MacrossReviews

Macross Ep. 20: Paradise Lost

0
Summary

Deep in space, Britai and Boddole Zer view the footage from the battle between the Macross and Kamjin. Boddole Zer tells Britai that there is disorder among the ranks, so he wants him to go back and take charge. Britai agrees, but he also asks to be given command of the Adoclas fleet of 1,200 ships just in case. Britai and Exsedol return to their ship, and they wonder if 1,200 extra ships will be enough. Britai’s fleet leaves the mothership and begins fold operations to return to Earth. On Earth, Sea Sergeant helicopters and Avenger II planes offload crates of supplies to the Macross. In his quarters, Hikaru tries to write a letter to Kakizaki’s parents to inform them that he is dead, but he is unable to and begins to cry. Max knocks on his door, and they decide to go outside. Max doesn’t understand why he’s being promoted and given a team, and Hikaru explains that it’s because he himself has been promoted to squadron commander. On the deck, they watch a Comanchero officer transport helicopter land and wonder what’s going on. Max wonders if the rumors are true that they’ll have to leave Earth. As the sun sets, Max comments that it might be the last one they ever see. Deep inside the ship, Loli and Conda work on a Regult while Warera makes beef stew. They eat their last meal while listening to Minmay and think about how they may never see Vanessa, Kim or Shammy again. In his office, Global examines the orders handed down by U.N. Spacy High Command. According to the orders, the Macross is to leave Earth within 24 hours or face an attack from U.N. Spacy. Misa comes into his office, and he tells her he never expected U.N. Spacy to force the civilians into this. He asks Misa to contact MBS, and he also calls the bridge and orders Claudia to prepare to launch. Britai’s fleet de-folds on the dark side of the moon, which is the signal for the spies to leave the Macross. The three split the controls of the Regult and blast out of the ship. They then travel through the water and eject the Regult’s legs to fly into space.

The radar room picks up the massive de-fold of the Adaclos fleet on the dark side of the moon. On the bridge, Vanessa estimates that there are at least a thousand ships in the fleet. The radar room also picks up the Regult as a UFO, and it also picks up another UFO rendezvousing with the Regult to pick it up. Global orders Claudia to scramble Valkyries, and she scolds Kim and Shammy for complaining about the number of enemies. No word has come in from U.N. Spacy, and Global sees they’re being thrown to the wolves. Shammy asks what U.N. Spacy is going to do, and he says they probably want the Macross to get destroyed so that they can open up negotiations with the Zentradi. Britai contacts Laplamiz and tells her he will taking command. He says he’s heard about her problems, and she tells him to be quiet unless he can do better. He and Exsedol then leave to hear the report from Loli, Conda and Warera. They show him items they’ve brought back from the Macross such as TV’s, pianos and refrigerators. Britai and Exsedol are astonished to hear about how men and women interact, and Britai doesn’t want to hear any more. Exsedol wants to see the Macross, but Britai says that presents problems, so he’ll have to settle for a report from the spies. They return to their quarters and pull out all the stuff they hid from Britai like TVs and Minmay dolls. They call in other soldiers and give them candy and show them the Minmay dolls. On Earth, Global goes on air from the MBS station and explains to the citizens how his requests regarding them have been repeatedly ignored. He tells them that if they don’t leave they’ll be attacked by U.N. Spacy, and he says they can’t fight Earth. The citizens become angry, and Global says he doesn’t enough know how he can apologize to them. Minmay runs to his side and tells everyone to stick together because the Macross is their home now. She sings a song that is broadcast across Earth, and the Macross takes off and heads for space.

Commentary

This episode continues the dark mood established in the previous two and provides some important plot developments. As expected, the Macross is banished from Earth, and I guess that’s what happens when you destroy a city, even if by accident. Also, Britai finally is back in the action after being out of sight for several episodes. Perhaps he can bring some control back to the mess that Laplamiz can’t seem to control. The three spies return to their posts, and they don’t seem happy about it. There is one plot hole that I find curious. They were delivered to the Macross by Milia in her Queadluun-Rau. So where exactly did they get (and hide) a Regult to escape with? That doesn’t seem to make much sense.

Original Review: May 1, 2000

Overall Rating
4/5
Macross Info


Director:
Noboru Ishiguro

Writer(s):
Hiroshi Ohnogi
Shoji Kawamori
Noboru Ishiguro
Sukehiro Tomita
Kenichi Matsuzaki

Mechanical Designer(s):
Shoji Kawamori
Kazutaka Miyatake

Character Designer:
Haruhiko Mikimoto

Musical Composer:
Kentaroh Haneda

Format:
36 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 10.03.1982 – 06.26.1983

Comments

Comments are closed.