I think this was the episode I needed to really be sold on this show. I was still on the fence about whether I would still follow it but this episode was a really nice change of pace than what we’ve gotten in the previous two episodes. Seeing the side of the Empire was a very good idea, especially when it came to Stella because her character is way more different than what I had imagined she’d be like.
I expected her to be a little like Yuki. Not extremely moe and naive like she is, but I expected her to be like Yuki in the sense that she would be positive, always smiling in hopes of things improving, and wanting the people around her to be smiling even when they’re in a tough situation. Instead, she’s a much more ruthless and broken girl than I thought. It seemed at first she was making a friendship with the little girl, but I wonder what she really felt then? Did she really feel hurt and regret in the end? Her answer to Owens didn’t make her state of mind clear to me.
It seems that the war between Soleil and Grandiga seem to be about resources? Even though the Empire city we saw in the beginning was destroyed, you could still see the differences between a city from Grandiga and one from Soleil. Soleil seems much more technologically advanced than Grandiga what with the fancy stores and cafes, as well as their main resource that’s the target of this episode. Chrars. Grandiga seems less advanced, more simple. Soleil has more resources and better technology and maybe the conflict between them is just that. I don’t think the conflict between them has been made very clear just yet but I can see this as one big reason. Chrars are a really powerful energy resource and in this episode, Owens and his group find out that Soleil is using a large chrars to produce food at a rapid pace in a facility. The higher ups tell Owens to destroy it and detonate the entire building. If any of those resources were to go to the Royal Army, the war would only hurt their side more. Following their orders, Owens goes ahead with it before the higher ups go crazy.
But this all goes back to the children Owens and Stella met earlier on during their infiltration mission to the food bank. They meet a couple of orphan boys and form a little friendship with them as Owens sneaks some food out for them. Stella notices a little girl with a doll sitting alone on a bench. She keeps her company and learns that she and the other children are all orphans from losing their parents to the war. They live in the empty administrative building that’s right next to the food bank, and Owens knows that the children will die when they detonate the food bank. While he sends Stella, Huey, and Lily inside to do the mission, he stays behind to group up the children to take them to safety. But things go wrong and the children learn quickly that Owens and Stella are from Grandiga, their enemies.
I was pretty shocked that Stella would actually point her gun to Lana and threaten to kill them one by one. She struck a little friendship with her and even gave her some words to live by. She may be lost and confused now, but one day she’ll find her place in the world. They got close enough that Lana offered Stella a piece of candy, but that all was destroyed once Stella pointed her gun at her. It was really cold and shocking.
The infiltration mission itself was successful, and it was pretty cool to watch Stella’s group work so well together. And they were no-nonsense and brutal. Lily may have a cute face but she does her job in killing anyone in her way, as well as Stella and Huey. The production quality of the show is getting worse so the fighting and violence isn’t the most fun to watch at times, though.
I like Stella’s group so far. I find them a lot more entertaining to watch than the Soleil army, because they seem to have a lot more personality. And personally, I find Stella’s character a lot more appealing than Yuki’s. Yuki is cute and sweet, but that’s it so far. Stella is an enigma. She shows a truly soft side and can flash a warm smile, like she did with Lana. But then she can be ruthless and cold and flashes a different kind of smile. She’s definitely a soldier through and through, completing any mission given to her. We were given some possible foreshadowing that if Stella were given the order to kill Princess Yuki, then she would do it no doubt.
There’s something seriously wrong with her. I agree with Owens, she’s completely lost it. She did seem affected about what happened with the children, eating the candy Lana gave her with a solemn expression. But she smiles and only cares about wondering when the next mission will be. It’s like she’s completely void of emotion and empathy, so then what does that smile of hers mean? What is she smiling for, and were her words towards Lana genuine at all? She’s so broken, I wonder how traumatic her past was to make her like this.
I like the moral grayness of the show so far. War is stupid and terrible, and honestly there’s never a winner. People suffer and die from both sides. This show is doing a pretty good job of being neutral. I think more people are on board with Yuki’s side more because she’s young, and we’ve gotten to know them more. But I don’t think there’s one side here (so far) that’s good or bad. It’s important to see both sides so we can understand them both, so I like this direction.
Though next week we’re probably going to go back to Soleil. This episode was better but I think blogging-wise, I’m going to give it one more episode to see if I want to continue covering it. Though this episode was a good shift.
