WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 28 of Digimon Adventure, "The Children's Fight for Survival," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Digimon Adventure 2020 has been all about shifting the status quo, from slowly introducing the cast to showing mega level Digimon as early as Episode 2. However, while some of these shifts have worked to the show's benefit, many fans disliked the characters being split up in Episode 19. Those same fans rejoiced when the gang was finally all back together for Episode 27, this time with Hikari in tow, but it was not to last, and the series might be repeating its worst mistake.
Within the first six minutes of Episode 28, every Digidestined and their partner was split from the others, tossed by Angemon's powers to the eight corners of the Digital World. Left to fend on their own, many of the pairs find themselves in dangerous situations without any sort of aid, only able to communicate through their Digivices. Not only is this split eerily similar to the ill-received plotline the show just finished, but to top things off, Hikari, a character many fans have been waiting patiently for, appears to go with Skullknightmon (one of Devimon's servants) of her own free will! After making fans wait for nearly 10 episodes to see the cast to be reunited and work together, this is a let-down.
However, don't lose hope yet. This version of Adventure seems to be much more interested in exploring the characters and their interactions than its predecessors, and there are some ways that the writers can not only salvage this controversial plotline but make it one of the best in the show so far.
They could use the split to take the focus away from Yamato and Taichi, who've received the lion's share of screen-time recently. They could make the other Digidestined active participants in the main plot. Not only does this allow for focus episodes for each Digidestined (perhaps to hit those Mega-level Digivolutions?), but also might help temper the rather passive actions they were forced to take during their time in the real world. The passivity could even be worked into their character arcs, as more invested characters, like Sora, express just how hard it was for them to have to sit and watch. Even though it's more dangerous, they prefer to fight alongside their partner.
If the writers chose to keep all the stories simultaneous, they can use the unique tone of each subplot to create and ease the tension between them, giving equal time to each pair. Whether it's having Joe as comic relief as he tries to figure out Nanimon's deal or throwing viewers into the middle of a chase scene with Yamato with no context, the show can change the pace and tone of the episode multiple times, creating a uniquely thrilling experience.
The writers did do one thing correctly in the previous party-split -- shift the focus to center around the new character. This time around, that would be Hikari. While long-time fans are familiar with her from the original Digimon Adventure, we don't know what this version of Hikari is like. She's a bit of an enigma who doesn't even understand herself, but it is possible to develop her personality without ruining the air of mystery. By shifting the focus onto Hikari and properly establishing her as a character, it'll be much easier to believe her sibling-dynamic with Taichi, why she felt going with Skullknightmon was a good idea and how she was "called" to the Digital World in the first place.
But just as there are opportunities for greatness, there are also opportunities for failure. Just as Yamato took center stage when Takeru was in danger, there's a good chance that now that Hikari's been "kidnapped," Taichi may do the same and dominate the story. With Hikari following Skullknightmon, there's also the potential for the narrative to focus solely on that plotline, taking the kids further away from their real goal -- to save Tokyo from a Digital Apocalypse by saving the Digital World from evil. It can be hard for viewers to remember what the kids' actual goal is when so many of their enemies have nothing to do with it. In the same way, the Digidestined can't meaningfully progress towards their goals, when survival is the first hurdle.
