On the Gradido’s boat, the Ignauts have reunited with the Zoozian clan leader and are updating each other on current events. Demetrio and Gradido lament that they’ll probably have to deal with Ibelda again the future, but their immediate focus is the attack by the regional lord on Gradido’s home island.

Pascal and Joseph show up and briefly update everyone on Babel and Babylon, and really the scene is needlessly repetitive because by this point we all know what Babel does and why it didn’t work. The only new piece of information is that because Babel isn’t working, and the Warp Particles are still decreasing, their original theory of the Warp Particle decline being tied to Delzaine’s reign has to be scrapped. Shun’s not worried about Babel not working because he wants to
help fix Endora’s problems first before he returns home.

An ally has also brought troubling news to Gradido: a few radicals have somehow found out about the decreasing Warp Particles and are preaching the subject to vlcsnap-00006anyone willing to listen, and this is helping to incite further chaos and upset amongst the people of Endora. Joseph proposes that their group do whatever they can to find out more about the Warp Particles. Guess it helps they’re already en route to the Royal Laboratory to find out more about Babel, eh?

Suddenly there is a scuffle up on deck. Guidoro is facing off against Mischa and Felix, who are upset about the Zoozian joining the Ignauts, even if only temporarily. Louise is trying to mediate and Eljuia is trying to talk everyone out of fighting, but neither is successful and weapons are brought out. The issue? Felix and Mischa don’t trust Guidoro any more than they trust Louise, which is basically not at all. *hangs head*

The fight comes to an abrupt end when Demetrio and Gradido show up, and Gradido proposes that he become responsible for Louise and Guidoro’s actions. He then asks Demetrio if he can join the Ignauts, and Demetrio readily accepts his ally’s request. This rebel group just keeps getting bigger!

The Ignauts show up at the Zoozian island and easily defeat the regional lord and his ships, putting an immediate end to the attack. Afterwards the entire group relocates to Gradido’s home where they plot their next moves. Demetrio reiterates their plan to head to the capital, squashing riots and other troubles along the way. He asks Gradido to help keep the north territories under control in the meantime. Then Gradido’s son Chum shows up and everyone’s momentarily distracted by his antics.

After the meeting Emilio pulls Shun and Demetrio aside and expresses his concern about Gradido and the other Zoozians traveling alone. He fears that even if they’re working with the Ignauts, people will revert to their typical ignorance and fears and the Zoozians’ presence will end up making the situation worse. Emilio suggests that some of the Ignauts travel with the Zoozians, and Demetrio accepts this idea.

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Elsewhere Eljuia, Alicia, Louise and Mischa are discussing the Warp Particles, and the conversation makes its way to Alicia’s feelings for Emilio. Alicia initially tries denying how she feels, but eventually concedes that when she and Emilio have both made some goals and found their purpose in Endora, only then would she consider telling Emilio how she felt. In the meantime she also needs to definitively sort out her feelings for him, because while she acknowledges an attraction she is not yet sure if she wants to be with him. Eljuia joins in the conversation and says what Alicia feels for Emilio is how he feels about Demetrio, but when Louise and Mischa try to get him to define whether he means his words in a romantic context, Eljuia keeps his intent vague.

Later on Shun and Emilio find Chum crying on a small ledge. While the two guys fish, they talk to Chum and try to encourage him to be strong for his father. Emilio points out that Gradido is leaving because he has Chum, and he’s trying to better the world for both his son and all Zoozians, and the other people of Endora too. When Shun, Emilio and Chum return to Gradido’s, Chum does his best to show his father how proud he is of him, and his father reciprocates.

vlcsnap-00026It’s late when Pascal and Joseph wrap up their research and prepare to leave the next morning. Emilio is also awake, and he asks Pascal if he knows anything about Delzaine’s motivations for wanting to go to the surface. Pascal doesn’t know what Delzaine first found at Babel all those years ago, but he suspects that Delzaine wanted to meet someone on the surface. Could it be Shun’s parents? Someone else we haven’t been introduced to yet? Emilio asks Pascal to tell him everything he knows about King Delzaine, and Emilio is grateful when both Pascal and Joseph say they will help him.

In the morning the Ignauts prepare to leave. Shun and Emilio formally introduce themselves to Chum and Gradido, and for the first time Emilio opens owns up to his royal status. On the boat, Emilio tells Shun that he’s tired of ignoring both how much he hated Delzaine and his lack of awareness of the troubles plaguing Endora.

My thoughts: Holy shit look at all the character development! I would never have guessed that this show was the same show I couldn’t stand even a couple of months ago. Endride has progressed so much and I’m really pleased with how everything is starting to tie together.

Most importantly I feel is Pascal’s conjecture about what Delzaine’s motivations were for wanting to go to the surface. I personally suspect that Shun’s mother is going to be the person Delzaine wanted to see, because it would explain the bracelet on baby Shun’s wrist in the opening sequence. It’d also mean that Shun and Emilio are half-brothers, and I feel like that’s a possibility given how close they seem in the opening. But who knows, I’m just grasping at straws right now.

Endride still suffers from the occasional hiccup in dialogue when it comes to repetitiveness, but this problem is much less of an issue compared to the first half of the season.

While this episode highlighted why I still can’t stand Felix and Mischa, I was also happy to see that Endride hasn’t forgotten about Alicia and her feelings for Emilio. If Emilio ends up becoming the next king, how she feels about him and what she decides to do about those feelings may become very important down the road.

It looks like the Ignauts reach the Royal Laboratory in next week’s episode, so we’ll see what happens then!