Lovers, Part 2

As Jotaro keeps swallowing Steely Dan's abuse, the shrunken Stands of Kakyoin and Polnareff reach the spot in Joseph's brain where the Lovers and its flesh bud reside. Polnareff strikes first and pays for it, as the Lovers borrows Joseph's own brain cells to mimic Hierophant Green and spawn a swarm of copies, leaving the pair unable to tell which figure is the true Stand.

Outside, Jotaro polishes Steely Dan's shoes and absorbs blow after blow, quietly tallying every indignity to repay later. His fury peaks when a beating comes as punishment for being forced to rob a jewelry store on Dan's orders.

Within Joseph's skull, Kakyoin uses Hierophant Green to pinpoint the genuine Lovers and drive it out of Joseph's body, giving Joseph the chance to burn away the flesh bud with the Ripple. Beaten, Steely Dan tries to distract Jotaro so the Lovers can slip into him instead, but Star Platinum spots and seizes it. In a last, desperate bid, Dan aims the Stand at a young girl's ear, only for a tentacle Kakyoin had secretly attached to hold it back. With Steely Dan finally frozen in place, Jotaro delivers the payback he has been saving, unleashing the longest barrage of ORAs in the series so far.

In the manga the removal of the flesh bud goes unexplained, whereas the anime has Joseph turn the Ripple on himself to destroy it. Commentary described the challenge of conveying the cramped feel of a human interior, a look achieved by washing the scenes in red tints rather than a more realistic darkness.

The staff also highlighted Jotaro's unwavering faith in Kakyoin during the fight and noted the length of the closing beatdown, a Stand-rush that runs about twenty seconds and mirrors the manga's own drawn-out finale.