Recap

Things spiral out of control fast, as From Beyond are shown to be much more dangerous than anyone could have ever imagined.

Wow, things got dark. I was expecting that we’d get hit with another bombshell, but I didn’t realize just how much of a doozy it would be. I think I finally get why last week’s episode was such a generic Super Sentai tale: it’s because it was supposed to lure us into another false sense of stability. They did it temporarily with King Torture’s goofier minions and then they managed to pull the wool over our eyes yet again. It’s another brilliant subversion of normal toku tropes. By revealing that From Beyond is not just sending out monsters of the week, but actually scouting for a full scale invasion, the show has once again taken us out of our comfort zone and made us reevaluate how its world actually functions.

Obviously, both sides do have pretty good reasons for their decisions. In times of crisis, it’s easy for the public to panic. Telling the nation that it is about to be under attack from the legions of darkness might clog logistical resources that will take away from any regulated evacuation plans. It seems like a huge dick move for the government to save their own first, but that’s just how politics have always worked. I do think it is a bit extreme to basically leave the entire nation out to dry. Originally I thought they were going to try and implement some kind of last-ditch evacuation procedure, but it seems like the government is just going to leave its people to be caught in a surprise attack. I don’t think I could sit idly and wait for innocent people to die. I’m not even sure if I would have lasted as long as Hazama did.

Things are not looking good for the team overall as well. They had finally gotten over the hurdles of becoming a team, and then so quickly they are torn apart by this new revelation. They all see the injustice in what the government has decided, but just as Joji seems to be rallying the troops he disappears? Something seems really fishy about that. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is someone on the inside sabotaging the Flamengers, trying to beat them down mentally so as to squash any resistance that might be brought against From Beyond. At this point it’s hard to say what Hazama’s decision will do for the citizens of Japan; I just hope he can make a difference.