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And so it begins.
The repercussions from Tekkadan’s decisions finally start to exact their pound of flesh and blood as we start this week with a whole mess of injured crew members in “Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans Episode 24: A Future Reward.”
Let’s just say that it looks like things didn’t quite go according to “keikaku.”
What we see is a sad if at times disturbing scene that includes maimed personnel and even one kid who just may have lost an eye. I’m sure many of these were the same kids who were so gung ho about fighting and exacting revenge for Biscuit in the last episode, which makes it somewhat ironic that Merribit Stapleton, who has strongly warned against the course Tekkadan was taking, is one of the folks who has to deal with the repercussions while nursing the injured. Sadly, some members such as Ride Max still see the battlefield almost like a game even with all the carnage around them.
It’s been three days now since Gjallarhorn engaged the Tekkadan to block them from reaching Edmonton and it’s turning into a war of attrition. With large enemy numbers, the Iron Flowers have no choice but to use mobile workers, which means having a bunch of kids join the fray. The fact that they’re terribly outnumbered means they aren’t waltzing away scot free, though their use of the Alaya-Vijnana system is proving to be a great equalizer. The treaty limits to where mobile suits and machines with Ahab Reactors are allowed to be is likely leading to strategic complications as well though it looks like Mikazuki August and the mobile suit force are holding up the rear line well.
Admittedly, there is some honor in Orga doggedly trying to fulfill the terms of Tekkadan’s contract with Kudelia Aina Bernstein and Togonosuke Makanai but it’s coming at a heavy price. It remains to be seen just how much he’s willing to pay with his comrades’ blood for whatever future reward he is hoping for. In the meantime, his mad and aggressive tactics are apparently proving to be unsettling for the foes who aren’t used to this type of engagement. The parallels to some of the events in the real world are made on purpose for sure. There are no clean, sterilized wars here as Gundam IBO has no qualms showing the harsh realities of conflict, including showing injured child soldiers. Children may typically be off limits in the censored world of television and movies when it comes to bloody portrayals but that doesn’t give them immunity in actual skirmishes in the real world, which is a message the show does not shirk from passing along.
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The inability to break through the Gjallahorn blockade, meanwhile, is starting to test the patience of Makanai, who is running out of time to make the afternoon vote at Parliament. The insensitive commentary from Beard Papa doesn’t sit well with Kudelia, who sees her allies returning injured one by one. Then again, Makanai has a very valid point regarding his worries about just how much bloodshed there will be by the time they make it to their goal. That would have political repercussions, too, and he knows it.
With ammo running out and his front line crumbling, Orga calls for a tactical retreat to regroup. I did find the comment from the Gjallarhorn commander that their organization should not be used for political reasons interesting. Like I said in the previous episode, sometimes there are no good guys and bad guys in a war. Just people caught in between the machinations of people in power. Unlike the mobile worker crew, Tekkadan’s mobile suit squad is faring much better against Corlis Stenja’s squad, which is expected. When you’ve got two Gundam mechs, the Ryusei-Go with an AV user plus two seasoned Turbines pilots, it’s going to be a long day for Gjallarhorn grunts. I admit, I chuckled when the oblivious Mika commented that he can finally eat, with Akihiro Altland pretty much saying that something is wrong with their ace pilot’s head. This guy, man. By the way, that “I told you so” look from Merribit to Orga as more injured come in was worth a thousand words.
Just a short distance away in Edmonton, some of the politicians on both sides are starting to worry about Makanai’s gambit. The time limit and injury count causes Orga to go for one final desperate attack, which includes using some of the crew as bait. The leader delivers a speech worthy of the Tekkadan moniker and by that I mean that it’s flowery but has cold, steely consequences for the crew. Merribit voices her opposition once again but at this point, it’s really too late, even though she’s quite right. The final push starts with Mika and company staging an ambush on Gjallarhorn’s mobile suits while they’re having tea time or something. Gjallarhorn’s troops sure get caught with their pants down and outside their mobile suits a lot.
Fortunately for them, Gaelio Bauduin comes to save the day, literally bringing Mika down to his knees with the Gundam Kimaris trooper. At the mobile worker side, Tekkadan’s suicide charge is turning into a massacre. Orga, however, gets bailed out, too, by some unexpected reinforcements. Gali Gali sends Stenja to back the Gjallarhorn mobile worker squad and leave the Tekkadan mobile suits to him. Apparently, he’s got some pretty huge backup. Whipping boy Ein Dalton is back with his giant mech, theEB-AX2 Graze Ein,and his new AV system in tow. Nothing like having a giant enemy robot with an emotionally unhinged pilot toward the end of the season to really make it feel like a Gundam show.
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What ensues is a bloody dismantling of one Tekkadan mobile suit after another as the new headhunting Ein demonstrates the true potential of the AV system. This is not the same Ein that we know, though, as the guy has apparently lost his mind. So much so that the normally by-the-book soldier breaks the rules against having mechs with Ahab Reactors in the city proper and spectacularly descends on Edmonton in his singular pursuit of Kudelia. Ein’s story is one of the more tragic ones in a tragedy-filled show. It’s one thing to make a bad guy into a mechanical monstrosity but to make a once noble character into whatever Ein is now makes it a more disheartening scene. In a final surprise, McGillis Fareed shows up to lend a helping hand while taking off his Montag disguise to boot as he faces off against Gaelio. The episode closes with Mika facing off against Ein in a climactic showdown leading into the final episode.
After all that exposition, Gundam IBO continues to throw some twists into the story with McGillis so it will be interesting to see how its initial season wraps up. It also appears that Ein’s arrival into the city has caused a stir in Parliament and there will likely be consequences that will extend to the second season, including for Gjallarhorn. It also makes you wonder if the Tekkadan end up being used as scapegoats or not by whoever ends up in power once everything is said and done. Regardless, whether all of Tekkadan’s sacrifices will be worth it remains to be seenas this conflict exacted a high price by claiming lives that can’t be paid for, no matter how highly Makanai rewards them. Even if Tekkadan wins this battle, the potentially high body count and its impact on their “family” just might mean they have lost a different kind of war.
機動戦士ガンダム 鉄血のオルフェンズ | MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: TEKKETSU NO ORPHANS REVIEW ARCHIVE
- Episode 1: Iron and Blood
- Episode 2: Barbatos
- Episode 3: Glorious Demise
- Episode 4: The Price of Life
- Episode 5: Beyond the Red Sky
- Episode 6: As For Them
- Episode 7: Whaling
- Episode 8: The Form of Closeness
- Episode 9: Sakazuki
- Episode 10: A Letter From Tomorrow
- Episode 11: Human Debris
- Episode 12: The Shoals
- Episode 13: Funeral Rites
- Episode 14: Vessel of Hope
- Episode 15: Trail of Footprints
- Episode 16: Fumitan Admoss
- Episode 17: Kudelia’s Decision
- Episode 18: Voice
- Episode 19: The Gravity of Wishes
- Episode 20: Brother
- Episode 21: To The Place of Return
- Episode 22: Not Yet Home
- Episode 23: The Final Lie
