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Episode 6 - In the Light and Shadow of Fardain
We start off with actual new content for a change as Flit is looking at the Diva from inside the Colony when Emily comes up and asks him what he’s doing. Turns out he’s reviewing the battle data from last episode along with the fact that it was Desil who fought the UE units so easily. Emily then brings up that she has a ticket for him to join her and Dique on the transport to the colony where the survivors from their colony are going but he tells her he’s not going with her as we hit the opening credits.
We’re back and on the bridge of the Diva we see Grodek daydreaming as we get a glimpse of his past as we learn he lost his wife and child to the UE attack years ago. Ah, so he’s motivated by revenge which makes sense. Millais wakes him up and says that he can rest in his cabin but he just says he’s leaving for a bit. Meanwhile, in the hanger bay of the Diva Vargas is going over some of the modifications he’s done to Largan’s Genoace when Woolf goes by the pair and says he’s going out for a bit with his mobile suit.
Back to Emily and Flit as he goes over his reasons for staying on the Diva and how he plans to formally volunteer for the federation forces. Emily being Emily doesn’t like it and gets angry because, although she doesn’t say it, that Flit didn’t consult her and storms off.
We now see Woolf arriving at another base that turns out to be a mobile suit factory as the people there, who he knows, build and customize Mobile suits. He shows the owner a picture of the Gundam, which gets the man excited as they all know the history of the Gundam. Woolf also presents him with a request/challenge: make a mobile suit that’s better for him.
Back with Flit as he’s searching for Emily only for Haro to find her a few seconds later. No really, it was that quick. Anyway, she goes on still being mad at him when trouble breaks out in the colony as Mobile suits show up and start shooting at each other. Things get even worse for the pair as the city itself seems to seal with up with them being the only people stuck outside with the mobile suits. Really? No one there says “hey kids, you better run?” Anyway, they’re saved by a man (Iwark Bria) who leads them into the main city and we learn that this is where poor and unwanted live in the colony. It’s also at this point we get a look into the history of the GundamAGe world. The short version – people moved to colonies, colonies grew and then went to war, peace was signed and all plans, including mobile suits were destroyed. Turns out that these are remnants of the two sides from that war, Zalam Union and Euba Alliance, still fighting it out in the colony. Oh and I forgot but we also meet Iwark’s adopted daughter during all this too.
Over with Grodek as he’s in disguise, or in this case in a trench coat and hat, as he arrives at a building to meet with Don Boyage. He uses an assumed name, something Boyage realizes right away but still meets with Grodek once he reveals himself to the man. Grodek wants to build an army and despite Boyage’s claims he doesn’t have that Grodek offers him classified military secrets in exchange for the war ships. Interested, Boyage has the meeting moved to his mansion as mobile suits again begin to fight in the city. Down in the ghetto, Iwark discovers that his daughter is missing and fears she’s gone above where the fighting is currently taking place. He boards a civilian construction mobile suit and takes Flit and Emily with him as he goes above to search for the girl.
They search for her and eventually find her although she was knocked out by a stray blast. Enraged, Iwark goes for revenge and leaves his daughter with Flit and Emily. Not liking what he sees, Flit calls by to the Diva and asks Vargas to bring the Gundam to him. Mere seconds later, Vagas arrives with it. Either the Diva is very close to where they are or Vargas is a super fast driver. Flit and the Gundam begin to defend and save Iwark from the other units a new model of a UE mobile suit appears. Trying to defend himself for a few minutes, Flit then sees an opening to use his beam rifle but it turns out that this UE unit can reflect the beam, which causes damage to the surrounding city. Giving up on the use of the rifle Flit tries a beam dagger but the UE suit deflects it as well and then vanishes.
Flit and the Gundam are then surrounded by some of the mobile suits he was fighting earlier and they place him under arrest for attacking the colony. The episode ends with Flit pleading that he was defending them from the UE.
Nimrod’s Thoughts – Well, this episode was a big mess. On the good side we at least got Grodek’s motivations and it at least makes sense. The rest, well, didn’t. I mean, how could they not know that there was essentially a civil war going on in the colony when they got there? Why is Woolf so easily giving out secrets to the Gundam? Why does no one know of the ghetto people? There are many more logic gaps but those were the big ones for me. All in all, I really hope for an improvement next week or else we’re heading down a bad path.
