The night of August 25, 2148, various Spearhead Squadron members have fun outside with fireworks. Anju sits by a fire with Theo and Kurena, tears coming from her eyes. Shin is nearby talking via the Para-RAID device. On August 15th, Lena is providing orders to send supplies to the Spearhead Squadron, including a crate that contains the fireworks. Lena has labeled it as special ammunition and has to bribe the attendant to let it go through. Heading back down a hall she spots a few young men nearby putting up a sign for the Revolution Festival. This distracts her and she trips on her own feet before getting up and running off, embarrassed. Lena returns to her room to activate the Para-RAID. That night Lena walks down the street, a bouquet of flowers in her hands. Various booths have been set up as the populace celebrates the Revolution Festival near a fountain of Saint Magnolia. Lena thinks back to being told by Kurena that if it’s too hard she should quit and that they don’t need her. Listening to Lena trying to keep from losing it due to the voices on the battlefield is distracting. Lena is shaken back to the present after a nearby boy trips and cries out. Lena passes by civilians eating fancy looking food as she thinks to Kurena talking to her about how they’ve seen their friends killed in brutal ways on the battlefield. Compared to that, the voices of the dead are nothing. Eventually Lena squats to the ground, covering her mouth. Later, Lena has returned to her room and activates her Para-RAID, saying good evening to everyone. She is told by Shuga that it’s just the guys here tonight. She asks for Shin and is told he’s resting after a tiring battle today. She asks if the battles are tiring due to the voices of the Legion. Theo tells her it’s not something they can do anything about and they all get tired sometimes being out here. Lena says the stress on all of them is increasing with all these casualties and they agree. She says they haven’t been given one new member since she’s arrived, but she’ll do everything she can to get them reinforcements as soon as possible. After all, their unit is defending their most important base. After a pause, Shuga agrees that would be good. Lena tells them to hang in a little longer. The next day Lena heads to her Uncle Jerome’s office. He says she’s overstepped herself, complaining directly to him. Lena says she can’t wait any longer for replacements for the Spearhead Squadron. She’ll even resort to begging to get them aid. She claims to have gone to every department for help. Jerome cuts her off, telling her the resupply and processor replacement plans for the Eastern Theater are a settled matter. He’s already informed them of her request and it’s still an internal matter. Lena gets excited at hearing this and asks if they’re finally getting supplies. Jerome tells her to do her duty as best she can and asks if she’s ready for the Revolution Festival party. He says she should attend it in a proper dress and that’s the real job of a daughter of the Milize family. Lena says understood. The setting returns to the night of August 25th. Lena is attending the party in a black dress and is asked by Annette if she thought it was a good choice as it looks like she’s mourning. Lena thinks it’s wonderful as no one has asked her to dance because of it. Annette agrees the party is boring and stupid but doesn’t think looking nice is a bad thing. Upon spotting one of her prospective fiance nearby she panics and leaves. Lena’s Para-RAID activates as Shin reaches out to her, asking if anything’s wrong. He’s reached out as it’s the usual time she calls but he hasn’t heard anything. Lena says she’s fine and heads outside. Shin confirms that he got her special package, the fireworks, and Lena is able to hear them go of via the Para-RAID device. She refers to him seeing fireworks at a prior Revolution Festival with his brother and parents. She’s sure the others have similar memories. Shin asks her if she can see the fireworks from the Palace Lune where she is and she says yes, although it’s hard due to the sky being so bright. She says the fireworks where he’s at must be beautiful, with a dark night and clean air. She says someday they should watch them together in District 1, after he leaves the army. She wishes Daiya and the others could have seen them too, then apologizes thinking the timing is bad. Shin says that’s not the case; this is the first time they’ve been able to give a proper gun salute and she’s sure those gone are pleased. He tells her Anju was finally able to cry, just a bit ago. She usually keeps things to herself so this means a lot. Lena says she won’t forget Daiya. Shin says none of them will. She remembers his brother and that makes him happy as he wasn’t able to. He asks if she’ll remember them as well. Lena says of course she will, but before that, she won’t let anyone else die.
Earlier in the day, a cargo plane landed at the Spearhead Squadron’s base, bringing along with it supplies and brand new Juggernauts. Shin looks at the supply order as he sees the crate that Lena has labeled as special ammunition. The Alba officers who brought the supplies here call it a present from his master and ask if a pig deserves a present from a human. Later, Shin opens the crate, revealing the fireworks inside. Theo, Haruto and Raiden soon walk over and realize what Lena sent them. Kurena heads off to the shower, where Anju is, and joins in with her. Kurena wonders if they can tell Lena about the truth. She’s now even sending them presents. Shin, Raiden and the others haven’t said anything about revealing things to Lena. Kurena thinks if they did so, she’d stop calling and that would be better for all of them. She thinks Lena isn’t a bad person and shouldn’t get involved with them. Anju says she thinks that’s why Shin and Raiden can’t bring themselves to tell her as it will hurt her. Sweeping her hair aside for a moment, words can be seen branded on Anju’s back. Kurena asks Anju if she’s okay and Anju asks about what. Kurena says that Anju’s never taken a shower with anyone before and Anju says it’s okay now. It’s just the two of them and there’s no need to hide it. She reminisces about Daiya saying she had pretty hair when they first met. He knew she was growing her hair out to hide what was on her back, but he asked her if she was growing it out because it was so pretty. Daiya’s gone now so she thinks it’s silly to keep worrying about it. She asks Kurena about herself, doesn’t she want to tell Lena? Kurena says no, tears coming from her eyes. She thinks she doesn’t have the right. Kurena thinks back to witnessing Shin mercy kill one of their comrades. Kurena says even if they die, their reaper will take them there. She says she knows he’ll take him there but wonders about Shin and who will carry his heart. On August 27th, the Juggernauts head through a rainy street. Lena reaches out to them and Shin says they’re ready to begin their attack on the Legion Forward Base. He says to remember the base is a decoy and they should watch out for ambushers in the surrounding area. Things briefly flashback to the fireworks going off as explosions rock the area. The Juggernauts flee to avoid getting hit. Lena does an analysis and sees the launch point being 120 kilometers away via an ultra range artillery cannon, one they’ve never seen before. For a moment Shin sees his brother’s face. Lena says she’s calling off the mission and to retreat. Shin agrees and they do so. Later, the Spearhead Squadron has returned to where they set off the fireworks, having shook off their pursuers. Lena says she’ll get them more personnel and will make it happen today; none of this makes any sense. She says the General said they already had a plan to bring in replacements. Shin stops her and asks the group if they’re okay with him saying it. They agree. Shin tells Lena that’s enough, nothing she does will change a thing and not a single replacement is coming. They are going to be wiped out. Their unit is an execution ground. Lena tries to understand what he’s saying. Anju and Haruto claim the replacements she’s thinking of are processors that will come after they’ve all died. The new Juggernauts that have arrived are for them. Raiden says the white pigs don’t intend to let a single Eighty Six leave this district. Theo claims the promise that they’ll be released from service after five years is just bait. Lena claims this is impossible. Raiden says the vast majority of processors die before their time is up. There are soldiers like them who manage to survive for years on a battlefield where death is certain. Theo says that they survived means they’re smart and the other Eighty Six look up to them as heroes. The Alba can’t have them leading a rebellion. Haruto says anyone like that is sent to the place where the fighting is worst, such that they will die. If even that doesn’t work, they end up here. The point of this place is to make the soldiers fight until they die. It is the last place they’ll ever serve and replacements will only come after they’re all dead. Lena realizes they’re not making them fight to protect San Magnolia, but in order to kill them. She says that’s nothing but slaughter and asks if they all knew this. Anju and Kurena confirm; they’ve known this from the start. After all, no one they knew who went to war ever came back. They knew that white pigs don’t keep their promises. Lena asks if they knew this, why do they fight? Why not run and try to get revenge? Raiden says getting that revenge wouldn’t even be that difficult. They’d just have to sit back and let the Legion through. They’d die, but they could take the white pigs with them. He claims that when he was 12, an old Alba woman in District 9 looked after him. Shin was raised by an Alba priest who refused to give up his land and was sent to the camps. Theo had told her about his former captain. They know how awful the white pigs can be, but there are also people like Kaie who were abused by other Eighty Six due to the color of their skin. Anju, Haruto and Shin all have white pig/imperial blood and are the same. There are scum even among the Eighty Six. But even though scum treats them like scum, doing the same doesn’t make them any better. If their choices are to die fighting the Legion or die giving up, they’d prefer to survive to the last moment and go down fighting. That’s the reason they fight and is the source of their pride. If that means protecting white pigs, it’s not ideal, but they’ll accept it. He doesn’t think there’s anyone stupid enough to hang themselves because they know they’ll die tomorrow. Even if they know they’re going to the gallows, they want to choose how they’re going to climb up there. They’ve made their choice; all they have to do now is survive. Later, various Juggernauts go down in battle at District 16, facing a large Legion unit, the Dinosauria.
The show hits us with another big revelation near the end of this episode, that the purpose of the Spearhead Squadron is to ensure the deaths of the best of the Eighty Six soldiers. None of them will be making it out of this alive. It’s quite the surprise for Lena, who while showing growth over the last few episodes still has a level of naivete about her, having not figured it out. She must feel horrible about the past times she talked to Shin about what he was going to do once his military service was over. That said, this wasn’t the hardest plot twist for the viewer to figure out was coming. After all, if the civilian populace is being told that the Juggernauts are drones, they can’t have retired veteran pilots out there to reveal the truth. From the Alba’s perspective they hope to set it up such that the Eighty Six will never be able to rebel against and overthrow them. Of course that’s with the big assumption that they actually win the war. Forcing all the fighting onto the Eighty Six, then purposely ensuring the best of them are killed while none of the Alba population gets any fighting experience is yet another sign of the likely defeat and destruction the Alba have before them. To their credit, the Spearhead Squadron have not given up, and have refrained from what probably many in their position would do, simply let the Legion go past them and destroy the entire country. As for other things in the episode, it put a smile on my face to see Lena successfully get a box of fireworks sent over to the Spearhead Squadron and for them to be able to have a good time with them. It was also pretty funny to see her scare off anyone from attempting to dance with her at the festival party by wearing a funeral-like dress. In the aftermath of Daiya’s death, Anju has opened up to her colleagues a bit more. The words on her back, not fully visible in the episode are “Whore’s Daughter” which she was branded with by other Eighty Six for being part Alba. The episode ends in rather ominous fashion with the most powerful looking Legion yet appearing, presumably the one that forced a retreat earlier in the episode. It’s the first time we’ve seen the Spearhead Squadron have to retreat from a mission.
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