Stacey wakes up after Ijirude fixed him up and gave him some upgrades as well. And though he has only just awakened, Stacey acknowledges that he knows what he has to do next.
After making some deliveries downtown, Kaito is happy to see Stacey pop up in front of him, complete with new outfit.
Stacey tells Kaito to stop touching him and Kaito apologizes. Though Stacey says there is no need for that. Anyway, it’s time for them to battle once more. Stacey henshins and aims right at Kaito’s face. But Kaito quickly henshins and says he thought they already settled this.
Stacey does not remember any such thing. Kaito hesitates whenever he gets the upper hand and that allows Stacey to use all his new powers against him.
The others arrive just in time and Stacey decides to leave for now. Zox watches from around the corner.
Bokkowaus commends Stacey for having Kaito on the ropes. Ijirude takes credit for Stacey’s success and Bokkowaus commends him for his research finally paying off.
Barashitara teases his son about getting overshadowed again.
Back at the shop, everyone is settling down for dinner. But Kaito’s mouth hurts from the battle earlier. Grandma Yacchan asks what World gave him trouble today and they all try to avoid admitting it was Stacey. But Vroom comes right out and says it.
Grandma Yacchan is confused as she thought they had already taken care of him. But she promises to deal with him if he ever shows up again as she wants to be the one that protects her grandson.
Kaito says that’s alright and tries to calm her down. Zyuran, however, notices Kaito’s worry.
Meanwhile, Stacey confronts Ijirude about earlier with Bokkowaus. But is shocked when he sees the lifeless body of Mama Goshikida in the pod. He asks who this person is, but Ijirude says just a sample from another world. Stacey, recognizing her from the photos at the shop, asks if she has anything to do with Ijirude’s database.
Ijirude admits that she is a scientist and he has been using her knowledge to his advantage. Plus, he needed to move her out of stasis in order to draw some blood to help with Stacey’s rebuild.
Ijirude reminds Stacey that he is alive because of him. So instead of questioning him, Stacey should focus on his mission.
Ijirude leaves. But Stacey, remembering Grandma Yacchan telling him about her son and daughter in law, goes to the panel to have Mama Goshikida’s pod reemerge from the under the floor.
Zyuran listens to Kaito express his worries about not wanting to break the news to Grandma Yacchan that Stacey and Satoshi are one in the same. Zyuran agrees it might come as a shock to her if she finds out the kind boy she’s befriended is the one trying to kill her grandson.
Zox appears and says if Kaito really cares about his grandmother, then he must put Stacey down and keep it a secret until they die. Zox points out that Stacey must have grown stronger and Kaito wouldn’t have sustained all those injuries had he known what to do.
Kaito says that, strangely enough, he was happy and relieved to see Stacey back and doing fine. Zox says Kaito will need to forget about Stacey and focus on himself, otherwise he is doomed. Which of course, will also be difficult for Grandma Yacchan. Zyuran agrees.
Stacey appears above them and henshins. But he also whips out Zyuran and Gaon Gears which summon a Black Zenkai-Oh ZyuraGaon.
Zox is looking forward to battling the dark mecha so he henshins and hops into Twokai-Oh Ricky.
The others arrive and say they will do whatever they can to fight alongside Kaito, especially since they care so much about him and Grandma Yacchan. Zyuran, Gaon, Vroom and Magine henshin and Stacey summons Super GoseiRed and AbareMax to deal with them. Stacey wants to battle Kaito himself. Kaito henshins and they engage.
The Goldtsuikers go Cutanner as they are having trouble against the dark ZyuraGaon.
As Stacey has the upperhand against Kaito, he says he will never give up and will go after Kaito as many times as it takes to reach his goal. Those words trigger Kaito’s memories of his father and mother saying a similar message.
This gives Kaito a renewed energy as he too will not give up on his goal. He believes that if Stacey can never beat him, then he might change his mind one day.
“Stacey! Come back to the shop one day!” Kaito says. “Yacchan is waiting for you.”
Stacey tells Kaito to shut up. But Kaito says it doesn’t have to be soon. And until then, he will never give up. He asks the others for their continued full power help and they of course support him.
Kaito goes Super and after a roll call, the Zenkaigers go full power.
Meanwhile, Mama Goshikida wakes up in her pod. Though momentarily disoriented, she remembers they were kidnapped by Kikaitopia. She goes to the panel to try and find where Papa Goshikida could be.
But just then, Ijirude comes in and is shocked that she is awake. Mama Goshikida manages to get away when Ijirude slips on some gears.
Secchan suggests the Carranger Gear and Gaon uses it to dismantle Stacey’s attack. Before Stacey can deliver another one, a Kudaiter pops in to say Ijirude has called him back to the palace to help in the search for the escaped woman.
Kaito asks what woman they are referring to and Stacey comes right out and says probably Kaito’s mother. Everyone is shocked. Kaito has many questions, but Stacey shoots at them and leaves.
Kaito snaps out of his shock and hurries to join Zox in order to defeat Black ZyuraGaon. Zox goes Super as well so they can combine. But Black ZyuraGaon ends up disappearing in smoke.
Kaito runs back to the shop, hoping his mother is there waiting. Secchan has told Grandma Yacchan about Mama Goshikida escaping. But she is nowhere here. Kaito rushes out to search the city.
Episode Thoughts
Well, obviously this was a much better episode than last week. And they really got into one of the season’s big plot threads. Stacey’s return was definitely underwhelming. And the fact that Ijirude can just revive him so easily kind of waters down his “demise” a few weeks ago.
The focus of the episode though was I guess to release Mama Goshikida and start the next arc searching for her. But as for Stacey’s connection to the family, that’s still very much up in the air.
I hope it’s not that Ijirude injecting Stacey with Goshikida blood is giving him all these memories and feelings. I want actual connections! Not a cop out like that! Lol There’s so much potential story here. I hope they don’t take the easy way out.
It would also kind of diminish the relationship between Stacey and Grandma Yacchan too. Of course, it’s nice that they were able to bond even without any kind of family connection. But to have so many directions they could go in with their story, I’m rooting for a big surprise rather than something we might have already seen before.
All this might be too much to expect from the show. But it’s really one of the things I’m most intrigued by this season.
Anyway, the episode itself was still very enjoyable with good action. The strongest parts though were Kaito’s scenes worrying about his grandmother and how revealing Satoshi’s true identity could affect her. Good character moments there. Especially with Zox offering up some sound advice together with Zyuran as well.
Overall, a good episode. No question, better than last week’s clip show.
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2 thoughts on “Recap: Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger, Episode 26 – Remodeled Prince and Dark Surgeon!”
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I really enjoyed this eps. Plus the fact that Stacey came across as a serious threat for a change was very nice.
And now the search for Kaito’s Mom begins!
It’s nice to balance Stacey being a threat with the mystery surrounding his connection to the Goshikidas.