One last push towards the great white north.
What They Say:
#22 NOT YET HOME
Though Tekkadan is exhausted by its repeated battles with Gjallarhorn, its members are still determined to get to Edmonton, and they hasten toward their goal.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While the end of last week’s episode was a shock, nothing is more shocking to me than the fact that Mika lets Carta get away. It’s not shown how, or what went down immediately following the battle. We get short glimpses of the team shocked following the news before everyone is on the move.
Then it’s back to Gjallarhorn politics. Watching McGillis play both sides is getting interesting. It’s revealed that McGillis, Gaelio, and Carta have been used by their families as pawns since basically forever. The intermarrying and all of that have just been power plays for one man’s attempt at a power grab. (Catching the insults aimed at Carta for being a ‘tomboy’ certainly emphasizes the regressive traits of Gjallarhorn.) McGillis must have realized all of this from an early age, and now he’s doing the same sort of manipulation on his ‘friend’ Gaelio. He tells Gaelio about the history of the system used to control Gundams and delicately convinces him to take the final step to weaponizing Ein.
Back on the ship powering its way towards Alaska, Kudelia is left to strategize the path to her goal by herself. She has almost everything figured out now and comes up with a plan to land in Ancorage and take an overland train route owned by Teiwaz to Edmonton and the elections. You get the feeling from the political competition that the old man was a far better-liked prime minister than anyone rival factions could stack the deck with. Kudelia, like the others, is feeling the loss of Biscuit, but is able to put aside the pain and keep working. Or, like Atra, she is using work to distract herself from losing another friend.
The only one feeling worse than Atra is Orga. No one had seen him for days as he recovered from his own injuries locked in his room. Merribit, being one of the adults on board, struggles with trying to find the words to say to Orga. The crew is listless, they need their captain. The Turbine girls tell Merribit that there’s no real difference between the so-called adults and the kids, and drop a bit of a line about the Turbines being a shelter for lost women in there, not so different from Tekkadan after all.
Merribit can’t open Orga’s door, but Mika can. He storms in and asks Orga what he’s going to do. “Who do I kill next Orga?” Mika has been damn scary at times, but never as terrifying as when he hoists Orga off the floor and demands direction. Mikazuki has to be one of the most intriguingly unique characters in any anime in recent years. It’s easy to brush him off as a psycho, but he’s fascinating and complex. Orga, by comparison, is far easier to understand. Who is really in charge of this friendship? This is Mika telling Orga his job isn’t done, and he was the only one that could have snapped Orga out of it.
However, when Orga appeals to the more base and carnal desire for revenge to rally his troops, you know it’s a bad idea. Most of the crew knows this, and I just hope they remember not to needlessly throw their lives away.
In Summary:
The final leg of the journey has been decided. Tekkadan makes tracks for Edmonton, with Orga rallying his troops under the banner of revenge. Everyone who isn’t Tekkadan knows that taking up that battle cry is a huge mistake. Until now Tekkadan has only fought in self-defense, and they don’t have the manpower or the resources to launch an attack. Expect no more pulled punches the next time Gaelio decides to test himself against Mika. I can’t help but wonder how many more tragedies will befall Tekkadan before the final episode.
Episode Grade: B +
Streamed by: Hulu, Daisuki, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Youtube in select regions. Phew!
Review Equipment: 27” iMac running OS Yosemite, via Safari 9, FIOS connection. Your mileage may vary.
