second-most-central duelists of the show both sit out the final match. It’s poetically beautiful and couldn’t be more fitting that the final duel is Yugi vs. Atem, but I can’t help but feel that Joey’s and Kaiba’s stories are left incomplete, that they’ll never know if they could have defeated Atem, because if Yugi does, then Atem is gone forever. It’s a bit of a letdown, but how would they have done it all?
Kaiba- He seems to have stopped messing around with pretending it’s all a hoax. He’s probably feeling fairly frustrated right now though. His offer of cards even if he couldn’t duel seemed to indicate a need, an urge to help, and he can’t. I think he, unsurprisingly because he still doesn’t really understand this much, underestimates Yugi, wondering if a twerp can dethrone the King of Games. Also, see above, the paragraph on Joey, because some of this, because they’re the two runner-up major duelists, applies to them both.
Tea- I can almost hear the cheers and tears of anyone (myself included) who is even a bit a fan of Atem/Tea. It could just be because Tea’s all about friendship and one of their friends is about to leave forever, but somehow I doubt that’s the case. Remember Steppin’ Out (“Ten o’clock tomorrow at Domino Station! Thanks, Tea!”), Obelisk the Tormentor (“You’re lookin’ snazzy, Tea, is this a *date*?”), and Looking Back and Moving Ahead? Remember her nightmare in The Past is Prologue?

The ability to accept defeat- Oh come on! Atem can handle defeat! It may not be something he’s very used to or very wild about, considering the one thing so ingrained into his being that he remembered it when he forgot even his own name is how to win a duel, but Atem can handle defeat just fine! “This is how a true duelist lives. Never afraid of the thought of defeat but always prepared to accept it.” (Kaibaman, The Fear Factor) Excuse me! If Atem isn’t a true duelist, I would like to know who is!

If Yugi loses, will the Millennium Items remain along with Atem? I guess so, because Atem mentioned that if he wins he remains trapped inside the Millennium Puzzle, meaning that the Millennium Puzzle, at least, would stay. Darn. I was thinking that maybe everyone could win—they get rid of the Items for good, never have to worry about them again, and Atem gets to stick around if he wants to.

Destiny vs. Friendship: the ultimate Yu-Gi-Oh! conflict. Should’ve known they would end with a bang, pitting two of the most fundamental elements of the story head-to-head. On one side, Atem doesn’t belong there; he did what he set out to do, and now it’s time for his spirit to go where it should. On the other hand, he said it himself this episode, in passing, that with them is where he belongs. He’s their friend, and they all care about him, even Kaiba.

Mokuba’s threat to take over KaibaCorp—was he just kidding around? Probably, but Kaiba gave him this Look. I was a bit spooked, to tell the truth.

Who gets Dark Magician? In theory, both would want the card and since Yugi chose first logic would say he has it, but I doubt that’s any sort of basis. It’s both of their favorite, their signature card. I can’t think who should wield Dark Magician in this duel, because for one thing it’s a symbolic unfair advantage, and their mutual signature monster should not choose sides, as it were, or take a side against either friendship or destiny. Mahad would have cared for both. It occurred to me that, after Battle City, their collection probably contains two Dark Magicians, but there would still be the matter of who gets *their* Dark Magician, and who gets Arkana’s poor sap. It wouldn’t be the same. I dunno, maybe they would both hold off on Dark Magician, simply because he’s a card they wield together and neither would feel right pitting him against the other. In terms of what Dark Magician means to each of them, he’s Yugi’s favorite card (though, canon to a conversation Yugi once had with Tea, Maha Vailo is the one he relates to most, although when asked this in Trial By Red-Eyes, his answer was “Dark Magician, hands down!”—which was why he was transformed into Dark Magician for the Evil Spirit of the Ring duel), and Atem bears a connection to Dark Magician because of Mahad. I’d say in terms of that, Atem would more likely wield Dark Magician, because Mahad vowed always to fight for him, to stick by his side no matter what. As for the rest of their cards, I have to wonder how the old favorites will be distributed: who gets the Egyptian Gods? Maybe they’ll split them, but the number’s uneven. Who gets Kuriboh and all of his fuzzy relatives? King’s Knight, Queen’s Knight, and Jack’s Knight? Celtic Guardian? Gazelle and Berfomet? Dark Magician Girl? Gaia the Fierce Knight and Curse of Dragon? Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress? (now we’re really going back) Summoned Skull? Catapult Turtle (shudder, nasty symbolism there)? Buster Blader? Black Luster Soldier? Beta, Alpha, and Gamma? Beast of Gilfer? I always thought that Kuriboh represented Yugi more than Atem (it’s one of my favorite rambling topics, just ask my sister), so it’s possible that Yugi wields Kuriboh. However, for the most part, I’d say that these monsters would be in Atem’s deck. It was both of their deck from which I name these cards, but I think that they fit with Atem better. I don’t know why; maybe it’s simply because his is the face they show to the world as a duelist. When people think of the King of Games, they don’t think of the brilliant, kindhearted, short kid of about fifteen (note use of ABOUT- nothing’s canon, though I have some weird guesses), they think of the windswept legend who dethroned the creator of the game himself, the hero of Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and KCGC. I refer mostly to, I confess, the way we see Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and Yugi in general through Jaden’s, Syrus’, and their friends’ eyes, particularly in The King of Copycats. Anyway, I have a feeling we’ll see some familiar faces from Yugi’s most recent duel, such as Silent Swordsman and Magician, Marshmelon (however it’s pronounced lol), Blockin, and maybe even Gandora the Dragon of Destruction!

How did Kaiba and Joey know that Atem would need the Millennium Items? Kaiba said of the Millennium Eye, “I believe you’ll be needing this,” and Joey said that it looked like Bakura had something of Atem’s. Perhaps Atem’s defeat of Bakura, and (they know from the creator of light, I guess) the final claimant of the Millennium Items, signaled that not only because Atem defeated Bakura do the Items all technically belong to him now, but also since he’s the only one left in Present day who has any claim to them or use for them they just *know* that the Items are his.

Tea mentioned that Joey was possessed, “…chained Yugi to an anchor and threatened to take over the world, ringin’ any bells? (I have no further comment at this time.)” This almost certainly refers to Friends ‘til the End, during Battle City when Marik mind-controlled Joey into a duel to the death with Yugi, but I’m sure we all knew that.

Why was Bakura so hungry? I was remembered, once again, of Battle City (“Sorry, guys, but I’m afraid the donuts are gone!”). He said of that incident, “I was gone a long time, and there’s not much to eat in the Shadow Realm!” but now I’m not convinced. Bakura wasn’t shadow-realmmed here. Still, I guess being possessed is hungry work too, but now we wonder about Bakura’s perfectly fine state after Evil Spirit of the Ring, and about Tristan’s hunger levels recently. Perhaps Bakura was temporarily shadow-realmmed while Yami Bakura was gone, to keep him from getting into trouble (“After all, you’re the vessel that allows me to exist in this world…”) or whatever, and when Zorc went, Bakura was freed. I think you also need to take into account, perhaps, the state of Bakura’s body itself. In Evil Spirit of the Ring, he was possessed for a few hours, Tristan for an afternoon. However, during the Battle City finals, he was out for a few days probably, and his body was not fed (in fact, it wasn’t even there). Before that, he had been unconscious, and his body wasn’t fed then either. When Yami Bakura woke up to duel Yami Marik, food was the last thing on his mind, and as we saw from how much Bakura’s injury affected him, it’s safe to say that he didn’t much mind if his host was hungry. Now, in this case, Bakura was running here and there, being chased around in the middle of the night. He seemed to have been at it for a while, and was probably hungry and exhausted as it was. Then, a few more days possessed, with Yami Bakura able to care less about his pathetic mortal host’s nutrition, and we’ve got starving Bakura fainting into their arms. I can imagine that.

At least there are no more manifestations of Bakura to name. I can’t say I’m glad to see one of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s coolest villains go, but I am glad to be free of the mess that has become my terminology regarding this character.

“The Eve of Battle”, a poem I’m writing for this episode (some folks may recognize it, but it’s grown):
So comes the eve of battle,
The final task is nigh
As every life the tale has touched
Raise souls up to the sky
As all both wise and clueless who
Were destined from the start
To play a role in fate’s hand,
Connected to one heart,
Share a solemn moment
To remember one they knew
Scattered world over,
Lost into the sky’s deep blue.

So comes the eve of battle,
The final fateful fight
The hour grows ever closer
As sunset turns to night.
The time to part or back down
Looms nearer into view
The test of whether destiny
Can conquer friendship’s glue.
For one last, solemn evening,
Combatants stand as one,
As they to the final resting place
Pursue the dying sun.

Upon this eve of battle,
Which I swear shall be your last
Before your spirit finds its peace
And ends its fateful fast,
I also pledge, despite that I
Can’t bear to see you go,
Shall help complete what you began,
Centuries ago.
After four years with your guidance
I must learn to stand alone,
And it all begins right here and now
As I fight to send you home.

So here’s the eve of battle,
At last, and yet, too soon,
For to me the thought of winning
Takes quite sorrowful a tune.
For although I know that your true place
Is not here by our side,
I dread tomorrow’s battle
And your future’s sweeping tide
Will carry you away from me
Forevermore, and I,
Even though I care for you,
Won’t have even said goodbye.

The restless eve of battle
The calm before the fight
No soul can rest in slumber
As e’er onward plods the night.
While some brood on the battle,
And others lie awake,
And others strengthen their resolve
For conflict come daybreak
They journey ever onward
On their final fated quest
Together, as they sail toward
An island in the west.

So comes the eve of battle,
It’s finally here, at last!
It really takes me back to our
Adventures in the past.
From a boat like this from Domino
To Duelist Kingdom’s shores,
To Battle City’s tower top,
The credit’s all been yours
To change me from the guy I was
To duelist of today
But there’s one whose life changed even more,
And it’s both of your big day.

So here’s the eve of battle,
Though the honor should be mine
For I don’t believe in magic or
In destiny divine,
But I do believe between us
There is something incomplete,
For as long as I have known you,
You were e’er my one defeat.
I shan’t say (tho’ it could be true)
That you and I were friends,
But I feel the need to help you
As you near your journey’s end.
That’s the first seven verses (I’ve kept changing that number as the weekend went on; I wrote three on Saturday and four more on Sunday), I’ll still be tweaking it around and adding more this week, count on it!

That’s all for now, pretty much, though I’m sure, as always, that I’ve left something out. Anyway, this Saturday is The Final Duel I, I believe (I’ll check, but the WB site has a discouraging habit of crashing my poor computer- sure enough, I had to reboot), yup, The Final Duel I. ‘Til then, that’s all, folks! –Clio