mecha

Looks like the McGillis/Tekkadan faction will have to take a rain check for their final victory. After Shino’s failed attempt to take out Rustal once and for all, the faction makes a tactical retreat to regroup, lick their wounds, and hopefully end it the next time. I say ‘hopefully’ because by episode’s end, after scenes of implications of how big a practitioner of 4D Chess he is, Rustal has not only torpedoed McGillis’s chance to regain his forces, but to strip him of his position in Gjallarhorn before the preview without firing a shot. Man continues to be a shrewd operator, and to his credit gives us more of a reprieve for reasons I will cover later on.

SPOILERS

The reason for the article title is predicated on how unhinged Macky acts throughout the episode. If it is not using his mastery of Bael to force the non-aligned parts of Gjallarhorn under his thrall, it’s being able to unflinchingly prevent a despairing Almiria ready to turn a knife on herself after botching her childish (I don’t mean this as an insult, she’s still young after all) attempt to kill Macky. The scary part is I do not even know where the play acting stops and the craziness begins, since Macky is so dedicated to his craft. Does he WANT them to think he’s crazy? Or is it his true honest form?

SPOILERS

For the first time, I couldn’t really find ONE good image from this episode. So like I did with Escaflowne, here is this episode’s Four Perfect Shots. Seriously, it’s really goddamn pretty. In fact, those aren’t the most perfect of shots. Also no, don’t get mad that one of em is Galli-Galli, you pretty much knew the moment he spoke under that mask Vidar was Galli-Galli. The true pleasure though, is what happened to him during the interim between seasons.

SPOILERS

You know an episode has it in for its protagonists if a catharsis one has been hoping for such a very long time does not come to fruition. Yes, Iok is not dead yet. In fact he is as alive and chipper as his usual annoying self is, and thus we all must wait once more for his demise. The only consolation we can seize from this is Rustal is rather blasé about this whole thing, and did not adulate the slightest bit towards Iok’s decision.

This series is currently a bit of a tease and I am unsure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. It almost seems as if Mika, Akihiro, and the rest of Tekkadan would really go full force against the Mobile Armour in an arena-like battle this episode, nevermind Macky and Isurugi against Vidar/Galli-Galli. Yet nope, Tekkadan is relegated to strategery once again this episode, thanks to an unanticipated safety precaution in the Gundam Frames, and Vidar instead leaves, delaying the face off against Macky for another time, but not without making his existence known to him. In fact the true final battle with the Mobile Armour will take place next week, alongside the results of its fallout.