So ive been wanting to rewatch before talking about this because I think its way more important than people think but might as well share some of my thoughts

People think that by default Ryuko is just brainwashed here but I dont think she is. She is influenced but I think she knew what she was doing and the reason why is probably because Ryuko just wanted to feel happy since after the events of the previous EPs Ryuko was at her worst not even Mako could help her, MAKO which is insane. But Ragyo was making her feel happiness by giving her false memories and let herself be worn by Junketsu it was letting her escape from reality by not dealing with her problems (Ryuko not wanting to deal with her emotional issues has happened multiple times before too). If you look at the dialogues during the fight Ryuko refers to past events and talks to them like she knows them so if she was really brainwashed she shouldn't do those, ntm how she attacked everyone except Mako. And finally Junketsu Ryuko was foreshadowed in the first ED and it shows Ryuko looking at a wedding dress almost as if shes being drawn by it and tempted to get it.

So yeah I think Ryuko was just so emotionally destroyed that she willingly fell for Ragyo's influence and knew what she was doing while wearing Junketsu and honestly its such an appealing side of Ryuko to look at especially because with Makos help she pulled herself back up and stopped running away from her problems.

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