Kanelel posted:
A team-up against her is entirely possible, but this series has always been very pro- Utena letting loose, so I'd be surprised if this new transformation is treated as being totally a bad thing, and I'd be SHOCKED if she ends up as less of a degenerate after this battle.
While I do agree with that, since it's clear that series has some heavy BDSM themes and symbolism, I think while Utena is clearly a sadist, it's possible what happened to her is example when you go too far. Utena most likely need to accept that she's not that pure, innocent girl that can't hurt a fly. The series started with her denying that part of herself, but slowly and surely she kept growing more and more comfortable with it. I think the reason she went out of control is that, she thinks that once she'll be defeated, everything will go back to normal as if this whole thing never happened and her inner sadist is afraid of being repressed again. So while Utena will be defeated, she'll ultimately learn that it's core part of her and she can't simply try to suppress it again. Basically it'll be about learning where the line of healthy amount of BDSM lies. Or so I think anyway.
I feel that the reason she wanted to be defeated is less going back to normal and more that she simply saw this as the proper way for a magical girl story to end after all of the Tres Magia got their La Verita power ups. Which does in the end, of course, still mean pushing down a big more sadistic part of her own desires. But for a slightly different reason, which may also mean a possible different route for the story to take if she can still remain in control after this awakening.
