*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: In a flashback to the war, Char is tasked with stopping the asteroid Solomon base from falling onto the lunar city of Granada, which would cripple Zeon. Char and his troops prepare to set off explosions from within Solomon to cause it to break up, but Char has his own plans, sabotaging the operation in hopes the asteroid will kill Kycilia Zabi. He is confronted by a Guncannon, and they do battle. He is able to escape the fight, but his Gundam’s Psycommu starts to have a reaction and a strange phenomenon (later called the “Zeknova”) occurs, in which Char and the Gundam disappear. Solomon veers off course.
In the present, Kycilia offers to pay for Nyaan’s education if she should help her recreate the Zeknova event. The girl is introduced to a new mobile suit, the GFreD, the second GQuuuuuu. Then she is introduced to one of Xavier’s classmates, Miguel, who is eager to have her on board, but warns of the danger. Miguel later meets with Nyaan, who susses out that he’s a spy who is planning on killing her. He attempts to shoot her, but she activates the GFreD’s weapons, and they obliterate him. Kycilia meanwhile kills her underling that was secretly working with Miguel for her brother Gihren. Nyaan receives word that Machu has escaped to Earth with the GQuuuuuux.
Comments:
This episode is a little weird. It’s kind of two episodes, split at the half. One is the flashback to the war, the other is Nyaan’s new situation. It makes it seem a little incongruent. They’re really only connected by having to do with the moon and the Zeknova. I feel like neither part got enough time to develop. The happenings with Nyaan happen at lightning pace.
The “Zeknova” events seem to be radical reactions by the Psycommu computers of the Red Gundam to possibly outside influence. Char was taken in the first one at Solomon and Shuji was taken by the second at Side 6. Whatever happened to Char seemed to have caused him to be pulled into the Gundam somehow, because it talked to Shuji. Then again, the person to talk to Shuji may not be Char after all, but this “Rose of Sharon” figure. Whatever the Zeknova is, Kycilia Zabi wants Nyaan to recreate the phenomenon.
But why, though?
Kycilia Zabi is playing a tug-of-war with her brother, Gihren, and while Gihren has the advantage of being the oldest Zabi child and Supreme Commander of Zeon’s forces, as well as the Cyber-Newtype research, she has the advantage of a monopoly on Pyscommu computers. We see here in this episode that Kycilia cooks for herself, probably to avoid poisoning, and is eager to take Nyaan under her wing. The situation between her and her brother is getting serious, and she needs some big event to give her the bigger advantage, and the Zeknova is tied into her plans. What exactly it will do for her is yet to be seen, but she’s willing to risk a lot to win against her brother. We haven’t really seen anything of Gihren in this series, so I wonder what he’s up to, besides sending spies/assassins.
Nyaan’s really got a lot going for her now, being given a chance to become a Zeon citizen and pilot the new GQuuuuuux, the GFreD. Though that now means that her life is in danger, too, she doesn’t seem particularly bothered by it. And her skills as a fighter and Newtype have excelled just over a short period of time, figuring out Miguel’s motives, escaping from him, and striking back in a matter of minutes. Things are looking up for her.
I wonder who this Miss Tirza and “Shirouzu” (which sounds like “Char”) are? Whoever they are, they’re off to see Dr. Leo Lionni, whoever that is. I think Shirouzu would look better with a pair of sunglasses and a red, sleeveless jacket, myself.
And it looks like our favorite space jellyfish has escaped captivity and is on her way down to Earth, finally. I’m sure we’ll be shown just how she achieved that in the next episode. Good for her. Let’s just hope she isn’t disappointed when she finally gets to breathe that Earth air.
