keyofnik: I don’t remember if Tux actually does show up. (If it’s not clear, I don’t remember much about this episode at all.) But if he doesn’t, and it’s seemingly like he won’t, I REALLY like that, for several reasons. I primarily like it because of what we saw earlier, with Usagi taking her first tentative voluntary baby steps toward being the hero. It’s not a weakness to need others — that’s a staple message of Sailor Moon — but it’s important, too, for Usagi to find and realize her own strength. For her to do it consciously now, when she did it unconsciously earlier, makes her progress much stronger and more pronounced in this episode. And I also like it because where the fuck is Tux then? The episode went out of its way to show that Mamoru’s around right now, so by rights he SHOULD be there. Perhaps he is. Tux could well be hanging back, not feeling that Sailor Moon needs him yet, whatever SHE may mistakenly believe. But I’m going to instead say that Mamoru is just SO DESPONDENT over not getting a chanela that he thought the pull of transforming was his anguish. And so while Usagi’s fighting here, he’s at home, slumped in a chair in his darkened room, staring out the window while his lap is so cold. So cold and so very empty.
