Holy crap, I seriously love this show to bits right now. Lots of great plot developments packed into just one hour. Don't know why they sent a giant knight as an assassin but boy was he menacing and it made for a thrilling struggle for the siblings. It was great to see how the siblings grew up and how they were subtly influenced in different ways. Casval was older and may have understood better than Artesia just how wronged they were by the Zabi family which would have made him more receptive to Granpa Ral's desire for revenge. The fact that he and his family were the target of attacks (and possibly stalking) eventually pushed him over the edge. In contrast, Artesia might not have noticed the constant stalking and wasn't living in fear as much as Casval was (I also liked how the episode left it up to interpretation on whether they were actually being stalked or whether it was just Casval's paranoia). I do have a small gripe with the episode in that it went from Char's celebration in joining Zeon to Casval leaving Artesia very quickly but otherwise I think the development between the siblings was wonderful.
And what was equally wonderful was that it wasn't just the siblings that it focused on but also the adults that revolved around them, all of whom were interesting and unique characters in their own right with different beliefs and behaviours. Ramba Ral's participation into the Zaku prototype development was particularly amazing but so was Papa Mass's kindhearted desire to raise the siblings in the face dangerous political turmoil. The focus on the adults also allowed us to see the political angle in everything which, combined with some detailed and varied settings, maintained and incredibly immersive atmosphere and background.
The White Base crew cameos were a nice touch but the biggest lol came from the introduction of Casval's doppelganger named Char Aznable, who takes the term "Char clone" and completely turns it upside down (It was also amusing to see them size each other up in what had to be a pretty awkward moment).
And from Casval's sword fighting and horse riding to the Zaku development, there were so many easter eggs I forgot it was meant to be Halloween. Great episode.
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