"The Sacred City's Last Stand", for me, had little redemptive quality on the first viewing. However, subsequent viewings have allowed me to see that the problem is not across the board ineptitude. It's that some of the best things here have been done far better.
Much of the running length is given over to the confrontation between Yoshi and Ivan. It starts off predictably and overtly annoying, with incessant declarations of love from the musclebound thug, but begins to grow more serious around the half-way point. After he slays a Yasyamon, we get numerous insights into Ivan's character that ultimately only build up to the big reveal at the end. Namely, that he is working for Kurata to support his siblings in Russia. Admittedly, this amounts to a surprising amount of depth for a simple henchman, and the image of him just before passing out is effective, if a little manipulative. Yet, I couldn't help but make some unfavorable comparisons.
Yoshi, as well as the patience testing first half, is what prevent this from reaching a comparable level to the confrontation between Thomas and Nanami. All she does is express outrage at Ivan's behavior, and the resulting preachiness gets old very quickly and robs the sequence of any subtlety. Following the events in "Digivice Meltdown" should she really be all that shocked when the guy destroys a digimon? Unlike in the last episode, the interplay between these two fails to highlight anything interesting concerning the hero, robbing it of weight or consequence.
Compare the "Justice League" episode "Double Date". There, Huntress had an established, deep grudge against Stephen Mandragora, who in the end revealed his efforts to retrieve his threatened son. This twist was so effective because: (a) it undermined Huntress' view of Mandragora as a heartless monster (b) she identified with the frightened son and (c) she suddenly found herself in a position where she could not take her revenge without inflicting her own suffering upon another.
Some of that is present here, as Yoshi's belief of Ivan's heartlessness is dispelled when she learns of his motivations, but this really means nothing to her personally; it only makes her pity the guy. If an established, key tenet of hers was hatred of those who destroy innocent individuals without batting an eyelash, then it would work. But, as it is, her outbursts and exclamations play out without individuality.
Much of the running length is given over to the confrontation between Yoshi and Ivan. It starts off predictably and overtly annoying, with incessant declarations of love from the musclebound thug, but begins to grow more serious around the half-way point. After he slays a Yasyamon, we get numerous insights into Ivan's character that ultimately only build up to the big reveal at the end. Namely, that he is working for Kurata to support his siblings in Russia. Admittedly, this amounts to a surprising amount of depth for a simple henchman, and the image of him just before passing out is effective, if a little manipulative. Yet, I couldn't help but make some unfavorable comparisons.
Yoshi, as well as the patience testing first half, is what prevent this from reaching a comparable level to the confrontation between Thomas and Nanami. All she does is express outrage at Ivan's behavior, and the resulting preachiness gets old very quickly and robs the sequence of any subtlety. Following the events in "Digivice Meltdown" should she really be all that shocked when the guy destroys a digimon? Unlike in the last episode, the interplay between these two fails to highlight anything interesting concerning the hero, robbing it of weight or consequence.
Compare the "Justice League" episode "Double Date". There, Huntress had an established, deep grudge against Stephen Mandragora, who in the end revealed his efforts to retrieve his threatened son. This twist was so effective because: (a) it undermined Huntress' view of Mandragora as a heartless monster (b) she identified with the frightened son and (c) she suddenly found herself in a position where she could not take her revenge without inflicting her own suffering upon another.
Some of that is present here, as Yoshi's belief of Ivan's heartlessness is dispelled when she learns of his motivations, but this really means nothing to her personally; it only makes her pity the guy. If an established, key tenet of hers was hatred of those who destroy innocent individuals without batting an eyelash, then it would work. But, as it is, her outbursts and exclamations play out without individuality.
