The Sage Council talk about Norb and current events. Braya says with the Antibody Coralians appearing, the land is truly about to awaken. Kuzemi says Dewey’s foolish acts are the cause of this misfortune. Braya says it’s time to pull him back. Coda sits there silently and smirks. Elsewhere at the capital, Norb is brought before Dewey and asks when he became one of the sages. Norb calls him an insolent child and Dewey says it is destined for those whose time has passed to step down. In the Gekko‘s lounge, Happ confirms to the group that Norb has been captured. The crew ponders if the world will be destroyed. Renton initially wonders if this is some kind of hidden camera prank but Happ insists they are serious. The Gekko will take a couple of days to arrive and Holland tells everyone to get ready. Renton says he’ll clean up the merchandise in the shop but Holland says to leave it to Moondoggie as he wants to talk to him and Eureka instead. Moondoggie and Gidget work on cleaning in the shop, but Moondoggie gets frustrated by Eureka’s children who are nearby. He is in a bad mood, feeling that something like this is all he can do. Gidget and the kids encourage him to find something more important to do and with him feeling down they all depart. On the bridge, Holland talks to Renton and Eureka, saying they need to meet Master Norb to make it past the Great Wall. Holland says he talked to Norb back in Del Cielo. Eureka says she’ll tell Renton about things, but Holland insists that he do so. He says he’ll discuss how he first met Eureka. In a flashback we see Holland and Dewey together, members of the SOF in a room that Anemone was housed in previously. Eureka lies on the ground under a blanket but takes Holland’s hand once he approaches. Back then all he thought about her was how she was a mysterious girl who could pilot the world’s oldest LFO. While mysterious, she had high fighting potential and was very obedient, never showing emotions. The narrative changes to the day they have a mission to annihilate the Vodarac resistance in Del Cielo. Missiles going off in the city as the locals try to defend against the military, but are overpowered. Holland and Eureka head through the city on LFOs and Holland orders Eureka to go to a nearby temple. Holland says they had one last mission here, capturing Norb. Holland makes it to the temple and Norb stands before him. By holding his chest he causes the Amita Drive on Holland’s LFO to malfunction. Holland is unable to control it, and Norb says it’s impossible to capture him with such limited power. Holland asks Norb why he didn’t escape if he knew they were coming.
Later, standing on a cliff outside the city at gunpoint from Holland, Norb asks why he destroyed the city. Holland claims it’s because there are terrorists here. Norb says not everyone here is a terrorist and it has resulted in this situation due to the military not negotiating with the Vodarac. Holland is doubtful of the Vodarac, who he claims worship the monster Coralians. Norb says the Coralians aren’t monsters but rather the dreams the land sees. He claims there was a girl, Sakuya whom he met at a young age and was his first love. Norb asks Holland if he wants to hear about it and he says no. Norb claims Sakuya was a Coralian, just like Eureka. He says Sakuya told him of her, another humanoid Coralian. Holland struggles with the revelation. At that moment, Eureka finds Maeter, Linck and Maurice below a pile of dead bodies. Norb claims Eureka was born by the will of the land to learn about humans, which is why she seeks interaction with them. Eureka drops her gun and reaches towards the kids but is scratched by Maurice. Norb claims Eureka will eventually grow to understand humans. He compares her to a blank piece of paper. What gets written down depends on who interacts with her. He claims neither Holland nor Dewey can change her though. They will only use her to destruction which will lead to the world’s destruction. He claims Dewey wants a Second Summer of Love and will use Eureka to lead the land to collapse. Holland still doesn’t want to believe and Norb says to watch closely. After putting his palm to the ground, several Scub Corals appear around them. Norb claims the land replied to human will. Norb claims the trapars are the breath of this land and if he can feel it why can’t he read into the mind of the land. Norb removes his shirt and holds up his hand, saying if this opens his eyes that will be enough, hoping it can save Eureka and this planet. The ground shakes around Eureka who grabs a hold of Maurice. A bunch of trapars glow brightly in the sky and Norb collapses. Holland looking at his chest, asks Norb who is he. Norb tells him to turn around and he sees Eureka nearby in the Nirvash with the three children. He says if Eureka’s partner emerges she will be saved. He asks Holland if he’s ever seen her smile and that it would be a sign of change. He says to find someone who can make her smile from the bottom of her heart. If so, they can achieve a conversation between humans and the Scub Coral and the path to the Great Wall will be opened, a path that will save this world. He says this is not a Vodarac teaching but rather his own words. Two followers of Norb appear and Holland flees in the Nirvash’s hand. He says he was confused and that everything crumbled along with the city that day. Later, Dewey punches Holland. Holland says something emerged from that, him being able to learn about the truth of the world that the military was trying to bury. Back in the present, Renton says Norb is an amazing person, although Holland calls him preposterous, saying he entrusted him with the world. The one becoming Eureka’s partner wasn’t him, but Renton. Suddenly an alarm goes off. Holland says he has no idea how Renton can become her partner, but he needs to believe in himself. Holland walks off, with Talho, who was standing nearby smiling. We cut to Renton and Eureka sitting in the Nirvash with Eureka’s children and he says he’s starting to know more and more about her. The Gekko ascends to above the atmosphere. Renton, Eureka and the children look outside at the planet below them. Renton says he wants to protect Eureka and it has nothing to do with being a partner or the fate of the world. His feeling on that hasn’t changed since the beginning. Meanwhile at the capital, the Sage Council is told by their underlings that Norb left with Dewey a few moments ago. Braya and Kuzmi are confused, but Coda smirks again. On the Gekko, the crew meets to plan the operation as they approach the capital. Holland says they’ll go in the front gate. Norb and the capital will vanish if they don’t hurry. Holland says Talho is the only one who knows their informant’s face and she says she’ll head out. Moondoggie volunteers to steer the Gekko in her absence and shows his piloting license. He says he never had to do anything until now but he wants to do something that is useful to everyone. Ken-Goh is initially hesitant, but several crewmembers speak up for him. Meanwhile in a dark room Dewey shows Norb footage of the Antibody Coralian attacks. Norb says to stop Operation Orange and that the world will not last long with his futile resistance. Dewey says all he needs to do is destroy the will of the Scubs. He claims he wouldn’t have had to resort to this had he been given the ability to communicate with the Scubs in the first place. Norb says he has no intentions of being of use to him and even if he assisted him, he wouldn’t be able to communicate with the Scub Corals. Dewey dismisses it and refuses to be called a failure. He claims instead that Norb failed to become the partner of a humanoid Coralian and destroyed the one he loved. Norb says he hasn’t given up on trying to communicate with them. A pair of Ageha Squad members appear claiming Dominic has called in with an urgent report. Dewey says to leave it for later. He tells Norb he will show him the world. In his room on the Gekko, Holland ties his shoes. Talho comes in and asks if he’s scared. Holland asks her why she cut her hair and that it doesn’t look good on her. She says he said that when he broke up with “her” and that she’s over it. She grabs a photo from his hand, which is of Renton, his grandfather and sister, with her face covered up by a marker. Talho says she won’t be indecisive anymore and shall fight. She tells Holland he made her strong and gave her a future. She claims she has another life inside her. Holland says he can’t take her with him now, although she asks if there isn’t a safe haven in this world. If she’s going to protect this child with her life she will. She’ll also protect Renton, Eureka and her kids. Holland claims they have a lot of kids and as can’t afford to die. He says he’ll take them to the other side of the Great Wall. Talho says their future lies there. Renton and Eureka sit in the Nirvash. The Gekko crew ready themselves in the bridge as they approach the capital. There, Dewey has let Norb outside, where he looks at a model. Dewey asks when he’ll finally start talking to them about the real reason he came here. Norb says there is something he wanted to show him. He removes his shirt, revealing he has an Compac Drive embedded in his chest. Dewey says this is the figure of a man who failed to become a partner.
We have a very exposition heavy episode here with the introduction of Norb as well as a lengthy flashback that takes more than half the episode. Although we had been given some brief flashbacks in the past to Holland and Eureka’s time in the military, this time we get it a lot more in depth and in particular see how Holland’s encounter with Norb kick started his eventual efforts in forming Gekkostate. The overall dynamic on the planet also becomes clearer, with Eureka being established as a humanoid Coralian to enable contact between humanity and the Coralians. It appears that Renton will hold a critical role as her partner, something Norb failed at with another humanoid Coralian in the past. With the revelation that Eureka is not the first humanoid Coralian it makes me wonder how Anemone ties into things and if she is a third such being. The episode also contains some minor development for Moondoggie, a character who has always seemed low on the totem pole among the Gekko crew. I recall in an early episode that only Renton was below him among the crew’s pecking order. There is also the big revelation that Talho is pregnant. With the Gekko approaching the capital, it looks like we’re likely to have a climatic episode next time.
Eureka Seven Info
Director:
Tomoki Kyoda
Writer(s):
Dai Sato
Hiroshi Ohnogi
Chiaki J. Konaka
Ichiro Okouchi
Yuuichi Nomura
Shotaro Suga
Megumi Shimizu
Mechanical Designer(s):
Shoji Kawamori
Yutaka Izubuchi
Character Designer:
Kenichi Yoshida
Musical Composer:
Naoki Sato
Format:
50 episodes
Airdates:
Japan 04.17.2005 – 04.02.2006
U.S. 04.16.2006 – 04.29.2007
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