A Bright Shooting Star! Saturn and the Messiah

Episode Data
Sailor Saturn tells Sailor Moon not to follow
Original Episode
Name (Kanji/kana):	輝く流星! サターンそして救世主
Name (Romaji):	Kagayaku Ryuusei! Sataan Soshite Meshia
Name (Translated):	A Bright Shooting Star! Saturn and the Messiah
Name (Viz Dub):	The Shining Shooting Star: Saturn and the Messiah
Episode Number:	125
Director:	Kounosuke Uda
Writer:	Yoji Enokido
Animation Director:	Ikuko Ito
Air Date:	February 11, 1995
Previous Episode:	The Horror of the Approaching Shadow! Eight Senshi in a Tough Battle
Next Episode:	A New Life! Time for Separation of the Destined Stars
First English Dub Episode
Name:	Darkness, My Old Friend
Number:	118
Company:	Cloverway
Air Date:	July 28, 2000
Previous Episode:	Who's Really Who?
Next Episode:	Second Chance

Mistress 9 steals the Holy Grail, allowing Pharaoh 90 to pass through the portal to Earth. The fate of the world rests in the hands of the Senshi of Ruin, Sailor Saturn.

Summary

Mistress 9 declares that Hotaru is now dead, and that now all she needs is the Holy Grail in order to summon Pharaoh 90. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune both attack her with the intention of destroying her before that can happen, but Sailor Moon jumps in the way and is hit by both attacks.

Mistress 9 captures both of them and says that she will kill them unless she is given the Holy Grail. Even though Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune insist that she not give it up, Sailor Moon starts to summon the Grail, when Professor Tomoe staggers out of the darkness toward Mistress 9, calling out to Hotaru. Mistress 9 is disgusted by him and attacks, strangling him with her hair as Sailor Moon weeps and begs her to stop.

Meanwhile, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus continue to hold the barrier created by their combined powers, keeping the enemy's energy from expanding.

Professor Tomoe calls out to Hotaru once again, and to everyone's surprise, a soft call of "Papa" emerges from Mistress 9's lips. She releases her hostages and drops to her knees in pain, saying that her body is rejecting her and that she needs the Grail. Believing that Hotaru is still alive, Sailor Moon fully summons the Grail and gives it to Professor Tomoe, who in turn hands it to Mistress 9.

As soon as she touches the Grail there is a flare of light which hurls both Professor Tomoe and Sailor Moon away from her, and she laughs in triumph. Sailor Moon tries to call out to Hotaru again, but Mistress 9 only mocks her, saying that in order to defeat Pharaoh 90 after he was given a vessel of such purity would require a heart even more pure. She pushes the Grail into a device, which causes a pillar of black light to form, and the building begins to crumble.

Outside the Daimons become stronger, beginning to overwhelm the Inner Senshi. They realize that this means things aren't going well inside and call out to Sailor Moon with concern.

Inside the device the Grail shatters, and bolts of energy begin to fire indiscriminately from within its glass dome as Pharaoh 90 begins to materialize. Sailor Moon attempts to use Moon Cosmic Power but it has no effect, and the entity counterattacks; Sailor Moon is thrown back, the Spiral Heart Moon Rod falling from her hand.

Even as Mistress 9 gloats about her impending victory, one of the energy bolts begins to form behind her. Professor Tomoe tries to protect her, and Sailor Moon throws herself in the way with what appears to be the last of her energy, taking the brunt of the impact herself.

The force field around the crumbling building shatters, and the four Inner Senshi are hurled away with the force of the enemy's power.

As Professor Tomoe cradles Mistress 9's body, he hears Hotaru's voice calling out to him. He apologizes to her, saying that he doesn't know what he can do, and as his tears fall Hotaru reawakens within Mistress 9's body. The two of them struggle for dominance, and finally the black star on Mistress 9's forehead shatters, revealing the planetary symbol of Saturn underneath. Mistress 9's body slowly disintegrates into nothingness.

Back at Mamoru's apartment, he is cradling Chibiusa's body, keeping her alive with his own power. A ghostly image of Sailor Saturn appears before him and returns Chibiusa's Pure Heart Crystal to her body. Artemis and Luna recognize the figure as both Saturn and Hotaru, before she thanks Chibiusa and disappears.

At the Mugen Academy building, Pharaoh 90's form is expanding and taking substance, and the earth trembles and cracks with the pressure of his growing power. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune look upon the destruction and despair that everything is over and lost. They see Sailor Moon kneeling a short distance away and are angry with her, but she only weeps silently in response.

Sailor Saturn appears before them and declares that she will destroy Pharaoh 90, as she is now the only one with enough power to do so. Sailor Moon tries to stop her, but Sailor Saturn summons her Silence Glaive and forces her to halt, then leaps into the growing entity that is Pharaoh 90.

Sailor Moon tries to run forward but is stopped by an invisible barrier. She tries again and again to transform into Super Sailor Moon with no success, tears streaming down her face as she pounds the ground in frustration. The other Sailor Senshi, including Uranus and Neptune, are affected by the sight and combine their powers, sending them to Sailor Moon.

The crescent moon on Sailor Moon's tiara changes colors as she draws upon everyone's powers, then calls one more time, "Crisis, Make Up!" She finally transforms into Super Sailor Moon and flies toward Pharaoh 90, forcing her way into the darkness even as Sailor Saturn can be heard calling a goodbye to them all.

After a number of explosions from within Pharaoh 90, he explodes, leaving behind a massive crater in the ground. Uranus and Neptune look up and remember what Sailor Pluto said about the true Messiah.

A multitude of butterflies made of light swirl down from the sky to the ground and the battered form of Super Sailor Moon appears. She stands amidst the destruction, her expression blank, and her arms cradling a sleeping baby.

Episode Trivia

• Sailor Saturn made her first true appearance in this episode, and her only appearance in Sailor Moon S.

• The Holy Grail made its final appearance in this episode.

• Sailor Moon was finally revealed to be the Messiah in this episode.

• A screenshot from this episode, showing a close-up of Sailor Moon's face after Sailor Neptune had just said that she would not forgive her if she were to give the Holy Grail to Mistress 9, became the face of a viral social media challenge often tagged as "#sailormoonredraw," in which artists would redraw the frame in a different style, and sometimes also replace Sailor Moon with a different character.

• The title given to this episode in the first English dub is possibly taken from a line from the Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Sound of Silence".

• This was the first English dubbed episode to not use any digital scene transitions.

• In the German dub, Mistress 9 said that "Sailor Moon" could not transform, instead of "Super Sailor Moon." Also in the German dub, when Sailor Moon tried to transform into Super Sailor Moon, the phrase "Crisis, Make Up" was still translated as "Macht des Grals, mach auf" (Power of the Grail, make up), even though at that point there was no Grail anymore, as it had been destroyed.

Cast

• Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon - Kotono Mitsuishi
• Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury - Aya Hisakawa
• Rei Hino/Sailor Mars - Michie Tomizawa
• Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter - Emi Shinohara
• Minako Aino/Sailor Venus - Rica Fukami
• Chibiusa/Sailor Chibi Moon - Kae Araki
• Haruka Tenou/Sailor Uranus - Megumi Ogata
• Michiru Kaiou/Sailor Neptune - Masako Katsuki
• Setsuna Meiou/Sailor Pluto - Chiyoko Kawashima
• Hotaru Tomoe/Mistress 9/Sailor Saturn - Yuko Minaguchi
• Luna - Keiko Han
• Artemis - Yasuhiro Takato
• Mamoru Chiba/Tuxedo Mask - Tohru Furuya
• Professor Souichi Tomoe - Akira Kamiya

Previous episode: 124	Season Sailor Moon S	Next episode: 126