By As the Ptolemaios 2 escapes from Memento Mori, Saji is surprised by how Celestial Being fights. Feldt then reports that enemies are incoming. Ribbons says he’ll make Celestial Being pay for destroying Memento Mori, and the ship is pursued by the Gadessa, Garazzo and Divine’s mobile armor Empruss. On Earth, the Federation spokeswoman gives a press conference and says the orbital explosion was caused by anti-Federation terrorists. She says that to prevent further terrorist attacks, the Federation military is being placed under the command of A-LAWS. At A-LAWS headquarters, Homer regrets the loss of Memento Mori, but Goodman points out that most of Katharon’s space forces have been destroyed. Homer states that they have to destroy Celestial Being because their presence creates the possibility that anti-government forces will gain influence. He leaves that mission in Goodman’s care. Setsuna arrives at the rendezvous point in the 00 Raiser and is shocked to find bits of wreckage from the Ptolemaios 2. He spots the Liang in the debris field and is contacted by Nena. Setsuna prepares to fire on Nena, but she points out that she helped him earlier and that his ship has gone down to Earth. She offers to transmit the combat data, but Setsuna simply ignores her and heads for Earth. Elsewhere, Sergei asks Hercury why he’s come all the way to the Middle East. Hercury says he has some information since Sergei is now an inspector: someone in the army is attempting to stage a coup. Hercury says the Federation government is nothing but a puppet of A-LAWS and that the public needs to know the truth. Sergei begins to realize what is going on. On the Ptolemaios 2, Ian wakes up in the infirmary following his regenerative treatment. He’s surprised to feel gravity and wonders when they returned to Earth. When he exits the infirmary, he’s shocked to see a large hole in the hull and mountains in the background. The ship then activates its camouflage, and Ian is briefed on the bridge. The ship was ambushed and pushed into the atmosphere during an attack by the Innovators. Using Sumeragi’s strategy of deploying smoke, the ship escaped and made a crash landing. Feldt tells Ian that the engine is working, but just about everything else isn’t. Sumeragi apologizes to Allelujah for involving Marie in the fight, and he asks her not to do it again. Outside, Lockon speaks to a Katharon comrade on the phone and quickly hangs up when Anew approaches. She tells him she feels uneasy and wonders how A-LAWS can so accurately find them. Lockon asks if she’s suspicious of him, but she says she isn’t. She then tells Lockon he doesn’t have to refer to her so formally, and he in turn asks her to call him Lyle. Saji supervises repairs and looks at the ring on his necklace. Elsewhere, Setsuna flies through the Middle East and encounters the massive crater of one of Memento Mori’s targets. Setsuna then spots Ali’s Arche Gundam and immediately gives chase, which is what Ali wants. At the Katharon base, Ikeda tells Klaus and the others that elements within the Federation are planning a coup. He says the coup people want to work with Katharon, and Klaus decides to go. Shirin thinks it might be a trap, but Klaus wants to work with people who oppose the Federation. Shirin then hears singing, and Klaus explains that Marina and the children wrote a song. Setsuna fires on Ali and realizes that they’re heading to the former Krugis Republic. Ali then exits his cockpit, which makes Setsuna suspicious.
Setsuna emerges from his cockpit and is greeted by Ali. Setsuna accuses him of working with the Innovators, but Ali points out that as a mercenary, he’ll work where there’s money. Setsuna asks if he’s fighting for no reason, but Ali answers that he’s fighting for a reason Setsuna wouldn’t understand. Setsuna then pulls out a gun, but Ali tells him to put it down because he brought him to meet someone: his sponsor. Ribbons then emerges from a nearby tower and introduces himself as an Innovator. He says that it’s been a while and addresses Setsuna by his real name. When Setsuna is surprised, Ribbons explains that they met 11 years earlier, in this exact spot. Ribbons says he watched young Soran fighting from a mobile suit cockpit, and Setsuna realizes that Ribbons was the pilot of the original 0 Gundam. Ribbons explains that the armed intervention in Krugis was a test of the suit’s combat capabilities, and his intention was to kill everyone present for secrecy. However, the way that Soran was looking at the 0 Gundam, and therefore Ribbons, left a deep impression upon him. As a result, he spared Soran and used Veda to recommend him as a Gundam Meister. Setsuna asks if he’s supposed to be thankful, but Ribbons says his role is over and asks that Setsuna hand over the 00 Raiser. Setsuna refuses and pulls out his gun, but Ali shoots him in the arm with a gun that smokes red GN particles after firing. Setsuna then jumps back into his cockpit and takes off. Ribbons asks Ali if that was intentional and then tells him to do as he pleases. Elsewhere, Lockon informs the crew that enemy mobile suits are heading their way. Tieria launches in the Seravee Gundam, followed by Allelujah in the Archer Arios. Setsuna attacks Ali, who asks him how his shoulder injury is. Ali then deploys his Fangs, and Setsuna is able to destroy some of them. Ali rushes in to take advantage of an opening, but Setsuna manages to destroy his sword. Allelujah spots Revive’s Gadessa and opens fire, so Revive dodges and fires his GN mega launcher. Bring attacks Tieria and destroys two of his cannons. He tells Tieria that he’s an Innovator and should be at their side, but Tieria refuses. After Klaus and Shirin take off in their plane, a child suggests to Marina that they sing their song. Marina thinks to herself that it’s all she can do. Bring says he doesn’t want to attack his own kind, but Tieria says he can’t give in as well. Bring cuts off the Seravee Gundam’s right arm, and Tieria grabs the Garazzo. He then activates Trans-Am and undocks the smaller Seraphim Gundam from the back of the Seravee Gundam. Bring deploys a GN field, and Tieria begins to break through it. Bring asks Tieria if he’s going to attack his own kind, but Tieria insists that he’s human. He breaks through the GN field and fires his arm cannons at point blank range, killing Bring. Setsuna continues to attack, and Ali decides to hold the Katharon plane hostage when it flies by. Setsuna vanishes by activating Trans-Am and knocks away Ali. Ali deploys Fangs, but Setsuna viciously attacks and stabs the Arche Gundam through the torso. He stops when he hears Marina’s voice and the children’s song. Ali then escapes in his Core Fighter just before the Arche Gundam explodes. Klaus and Shirin wonder why they hear Marina singing. In space, Louise looks at the Empruss, and Divine tells her it’s a prototype of a mobile armor she’ll eventually pilot. Billy unveils the new custom mobile suit Masurao, and Graham notices a Flag influence. Billy mentions he added a secret trick based on documents he found in Eifman’s home. After Graham leaves, Billy pulls out an old college photo of himself with Sumeragi and rips it up.
Although Celestial Being was able to successfully destroy Memento Mori, they had to pay a price for that and suffered serious damage from an Innovator attack. Without listening to Nena, Setsuna runs off on his own and meets Ali, which eventually leads him to Krugis and Ribbons. It’s there that Setsuna receives the shocking revelation that Ribbons was the pilot of the 0 Gundam, and that it was Ribbons that setup Setsuna as a Gundam Meister. It must be pretty shocking for Setsuna to realize that the noble Gundam he’s shaped most of his life on was piloted by his archenemy who is responsible for countless deaths. That sequence was kind of a reverse of Setsuna and Ali’s first encounter in season 1, where Setsuna was the first to expose himself. Unfortunately, in exposing himself here, Setsuna gets shot with a bullet coated in red GN particles. He’s able to fight Ali well enough, but the GN particle tricks from the 00 Raiser cause him to hear Marina’s song, and he doesn’t kill Ali. It’s a bit odd, and certainly somewhat of a Macross effect inside Gundam. I do have to wonder why Marina would drag an organ outside to sing, though. Also, Tieria finally reveals the Seravee Gundam’s secret and uses the compact Seraphim Gundam to kill Bring. Finally, Sergei gets some bad news when he learns that his old friend Hercury is part of a planned coup against the Federation.
Comments