OK, if you remember, the driving force behind the bad guys in SMSS was queen Nehelenia, who would communicate to them via a mirror. Well, this season starts with this mirror shattering, Nehelenia escaping and the shards from the mirror falling into people all over Tokyo, including Mamoru, who catches one in the eye. Those affected are very distracted, cannot concentrate and have a strange desire to spend their time looking at mirrors. Nearly everybody in town is like this and before long, Mamoru has mirrors hanging all over his house. Usagi is concerned and before long, the scouts take on and defeat Nehelenia, this constituting the true end of SMSS. It is soon revealed that the one responsible for Nehelenia's escape was 'Galaxia', who will become of vital significance to the series very soon.
Not to mention the appearance of this new (and terrible) pop group called the Threelights, who are made up of the three Star Lights (you'll have seen pics of them, they're the ones who wear leather bikini things). Their role at the start of the season is a mysterious one- they just turn up when Sailor Moon is faced with a ruckus and then disappear without explanation. The Star Lights are seeking a fourth Star Seed, as is the seemingly invincible Galaxia, who beats them all. The Star Lights then join forces with Sailor Moon. They're quite a strong force now, you know...
In the meantime, Mamoru has left to study at Harvard (had to be Harvard, didn't it, Naoko? Give me a break). Before he leaves, he gives Usagi a ring (not as formal as an engagement, but still as significant- and ridiculous). While he is on the plane to the US, a bright ball of energy attacks Mamoru and that's all we see of him for a while. Usagi writes to Mamoru every day, but he doesn't reply and she gets worried that Mamoru doesn't like her anymore. In between some strange relationship development between the senshi and the Star Lights, a girl called Chibi-Chibi falls from the sky just like Chibi-Usa did in SMR (only she has red hair and doesn't pack a handgun. Shame). Chibi-Chibi is even dumber than she looks- she can only say her on time or mimic other's phrases. Despite this, she is very powerful, although we do not find out why she has come on the scene for some time. Meanwhile, we see a dream-like sequence in which Chibi-Usa clarifies a few things. (By this stage, there is only four or five episodes left).
Galaxia is searching for the same Star Seed as the Star Lights, but for very different reasons and using very different methods. We learn how she has visited many planets, stolen everybody's Star Seed (effectively destroying them all) and moving on. One of these attacks was on the Star Lights homeplanet, although they managed to escape their dying world with the resident princess. It turns out that this princess possesses the all-important fourth Star Seed and that she has gone missing on Earth- the Star Lights therefore disguised themselves as the pop group Threelights and started searching for her by attracting the princess through messages in their lyrics. Galaxia needs this fourth Star Seed possessed by the princess to take over Earth and before long she does just that after defeating the princess in battle. The finale begins...
Galaxia takes everybody's Star Seed on Earth and it is left to all the senshi and the Star Lights to retrieve them. The inner senshi are up for the ruck, but are all beaten and loose their Star Seeds. Galaxia reveals that she plans to take over the galaxy by taking all the senshi's Star Seeds. If you recall Mamoru's attack on the plane, it was Galaxia who fought him, won, and stole his Star Seed (I suppose you could say Mamoru is Sailor Earth). Galaxia looks like she's gonna win.
Having seen her inner pals battered, Sailor Moon flees and leaves the fight with Galaxia to be picked up by the outer senshi. Initially, only Pluto and Saturn die but Uranus and Neptune are taken prisoner and soon die themselves (I know, it is heavy). Only five good guys now remain- Sailor Moon, the Star Lights and Chibi-Chibi.
Last two episodes. Chibi-Chibi saves Sailor Moon from having her Star Seed taken. Here, I must enlighten you as to Sailor Moon's role in all this. Galaxia was the senshi of the galaxy, the strongest of them all. She sealed a being known as Chaos inside her, which consumed her and turned her to evil. Before suffering this ill fate, Galaxia sent out her Star Seed to find a home safe from Chaos, namely Usagi / Sailor Moon. It is this Star Seed that created Chibi-Chibi, hence her power. This is how the final battle goes.
Sailor Moon is commanded by Chibi-Chibi to fight Galaxia and release her from Chaos. She turns into a glittering sword and tells a reluctant Sailor Moon to use it to defeat Galaxia. They fight, and Sailor Moon eventually wins, exorcising Chaos. Galaxia is returned to her true form. All the Star Seeds Galaxia took are returned to their respective planets and owners and everybody is reborn, hence the famous scene of all the senshi forming a flying circle together. And that's it. Sailor Moon was a brilliantly thought out struggle against the dark forces that exist in her universe and this is her release from the battling that came as predestined duty to these girls and Mamoru, and now they have won. I cannot convey the actual experience of this ending, so go and watch it yourselves now- you're only disappointment will be realising that this was Sailor Moon's final outing. Thanks for reading.
