As an American adaptation aimed at children, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight has been toned down from the original premise of Kamen Rider Ryuki. This doesn't change much about the fact that it still is about people of differing moralities fighting to Fate Worse than Death in the middle of a stealthy alien invasion. Tragedy is bound to occur.
Beware unmarked spoilers ahead.
#1: Search For The Dragon
- Kit Taylor makes his debut at a police station talking to his father. They have a brief conversation befitting a parent and troubled teen son. Then Kit wakes up in reality, where he is an orphan adrift in life, deep in trouble and this is his 18th birthday.
#4: A Rider's Challenge
- Richie Preston/Kamen Rider Incisor's banishment into the Advent Void.Richie/Incisor: This is so UNCOOOOLLLL!
- Also, Kit's face when he sees a Rider get Vented.
#6: Kamen Rider Torque
- Drew Lansing/Torque successfully convinces Kit that Len is in league with Xaviax. The way Kit just walks away as Len calls after him is heartbreaking.
#7: Friend Or Foe
- Len continues to mull over the earlier events. It deeply hurt him even though he has started to trust Kit only a while before. Considering that he has been betrayed by Adam, Kit's mirror twin, already it makes sense.
#11: Vent or Be Vented
- Brad Barrett/Thrust fought under the assumption that he was in a tournament so he could win the evidence of his innocence. He learns the truth about the war, but Xaviax says the only way to get the evidence from him is by Venting Wing Knight.Brad Barrett: It's not like I want to do this, but I got no choice!Len/Wing Knight: You always have a choice.
- Brad chose wrong. It drove him insane in the Japanese dub.
#12: Kamen Rider Sting
- Chris Ramirez/Sting, just everything about him. He was disregarded by his father because of his asthma problem, put under the wrong influence and assumption that he was fighting for his country.
#14: Xaviax's Promise
- Brad Barrett is Vented.Brad Barrett/Thrust: No, this can't be happening! I can't lose, I always win! Brad Barrett always wins! (disintegrates)
- Brad's venting is made more poignant as it managed to repurpose the footage of Jun's death into a tragic ending. Unlike Jun where none of the other Riders cared for his death thanks to how he treated them, you can feel sorry with Brad for having his fate sealed the moment he unwillingly chose to stick with Xaviax after learning the true nature of the war.
#16: The Hero Of Gramercy Heights
- Maya tries to comfort Chris and assure him that he matters, but he doesn't believe and considers his path of hero of Gramercy Heights only as a superhero dream.
- Strike mocks him for this (and everything else).
#19: Semper Fi
- "Do you know what Semper Fidelis means? It means always faithful."
- Chris Ramirez is vented in a heartwrenching moment of awesome.
- The nature of Chris' venting. It only happens because he threw himself in front of Len to protect him from Strike's Final Vent. This combined with his asthma causes him to be vented, and judging by the fact that the last thing he says before the aforementioned "Semper Fi" is "Kit, What's happening to me?". What few seconds he had before vanishing were spent realizing what was about to happen.
- Kit's reaction to Chris' Venting. There's no Big "NO!", no loud crying or oaths of vengeance. Kit just falls to his knees in front of Chris' Advent Deck and mutters what sounds like a number of little Nos.
- Len keeps his composure, but everything about him just radiates sadness - like when he couldn't comprehend why Kit abandoned him for Torque.
#20 Letter From The Front Line
- The eponymous letter.I know you're probably pretty angry at me right now. Dad, I'm sorry I ran out on you like that. I guess I just couldn't face my failure. I wish I could say everything's fine now, but it isn't. You see, my asthma's only getting worse. After I was discharged, I didn't know what to do. But then I got a chance to work for what I thought was a branch of Homeland Security, and I saw it as a new way to serve my country. And at first I did fine. Dad, you would have been so proud. I brought honor to the uniform I wore. But then the big "A" started to cut into my game. I kept remembering what you always said — just get to the fight and let your training guide you. But no amount of training can heal my body. You know, and I told myself I could control the coughing if I just kept a clear head. After all, Pop, you always said a hero is a guy who keeps his cool when everyone else loses theirs. I was determined not to give up. You taught me that. Do you remember? You also taught me that if your determination runs low, fill it back up with loyalty. Remember that one? And Pop, you know what the Marine motto is — Semper Fidelis, "Always Faithful." I'll never betray my friends. Never. But you can't bounce back from what I've got, and no amount of loyalty or dedication will change that. See, Pop, I thought about courage. You always said that courage was Facing Your Fears, and that the proof of courage was in the risk you take and the sacrifices you make. So, what can I say? My heart and soul are in it, but my lungs aren't. I'm helpless, and there's nothing I can do. I spent my whole life trying to be the hero that you taught me was the highest achievement possible.Your Son,ChrisKit: But you were that hero...
#21: Strike's Ultimatum
- Maya is heartbroken by the revelation that JTC is Strike. The subsequent argument between the two just makes it worse.Maya: You tricked me. You made me think you were my friend.JTC: I just needed to know what your Kamen Rider pals were up to. And let's be honest. Did you really think I was that impressed with your "journalistic integrity"? Besides, and you're not even my type.Maya: You can't be JTC.JTC: The name's James, Maya. (winks at her mockingly)Maya: (trying to charge at JTC, gets held back by Kit) You jerk, why did you do this?! You always said you were interested in truth, not power!JTC: I am. When the Feds imprisoned me, it was Xaviax who took me out through a mirror. I've been free ever since. There isn't a room I can't walk into, there isn't a secret I can't learn! That kind of truth and freedom are worth fighting for.Maya: You sold your soul.JTC: Wouldn't you?! (Maya coldly shakes her head "No" while giving JTC a Death Glare) You'd never understand.
- Kit gets his revenge on the Cho Brothers by venting Albert. This brings Danny to his knees, sobbing. Even Strike feels his loss and just walks away.Danny Cho/Axe: What have I done? I let you down, Albert... I let you down.
- Ironic Echo back to an earlier episode, where Kit said he doesn't want to vent anyone or be vented himself.
- An already sad episode was made more tragic in the Japanese dub for three reasons:
- The first is the title itself. Instead of "Strike's Ultimatum", the dub chooses "The Brothers' End" as its episode title.
- Albert's venting was treated as something that's more in line with how Ryuki treated the death of his counterpart Sano. Not only did they cut off all dialogues from the moment Dragon Knight jumped for his Final Vent up until it connects to Spear, they also replaced the background music with a somber piano chord that played for the rest of the scene. It truly emphasizes that even though the Cho Brothers are villains, they are still brothers by blood and losing the closest person you know would really, really hurt.
- The immediate aftermath had zero background music playing when the Spear deck was shown to be lying on the ground and a dejected Kit returned it to Len after realizing what he had just done.
#23: Kamen Rider Siren
- Kit feeling left out when Kase/Siren comes and Len gives her all the attention.
- Also, before that, Len's resentment for not staying behind at the Rider's base to save Kase.
- JTC explaining to Danny that he had a stubborn brother that was framed for something he didn't do. Being arrogant and trying to break out of jail only made things worse for him. He's still in jail today.
#24: Dark Temptation
- The flashback of the Ventaran Kamen Riders fighting:Len: We were all on the same side, fighting the same enemy. We were fighting monsters, not our own men. It wasn't easy, but it was clean.
- Kit finally seeing that Xaviax was the one who used Frank Taylor to manipulate him into everything.
- Xaviax brings Frank back for a while to give Kit a glimpse of the reward. They talk and Kit ask his father what he should do. This is what he gets: "The end… never justifies the means, Kit."
#25: Dropping the Axe
- Kit becomes a dark version of himself (Onyx), venting Len and Kase. This is not helped by the sad music that plays in the background. The Japanese dub adds another layer of Nightmare Fuel by making use of Evil Sounds Deep.Siren: So, you were working for Xaviax all along!Onyx: This isn't about Xaviax. This is for my Father.
- Danny getting Vented by Strike. He didn't want to work for Xaviax anymore, he just wanted his family to be avenged.
- Lacey after she reveals that she gave the files of Maya's reports on Ventara and the Kamen Riders to Michelle.
#30: Swan Song
- Len's Heroic BSoD after Kase gets Vented.
#31 Xaviax's Wrath
- After Strike gets Vented, the sight of four Advent Decks dropping to the ground signifies the lives he had taken, including the life of Chris.
- Kit goes down quietly. He tells Len that everything will be alright after Wrath vents him. Wrath's body is also vented, but Xaviax was unharmed and left with the Dragon Knight deck after mocking Len with it.
- Maya arrives with the No Men, but her hugging Len only makes things more heartbreaking. Michelle Walsh coming in with the tact of a sun stroked rhino doesn't make it any better either. At first.
#32: Advent Master Returns
- Adam's guilt by having to keep the secret that he sold out Ventara from Sara so that he can still be with her.
- Eubulon's shock when learning that Adam betrayed the Kamen Riders.
#33: Out Of The Void
- Adam and Len battle, but Adam hesitates to vent Len under weight of all the memories the two have together and leaves.
- Maya nearly attacks Price when she mistakes him for his mirror twin, JTC. It shows just how traumatic being manipulated by earth Strike was for her.
#35: A Hero's Fall
- The reason Adam betrayed the Kamen Riders? He wanted a normal life.
#36: Dark Deception
- Adam's breakdown after Xaviax disguised as Eubulon mocks him and attacks him. He hallucinates everyone laughing at him. He decides that nothing matters anymore but keeping Sarah with him, worlds be damned.
#37: Enemy Within
- He decides to fight against the Riders and attacks Len, but hesitates just a step from venting him. More heartbreaking in the Japanese Dub when he can't do it because of Sara and Kit telling him that end never justifies the means.
- This is followed by arrival of Kase and Adam telling her and Len that he gave Xaviax a sample of the virus and now the Anti-virus is being uploaded to turn the transmitter back on. His tearful delivery seals it.
- Eubulon explaining that he worked under Xaviax, but didn't want to see another planet get destroyed like Karsh.
#39: For Ventara And Earth Part 2
- Xaviax's defeat means that the illusionary Pocket Dimension he trapped Sarah in fails, forcing Adam into explaining the events to her.
#40: A Dragon's Tale
- Every earth Rider vented returns, even Chris. He is cured of his asthma problems, but his memory of being a Kamen Rider was wiped for his own good. He can't even remember his friends.
Novel
- It turns out that JTC was honest about having a brother. His name is Billy and he was unlawfully imprisoned for something minor he may not even be guilty of. He tried to get out of prison multiple times, but it only made things worse. This led to JTC becoming obssesed with power, especially of the behind-the-scenes sort that makes the world turn around - conspiracy theories, hackers and aliens. Trent ponders that he wasn't a bad person until he crossed a Despair Event Horizon.
- JTC, of all people, goes down trying to warn Kit about the traitor among them.Kit... be careful. There are snakes in the grass.
