“I’ll update my blog where I please!” -Fleur Blanc
Summary: Aboard the Triton (Team Pied Piper’s boat/spaceship), Rebecka, Fleur, and Ivica get the bad news that Elena has been caught by the Okinawa Self Defense Forces. The rest of the Pied Piper team is obligated to then go and negotiate with the SDF (as they’re referred to in the episode) for both the right to fully destroy the Scub Coral, which is still active and will continue to attract Secrets if left untended, and for Elena’s release. Fleur and Ivica, who both clearly would rather be doing a million other things, find excuses to leave the negotiating to Rebecka (Fleur runs off to use her IFO to save a mother trapped under some rubble and Ivica is determined to find out more about Ao.) At the same time Ao and Naru make their way back from the cave where the Nirvash is hidden only to be caught by Mitsuo Arata (Naru’s father), a man named Kazuyuki Kinjo, and a couple of other men. They take Ao away to Kazuyuki’s house and Naru is returned to the hospital.
Ao is then filled in on the story of what happened with his mother and the events that happened 13 years ago that lead to everyone bullying Ao as well as Eureka. Kazuyuki knows that the reasons he and the other islanders hate Eureka is wrong but he can’t change. He apologizes to Ao for what he’s done right as Ivica bust in (my hero!) and demands to know if Eureka, whom he had met before, is really Ao’s mother and if Ao was the one that piloted the Nirvash the other day. Before Ao can answer BAM! Gazelle, Pippo, and Han drive their FP (or hover car as I like to call it) through the side of the room, and try and escape with Ao. They’re stopped by Kazuyuki, who is Gazelle’s (who’s real name is Jiro) father, and Teruhiko Niigaki (the guy that comes in with Ivica), who is Pippo’s dad. Gazelle then lectures them about how they can’t blame others for their circumstances if they aren’t willing to do anything to help themselves. They then leave with Ao. Gazelle and company try and persuade Ao to pilot the Nirvash again, but only after he has a talk with his “Grandfather” about why he can’t hate the people on the island since they were only trying to protect a place they love, does he agree to get back in the cockpit. And just in time too, as yet another Secret has appeared.
Impressions: Wooooow there was a lot of talking in this episode. While they didn’t get to what exactly happened to Eureka (why u do this to meeee?!?), other than vaguely saying that the Americans took her, it was good to find out why everyone was hatin’ on Eureka and Ao. To be ostracized and blamed for something beyond their control just because humans are scared of things they don’t understand is heartbreaking. Gazelle had one of the best lines of the episode with:
because really, that’s the least of what Ao and his mother deserve for everything they were put through (To reference future episodes really briefly: Think about how depressing that must have been for Eureka to go through. She almost dies getting tossed into this new timeline, is pregnant and separated from Renton (whom she loves), she doesn’t know anyone and only has one friend, she has to hid who she really is and dye her hair, and try and raise her kid on an island where pretty much everyone harbor’s some animosity towards her.) This episode goes into some pretty heavy stuff. I’m glad that Ao decided to pilot the Nirvash again, even though it would make him more of an outsider than he already is, so that he never feels regret for his actions like Kazuyuki and the rest of them oh-so-obviously do.
It was good to see more of Team Pied Piper. Up till now, I wasn’t totally sure if they were going to be good guys or good guys that turn into bad guys. It looks like they’re all lined up to be the new Gekkostate-type family.
All the serious talks are balanced by some humorous scenes. I actually laughed out loud when Naru and Ao find Noah in a trunk of Naru’s bras and panties. Their blushing faces were to much for my heart! Elena as an Otaku was also fun. That weird scene with that general guy in his office was just bizarre and hilarious. Plus Rebecka’s dead pan voice when she announces that she’ll do karaoke: I WAS DYING. Naru’s forehead remains eerily large in almost all the scenes she’s in. Ivica continues to be my favorite grumpy non-dawrf. He’s exactly the kind of character I like, kicking down doors, avoiding talking to people on the phone, quick to skip out on obligations. I continue to wonder how Noah just magically appears places like just HOW DOES HE GET ON TO THE TRITON WITH IVICA?
Final Though: Please tell me I’m not the only one who noticed how…phallic…the Secret for this episode looked? No? I’m the only one with a dirty mind here?
