[Barbobot]

Originally Posted by HunterSeeker

Finished this episode (with subs).
Simple thought: Why no one here tries to think ways otherwise?

Spoiler for my thoughts:

Firstly, as there're no long time skips between the events of this episode and the next (at least we don't know if any), there're obviously no time for tears since Empire's forces are still out there.

That leads to my second thought: with conspirancy among that minister and the fat General known (and the later's hatred to the Voluntary Army), if their morale is shaken by Isara's death, then the Regular Army will have a good reason to kick them away in the future.
And thus, even if it's inappropriate as it seems, Welkin has the responsibility to be serious (and cautious) in order to maintain their army's position in the war. I guess Faldio also knows and so he tells men of 7th to win even more battles in order to reclaim what they should have.

Also Welkin isn't that really emotionless as people may see. Just like some other genius-like characters from other stories, when they're winning continuously and suddenly tehy suffer from a major defeat or lose an important person in the progress, they'll undergo a period of depressions------by locking himself up, work even harder, etc in order to forget it. Maybe it's just because he can't overcome that right now.

Another important note from this episode is that Alicia confessed to Welkin but he doesn't seem care. Cold? Maybe. However, one should understand that those who're mixing personal feelings (especially negative ones such as sorrow, anger, etc) with their work will usually lead to failure------especially when he's a commanding position. Putting teh obvious plot aside, if those who Welkin cares about died on the field, what will happen to him?
In fact, personal relationships with anyone who're important in the squadron (especially lovers) are really dangerous in a war, especially when one is the commander and another a trusted member. Decisions in a war are made in seconds and any delays can be fatal to the commander or even the whole squadron.
Consider the following cases (A as commander and B his lover/relative/friend/etc):
-B's unit is being trapped in an ambush, but a big operation is coming and A's unit must participate
-Who should A send on a dangerous mission like recon or patrol
-A's decisions on the field regarding field actions
Normally one can say "they should do what is important and put personal stuff aside", but can it really be done? Back to VC, especially when Welkin has already lost his beloved sister......

You sir win. This is the type of stuff I was thinking as I was watching Welkin this episode. I guess I'm one of the very few people who liked how Welkin was handled in this episode. Sure it was different from game Welkin, but they actually did anime Welkin well for once.

Spoiler:

I wasn't a big fan of him in previous episodes and generally like game Welkin a lot more like everyone else, but I think they managed to do something good with his character by making Isara's death put him into this depression. Like Hunter said he just can't bring himself to face it and tries to bury himself in work. Also I'm thinking that he's trying to just distance himself from the people of Squad 7. The loss of Isara possibly just made him realize exactly how much it hurts to lose someone he loves so to make him not feel like that he'll try to distance himself from everyone and lock up his emotions. He used to be so personable with all of Squad 7 before this.
I can only hope Faldio and Alicia can knock him out of this depression (physically or emotionally) cause if he can get past this depression he can only come out as a stronger person.