I'm so glad I wasn't spoiled between the Theatrical release and the Public release. I straight-up had to not touch my phone all day until the drop in fears that a "fan" would spoil the thing for me.
So this was well worth the wait. Episode 8 ended on one of the craziest cliffhangers I've seen in a minute, followed by a wait of about three months (March 20 to June 19) combined with a fandom that became one of the most toxic seemingly overnight. The anticipation was HIGH for this episode, and having to wait two weeks between the Theatrical Release and the Public Release made it even moreso. And at the end of it all, was a fantastic hour-long episode that combined everything that made the show good.
The art was top-notch. All of the textures were done with an insane attention-to-detail. Primary of which is Ragatha; I'm sure this is easier to see on the big-screen, but her "skin" has such a perfect cloth texture that it truly felt like seeing a doll in-motion. And that's on the micro-scale; on a Macro-level, the world design looks fantastic. As seen in the trailers, the world is in absolute dissaray, and the overwhelming colors and patterns that are typical of the show have been muted down to a mostly monochrome look that shows just how bad things have gotten. This makes it all the more prominent in the moments where colors return that things are taking a turn for the better. Unfortunately some of the best moments are hidden behind spoilers, but let's just say that their art design was on-point for most of the show.
Music? Perfect. The episode starts on a modified version of the Episode 1 Intro Theme. Caine and Bubble are silent, Kawfmo is replaced with Pomni, and in the end where it usually loops 4 times, it instead loops repeatedly until coming to an abrupt stop. Later on we get the single needle-drop in the series, and it hits pretty hard (even if it is a little distracting). And near the end we get another revised version of the main theme that sounds like the end of the first episode, but this time it plays in a more Major Key than a Minor Key, making it sound a lot more triumphant and positive compared to the mysterious melancholy of episode 1.
The writing? Dawg, it's freaking peak. The episode gives us a deep dive into one character's psyche, backstory, and mental state through their own perceptions. We get to understand seemingly all angles of this character's life, and understand why they acted the way they did throughout the series. It doesn't justify their actions, nor does it excuse what they've done; but it contextualizes it in a way that lets you know WHY. It's a real "Hurt people hurt people" situation, and it's really well done.
I will say, and this isn't a major criticism, but I think watching the film in theaters was the definitive way to watch the film. Episode 9 feels like 2/3 of a movie, where Episode 8 would have been the first 1/3 of the film; leading to a full 90-minute experience. I watched the thing as it premiered, and partways through I realized that this REALLY felt like a three-parter that was merged into a two-parter, and then released as a complete set in theaters.
But yeah, overall this was a fantastic experience and it was well worth the wait. It was such a journey and I'm glad to have seen it. 10/10.
I hope that an Indie Fandom never gets this rabid again; holy shit that part was miserable.