While I might be preempting this but... no, the first scene does not mean Ange is on the game board actively. This only means that she also has the ability to observe the game like MetaBattler can.
The Bad:
1. What's with serious business Ange look? For the entire episode she looks like she's trying to shit a brick. She's supposed to have those fond reminiscing with hints of happiness faces in some of the present-day parts, specifically when reading Maria's diary. Apparently reading her diary is stressful?
2. Pacing went crazy near the half. While I enjoyed the cuts since they removed a lot of the snore factors that plagued Ep4, the abrupt transitions between 1986, 1998 and the metaworld is a bit jarring.
The Good:
1. Lol@Beelzebub. Have to wonder why they bothered keeping that in.
2. Excellent cuts were made. Yes you heard it, since the cuts are more of a necessity than in previous arcs. Some of cut material just bored me to death in parts of the VN so thank God they removed them. Also, Maria is hella adorable in that outfit.
3. Fantastic ending to the episode. Fantastic Kinzo psycho look. He was all but absent in previous arcs but now it looks like thing's are getting on earlier than expected.