WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 27 of Digimon Adventure 2020, "To The New Continent," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
After concluding its first major arc with the destruction of Devimon's terrifying Mega Form, the Digimon reboot series has plowed on into a new storyline -- and new, unexplored land in the Digital World. In the last episode, Tai, Matt, T.K and their Digimon were saved mid-battle by the sudden arrival of the rest of the DigiDestined -- along with Tai's younger sister, Kari. This final addition rounds the group's original roster out at long last, but Kari has joined the adventure at a precarious time.
Episode 27 of Digimon Adventure 2020 brings with it the realization that from here on out, Ultimate Digimon will be here, there and everywhere. Not only this, but some of them have some pretty cutthroat ways of powering themselves up: assimilating other Digimon.
Though it couldn't quite be defined as actual cannibalism, Tai and others are quick to describe the brutal evolution method they witness as the creatures "eating" each other. And it's hard to say that they're wrong, given the way it's looks. In Episode 26, when Tai, Matt and T.K were attacked by Seadramon from the ocean. The aquatic beast battled the lobster-like Ebidramon and absorbed it to become its Ultimate form, WaruSeadramon. The same thing happens again in the gang's most recent battle, only in a much more visceral manner.
On the shore of the new continent, the DigiDestined come up against an army of Tortomon. But the Champion-level monsters are soon upstaged by an underground eruption, signaling the arrival of the draconic Groundramon. As the Digimon burrows up from the undergrowth, it snatches up several unsuspecting Tortomon in its... "hands?" (Tai is as surprised as we are), and then chows down on them. And we mean literally with its jaws. It even kind of has a smirk on its face as it does it.
Doing so increases its body temperature, demonstrated by its spine glowing red-hot -- much like Godzilla's atomic breath bubbling up through his body. When this isn't enough to push Groundramon to the next level, it goes for the kids' Digital partners, too, hoping to gain the boost it wants to achieve Mega evolution, much to the group's horror.
It's similar to when Nidhoggmon consumed data from the real-world to strengthen itself earlier in the season, or Frontier's Lucemon absorbing vast quantities from the area around him to achieve his evil ends. Here, however, it's much more ghoulish in practice. It's also clear that eating mere morsels of data compared to an entire city's worth just doesn't cut it, which is why Groundramon ultimately fails to achieve what it wants.
After attacks to its hardened exterior don't make a dent (again, very Godzilla) Tai figures internal ones will do the trick. He's correct: using MetalGreymon Alterous Mode's blaster as a wedge, Tai calls on the rest of the group to fire everything they've got directly into Groundramon's gaping mouth, destroying it from the inside out. For such a selfish glutton, it's certainly a befitting punishment.
