"The Night Before", known as "The Night Before The Finals! Pegasus's Secret" in the Japanese version, is the twenty-eighth episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! second series anime. It first aired in Japan on October 31, 2000 and in the United States on August 17, 2002.
Summary[]
It's the evening before the Duelist Kingdom finals and everyone in the castle is having dinner in the dining hall. During the feast, the pairings of Duelists in the Finals are determined. First, Yugi Muto will face Mai Valentine, and then Joey Wheeler will Duel Bandit Keith. Joey is all too happy to accept, and says their duel will be revenge for trapping them in the cave where he dueled Bonz, but Keith just tells him that he will wish he was still there once he crushes him. Yugi, on the other hand, simply tells Mai that he’s looking forward to their duel. Unfortunately, Joey and Bandit Keith do not have either of the required tournament entry cards. Yugi gives Joey his "Glory of the King's Hand" entry card as an early birthday present while Keith schemes to find another way to get one of the cards.
After the dinner, everyone splits and heads to their designated bedrooms. Mai is planning her strategy for the Duel and at the end, believes that Yugi's next Duel will be his last. Joey is asleep in his room, dreaming and talking out loud when Keith sneaks in and steals his tournament entry card.
Yugi is asleep when he hears his Grandpa calling him. He runs into the courtyard to find the card containing his Grandpa's soul. His grandpa (speaking from the card) warns him of the dark powers that Pegasus possesses. The card flies to one of three large stone tablets at the courtyard. The other two contain the soul cards of Mokuba and Seto Kaiba. The two brothers call for Yugi's help. Yugi wakes up, wondering if it really was a dream.
Tristan suspects that Pegasus cheated in his Duel against Kaiba and brings Téa and Bakura to inspect the Dueling Arena. They find a hole that shines moonlight directly at the arena. Looking through the hole, Tristan sees a tower on the other side of the courtyard and suspects that one of Pegasus' henchmen may have being spying on Kaiba's hand using a telescope. The three climb into the tower using a grappling hook. Inside, they inspect the room and find nothing but a painting of a woman. They are soon confronted by Pegasus, who uses his Millennium Eye to transport them to another dimension.
The three wake up in a passageway filled with Egyptian murals and paintings. They enter a room, where two robed men are facing each other while others behind them are chanting. The two robed men reveal stone tablets to each other. One contains a picture of a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" while the other has a "Crawling Dragon". The robed man with "Crawling Dragon" loses and disappears, as his monster was weaker than "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". When Tristan, Téa, and Bakura try to leave, they unintentionally make some noise, causing the robed men to notice them and surround them. The winning man reveals himself to be Pegasus.
Pegasus reveals that the game he just played was one of the Shadow Games that took place in Ancient Egypt. The losing man was sent to the Shadow Realm so Pegasus could increase the power of his Millennium Eye. He tells the three that he now intends to send them to the Shadow Realm and also steal Bakura's Millennium Ring. Just as he announces this, Yami Bakura takes over Bakura's body and refuses to allow Pegasus to take the ring. Yami Bakura erases everyone's memories and sends them each back to their rooms. He intends to steal the Millennium Eye later on.
Morning comes and remembering what his Grandpa said, Yugi wonders how he can defeat Pegasus using his Millennium Puzzle.
Differences in adaptations[]
- During the scene with Yugi and his Grandpa in the courtyard, in the Japanese version the three cards are hanging on three giant crosses. The English version replaces the crosses with pillars, to remove the religious symbol of crucifixion.
- However, in the same scene there is a shot from behind the pillars in which you can clearly see an arm from the right cross.
- At the end of Yugi's dream, a church appears in the background. This is removed in the English version.
- In the original Japanese version, Grandpa warns Yugi that Pegasus has visited the "dark world" (the Japanese equivalent of the Shadow Realm) and that he has uncovered dangerous secrets. This plot point was never addressed later in the show and is absent from the dubbed versions.
- In the Japanese version, Téa complains about having to climb the rope first because Tristan and Bakura would be able to see up her skirt. In response, the two boys wear blindfolds while climbing. This is removed in the English version and the scene where the three climb the rope removes the shots of Tristan and Bakura wearing the blindfolds.
- In the Japanese version, the losing Egyptian man is engulfed in flames (and presumably killed) while in the English version he disappears into a blue light.
- In the Japanese version, instead of talking about the Shadow Realm (which only exists in the English version), Pegasus demonstrates his eye's mind-reading ability to Tristan, Téa and Bakura.
- In Pegasus' dining hall the wine bottle is removed from the pan of food in the US version.
- Like in previous episodes, "Harpie Lady's" artwork is less revealing and the spikes on "Cyber Shield's" breastplate are removed in the dub.
Mistakes[]
- When Yugi gets up upon hearing his Grandpa's voice, a hat stand is seen next to his bed bearing his cloak and the Millennium Puzzle. When he awakes following his encounter with the soul cards, the hat stand is missing.
- When Tristan Taylor, Téa Gardner, and Bakura Ryou are climbing the Tower, Joey Wheeler is shown instead of Bakura.
Trivia[]
- This marks the second episode to not feature Dueling.
Quotes[]
Téa: What’s up, guys?
Tristan: Trouble, Téa.
Bakura: Tristan thinks that Pegasus cheats in all his duels.
Tristan: Well, he does!
Téa: Hmm. No! You really think he beat Kaiba this morning by cheating?
Tristan: Yeah! I mean, Kaiba’s one of the world’s top duelists, but Pegasus beat him like he was an amateur.
Téa: That’s true.
Tristan: No one can beat Kaiba that easily, at least not playing fair and square. The way he was dueling, it seemed like he knew what cards were in Kaiba’s hand the entire time. I’m telling you the truth. Pegasus is as bogus as a three-dollar bill. He’s a punk! You can’t trust that guy.
Téa: Even if you’re right about Pegasus, what can we do, Tristan?
Tristan: Plenty. We’ll find out how Pegasus cheated. There has to be some clue down at the dueling platform. We’ll expose Pegasus for the fraud that he is.
Bakura: With all the guards everywhere, we’ll need help from Yugi and Joey.
Tristan: No. They have to rest for the tournament. And besides, a herd of elephants won’t wake Joey. It’s up to us. We have to do this all by ourselves.
Téa: I’m with you.
Bakura: Hmm.
Tristan: Keep searching, guys. There has to be a hidden camera or something.
Téa: Maybe Pegasus isn't a cheater. He could be good at guessing cards, like a psychic or something.
Tristan: I once spoke to a psychic. The lady said I'll have a nice girlfriend within six months. It's been a year, not a single date. I don't believe in psychic powers.
Téa: Huh?
Bakura: What's wrong, Téa?
Téa: Look!
Bakura: Tristan, your back!
Tristan: Hmm? Something on my back?
Bakura and Tristan: Huh?
Téa: Isn't that strange?
Bakura: How can moonlight enter this room?
Téa: Tristan...
Tristan: Huh?
Téa: ...go stand on the dueling platform and pretend to hold a card up, just like you're dueling.
Tristan: Sure.
Bakura: What do you see?
Tristan: There's a tower right across the courtyard. And isn't it convenient that the window faces in this exact direction? It'd be a piece of cake for one of Pegasus' goons to hide in the tower with a telescope and spy on Kaiba's hand. Hmm! Then the goon relays Kaiba's cards.
Téa: Pegasus could be hiding a receiver under his hair.
Tristan: Good thinking, Sherlock. There's bound to be tons of proof hidden in that tower. Let's get over there right now.
Bakura: Ah! What about the guards?!
Tristan: You'll be safe with me.
Featured cards[]
The following cards appeared in this episode. Cards in italics debuted here.
