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An ironic and bittersweet ending, but I'm satisfied that we actually received a proper ending and an epilogue of sorts. I probably would have been more disappointed if there was some asspull in the final episode that allowed the good guys to win and everyone to make it out alive.
Last episode, I was surprised that Eugene was in the front lines, since he was pretty much the last of the leadership Tekkaden had left, so it was relieving when Mika had him and Chad go back. The decision to have Eugene and Chad, the last of the leaders, live while Mika and Akihiro, the last of the fighters, die was a nice way to symbolize the death of Tekkaden, a place for child soldiers.
The deaths in the episode were pretty satisfying. Mika finally realized that he had already found what he and Orga had been looking for, Akihiro lived long enough to squish that annoying cockroach to death, and Nobliss literally bit it with his pants down. Although, I was a bit salty for the few seconds when I thought Akihiro would die before finishing the job. I was almost ready to maim when I thought that entitled little shit would make it out alive again.
The two main things I disliked about this episode were Rustal getting away with all the war crimes he committed and obtaining an even greater position of power, and Julietta raising Barbatos' head as if she accomplished something. But while I'm annoyed with Rustal's good end, the writers did well in making him a self-aware, Machiavellian figure from start to finish, and his character never deviated or devolved from what it was. His main motivation was the status quo, but once it was clear its maintenance was impossible, what with the exposed corruption and half of the families out of the picture, he changed it and ironically led the way to what McGillis was aiming for. I still want him to pay for his crimes and for someone to eventually expose him, however, he still has to be credited, even if begrudgingly, for some of the reforms that we saw in the epilogue.
And while I still don't like Julietta and am disappointed with Gaelio's role, at least it looks like she grew a bit of a brain after what happened (her naive sense of self-righteous duty was as grating as Iok's idiocy armor), and Gali's probably going to live with that "what if" regret for the rest of his life, even if it does look like he's enjoying himself way too much.
IBO may not be the best Gundam, but it certainly by far is not the worst. Not to say that bad writing wasn't present throughout the series. Yes, there were character assassinations, and yes, there were moments that were infuriating to sit through, but the ending itself wasn't bad writing, and the story flowed well from start to finish. I had been feeling uneasy as soon as the "King of Mars" topic came up, and as it turned out, the series had been setting itself up for and heading towards this fallout ever since. Also, have we ever had a Gundam series where the protagonists lost or where all of the main pilots die? That in itself is a refreshing change of pace, even if it doesn't leave you with a good feeling in your chest.
All in all, aside from Rustal and some side characters, most of the cast could have done with some better writing, but other than that and the things I mentioned above, the series is fine as it is.
Side note: With Aldnoah's statement about making something "better than Gundam" and then the things that happened in IBO... It would be interesting if someone were to compile a list of all the similarities between the two series and where/how these similarities differ. You have to admit there are way too many for it to be a complete coincidence. (My personal opinion: IBO > Aldnoah, but I had Aldnoah ranked below Gundam even before IBO came out.)
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