(Real talk: I honestly forgot that Kenzaki turned himself into a Joker and made it impossible for him and Hajime to be in close proximity. I had to go back and research this to find out it was indeed true.)
Can we just call this episode Kamen Rider Blade: The GOOD Ending? Seriously, the show gave us one ending, where the Battle Fight with the Undead was put on hold forever. The obviously non-canon movie gave us an alternate ending, where Kenzaki seals Hajime away forever. And now Zi-O gives us the ending these characters deserve; where Kenzaki and Hajime are both 100% human now and can live the normal lives they want to live.
I really didn't like the visual look of Trinity. I thought seeing it in action would help, but no. It's too slimmed down, too many clashing colors, and nothing amazing to really sell it. Not even a special weapon unique to that form. Zi-O II looks more like an actual evolved form than Trinity. Though, it was funny seeing Woz and Geiz turn into actual wrist watches.
And I'm really sad to see White Woz go... I feel like it's too soon! We never got to see enough of the possible future he came from. We never got to see if he really does serve Geiz in the future or if he was plotting something bigger. Turns out he was just a servant willing to throw everything away if he couldn't make the future he wanted. Honestly, I would have preferred the two Woz's to combine and make a brand new Woz, to reflect how Zi-O is making a new future that can't be predicted. Even White Woz said that's what's happening. But then we got the ending of this episode with Oma Zi-O making an appearance. Honestly, I hope that scene gets an extended cut in the next episode. Because if I were Sougo, I'd be doubtful seeing him again. I'd be asking Oma if the Trinity Ride Watch even exists in his timeline. Because of that ending scene, it's like this episode can't decide if Zi-O really is making a completely new future or not. (And it's still possible that the Oma Zi-O in this episode is just an alternate universe version, because DiEnd summoned him after all.)
And of course, the Decade (and now DiEnd) issue is just left up in the air again. The difference this time is something was lost instead of gained. Last time, in the fight against Decade, Zi-O got the Decade Rider Watch. This time, DiEnd got White Woz's notebook. I just wonder if he'll even use it, assuming we see DiEnd again...
Powers have been taken away and now they have their personal lives back. No more fighting, even though Haijime's background is still a plothole because his human form still stems from his Undead powers, I guess he is just human now like Kenzaki and Amane?
[...]
I even read rumors that there will be a Drive tribute arc which will co-star Kuuga. Come on Toei, lets finish this series in style.
Finally, Kaito stealing White Woz's future magic notebook. Will this lead to something bigger down the line?
It's funny, in the episode before this one, I off-handedly mentioned how you might be able to change the timeline, but you can't change the nature of one's existence. BOY, GUESS I WAS WRONG! So in terms of Hajime becoming human... I can only think of two possibilities.
- Hajime's human form was more than just his Undead powers. It was a sign, showing that the potential to evolve into a full fledged human was always a possibility. It just took Zi-O's involvement to make it happen.
- Whenever Ride Watches are involved, SOMETHING is bound to change, besides the fact that Riders of old lose their powers. If it's not timelines, it's the nature of one's existence/DNA. In this case, it made Kenzaki and Hajime human.
Pick your poison.
As for the rest of what you said, hard to tell if this will lead to things down the line. But I am hopeful! It still doesn't feel like Sougo/Zi-O has settled things between him and Decade/DiEnd. It would be great if they reappear one last time for a final climactic confrontation that fully settles things. And I really hope that rumor about Kuuga isn't true either... I mean, it's better than nothing, but Kuuga deserves his own arc. Preferably something epic and worthy of his legend.
I'm still salty about a previous episode, how they just quietly gave Zi-O the Double Ride Watch for no reason. No big announcement, no big arc leading into it, no MOTW that has the power of two Riders, he just has it for some reason. EDIT: Apparently, upon further research, the Double Ride Watch was given a more worthy introduction in Heisei Generations FOREVER. Which is fine, but if they are going to make the movie canon to the show, they should probably do a better job of making that clear within the show itself so that anyone skipping the movie will understand they are missing out on an important plot point.
