Ok, that was different, in a good way. Probably shouldn't have been surprised that the powers that be on the ships are letting Pinon go power crazy - that's going to end poorly
As for Kugel, I'm not sure what side his "friends" are on. Yes, they have dead Whalesquid all over the place but they're also dressed up to look like Whalesquid. That could mean they are pro-Whalesquid, just as likely as anti. Where I'm coming from on this is if you think about other cultures like American Indians, African, or Pacific Islander from 200+ years ago, you sometimes see groups from those who dress up as the things they worship when they when they go to fight, as well as bringing totems of the spirits they follow with them (such as a bunch of dead Whalesquid who look like they've been persevered or something).
Big Disclaimer: What I'm talking about above here is informed more by modern media verse hard facts. I'm not about to claim this is a truthful or accurate portrayal of real native peoples and apologies to anyone before hand if I'm getting some of this wrong. Keep in mind that the writers of this show are most likely coming from the same Western influenced media background that I do and that is what I think is important in what I'm trying to convey. Specifically, what I got from the sequence where the Whalesquid dressed up people, with their painted up faces and expressions that looked like they might a bit crazy (or have ingested something to get into a altered state), along with their collection of dead, very embalmed looking, Whalesquid collection, reminded me of similar sequences I've seen in films where groups of natives attack the interlopers for killing something they see as sacred. From movies like 1933s King Kong to James Cameron's Avatar you get similar types of sequences that pop up in them. So how I interpreted what I was seeing was "oh great, here come the Squid Cult and it looks like Kugel has gone native and joined there side" response. Really, Kugel should have contacted Ledo long before now, seeing the MC's have better radio reception. Unless somethings wrong with Kugel Mecha (I'm not sure it's a MC actually, but even if it's not it should have a similar AI unit) but it does seem to me Kugel hasn't been looking to go home quite as much as Ledo has/had (because one would think Chamber would have picked up multiple outgoing signals). So while I wouldn't rule out that Kugel and Co are simply there to join the Whalesquid killing spree, I think it is as likely they're there to stop them from desecrating the "holy lands." I think that might also make sense from the perspective of what Chamber was saying, as well (i.e. it may show that while it would be nice to co-exist, it often isn't a option no matter how hard we want it to be).
Which takes me to Chamber in this episode. Wow! It was a really nice twist that Ledo's AI seems to really be as semi sentient/sapient as he appeared in earlier episodes (to me that is). I believe the AI when it tells us that it came to the conclusions it tells Ledo on its own. While I don't know if I 100% agree with Chambers take on how things really are and how they should proceed, Chamber is making a number valid points. I also feel reassured after his discussion that Chamber really is capable of being reasoned with and some of the things he said I'm really iffy on might be settled with some extended discussion on the subject. One thing I find a problem with Chambers argument is that they have to kill all of the Whalesquid because they're Hidiousze. I feel there is a middle path that could be found for the Whalesqiuds because as Chamber said himself, they've de-evolved from the Hidiouze that they battled in space. Maybe a 100% no-kill situation can't be reached (or maybe it can but I'm not sure that is possible either) but there is no need to waste resources on such a campaign, either, at least at this point.
The world of Gargantia was never perfect, IMO. It just seemed that way because the Gargantia itself was in a time of peace. The group with Kugel didn't just appear - they must have been hovering around that area for years. As well the pirate situation is was also going to blow up at some point. Everything hinged on a status quo that was going to get unbalanced sooner or later. To stay the same would be the stagnate but to change brings on strife between people and there may not be a way for that to ever be resolved (I feel this is part of what Chamber is trying to say with his speech). This show is really putting out a lot of deep thinking thoughts about humanity and why things are the way they are, at this point. How the show handles all of these ideas is going to make or break the ending of this show IMO.
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