Read about these posts here.

Well, fuck.

Jasley FUCKING Donomiklos. Ok, you managed to make me look up your name, you tasteless son of a bitch.

They kept the funeral short, but full of details… Jasley’s showoff flowers, him and his goons trying to pick a fight with disrespectful remarks. The Tekkadan guys (and Turbines gals!) were grief stricken but managed to act with restraint.

It’s clear now what Jasley’s play is: provoke a fight over his actions agains Naze, claim to be the victim, expel Tekkadan from Teiwaz (or destroy them). The fucker.

Old Man Barriston seems to be acting as honorably as he can (and always keeping an eye on his bottom line… it’s a smart way to write a boss like that).

The three new heads of Turbines look very professional in the funeral black suit… and Azee seems to have naturally inherited the role of chief… and of Big Sister. Her gentle pushing Lafter towards Akihito and Tekkadan was sweet. And the flashback with Amida sheds some more light on the actual relationship of the Turbines women and Naze. Sure, they were an open poly family… but just like Naze and Amida shared a different kind of link, they all recognized the possibility of one of the girls finding Love with a capital letter, and leaving. This might be the sanest “harem” I’ve ever encountered :)

Iok appears for less than 10 seconds, and manages to make himself eminently slappable. Rustal truly has Job’s patience… clearly Iok is useful as a proxy to do the shit he doesn’t want to.

The whole date between Lafter and Akihiro was so, so sweet… and laced with a sadness of people that know they might never be together, both because of the circumstances and because of their personal history (hell, Lafter has clearly seen how this is as much as Akihiro will allow for himself, and decided not to push). Again, I was moved.

Oh and btw… we want a “Young Amida Adventures” show! She looks so effortlessly badass and beautiful in all her shots!

Orga’s reflection on Naze’s words… we get back to IBO’s Family theme, strong. Orga should care for his family, and care for the Endgame… but never forget WHY he wants to get there. Keep true to his and his family’s values… we’ll get back to this.

Mika and Atra… super awkward, but again this scene underlines one of the underlying themes of this episode: passing down the legacy. Of blood, of values, of tradition. Mika as usual has very little filters… he observed, he saw how a legacy passes on, he saw the kids up close… from his POV he’s just acting accordingly. Nice to see Atra reacting super awkwardly and needing to think about it A LOT… facing the actual thing is different from fantasising about it :)

And then. Then.

Right as we get this bittersweet scene of Lafter choosing the Akihiro Bear… Bang.

Mother. Fucker.

This kind of abrupt scene reminded me of some of the best movies… The Departed possibly (open the door: bang. No warning).

And we thought this could be one of those reflection episodes… but no.

Poor Lafter. Poor Azee.

I doubt she’ll stay away from the cockpit now.

Nice how the reaction of the Tekkadan kids is of instant, unrelenting loyalty. They want vengeance, but they also want to protect their friends. “Orga. Give us the order”. Orga felt that hit. Akihiro rarely speaks up like that.

McGillis and Orga swearing loyalty. I really hope McGillis is not being treacherous, that he really sees himself as the inheritor of the legacy (heh) of the ancient Calamity hero.

Where did McGillis go at the end of that white corridor? The Baal vault I’d say.

The Shiden team is ready to fight… and Akihiro destroyed the gym. I want to see what he does with his Gusion when given the chance…

And that little final scene between Mika and Orga in the hangar of the Barbatos Lupus Rex.

M: “How far should I go?”

O: “That’s a rare question coming from you”

M: “How far?”

O: “All the way”

Orga has thought long and hard about Naze’s words. He wants the Endgame, he wants to be King of Mars for all of Tekkadan… but if getting there fast means throwing away all the principles and loyalties, and forget friendships… “FUCK THAT. Smash the motherfuckers, Mika.”

Somehow I don’t think we’ve finished crying with this show, though.