Gundam 00, episode 32.
--So, here we are, episode 7 32. I've been spoiled for some major parts of the episode (that's what happens when you mod a pairing community and the pairing in question suddenly goes canon). I am wary. But I am willing to give it a chance, because...dammit, Sunrise.
--Well, of course they can't yet do anything as dramatic as have Saji fire upon Louise all unknowing-like. Hopefully this little breakdown will lead to Saji actually doing something, though.
--Saji's trying to top his "orz" post from two episodes ago, I see.
--No, it's not okay, Ian! If Saji's going to take the controls, he should be able to fire! Come on, I don't want to dislike Saji. His character was done very well in the first season. Stop dragging his arc on and on in this one.
--Ah, this is the Graham I remember. Crazy obsessed with his concepts of "honor" to the point where he walks a disturbingly fine line between egomaniacal and genuine. But still...I used to be able to take him precisely halfway seriously, and that was why I loved him. This whole Bushido Bob thing, I see where it comes from, but I still feel like it ruins the delicate suspension of disbelief required for his character.
--Oh, Allelujah with his uke voice. I don't care how sweet and submissive Soma gets when she turns into Marie; she's still going to top him.
--Are Allelujah and Soma falling onto an island together? Is this required in every Gundam since SEED now?
--Well, Setsuna, you were told not to use Trans-Am...but hey, since when has thinking ahead ever been your forte?
--That translation...Graham is using keigo, isn't he? Well, he would.
--You know, I'm sorry, Sumeragi, I really want to like you, but I'm pretty sure they could have come up with that themselves. If they weren't total screw-ups in the head, I guess. So even a halfway decent tactician does have her uses on Ptolemaios.
--Hm. You can really track my loss of faith in this show by how disgruntled my commentary is becoming. I feel so bad about it; I know that most of my friendslist still loves it.
--Okay, what did I say about wishing Marina would do more than sit there muttering Setsuna's name?
--Cue stranded-on-an-island sequence!
--Well, what did you expect, Allelujah? She did almost the same thing last time you saw her! Okay, okay, I know. None of the Meisters, especially not Allelujah or Setsuna, are very good with the common sense.
--Soma is so moe when she's having her angsty freakouts, it kills me.
--I have to admit, I like the animation in this episode better than I have for the past several.
--Aww, Sergei heading out by himself. While still calling Soma "Lieutenant."
--Oh, and the flashback to Louise and Soma's meeting...I liked that plot thread. I hope it goes somewhere. More of the girls of Gundam 00 should actually talk to each other.
--And then they ruin the bit I liked by bringing Lindt back. I repeat my previous "waste of a character" comment.
--Well, hopefully Saji as a Gundam mechanic will actually feel like Doing Something.
--Of course Soma has to have moe bandages around her head.
--Awww, Allelujah's face as he looks at her waking up is adorable.
--How did he find a tent? Okay, okay, I don't really care. I just know that the two of them huddling together in it as it rains outside is adorable.
--But does the fact that Marie/Soma still has those "five senses she'd lost" mean that the Soma personality is still in there? I really want it to be, because how awesome would this pairing be if they both had submerged dark sides? I refuse to believe that either Soma or Hallelujah is entirely gone, and I want them both to reemerge and have sexy, sexy angry interaction.
--I have to say, Soma/Marie was way more awesome and more moe when her humanity was slowly emerging through cracks in her supersoldier facade. Having it all come rushing back is kind of boring. Hence, my wanting Soma to come back at some point.
--I admit, the two of them finally simply talking when they never really had the chance to before is adorable.
--Oh snap, it's Allelujah's ever-mysterious backstory, finally explained!
--I do like knowing that Allelujah seems to have accepted some responsibility for what Hallelujah has done. But I still want Hallelujah to come back, dammit.
--"Then you should understand what I did." Thank you! They've made the Hallelujah/Allelujah and Soma/Marie comparison explicit!
--And now they're addressing how awful it was that Allelujah took down the Super Soldier Facility! Yes!
--Her acknowledging that she killed Hallelujah makes it even better. Although I still want him to come back, because how he can "die" from a random head wound still doesn't make sense to me. And it would dovetail nicely with Soma coming back. Which also has to happen.
--And they're both so adrift aaaahhh, I'm still shipping it. Especially with the adorable head-touching.
--But even though they're sure of nothing else in the world, they find comfort with each other. So still shipping it.
--And their identities is so very intertwined: Allelujah was the one who made Marie appreciate life, Marie was the one who named Allelujah. Damn.
--With bonus religious symbolism! I was afraid that Marie would have no personality, but she does have a little. I do hope it ends up with her integrating some of Soma's personality into herself, though.
--Yay! One step closer to adorable Soma/Allelujah+Sergei family cuteness!
--Awww, and the flashback reminds us that Dad has a good first impression of his future son-in-law!
--But he still sure as hell doesn't want a Celestial Being member dating his daughter, thank you very much. Sergei's still got it.
--Oh, so we're finally learning what went on with Ali and Azadistan. A little.
--"Reorganizing the Middle East." I fear that's going to be the new "invading Russia in the winter."
--Okay, no, Allelujah, trying to protect kind, gentle, innocent Marie from being "used as a soldier" does not endear me to you. Although I'd be all over it if the genders were reversed, hypocrite that I am.
--...awww, Allelujah being willing to sacrifice himself for Marie.
--And Marie being willing to sacrifice herself for him makes up for a lot of the chickification that's gone on with her this episode, too.
--Of course Sergei wasn't going to shoot Allelujah after he'd proven himself willing to die for Marie. He's Sergei. He loves Soma, even if she's someone else now.
--"Those words alone will suffice." Bawwwww.
--So they didn't go the way I expected: having Sergei die just as Soma was starting to warm up, then have her go crazy and need Allelujah to calm her down and reveal her true self. That's a twist, at least. I'm still thinking we might see Sergei die in order to bring Soma back out and enrage her. Who knows.
--What I know for sure: I do not want Marie to become a non-combatant forever and ever, amen. She'd better fight again eventually. I don't care what overprotective Allelujah says: I want Soma to still be in there enough that she can't walk away from battle.
--One thing I like: that this was so much more about Soma/Marie than it was about Allelujah.
--Aw, Saji's words to Setsuna: "You can actually smile?"
--Hee, everyone's reactions to Allelujah having a girlfriend.
--Oh snap! Tieria's reaction to Regene! They finally meet!
--Oh, and he doesn't actually know him/her/it? Maybe we'll get some stuff explained to us next week when he does, then.
--We might learn a lot next week, actually! That may be the episode that makes it or breaks it for me: whether the stuff we learn is at all satisfying. Although, dammit, I have to keep watching anyway to see what they do with Soma/Marie.
--Well, of course they can't yet do anything as dramatic as have Saji fire upon Louise all unknowing-like. Hopefully this little breakdown will lead to Saji actually doing something, though.
--Saji's trying to top his "orz" post from two episodes ago, I see.
--No, it's not okay, Ian! If Saji's going to take the controls, he should be able to fire! Come on, I don't want to dislike Saji. His character was done very well in the first season. Stop dragging his arc on and on in this one.
--Ah, this is the Graham I remember. Crazy obsessed with his concepts of "honor" to the point where he walks a disturbingly fine line between egomaniacal and genuine. But still...I used to be able to take him precisely halfway seriously, and that was why I loved him. This whole Bushido Bob thing, I see where it comes from, but I still feel like it ruins the delicate suspension of disbelief required for his character.
--Oh, Allelujah with his uke voice. I don't care how sweet and submissive Soma gets when she turns into Marie; she's still going to top him.
--Are Allelujah and Soma falling onto an island together? Is this required in every Gundam since SEED now?
--Well, Setsuna, you were told not to use Trans-Am...but hey, since when has thinking ahead ever been your forte?
--That translation...Graham is using keigo, isn't he? Well, he would.
--You know, I'm sorry, Sumeragi, I really want to like you, but I'm pretty sure they could have come up with that themselves. If they weren't total screw-ups in the head, I guess. So even a halfway decent tactician does have her uses on Ptolemaios.
--Hm. You can really track my loss of faith in this show by how disgruntled my commentary is becoming. I feel so bad about it; I know that most of my friendslist still loves it.
--Okay, what did I say about wishing Marina would do more than sit there muttering Setsuna's name?
--Cue stranded-on-an-island sequence!
--Well, what did you expect, Allelujah? She did almost the same thing last time you saw her! Okay, okay, I know. None of the Meisters, especially not Allelujah or Setsuna, are very good with the common sense.
--Soma is so moe when she's having her angsty freakouts, it kills me.
--I have to admit, I like the animation in this episode better than I have for the past several.
--Aww, Sergei heading out by himself. While still calling Soma "Lieutenant."
--Oh, and the flashback to Louise and Soma's meeting...I liked that plot thread. I hope it goes somewhere. More of the girls of Gundam 00 should actually talk to each other.
--And then they ruin the bit I liked by bringing Lindt back. I repeat my previous "waste of a character" comment.
--Well, hopefully Saji as a Gundam mechanic will actually feel like Doing Something.
--Of course Soma has to have moe bandages around her head.
--Awww, Allelujah's face as he looks at her waking up is adorable.
--How did he find a tent? Okay, okay, I don't really care. I just know that the two of them huddling together in it as it rains outside is adorable.
--But does the fact that Marie/Soma still has those "five senses she'd lost" mean that the Soma personality is still in there? I really want it to be, because how awesome would this pairing be if they both had submerged dark sides? I refuse to believe that either Soma or Hallelujah is entirely gone, and I want them both to reemerge and have sexy, sexy angry interaction.
--I have to say, Soma/Marie was way more awesome and more moe when her humanity was slowly emerging through cracks in her supersoldier facade. Having it all come rushing back is kind of boring. Hence, my wanting Soma to come back at some point.
--I admit, the two of them finally simply talking when they never really had the chance to before is adorable.
--Oh snap, it's Allelujah's ever-mysterious backstory, finally explained!
--I do like knowing that Allelujah seems to have accepted some responsibility for what Hallelujah has done. But I still want Hallelujah to come back, dammit.
--"Then you should understand what I did." Thank you! They've made the Hallelujah/Allelujah and Soma/Marie comparison explicit!
--And now they're addressing how awful it was that Allelujah took down the Super Soldier Facility! Yes!
--Her acknowledging that she killed Hallelujah makes it even better. Although I still want him to come back, because how he can "die" from a random head wound still doesn't make sense to me. And it would dovetail nicely with Soma coming back. Which also has to happen.
--And they're both so adrift aaaahhh, I'm still shipping it. Especially with the adorable head-touching.
--But even though they're sure of nothing else in the world, they find comfort with each other. So still shipping it.
--And their identities is so very intertwined: Allelujah was the one who made Marie appreciate life, Marie was the one who named Allelujah. Damn.
--With bonus religious symbolism! I was afraid that Marie would have no personality, but she does have a little. I do hope it ends up with her integrating some of Soma's personality into herself, though.
--Yay! One step closer to adorable Soma/Allelujah+Sergei family cuteness!
--Awww, and the flashback reminds us that Dad has a good first impression of his future son-in-law!
--But he still sure as hell doesn't want a Celestial Being member dating his daughter, thank you very much. Sergei's still got it.
--Oh, so we're finally learning what went on with Ali and Azadistan. A little.
--"Reorganizing the Middle East." I fear that's going to be the new "invading Russia in the winter."
--Okay, no, Allelujah, trying to protect kind, gentle, innocent Marie from being "used as a soldier" does not endear me to you. Although I'd be all over it if the genders were reversed, hypocrite that I am.
--...awww, Allelujah being willing to sacrifice himself for Marie.
--And Marie being willing to sacrifice herself for him makes up for a lot of the chickification that's gone on with her this episode, too.
--Of course Sergei wasn't going to shoot Allelujah after he'd proven himself willing to die for Marie. He's Sergei. He loves Soma, even if she's someone else now.
--"Those words alone will suffice." Bawwwww.
--So they didn't go the way I expected: having Sergei die just as Soma was starting to warm up, then have her go crazy and need Allelujah to calm her down and reveal her true self. That's a twist, at least. I'm still thinking we might see Sergei die in order to bring Soma back out and enrage her. Who knows.
--What I know for sure: I do not want Marie to become a non-combatant forever and ever, amen. She'd better fight again eventually. I don't care what overprotective Allelujah says: I want Soma to still be in there enough that she can't walk away from battle.
--One thing I like: that this was so much more about Soma/Marie than it was about Allelujah.
--Aw, Saji's words to Setsuna: "You can actually smile?"
--Hee, everyone's reactions to Allelujah having a girlfriend.
--Oh snap! Tieria's reaction to Regene! They finally meet!
--Oh, and he doesn't actually know him/her/it? Maybe we'll get some stuff explained to us next week when he does, then.
--We might learn a lot next week, actually! That may be the episode that makes it or breaks it for me: whether the stuff we learn is at all satisfying. Although, dammit, I have to keep watching anyway to see what they do with Soma/Marie.