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aether-the-bakugannie · 26 days ago

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The Fated.. Bad Ending?

Hello hello! I've been thinking about this for a while and now I've finally gained access to the episode, I think it's about time I wrote out my thoughts on why The Fated First Battle was such a horrific ending to Ajit's arc.

Ajit's arc in Armored Alliance was honestly my favourite arc in the whole show. They wrote it so well, from having Ajit start to love brawling when he battled against Dan but seeing it as something he could love alongside thieving, to having him subconsiously make his choice between thieving and brawling in Magnus PI, when Magnus chose to let him go, Ajit could've simply left with both the promise to continue the battle someday and the stolen lightbulb to complete the mark, instead he threw Magnus the lightbulb he'd previously stolen, promising to continue the battle and gave up the theft. To having the two things pitted against each other further and further until he finally makes his choice and quits thieving, to eventually joining the Awesome Brawlers.

Something very important to Ajit's arc is his relationship with Storm. Ajit was saved by Storm as a child, then became his apprentice - training to be a phantom thief like him, it's clear Ajit cared deeply for Storm, even viewing him as a father figure. Yet to the viewers, it's clear that Storm has been manipulating and grooming Ajit into becoming a thief.

Storm continually treats Ajit as lesser, saying he needs "retraining" whenever he does something wrong, it's implied Ajit never had any friends before the Awesome Brawlers and that he was generally isolated from others, therefore Storm would be the only one to show him kindness - making Ajit rely on him. He switches between being kind to Ajit and being extremely dismissive and blunt and even calling things Ajit does (clearly hoping to earn approval) dissappointing, he doesn't even let Ajit call him by name, insisting on being referred to as "Master". During Secrets Exposed, Storm refers to Ajit as his "masterpiece" which almost objectifies him as a possession, just another thing he's stolen and keeps around. Even before Haavik comes into the picture, as soon as Ajit makes the decision to be a brawler rather than a thief, Storm decides he wants to destroy him as revenge or punishment for this choice. "Ajit. If I'm going to loose my masterpiece anyway, I will destroy it myself." - Storm in Armored Alliance episode 17: Secrets Exposed.

We never truly find out if Storm truly cares about Ajit or if he only cares about having an apprentice, someone he can train into a phantom thief just like him. And it's clear Ajit doesn't know either as whenever he interacts/fights against Storm during AA, he's shown to be unsure about fighting him as a part of him misses him.

Ajit breaking free of Storm's control and choosing his own path as a Bakugan Brawler is such an important moment for his character arc. I could talk about Ajit's arc forever because he's one of my favourite characters and he was so well written in Armored Alliance, he was more of the protagonist of that season than Dan was.

However, when watching Legends episode 5: The Fated First Battle, it's always left a bad taste in my mouth. In this episode, Ajit faces off in a battle against Storm for the first round of the battle judgement against Hanoj. Legends is a thirteen episode season and this is really the episode that concludes Ajit's arc. You only need to mention this episode to me in passing and I will go off ranting about how awful an ending this was for Ajit.

Geogan Rising is typically thought of as the season with the worst writing, however Geogan Rising actually succeeded in writing Ajit better than Legends did. ...Well, at least in episode 16: The Taste of Memories, I'm still not a fan of how they wrote him in most other Geogan Rising episodes.

In The Taste of Memories, Ajit mentions a certain type of curry he used to eat a lot when he was younger. The group assume he misses eating it when he says there aren't any resturants around that sell it and decide to make some for him.. Yet in the end, Ajit admits he didn't like it as he's not a fan of spicy food and he only used to eat it because it was Storm's favourite. "I'm sorry, but I don't really... Like curry at all. I don't like spicy food, I used to eat lentil curry when I lived with Storm because it was his favourite, not mine." When Ajit actually tries the curry, he's surprised how good it is and how it's not spicy at all.

I actually view this as a metaphor or a message of sorts, that bad people can taint good things for you but later on good people can help you see those things as good again.

(Side note: It's interesting how this curry that Ajit didn't even like was his first thought when asked about food he grew up eating and how upset he seemed when answering. It makes it seem like he was never able to discover his own favourite foods because Storm would only make his favourites.)

This episode ties in well with Ajit's development arc, it shows him recalling something from his past and realising how this food he didn't like could've been enjoyable all along if the person who had made it had cared about his preferences. I'm not entirely sure how to make curry, but I assume it would be quite easy to split the mix of curry ingredients into two bowls/pans then add the spice to one and not the other.

Also noteable about this episode, is how when Ajit decides to try the curry because of how much effort the others had put in to make it for him, Lia is quick to tell him not to force himself. While it would seem he'd had to eat it when he was younger despite not liking it.

Now, finally, The Fated First Batle. The way this episode starts off is alright. It feels in character for Storm to choose to fight on Hanoj's side because if the world is going to be destroyed, he doesn't want to be someone who struggled pointlessly against it, he'd rather help destroy it. Ajit being the one to fight against Storm also makes perfect sense, he's the one on their team with the strongest reason to fight against Storm.

During the battle, Ajit uses things Storm taught him in the past against him. This is something he's done since Farewell Phantom Thief in Armored Alliance, this isn't where my problem with this episode lies.

Instead, my problem is after the battle when Ajit approaches Storm.

"You said you've saved the world from countless dangers?" "Then you should keep going down your own path! Prove to me you can save the world." "After you defeat Hanoj and this is all over, we shall meet again."

Storm's sudden personality switch doesn't feel genuine. It feels like a last attempt from Storm to manipulate Ajit again and to come off as a good guy rather than a villian. Which, to be fair, is in character for him. Of course Storm wants to be viewed as a good person, especially since he lost the battle, it makes sense he wants to do something so that no matter what side wins, he'll be viewed as someone who supported the winning side. He's also trying to take credit for Ajit's achievements, giving him permission to do the very thing Ajit's been doing this whole time and making it about him.

Ajit's response is the problem.

The writers chose to have Ajit respond to this by smiling and mentally saying "You've got it, master." Backtracking on all his development since Armored Alliance.

Now, if they were going to have another few seasons after Legends and have Ajit go through another arc of falling into old behaviours as he's getting manipulated again, then slowly realising that as his friends call him out on it and he finds himself in similar situations with them as he was during early Armored Alliance (Eg. trying to steal things behind their backs like in Phantom Thief Ajit or battling Magnus to get away with a theft like in Magnus PI) then have him finally go to therapy and cut Storm and his manipulation out of his life permanantly, I would get it. It's common for people who have spent a long portion of their lives being manipulated by someone else to regress back into past behaviours or to get manipulated again while they're still improving. That would be a realistic way to continue his arc and make that scene make sense.

However, that's not what happened, Legends was the final season and this episode was supposed to be the conclusion of Ajit's arc. And as it was, this was a horrible ending for his character. Having him forgive Storm, having him go back to calling him "Master" and thinking of him as a mentor, having him welcome Storm back into his life after three seasons of cutting him out of it. Then ending it like that, acting as if Storm deserved to be forgiven and as if this is some happy ending for Ajit.

This is why this episode leaves such a bad taste in my mouth, it's such a horrible ending, even if it wasn't intended to be. I assume the writers thought it would be nice for Ajit to reconnect with his father figure before the show ended. But Ajit's whole arc read as him being supposed to break free from the manipulation and realising Storm wasn't that great! Ending his arc on this note feels so sour and such a disservice to his character, especially after how well written he was during Armored Alliance.

Ajit was Bakugan Battle Planet's best written character and it just makes me so furious that he was given such a bad ending to his character arc in the final season.

I personally believe when Storm said that, Ajit should've had a line more along the lines of... "Yeah, I'll save the world.. But not to prove anything to you, I'll do it for my friends and for myself. Because no matter how much you taught me... I'm following my own path now. One that you're not a part of anymore." Albeit probably not that exactly because that's quite long and dramatic... But you get what I mean.

Of course Bakugan is a show aimed at children, I understand they can't exactly come out and say that Storm was manipulative and was grooming Ajit into becoming a phantom thief. However, it's still obvious that was the intention and that's quite clear to older viewers and to younger viewers who can see themself in Ajit's situation. Ending Ajit's arc like that sends a bad message that people like Storm will change and become better and that you should forgive them. Which is generally not true.

I just wish they'd chosen to end it in a way that didn't have Ajit allowing Storm back into his life and that the writers had put more thought into it.

Legends was a thirteen episode season, so I understand some things were rushed but this was one of the most important things they had to do in the season and it's so upsetting that Ajit's arc was the victim of this rushed writing.

Anyway, that's about all I have to say on this topic for now! Thank you for reading and please let me know your thoughts on this topic. Do you think this ending was okay? How would you have changed it? I'd love to know!