Template:Infobox animeA Bright Shooting Star! Saturn and the Messiah! is the thirty-sixth episode of the third season of the Sailor Moon anime, and the 125th episode overall. The episode first aired in Japan on February 11, 1995. The English dub title for this episode is "Darkness, My Old Friend!" and the episode first aired in North America on July 28, 2000.
Summary
Mistress 9 steals the Holy Grail, allowing Pharaoh 90 to pass through the portal from the Tau Star System to Earth. Hotaru expels Mistress Nine from her and finally awakens as Sailor Saturn herself, who had taken possession Hotaru's body and mind, and is ready to obliterate Pharaoh 90 once and for with her immeasurably strong powers of death and destruction, ruin and annihilation.
Plot
Mistress 9 attempts to trick Sailor Moon into giving up the Holy Grail by pretending to be Hotaru. Sailor Uranus and Neptune senses a trap set up and warns her to protect the Grail. Believing Hotaru is still inside, Sailor Moon ignores their warning and is tricked into giving Mistress 9 the Holy Grail, which she uses to summon Pharaoh 90 to earth. Sailors Uranus and Neptune are furious with her for what happened. In that moment, Hotaru regains conscious with the assistance of Sailor Moon and her father , destroying Mistress 9, and fully awakening the spirit of Sailor Saturn within her at last. In the ghostly form of Sailor Saturn, she gives back Chibiusa's pure heart and thanks her for being her one and only true friend.
Sailor Saturn herself appears (who has taken possession of Hotaru's mind and body) before Sailor Moon and thanks her for protecting her and Hotaru, but she only she can stop Pharaoh 90 once and for all. To do so, she must make the ultimate sacrifice and destroy Pharaoh 90 from within the core with her powerful, destructive abilities. As Super Sailor Moon, Usagi could have been a great assistance to Sailor Saturn, but as she stands right now, she'll have to wait it out. When Sailor Moon tries to stop her, Sailor Saturn points her Silence Glaive in front of her to prevent her from stopping her. She enters the core and uses her attacks, but it proves ineffective against Pharaoh 90. During that time, Sailor Uranus blames Sailor Moon for what she did in giving up the Grail that lead Earth to its current fate of total annihilation and nothingness. As Sailor Moon struggles to transform into Super Sailor Moon, she gains the help of the other six Sailor Senshi to become Super Sailor Moon for the last time. With that, she enters Pharaoh 90's core and successfully defeats him.
After the fight, a bunch of butteries float the daylight, revealing a weakened and wounded Super Sailor Moon holding a newborn baby in her arms. She has managed to save both Hotaru and Sailor Saturn, whose spirit/soul is reborn and reincarnated as a newborn baby immediately afterward.
Changes
Changes From the Manga
- In the manga, Mistress Nine never coveted the Holy Grail. Her ultimate objective was the Imperium Silver Crystal from Chibiusa's Moon Prism Compact, which she eventually snatched from Chibiusa, killing her.
- Sailor Saturn herself is awakened by the three Talismans in the manga, and is actually seen using her vastly powerful destructive Death Reborn Revolution attack to exterminate Pharaoh Ninety by sending him back to where him originated from and destroying the entire world in the process.
- Neo-Queen Serenity appears to restore the city and revive the citizens in the manga.
- When Hotaru breaks free of Mistress 9, Mistress 9 takes on a monstrous appearance, rather than being destroyed. Pharaoh 90 merges with Mistress 9 to infect the planet.
- Super Sailor Chibi Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Sailor Pluto were not involved in the final battle, and bear witness to the reawakened Sailor Saturn's strongest and most destructive Death Reborn Revolution attack to completely obliterate Pharaoh 90 once and for all.
First Appearances
Trivia
- This is the last time the mighty power of the Holy Grail is seen and used.
- This is the last time Sailor Moon uses Crisis, Make Up to transform into Super Sailor Moon, albeit without the Holy Grail.
- The English dub's episode title is a reference to the song, The Sound Of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel.
Gallery
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