Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny Part 2 Episodes 6-10

The unthinkable has happened.  The remains of the Junius Seven colony have been dropped onto the Earth, signaling the beginning of a second Bloody Valentine War between Naturals and Coordinators.  As both sides scramble to prepare an effective response, the Minerva travels to Orb for repairs.  Here, two generations of warriors meet and old friends are reunited for the first time in years.  Some, like Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne, wish for a peaceful solution, while Shinn Asuka, who blames Cagali for the death of his family in Orb two years prior, is ready to make the Earth pay.  And so the stage is set for a new conflict to beign.

When it comes to sequels, taking what worked about the original and expanding or improving on it is paramount.  Gundam Seed Destiny didn’t have the smoothest launch, I’d dare say it was pretty disappointing to say the least.  However, it’s second outing proved surprisingly superior, or at least very improved.  The stakes have definitely been raised and, once again, the Earth and the PLANTS are at war with one another.

The dropping of Junius Seven onto Earth is one helluva event to have so early on in a series but I dare say, this is where the show should have started.  The battle to prevent the collision was intense and well done.  Probably my favorite aspect of the battle was seeing Athrun fighting alongside Yzak and Dearka again.  Not only did we get a blink and you’ll miss smile from Yzak after he insulted Athrun but both he and Dearka are piloting new custom Zaku’s that are outfitted and operated much like their Duel and Buster Gundams.  It does beg the question: If ZAFT was making new Gundams already, why didn’t Yzak and Dearka just get their old Gundams repaired or upgraded?  The colony drop was also a major sting for Athrun, who had more of a central focus this time around, as it turns out the perps of this terrorist act were die hard supporters of his Dad, Patrick Zala.  The colony itself was destroyed but the fragments that made it to Earth wreaked a lot of the planet.  Athrun’s gonna feel this for sure and it’s definitely going to motivate him to return to the fight in a greater capacity later.

After learning that Coordinators were behind the dropping of Junius Seven, it’s understandable that half of the planet wants payback.  But Earth is in a state of chaos.  It’s not blown to hell and back like say Gundam X but how could the Earth Alliance muster an effective response that quickly?  Of course, I forgot it probably already had a space fleet on the Moon already…so there’s that.  The fallout of the tragedy was about what you’d expect: lots of shouting and arguing leading to another war kicking off courtesy of manipulations by Djibril and Blue Cosmos and pressure from an ailing Earths population.  I can definitely feel Athrun and Cagalli’s frustrations, seeing all the hard work they fought for two years ago suddenly falling apart around them.  I don’t get why Kira is so…distant.  I feel like he should be jumping to get back into the mix and find a way to quickly and peacefully settle things.  Instead the former Gundam Seed star has been standing on a beach looking like an emotionless block of wood.  I swear, when he saw the remains of the church he, Lacus and their cadre of war orphans were staying at, I almost imagined he’d say in a dead pan fashion, “My boat,” just like Kevin Costner in Waterworld.  Did the end of Seed mess Kira up that much? 

While the focus of the series seemed to shift to Athrun, this set of episodes saw the cast of both Seed series cross paths a couple of times.  Talia got to meet Murrue, who like Athrun is going by a false name.  I get why Athrun does this, to keep a low profile as Cagalli’s bodyguard.  As for Murrue, I guess it’s because technically she and the rest of the Archangel crew are wanted criminals since they never returned to the Earth Alliance, and rightfully so.  Still, it’s good to see the former cute Captain return to her roots as a Mobile Suit mechanic.  Kira also met Shinn…but that wasn’t quite as memorable (the block of wood meets the rage machine who was actually calm for a minute).  Ah Shinn.  Let me be clear: losing family no matter the circumstances is tough, probably the hardest pain you’ll ever go through.  I get Shinn despising Orb for the death of his sister.  But the kid is just so damn unlikeable and everytime he’s on screen he’s begging to be punched.  When Cagalli tried to commend the Minerva Mobile Suit team for doing the best they could, Shinn lashed out at her again because she wasn’t there with them and doesn’t know squat about war.  Hey, asshat, she and her brother and boyfriend fought directly in the last war on the frontlines and put an end to the damn thing.  They know just as much about war and loss as you do, if not more.  God, no wonder the show was better this set because it moved the POV to Athrun instead.

Actually, this should have been Athrun’s show because it feels like he and Kira have reversed roles.  In early Seed I criticized Athrun for not being that compelling because we spent so little time with him.  Now Athrun is getting a great deal more screentime, dealing with his own inner turmoil, possibly giving Cagalli and engagement ring and having a deep conversation with Durandal.  And he’s in the center of the action.  So why wasn’t this Athrun’s show to begin with instead of Shinns?  Athrun’s a familiar character we care about and we’d want to see more from his story.  Shinn’s just a ticking time bomb waiting to go off in someones face (even though I hate to agree that he was smart enough to know war was coming…and yet I still think he’ll care less if it means taking a shot at Orb).  As for Durandal, I’m surprised he kept trying the diplomatic solution until it was no longer viable.  And he’s still gonna try despite a failed nuclear attack on the PLANTs by the Earth Alliance.  He actually seemed like a kind hearted and skilled politician and new guide for Athrun.  I know I had my hesitations about him before…and I still do but part of me wants to trust him.  Hell, even when Durandal revealed he’d secret put a “Fake Lacus” in play to help calm the PLANTs population, it had a weird kind of logic too it.  I’m getting my hopes up, I know it.

Speaking of, meet Meer Campbell everyone.  Name not familiar, well that’s because she’s the new (and improved?) Lacus Clyne.  While Real Lacus is busy tending to Kira on Earth, Meer, an uber fan, will be taking her spot, putting out new music (beautiful stuff too, Fields of Hope is a great song), and wearing sexier and more revealing outfits (are her boobs bigger too).  I know I said there’s a weird logic to this tactic but I don’t know…what’s gonna happen when Lacus hears about this?  What’s gonna happen when the public learns Meer is a fraud?  She’s committed to her role, even if she knows what it fully entails (for now).  It’s still a little too early to tell anything on this front…but why the sexier dress wear?  Was Lacus known for her sex appeal?

So yeah, kind of a shock, Gundam Seed Destiny was improving on every front except it’s “main character” Shinn.  Could there be hope for this series yet or is this the early peak before a tremendous fall?  We’re not stopping, so I’ll see you tomorrow for a new review of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny.