Aldnoah.Zero - Episode 15 Discussion / Poll

[FlareKnight]

At least the start of the episode even had Slaine iffy on whether this plan was going to work. The odds weren't great, since really he either needed Inaho or Saazbaum to be in that spot at the perfect time. There were two volleys so I guess he had a couple shots at it.

I'll give Slaine some props. He's managed to manipulate his way up the food chain. No doubt pushing the argument before to the excessive point where the only thing Saazbaum could do was give him more legitimacy. Even if it didn't work there I'm sure he planned on continuing to passive-aggressively pick fights until he got his way.

Well I'm glad to see that Inaho can't easily solo two powerful mechs at the same time . Nice save there by Inko reminding us that the little people have their place in this as well . And really of course the captain has to keep sending him out there. He's the most powerful person in their entire army! He is literally more valuable on the front lines than a battleship.

Things just slowly adding up. Even that proclamation from Slaine didn't just show where his character had gone, but also gave Inaho confirmation that the Princess is alive.

[p-kun]

So, Inaho has some machination inside his brain to improve this data analysis and predict bullet trajectory, explaining people's complaints from the hax in ep 2. Harklight seems to be shaping as the strategist in Slaine's side, as he's the one suggesting/calculating the trap, making sure that the bullets wouldn't hit other debris during their rotation despite the dense cluster. That's hax.

I don't fully understand when Slaine said, the trap is for Inaho. So, it seems that Slaine had 2 plans for the trap, to defeat Inaho or to defeat Saaz with Inaho's assist. Either Inaho or Saaz dead was fine with him. Slaine looked sad when Saaz died. It seems that he appreciates Saaz kind gesture to him. Saaz looked happy when Slaine called him father, maybe because he was reassured that Slaine would realize his dream.

Slaine also didn't pursue Inaho and Inko even though he could easily do so, making me believe that Slaine plans to have the Terrans kill more orbital knights. I have a feeling that Slaine pretended not to be able to dodge the last shot from Inaho to make Inaho underestimate how much in the future Tharsis can see.

[Piesum]

Finally, my favorite character in this show gets a chance to do something interesting.

I wasn't expecting him to get rid of Saazbaum so early, but I suppose this was a good time since; he was just named his son, and it's not obvious to the martians that Slaine killed him, as it wasn't a direct hit from the Tharsis.
Although I'm sure Slaine mostly hated Saazbaum, it's clear that he did care about him at least a little bit. Seeing that sort of inner conflict was nice, even if it was only for a second. It also points to the idea that; at the end of the day, Slaine is going to achieve Seylum's dream, even if it means he has to do things that are difficult for him. It's all a means towards an end.
I'm also glad Saazbaum seemed content as he died, he was an interesting character. Even though he did a lot of messed up things, he was still likeable (to an extent) for other things he did.

I'm glad they're showing more of the true Slaine at this point, rather than making him seem like he completely turned to the darkside until some climax near the end. I think this way makes it more interesting, because you get to see parts of his thought process as the story progresses.
Also, before, Harklight seemed kind of suspicious to me, but now it seems like he fully supports Slaine--hopefully that doesn't change.

And that last scene with Slaine as he put on his cloak--such a boss.

Oh, and that chip or whatever it was on the bottom of Slaine's shoe...wonder what that is..

[Gundamx]

Originally Posted by p-kun

So, Inaho has some machination inside his brain to improve this data analysis and predict bullet trajectory, explaining people's complaints from the hax in ep 2. Harklight seems to be shaping as the strategist in Slaine's side, as he's the one suggesting/calculating the trap, making sure that the bullets wouldn't hit other debris during their rotation despite the dense cluster. That's hax.

I don't fully understand when Slaine said, the trap is for Inaho. So, it seems that Slaine had 2 plans for the trap, to defeat Inaho or to defeat Saaz with Inaho's assist. Either Inaho or Saaz dead was fine with him. Slaine looked sad when Saaz died. It seems that he appreciates Saaz kind gesture to him. Saaz looked happy when Slaine called him father, maybe because he was reassured that Slaine would realize his dream.

Slaine also didn't pursue Inaho and Inko even though he could easily do so, making me believe that Slaine plans to have the Terrans kill more orbital knights. I have a feeling that Slaine pretended not to be able to dodge the last shot from Inaho to make Inaho underestimate how much in the future Tharsis can see.

1- funny part, his mechanic eye work at the same speed as his mind if not lower

2- He was testing the longest time he can see in future. it was gamble, if he success = great,
if not, who care?

By the way, it look like his assistant (Harklight) already know about this plan.
(4:32~)

[cf18]

Originally Posted by Terrestrial Dream

3 foreshadow in this episode.
1. Mentioning of Slaine's dream, where Slaine lie about him having a dream (though I guess we can interpret this as Saline's dream is the princess' dream.
2. Slaine telling the other counts that he may be the one to stab them in the back later.
3. His discussion with Harklight "This new era will be for people like us"

4. Lemrina will try to kill Asseylum, no joke. But if Slaine is as smart as everyone else think of him now, he should be able to predict that, right?

[Wandering Soul]

Got to give Slaine props for that plan. Part of it relied on Inaho just doing his usual thing but it still succeeded. Now Slaine has clawed his way to the top and is officially a count. Now he is close to his mysterious dream.

It seems Rayet and Slaine have to put up with similar things considering their heritage.

This fight was a difficult one for Inaho's and it was nice to see he needed Inko's help to pull through. Shows that even Inaho needs a helping hand time to time. Despite the consequences of losing Inaho they still need to fight since he is a valuable asset.

[Irenesharda]

Originally Posted by Piesum

Oh, and that chip or whatever it was on the bottom of Slaine's shoe...wonder what that is..

I think it's something that helps them stand upright on surfaces in a low gravity environment, like magnets or something. Lemrina also had them on her shoes too.

[GreyZone]

Damn, this episode shows that 2 cours really are making it look too rushed. Should have been CG lenght of 4 cours instead...


Anyway, did I get that right?

"Consume Royal Blood" -> nothing happens (experiments by Terrans)
"Royal Kiss" -> get a one-use activation factor (2x for Slaine)
"Royal Kiss" -> "Consume Royal Blood" -> possibly infinite use activation factor? (Inaho)

Since I cannot remember Slaine ever consuming Royal Blood, I think there is a difference between what happened to Slaine and what happened to Inaho. Due to the "Kiss" he probably could have activated Deucalion before the intake of the blood-stained tear, but would have lost the ability after that. Well there is no way to 100% confirm it yet though. We don't know if Inaho can really still activate Aldnoah drives or not.

[Arya]

Yep, definitely best episode so far. Granted, Slaine's plan was convoluted as hell, but hey, this is A/Z not for nothing, so I can't complain on Slaine new abilities either
Having said that I'm a bit sorry that they killed off Saazbaum, surely he was the best Villain among the martian. I don't see how they will keep the edge on Mars side if Slaine will play the good boy doing the dirty work. A charismatic character is needed imo, Lemrina doesn't fit the bill at all, apart from her obsession to kill Asseylum there's nothing more.
So for now I'm leaning that what he said at the end of the episode is more true than we may think. Earth is dispensable.
On the other hand somehow I'm sure he talked about the princess actual location sure that Inaho was hearing him. If Inaho get the hang of it, as he probably will, I don't think he will miss to note (he already got surprised) how Slaine didn't dodge his bullet not the whole sequence of events involving their fight. So there's also the possibility that they will start to cooperate earlier than expected. In a very hidden way.
Also finally Inaho was cornered, well, against Dioscuria and Tharsis it was expected and welcomed. Also Inko and Rayet did something. They spend sometime also explaining some things and I particularly liked how Inaho keeps taking in high odds his death. He also didn't eat since it increased his chances back when he got shot.
Now I have again to complain about the absense of Yuki. Maybe the next episode they will be back to Earth.
In any case things are going on at a pretty fast pace, first Inaho recovery, then Slaine rising up the ranks. What's next? Asseylum waking up, reforming of Mars and then ta-dah, slice of life a-la Gargantia til the end, it's still Urobutchi after all

[Irenesharda]

Originally Posted by Arya

Yep, definitely best episode so far. Granted, Slaine's plan was convoluted as hell, but hey, this is A/Z not for nothing, so I can't complain on Slaine new abilities either
Having said that I'm a bit sorry that they killed off Saazbaum, surely he was the best Villain among the martian. I don't see how they will keep the edge on Mars side if Slaine will play the good boy doing the dirty work. A charismatic character is needed imo, Lemrina doesn't fit the bill at all, apart from her obsession to kill Asseylum there's nothing more.
So for now I'm leaning that what he said at the end of the episode is more true than we may think. Earth is dispensable.
On the other hand somehow I'm sure he talked about the princess actual location sure that Inaho was hearing him. If Inaho get the hang of it, as he probably will, I don't think he will miss to note (he already got surprised) how Slaine didn't dodge his bullet not the whole sequence of events involving their fight. So there's also the possibility that they will start to cooperate earlier than expected. In a very hidden way.

I think Inaho and Slaine might cooperate sooner than later too. If Slaine can operate on the Martian side, while Inaho does things on the Terran side, it will turn out even better than if either works alone.

As for new villains, well actually you already have quite a couple. I'm guessing the two new counts, Marylcian and Barouhcruz won't be leaving Slaine alone anytime soon. Also, the count that was reading in the OP might be important later. Also, considering Saazbaum's position as pretty much "head Count", I can see the others trying to jockey for the position. Slaine is a newcomer, but we now see he has the fortitude to stick it out. We'll just have to see.

[MonkeyDude]

Color me unimpressed with the new count of sauce's betrayal. Must be the timing as all I can think of is his new daddy proclaiming he's the sole beneficiary to his fortune then mere hours later good old daddy is pushing daisies. Then of course the linchpin of his plan involved reading roughly 6 hours into the future...may I have another serving of asspull please? If anyone recalls that episode of Code Geass where Lelouch pulls off a similar stunt...yeah that level of asspull.

The strength of Aldnoah.Zero was never about the story (actually lost the only thing that made it good with Inaho's cybernetic upgrade), but this is pretty damn lackluster. Well at least Slaine finally graduated from Terran lapdog to possible anti-hero. Gotta give Inaho a worthwhile foe after all.

[Arya]

Originally Posted by GreyZone

Anyway, did I get that right?

"Consume Royal Blood" -> nothing happens (experiments by Terrans)
"Royal Kiss" -> get a one-use activation factor (2x for Slaine)
"Royal Kiss" -> "Consume Royal Blood" -> possibly infinite use activation factor? (Inaho)

It's still a bit obscure, so for now my take is that once you power up a drive it remain up, so you can use it each times you need. But for Slaine Lemrina stepped in, she declared to want to strip everything from Asseylum and she started from the legitimacy of Slaine rights. She asked how slaine has had it, so she turned them off to give them back. But as I said is unclear how it worked out for Slaine and also Inaho's are still to be tested.

Originally Posted by Irenesharda

I think Inaho and Slaine might cooperate sooner than later too. If Slaine can operate on the Martian side, while Inaho does things on the Terran side, it will turn out even better than if either works alone.

As for new villains, well actually you already have quite a couple. I'm guessing the two new counts, Marylcian and Barouhcruz won't be leaving Slaine alone anytime soon. Also, the count that was reading in the OP might be important later. Also, considering Saazbaum's position as pretty much "head Count", I can see the others trying to jockey for the position. Slaine is a newcomer, but we now see he has the fortitude to stick it out. We'll just have to see.

Those two counts don't seem very promising, and if they do cooperate so soon they'd need someone more challenging, also considering Slaine is almost already on top of the chain, imo, but yeah, we'll just have to see.

[magnuskn]

And so dies the last character on the martian side (who is not secretly trying to destroy them) with any amount of brain and sense. Sleep well, Saazbaum. The two douchenozzles who just arrived to show how unsympathetic the space knights are will be a poor replacement.

And Inko is still best waifu, saving Inaho's bacon like that. I hope he notices soon, instead of chasing after hime-sama.

[Random14]

Huh, I'm actually going to miss Saazbaum, he was the closest thing to a big bad (though Slaine or Lemrina will probably take over that position), and he shot Asseylum, but he was also the most nuanced, detailed Martian we knew. Not that that is saying much, but tired of those dime a dozen "arrogant, prideful jerks" we've been getting, especially with how this episode added two more too. At least Saazbaum went out dignified rather than a screaming or something like that.

Nice battle, Saazbaum may have moved the gap, but the basic weakness of that shield is still there. Slaine getting revenge for Asseylum is in character, but kind of annoyed that it seems like shots can be fired off that long range, and if so, why we haven't seen more long-range shelling. And not entirely a fan of these lucky coincidences that favor Slaine (being adopted, although deciding to get rid of Saazbaum and Inaho at once was good thinking on his part, Inaho is just too good for that).

The show is getting better, but hope we get to see more of a plot soon- earth barely hanging on isn't the most original, and Slaine now has some real political power to throw around (if he isn't busy with assassination attempts soon, but considering the average martian intelligence, they're not much of a threat).

[AKAAkira]

Some people are saying Slaine accounted for Inaho disabling Saazbaum to trap him from the start, but I personally think sacrificing Saazbaum was a spur-of-the-moment thing.

I'm going out on a leg here, but this is what I think Slaine's original plan was:

1. Launch the two volleys
2. Find and engage Inaho
3. Let himself be hit. If possible, make it look like a consistent, exploitable weakness. Because Inaho would swoop in like a hawk if he fell for it.
4. Stall and then "throw off" the weakness at just the right time
5. Hopefully make Inaho backpedal fast enough that he doesn't realize he walked right into a shower of bullets. And even if he did, hope he's off-balance enough for Slaine to shoot and hit right then
6. Monologue
7. Fly off into space as the second volley comes down

Half-joking on the last two points.

But anyways, what made Slaine improvise his plans to use against Saazbaum was two things:

1. Saazbaum declares Slaine his son, making it no longer necessary for him to still be alive for Slaine to continue to use his influence
2. Saazbaum interferes when Slaine takes that hit to his Kataphrakt's arm

At that point, Slaine realizes that he has both Saazbaum and Inaho, who is probably the only one who has good chances of disabling Saazbaum's shield, on the same battlefield, and that he might never again get as good a chance to get rid of Saazbaum.

And if my guess is true, then the only reason Slaine could betray Saazbaum just then was because the Count starting going to the extra mile of being generous to him.

Talk about convoluted.

Yeah, this was a really good episode. Similar to how last cour's episode three upped the ante, I'd say.

[Retrorock]

Was it ever explained why Count Saucybum's Kataphrack has the abilities of multiple Kataphrack? It has been bothering me since season 1.

[DMurphy]

Originally Posted by Retrorock

Was it ever explained why Count Saucybum's Kataphrack has the abilities of multiple Kataphrack? It has been bothering me since season 1.

He has five Aldnoah Drives, so he can power multiple different technologies, while all of the one-aldnoah Kataphrakts only have enough power for one.

[QS_Bilal]

Originally Posted by Gundamx

What Strategy? Slain was plan to use that trap for Inaho....
But by mistake Saazbaum fall in it > Slaine just let him die as revenge.....

Slaine..... normally you kill bad guy when he was still bad not after he become good guy.....

It was Saazbaum dream to work for 3rd rank people in Mars and he no longer plan to kill the princess just because she have emperor blood...

I can't stand Inaho.. anyway, what Slaine did was shallow and I have to agree with you. I feel sorry for Saazbaum, a lot. Lets see where it goes from here. 10/10

[All Fiction]

Sasuga Slaine Troyard.

Nothing wrong, he did.

[Death Usagi]

Am I the only one who thought Inko was actually going to die when she was going to help Inaho from Saazbaum?

Actually, do you guys think she might actually die in this series?