FRÊRE CONTRE SOEUR

Right then, a stride among the flowers that makes them wilt, a stripling with eyes glowing ruby red, a sharper, blood-red dagger in his right hand...

GIULIO: You are all here. How convenient for me...

As he closes in, those glowing red orbs are revealed to be Empty Eyes, a tell-tale sign of mind control/brainwashing/emotional manipulation.

GIULIO!!!

Standing before Kirarin, he immediately makes her sixth sense tingle...

KIRARIN (in shock): This sensation... Could it be...?!

GIULIO: Everyone... I will defeat you all. Precures...

GIULIO: FIGHT ME!!!

(insert chocolat aromase)

MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION:

The middle part of this trilogy of the summer finale is still riveting, and I am hanging on the edge of my seat as I eagerly await its conclusion in next week.

Seriously, all this start of darkness (Giulio's) for taking some criticism too seriously? Well, then it is equally Ciel's and Giulio's fault: hers for being too proud and too much of a perfectionist; and his due to his sensitivity, defeatism, and inferiority complex... and Master Noir took advantage of that divide between the siblings. Think the Baratheon brother feud without its tragic closure, with Stannis and Renly realising that they were both too stubborn and that the other one could actually be right. All that Pikalio/Giulio ever wanted was his overachieving older sister's approval. I love how this redemption and reconciliation were played out... but the story suddenly takes another cliffhanger U turn with Noir locking Ciel/Kirarin as his next target, and Pikalio as the one to save her. Kind of like the Kanata/Towa dynamics in Go!Princess; in both cases, the younger sibling was preyed upon by the dark side, and, after their heel-face turn, the enemy goes for the elder sibling, whom the younger has to save...

As for the new Finishing Move and the goddess in the opening credits appearing right out of the blue, I didn't expect that Spanish Inquisition, thinking of this Finishing Move change more as something for the third part of the finale. The shrine to the goddess in the cave in Mt. Ichigo was kind of maybe the reason for a yousei community to exist there, and I think it will play a key part in next episode.

IN NEXT EPISODE (23):

Now, having lost Pikalio, Master Noir turns to his twin;

he's set his sights on Ciel's heart, and it appears he will win!

The tables are now turned, Pikalio'll be the one to save her,

while she will face her greatest trial, and Noir will regret to brave her!!