Recap / Digimon Frontier E28 "Darkness Before the Dawn"

Japanese Title: Takuya's Fusion Evolution, Ardhamon's Explosive Attack

With only two areas left, Sephirotmon decides to take matters into his own hands...

Agnimon searches for a way out in the hopes of finding Kouji, and ends up running into Mercuremon in an area full of mirrors. Outside, Bokomon and Neemon look over Seraphimon’s egg, and the kids see an image of Agnimon and Mercuremon in one of the spheres.

Agnimon demands to know how Mercuremon and Sephirotmon can exist at the same time, but Mercuremon is elusive and taunts him. They begin to fight, but Mercuremon has the advantage with his ability to hide inside mirrors, move between them, and manipulate them around Agnimon.

Agnimon pursues Mercuremon around Sephirotmon's areas, and eventually reaches an area that looks like a large chapel. Mercuremon uses the data he scanned of Seraphimon to transform himself into BlackSeraphimon^note ShadowSeraphimon. Agnimon is a sitting duck against BlackSeraphimon, and even after slide evolving to Vritramon isn't able to do anything. Outside, Junpei, Izumi, Tomoki, Bokomon, and Neemon watch the battle and realize that the only thing that could save Takuya would be if he were able to double spirit evolve.

BlackSeraphimon defeats Vritramon, causing him to revert to Takuya, and summons a coffin to shut Takuya in. The three kids outside, determined to save Takuya, try again to break into Sephirotmon by spirit evolving and attacking, and even though they're unable to do it, their determination to save Takuya, combined with Takuya being near death at the hands of BlackSeraphimon and Bokomon praying to Seraphimon's egg to give Takuya some of his power, causes Seraphimon's egg to give Takuya the ability to double spirit evolve. Feeling the encouragement of his friends, Takuya declares that he won't lose and double spirit evolves to Ardhamon^note Aldamon.

Ardhamon defeats and scans BlackSeraphimon, causing Seraphimon's data to return to his DigiEgg. Mercuremon, however, escapes into Sephirotmon's top sphere, the Steel Area, where Ardhamon follows him. Ardhamon burns up and melts all of the mirrors in the area, giving Mercuremon no place to hide, and Ardhamon defeats and scans Mercuremon into nothing. Ardhamon escapes Sephirotmon and joins up with the others as Takuya, and Seraphimon's egg finally hatches into Patamon. Bokomon begins to call it his "son-daughter", and the other kids fawn over Patamon. Meanwhile, a symbol on Sephirotmon begins to glow...

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Tropes

• Alien Sky: The sky of Mercuremon's area is primarily comprised of a corroded-looking pattern of dull reds, yellows and purples. A "sky" with an identical pattern except for the stained glass windows is visible in the Creepy Cathedral next door.
• Alone with the Psycho: With everyone else free of Spehirotmon and unable to get back in, Takuya is left on his own to deal with Mercuremon.
• Casting a Shadow: BlackSeraphimon.
• Clothing Damage: BlackSeraphimon's No-Holds-Barred Beatdown breaks Takuya's goggles.
• Creepy Cathedral: Mercuremon fights Takuya in one of these as BlackSeraphimon. Considering his over-dramatic personality, it fits.
• Crystal Landscape: Mercuremon's area in Spehirotmon's topmost sphere has crystal-like metal formations everywhere in addition to all the mirrors. They're just as polished as the mirrors, so Mercuremon can use them in the same ways.
• Deus ex Machina: Izumi and Junpei lampshade this when the kids suggest Takuya might be saved with double spirit evolution.
  Izumi: Sure, Kouji could do it [double spirit evolution], but...
  Junpei: ...Wouldn't that be a little too convenient?
  • By the time BlackSeraphimon is about to completely finish off Takuya, they end up begging for a miracle to happen and save him.
• Elemental Punch: Ardhamon finishes Mercuremon off with one of these.
• Eye Catch: Takuya and Junpei's variants are used for this episode.
• Fallen Angel: BlackSeraphimon's appearance invokes this, complete with the feathers of Seraphimon's angelic wings flying away to reveal demonic bat wings.
• Foreshadowing: When Ardhamon scans Mercuremon, rather than turn into a digiegg, he vanishes, much like the digimon that have been within Sephirotmon.
• Goggles Do Nothing: There really was no point in Seraphimon's power repairing Takuya's broken goggles other than the fact that it looked really cool.
• Heroic Second Wind: Takuya getting the ability to double spirit evolve is this. His goggles are even magically repaired drive it home.
• Magic Mirror: Mercuremon can move between any of the polished surfaces in his area.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Mercuremon dishes one out to Takuya as BlackSeraphimon.
• No-Sell: As Ardhamon, Takuya just shrugs off BlackSeraphimon's Seven Hells^note Strike of the Seven Dark Stars, which mere minutes before had obliterated Vritramon.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Mercuremon has this when Takuya becomes Ardhamon.
  • Played for Laughs when Bokomon sees Seraphimon's data coming back to his egg...which is in his belt.
• Recycled Soundtrack:
  • "Requiem" from Our War Game plays during BlackSeraphimon's No-Holds-Barred Beatdown against Takuya.
  • Patamon's birth is accompanied by "Victory ~Theme of Good~ 2" from Adventure, as a Call-Back to Patamon's status as a major character in that series.
• Strong as They Need to Be: Ardhamon is pretty much Takuya's equivalent of an Ultimate-level^note Mega-level, and one could make a good argument for BlackSeraphimon being the same for Mercuremon. Ardhamon's showing in this episode is more like a Super Ultimate in this episode than an Ultimate.
• Unholy Nuke: BlackSeraphimon's Seven Hells attack.
• Villainous Breakdown: Mercuremon has one when he realizes that he can't beat Takuya's Ardhamon form.
• The Worf Barrage: BlackSeraphimon's Seven Hells attack doesn't even scratch Ardhamon. Considering Seraphimon's leftover power allowed Takuya and Kouji to double spirit evolve, it's likely that Mercuremon didn't have all of Seraphimon's power.

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