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Phase
15: The Respective Solitudes
Review by Chris April 10, 2003 After the Archangel lands on Earth, Kira has fever dreams of his battle in the atmosphere with Yzak. When he remembers the destruction of the civilian shuttle, he wakes up and cries out in agony. In her office, Murrue discusses the current situation with Mu. Though their original target was Alaska, they were diverted off course and have ended up in Libya, which is ZAFT territory. Murrue points out that they had no other choice because they can't go to Alaska without Kira and the Strike Gundam. She remembers arguing with Natarle during the battle about Kira going out to fight. When Kira tried to return to the ship, the differences in their thrusts meant that he would land somewhere else on Earth, so Murrue had the Archangel change course to allow Kira to land. This caused their re-entry angle to change from Alaska to Libya. Mu decides to visit Kira to see what the doctor has to say, and he tells Murrue to get some rest. In Kira's quarters, the doctor explains to Sai, Miriallia and Flay that he doesn't know what to say since he's never examined a Coordinator before. He says that Coordinators are vastly different inside from Naturals. They are physically stronger and usually immune to most forms of disease. Though he doesn't know for sure, he thinks Kira will be okay despite his fever. On the Vesalius, Athrun stares at the Aegis Gundam and thinks about his past battles with Kira and his many fruitless attempts to get Kira to join him. Nicol comes into the room and tells him that Yzak and Dearka landed safely on Earth and will be staying at the ZAFT base in Gibraltar, Spain. Athrun asks about Yzak's scar, and Nicol says it should be okay. Nicol wonders about their orders to return home because they failed to get the Archangel and Strike Gundam again. Athrun doesn't think it's a problem and believes they will probably be sent out on another mission. Nicol decides to check up on the Blitz Gundam and leaves Athrun alone. Athrun recalls Rau warning him that if he doesn't destroy the Strike Gundam it will destroy him. On the Archangel, Kira wakes up with Birdy sitting on his shoulder. Flay comes in to check on him and tells him that they landed on Earth and that he's in the ship's medical room. He tries to get up and walk around, but she tells him he shouldn't. In the hangar, Mu and Murdoch examine the two Sky Grasper units. While Mu finds it interesting that it can mount the Strike Gundam's weapons pack, he wonders if it means he's become a delivery man now for Kira. Mu asks Murdoch why Kira calls the Strike a 'Gundam,' and Murdoch explains that Kira probably made an acronym out of the words 'General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver' that appear on the start up screen of the OS. Flay comes to the mess hall while Miriallia, Sai, Tolle and the others are all eating. Sai tells her she should take a break from watching over Kira, but she says he has to heal quickly. Sai tries to tell her something else, and she gives him an angry look. She says that their arrangement was decided by her father, and now that the situation has changed she doesn't think she should be bound to it. As Flay walks through the halls, she remembers her father's death and Kira's decision to stay and fight. She wants Kira to keep fighting until he dies, or else she will never forgive him. Around the ship, everyone changes shifts. In the hangar, a mechanic finds the origami flower in the Strike Gundam's cockpit. Flay comes to Kira's quarters and gives him the flower. He is taken aback when he sees it and remembers Elle giving it to him, as well as Yzak destroying the shuttle. He tries to take the flower from Flay, but he falls to the floor and begins to cry. Flay tells him that her feelings will protect him, and she kisses him. Outside, Cagalli and several men look at the Archangel, and she confirms that it's the ship from Heliopolis. She is informed that the 'Desert Tiger' Andrew 'Andy' Waltfeld is approaching with his landship Lesseps and five BuCUE mobile suits. Usually after a clip show, you expect the next episode to get back into the main story. Think again. The Archangel has landed on Earth far from where it's supposed to be, but that's no surprise. Between then and the end of the episode, absolutely nothing happens. Nearly the entire episode is composed of characters having extended flashbacks with yet more clips of things that we've only recently seen. It's starting to annoy me how this series shows extended clips of things that occurred only an episode or two before. These clip shows seem to act only as filler so that the series can be stretched out to a full 50 episodes. Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
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