The "interesting information" to "tiresome Keenan matters" ratio is smaller here than in the previous episode. About a quarter of the runtime is devoted to Commander Sampson's expansion on the history of DATS as well as the truth regarding Keenan. What sticks out most is that this shows how utterly pointless Keenan's subplot is. The original expedition to the Digital World, which set off the rest of the story, would have happened even without Keenan's disappearance, which makes it no less upsetting that the last six episodes have been devoted to his stuff to one degree or another. It goes to show that development, while important, is not everything when it comes to creating a successful character.
The rest of the episode is devoted to Marcus and Yoshi trying to get Keenan to his parents' home, and with this comes some cheesy humor. Considering that these two spend an entire car trip sitting next to each other, it's remarkable that the writers didn't take this chance to further their dynamic beyond the usual big sister/little brother stuff. Unlike with Sora and Tai, whose concern for each other was convincing, Yoshi and Marcus' relationship and disagreements feel artificial. Poor Yoshi, she's still saddled with the task of merely reacting to what everyone else does.
The fight with the 3 Okuwamon is pretty routine as far as thrills go. The fact that these are taken down "with ease" defuses everything, and the whole sequence would work better with RizeGreymon and Lilamon teaming up against a single opponent.
That being said, there are a surprising number of positives. Gotsumon continues to be a particularly nasty lackey, quite a bit more malicious than the oft failing DemiDevimon. His lowest moment comes when he confirms the truth of Keenan's nature, which leads to what, I think, perfectly demonstrates why Keenan's greatest failing is his mouth. The sight of him breaking down over the news, struggling to contain his outrage, is effective until he lets out that prolonged "nooooo". At the end of the day, all of this just affirms that nothing fundamentally new or bold is done with this trope. The most psychologically insightful thing that will come from this is that Keenan will be paralyzed by confusion, and even that is too basic.
The rest of the episode is devoted to Marcus and Yoshi trying to get Keenan to his parents' home, and with this comes some cheesy humor. Considering that these two spend an entire car trip sitting next to each other, it's remarkable that the writers didn't take this chance to further their dynamic beyond the usual big sister/little brother stuff. Unlike with Sora and Tai, whose concern for each other was convincing, Yoshi and Marcus' relationship and disagreements feel artificial. Poor Yoshi, she's still saddled with the task of merely reacting to what everyone else does.
The fight with the 3 Okuwamon is pretty routine as far as thrills go. The fact that these are taken down "with ease" defuses everything, and the whole sequence would work better with RizeGreymon and Lilamon teaming up against a single opponent.
That being said, there are a surprising number of positives. Gotsumon continues to be a particularly nasty lackey, quite a bit more malicious than the oft failing DemiDevimon. His lowest moment comes when he confirms the truth of Keenan's nature, which leads to what, I think, perfectly demonstrates why Keenan's greatest failing is his mouth. The sight of him breaking down over the news, struggling to contain his outrage, is effective until he lets out that prolonged "nooooo". At the end of the day, all of this just affirms that nothing fundamentally new or bold is done with this trope. The most psychologically insightful thing that will come from this is that Keenan will be paralyzed by confusion, and even that is too basic.
