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Gundam Wing Ep. 42: Battleship Libra

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Summary

Three OZ shuttles land on Earth, carrying the few survivors who escaped from Barge. A soldier greets Nichol, who isn’t happy to have come back with only 18 survivors. A life support capsule containing Une is wheeled off of one of the shuttles. Nichol says they survived in dishonor to bring Une back to Earth, and he asks the soldier to make sure she’s taken to Treize. Later, Treize brings flowers with him to visit Une at the hospital and is informed that while her wounds have healed, she’s still in a coma. Treize tells the unconscious Une how glad he is to see her again, and that she never left his heart. He then says he wants her to see what he’s going to do, which is set of a large space battle to put an end to the pathetic history mankind has created. He says this starring role would be too much for Relena, which is why he has to be the leader. After that, he believes that Relena can be the hope for a new world. Later, Treize addresses Romefeller and states that Relena’s purpose for the World Nation was to create peace, but he says people couldn’t live in peace because of White Fang. He says that if they unite now to combat the threat from space, it will lead to real peace. The crowd applauds, and Treize thinks to himself that he has to put on a performance if he wants people’s help. Relena looks at the Earth after her shuttle reaches space and thinks about her adoptive father Darlian and his desire for peace. An OZ soldier advises Relena to get some rest because it’ll take some time for them to reach Libra. Several White Fang mobile doll carriers chase after traitors escaping in Tauruses who used to be part of the Treize Faction. A White Fang member isn’t surprised by this, because it would be awkward for Treize Faction members to be part of White Fang now that Treize leads the World Nation. The carriers then launch their Virgo IIs, which proceed to destroy nearly every Taurus until Wufei intervenes with the Altron Gundam. Wufei destroys the Virgo IIs and slices apart one of the doll carriers. The other carrier launches its dolls, and Wufei declares that if they’re justified, they should be able to beat him. Wufei engages the incoming dolls, and the remaining Taurus pilot watches in amazement at how a Gundam fights. The doll carrier calls the Lunar Base for reinforcements, and the OZ pilot says that Wufei has shown him important things. He realizes that both OZ and White Fang are wrong, and wishes he could tell others. He then performs a kamikaze attack and slams his Taurus into the carrier, destroying it. After destroying the mobile dolls, the Altron Gundam shows signs of heavy damage, including leaking oxygen.

On Earth, Treize ends the remaining disputes and prepares the world for war against White Fang. Wufei floats through space in the damaged Altron Gundam and picks up a shuttle approaching on his sensors. Quinze informs Zechs that Libra is complete, and Zechs tells him to assemble the crew because he wants them to hear his final announcement to Earth. Wufei enters the shuttle’s cockpit and joins Sally and Heero. He notes that Heero is using Wing Zero now instead of Zechs and asks about the Gundam Heavyarms, which Heero explains must be upgraded for space combat. Wufei asks where they’re going, and Sally tells him they’re going to the Peacemillion to join with Noin and the other Gundam pilots. She asks him not to tell her he wants to leave because the shuttle is low on fuel. Wufei asks if she’s not afraid that he’ll steal the shuttle and head for Libra, but she counters that he can have his suit repaired on the Peacemillion and then attack Libra. Wufei thanks Sally for her kindness, but says he won’t promise to make any deals. Sally then picks up White Fang mobile doll carriers on radar, which Heero guesses are the reinforcements. Heero estimates that there are 40 mobile dolls, and Wufei says they’re looking for him. Heero tells Wufei that it’d be suicide to use the Altron Gundam in its current condition, so he suggests taking Wing Zero after offering a warning about the Zero System. Heero tells Wufei that when he pilots Wing Zero, it’ll tell him who his true enemies are. Wufei takes off in the Wing Zero and begins to attack the mobile dolls, declaring that he’s taking the right path. The Zero System then shows him a vision of a Virgo II killing him, and he declares that he’ll keep fighting alone until the day he dies. He then sees visions of Treize and Zechs and continues to attack the mobile dolls. Zechs addresses White Fang and the colonies, stating that the Alliance failed to eradicate war. He adds that humanity’s history going back thousands of years is written in blood. Zechs declares that the citizens of the colonies are a new breed of human who can attain true peace by suppressing their fighting instincts. Wufei destroys the remaining mobile dolls and carrier and sees that his future is with the other four Gundam pilots. Wufei declares that Treize and Zechs are his enemies, so he’ll defeat them. Zechs addresses Treize and demands that Earth be eliminated, or he’ll start a war to end all wars. Wufei returns to the shuttle and announces that he’s joining them because it’ll be the best way for him to defeat Treize and Zechs. Dorothy’s shuttle approaches Libra, and she asks Zechs if he remembers playing with her as a child. He orders his men to open fire, and Dorothy tells Zechs that she wants to be with him and imprint the war in her memory. Zechs changes his mind and rescinds the order. As Relena’s shuttle travels through space, she’s convinced that only she can stop her brother.

Commentary

This episode starts with the return of two people who haven’t been around in a long time: Nichol and the comatose Une. Treize pays her a quick visit and prepares for war against Zechs. The two of them are both putting on shows for their respective crowds, but Zechs’ angle is kind of weak with his demand that Treize eliminate Earth. How does one accomplish such a thing? The goal may be to start a war to end all wars, but it sounds really stupid to hear it. Wufei shows up yet again and displays that he has a propensity for damaging his Gundam at almost any opportunity. He’s stubborn as usual when he encounters Sally and Heero, but I think Heero knowingly tricked Wufei into using Wing Zero so that the Zero System would show him his future. And it takes the Zero System to finally convince stubborn Wufei that he should work with the other Gundam pilots to accomplish his goals. Yeah, he is getting this lesson 42 episodes into the show, but I suppose it’s better late than never.

Original Review: February 10, 2001

Overall Rating
3.5/5

Gundam Wing Info

Director(s):
Masashi Ikeda
Shinji Takamatsu

Writer(s):
Katsuyuki Sumisawa
Akemi Omode
Toshifumi Kawase
Masashi Ikeda
Katsuhiko Chiba

Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Hajime Katoki
Junya Ishigaki

Character Designer:
Shukou Murase

Musical Composer:
Ko Otani

Format:
49 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 04.07.1995 – 03.29.1996
U.S. 03.06.2000 – 05.11.2000

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