By Shinn lands the Force Impulse near a lake and walks into it. He gets onto the hand places Stella’s body in the water. He cries and says that now she won’t have to suffer anymore. As Stella’s body descends into the water, Shinn cries over not being able to protect her. In Berlin, ZAFT soldiers provide emergency aid to the survivors. On the Minerva, Talia discusses the situation with Arthur and believes that the Alliance has gone too far. Arthur believes it’s good that Durandal doesn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the last war, but he thinks it would be better to hurry up and defeat the people they have to eventually fight. Athrun roams the ship’s corridors and stops at Shinn and Rey’s quarters. He sees Shinn examining battle footage of the Freedom Gundam and asks him what he’s doing. Shinn explains that he is creating a battle simulation for fighting against the Freedom Gundam. He believes it is the most powerful mobile suit in the world and thinks it would be helpful to train with it as an opponent. Athrun asks him why he would do that when Kira isn’t their enemy. Rey steps in and says that Shinn is right. He reminds Athrun that Kira destroyed the Tannhauser, caused Heine’s death and wrecked the Saviour Gundam. Because they can’t know what his intentions are, it’s best to be prepared. Rey asks Athrun if he has any useful information on the Freedom Gundam, but Shinn says he doesn’t need any help from a loser. After Athrun storms off, Shinn vows that he will destroy the Freedom Gundam. On the Archangel, Kira visits the infirmary, where Murrue and Murdoch are watching over sleeping Neo. Murrue tells Kira that genetic tests confirm Neo is Mu La Flaga. Neo suddenly wakes up and asks them how it is they’ve demoted him from Colonel to Major. Murrue steps back, and Neo asks her if she’s been taken by him. Murrue begins to cry and runs out of the infirmary. Kira and Murdoch follow her and find Miriallia consoling her. Murdoch believes that Mu lost his memories, but Kira thinks they were altered. Murdoch thinks that Mu without his memories could be crueler to Murrue than if he were dead.
Athrun walks through the mobile suit hangar and thinks about what Shinn said regarding the Freedom Gundam. Lunamaria asks him what’s wrong, but he says he’s fine. She says that Shinn was let off the hook again for flying off on his own. She thinks it’ll cause problems if Shinn is allowed to do whatever he wants just because he’s a super ace. Athrun asks her if she wants him to talk to Talia about it, but she say’s he’s wrong. She tells Athrun he’s capable of more and should work harder. She tells him that if he uses his power and authority to do the things he wants, Shinn will respect him and become more obedient. At Aprilius One, Durandal begins a news conference that is broadcast across the PLANTs and all of Earth. He tells people that there is an information gap between the countries, so he shows video footage of ZAFT fighting against the Destroy Gundam in Berlin. He says that the Alliance’s excuse was they wanted to liberate Western Eurasia from ZAFT, but he asks if such destruction really is liberation. Furious, Djibril orders that the broadcast be cut off. The crew of the Minerva watch the broadcast, and Athrun notices that the Freedom Gundam has been edited out. Durandal says that ZAFT did support those who wanted to break free of the Alliance, but he says it was for humanitarian reasons. Meer joins the news conference and says that the war was set up by extremist Coordinators. She says she understands if it was unavoidable that grief ignited the war, but she says that she thinks all humanity desires to live in peace. Durandal goes on to say that there is a reason why the world can’t achieve lasting peace. He says the blame falls on the military industrial complex, Logos, which has been manipulating world events and is the cause of major wars. He explains that even Blue Cosmos is just a tool used by Logos. He then displays photos and names of all Logos members, including Djibril. Durandal says that Logos wants people to fight for their profit, and he vows that ZAFT will fight Logos to bring peace to the world. Across Earth, people take up arms and chant Durandal’s name.
In many ways, this episode is a turning point for the series. On the character front, it is finally confirmed that Neo really is Mu. It’s well known now that the image of Mu’s helmet floating in space after the destruction of the Strike Gundam was removed in the Special Edition of SEED. Given that fact, I would presume that the Alliance rescued him after the battle, and they probably used the Extended brainwashing technology to alter his memories. The question is, are Mu’s real memories submerged within his mind, or were they erased? I find that I have to disagree with Murdoch’s statement about Mu. If you loved someone and thought they were dead for two years, wouldn’t the simple fact that they’re alive outweigh the reality of that person losing their memories? Following Stella’s burial in the water, Shinn is determined to take down the Freedom Gundam. At this point, I’m disappointed that Athrun continues to be so weak-willed and indecisive. Ever since he lost the Saviour Gundam, he’s just been moping about. Plot wise, Durandal’s announcement about Logos significantly changes the nature of the war. Up to now, ZAFT has mainly been fighting to defend itself from the Alliance. Now, ZAFT is going on the offensive to destroy Logos. Given the debacle with the Destroy Gundam, it looks like many people on Earth will support ZAFT.
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