In New Yark City, Garma and Char attend a party filled with social elites. People kiss up to Garma and ask about when his father will visit. Garma has a drink with Char, and Char asks about former Mayor Joseph Eschonbach. Garma explains that he hates the Zeon but stayed behind to watch over the citizens. Garma’s girlfriend Icelina enters the room, and she happens to be Eschonbach’s daughter. Garma runs off to be with her, and Char thinks to himself again that Garma is a spoiled rich kid. Nearby, the White Base flies through the ruins of the city to hide from the Zeon. Amuro wants to distract them and lead them away with the Gundam, but Bright disagrees. Amuro objects, and Bright says it’s too dangerous to use the Gundam as a distraction. Garma talks to Icelina privately and tells her that if the Gundam is captured, his father won’t get in the way of their marriage. However, if his father does disapprove, Garma vows that he will abandon Zeon for Icelina. Garma is told that the White Base is nearby, and he gives orders for his Gaw to be ready to launch. Icelina doesn’t want him to go, but he says he has to capture the White Base before it reaches the sea. He and Char head out in the Gaw to fight and fire flares to light up the city ruins and find the White Base. When the ruins are lit up, Bright sees a sports stadium and has Mirai hide the ship inside and shut down all systems. The civilians get angry and want to leave again, but Fraw convinces them to settle down. Char suggests carpet bombing to flush them out, and the Gaw begins dropping bombs over the ruins. Amuro, Kai, Hayato and Ryu sit inside their suits and wonder if they will survive this battle. Icelina tries to get in her jet to join Garma, and her father stops her. She says she can do what she wants, and he slaps her and forbids her to join Garma.
The carpet bombing continues, and the White Base is nowhere to be found. Garma is impatient and wants to go down himself to search, but Char offers to go down instead. He tells Garma not to let his feelings for a woman cloud his judgment. Garma thinks that he is perfectly calm and collected. Char launches in his custom Zaku with two other Zakus as wingmen, and Bright changes his mind about Amuro’s plan. Amuro launches first and uses the ruins to hide while he searches for the Zakus. Char feels uneasy about misleading his own men, but when he spots the Gundam he attacks. Amuro hides and is attacked by the Zakus. He destroys one of the Zakus through a building with his hyper bazooka, and the other attacks with its heat hawk. He jumps in the air, and Char wonders where Amuro’s going. He’s never seen the Gundam run away, so he jumps up and sees that the White Base is behind it. He decides to use this for his revenge and tells Garma that the Gundam is returning to the ship. Garma moves in behind the Gundam to attack the White Base. Amuro manages to destroy the other Zaku on the ground. Bright has the ship come out of the stadium, and he has the ship’s cannons, the Guntank and Guncannon concentrate their fire on the Gaw. Garma is surprised by an attack from behind, and he decides to turn around and make a suicide run. Char tells Garma that he was a good friend and should blame his father and the misfortune of his birth. Garma can’t believe that Char has betrayed him. The White Base ascends quickly, and the Gaw explodes before impact. Eschonbach receives a call and tells Icelina that Garma is dead. She runs away and collapses in tears out in the garden. At Zum City in Side 3, Sovereign Degwin Sodo Zabi is shocked to hear that his son is dead and is speechless.
This is probably the best episode so far in the series and is a true turning point in the story. This entire episode was in the movie, and it was one of my favorite parts. Char’s disdain for Garma finally culminates in this episode with his shocking betrayal. It seems like he really did consider Garma to be a friend, but he has a grudge against Degwin Zabi. It’s definitely a deep hatred if he’s willing to kill a friend to get his revenge. Another great thing about this episode is that it shows another side to Garma. He’s not just an opportunistic kid trying to impress his sister, he’s a normal human being who loves and has his own concerns. That he was willing to abandon Zeon for Icelina makes him a sympathetic character and his death all the more tragic. That’s what makes this series great and sets it apart from others.
Mobile Suit Gundam Info
Director(s):
Yoshiyuki Tomino
Ryoji Fujiwara (movie 1)
Writer(s):
Yoshiyuki Tomino
Masaru Yamamoto
Kenichi Matsuzaki
Yoshihisa Araki
Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Mechanical Designer(s):
Kunio Okawara
Yoshiyuki Tomino
Character Designer:
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Musical Composer(s):
Yuji Matsuyama
Takeo Watanabe
Format:
43 episodes; 3 compilation movies
Airdates:
Japan 04.07.1979 – 01.26.1980
U.S. 07.23.2001 – 09.12.2001
Theatrical Release:
Japan 03.14.1981 – 03.13.1982
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