"Thank you everyone. For giving me the courage to never give up. Evil being! I am Princess Serenity! In the Name of the Moon, I will now seal you away forever!"
— Usagi Tsukino
(DIC Episode: "Day Of Destiny")note
It's the final confrontation with Beryl; Sailor Moon has arrived at the Dark Kingdom base, alone and determined. Beryl decides to allow Sailor Moon inside the base, to show her the newly brainwashed Endymion.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Autobots, Rock Out!: "Carry On" in the DIC version, when the Inner Scouts return in time to help Sailor Moon.
- Bad Boss: The Negaforce in the DiC dub lambasts Queen Beryl for groveling, and only gives her more power as her last chance to win despite how incompetent she's proven herself to be.Queen Beryl: I can't be defeated again! I've waited too long for this, tell me how to end this!The Negaforce: Don't whine at me, Beryl! You're nearly as incompetent as your minions! I should abandon you, but I'm giving you this last chance. Use it well!
- Big Damn Heroes: In the DiC dub, since the Inner Scouts aren't dead, they help Sailor Moon deliver the final strike against Queen Beryl.
- Bittersweet Ending: Queen Beryl is defeated, but Sailor Moon dies as well along with the rest of her friends. They re-incarnate back into their normal lives, but with no memories of them ever being Sailor Guardians or any of the events prior, including them ever being friends. This was originally intended to be the end of the show. The DIC version lessens this a little. Nobody (except Queen Beryl and her Dark Kingdom court) dies, but their memories are still erased after the battle.
- Bloodless Carnage: While Sailor Moon is beaten really badly (including being attacked by a sword), the absolute worst she gets out of it is a few scuffs, and she's not even hurt by the end.
- Bookends: The last scene of the episode plays out like the first episode with Usagi running late to school and then getting into an argument with Mamoru over her failed test report. Animation from the first episode is even reused at several points.
- Bowdlerise: This episode was spliced together with the previous into "Day Of Destiny" in DiC's dub, where none of the main characters aside from Queen Beryl die. Endymion's beatdown of Sailor Moon is also edited to be less brutal. Darien is just critically injured by Beryl's attack instead of dying, and the other Scouts disappear and are "captured", but return as Big Damn Heroes to help Serena finish off Queen Beryl.
- Chekhov's Gun: The Star Locket returns and plays an instrumental part in restoring Endymion/Mamoru's memories.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Endymion gives a very brutal beating to Sailor Moon. Downplayed however, as Moon is not affected much and gets back up barely worse for wear.
- Dark Reprise: A sad version of "Moonlight Densetsu" plays as Sailor Moon's last beam of power absorbs her, her friends and Mamoru, and Usagi gives a monologue about how she wants to wake up tomorrow and everything will be normal.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Mamoru dies while Usagi holds onto him.
- Disney Death: In the DiC adaptation, where the Inner Scouts are revealed to have survived their encounters and arrive just in time to help Sailor Moon (now as the Moon Princess Serenity) in the final battle.
- Dub-Induced Plot Hole: In the original, Endymion is fused with Metalia's energy making it impossible for Sailor Moon to heal him. In the DiC Dub, Beryl boasts that her Silver Crystal is powerless in undoing the spell she cast onto him. So why does she still want the crystal if she's more powerful than it anyways?Queen Beryl (Abridged): Er I mean, uh well you see uh SILENCE!
- Everybody Lives: Compared to the original version, the DIC version changes to where no one besides Beryl die. And the girls still end up losing their memories.
- Evil Gloating: With our heroine seemingly defeated, Beryl gloats that Sailor Moon's effort was wasted. Thinking of her friends and their sacrifices, Moon gets back up and strikes back against Endymion.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Beryl is disintegrated onscreen.
- Fan Edit: A de-bowdlerised version of the DIC adaptation was released in 2022, keeping everything within the two episodes, becoming "Day Of Destiny: Part 2".
- Fighting Your Friend: Sailor Moon is forced to fight against her past lover Endymion.
- First Kiss: Defied. Usagi decides not to kiss her destined lover as all her departed friends never got to have their first kisses. And to do so without them would be just unfair.
- Fusion Dance: Queen Metalia transfers herself into Beryl's body to not only fulfill her request for more power but to destroy the world like the ancient evil had always wanted. The result is an enlarged version of Beryl with a new color scheme and a different hairstyle.
- Good Hurts Evil: Beryl's body begins to shatter after being pierced by Mamoru's rose, a symbol for his love of Usagi.
- Heroic RRoD: As in the original manga, Sailor Moon uses the Silver Crystal to kill Queen Beryl, but at the cost of her own life.
- Heroic Second Wind: Sailor Moon has been beaten to near unconsciousness and Beryl has ordered Endymion to lop off her head. Remembering her friends, Moon gets up and gives Endymion a Moon Tiara Action to the gut.
- History Repeats: Luna expresses horror at the possibility of Usagi using the Silver Crystal's full power to defeat Metalia which would kill her, just like Queen Serenity from the days of yore.
- Instant Costume Change: After surviving an energy attack from Metalia Beryl, Sailor Moon becomes Princess Serenity.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Thanks to Usagi's request, all of the Sailor Guardians' memories of their fights with the Dark Kingdom are erased.
- Last Request: Before dying, Mamoru tells Usagi to leave D-Point and find a cool boyfriend.
- Mood Whiplash: Usagi and Mamoru's fairy tale reunion is cut short by Queen Beryl's giant crystal of death.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
- Sailor Moon was alone and defenseless and Queen Beryl could've saved herself the trouble by just killing her right then and there. Instead she teleports Sailor Moon to her lair to have her face Endymion, which was where Moon wanted to go to begin with.
- Sailor Moon is curb-stomped by brainwashed Endymion, and barely conscious. Then Beryl says all Sailor Moon has done is for nothing. Usagi flashes back to her friends' corpses, how they sacrificed their lives for her; she then uses her Moon Tiara Action to stop Endymion from decapitating her.
- Likewise, during their Beam-O-War, Beryl asks her what she's fighting for, when the Earth has nothing to offer. Usagi remembers all her interactions with her friends, how they loved the Earth, and call on them to remind her. Cue the ghosts of her friends showing up and lending their powers to hers.
- No-Sell: Sailor Moon first tries to use Moon Healing Escalation on Endymion. It doesn't work because he's filled with Metalia's dark energy.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: In the DiC dub, we're given this exchange just before Sailor Moon faces off against a gigantic Beryl.Princess Serena: I hear you, Luna. I am not afraid anymore.Queen Beryl: YOU SHOULD BE!
- Off with His Head!: Beryl orders Endymion to cut off Usagi's head to finish her off.
- Oh, Crap!: Luna is left mouth agape when she realizes Usagi is preparing to use the Silver Crystal to fight Beryl, knowing it will kill the princess and her friend. She wants to go to the North Pole to help Usagi, only for Artemis to point out there's no way they can arrive in time.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Before blessing Beryl with her power, Metalia instructs her to plunge the world into darkness and destroy everything.
- The Power of Love: Usagi manages to undo Endymion's possessed state through the Star Locket, a present from their past lives. Later, she uses her dying wish to bring her friends and Mamoru back to life.
- Regained Memories Sequence: After touching the Star Locket, Mamoru's memories of his past and present lives return to him while expelling the dark energy from his body.
- Reset Button: Usagi and the Guardians are resurrected thanks to Usagi's dying wish, but with no memories of what happened before. Luna and Artemis say they hope the girls will reunite on their own time.
- Rule of Symbolism: As Usagi narrates the ordinary life she longed for, her deceased friends are shown during specific parts that correlate to their interests and personalities.
- The first part has Usagi mentioning her mother telling her to wake up for school. (Rei always nagged at Usagi to be better with her responsibilities).
- The second part has Usagi wanting to stay in bed just a little longer and enjoy her dreams. (Minako was the most similar to Usagi in wanting to enjoy themselves while slacking off when possible).
- The third part describes how she's late to school and gets a poor test score. (Ami cared deeply for academics and encouraged Usagi to take her studies more seriously).
- The last part has Usagi eating crepes with friends and seeing a party dress at the store. (Makoto loved to share sweets with Usagi and often dreamed of being seen as more feminine).
- Saved by Canon:
- There have been already several chapters of the manga before this episode was produced. So it should come as no surprise that all of its events don't stick for very long.
- For the DiC adaptation especially, which aired in 1995, where the fourth season of the show was already airing in Japan.
- Series Fauxnale: This episode was the second half of the series finale, with the entire cast dying over the course of the two episodes and re-incarnating into their normal lives without memories of them ever being Sailor Guardians and the events ever happening. This doesn't stick for long.
- Senseless Sacrifice: Beryl tells Sailor Moon everything she and her friends have accomplished will be meaningless. Not wanting the deaths of her friends to be in vain, the pretty guardian fights back against Endymion.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Usagi gets into this argument with Metalia Beryl with the latter proclaiming that the world is ugly, corrupt and not worth saving. The princess refutes her claims by saying she believes in the good things that come from the world.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Much like the Sailor Scouts in the "last" episode, Darien doesn't die in "Day Of Destiny". With his sacrifice changed to being critically injured by Beryl's attack instead and he falls unconscious.
- Triumphant Reprise:
- "Moonlight Densetsu" plays during the climactic fight, when Sailor Moon calls on her dead friends to remind her this world is worth saving.
- And earlier on, the background music for the "Moon Prism Power Make Up" transformation sequence plays when Usagi shows up ready to fight Metalia Beryl.
- Villain Ball: Queen Beryl teleports Sailor Moon to her lair and forces the latter into a sadistic Fighting Your Friend scenario with Prince Endymion. It inevitably backfires.
- We Can Rule Together: Beryl bitter laments that Endymion could have been king of all worlds if he had chosen her over Princess Serenity, though this is more out of vanity and her hatred of Serenity than any actual love.
- We Will Meet Again: When her initial plans to have Prince Endymion kill Sailor Moon fail, Queen Beryl retreats to the shadows to fuse with Queen Metalia.
- You Are Not Alone: The other Sailor Guardians come as Sailor Moon is fighting alone against Beryl, and their ghosts lend power for Usagi to win. This is changed to them just performing a Big Damn Heroes moment in "Day of Destiny".
Here I'm standing in the night, My crescent wand the only light. Alone against my darkest fear, But I sense my friends are near, I'll draw from each the power I need, The evil Queen we will defeat...
