I finally watched the episode. Good episode, with lots of story development.
So now we've got five obvious sides and possibly more unobvious ones. Ptolemais - They're obviously trying to stick with the plan, even as they attempt to figure out what may have been done to Veda, and where all of these new imitation GN Drives are coming from. Trinities - I'm guessing that their mission at the end of the episode was an attempt to set them up and get rid of them. Or in other words, they've officially been abandoned by Ragna, except as target practice for the superpowers' new mobile suits. Presumeably the fact that Wang is allying with them means that they're going to be around for a while. Of course, if Ragna cuts them loose, then they might end up working directly for Wang (who apparently has her own rather extensive network of agents). And the UN - whose military is composed of three different nations that are cooperating against a combined threat (which merely means that one of them may choose to backstab the other two at an opportune moment...) There's also... Corner *might* be working to attempt to strengthen the UN. He works for it, after all, and it's possible that his family has been excercising control over it behind the scenes. I suspect otherwise, but it's a possibility. Ragna Harvey appears to be working with the Thrones and appears to have secretly provided the superpowers with the new mobile suits (it's obvious he's transporting them - the question is whether he's the one that secretly stuck them in Antarctica and tipped off the superpowers). He's probably working with Corner, although that isn't completely certain. The big question mark is what the two want and what the two get out of the current mess. And who exactly is he that he can pretty much guarantee that Ali gets assigned one? Wang is "neutral", whatever that means. She could honor her new alliance with the Trinities, or abandon them if she sees a better opportunity. Hong Long appears to be uncomfortable with the situation. I'm guessing that he's primarily unhappy about the idea of stabbing the Ptolemais crew in the back. One point of interest that caught my attention a while back, but that didn't necessarily mean anything at the time - in the intro, the UN symbol and the CB symbol are both shown on the same blue surface. Wang is standing in the foreground atop the UN symbol, while Hong Long is standing in the background near the CB symbol. A sign of things to come? I don't know yet, but we know that certain things have been telegraphed in the OP. And I've got a funny feeling that Ribbon's been pulling a fast one on Corner... I'm waiting for him to trap Corner a la Cask of the Amantillado, and take over the Veda system himself. Finally, there's Ali. He may only be aligned with himself, but he's a potential problem for everyone. I'm still trying to figure out what Corner got out of starting the solar energy project in Azadistan and then scuttling it. Is there a particular reason that the Middle East needs to be destabilized? Everyone's favorite Azadistani advisor was apparently right to be suspicious of his motives. But even she couldn't figure out what he was up to. Hmm... it might be fun to see an episode that had Sumeragi, Billy, and Shirin all comparing notes. They appear to represent nearly half of the surviving combined brainpower in the series... Saji's just had two tragedies back to back in his life (he apparently doesn't know about Kinue yet, though I'm sure that will change soon). I'm guessing that Setsuna is going to return to Japan fairly soon and something important is going to come out of the meeting between the two. I thought for sure that Kinue's assistant would be the one that the hammer fell on. I figured Kinue would survive for at least a while yet. Come to think of it, it wouldn't take much to get Setsuna interested. If Saji tells Setsuna that his sister was researching Celestial Being when she was murdered, then I'm sure that Setsuna, and eventually Sumeragi, will take an interest in her death. Or Saji may unwittingly ask Setsuna to help him go through some of his sister's things. Graham's wingman is concerned that Graham won't be able to beat a Gundam in just the Overflag. News Flash! Graham has ALREADY beaten a Gundam in the Overflag! It may only have been a small victory, but it's pretty obvious who came out on top in the matchup. Hint - the winner is generally the guy who's NOT running away minus an arm... Though admittedly, Graham could have beaten him a lot worse if he'd had a mobile suit equipped with a GN Drive, instead of one that caused internal bleeding due to the extreme G-Forces involved. Tieria is using a male personal pronoun, which is apparently out of character for him. I wonder if it's significant? Particles from the Gundam weaponry apparently damaged Louise's cells. The weapons are powered by the GN Drive. Is there something harmful about the particles emitted from the counterfeit GN Drives? If so, then how about the real GN Drives? Is this doing something to the pilots? I think Allelujah's going to have real problems when he runs into Soma next. Hallelujah seems to be more of a bully. Going up against a Soma who is piloting a mobile suit that's roughly equivalent to the Kyhrios will probably cause Hallelujah to remain in hiding, much as happened in Taklamakan. Ali said he'd be willing to fly one of the new mobile suits for either the Union or AEU military. Makes me wonder if he might take Graham's place in the Overflag squadron? Since Graham doesn't want to fly the suit... Admittedly, it's more likely that Ali will end up back with the AEU again. And Patrick's apparently going to get one... (you can see him in the preview for the next episode) Billy's busy studying the specs on the new GN Drives. The saber that Graham captured has been recovered, but isn't being examined at the moment (since Billy's busy studying the new mobile suits). Minor plot point, but it could be important down the road. junior
