The League official orders the launch of Cargore mobile suits after being informed that it will take time for the ILTS to recharge for a second shot. Suletta grabs onto the Aerial Rebuild and calls out to Ericht but gets no response. Guel, Felsi and Lauda approach Suletta, but she suddenly feels pain and the Gundam Calibarn deactivates. Both Gundams are taken inside the ship, and a Haro scans Suletta and detects information thermological entropy spreading throughout her body. The Haro concludes that the spread has reached the level where her body is at risk. Suletta wakes up in pain and asks about Ericht and is told that Till and the others are checking out the Aerial Rebuild. Suletta struggles to stand up, and Rouji comments that the energy blast came from an interplanetary laser that will take time to recharge. Miorine asks Prospera what happened to Suletta and sees Permet scars glowing on her face. Godoy and his men enter the room holding Kenanji and the others at gunpoint, and Kenanji reluctantly tells Miorine that it’s over. Guston calls League headquarters and states that any further attacks would be illegal, but the official counters that the Benerit Group violated the peace between fronts and has no leg to stand on.Suletta emerges from the Aerial Rebuild and reports that she couldn’t contact Ericht, which Till suspects is due to the suit’s drive systems being damaged. Ojelo and Nuno announce that they’re going to shift the Aerial Rebuild’s propulsion controls to the Gundam Calibarn. Lauda tells Suletta that he hasn’t forgiven any of them, but if they return without Guel, he’ll forgive that even less. Suletta takes off in the Gundam Calibarn, followed by Guel in the Dilanza, and they’re both surprised to see Cargores approaching. Guel turns to head back toward Quiet Zero, and the Cargores flash light signals on the fleet commander’s orders. Belmeria explains to Miorine that the ILTS is supposed to provide energy to Lagrange 1, and Kenanji mentions having heard rumors that it was being co-opted for military use. Godoy points a gun at Miorine and threatens to kill her unless she hands over the Aerial Rebuild. Miorine responds that Suletta cares about everyone and will show up with the Aerial Rebuild without being asked.
Suletta enters Quiet Zero’s main chamber, and Prospera asks Suletta to connect the Aerial Rebuild to Quiet Zero to bring Ericht back. Suletta refuses, and Prospera reveals that soon she’ll be paralyzed because her legs are useless. All she wants is to create a world where Ericht can be free and people can find happiness in their respective places of being. Prospera asks Suletta to move forward if she cares about Ericht, but Suletta disagrees. She says that she and surely Ericht don’t want to lose Prospera, so they don’t need Quiet Zero. She activates the Gundam Calibarn’s shell unit and feels pain from the high Permet score. She sees an image of the previous enhanced person called Elan, and he explains to her that the organoid archive of enhanced people is integrated into Quiet Zero, which he presumes makes him like Ericht. Suletta apologizes for beating him in a duel that led to his death, but the previous Elan answers that he doesn’t regret the duel. He apologizes for not being able to meet her as promised, which makes Suletta cry. Suletta initiates a reaction and takes the Aerial Rebuild into space, where it finally reactivates. The Children tell Suletta she can be wherever she wants, and she answers that she has lots of things she wants to do with Prospera and everyone. Ericht sends the GUND-BITs over to Suletta, and they all attach themselves to the Gundam Calibarn. Suletta deploys the GUND-BITs and tells everyone they have to flee before the next ILTS attack. Godoy threatens to shoot the prisoners if they move, but Miorine approaches and presses her forehead against his gun, saying they have to remove the League’s reason for attacking. Miorine addresses the League and the people of Lagrange 4, announcing that the Benerit Group will be dissolved and have its assets liquidated and sold to Earthian companies. She also announces that they have a confession from Shaddiq outlining his complicity in recent attacks. Olcott hears the news on Earth and wonders if any of this was Guel’s doing. The co-CEOs of Peil are enraged at Miorine’s actions, and the real Elan submits his immediate resignation, saying that he’s tired of being judged by the Peil Grade. The League official declares that it isn’t over because he still has the ILTS. Suletta expands the data storm and remotely controls the Aerial Rebuild, the Gundam Pharact and the Gundam Schwarzette. The reaction from the four Gundams hits the ILTS and overrides its systems, shutting down its firing phase. As everyone departs from Quiet Zero, Belmeria is amazed that Suletta exceeded Permet score eight. Prospera realizes that only Suletta can raise Ericht’s scores, and she’s shocked to see images of Nadim and Cardo, who both tell her it’s over and it’s time to return to her family. She also sees Wendy and Nyla, who comments that it’s too soon for Prospera to join them. Prospera can’t forgive herself for losing Nadim and everyone, but Suletta tells Prospera that she’s proud of her. She says that for Ericht’s sake, Prospera chose to turn away from the path of vengeance. Even if everyone says it’s wrong, Suletta still supports Prospera. Eicht appears and says she wants to stay with her and Suletta. As the Permet starts to break down, Quiet Zero and the four Gundams disintegrate into particles. With the Gundam Calibarn gone, Suletta floats in space with her keychain charm. The Demi Barding brings Miorine over to Suletta, and Miorine momentarily thinks that Suletta is dead until she opens her eyes. Three years later, Nika is released from prison and finds all her Earth House friends waiting to greet her. Chuchu works with Rouji in space in mobile crafts and argues with him. On Earth, Elan embarks on a solo journey to visit the places that Norea drew in her sketchbook. Miorine visits Shaddiq in prison and asks why he lied about Quiet Zero when he wasn’t involved with that, and he answers he’d decided that long ago. He asks if she’s returning to Quinharbor and comments that it will be hard for both of them to make up for what has happened. After leaving, Miorine activates a neck communication device and bickers with Ericht, whose consciousness is now stored inside the keychain charm. Lauda and Petra call Guel to inform him that she’ll be testing a prosthetic leg for GUND-ARM. Guel and Secelia meet the real Elan to discuss profit divisions, and Elan notes that he helped keep Asticassia open and provided jobs to Jeturk workers. Miorine, accompanied by Shaddiq’s former subordinates, returns to Quinharbor and meets with protesters. Sabina wonders if Miorine made the right move since eventually Spacian companies will reacquire all the former Benerit assets. Miorine answers that they have to do the best that they can. Their van pulls up on an open field where her wife Suletta is sitting on the ground with crutches, with Prospera nearby in a wheelchair. Miorine asks if she’s going to build a school here too, and Suletta answers that she and Prospera like it here. Ericht doesn’t understand the appeal of living in the countryside, and Miorine counters that she doesn’t understand how Ericht even exists. Ericht doesn’t understand either, but she knows that Suletta transferred her consciousness from the Aerial Rebuild that day. Miorine helps Suletta to her feet so they can go eat.
The Witch from Mercury concludes its story with an upbeat ending that isn’t without its problems. I’d mentioned in the previous episode that the antagonistic League official using a space laser felt like it came out of nowhere, and it still feels the same way here. There was already enough tension in the story without adding this one-dimensional, nameless antagonist. Miorine’s instantaneous dissolution of the Benerit Group really stretches the bounds of credibility and comes across as a magic solution that wouldn’t actually work. Even though this magic solution somehow worked, it’s immediately undercut by Sabina’s assertion that some day all these Spacian companies will end up in control again. Additionally, it can’t be ignored that Prospera was completely let off the hook and wasn’t held to account for all the bloodshed she caused. Even if you discount all the deaths of the League fleets she destroyed as military casualties, she has a lot of civilian deaths on her hands from Quinharbor. Instead of facing some kind of justice, she gets a happy retirement while Shaddiq willingly takes the blame for Quiet Zero. In showing the fates of characters, it would’ve been nice to see Miorine have some kind of conversation with Delling reflecting on their experiences and where they are now. Encounters with the deceased definitely give vibes of UC Gundam shows, and it’s not surprising to see the ghosts of Prologue characters telling Prospera that it’s time for a new path. I don’t know that I’d want to spend eternity contained within an ugly keychain charm that looks like a butt, yet Ericht seems to be happy. It’s been a tough road for Suletta to regain control of her body, but on the upside she did marry Miorine and is fulfilling her dream of building schools.
Overall, as a series, The Witch From Mercury charted a new path for Gundam by featuring the franchise’s first female protagonist. It touched on themes that we’ve seen throughout the franchise’s history, such as masked antagonists thirsting for vengeance, tragic duels in space and the impact of war and capitalist greed on the masses. Even with Prospera getting off the hook for her crimes, she’s still one of the most intriguing Char clones in the entire franchise. I can condemn all the things that she did in the main series and understand the injustices against her in the Prologue that led her down this path. Suletta goes through a lot in this series, starting out as a character with little agency being used as a tool for revenge. She evolves into someone who takes decisive action in what she believes in, and she literally puts her body at risk to end the curse of the Gundams once and for all. It’s also good to see a queer relationship that doesn’t end in tragedy, not just for Gundam, but also in general. The franchise has generally avoided showing this kind of relationship, and when it has with Shino and Yamagi in Iron-Blooded Orphans, it ended tragically. I would say that at times the second season leaned too much on loading big revelations into the final minutes of episodes for shock value. An extra episode would’ve helped with wrapping up all the character and story points in a more satisfying manner. Despite these issues, The Witch From Mercury succeeds overall as a Gundam series and is a worthy addition to the franchise.
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