Who do you fight for? What do you fight for?
What They Say:
Episode #49 “MCGILLIS FAREED”
Gjallarhorn intends to launch a mopping-up operation against Tekkadan. The hour of its commencement is drawing steadily closer…
The Review
Content: (please note that SPOILERS are EVERYWHERE)
There’s no discussing this episode without laying it all out of the table so if you haven’t seen this episode yet then this is your only warning to turn back.
After Orga’s unglamorous death at the hands of Nobliss thugs (and it’s made exceptionally clear that it was Nobliss), the big question was how Mika was going to take the news. Would Tekkadan loose what’s left of their collective minds and rush to their pointless deaths? Would they honor their leader’s final wish? It turns out it’s the latter, the plan moves forward as they planned it to go.
Some among Tekkadan don’t plan on going quietly. Mika addresses the entire base with a calm, collected mind. He plans on carrying out Orga’s final wishes. Those that want to die in battle will buy time for the tunnel to be completed and for the noncombatants to escape. There is no outrage from Mika, he remains surprisingly collected. I think even the rest of Tekkadan was expecting him to go berserk. Mike ultimately strikes me as a person who would have been fine doing whatever in life. Orga elevated him to great heights, but ultimately it seems Mika only followed Orga’s orders because he had a dream. That’s why Mika got upset whenever Orga wavered, it’s like his compass was on the fritz. Eugene steps into Orga’s mobile suit and a good number of the remaining Tekkadan leads head out for their last stand. The cameras have been removed, there is no one from the outside to witness it.
It’s time for the showdown we’ve been waiting for.
The battle between McGillis and Gaelio is perhaps the best moment of the series. It might be one of the best moments in any Gundam series. It’s a season’s worth of build-up coming to a head, with two very different outlooks on the world clashing. Gaelio always came across as the more emotional of the two, but at that moment he’s the rational one.
McGillis says goodbye to his men and steps into his legendary Gundam. He’s planning on heading straight for Elion, and cuts through several pilots on his way toward the command ship. It is a do-or-die mission. McGillis had no plans left, and he fights as a man unhinged and cut off from reality. For all of his plotting and planning leading up to this moment, he tries for this Hail Mary play. Problem is that only works when there’s someone to pass to, and he’s alone.
That’s when Gaelio finally heads out to meet him for their long awaited duel. Elion stops his men from interfering in the fight until it’s certain that one side or the other is done. The fight between the two is as personal and in-you-face as it can get. It’s a fist fight in Gundams, with each giving it all they can give. McGillis rants and Gaelio doesn’t hold back. Both cockpits get spattered in blood. Limbs are ripped from frames. Eventually, Gaelio lands a blow which causes depressurization in McGillis cockpit and McGillis realizes he’s loosing. They careen into the hanger of the command ship and the fight is basically over at that point. Wounded and struggling McGillis makes his way toward command.
The completely and utterly personal end to this fight it what really makes it all come together. The confrontation between the two men in the hallway, Gaelio finally unleashing his pent up frustration, trying to get an answer for why McGillis sold out his friends. McGillis admitting his reasoning, the repeated demand from Gaelio for McGillis to look him in the eye. It’s griping. It’s an amazing scene.
With Gaelio’s question answered, what will he do now? He knows Gjallahorn is corrupt, but will he be the one to pick up the torch and reform it not through violence but slow and careful change?
Back down on Mars Tekkadan fights long and hard to buy time. The first person to fall on their side is the one with the least amount of battle experience. You have to wonder about Hush’s role in this series. He fought so hard to become a pilot, only to die a pilots death. Is that what he really wanted, after all of that?
Julieta is back, healed after her last battle. She’s heading down to Mars to partake in the final battle against Tekkadan. It’s looking more likely that she’s going to go up against Mikazuki. Whose going to walk away from that, I wonder…
In Summary:
Ideals versus reality. McGillis had a dream, one that cost him dearly in friends and a future. He would have been one lonely man at the top of the mountain, ruling by force, a dictator who killed all his friends for a chance at power. The lies he told himself about how it was for the good of mankind were not insincere. He actually believed all of his words. Delusional? Probably. The road to hell and all of that. Will his actions have long standing consequences? Undoubtedly. With his part in this story over, all that’s left to tell is the fate of the iron-blooded orphans.
Episode Grade: A –
Streamed by: Daisuki, Crunchyroll, Youtube, and Gundam.info in select regions.
