"Cody Takes a Stand" is a notable episode in my book, more than anything because it marks the first time that Cody's ponderings and concerns are used to produce actual results. Ever since "If I Had a Tail Hammer" and "Spirit Needle", the writing staff has been content to mostly revisit or acknowledge this kid's misgivings, which grew stale very quickly. This, along with several underdeveloped matters, indicates that, contrary to popular belief, the writing staff for "Digimon 02" wasn't incapable of producing strong material. For one reason or another, they just had a hard time following through with their ideas, and at some point decided to merely fall back on Cody's character points. But, about the episode.
The weightiest scenes concern Cody and his continuing efforts to understand the fits of anger T.K. has been recently prone to. This leads to an inquiry to Matt, who provides a surprisingly well-written run-down on the matter, leading both kids to make some comparisons between the experiences of T.K. and Ken. It's still a little murky how this is supposed to resolve Cody's reluctance to forgive Ken, but I suppose it has something to do with how the demeanors of both the latter and T.K. visibly changed as a result of experiences with darkness. The best thing is that Cody ends up acting on this in the end fight, perhaps the first moment in the series when I was actually rooting for the kid.
Room is also made for matters surrounding Ken, as Davis invites him to his house for family dinner and a sleepover (a small, but meaningful gesture), after which Kari and Yolei suggest they tag along for a group meeting. Truth be told, I wish more of the episode was devoted to this. Not only does it provide an excellent opportunity to further integrate Ken into the group on a personal level, but, considering the 4 characters involved, there was potential for all kinds of entertaining interactions, ranging from discussions on being in a DNA digivolution team-up to quasi-double-date mishaps. Unfortunate as it is, even at his best Cody still just steals attention away from better stuff. The scenes in Davis' home, though occasionally silly, show a relatability that the show badly needs at this point. Of course, I cannot place the full blame for this on Cody, since the filler appearances of the villains don't help much.
The end fight is above-par. It's really exciting to see the underwater allies assemble beforehand (except for the giggling/shrieking Dolphmon), and once BlackWarGreymon shows up and everyone unloads on him, it's quite a ride. As Chris Mcfeely put it, "it's a great showcase for BlackWarGreymon's power and determination". Other things worth mentioning. The voice actors must have had an off-day recording this one. Steve Blum sounds unusually raspy, while Doug Erholtz injects an uncalled-for tone of sarcasm during Matt's phone call to T.K. Production values are wobbly, with BlackWarGreymon looking rather awkward while running or jumping, in addition to frequently being drawn out of proportion. Overall, this is a recommendable episode that finally does something worthwhile with Cody but should have had the courage to favor things that were more worthwhile.
The weightiest scenes concern Cody and his continuing efforts to understand the fits of anger T.K. has been recently prone to. This leads to an inquiry to Matt, who provides a surprisingly well-written run-down on the matter, leading both kids to make some comparisons between the experiences of T.K. and Ken. It's still a little murky how this is supposed to resolve Cody's reluctance to forgive Ken, but I suppose it has something to do with how the demeanors of both the latter and T.K. visibly changed as a result of experiences with darkness. The best thing is that Cody ends up acting on this in the end fight, perhaps the first moment in the series when I was actually rooting for the kid.
Room is also made for matters surrounding Ken, as Davis invites him to his house for family dinner and a sleepover (a small, but meaningful gesture), after which Kari and Yolei suggest they tag along for a group meeting. Truth be told, I wish more of the episode was devoted to this. Not only does it provide an excellent opportunity to further integrate Ken into the group on a personal level, but, considering the 4 characters involved, there was potential for all kinds of entertaining interactions, ranging from discussions on being in a DNA digivolution team-up to quasi-double-date mishaps. Unfortunate as it is, even at his best Cody still just steals attention away from better stuff. The scenes in Davis' home, though occasionally silly, show a relatability that the show badly needs at this point. Of course, I cannot place the full blame for this on Cody, since the filler appearances of the villains don't help much.
The end fight is above-par. It's really exciting to see the underwater allies assemble beforehand (except for the giggling/shrieking Dolphmon), and once BlackWarGreymon shows up and everyone unloads on him, it's quite a ride. As Chris Mcfeely put it, "it's a great showcase for BlackWarGreymon's power and determination". Other things worth mentioning. The voice actors must have had an off-day recording this one. Steve Blum sounds unusually raspy, while Doug Erholtz injects an uncalled-for tone of sarcasm during Matt's phone call to T.K. Production values are wobbly, with BlackWarGreymon looking rather awkward while running or jumping, in addition to frequently being drawn out of proportion. Overall, this is a recommendable episode that finally does something worthwhile with Cody but should have had the courage to favor things that were more worthwhile.
