ephemeral things

The longer answer is that I don't personally care about spoilers.

I'm of the opinion that stories are more than the sum of their parts. It's about the journey, not the destination (or any particular signposts along the way). There's a lot of context and nuance you pick up along the way.

I'm old enough to remember when M. Night Shyamalan was a big deal. Everyone was all about his "twist" endings. There was always tons of speculation about what the surprise was going to be... And a lot of anger towards anyone spoiling the surprise. And I've always felt that if the only thing that made a movie worthwhile is that surprise ending - it wasn't very good in the first place.

There's lots of stories out there that I enjoyed well-enough the first time around, but I've got absolutely no desire to revisit them. They've got no lasting-power. They don't linger. And that's fine - not everything needs to be amazing. Potato chips and cotton candy are great snacks.

But there's also lots of stories out there that I revisit over and over again. Things that stay with me for years after the first reading. Stories that I come back to, fully aware of how things are going to end, and still enjoy the ride once again. These are the good stories. The fine-dining of story-telling.

So, while I'm not going to intentionally put "so-and-so dies" right at the top of a post and ruin everyone's day... I'm also not really giving much thought to what constitutes a spoiler and whether I should or shouldn't post it.

Especially since I'm usually talking about decades-old anime and manga... Or, even when it's something new, I'm usually slow to actually post about it.

So, yeah, spoiler alert, I guess.

Kudelia, Orga, and Biscuit meet with Makanai. They clearly don't have much of a choice - they're in danger regardless. Even if they give Kudelia to Gjallarhorn, they're still going to be hunted. They'll accept Makanai's deal. They'll get him to Alberta, Canada, for the big Arbrau summit.

Kudelia will secure a ship to get them off this island. Tekkadan will keep them alive until they get to Alberta.

There's clearly still some tension between Biscuit and Orga in this scene. Some unspoken words that really need to be said. But, for the moment at least, they're on the same page. They do need to fight. They can figure out what comes next after they're off the island.

We see some scenes of the Tekkadan crew getting ready for the fight. Planting explosives, fixing up mobile suits, eating-up while there's time. But we also see Takaki standing off by himself, looking to the stars. Shino shows up and encourages him to eat something. He asks what Takaki is looking at.

Takaki wonders if they're going to make it back to Mars.

We've seen several battles and plenty of deaths, but this one is being cast very differently. Lots of foreboding. Clearly something bad is coming. Everyone's got death flags everywhere.

Kudelia has secured a ship to take them away from the island. Makanai wonders what man Kudelia has wrapped around her finger. And we abruptly cut to Montag aboard a ship in Earth orbit, with Todoh at his side. He says he's arranged transportation for Kudelia and mentions that he ought to head down to the surface soon.

Clearly this is who Kudelia was working with to get the ship... But I think it's inaccurate to say he's "wrapped around her finger". That feels like a very patronizing way to put it. Call to mind images of manipulative women using their "feminine wiles" to get what they want. Kudelia, on the other hand, seems to generally be exploited and manipulated by these men. Nobliss Gordon and McMurdo Barriston clearly weren't doing anything in Kudelia's best interest. And I can't imagine Montag is either.

We get an awkward scene between Orga and Biscuit. Biscuit wants to discuss what they'd said earlier... Want to talk about the future and Tekkadan's direction... Orga doesn't want to. Says they'll talk about it once they're off the island.

A later scene with Merribit confirms the vibes we're getting here - Orga wanted to ask Biscuit to stay, but was too afraid to do it.

Dawn breaks and the battle begins. Gjallarhorn is shelling the island from several ships. It's largely ineffective. There's not a lot of infrastructure on the island to shoot at and Tekkadan's mobile suits are too mobile to get hit with a bombardment like this. It's just a lot of noise.

The battle initially goes pretty well for Tekkadan. Azee and Lafter are on the beach, keeping the Gjallarhorn mobile suits from making landfall. Akihiro manages to sink one of the ships.

But, yes, the shelling was actually just kind of a diversion. Carta leads a squad of mobile suits in some sort of aerial drop. And she's just as annoyingly energetic in a mobile suit as on the bridge of her ship - posing and shouting platitudes.

Mikazuki and Shino join the fight against Carta's troops. The Barbatos has been refitted again. It's got some extra armor on its arms, a couple arm-mounted guns, its feet look different, and it's weilding some kind of giant wrench as a weapon. Shino's Ryusei-Go looks comparatively tame dual-weilding a couple machineguns.

Gjallarhorn has landed troops on the other side of the island in an attempt to capture Kudelia and Makanai... But Biscuit had actually anticipated this move. Makanai's compound is abandoned and littered with traps. The Gjallarhorn troops are wiped out.

And this is an essential part of the plan. They need Gjallarhorn's landing boats to escape the island. They capture the boats and Makanai is impressed with how professional and efficient Tekkadan is despite being children.

Returning to the battle at the airfield - Carta is growing increasingly desperate as her soldiers are killed. She sees Orga giving orders from a mobile suit and decides to cut the head off this beast. Mika tries to intervene but is held back by a couple of Carta's mobile suits.

Realizing that they can't out-run a mobile suit in this mobile worker, Biscuit abruptly swerves and intentionally throws Orga from the top of the mobile worker. Carta closes the gap, swings her sword, and the mobile worker is demolished.

Both Orga and Biscuit are hurt in the crash, but Orga quickly stumbles to his feet. Biscuit isn't moving much. He slowly inches his way from the wreckage but it's all he can do.

We're down on Earth now and there's some beautiful scenes throughout this episode that really drive that point home. This isn't Mars anymore. No barren battlefields. No dust storms. We've got beautiful blue skies over endless oceans. It's gorgeous.

Some of the Tekkadan kids, however, are less impressed with Earth. The ocean smells funny, tastes horrible, and makes everything sticky. They're bored. There's nothing to do here. Chryse was much better.

This is kind of a throwaway scene... But it does make me wonder how much of my own ideas about "beauty" are shaped by my environment and upbringing. I raved about the beautiful seas and skies up top... But is that just because I've grown up here on Earth? Looking at images like that and being told that they're pretty? If I'd grown up with all the reds and browns of Mars would I prefer those?

So Ein isn't dead yet. He's critically injured. Most of his organs have stopped working and necrosis is setting in. The only way to keep him alive is some kind of cybernetic augmentation... Which still disgusts Gaelio. He says that would turn Ein into a monster.

But he still wants Ein healed. Fixed. Restored. He really wants Ein to not just live, but be able to fight again. He wants Ein to be able to avenge himself and his superiors.

McGillis suggests that the only way Ein is ever going to be able to fight again is with an Alaya-Vijnana System... Which, again, horrifies Gaelio.

McGillis explains that the whole anti-augmentation thing is really just propaganda that Gjallarhorn has been spreading. They developed augmentation like the Alaya-Vijnana System during the war and they were afraid it would be turned against them. They didn't want to lose their power so they demonized augmentation.

And, down on Earth, we see another hint of this playing out. We get a scene where one of Makanai's representatives is dropping off a fish as a gift to Tekkadan and he kind of stares at the Alaya-Vijnana System implants.

Nadi remarks that anti-augmentation sentiment is so pervasive and widespread that folks would look down on his mechanical legs if they noticed them. So apparently it's not just about enhancing your abilities - anything non-biological is bad.

Which means that anything they can possibly do to save Ein is going to be controversial to say the least.

Speaking of the fish... We get a humorous scene at dinner. The Turbines have apparently been eating better than the Tekkadan crew - they're familiar with fish and dig right in. The Tekkadan crew, however, have never seen anything like this. They're all pretty horrified. Akihiro remarks that it's staring at him.

Again, it's a silly little throwaway scene. Again, it kind of makes me reflect on how much my own experiences have shaped my worldview. Does Mars even have oceans? Lakes? Would they have ever seen a fish at all? Much less eaten one? Obviously that's going to be very strange to them.

We finally meet with Makanai and we officially learn that he's been deposed. He's powerless. There's nothing he can do to help Kudelia achieve her ambitions. The whole trip to Earth was futile. Unless...

If Tekkadan can help him get to the next big meeting Makanai is fairly certain he has the backing to regain power. If that happens he can support Kudelia's agenda and help her make it reality.

So Tekkadan is in kind of a tight spot. They're on Earth, behind enemy lines, with no clear path home. And now they're being asked to risk their lives, again, to help Makanai.

Kudelia says that she hired them to get her to Earth and that job is done. Mission accomplished. They don't owe her anything at this point. They're free to go their own way and she won't hold it against them.

But, really, what choice do they have?

Later that night we see Orga and Biscuit arguing.

Orga has decided to take Makanai's job. They're going to get him to the meeting.

Biscuit disagrees with the decision. He thinks they should just head back home. They've done their job. They've earned their pay. They don't need to risk their lives any further.

Orga insists that they can't go back to Mars yet because they haven't changed anything. There'll be some short-lived fame and then they'll be back to the same jobs that CGS used to do.

Biscuit says that if Orga insists on helping Makanai he's going to leave Tekkadan.

So, unbeknownst to Orga, Biscuit has gotten a message from his brother - Savarin. He apparently regretted all of his actions and took his own life. The message says that he just got too caught-up in being important. In doing something big. He says he should've just lived a quiet life instead.

And, yeah, I can see where you might legitimately regret kidnapping and beating a young girl.

But basically everyone working for the Dort Company was complicit in Gjallarhorn's actions.

Living a quiet, uninvolved life probably would've let Savarin ignore that reality... But it wouldn't have changed the fact of his complicity. He would've been sitting at home, watching the news, still collecting a paycheck from the company causing all that death.

Oddly, Savarin seems to be including Mr. Navona in his condemnations. He says they both took on more responsibility than they could handle... But that seems to suggest that Navona and the Union workers should've just put up with their horrible conditions? Just lived their lives as-is? Not made waves?

And while Navona did wind up dying for his actions it's not like they were without impact. We find out that the Dort Company has had to make concessions to the Union workers and grant them the same working conditions as those on Earth.

Clearly Savarin made some bad choices and should feel guilt for what he's done... But I feel like he's almost trying to obfuscate exactly what he's guilty of. He's not guilty of kidnapping and beating a girl... He's guilty of trying to change the world.

And we see Biscuit wrestling with these thoughts. Should he stay with Tekkadan? Keep fighting by their side to try to change the world? Or just go home and live a quiet life?

As the credits roll we see Orga talking to Merribit about how much he relied on Biscuit... And also kind of took him for granted. Biscuit was always there. Always reliable. Always made Orga's crazy schemes work. Always backed him up.

We see folks hurrying through the corridors of the Isaribi, packing stuff up. Kudelia and Mikazuki cross paths. Kudelia expresses her faith in the Tekkadan crew and - in an obvious callback to the first episode - asks to shake Mikazuki's hand. He says his hand is dirty again. She says that's OK, her hand is dirty with blood.

It's kind of striking how different Kudelia looks in this scene. I don't think her actual design has changed any, but she's clearly evolved over the series. She seemed genuinely childish back in that first episode. So naive and innocent. It was a stark contrast to the CGS kids going into battle. Now she seems much more mature. More confident. More assured.

We finally get a good view of Earth, and the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet protecting it. Carta continues to be annoyingly energetic. We see that Gaelio is going to be working with her. He and Ein get ready to launch in their mobile suits and it looks like they've gotten some upgrades or tweaks since the last fight.

We see a flashback to childhood. It seems that Carta, Gaelio, and McGillis have known each-other for a while. We see Carta and Gaelio arguing when McGillis pulls up in a big, fancy car. They immediately remark on how dirty he is.

I'm not sure if it's been made clear at this point in the show or not - but McGillis was adopted. So this is probably that scene. The moment when he was first brought "home". He doesn't seem all that happy about it.

In the lead-up to the dramatic reentry battle we see that Eugene is stressing out. He's got a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. If he screws up everyone could die. Shino isn't exactly reassuring... But he does distract Eugene with some good-natured ribbing.

We jump back to the present as a now-assured Eugene commands the bridge crew as they prepare for battle.

We see Montag/McGillis monologueing a bit on the bridge of his ship as he watches the preparations. He muses about how easy it is to control somebody if you know their past. He talks about how regrets and shames will shape somebody for life. We get clips of other major characters during this scene... And it culminates with a very young McGillis and Iznario Fareed.

The tone in these last couple of flashback scenes is really suggesting that Mcgillis's childhood wasn't great.

And now the dramatic reentry battle begins. This is an absolute staple of Gundam media and Iron-Blooded Orphans really delivers.

We start with the Isaribi engaging with the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet. They're facing overwhelming odds and the only way they're going to stand a chance is if they get creative. They've got their captured Brewers ship leading the charge, acting as a screen, taking lots of the abuse. The Isaribi is following along behind.

It's not working great. The Brewers ship is taking too much damage and they need to get closer. Eugene connects his Alaya-Vijnana System to both ships. It's kind of overwhelming. He convulses just like we've seen other kids do when piloting mobile suits... But he's able to power through it. Now he's controlling both ships directly and they're suddenly very agile - straight-up dodging incoming missiles as they barrel towards the fleet.

Its purpose fulfilled, the Brewers ship finally succumbs to its damage. It explodes dramatically and we discover that it was loaded with nano mirror chaff. This fully disrupts communication on the battlefield, completely blinding and silencing the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet.

It's not a serious distraction though. Carta issues orders and they're able to quickly burn away the chaff, restoring communication.

But the chaff has served its purpose. The Fleet was distracted long enough for the Isaribi to close the distance. It rams into the space station. It's not enough to immediately destroy the station, but it's seriously damaged. The Isaribi races off into the distance as the Fleet suddenly has to grapple with this new crisis.

And we see that pretty much all of this drama was basically a diversion to keep the Fleet from noticing the reentry vehicle being prepped. The launches are secured, the crew transfers over, and they're ready to descend to Earth.

McGillis and Ein, however, are not distracted. They've been watching, waiting, keeping an eye out specifically for the Barbatos. They've learned something of Tekkadan's tricks and they're ready. They quickly descend on the reentry vehicle.

Shino again keeps Ein occupied.

Akihiro is battling a swarm of Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet mobile suits. He's having trouble keeping up with all of them. Then Azee and Lafter show up in a couple new mobile suits. They couldn't use Hyakuren since that'd obviously be tied to Teiwaz... So they've re-armored and re-equipped these suits. Now they're called Rouei.

This leaves Gaelio and Mikazuki to battle each-other once more. They are, again, very evenly-matched. But Mika has learned Gaelio's tricks. He's equipped Barbatos in anticipation of this fight.

He's able to turn the tides on Gaelio. Gaelio, off-balance, is unable to respond when Mikazuki seizes his lance and hurls it at Kimaris. Gaelio is only saved when Ein intervenes at the last moment.

Finally fulfilling his destiny as some sort of Lalah-analogue... Ein throws his life away to save Gaelio.

The reentry vehicle plunges into Earth's atmosphere as Gaelio retreats, but the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet isn't giving up the fight. More mobile suits pursue the reentry vehicle. The Gusion and Ryusei-Go return to the reentry vehicle while Barbatos continues the battle.

Mikazuki is suddenly joined by another mobile suit... A red Grimgerde that appears to be on his side. It quickly dispatches several of the Fleet's mobile suits. Battling back-to-back Mikazuki realizes it's being piloted by "chocolate man" - Montag/McGillis.

The Fleet is defeated. The reentry vehicle is too deep into the Earth's atmosphere for pursuit to continue. The Grimgerde has disengaged and returned to safety. The Gusion and Ryusei-Go ride the reentry vehicle down to Earth... But Mikazuki has strayed too far. The battle carried Barbatos too far away from the reentry vehicle. He can't make it to safety as they all plummet towards Earth.

Mikazuki recalls an early memory of Orga. Orga is promising to take Mikazuki somewhere where they belong. Mika agrees to follow him.

Kudelia tells everyone listening exactly what's happening on the Dort colonies. She exposes Gjallarhorn's actions. She explains how the peaceful protest was sabotaged. She explains how the Union workers are currently being massacred. She decries these actions. Says she rejects this version of Gjallarhorn. This version of "protection". She challenges Gjallarhorn to shoot down her ship if they disagree with her.

And Gjallarhorn orders a cease-fire. The Isaribi flies through the Arianrhod Fleet unopposed. Mikazuki is impressed - she stopped all those ships, all those mobile suits, with just her voice.

We get a shot of Montag looking impressed by Kudelia. And we see Todoh standing at his side... So, yeah, that slimeball has clearly been helping Gjallarhorn track Tekkadan. And he's still just as bitter. He wonders aloud why they didn't just shoot down the ship.

Naze apologizes for not being able to help out during the fight. Orga apologizes for stirring up trouble. Then they get to discussing the plan. They were going to go to a local spaceport and get a reentry ship, but that's not going to work now that Gjallarhorn is watching for them.

They get a message from Montag - he'd like to meet.

He offers a deal with the Montag Group, a big business conglomerate. They foresee massive disruption from Kudelia's actions and want to make sure they get a piece of the pie. The terms don't seem great though... And Kudelia is already making questionable deals... They need some time to think it over.

Orga is waiting out in the hall, apparently not included in the discussions. He's frustrated to be excluded. Clearly they don't think Tekkadan is "mature" enough to have a seat at this table. That's maybe reasonable considering that Tekkadan didn't even exist a few months back, but it still rankles.

Montag leaves the meeting and runs into Orga and Biscuit... And then Mika shows up and immediately clocks Montag as "chocolate man" - the guy that gave candy to Cookie and Cracker back on Mars when they almost got run over. That's McGillis Fareed. Which, honestly, isn't much of a surprise for the viewers. But it's good to get confirmation.

He explains that he's disgusted with Gjallarhorn and wants to reform it. He wants Tekkadan's help to do so.

And I guess at this moment it's not clear if he's explaining the Montag Group's deal with Kudelia/Teiwaz/Turbines, or if he's proposing a separate deal with Tekkadan.

Regardless of the details - the Montag Group begins resupplying Tekkadan. Lots of missiles and ammunition and spare parts.

Elsewhere, we see Ein looking frustrated and injured again. He's glaring up at his mobile suit, angry that he failed to avenge Crank Zent yet again. Gaelio reassures him that he fought valiantly and protected his superior officer.

Ein muses aloud... Would he be able to match Tekkadan if he got an Alaya-Vijnana System? Gaelio is visibly disgusted. He says that getting an implant like that would render Ein inhuman.

We see Kudelia hanging out in the dining area, focused on her tablet. She's completely oblivious to everyone around her. Doesn't even notice Atra talking to her. When they eventually get her attention she expresses a need to work harder. To do better. She's wobbling on her feet but she still won't stop.

We meet Carta Issue, leader of the Outer Earth Orbit Regulatory Joint Fleet. She's very proud and energetic. She's eager to face off against Tekkadan and put them in their place. And she's clearly struck some kind of loyalty into her underlings because they're loudly echoing her sentiments.

We get our first glimpse of former Prime Minister Makanai. As the title suggests, he used to be the Prime Minister. It's not clear what happened, but he was ousted somehow and wants back in. He's the one who's been working with Kudelia on Earth. He sees her as his route back to power. And here we see him celebrating with some Champagne because she's made it this far.

We see Akihiro and Shino doing more training in the Turbines simulators... And, you know, I don't think I'd realized how much eye-candy there was in this show. Those are some very fit guys.

Kudelia is lurking in the bowels of the ship. Alone. Just kind of agonizing about her decisions. How many people have died because of her. How many people will die because of her.

Atra shows up to reassure her and make sure she eats something. Then Mikazuki arrives. As they speak comforting words to Kudelia she breaks down crying. And then Atra begins crying too.

Mikazuki wraps both of them in an embrace.

As the credits roll we see that people aboard the Isaribi are mourning Fumitan's loss. We see a small offering bowl on her communications station. And we see some of the kids practicing writing her name.

I think I'm going to have to re-read the manga. I read the manga years ago and bits and pieces of this are feeling vaguely familiar... But I don't really remember much of it. And I've realized that I only ever read the first volume/book.

We get a better look at this disgusting, dehumanizing world. We see that robots are becoming murderous when they're discarded and abandoned, which is just kind of horrifying. These things have enough self-awareness to care that they've been discarded, but they're still being treated as disposable objects.

Oddly, there's no media restrictions on covering the crackdown... Which just adds fuel to the fire. The protests escalate and spread - as intended. The Union workers break into factories and spacedocks finding fully-fueled and armed launches and mobile suits waiting for them. They don't question their luck and immediately seize the opportunity to escalate things even further.

The entire Arianrhod Fleet has been mobilized to deal with the Union workers. It's obviously overkill. They're clearly trying to make an example of these dissidents. But it gets worse...

Those conveniently-available launches and mobile suits the Union workers took are all sabotaged. The weapons don't work and they quickly run out of propellant. They're sitting ducks. They're being straight-up slaughtered by Gjallarhorn.

Gaelio is disgusted by the situation. This is another example of how far Gjallarhorn has fallen. How corrupt it has become. How far it has strayed from its original purpose.

The Tekkadan group makes their way to a spaceport, but it's been closed due to the ongoing battle. They discuss what to do next... Eugene expresses frustration - he wants to do something to help the Union workers. Orga wants to play it safe. Their job is to get Kudelia to Earth.

Kudelia, however, can't stand by and watch this happen. She can't go to Earth and talk about Martian liberation when these workers are also oppressed. She wants to fight. Orga assents - she's the client, after all.

They make their way back into the colony, looking for some way to get to the Isaribi. They stumble across a group of journalists who've just been told to stop covering the conflict. They recognize Kudelia from the protests earlier. Kudelia gets an idea - they should be able to help spread her message. And they've probably got a launch of their own that they could use to get to the Isaribi.

Naze and the Turbines can't get involved since they're well-known members of Teiwaz. It's frustrating, but understandable. Akihiro gets ready to launch in the newly-refurbished Gusion. Azee and Lafter express frustration that they can't go out with him.

Aboard the Isaribi we see Dante try to pilot Barbatos out to Mikazuki... But the limiters have been disengaged on the Alaya-Vijnana System and it's entirely too much for him to handle.

Nadi delivers Barbatos in the Kutan, and Mika joins the fray. He's casually dispatching Gjallarhorn's mobile suits almost effortlessly. They're clearly outmatched.

Seeing their opportunity for revenge - Gaelio and Ein launch an attack on Barbatos.

Gaelio is piloting his family's old Gundam frame, the Kimaris. It's a very fast mobile suit with a big lance. Mikazuki is having a hard time just keeping up with him.

Ein is piloting Gaelio's old Schwalbe Graze. Its nothing that Mikazuki can't handle... But the two of them are working together and keeping Mika off-balance. He's not doing well.

Shino appears in his newly-refurbished "Ryusei-Go". It's the same Graze they took from Crank Zent, further customized. It's got a few extra thrusters/verniers... An Alaya-Vijnana System... And it's been repainted bright pink. Ein is downright offended to see Zent's mobile suit used like this.

Shino and Ein battle each-other leaving Mika to focus on Gaelio.

Even one-on-one Mika continues to struggle with Kimaris. It's just too fast. They're too evenly-matched. The outcome is going to come down to just random luck.

And then Akihiro arrives in the Gusion Rebake. It looks nothing like the old Gusion. It's a much leaner mobile suit in shades of tan. It's got a couple big maneuvering pods on its back and a huge shield.

Now it's two Gundam-frame mobile suits against one and the tide quickly turns. Gaelio and Ein are forced to retreat.

The three Tekkadan mobile suits land atop the Isaribi and strike dramatic poses... But at this point they're facing off against the entire Arianrhod Fleet and it's clearly not going to end well.

The Tekkadan crew - with Kudelia and the reporters - have made their way back to the Isaribi. Kudelia hurries off and puts a call through to Nobliss Gordon. We then see Kudelia giving a speech, which the reporters are covering, and it's being broadcast to basically everyone. All eyes are on her. All eyes are on the Isaribi as it faces off against Gjallarhorn.

Fumitan and Kudelia are having tea in some sort of conservatory. Kudealia wants to know all there is to know about Mars. She knows she's sheltered. She knows she's privileged. But she's also a naive kid. She says she wants to know more, but can't possibly know what that means.

We've heard Fumitan say that she hated Kudelia's bright, innocent eyes. She's said that she wanted to see them cloud over as reality set in. And here we see the beginnings of that hatred. Those wide, innocent eyes asking to know more.

We also see that Kudelia has an actual, paper book - which seems very unusual. Not only is it unusual to have a paper book, but the subject itself seems a bit weird for a kid. It's a history of revolution. Doesn't really seem like age-appropriate reading material?

There's a picture in the book of the "Maiden of Revolution". I guess that's where Kudelia's title came from.

Fumitan seems very taken by this image. She says that she thinks the girl in the image is hope itself.

Back in the present, Kudelia is still searching for Fumitan, who is trying not to be found.

We get another flashback to when Kudelia was younger. They're clearly visiting a poor section of Mars. We see lots of desperate people. Kudelia wants to help out, but all she's got is a bit of candy. And we see that Fumitan is intentionally imperiling and frightening Kudelia. Still trying to cloud those innocent eyes of hers.

Back in the present again and Fumitan has run into some of Nobliss Gordon's associates. They want to know where Kudelia is. What Fumitan is up to. They warn her that she better not be trying to run away or betray them.

Elsewhere, we see the Union protesters marching towards the Dort Company HQ. They're armed and they've got mobile workers so there's clearly a threat there, but they've been peaceful so far. Just waving signs and making angry sounds. And the Union leader keeps insisting that they need to keep it peaceful. That they cannot fire the first shot. That they need to try to negotiate first.

Gaelio and Ein watch the news coverage from their ship. The captain explains that this is all part of the plan. He explains that the Arianrhod Fleet is being mobilized to deal with this when it escalates.

Aboard the Hammerhead we see that the Turbines are aware of the deteriorating situation. Amida orders the crew to get ready for combat. We catch a glimpse of the Gusion, but it looks nothing like it used to. We see Akihiro in the cockpit with his Alaya-Vijnana System connected. There's blood on his face. Clearly he's suffered similar feedback to what Mikazuki did when he first connected to Barbatos. And we see a Graze being repainted in bright pink.

The Union protesters finally arrive at the Dort Company HQ, which is protected by Gjallarhorn forces. Kudelia and Fumitan have both arrived at the same place, too. Everything is coming to a head and it's primed for chaos.

Some of the Union protesters recognize Kudelia and ask her to make a speech. The news crew notices the commotion and focuses cameras on Kudelia. Atra and Mika see Kudelia on the TV - now they know where she's at.

There's an explosion at the Dort Colony HQ. It seems pretty obvious that the Union protesters had nothing to do with it, but that doesn't matter too much. The story can be massaged afterwards. The important thing is that now Gjallarhorn has an excuse to escalate.

Gjallarhorn opens fire on the Union. The Union responds in kind. The street immediately erupts in gunfire.

Gjallarhorn fires off some smoke grenades and then fires indiscriminately into the smoke killing pretty much everyone.

Kudelia miraculously survives. She holds one of the Union girls in her arms as she dies.

Both Fumitan and Nobliss Gordon's associates are watching Kudelia from the shadows. The associates are lining up a shot to kill her. This will escalate the situation far beyond these Dort colonies and justify reprisals all over Mars.

Fumitan leaps in front of Kudelia, taking the bullet and saving her life.

As expected, we see chaos erupting all over the colony and we're told that it's spread to other colonies as well. This is the escalation that Gjallarhorn was planning.

We see a call between Nobliss Gordon and McMurdo Barriston. McMurdo seems to know what's going on. He was aware of the weapons being shipped to the Union. He admonishes Nobliss saying that he better not be cutting down a "money tree" for no reason. He proposes that they work together.

We soon cut to Nobliss Gordon who is yet again sweaty and naked while taking a call. At least this time it's an audio-only call. We finally confirm what's been going on. Nobliss Gordon is manipulating both Kudelia and the Union workers into a confrontation with Gjallarhorn, and he intends for Kudelia to die.

We get a scene of Mikazuki and Fumitan talking outside a store while Kudelia shops. Mika has noticed that Fumitan seems distracted and out-of-sorts. She talks about responsibility. How we all bear the responsibility of our actions, regardless of what they may be.

Back on Dort 2 the Tekkadan crew is trying to figure out what to do with themselves. They can't get in touch with anyone until their next scheduled check-in. They're stuck on Dort 2 for now. They meet the leader of the Union workers and he takes them back to his apartment to lie low.

We get a few scenes of life on Dort 2 and it's not great. There's quite the stark contrast to Dort 3. Rather than big buildings, open greenspaces, and shining storefronts... We've got slums, broken-down cars, folks sleeping on the street, and lots of angry graffiti. The workers on Dort 2 are clearly not happy with their situation.

Biscuit and Atra, meanwhile, are finally meeting with Biscuit's older brother - Savarin. There's a little awkward chit-chat and then Atra pops up to try to break the ice. Savarin looks surprised to see her and scurries off to make a phonecall... He claims he's going to make reservations for them somewhere but we see him calling the Dort Company HQ and he tells them to send some guys... So it's probably not a lunch date.

Moments later, we see Biscuit and Atra kidnapped. Savarin explains that he's been acting as a go-between for the Dort Company and the Union, trying to defuse the situation. He figures that if he gives Kudelia to Gjallarhorn that'll take the wind out of their sails and they'll be less inclined to do anything violent.

Yes, that's right, he thinks Atra is actually Kudelia.

Atra decides to take one for the team and agrees that she is, in fact, Kudelia Aina Bernstein. Gjallarhorn shows up to question "Kudelia".

Aboard the Hammerhead we get this weird kind of misplaced history lesson. Naze and Amida are complaining about the Tekkadan crew getting into trouble. Lafter shows up and asks what happened, and she gets a recap of how the workers are fed-up with their conditions and willing to rise-up for better treatment.

The Union has some folks undercover and they witness the kidnapping. They tell their Union boss, who relays it to Orga just in time for Mika's scheduled check-in. Now that Mika knows that Atra and Biscuit are in danger he takes off to rescue them. He leaves Kudelia with Fumitan to look after her.

We briefly visit the Gjallarhorn ship where Gaelio and Ein are getting ready. We see that Ein is going to be using Gaelio's old Schwalbe Graze, while Gaelio has asked that they get his Kimaris ready to launch.

That's not going to happen though... Gaelio is called to the bridge to talk to the captain, who explains that they're not going to be allowed to do anything. The Regulatory Bureau is intentionally setting up a confrontation with the Union so that they can suppress the dissidents. They don't want any overt Gjallarhorn presence that might scare the Union into inaction.

Meanwhile, the Tekkadan crew is heading to Dort 3 to rendezvous with everyone else.

We see that the Gjallarhorn interrogators are not being gentle with "Kudelia". They want information that she doesn't have... But, honestly, I don't think Atra would give up the information even if she did have it.

We see Biscuit trying to talk to his brother. Trying to understand what's going on and why. Savarin insists that he's trying to save lives. That he's OK sacrificing one life to save many. Biscuit explains that Atra isn't Kudelia... And Savarin doesn't care. He needs a scapegoat to give Gjallarhorn and it doesn't matter who she actually is.

The mysterious stranger from the beginning of the episode re-appears.

Fumitan has been having some deep thoughts. She's in the bathroom looking at the necklace that Kudelia gave her. Then Kudelia leaves - she's going to try turning herself in. If Gjallarhorn realizes they've got the wrong person they should let Atra go. Fumitan tries to talk her out of it... And then the masked stranger shows up.

He calls himself "Montag". He's wearing a mask and a very obvious wig. His voice sounds pretty familiar. And he's very aware of the full situation. He explains that Fumitan was placed by Nobliss Gordon and is following his orders - which Fumitan confirms before she walks out. Kudelia runs off to find Fumitan to get an explanation for what's going on.

We cut back to Atra and Biscuit... Atra is looking pretty rough, but she says it's nothing. She used to get worse than that every day from the women she used to work with.

Mikazuki finally comes to the rescue. He crashes a truck into the building to create a distraction, then storms the place. The three of them take off running with no clear plan as to where they're going.

The Tekkadan crew arrive to save the day. Everyone jumps into the truck. Biscuit and his brother have a final conversation... Savarin begging Biscuit to give up "Kudelia" to Gjallarhorn. Biscuit expresses gratitude for everything Savarin did for him in the past, but turns his back on him. His family is on Mars now.

We get some scenes around the ships as they travel... Kudelia, for example, couldn't sleep last night. She just kept thinking about her kiss with Mikazuki. What does it mean? Is he into her? Was it some stupid, impulsive thing? Both?

In one of the hangars we see them trying to add an Alaya-Vijnana System, taken from the Brewers, into a Graze. It's not going well so far.

Elsewhere, work begins on the Gundam Gusion. Azee and Lafter express surprise that Akihiro wants to keep and pilot this thing... He reiterates that he's OK with it. That it makes sense to him.

We also get to see the hints of an actual Gundam frame hiding under all that armor. The Gusion that we've seen so far looks absolutely nothing like Barbatos... But as the head gets disassembled we can see a very familiar-looking head hiding underneath.

Fumitan has some sort of message or orders. She's supposed to take Kudelia to the Dort 2 colony. We don't know what's up, but she's clearly not happy about it. She's looking at the necklace Kudelia gave her and looking very troubled.

And then Kudelia arrives, wanting to talk to Fumitan about her kiss with Mikazuki. Well, about a "hypothetical" kiss anyway. It's downright charming. Kudelia is clearly inexperienced and flustered. This was probably her first kiss. Fumitan is trying to be helpful and supportive, but she can't help laughing at the situation.

Our crew arrives at the Dort colonies and we can see Earth off in the distance.

We're given a bit of an info-dump about the colonies... They're all owned/operated by Earth. There's lots of economic exploitation going on. Some people working for poor wages while another colony is devoted to rich people living in luxury.

The colonies themselves look a little different than what we've seen in the Universal Century, but the story is the same. The same conflict between Earth and space. The same inequalities.

The Tekkadan crew gets a stern warning before they arrive at the Dort colonies. This is the Earth Sphere and Gjallarhorn is in control. They need to be on their best behavior. Don't start any trouble.

We cut away to one of Gjallarhorn's stations in orbit around Earth. We see Gaelio and Ein talking... They've heard that Tekkadan is at the colonies and they want to make a move.

We find out that "the moustache man" has been feeding Gjallarhorn information about Tekkadan. I don't know if we're ever explicitly told who this is, but I assume it's Todoh. He's definitely the right kind of slimy and manipulative to have the connections to keep tabs on Tekkadan wherever they go. And he certainly didn't leave their employ on good terms.

Ein voices some concern about launching ships without orders... But Gaelio says it's just going to be a "training exercise". Besides which, they're not going to be getting any other orders while McGillis is on vacation. He's down on Earth spending time with his fiancee.

So now we're going to kind of split the party, so to speak...

Kudelia, Atra, Fumitan, Biscuit, and Mika are going to Dort 3. This is the nicer colony with lots of stores and expensive houses. Kudelia and Atra want to do some shopping. Mika is along for security. And Biscuit apparently had family here once upon a time.

The interior of Dort 3 looks very similar to what we've seen in the Universal Century. Brightly-lit and expansive with both urban and green spaces. Somewhat surprisingly, we're shopping at a massive superstore that reminds me of a Costco or Sam's Club. Kudelia isn't buying clothes or luxury-goods, she's buying cleaning products.

It seems that the Tekkadan kids haven't been great about keeping clean and the ship is smelling pretty ripe.

On the one hand, I can't help feeling vaguely offended that the girls have to tell the boys to wash-up... It feels a little stereotypical and reductive. But, on the other hand... Yeah. It checks out. Boys can be pretty disgusting.

After a bit of encouragement, Biscuit calls his brother - Savarin Canele.

In case it isn't obvious, their family had some kind of pastry-based naming scheme going on. And the only reason Buscuit, Cookie, and Cracker have the surname "Griffon" is because they were adopted by their Grandmother on Mars.

Savarin didn't get adopted when their parents died because he was the eldest and already off on his own. He's working at the Dort Company HQ and wearing a nice suit, so he's probably not super-sympathetic to the whole Mars Liberation thing. I mean, maybe on some basic, theoretical level? But I doubt if the idea of upsetting the status quo sounds too good to somebody with a steady job and a mortgage.

Regardless - Savarin wants to meet with Biscuit and now we're going to split the party even further. Atra is going to go along with Biscuit to help him deal with some anxiety around seeing his brother for the first time in years. Mika is going to continue shopping with Kudelia and Fumitan. But that's all going to play out in another episode.

The Isaribi docks at Dort 2 and begins unloading. The folks taking delivery of this shipment are oddly starstruck meeting the Tekkadan crew. They're big fans of Kudelia (the Maiden of Revolution) and Tekkadan (her valiant knights). There's some real surprise that anyone has even heard of them. Clearly somebody has been doing some PR.

Then the crates are opened and we discover that Tekkadan just delivered arms to these guys. Mobile workers and guns. Seems these guys are a bunch of angry workers who are going to demand better treatment. They're starting a revolution.

They're surprised that Tekkadan wasn't in on the plan. It seems that Kudelia's "proxy" has been working with them to get the weapons. We're not told who this "proxy" is... But I'm going to assume it's Nobliss Gordon. He's the only other person I've noticed calling Kudelia the "Maiden of Revolution". Seems like he's intentionally trying to cause some kind of unrest or riot.

Gjallarhorn arrives almost as soon as the crates are opened. Clearly they were tipped-off. Clearly this is some kind of setup.

These guys aren't going down without a fight though. They manage to drive off Gjallarhorn after a brief firefight. It doesn't seem like Gjallarhorn was too intent on suppressing these particular guys. Almost like they want the opportunity to escalate.

Obviously we don't know much at this time. It looks like it'll be sharing a new AU with the Rogue Orbit game we saw earlier this year. The setting revolves around a conflict with an alien, silicone-based lifeform. Kind of reminds me of A Wakening of the Trailblazer maybe?

It's still early days and I know everyone's sick of hearing people say they don't like the new designs... But, yeah, I'm not immediately thrilled. The head, specifically, looks weird to me. Although I will say that the HG gunpla we saw teased looked pretty good.

Akihiro peers inside the wreckage of Masahiro's mobile suit. He's not dead yet, but there's clearly no way he's going to survive this. And Masahiro is still full of nihilism. He recounts the story of rebirth after death, but insists that's not something that happens to "human debris". Akihiro refuses to accept that. Insists that he'll be reborn. Masahiro assents that he'll find out soon enough, and then dies.

Kudal and Mika continue to battle. Kudal is being pushed to the limit. Mika is starting to figure out how to use his sword by attacking the weak points of a mobile suit - targeting the joints and the gaps in its armor.

Kudal accuses Mika of enjoying himself. Of enjoying the "killing of men". This is a common trope we see throughout the Gundam franchise. We commonly see our protagonists wrestling with having to kill people. Insisting that they don't enjoy it. That they're just doing it because they have to. That seems to be a very important distinction - they're not enjoying it. They don't want to.

Mika is a bit more pragmatic about it though. He does pause for a moment to consider whether he's enjoying himself or not... But he ultimately decides that it doesn't much matter since Kudal deserves to die.

We then move to Earth. To the massive, floating Gjallarhorn base. We see a fancy party is underway - the engagement party for McGillis and Almiria. It's all warm colors and opulence, a very stark contrast to the cold battlefield we've just left.

Almiria arrives at the top of the stairs, ready to make her appearance... But she overhears some people talking about her. They feel bad for McGillis having to marry a child. And she was already comparing herself to the grown women in the room, feeling insecure. She's not an idiot. She's not unaware. She knows how awkward this all is. She knows it's just political maneuvering. But she's still hurt.

She flees the room. Goes to hide out on a balcony alone.

McGillis follows her outside. He's again very kind to her. This isn't some kind of creepy Char/Quess situation. I don't get the sense that there's any actual attraction here. It's clearly politically-motivated. But he is at least being kind to her. Almost brotherly?

Back in space, the battle is concluded and they've rounded-up all the Brewers "human debris". Orga is going to send them all to Mars. They're going to get decent jobs and hot meals every day. They're part of the Tekkadan family now.

Orga confronts Brooke Kabayan. He's taking all of their mobile suits and one of their ships. Brooke initially complains... But Orga makes it very clear this isn't really a negotiation. The alternative is just that they kill Brooke. And, honestly, I guess I'm not sure why they're letting him live at all.

There's been a lot of death. Masahiro, obviously... As well as several more members of Tekkadan lost during the boarding action. And even the Brewers "human debris" that's just joined Tekkadan - they lost people they cared about too. Merribit suggests holding a funeral for everyone.

Orga is skeptical. He doesn't understand. There'll be plenty of time to worry about the dead when it's your turn to join them.

Merribit is again gently scolding towards Orga. It's not so much about the dead... A funeral gives the living a chance to mourn, process, and move on.

They load a coffin full of trinkets and tributes for the dead... Launch it off into space... And then fire off some "ice flowers" to mark their passing. It's beautiful and genuinely touching.

Later, we see Orga and Akihiro in one of the hangar bays looking at the Gundam Gusion. Orga intended to sell the thing, but Akihiro wants to keep it. Morbid as it may be - it's a connection to his brother.

Despite his stoicism, Mika is clearly affected by the things he's been through. We see his hands shaking a bit as he munches on an ever-present Mars-palm date.

Kudelia gives him a hug. It's awkward as all hell. Mika doesn't seem to know how to respond. Then a though occurs to him... And as the credits roll he gives Kudelia a kiss. She's shocked and reacts with comic offense.

We open with a fantastic action scene where we see them take down the "Puppet Master". Very stylistic. Very kinetic. But right in that one scene we've got some real tonal whiplash.

We bounce from Kusanagi kind of comically wrestling with a bunch of innocent bystanders who are being puppeted into attacking her. Then one of them gets killed and everything immediately slows down and turns serious for a moment. We're reminded that lives are really at stake. It looks like Kusanagi herself might get seriously injured. And then after Togusa has apprehended the guy, we're immediately back to clowning around.

But, again, it's kind of working for me this episode.

We get some of my favorite GITS tropes in this episode. We get to see some of the nitty, gritty technical underpinnings as we see a cyberbody being built. And we get to see Kusanagi musing about identity, Ship of Theseus style. How do you know any of this is real? How do you know you're even you when AIs and ghost-hacking and cyberbodies are a thing?

It's nice to see Kusanagi's girlfriends are still in the picture - so that wasn't just a throwaway scene purely for fanservice. Nice to see that she's actually getting a life outside Section 9.

Batou is just so hilariously excited to storm the building. He's reminding of some big, excitable dog.