Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - Anime Episode Discussion

[foxbox360]

Originally Posted by Router25

Why do I also feel Prospera's helmet is some type of mind control device.

It might be given the fictional character she based on!

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Marina2

Nika won't kill that guy to silence him right..?

Nah. She's really just a normal girl being blackmailed. I was actually surprised she didn't even know about the Earthian Witches.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by Der Langrisser

I think the problem for Miorine isn't that Suletta splattered a guy into red paste, but the fact she acts like it was nothing, like she was just playing around, all smiles and sunshine...

Yeah, that's what I initially thought, but the fact that Miorine called her a murderer and had "that" look on her face even before Suletta got out of the cockpit made me think otherwise.

Originally Posted by Marina2

Nika won't kill that guy to silence him right..?

Haha, I was just about to post that . Thought the same thing. But there's no guarantee there isn't anyone behind him in the adjacent hall; I don't think she'll do it. I do think he'll keep quiet, even if she can't figure out a good excuse to tell him.

Originally Posted by Kanon

Nah. She's really just a normal girl being blackmailed.

We sure about this? I don't remember the specific details, but my memory is telling me it got the impression that they are "siblings"(orphanage perhaps), or maybe indebted is the better word, and that she's willing to do, well, maybe not "whatever", but a lot if Shaddiq needed it.

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by frubam

We sure about this? I don't remember the specific details, but my memory is telling me it got the impression that they are "siblings"(orphanage perhaps), or maybe indebted is the better word, and that she's willing to do, well, maybe not "whatever", but a lot if Shaddiq needed it.

There's always been very strong hints that Nika truly resents the way Spacians treat Earthers, yet she holds it all back in order to not make waves at the school, unlike Chuchu. There's also no question at all that Nika is the commanding authority of Earth House.

I think there is zero doubt that she knows the Dawn of Fold members personally. In episode 10, Shaddiq tells Nika that, "Your father figure says hello."

The question is whether or not she's formally one of them and was sent to the school to learn the mechanic trade, or if she was offered to join but declined.

Given that she knows the callsign codes to use on the signal lights, the latter option seems pretty slim.

[Twi]

Okay, review done.

Umm... where do I begin? Guel's traumatized. Mio's traumatized. Su's going to be traumatized given that ending. Delling surprisingly avoided death. Vim didn't. Nika got caught meaning she has to either convince Martin not to squeal or silence him, so no more big sis Nika. I'll be genuinely surprised if this doesn't result in a war or more oppression toward Earthians, which will spark more hostilities.

All because Shaddiq didn't take his dad's advice and sit this one out. Dude, you single-handedly ruined everyone's relationships and lives as collateral damage. I respected you and this is how you betray me!

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by kuroyanagi

Lots of new bits of foreshadowing, but this part about Delling was particularly interesting.

Spoiler for Delling:

This closely mirrors what happened in the prologue to Nadim and Elnora. Both Elnora and Delling had to live with survivor's guilt.

I guess Delling was kept alive so we can have Delling+Miorine vs Prospera+Suletta as the main sides in season 2, as many have speculated.

Don't forget that by Episode 11, Delling is fully aware that Lady Prospera is Elnora Samaya and they've been collaborating on whatever Quiet Zero is for some time though Delling is the lead on it.

It should make us question how long he's known she's still advancing GUND-ARM tech, and if the Committe Hearing back in episode 2 and his declaration that it should be destroyed was all an act for the other manufacturers, or if Quiet Zero became a thing after Prospera promised to share during that hearing.

Spoiler for eps 12 details:

Given his revelation to Miorine about her mother's death being an agreed-to plan to best allow for Miorine's survival and prosperity, there's been a whole lot going on since Cathedral blew up the Vanadis we still have only hints about.

But one thing is for sure, Delling isn't that concerned about Elnora wanting personal revenge, and they are co-conspirators, not enemies, at least from his perspective.

The rift should between Suletta and Miorine only.

[quagmire]

I don't see any brain washing or conditioning going on.

If we weren't already suspicious of Prospera, her statement to Suletta was logical especially to a sheltered person that Suletta is. Yes she killed a person, but what if she didn't? Suletta would be dead instead. If you run, you gained your own survival, but cost others lives. Step forward, you gain your survival and the ones you want to protect survival. I don't see it as brain washing. It wasn't used as a trigger to turn Suletta into a thoughtless order following machine. I certainly don't expect Prospera to go the Kira Yamato route in fighting of only fight to disarm the enemy and only kill if absolutely necessary.

Yes I don't trust Prospera. Yes it was manipulative and given the yet another hint in this episode I don't think she really cares about Suletta. Just having someone able to pilot Aerial is all she cares about.

Her immediate reaction after the squash is probably just happy Mio was safe. It hasn't fully processed what's under Aerial's hand just yet. And of course she is also convinced it wasn't wrong to kill in for the sake of protecting others. Yes Mio's perspective it is completely weird and turn off'ish. First time she ever seen someone get killed in front of her eyes and in that brutal manner. And see Suletta react to it as no big deal.....

[Frontier]

Well, there's your war! With all it's death, heartarche, drama, Mecha action, and mentally breaking children in true Gundam fashion .

Poor Suletta. She's got a sadistic stalker in a mobile suit. Those never end well .

Well, yeah, it stands to reason they wouldn't have unleased this assault with Gundam's if there was a possibility they would still be susceptible to Antidote, and it's not just the Aerial that is immune any more...with Permet Score Four any Gundam can overcome it, just at the expense of the pilot. Not that Sophie seems to care .

We finally get Delling being a true father and protecting his daughter, and Miorine finally calls him "dad." They don't really expand on what happened to Miorine's mother, other than finally naming her, but it sounds like both parents were involved in a life and death situation and the only option was for one of them to survive, and that's something her mother believed in. Really curious to learn what happened .

I love what finally gets Bob to go out there is knowing Suletta is involved. Man can't help himself, even for a spoken woman .

I have to admit, I did not expect Guel's dad to actually go out in there in his own Mobile Suit, so credit to him for that, even if he did end up unknowingly almost killing his son...who unknowingly kills him in self-defense only to realize too late that it was his father. So, yeah, not a good day for Guel. I don't think his dad was "searching" for him out of pure paternal affection, but their relationship shouldn't have ended like that .

Those poor kids...well, Nika managed to save them with her connections, but Martin catches her. Will she be able to talk her way out of it? Is she completely exposed? What would they do with her if they found out she was a part of this ?

To be honest Prospera shooting some guys isn't too surprising, although Suletta doesn't take well to all the death surrounding her. All the same it doesn't stop her mother from helping her rationalize and be okay with killing people if it means saving her loved ones. Which, okay, in this instance is kind of justifiable but on some level it feels more like Elnora twisting her daughter to suit her own ends .

The new Aerial with that booster looks amazing! We even get it taking on the two Earth Gundams' solo! And that mega rifle would make Wing Zero give its approval .

Hmm...Shaddiq doesn't seem too beat up about his plan failing, although Jeturk did die. I guess he's got plans within plans, so this is just a minor setback. Meanwhile the new Elan is like "yeah, I don't want any part of this" .

If you thought Suletta was going to get out of this without her first kill, well she smashes a dude to bits and acts like her cute, normal, self as if she didn't just completely kill a guy to pieces. And Miorine doesn't take it well. I mean, she was protecting Miorine so it wasn't straight up murder, but Suletta is really not acting like a normal person would after killing someone. And that sets up the likely main emotional conflict between the pair for the next cour .

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Some fun tidbits that the episode gave me.

• Spacians are pissed that Ur uses physical weaponry in space. I guess debries is a concern? Man, if they witness the One Year War in UC, I imagine they'd be totally appalled by the number of machine guns & physical bazookas that the Zeon Suits used during those days .
  
• It's strange that Antidote only work as far as Permet-3. Then again, Beguir Beu's Antidote in the Prologue looked like a prototype and that was probably the last time they fought Gundams. So they had 20+ years of time to mass-produce Antidote for Beguir Pente but never bothered to increase the Antidote performance coz they never saw action since the Vanadis massacre?
  
• In a way, Guel actually managed to prove his skill as an MS pilot to his dad for one last time. Guel did it by defeating Vim's Suit with an obsolete Jeturk Suit.
  
• Delling protecting Mio with his life completed his mini-arc in this cour. Just like Guel, Delling came from a one-note character (that people hated & wanted dead) to showing some juicy layers that made the audience wanting to see more and not wanting them dead (yet).
  
• I was right when I said Peil was sitting this whole debacle out. Even 5lan said so . It would've been even more perfect if he's sitting at a park & sipping tea while reading the news/report.
  
• Aerial Rebuild looks like it took some notes from Gundam GP01 Full & 00 Qan[T]:

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[azarhal]

I can't believe the magazine leak was true. Trauma for everyone!!! The Bob part was the saddest to me.

And after this 12th episode, I got a crazy theory: Lady Prospera is not Elnora like the anime tells us, but Doctor Cardo Nabo and the prologue massacre was a setup by Cardo and Delling.

The Elans are just there to show that you can steal someone identity not just digitally but their face and voice too.

In the prologue, you see someone shutting down the colony defenses before Dominicus shows up (there was at least one traitor) and we never see a dead Carbo's body (a dead giveaway for not dead in anime). Also, I always doubted that Elnora/Eri made it that far with a busted Gundam out in the middle of space without being followed and caught.

I also suspect Prospera's plan is to cause a Space/Earth war. I'm not sure what Delling's plan was but his Quiet Zero is going to get stolen by Prospera so we probably will never see the color of it. And while I was suspicious before, now I really think his wife was a witch.

I can't wait for Suletta to rebel against her "mom" like a good teenager too.

edit: Forgot to talk about Nika, I'm starting to think that the "go-between" is literal, she probably doesn't even know the people Shaddiq asked her to talk to, he's just using her Creds for it in case they get caught so she takes the fall.

[Wandering Soul]

We were all expecting either Deiling or Prospera to die, only for it to turn out to be Vim that bites the bullet. At the hands of his own son too. I can only imagine how Guel's brother will react. Guel really doesn't deserve all this.

Prospera has her hooks in Sueletta really tight. Sueletta accepting she may need to kill is one thing, but her cheerful and carefree reaction to doing is disturbing. Now another rift is going to open up between the two girls.

I really like the upgraded Aerial's design.

[kari-no-sugata II]

One possible side-effect of Nika getting found out: if she spills the beans (and she might have little choice) then that means the terrorists can be traced back to Shaddiq.

[Anh_Minh]

It would have been funnier if Suletta had killed the psycho as soon as she blew open the hangar.

Also, if Guel ends up taking over his dad's company, he'll show he really learned how to conduct business like his dad!

[magnuskn]

Alright, the tomato hand was something else. Otherwise, nah, I don't think Suletta was "brainwashed" by Prospera. Also, to people who say she "easily could not have killed that guy", he was a half-second away from pulling the trigger when she squashed him.

Well, I guess we are done with the school setting and the full trauma mode is on. Oh, well. I could have lived without that, to be honest. Miorine overreacting will hopefully be dealt with quickly, because her dad is responsible for a loooot more murders and what Suletta did would not even really count as one, seeing how she saved two lives (she gained two with that, ahehehehe). Yeah, seeing a dude get squished like a tomato, blood everywhere, is traumatizing. Getting riddled with bullets is worse.

[kari-no-sugata II]

The ironic thing about Miorine's reaction is that she was the one who suggested selling Gundam technology as weapons...

[justavisitor]

This episode will probably be remembered as one of the classics

Last time I had the same feeling was lockon's last scene in 00 season 1

Given how easy MS got exploded in this episode, it's hard to believe dueling before hand had no casualty at all

I really thought Suletta using Aerial's hand was going to be too late, but boy, everyone was surely surprised. Suletta got to be controlled somewhat

The staff now has 3 months to think about exactly what happened to Suletta, or retcon if needed XD

[Ragashingo]

I thought it was a good finale and the squish was an effective cliffhanger.... but I'm now fully ready for Suletta to get a clue. The innocence was fine for a while, but there are big, bloody things that she is at the center of. It's time to know about them and take them seriously. Doesn't mean I want her optimism or disarming goodwill to just vanish. But I really think it's time for her to turn a page and become something more.

I also really don't want a big Miorine / Suletta split. Being freaked out in the moment is fine. But it will really put me off of the show if they undo the previous scrambling declaration of love because Suletta, gasp!, killed someone to save the person she promised to protect. I think the show is probably smarter than that... but if it isn't I'm going to go pretty negative on it.

And yeah... Suletta wasn't activated Winter Soldier style. Her mom made a more or less decent argument for stepping up to save people. That's all that was.

[chaosprophet]

Originally Posted by Kanon

That was an amazing episode. Prospera's brainwashing is really incredible. One moment Suletta is horrified that her mother killed someone in front of her, and the next she crushes someone like a tomato without batting an eye. I can understand Miorine's reaction, seeing Suletta smiling innocently like nothing happened after she killed someone so brutally and is covered in his blood is definitely creepy. On the other hand, it really sucks this will most likely create another rift between them (a lasting one this time) when they had just worked through their misunderstanding.

This episode was awesome but this part frustrates me a bit as I see it being mostly a misunderstanding, as Mio didn't see Suletta earlier also being very scared about the idea of killing people and how Prospera convinced her that it is okay/not a big deal, making the optics of the scene terrible for Miorine. After I was so happy their previous misunderstanding was solved to quickly.

I wish this one could be solved fast too (Miorine should be able to process the idea of killing an violent attacker to save those you hold dear, if it didn't happen in such a gruesome and misleading way) and Mio focus on saving Suletta from Prospera's influence, but the fact the season ended on it make me expect it will take long now...

Originally Posted by Kanon

Nah. She's really just a normal girl being blackmailed. I was actually surprised she didn't even know about the Earthian Witches.

Not quite, previous eps indicate she is an agent of that terrorist group, sent there to work as a connection between potential customers and the group. But I don't think she is a cold blooded killer as some fans think she is, with her usual personality being all a farce.

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

[*]It's strange that Antidote only work as far as Permet-3. Then again, Beguir Beu's Antidote in the Prologue looked like a prototype and that was probably the last time they fought Gundams. So they had 20+ years of time to mass-produce Antidote for Beguir Pente but never bothered to increase the Antidote performance coz they never saw action since the Vanadis massacre?

On an earlier episode, someone reacted about how grassley even still had those, implying the general idea was that they weren't necessary anymore, at least people thought so.

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

It would have been funnier if Suletta had killed the psycho as soon as she blew open the hangar.

That would be the traditional way to do this but it would diminish the impact of the scene. The whole point was to show how casually Suletta took the idea of killing someone who was threatening someone she cares about and how that flies in the face of what Minore (and, frankly, most normal people) finds normal.

That scene, more than anything else these last two episodes, has massive implications for the second cour. And that's considering that we had: Guel watching his dad die by his own hands, Nika being outed as having a connection with the Earth terrorists and Lady Prospera being in cahoots with Minorine's father.

There's so many questions left to answer still. I can't wait to see how season 2 goes. Will we have a Valvrave Season 2 or a Code Geass R2? Hopefully the latter

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by Dextro

Will we have a Valvrave Season 2 or a Code Geass R2? Hopefully the latter

I'm already calling dibs on someone blowing up the school...