Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Episode 08 Discussion / Poll

[LightningZERO]

Why must Marina interrupted the standoff between Setsuna and the police? I want to see what Setsuna will do!

[ashlay]

Originally Posted by LightningZERO

Why must Marina interrupted the standoff between Setsuna and the police? I want to see what Setsuna will do!

you know, speaking of that, why doesn't Setsuna have a fake ID on him?

what, celestial being has agents all over the world, massive funding, and the ability to hack information networks, but they can't provide the gundam meisters with some fake IDs?

[LightningZERO]

I think Setsuna has fake ID, it's just his gun and the police saw him firing it is the problem

[SoldierOfDarkness]

No actually he just doesn't want to get frisked. You can tell by the way the cop was moving in on him

Pretty sure he has some ID. I mean you can't rent a vehicle like that without SOME sort of identification.

[Pride]

Edit: Oh wait, nevermind.

[ashlay]

Originally Posted by SoldierOfDarkness

No actually he just doesn't want to get frisked. You can tell by the way the cop was moving in on him

Pretty sure he has some ID. I mean you can't rent a vehicle like that without SOME sort of identification.

"don't touch me!"

alright...now that actually makes some more sense. Setsuna is the type that'd act irritated and then proceed to kill someone at the prospect of being touched...

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by ashlay

"don't touch me!"

alright...now that actually makes some more sense. Setsuna is the type that'd act irritated and then proceed to kill someone at the prospect of being touched...

That's probably part of what kept him alive in a war-zone. But obviously not so good a habit in a civilian setting.

[Phantom-Takaya]

IF he and Marina were to get together...or any girl for that matter... That "don't touch me!" attitude would be quite a problem.

Either way, like I said, good episode. Felt was obviously the cuteness factor in this one. Sumeragi was the...uh..distraction? Marina and Setsuna was the drama. And of course, action at every other scene. Pretty good mixture. One could just wish it lasted longer than 30 minutes.

Oh, and Saji and Louise. Are they or are they not going out or something? All indications point to no, they're not, but there's something there? We all know Louise has a crush on Saji, but Saji's feelings isn't exactly all out there for everyone to see. We just know he cares enough to protect her from an explosion.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Phantom-Takaya

Oh, and Saji and Louise. Are they or are they not going out or something? All indications point to no, they're not, but there's something there? We all know Louise has a crush on Saji, but Saji's feelings isn't exactly all out there for everyone to see. We just know he cares enough to protect her from an explosion.

I think the two of them know that Louise would soon return for Spain when she graduate, and that both sides have doubts on being able to maintain a relationship over that kind of distance. So neither is willing to make a full emotional investment, because it would hurt too much when they eventually go their separate ways.

Essentially, they do love each other; they just don't know if they love each other enough to make it work out in the long run.

[Owaranai Destiny]

Man...Setsuna really is a glutton for punishment...That is, if Tieria found out what he just did with Marina.

Even though it might seem expected that Setsuna's a little unexpectedly rash despite displaying a certain level of calmness in earlier episodes. Goes to show he's still quite green.

The fanservice wasn't too bad, actually, and I'm starting to actually take POSITIVE notice of a pink-haired girl here. The highlight of the episode was obviously Marina meeting Setsuna, and despite everything, it seemed as though both of them did foolish things that would make quite a few people go 'WTF'. For one thing, While Setsuna might look to be a citizen of Azadistan, the fact that the terrorist threat still present is undeniable, and doing something like saving an unidentified and definitely suspicious person sounds pretty illogical. As for Setsuna...Well, what are the bets on his revealing of his true identity to Ali Al Serges the next time they meet?

The last scene somehow makes me think that despite his apparent 'emotional instability' due to what happened in his past, Setsuna might have a hidden desire to want to show off a little, or at least to bring his point across.

[Phantom-Takaya]

Well, that's one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is that they're trying to show how concerned Marina is for her people, considering the fact that she originally thought that Setsuna was from her nation. As for her security, there seems to be clues that they serve under Marina and it's unknown what was exchanged to cause them to easily turn around and come to Setsuna's aid.

As for Setsuna, I also wondered why they'd dispatch him when they were going to dispatch other agents as well. Besides that, it seems Setsuna tried to get a clearer shot of the car by exiting his vehicle. Unfortunately, they managed to gain some distance before he could fire. Now, this is where we delve into what if territory. If the police didn't show up, would he have given pursuit? We don't know since it's not how the director/screen writer wanted to play it off. Either way, it made for good tension and certain events to happen.

Now, yet again, I watched the episode for the third time and I found it rather interesting how scared Marina looked when Exia was flying overhead. I wonder if Setsuna's trying to traumatize her. Either way, I don't think she's going to get any good sleep for a while because of this.

[Selic]

Originally Posted by Owaranai Destiny

As for Setsuna...Well, what are the bets on his revealing of his true identity to Ali Al Serges the next time they meet?

Probably not. Rather, Setsuna will reveal himself right before killing Ali. Of course, if Ali isn't getting killed off relatively early, he'll probably somehow escape, probably due to a third party (Graham perhaps) butting in.

[Owaranai Destiny]

Originally Posted by Selic

Probably not. Rather, Setsuna will reveal himself right before killing Ali. Of course, if Ali isn't getting killed off relatively early, he'll probably somehow escape, probably due to a third party (Graham perhaps) butting in.

With Ali's showing in the custom Enact against Exia, I'd be surprised if he's the earliest to be KIA. Besides, the vibes coming from him seem to suggest that he might be a constant thorn in Setsuna's side until someone manages to get him to throw off his past and stop tormenting himself (and some viewers, of course) with flashbacks about his nightmarish childhood.

The one scene were he was talking to the older boy, though, gave rise to a particular thought:

Spoiler:

It would seem apparent that Setsuna had snapped out of Ali's propaganda talk and realised that he had done something terrible, which might be the reason why he seemed so different as compared to the previous episode, where he shot his parents just to join the "Holy" war.

[Ascaloth]

Originally Posted by Owaranai Destiny

With Ali's showing in the custom Enact against Exia, I'd be surprised if he's the earliest to be KIA. Besides, the vibes coming from him seem to suggest that he might be a constant thorn in Setsuna's side until someone manages to get him to throw off his past and stop tormenting himself (and some viewers, of course) with flashbacks about his nightmarish childhood.

Fixed for accuracy.

Anyway, from the comments I've been hearing about this episode....hmmm. I don't like what I'm hearing about Setsuna and Marina, and I have a feeling I'll be voting below 5 just for that.

For now, let's wait until the subs come out.

[SuperKnuckles]

Oh wow. Gundam does swimsuit eps just like every anime out right now. And does it well.

[dreamless]

well, I also found the Setsuna and Marina meeting and talking part quite strange at first, but then after some thoughts, I realized that it's very fitting for their characters, and a nice way to show how they meet and react to each other

[kari-no-sugata]

A couple of thoughts on the ep...

Lockon definitely goes "no more Mr Nice Guy" when it comes to terrorists. Though some might not see much difference between what he does and blowing up random civilians, I'd say there is a real difference. However, if CB ever does cross the line (from Lockon's point of view), I think he would turn on CB very quickly.

I wonder if the Gundam's can be shut down remotely, or similar, in case a pilot turns on them..?


I think it's best for people not to compare Setsuna and Marina to characters from other Gundam series so much. I certainly do not think they are intended to mirror other characters.

Last week I wrote:

It's going to be interesting to see how Marina fits into all this. There's a bit of a "healing hands" vibe around her, though given the age difference, she may end up more like a mother figure to Setsuna (I wonder if she's taller than him?). If the OP is any guide, it seems more like she gives him hope about the world - restores his humanity, sort of thing.

I still think this is the most likely scenario...

I also wrote:

The background in Marina's shot looks European to me. Is Setsuna taking a break in Europe this time? (Besides which, what's the reason for him going to normal places anyway? We haven't seen the other Meisters do the same. Maybe they can but don't want to? Maybe Veda wants Setsuna to experience some normality? Maybe it's just a plot-hole)

In Setsuna's shot, he's either projecting cold realism or some kind of generic hostility, I'd say. Marina's face makes me think it's the former, but it could easily be neither.

Interesting question would be - why is Marina seemingly alone? Did she go for a wander by herself? (seems a bit unlikely) Did something occur (random terrorist bombing?) that separated her from her escorts? Why do they seem to be alone in some kind of park?

I wonder if Setsuna drops a hint that he's with CB. I wonder if anything he says pushes Marina towards requesting CB's help at all. But if places around the world are being randomly bombed because of CB, I doubt she'd want to call them in to her country, even if she trusted them a bit...

[edit] Additional: One idea I had is that maybe Setsuna is relaying his experiences as a child. I doubt he has much faith, if any, in "government". For Ali to have turned a large number of boys against their parents, the situation must have been rather desperate - certainly the village/town looks poor and run-down. With a war going on, there might have been starvation etc. Having just been reminded of his childhood, I don't think Setsuna is going to be well disposed to some well-intentioned but (currently) ineffective leader. I expect Marina to be facing some rather pointed criticism that she'll be reflecting on later.

I was right about Europe. Totally wrong about why Setsuna was there (actual situation was much more interesting and less contrived). Setsuna dropped more than a "hint" that he was with CB though I didn't even guess at all that their two countries had been enemies. The actual scene was definitely better than my idle speculation.

Setsuna doesn't seem to hold strong feelings of revenge against Marina or her country though. He didn't even particularly react to find out she's the leader of the country that destroyed his country. He certainly could have killed her if he felt like it, but seems quite indifferent to the idea - won't change anything.

So, why did he tell her he's a Gundam Meister working for CB? He mentioned it after she called him by the fake name he gave her.

I could simply put it down to bad writing, but overall I think the series has been written pretty well. So instead, I have the following theory: While he acts indifferent and so on, there is a part of him that is desperate to be recognised or respected. There does seem to be a bit of a running theme after all - Lockon treating him to milk, Tieria's general dissatisfaction, and Setsuna's two fly-bys (one by the US fleet in ep 3 and one in this ep).

When Setsuna told Marina he was with CB, I think it was because he wanted to be taken seriously.

(Marina probably feels the same way some times...)

btw, I don't find it too unreasonable that Marina went looking out for Setsuna. She's the leader of her country, and also royalty, and even on a mission to try to help her country. It's not that surprising she looked out for someone she thought was from her own country. I don't think she realised exactly what Setsuna was doing (neither did that cop) - after all, she thought he might be sightseeing.

As a side note, people refer to her as "hime" (princess) and not queen.

[lubczyk]

I was really hoping that Setsuna and Marina would develop a Mother/Son complex. Oh Well. . You'd think that Gundam would be just the show to get away with pushing the envelope on broadcast television.

[Ori]

Originally Posted by Phantom-Takaya

Well, that's one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is that they're trying to show how concerned Marina is for her people, considering the fact that she originally thought that Setsuna was from her nation. As for her security, there seems to be clues that they serve under Marina and it's unknown what was exchanged to cause them to easily turn around and come to Setsuna's aid.

That's certainly a way of looking at the meeting that I didn't think about.

Maybe Marina never actually get a chance to talk to people in her country with her advisor around, and that's why she jumped at the chance when she saw him.

Either that or she is interested in knowing more about the midset of a terrorist... seeing how many there are in her country.

[kari-no-sugata]

Originally Posted by Ori

Maybe Marina never actually get a chance to talk to people in her country with her advisor around, and that's why she jumped at the chance when she saw him.

I get the impression that Marina has been well educated, is certainly not stupid and can see the "big picture"... but doesn't have much real world experience.

Setsuna is pretty much the opposite. Little eduction (until joined CB most likely), and rather too much real world experience.

I wonder what she's going to do. I doubt she'll simply wait for CB to turn up. I can see her getting frustrated and making a public statement along the lines of "if you don't stop screwing up our county, we'll never get solar power, and before long CB will turn up and kill the lot of you (and some innocents too)". Unless she does something quite bold, I don't think there's much chance she'll meet Setsuna again.