*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Machu, having escaped from the Sodon by mysterious circumstances, arrives on Earth, and is taken in by the head mistress of a Zeon brothel. She learns that the mistress is a young lady named Lalah Sune, who has tragic memories of herself in an alternate universe. Machu attempts to escape with Lalah, but is told to go on without her. After exploring the ocean floor, Machu comes upon an item called the “Rose of Sharon” – a Zeon mobile armor from beyond with a Lalah Sune in its cockpit.
Comments:
Our girl Machu finally makes it to Mother Earth, and gets to see its sky, mountains, and even sea! It’s too bad she was recaptured and put back on the Sodon. She didn’t even get to swim with the jellyfish. Or meaningfully develop, unfortunately, but it’s otherwise it’s a pretty damn good episode.
When was the first time we got the back story of Lalah Sune having been working in a brothel? It’s been said for a while, but we didn’t get that from watching the original series and it isn’t in The Origin, either. What secondary source was it originally from? MS Era? Gundam Ace magazine? Whatever it was, it was an interesting development, if a bit dark for a young girl. They went that route for Marida Cruz (Ple Twelve) in Gundam Unicorn, too.
Lalah seems to be the, uh, main feature of the brothel here, but at least by this time she’s “of age”, though probably not working her job entirely out of her own will. But sadly, while given the opportunity to leave with Machu, she chooses to stay instead, hoping the person she’ll fall in love with will arrive.
Speaking of that, it seems that this Lalah has memories of a different life, meeting Char and dying for him in the war, like she did in the original TV series. But what did she mean when she said that the “white mobile suit” ultimately kills him? That certainly didn’t happen in the original series, unless you extend it to Char’s Counterattack, when a different (white) Gundam defeats Char and he explodes in glittery Newtype bullshit pushing back Axis. It’s a very broad interpretation of that. Or maybe her memory isn’t of that specific timeline but a one where Char was killed in the One Year War by Amuro. Whatever the case is, any timeline’s Lalah is burdened and tragic.
Obviously one of those Lalahs she has a memory of is now present in this new timeline, because the “Rose of Sharon” is the mobile armor Elmeth, and a resting Lalah within it. As Chalia Bull says, it’s from “the other side”, and identifies it as the thing Char saw at Solomon. But there’s something else going on here, I know it, I just can’t quite figure out what. Why is this alternate Lalah and her Elmeth so important? What does Chalia Bull plan on using it for? (My guess is luring Kycilia to her death.)
The next episode features Gihren Zabi, finally. He’s a guy you love to hate. What a douche.
