Full Metal PanicReviews

Full Metal Panic! Ep. 21: Deep Trap

0
Summary

Sousuke stares as the paramedics treat a severely injured Mao and carry her into a helicopter. As it takes off, Weber, Lian and Gail comfort Sousuke and tell him it’s not his fault. Gaulon is handcuffed and escorted to a helicopter. He addresses Kalinin as Ivan and tells him it’s been a long time. Kalinin asks Gaulon what he’s planning and the latter feigns ignorance. Kalinin tells him that he will not forgive him and once he’s done extracting information he’ll wipe him from existence. Kalinin orders Gail to evacuate the troops and that he has to establish contact with an American fleet. They both discuss the ease of Gaulon’s capture and the possibility that he has something planned. He orders Gail to follow Tessa’s instructions regarding the Venom and to keep Gaulon completely isolated until they need him. Mao is rushed to the infirmary and Doctor Peggy Goldberry assures Chidori that not even the devil could take Mao’s life. Chidori tries to talk to a passing Sousuke but he completely ignores her. She follows him to the locker room and asks him if he’s going to join the rest of his team. Sousuke replies that he can’t face his teammates because he made a mistake. Chidori tries to comfort him by saying that Mao wasn’t seriously hurt but Sousuke yells at her not talk so carelessly. Sousuke says that because of his inability to use the Lambda Driver, Mao could have been killed. Chidori tells him that he should rest and that Weber told her he’s still tired from his mission in Helmajistan. Sousuke denies being tired and Chidori remarks that it’s not like him to say that. Sousuke angrily tells her that she knows nothing about him. He’s just a normal soldier who performs missions but everything got messed up when he started to guard her. Chidori asks him why he won’t quit if he doesn’t like it and Sousuke replies that he can’t because he’s the only one who can do this. The argument turns sour and Chidori runs out crying. Weber and Lian see this and Weber punches Sousuke. Weber tells Sousuke to stop being a hero and berates him for making Chidori cry. Tessa receives a report stating that the Venom is only slightly damaged but poses no threat unless someone operates it. Tessa decides to dissemble it back at the base and asks to speak to Mardukas in private. Meanwhile on the Pasadena, Saylor receives orders to gather data on the Tuatha de Danaan, which is reported to be passing by their area in twelve hours. Saylor finds this preposterous and Takenaka says that the authorities shouldn’t get their hopes up. Saylor recounts a story of how he was a captain of a baseball team as a kid. There was a poor player who he’d always embarrass every time he made a mistake and now he feels how that player must have felt. When Takenaka interrupts by saying the story is boring, Saylor nearly strangles him.

Mess cook Hiroshi Kasuya vainly tries to cheer Chidori up while Sousuke asks around for her whereabouts. Chidori wanders around the Tuatha de Danaan and stops at the hangar. She pulls out Kyoko’s camera and looks through the photographs. Both Sousuke and Chidori start running around the Tuatha de Danaan looking for each other. Gaulon, restricted in a full body straight jacket, is being guarded by Lian and Danigan. Lian yawns and Danigan tells him not to fall asleep. Lian says that no matter what kind of power Gaulon has he can’t escape. Danigan says that that they must be prepared for every possibility and shoots Lian twice with a silenced gun. Danigan frees Gaulon and the latter thanks him. Danigan says that his mind is set. Gaulon tries to befriend Danigan but the latter tells him he won’t be following his orders. Gaulon grabs Danigan’s gun and trips him. He points the gun at Danigan and says that he’s making things difficult. Gaulon points the gun at Danigan’s crotch and the latter quickly apologizes. The start heading to the bridge but are stopped by Gail who holds them at gunpoint. Gail says that Kalinin informed him of the possibility of a traitor but he couldn’t believe it. Guen walks in and Gail orders him to fetch Weber and the others. Instead, Guen shoots Gail in the head. Gaulon remarks that Guen is the other insider and the latter confirms it. He asks if he’s getting a bonus just as Chidori runs in and witnesses the whole scene. Chidori tries to run but Guen grabs her and threatens to maim her if she screams. Danigan suggests they kill her but Gaulon tells him not to because Chidori is special. They walk into the bridge and Tessa orders the crew to stand down because they can’t fight SRT members. Gaulon praises Tessa and reminds the crew not to try anything or he’ll hurt Tessa. Gaulon orders Tessa to change course but she refuses until he puts a gun to the helmsman’s head. Gaulon says that he’s prepared in case Tessa wouldn’t listen to him and pulls out the ‘Toy Box’ disc. Tessa asks him where he got that and Gaulon replies that Danigan and Guen are not the only ones working for him. Even in Mithril there are people who’d do anything for money. He inserts the disc into Tessa’s terminal and the all the screens turn red. The AI recognizes Gaulon as the Tuatha de Danaan’s captain and he orders an evacuation drill. The crew starts heading to the front of the ship while Sousuke is still looking for Chidori. He’s stopped by an officer who tells him he can’t go back because they’re under orders. Sousuke runs past him and dives under a closing blast door. Sousuke finds Weber who asks him if it’s alright for him to violate orders. Sousuke replies that he suspects something is wrong and they both run to investigate. The AI informs Gaulon that lockdown is complete. Tessa is silently clenching her hand but Chidori grabs it and calms her down.

Commentary

Things went to hell pretty fast, didn’t they? In just one episode Gaulon takes over the Tuatha de Danaan and Danigan & Guen reveal their betrayal by shooting Lian & Gail in cold blood. Ouch! Sousuke and Chidori have another argument and unlike the one in episode six it didn’t end well. We’re also tricked again into thinking that Mao might have been killed but despite her injuries everyone says that she’ll be fine. Since we didn’t see her evacuate with the crew, this also means that she’s still lying in the infirmary somewhere and will no doubt be involved in whatever happens next. Still, I can’t help but feel that Kalinin and the late Gail were a bit sloppy. They knew about a potential betrayal and yet they didn’t take any proper precautions against it.

Overall Rating
4/5

Full Metal Panic! Info

Director:
Koichi Chigira

Writer(s):
Koichi Chigira
Fumihiko Shimo
Masashi Sogo
Tomihiko Ohkubo
Seiji Sogo
Koji Ueda
Hidefumi Kimura

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kanetake Ebikawa
Toshiaki Ihara

Character Designer:
Osamu Horiuchi

Musical Composer:
Toshihiko Sahashi

Format:
24 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 01.08.2002 – 06.18.2002

Comments

Comments are closed.