Review by Chris

September 9, 2002

Milly and Iino return to the Argama, and Bright is worried that their operation will be delayed by Judau's absence. At Axis, a fleet launches and heads for Earth, led by Haman's flagship Sadalahn. Two Zaku II's patrol the area, and the pilots wonder who deployed so many fake meteorite in the area. Judau hides Double Zeta in a fake meteorite near Axis. Glemy prepares to launch in the Sandra, but first he interrogates Beecha and Mondo about Roux. They say that she seems to like Judau and that a lot of girls like Judau. Judau enters the Sandra's mobile suit hangar and offers Double Zeta as a present to the Neo Zeon. He meets with Glemy and Ple, and Glemy says the conditions on the Argama must be very bad. He says that Judau is dangerous and has him locked away despite Ple's objections. Nearby, Elle and Roux hide in a fake meteorite with the Zeta Gundam, the Mk II and the Mega Rider. On the Argama, Bright is informed that the mega hyper particle gun will be ready to fire in twenty minutes, and he hopes that Judau will get out of Axis in time. As Judau floats in his cell, he hears Leina playing piano. Ple comes in from a ventilation shaft and frees him, but he places her in his manacles and escapes. Beecha and Mondo report for duty and are told to repaint Double Zeta in Zeonic colors. Beecha decides that stealing Double Zeta can get them back to the Argama. Roux and Elle attack Axis, and Roux serves as a distraction while Elle searches the interior. Judau finds the piano, but Ple has taken Leina away. Beecha and Mondo steal Double Zeta, and Glemy chases with his Bawoo. Judau is stuck to Glemy's Bawoo, and Glemy corners Double Zeta. As he is about to destroy it, Elle blasts through the area to escape from two Gaza-C's. Judau goes over to Double Zeta to take over, and Glemy kicks it.

Glemy attacks Double Zeta with his beam saber, but Judau quickly blocks. Ple shows up with her Qubeley Mk II and reveals that she has Leina with her. She tells Glemy that she is playing with Judau and flies off. Judau chases after Ple, and Elle threatens to shoot Glemy with the Mega Rider's mega particle cannon. He jump kicks the Mk II and flies off. As several Gaza-C's attack, Elle is forced to fly in the opposite direction with Beecha and Mondo in the Mega Rider's cockpit. In space, Roux fights off a squad of Gaza-C's with her bazooka. She is also attacked by a Galluss-J, but she is able to destroy it. She wonders how long she will have to wait for Elle to come out. Judau chases Ple into Moussa and tells her it is dangerous to fly through the city. He grabs onto the Qubeley Mk II, and they both crash in a playground. Judau tells Ple to hand Leina over, and Ple is angry and says Judau is mean because he doesn't play with her. He promises to play with her, but she says he will run away after getting Leina. Judau tries to get into the cockpit, and Ple has a Newtype reaction and starts up the funnels. Judau gets back into Double Zeta to dodge them, and the funnels destroy buildings all over. Judau tells Ple to stop, and Leina tells her it is wrong to kill innocent people because she feels bad. Ple pauses, and the psycommu system overloads and shuts down. As Judau is about to grab Leina, Glemy shows up with the Bawoo and grabs the Qubeley Mk II. Elle flies through Axis, and Beecha and Mondo say they should return to the Argama. Glemy flies by them, followed by Judau. Once they are clear of Axis, Bright gives the order to fire the hyper mega particle gun. Judau gets in the way and says it is wrong to kill the civilians inside Axis. Elle and Roux take Judau away, and the gun is fired at Axis. A small chunk is destroyed, leaving the rest intact. Bright throws Judau, Beecha and Mondo in the brig with Chara. He tells them for their disobedience they are being punished and must think about what they have done before he will forgive them.

Though there is some comedy here at the beginning, this episode leans more towards the serious side. I would say this is probably about the point Tomino took over, as it is starting to feel a bit more like Zeta Gundam. Judau comes very close to rescuing Leina, but circumstances again deny him the opportunity. Also, we see that although Ple is a nice girl, she also has a horrible mean streak that results in the deaths of civilians inside Moussa. We also get some nice battles in between, including the first battle for the motorcycle-like Mega Rider. Judau also has a conflict with Bright over military action, echoing earlier sentiments by Amuro and Kamille. With the plot finally moving, we'll have to see where it leads.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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