GundamReviews

Gundam 00 Season 1 Ep. 20: Blade of Reformation

0
Summary

In a Spanish train station, Saji sits alone and browses through emails from Kinue and Louise. He recalls a nurse telling him that Louise’s hand can’t be regenerated because exposure to the Gundam’s beam weapon has somehow resulted in cellular defects. The train to the airport departs, but Saji stays behind. At the United Nations assembly hall in New York, a military alliance is announced between the three superpowers to put an end to Celestial Being’s terrorism. Watching the news in Azadistan, Shirin says that things seem to be going according to Celestial Being’s plans, and Marina concludes that the more recent radical interventions were designed to unify the UN militarily. On the deserted island, Lockon is surprised that the appearance of the Trinitys triggered the end of their plan’s first face. However, Tieria states that since all the superpowers have been heavily damaged by the Trinitys, uniting forces won’t produce any new results. Setsuna thinks something else is going on, and Tieria feels uneasy because the Trinitys weren’t mentioned in Veda, which has been hacked. The three then receive an encrypted message from Sumeragi to return to the Ptolemaios with their Gundams. On the ship, Sumeragi asks Ian and Lasse to pick up the GN Arms. In Illinois, Graham asks Billy what he’s learned from the Throne Eins‘ beam saber, but Billy says there’s no time for that. He explains that a traitor from Celestial Being has provided the superpowers with 30 new mobile suits designed to use the same engines as the Gundams. Billy assumes that pilots will be chosen from the Over Flags squad with Graham as the commander, but Graham refuses because he vowed on Howard’s grave that he’d defeat the Gundams with an Over Flag. At an HRL base in Russia, Sergei, Kim and Soma have a look at the Celestial Being-built mobile suit, the GN-X. Soma asks to be assigned as a pilot, and Kim says that she definitely will since her quantum brainwaves affect the Gundam Kyrios’ pilot. At a French AEU base, Kati is visited by Patrick, who gives her a bouquet of flowers and asks her on a date. She asks him if he’s concerned about the changing world, and when he says he isn’t, she agrees to the date. Elsewhere, Ali meets with Lagna, who fends off an interview request from Kinue. Ali asks Lagna to give him one of the GN-X suits they’re transporting and says he’s willing to be assigned to a military to use one. Lagna asks why he wants to pilot one, and Ali says he owes someone repayment and also wants to fight because he feels that mercenaries may soon become unnecessary. Outside, Kinue wonders what to do next and approaches Ali when he drives out of Lagna’s villa. Ali says he’s in a hurry, but will answer questions if she rides with him. Ali explains that he’s a distributor and flatly admits that he’s transporting GN drives like the ones used in Gundams. He mentions Setsuna and says that he was the one who brainwashed him into being a guerilla. Ali says that he’s the lowest form of human and loves war. Saji returns home and assumes that Kinue is out on a story. Later, Ali calls Lagna and says that he took care of a rat. Elsewhere, Kinue lies in a pool of blood in an alley and dies as she reaches out for a picture of her father and Saji.

In space Alejandro and Ribbons take off in a spaceship from the Union’s station. Ribbons comments that Alejandro didn’t have to come along, but Alejandro says that his family has been waiting generations for this. His family couldn’t do anything while Veda existed, until an angel – Ribbons, appeared. At the Trinity base in Africa, Nena complains to Michael that they had to do so much work before but haven’t received new orders. Johann then walks in and explains that Lagna has sent orders for a new mission in three days. They’re all surprised when Wang and Hong Long suddenly walk into the base. Michael pulls out his vibrating knife, but Johann tells him to stop because he recognizes Wang from Veda’s files. Wang explains that she’s come to introduce herself as a Celestial Being agent. Nena points out that they were attacked by Gundams, and Wang answers that she’s not necessarily on the side of those Meisters. Johann says he’ll rely on Wang’s help in the future and asks if she’s going to reveal the base’s location to the other Meisters, but she promises not to. Haro comments that Wang is pretty, so Nena kicks it away. On the VTOL plane, Hong Long asks if that was the right step to take, and Wang explains that it doesn’t matter because the Trinitys triggered a revolution. Hong Long asks her if she hates the world that much, and she answers that if the world doesn’t change, it should be destroyed. On the Ptolemaios the Meisters gather on the bridge. Christina reports that the Trinitys are on the move, and Feldt projects that they’re heading to an HRL base in Guangzhou, China. The base’s Tierens and Jiachong tanks open fire, but they become easy targets for the Thrones. Johann wants Nena and Michael to dock with him so they can wrap up the mission quickly, but they’re interrupted by incoming weapons fire. Michael wonders if it’s Setsuna again, but Johann says he’s picking up a squad of 10 mobile suits, all of which are emitting GN particles. Sergei orders the GN-X squad to open fire, and he’s amazed by the suit’s agility. Sergei attacks the Throne Drei with his beam saber and declares there’s no need to fear Gundams any longer. Nena fires missiles at Sergei, but he dodges and performs a roundhouse kick on her. Michael deploys the Throne Zwei‘s GN fangs against Soma, but she destroys them and is surprised at how the GN-X can keep up with her reaction speed. Johann orders a retreat, and Sergei orders Soma not to pursue. Sergei directs Soma’s attention down to the ground where all the soldiers are cheering, and he tells her this is the sweet taste of victory. The Meisters wonder why the Trinitys retreated, and Sumeragi explains that the HRL now has suits with solar reactors. Elsewhere, Alejandro’s spaceship docks at a secret base on the Moon. Ribbons’ eyes glow as he opens the door to a chamber which contains a large computer sphere: Veda.

Commentary

There are quite a few developments in this episode. First, the three superpowers form a military alliance under the UN, thanks to their possession of the new GN-X. When the HRL’s 10 units go into battle, we see just what they can do. Sergei and Soma are skilled pilots, but up to now they’ve been held back by inferior mobile suits. With the GN-X, they’re able to fight the Gundams on an even level and send the Trinitys running away with their tails between their legs. On another front, we see that Lagna is also connected to Ali, who is itching to get his hands on a GN-X and fight Setsuna. Unfortunately, Kinue crosses Ali’s path and pays the price to some firsthand information with her life. It’s clear that Ali intended to kill her from the start, so it’s not surprising that he openly revealed so much to her. Those revelations show us some of his character. He identifies himself as someone who loves war, so I doubt his previous efforts in the Krugis Republic were part of any kind of holy war. Wang makes an appearance with the Trinitys, which makes me wonder what her real game is. Finally, Alejandro and Ribbons sneak over to the Moon and enter the secret base that houses Veda. It’s interesting that Ribbons’ eyes glow like Tieria’s do, so I’m sure he can interface with Veda and do other weird things.

Overall Rating
4/5

Gundam 00 Info

Director:
Seiji Mizushima

Writer:
Yousuke Kuroda

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kanetake Ebikawa
Takayuki Yanase
Hitoshi Fukuchi
Kenji Teraoka
Naohiro Washio
Kunio Okawara
Seiichi Nakatani

Character Designer(s):
Yun Kouga
Michinori Chiba

Musical Composer:
Kenji Kawai

Format:
50 episodes; 3 compilation movies

Airdates:
Japan 10.06.2007 – 03.29.2008 (S1);
10.05.2008 – 03.29.2009 (S2)
U.S. 11.24.2008 – 02.09.2009 (S1);
06.29.2009 – 09.21.2009 (S2)

Video Release (SE):
Japan 10.27.2009 – 02.23.2010
U.S. 09.04.2018

Comments

Comments are closed.