After an entire series of melodrama and imitation, we finally reach a finale that manages to get enough right to not fall flat on its face, which is really more than can be expected.
In terms of structure, "The Ultimate Farewell" greatly emulates the final episode of the first season. The enemy's defeat is anticlimactic and rushed, and the rest is reserved for "emotional waffling", as Chris Mcfeely would put it. One must give the writers credit for trying to give everyone some role. Marcus and Agumon charge towards King Drasil, displaying their usual brand of perseverance, while everyone else provides distractions, giving the roster of evolutionary forms a sendoff of sorts. While a potentially fun idea it plays out like a desperate attempt at thrills, which doesn't work because, given the failure of their higher forms, there's already a pervasive feeling of futility and thus no reason to care. And, besides, Marcus and Agumon get snatched even with their distractions.
The peripheral stuff is less moving than it wants to be, mostly because the platitudes on strength, human emotion and all that jazz have grown longwinded and stale by now, and they were already trite to begin with. There are only two relevant moments I did like. One is when Marcus and Agumon give a nice, simple summary of how humans and digimon benefit each other: humans make digimon strong and digimon make humans believe anything is possible. The other is when the Royal Knights declare that it's their honor that gives them strength, not the word of a king; it's an effective declaration of their sense of accountability. The way King Drasil is defeated can obviously be passed off as another manifestation of the DNA charge, but it's such a blatant reminder of the DNA charge's place as an all-purpose solution, so rushed and treated so casually that it's ultimately unsatisfying. Marcus and Agumon's quick discussion with King Drasil after the battle resolves everything adequately, but it still doesn't necessitate that 11th hour revelation from the last episode.
The falling resolution provides the mandatory reason for the separation of the human and digimon partners, and is a thorough mix of good and bad. The Marcus/Agumon and Sampson/Kudomon scenes are by far the best ones. When Marcus and Agumon engage in yet another fist fight, it's fitting in several ways. It suits Marcus' character to express his discontent in this manner, and when he says that he regards Agumon like a brother the perspective on their entire relationship really snaps into place. When Kudamon has a subtle laugh with Sampson, it's moving in a way that I'll admit I can't really explain. I guess I'm just convinced that these guys have been through much together. I can't say I felt the same about the moment with Thomas and Gaomon, which is so understated that it reminds us that their relationship hardly had any substance to begin with. Yoshi and Lalamon have an evening of fun and games, which is a refreshing attitude on a predominantly mushy situation. The rest aren't really worth mentioning.
The final scenes are what pose the biggest problem. Never mind the epilogue, which brings adequate closure to various character points. No, what really irks me here is that Marcus, knowing full well that he may never return, decides to stay in the Digital World. Whether it's due to the sense of purpose he gained from his work there, his sincere belief that he is needed for peacekeeping despite the existence of the Royal Knights and the implied existence of the Olympus Twelve, or his inability to say goodbye to Agumon, it's just a bad idea. In the past, experiences with digimon helped various kids grow closer to their families and gain a better perspective on their lives, but not Marcus. Rather than catch up with his long lost father or show newfound appreciation for his other family members, he just up and leaves. One might say that he was no longer needed to make up for Spencer's disappearance, but I don't buy it.
Overall, a satisfactory conclusion to the fifth digimon season, but nothing special.
In terms of structure, "The Ultimate Farewell" greatly emulates the final episode of the first season. The enemy's defeat is anticlimactic and rushed, and the rest is reserved for "emotional waffling", as Chris Mcfeely would put it. One must give the writers credit for trying to give everyone some role. Marcus and Agumon charge towards King Drasil, displaying their usual brand of perseverance, while everyone else provides distractions, giving the roster of evolutionary forms a sendoff of sorts. While a potentially fun idea it plays out like a desperate attempt at thrills, which doesn't work because, given the failure of their higher forms, there's already a pervasive feeling of futility and thus no reason to care. And, besides, Marcus and Agumon get snatched even with their distractions.
The peripheral stuff is less moving than it wants to be, mostly because the platitudes on strength, human emotion and all that jazz have grown longwinded and stale by now, and they were already trite to begin with. There are only two relevant moments I did like. One is when Marcus and Agumon give a nice, simple summary of how humans and digimon benefit each other: humans make digimon strong and digimon make humans believe anything is possible. The other is when the Royal Knights declare that it's their honor that gives them strength, not the word of a king; it's an effective declaration of their sense of accountability. The way King Drasil is defeated can obviously be passed off as another manifestation of the DNA charge, but it's such a blatant reminder of the DNA charge's place as an all-purpose solution, so rushed and treated so casually that it's ultimately unsatisfying. Marcus and Agumon's quick discussion with King Drasil after the battle resolves everything adequately, but it still doesn't necessitate that 11th hour revelation from the last episode.
The falling resolution provides the mandatory reason for the separation of the human and digimon partners, and is a thorough mix of good and bad. The Marcus/Agumon and Sampson/Kudomon scenes are by far the best ones. When Marcus and Agumon engage in yet another fist fight, it's fitting in several ways. It suits Marcus' character to express his discontent in this manner, and when he says that he regards Agumon like a brother the perspective on their entire relationship really snaps into place. When Kudamon has a subtle laugh with Sampson, it's moving in a way that I'll admit I can't really explain. I guess I'm just convinced that these guys have been through much together. I can't say I felt the same about the moment with Thomas and Gaomon, which is so understated that it reminds us that their relationship hardly had any substance to begin with. Yoshi and Lalamon have an evening of fun and games, which is a refreshing attitude on a predominantly mushy situation. The rest aren't really worth mentioning.
The final scenes are what pose the biggest problem. Never mind the epilogue, which brings adequate closure to various character points. No, what really irks me here is that Marcus, knowing full well that he may never return, decides to stay in the Digital World. Whether it's due to the sense of purpose he gained from his work there, his sincere belief that he is needed for peacekeeping despite the existence of the Royal Knights and the implied existence of the Olympus Twelve, or his inability to say goodbye to Agumon, it's just a bad idea. In the past, experiences with digimon helped various kids grow closer to their families and gain a better perspective on their lives, but not Marcus. Rather than catch up with his long lost father or show newfound appreciation for his other family members, he just up and leaves. One might say that he was no longer needed to make up for Spencer's disappearance, but I don't buy it.
Overall, a satisfactory conclusion to the fifth digimon season, but nothing special.
