#terapagos's crying was so heartbreaking to me idk

[cloudbends]

Having watched the episode with subs now I have so many thoughts...

The revelation that rystal died young is really heartbreaking to me. Something about her grief and carrying it entirely alone causing her to pass away early, only for this episode to let her reunite with terapagos, now being able to share that grief one last time. It also very beautifully reframes all of the six heroes's grief regarding lucius... I just think that the narrative of chasing a legacy in order to provide closure and allow the grieving to no longer carry that burden in loneliness is beautifully poignant.

I find their initial dynamic very interesting. Lucius being the type of dreamer that manages to sweep others up in his enthusiasm was really lovely to see. I think rystal specifically noting that gibeon and lucius were similar is very interesting considering how gibeon seems very pragmatic and down to earth, yet was evidently so fascinated (to the point of toxicity) by the idea of rakua, which was deemed by others to be mere fantasy. I'm holding out hope from the frames we've seen in this episode that at some point we'll be getting his point of view of these events, which would be incredibly interesting.

I think it also serves to highlight just how jarring amethio's similarities to him are in terms of disposition and personality, in contrast to how much their ethics and values differ. Amethios has been seen to repeatedly be very wary of causing any additional carnage in his battles - he flinches at the sight of anything getting damaged on his accord, and of course his immensely strong code of honour, compassion and sensitivity to his surroundings, as seen with his interactions with terapagos and liko. Meanwhile gibeon is so blinded by his discovery that he pays no mind to what excavating the rakurium is doing to his surroundings, mutating and destroying it. I just find that parallel incredibly compelling and another aspect that really sets amethio apart from him. Especially considering how horrified he's been by the rakurium - if he knew, I'd assume he'd be horrified. I'm very excited for his arc and to see how his having to reconcile all of these facts and his personal experiences and values.

In that sense, spinel really serves as a continuation to gibeon's mindset in many ways. Both have this scientific, deranged sense of fascination with rakua, and both of their motivations are still very much shrouded in mystery, which I have a feeling will be revealed to be something much more personal than one would expect, especially given spinel's personal grudge against amethio and gibeon's split second of frustration at lucius and rystal choosing to forsake their pursuit of rakua.

I have many more thoughts I'm struggling to articulate but it is all just... very beautiful.