The following will contain spoilers for episode 21 of Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury.
Episode 21 of Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury, entitled “What We Can Do Now” has dropped and it definitely feels like things are going towards that climactic space battle that’s become a staple of any Gundam series. Several plot threads were also resolved in this episode although there’s one that left me scratching my head. But before going deeper, I just wanted to point out something that’s present in the opening sequence of this season, it’s just too fast that we don’t notice it.
During the title card of the opening sequence, we’re presented with this fast transition of varying visuals as the logo fades away. One of the images being shown towards the end of this sequence is the one you’re seeing above. That’s right, that’s Quiet Zero being teased since the beginning of the season and we finally get to see its horrifying capabilities in the latter portion of the episode.
The episode opens with Asticassia still in shambles following the attack in the previous episode. Suletta together with the rest of the Earth House continue doing charity work by providing supplies and tomatoes to the students currently in temporary shelters. We can see how Suletta has definitely grown as a character and accepts her insignificance against the grand plans of Prospera but decides to help anyway since it’s the right thing to do. On the other hand, Miorine becomes the president of the Benerit Group while continuing to spiral into depression, blaming herself for the lives lost following the attacks on Earth and Asticassia.
I believe I’m not alone in saying that when season 2 started, most were under the impression that Miorine would be the one helping Suletta to get out of Prospera’s brainwashing. But it looks like Suletta was able to realize that on her own and it will be her saving Miorine from the loathing she’s torturing herself with. We also get closures to some character plots, like the situation with Martin and Nika, as well as the whole deal with Elan #5. We even get to see Chu-Chu give tomatoes to the two students she punched during season 1.
Belmera along with a representative from the Space Assembly League then shows up to convince Suletta into helping them stop Prospera, through both peaceful and retaliatory means. This is where the rest of the Earth House gets the reveal of the truth behind Suletta and Gundam Aerial, much to their expected surprise. We also get the reveal of another Gundam confiscated following the Vanadis Incident 21 years ago, named Gundam Calibarn, and is dubbed as a monster for its lack of limiters to prevent data storms from killing its pilot. It will be something unique to this series that the protagonist will get a last-minute new Gundam as the Aerial is pretty much a villain as long as it’s in the hands of Prospera.
Peil Technology then decides to whistle blow whatever’s happening within Benerit Group to the Space Assembly League, prompting the governing body to launch an intervention mission to the Benerit Group. And of course, this is where Prospera with her murderous revenge plot enters and finally unveils Quiet Zero, which is essentially this series’ massive space fortress of death and destruction.
At the core of Quiet Zero is Aerial/Eri who controls the whole thing. We’re also shown the hordes of Gundnode units ready to be mobilized at a moment’s notice. And there’s no better time to mobilize and do a show of force than with the incoming fleet of ships and mobile suits from the Space Assembly League. As expected, Aerial/Eri activates the Permet data storm network, further expanded by the Gundnode units and gain control of all the machines using Permet networks. You can probably guess what happens afterwards.
At this point, it’s up to the Earth House crew to put a stop to Prospera and her murderous revenge. Oh, and we also get a wildcard player in the decisive battle with Lauda, who’s playing the Riddhe Marcenas card of misguided judgement, and is likely to pilot Gundam Schwarzette, much to the disappointment of many.
Overall, we are definitely heading into the decisive battle in the last three episodes of the season. And as much as I want more stories to be told in the Ad Stella timeline, the way things are currently setup lean towards a conclusion as the series ends. It’s also interesting how the supposedly main protagonist Gundam turns out to be the final boss. Though I do definitely see a last-minute reversal by Aerial/Eri to join Suletta against Prospera. There’s also no guarantee of who will be safe in these last few episodes so we’re definitely on the edge of our seats at this point.
