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Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Ep. 4: Unseen Trap

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Summary

Suletta (and all the students watching the duel) are shocked by Guel’s sudden marriage proposal. She says no and runs away, flying off in the Aerial. At the Earth House, Chuchu watches in disgust and comments that Spacians must lead carefree lives if they can have duels over lovers’ quarrels. In a teleconference, Benerit Group investors grill Vim on if Guel is going to regain his title as the Holder. They note that he’s already lost twice to a miner from Mercury, and if things don’t change they threaten to pull back on their investments. In class, Miorine changes the settings in Suletta’s notebook, which causes her uniform to change colors to white, black and gold. Miorine explains that the Holder gets a special uniform and pilot suit. Several girls approach Suletta and ask what her intentions are with Guel, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of Guel. He mentions the proposal, and when Suletta reminds him she said no, he retorts that he’s not interested in a country bumpkin. He then bows and apologizes to Miorine for his behavior the other day in her greenhouse. Suletta asks if this is because of the duel, and he notes that the terms of the duel must be honored. The teacher asks Guel if he’s done, and Guel tells Suletta that he doesn’t like her at all. Later, students conduct training exercises with Demi Trainers that involve using ground-penetrating radar and a spotter to avoid virtual land mines. Suletta prepares for her turn and is instantly failed by the instructor for not having a mechanic and spotter on her team. Chuchu takes her turn next and avoids all the landmines until her monitor suddenly goes black. She then loses her footing and slides down a hill, hitting a landmine and failing. Two Spacian girls laugh and comment that Earthians are an eyesore and should stay on their planet. Chuchu exits the cockpit of her custom Demi Trainer and sees that her main camera was vandalized with slow-acting masking spray, and she angrily demands to know who did it. Nika walks through the halls with Aliya Mahvash and Lilique Kadoka Lipati, and they see a male student rejecting Suletta’s request because he doesn’t want trouble with the Jeturk House. Suletta explains that she’s looking for a mechanic and spotter for the makeup exam and nervously asks Nika for help. Lilique mentions that they’re all Earthians, and Suletta thinks that means they were born on Earth, but Lilique notes that’s not all the word means. Nika responds that she can’t because she has to help her junior with the makeup exam, but she knows someone who can help. Suletta follows them to Earth House’s space and is shocked to see a goat. Nika asks everyone if they can help Suletta because she’s having trouble finding a spotter and mechanic. Ojelo Gabel notes that Suletta is a Spacian, but Nika counters that she’s not like the others and doesn’t look down on them. Till Nys offers to serve as a spotter, and Martin introduces himself as the House leader. Nika wants Ojelo and Nuno Cargan to help too, but they’re interrupted when Chuchu smashes a wrench into the wall and angrily demands to know why a Spacian is here. She throws the wrench at Suletta and demands that she leave the Earth House, and Nika and Lilique are forced to hold her back. Chuchu calls Suletta a Spacian turd and tells her to never come back here.

Lauda apologizes to Guel about the Darilbalde being hauled away, but Guel knows that he’s just following Vim’s orders. Lauda suggests not doing anything else to upset Vim. Elan approaches a sullen Suletta and tells her she’s too easy to read. She explains that she can’t pass this exam without help, and Elan offers to let her join his House. Miorine then appears and tells Suletta that Elan is an enemy. She accuses the three main branches of the Benerit Group of wanting to get their hands on her, but Elan explains he has no interest in her. Miorine calls him a dummy prince, and Suletta chides her for that because he invited her to join his House. Elan explains that Suletta is looking for team members, and Miorine says she should’ve asked her. Miorine takes Suletta to her room, which used to belong to Delling. Miorine explains that she isn’t a member of any House, but she can function as both mechanic and spotter. Suletta notes that Miorine is majoring in management strategy, but Miorine quickly reads the support manuals to catch up on the topics. Suletta asks about Mobile Heavy Machinery Principles, and Miorine comments that it’s basic stuff. Miorine thinks that Suletta has more to worry about than she does, and Suletta vows to do her best. On Earth, Dilanza Sols are deployed to fire gas rounds into a crowd of laborers protesting against Spacian oppression. Protestors disperse in a panic as troops move in to arrest them. The next day, the Interplanetary News Network reports that business administrative laws were enforced against an “illegal occupation” by the workers, with eight ringleaders arrested and Molotov cocktails seized. Ojelo, Nuno and Martin watch the news, and when Ojelo asks what’s wrong with Earthians using Earthian factories, Martin notes that all the major media companies rely on Spacian capital. Elsewhere, Chuchu speaks to her friends on Earth and asks them about the protests, but they tell her not to worry about it and instead focus on her studies. Miorine wakes up in the middle of the night and finds Suletta still in her room studying. Miorine asks Suletta why she works so hard, and Suletta explains that her dream is to start a school on Mercury. There were previously several schools, but that changed as Mercury’s population dropped, and Miorine notes that’s expected since Permet can be mined on the Moon now. Suletta hopes a school will attract young people to Mercury, and she says everyone back home loved the idea and gave her good luck charms and messages. Miorine asks why she’s carrying such a burden, and Suletta answers that it’s what she wants to do. In the hangar, two Spacian girls vandalize Suletta’s Demi Trainer with the same masking spray. The next morning, Chuchu asks Suletta why she came to Earth House for help if she has Miorine to help and calls them Spacian turds. Miorine retorts that Chuchu is no different from the Spacians who discriminate against Earthians. Nika holds Chuchu back, and the instructor tells the students to get into their Demi Trainers for the makeup exam. Suletta goes first and is able to avoid several mines until the coating spray blacks out her main camera. Miorine reports the error and asks for the test to be postponed, but the instructor refuses. Miorine tells Suletta that she has to rely on her instrument readings to figure out which way to go. Miorine starts giving directions, but Suletta runs out of time and fails. Miorine asks for a retry since the makeup exam can be repeated. Suletta follows Miorine’s directions and hits a landmine, causing another failure. Suletta keeps trying multiple times and improves each time, but she’s ultimately discouraged by the mounting failures. An impatient Chuchu asks Miorine how long they’re going to take, and Suletta says she wants to give up and starts crying. Suletta says she was afraid to come to school and didn’t want to duel or stand out, and at this rate she’ll never graduate. Miorine tells Suletta to stand up and reminds her of the people counting on her. The two Spacian pranksters laugh at Suletta, so Chuchu gets out of her cockpit and knocks one of them out with a punch. Suletta gets out of her cockpit as Chuchu fights with the other girl, and Suletta takes a punch from the Spacian while trying to break up the fight. Afterward, Chuchu and Suletta are required to take the exam again. Nika asks Suletta to join the Earth House, and Chuchu grumbles that even though she’s a first-year student, she’d be Suletta’s senior in the House.

Commentary

The corporate politics mostly take a backseat in this episode, which settles in and focuses on Suletta’s school struggles. Guel acts like a jerk again, likely out of embarrassment that his proposal was broadcast to the entire student body, along with Suletta’s hilarious escape. This has a real consequence for his father, as the Jeturk company is losing standing in the Benerit Group. An Earth aside shows what a capitalist dystopia this world is, as “business administrative laws” are used to crack down on peaceful protesters demanding better working conditions and compensation. In the main story, Suletta faces bullying and other problems as she attempts to get a crew for this mobile suit training test. It seems surprising that she didn’t know she needed a crew, but this presents problems for her since no one wants to go up against the big Houses. Nika’s offer to help is ruined by Chuchu’s anger towards Spacians, which while justified against some is not justified against all. Two Spacian girls cause problems for Chuchu and Suletta, but the end result is that Chuchu sees Suletta isn’t like other Spacians. From the sounds of it, people on Mercury have more in common with Earthians than they do Spacians. In the end, the two Spacian pranksters got what they deserved, and they’ll probably think twice before acting stupidly again.

Overall Rating
4/5

The Witch from Mercury Info

Director:
Hiroshi Kobayashi

Writer:
Ichiro Okouchi

Mechanical Designer(s):
JNTHED
Kanetake Ebikawa
Wataru Inata
Ippei Gyoubu
Kenji Teraoka
Ko Inaba
Takayuki Yanase

Character Designer(s):
Marie Tagashira
Juri Toida
Hirotoshi Takaya

Musical Composer:
Takashi Ohmama

Format:
25 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 10.02.2022 – 01.08.2023 (S1); 04.09.2023 – 07.02.2023 (S2)
Streaming 10.02.2022 – 01.08.2023 (S1); 04.09.2023 – 07.02.2023 (S2)

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