Gundam wisely doesn’t try to juggle too many storylines this week, but focuses on the fallout to the Earthian resistance group Dawn of Fold in the aftermath of Sophie and Norea’s assault on Asticassia. Led with a steady hand by Naji and his right-hand man Olcott, the group hastens an evacuation of their current base before Spaceians arrive to blow them to bits.
Scenes of their half-ruined buildings and modest food, water, and weapon supplies underscores the power mismatch. Dawn is also composed of both grizzled vets, rookies eager to prove themselves, and innocent kids who have already lost too much. For the latter two groups, survival may not be as important as revenge.
Norea certainly would like to take revenge on Nika by killing her, as she’s responsible for the Spaceians now knowing where Dawn of Fold is holed up. Norea curses and kicks her for being a traitor to her people, and for what? “Ideals?” Still, it’s hard to feel anything but horrible for poor Nika.
She didn’t want her Asticassia friends to be hurt or killed any more than she wanted her Earthian bretheren hurt or killed. In the seething churn of the Space-Earth conflict, long since devolved into a mostly one-sided affair, both she, Norea, and the departed Sophie are nothing more than statistics. Nika’s “betrayal” wasn’t some kind of turning point.
What is happening now was always going to happen, no matter what Nika did, and whether she’s dead or alive, because the one now doing the stirring in that churn is Shaddiq Zenelli. As he explains to his adoptive father while sitting his trademark Indian-style on a table, the time of Spaceian dominance in this war is about to end.
Shaddiq intends to give the Earthians, to which he claims half of his blood and all of his loyalty, more and more Benerit Group assets with which to upset the balance of power. For too long Earth has been a whipping boy while Spaceians enjoyed clean water, hot meals, warm beds. Shaddiq has never forgotten the deprivation he came from, and he’s determined to end the suffering of his people.
But whether anything he does actually reduces or ends the suffering of Earthians is very much an open question. The kids of Dawn of Fold are just wrapping up a makeshift memorial to their hero Sophie when they’re ordered to board evacuation vehicles. That night, a Spaceian punitive force of Mobile Suits arrives to put Dawn of Fold down.
Have I mentioned that Guel Jeturk is a captive of Dawn? Well he is, and he is lost. Olcott has to force feed him to keep him alive as a bargaining chip, though I wonder how much the likes of Lauda would be willing to give up to get Guel back. Two kids, Seethia and Sedo, stay behind at the school where he’s held. Seethia hopes to take revenge for losing her dad by killing him.
When the school is bombed, Olcott, Guel, Seethia, and Sedo are buried in the rubble. Everyone is fine, except for Seethia, who is too far gone for Olcott to justify bringing along. Guel is also under rubble when Olcott leaves with Sedo. He emerges and carries Seethia on his back until he finds a crashed mobile suit.
The pilot inside is dead, but the cockpit still has power, so he pulls out the corpse, climbs in, and takes flight. It’s all for naught, as Seethia succumbs to her injuries in his arms. Guel lands the suit and asks Olcott what he should do. Olcott tells him that’s for him to decide, just like everyone else. Which side will Guel take, now that he’s gone through several crucibles of suffering? Earth’s? Benerit’s? Neither?
Back in a clean and sterile lounge in space, where the civility and comfort almost mocks the blood and mud and death down on Earth below, Miorine meets with one of her father’s top officers, who explains that her mother Notrette spearheaded Quiet Zero program in hopes of bringing order to a world that war partitioning wasn’t achieving.
It’s only now that Miorine is hearing that Delling actually cared about her mother enough to keep her project alive, if in secrecy. Like Olcott with Guel, this officer tells Miorine that she doesn’t have to carry on this project; her life is hers. But is it really?
Under the circumstances, the mess Guel and Miorine (not to mention Suletta and Nika and Shaddiq) have inherited from the previous generations is so vast, it probably feels like there is no better path than the one laid out before them. All we know is, nothing the adults have done so far has been able to do anything but control and extend the conflict. Perhaps Quiet Zero, whatever form it takes, will change that. Or maybe it will only make things worse.
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