Ennil is about to shoot Garrod, but the city is rocked from explosions as the battle between Olba, Witz and Roabea spreads to Fort Severn. Tiffa jumps on Garrod and knocks him to the floor just before an explosion destroys the window they were standing next to. Garrod asks Carris to come with them, but he and Tiffa are forced to jump out the window when Ennil starts shooting. Carris stands there in a daze until Nomoa orders him to scramble in the Bertigo and get Tiffa back. Garrod sees the GX Divider fighting the Gundam Ashtaron in the sky, and Tiffa tells him that Jamil is the pilot. On the Freeden, the bridge crew is surprised that Jamil is piloting the GX Divider. Techs explains that Jamil asked him and Kid to help him conquer his cockpit phobia. Olba tries to chase after Jamil, but Witz and Roabea attack him. Jamil picks up Garrod and Tiffa and takes them to safety. Carris approaches in the Bertigo, and Jamil tells Garrod to watch. Carris is confused because Nomoa lied to him, but he convinces himself that Nomoa is all he has. He launches his bits and says that no Oldtype can defeat him. The bits surround Jamil and begin firing, but he maneuvers quickly and dodges all of their attacks. He then fires the beam machine gun and destroys the bits one-by-one. Carris wonders if Jamil is a Newtype, but he doesn’t believe it because he can’t sense Jamil. Garrod is amazed by Jamil’s ability to destroy the bits, and Tiffa tells him that Jamil isn’t using any Newtype power. Olba is momentarily distracted by the Bertigo and gets blasted by the Gundam Leopard. Carris pulls out his beam saber and charges toward Jamil, but he suddenly stops when he has a seizure. As a side effect of being an artificial Newtype, Carris is afflicted with Synapse Syndrome. He quickly programs the Bertigo to take him back to Fort Severn on autopilot. Shagia tells Olba telepathically that he’s already done enough and should come back. Olba objects, and Shagia reminds him of their mission and says he’s done enough by spotting an S.R.A. Newtype weapon, so Olba retreats. Afterwards, Witz wants to have a party in the bar, but Garrod wants to first explain what he learned in Fort Severn. Ennil asks Nomoa how long it will take for Carris to recover, and Nomoa says it should be about one day. He tells her that Carris usually feels the effects of Synapse Syndrome once a month, but this time the cycle was shorter because of Tiffa’s presence. On the Freeden, Garrod explains Nomoa’s plot to the crew. Roabea wonders why anyone is still talking about colonies if they all fell 15 years ago, but Sara says there’s no guarantee all the colonies were dropped. Jamil thinks this is the perfect time for Nomoa to strike because the world is still in chaos and no one can stop him. Nomoa decides to have Carris pilot the Patulia, and he tells Ennil that Carris is pure minded and will be easy to fool. On the Freeden, Tiffa joins Garrod on the mobile suit hangar because she can’t sleep.
The next morning, Carris wakes up and exits the medical pod. At breakfast, Nomoa tells him that the Vultures have learned about the Patulia and must be destroyed. Carris asks Nomoa about Tiffa and remembers that Nomoa told him all the Newtypes created for the 7th Space War died. However, Tiffa’s powers are natural, so Carris accuses Nomoa of lying to him. He asks if that’s why Nomoa forbade him from being near Tiffa, but Nomoa says it’s because she doesn’t understand the idea of world conquest. Carris asks if powers are really being used to that end, and Nomoa tells him he is. Carris leaves to patrol the city and senses Nomoa’s thoughts. As he flies over the city in the Bertigo, he thinks about what Garrod told him about wanting power and heads for the Freeden. On the Freeden, Garrod says he doesn’t want to fight Carris because he can understand Carris’ desire to have power. Jamil tells him that when someone strays from the path of mankind, you hit that person to correct them. He tells Garrod to remember the frozen lake, and Garrod realizes he has to fight Carris. Tiffa senses Carris just as his Bertigo appears in front of the ship. Witz and Roabea are excited to have another chance to fight Carris, but Tiffa tells them he’s come for Garrod. Garrod launches in the GX Divider and says to himself that he can’t lose for Carris’ sake. Garrod fires his beam machine gun, but Carris dodges and deploys his bits. Garrod dodges some of the bits, but he’s hit and lands on the ground. He attaches the divider to his backpack and uses the extra thrust to dodge the bits, but Carris says an upgrade like that won’t help him. Garrod comes under fire from the bits and tries to remember how Jamil fought earlier. He concentrates and shoots at the bits, scoring a direct hit. He continues attacking until he destroys all the bits. Carris is shocked and can’t believe that he’s losing to an Oldtype. Garrod’s beam machine gun runs out of power, so he pulls out his beam sword to block Carris’ beam saber. The two fight in a cloud of snow, but the fight ends when Garrod slices off the Bertigo’s left arm. Carris says to himself that he has no regrets now. He sensed Nomoa’s thoughts earlier and realized that he was just Nomoa’s tool of revenge. He pulls out a pistol and unloads the magazine and the bullet in the chamber. He figures that this will put the souls of those who died in Nomoa’s experiments at ease. Garrod manually opens the Bertigo’s cockpit, and when he sees Carris aiming a gun at him, he draws his own gun and shoots Carris in the chest.
This action-packed episode has several high points in it. First, Jamil pilots the GX Divider, and we really get to see his skills for the first time as he fights Olba and Carris. He may not have piloted a mobile suit in years, but his skills are still at a high level. That he is able to defeat Carris’ bits without any Newtype power proves to be the key for Garrod learning to do the same. That’s illustrated by Garrod’s much-improved piloting this time out against Carris. Carris is confused at the beginning of the episode, but he realizes that Nomoa’s been lying to him all along and is using him. That’s why he fights Garrod, to put an end to everything. He also thinks death is the answer to his problems, which is why he tricks Garrod into helping him attempt suicide. That would certainly put a dent in Nomoa’s plans, but things won’t end here.
Original Review: August 18, 2000
Gundam X Info
Director:
Shinji Takamatsu
Writer:
Hiroyuki Kawasaki
Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Junya Ishigaki
Character Designer:
Nobuyoshi Nishimura
Musical Composer:
Yasuo Higuchi
Format:
39 episodes
Airdates:
Japan 04.05.1996 – 12.28.1996
Comments