Tragedy begets tragedy.
What They Say:
Episode #41 “NATURAL FOR A HUMAN”
A modest funeral service is held aboard the Saisei. But Jasley has been preparing yet another stratagem.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The Turbines are no more. McMurdo has no plans to put the woman now under his organization into combat positions, so the ace pilots of the Turbines will be stepping back. Azee and the others seem okay with the decision. Lafter has to make a choice, to either stay a combatant and join Tekkadan or take up a position in Teiwaz.
A big part of her decision is her feelings for Akihiro. Feelings that she’s well aware of, that the other guys in the group are aware of, but Akihiro is not so aware of. He likes her quite a bit, but let’s face it, he’s not a romantic. He’s a meathead, and Lafter is well aware of this. She points it out to him while they have drinks in a nearly abandoned bar. (Seriously, every time they show a shopping area in this episode it’s a ghost town.) However, Lafter decides to remain apart from Tekkadan. She wants to teach others the way Naze and Amida taught her, and she seems happy with that choice. She’s still holding a candle for Akihiro, and leaves him with a hug.
Meanwhile, Atra is making moves to attempt to ground Mika and bind him to her. Of course, she does so in the most clumsy way possible, but Mika doesn’t seem to mind the idea of having a kid with her. Even though they’re both only fifteen or sixteen years old. I honestly don’t expect that either of them are going to reach that point in their relationship.
What happens next is unexpected and entirely cruel. Sure, there are signs that there’s no future in this story for the last remaining members of the Turbines. At least not in the conflict. However, when whatever chance there was that Lafter was going to join the boys for the remainder of the story was dashed her survival chances plummeted. She plans out her future, leaves a place for Akihiro there, and suddenly the rug is pulled out from under the audience by Jasley. I should have seen it coming, but the method and the means are simply too cruel.
Iok is a clueless idiot, but Jasley is a misogynist asshole who is plotting his way up the chain of command in the space mob. He’s the dangerous one here and has no qualms about playing dirty. Ultimately, he sets his plan to take out Tekkadan and take over Teiwaz in action. His actions spell doom not only for himself but for Tekkadan’s place in Teiwaz.
Episode Grade: B +
