- Written by Yuya TakahashiDirected by Shojiro Nakazawa
Though Gamedeus was finally destroyed at the cost of Poppy Pipopapo and Parado when they extracted the Bugster from his body, Masamune Dan survived and takes advantage of Emu no longer able to use the Muteki Gamer. The Kamen Riders are at a huge disadvantage, while Cronus doesn't hold back, and initiates Pause. Starting with Emu, all of the Kamen Riders' movements are frozen in time...
Tropes:
- And the Adventure Continues: While Kamen Rider Chronicle is beaten, and Masamune is dead, the Bugster Virus is still out there. The Doctor riders continue to work and stop the virus, and with Gemn Corp helping out, they might be able to create a full cure in 5-10 years. Hell, the final scene is Emu answering a call while in the CRC office. And plus, while this maybe the TV finale, it's not the Overall finale to Ex-Aid just yet.
- Back from the Dead: As was predicted to allow True Ending to occur, Parado and Poppy both manage to be revived by the end of the episode. Poppy via Kuroto recreating her from a piece of remaining data, and Parado having survived by being absorbed into Emu's being right before his death in the previous episode.
- Call-Back: The scene used in Episode 1's Cold Open with Ex-Aid, Brave, Snipe, and Lazer about to face off against a common foe and in the opening since Episode 33 onward finally happens in story as the Doctors prepare to fight Cronus with just their Level 2 forms.
- Chekhov's Gun: High-level Bugster virus strains being able to grant the power to move during Pause, as with Graphite and Gamedeus' strain, comes back with Emu gaining the same power from his own strain of the virus.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Without the Pause ability, Cronus is at the mercy of 4 (later 5) battle ready riders in their Level 2 forms.
- Driven to Suicide: In an overlap with I Reject Your Reality, Masamune decides that since he was unable to win even after all that has happened, denies the Doctors any possibility of reviving the lost people with the Kamen Rider Chronicle Master Gashat by using it to kill himself.
- Dynamic Entry: Gemn uses a delayed continue to issue a flying kick against Cronus.
- De-power: It's revealed Parado's sacrifice had suppressed the Bugster Virus within Masamune, ultimately allowing Emu to move during pause and also made Cronus vulnerable to Level 2 forms.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: By the end, all the riders are in a better place:
- Emu continues to work with the CRC, and is reunited with Poppy and Parado thanks to Kuroto.
- Hiiro is now training a new bunch of surgeons, and has now moved on with Saki's death.
- Taiga is allowed to practice medicine again, and has opened up a clinic for Bugster-infected patients. Nico, who just recently graduated, comes in as his assistant.
- Kiriya works with Gemn Corp's new CEO Tsukuru Koboshi (thanks to the riders themselves) in order to create a new vaccine that will bring back the victims of the Bugster Virus.
- 11th-Hour Superpower: At the last moment, Emu gains the power to move during a Pause while untransformed, allowing him to deliver a Megaton Punch that breaks Masamune's Bugvisor Zwei and prevents him from using Pause.
- Foreshadowing: Pairs with Foregone Conclusion, but the fact that Emu was able to transform into Ex-Aid despite Parado's death and his pronoun switch from "boku" to "ore" meant that Parado was Not Quite Dead and part of him survived in Emu.
- From a Single Cell: All it took for Poppy and Parado to come back was to get a piece of their data before they vanished.
- Megaton Punch: Emu delivers one to Cronus after revealing that he could move in frozen time, which manages to break Masamune's Bugvisor II, undoing the pause he imposed on the Riders, and weakening the Cronus form to allow the main Rider quartet to defeat Cronus in their Level 2 forms.
- Mythology Gag: As was the case for multiple Riders starting from Kamen Rider Fourze, Ex-Aid continues the tradition of defeating the final boss character of the story using their basic form.
- Near-Villain Victory: Masamune was an inch from victory when Emu gained the power to move during Pause without Hyper Muteki.
- Shout-Out: Emu managing to move during Pause whilst untransformed using the powers of the Bugster virus inside his body is a reference to how Jotaro managed to move during The World's time-stop.
- Theme Music Power-Up: Excite starts playing as the heroes transform into their Level 2 forms and proceed to demolish Cronus.
- Wham Line:Kuroto: Ever wonder why you can transform into Ex-Aid even though Parado is gone? There's only one answer.Emu: You mean, that time...Kuroto: You were infected again by Paradooooo! (gets sucked into the Bugvisor II by Poppy)
- Gashat Count: Ex-Aid: 19 Brave: 5 Snipe: 4 Lazer: 1 Genm: 2 Para-DX: 1 (Continued) Poppy: 1 (Continued) Nico: 1 Cronus: 0 (Game Over)Genm's Continues Left: 2
THE GAME IS FOREVER
