In the abandoned research facility, Rau tells Kira that the people he calls his parents aren’t his parents. He says that Kira is the dream of humanity: the Ultimate Coordinator. Rau says he thought Kira was dead and is surprised he survived and lived so long. He tells Kira that he was created in an artificial womb by his real father, Dr. Ulen Hibiki. Kira comes out from behind his cover, and Mu throws him to the ground when Rau shoots. Mu shoots at Rau and runs away with Kira. Outside, Yzak asks Dearka why so many people from ZAFT have defected. On the Eternal, Athrun says he wants to launch the Justice Gundam, but Lacus refuses. She says that with so many people missing, they need him in the event that the Dominion attacks again. In the abandoned lab, Mu tells Kira not to listen to Rau’s lies. Rau reveals that he was not born naturally and was genetically engineered as a fetus. He also says that great confusion was caused by George Glenn, and that after him many people wanted to genetically engineer their babies. However, they were dissatisfied when they didn’t come out as expected. Hibiki realized the great uncontrollable factor was the mother’s body, so he developed the artificial womb to fix that problem. Hibiki wanted to make the Ultimate Coordinator, and his wife Via asked him what the point of that would be. Kira is catatonic, and Mu and Rau continue to shoot at each other in the lab. Rau says that if humanity wants to kill each other that they should continue to do so. He also says he is the only one who has the right to pass judgment on humanity. He tells Mu that they met once as children because he is a clone of Mu’s father Al. Al wanted to make a clone of himself to live eternally, and he forced Hibiki to do it because Hibiki needed research money. However, when Mu was younger, his house burned down with his parents inside it.
In space, the Dominion hides behind an asteroid and Natarle tells Azrael she can’t promise a victory against the three Nazca class ships. Azrael tells her that in the business world a talented person can make the impossible happen. She says that on a battlefield failure means death, and he says it’s the same in business. Dearka tells Yzak that Kira used to be the pilot of the Strike Gundam and is Athrun’s friend. He thinks about Miriallia and says he saw people’s suffering in Alaska and Orb. On the Dominion, Shani tells Orga and Clotho that if they don’t succeed Azrael will yell at them again. The three Gundams launch and Murrue orders battle stations. Mu tells Rau that he can’t believe such an outlandish story about Rau being a clone of his father. Rau says he will open the door that will bring the miserable world to its end. Kira tosses a piece of metal at Rau, and all three are hit in the arms from the crossfire of guns. The piece of metal knocks Rau’s mask off, and he runs away after Mu sees his face. Athrun launches alone in the Justice Gundam and tells Asagi and the other M1 Astray pilots to guard the ships. The Dominion fires its guns at the Archangel, but the Archangel is able to evade it. Rau calls Yzak and tells him to leave immediately. Yzak tells Dearka he’s being tricked, and Dearka says he wonders who is really being tricked. He tells Yzak he’d rather not fight him and launches in the Buster Gundam. Kira helps Mu get back to the Strike Gundam and takes off with the Freedom Gundam. Yzak hauls the damaged GuAIZ back to the Vesalius and sees Rau has left the cockpit. Rau runs to his room and chokes as he takes his pills. He tells Ades to prepare for combat and asks Flay to help him with something. Athrun fights the three Gundams alone, but Kira and Dearka join him and even up the odds. Kira takes on Orga while Athrun fights Clotho and Dearka fights Shani. Kira fires all his weapons and destroys missiles heading for the Archangel. Rau calls the Dominion and says that before the battle begins he has a prisoner to hand over. Flay is put into an escape pod, and she holds a disk that Rau says will end the war.
This episode is filled with several more revelations. Kira’s parents aren’t his parents at all, and his real father is Dr. Ulen Hibiki. Dr. Hibiki seems to be a scientist who was so blinded by his pursuit of science that he ignored everything else, including his wife. From the looks of her pregnancy, it’s safe to assume she gave birth to Cagalli naturally while Kira was born in the artificial womb. The question now is, does having the “SEED” relate to Kira being the Ultimate Coordinator? If so, why does Athrun have a SEED mode as well? It’s also revealed that Rau is a clone of Mu’s father Al, and it’s clear that Al considered Rau his true son and not Mu. What a nice guy. The episode ends with Rau about to deliver Flay to the Dominion, and I’m sure his disk is the one that contains all the data on N-Jammer Cancelers. Once the Alliance gets that, it’s trouble.
Director:
Mitsuo Fukuda
Writer(s):
Chiaki Morosawa
Hiroyuki Yoshino
Hiroshi Ohnogi
Shigeru Morita
Akinori Endo
Yuuichi Nomura
Akemi Omode
Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Kimitoshi Yamane
Junichi Akutsu
Character Designer:
Hisashi Hirai
Musical Composer:
Toshihiko Sahashi
Format:
50 episodes (original); 48 episodes (HD); 1 short; 3 compilation movies
Airdates (Original):
Japan 10.05.2002 – 09.27.2003
U.S. 04.17.2004 – 04.15.2005
Airdates (HD Remaster):
Japan 01.xx.2012 – 11.xx.2012
Video Release (SE):
Japan 08.27.2004 – 10.22.2004
U.S. 07.11.2005 – 11.22.2005
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