Gundam SEED ep.9-17

フレイとキラ

Death of Fllay's father, the event that transforms her from a naive and spoiled girl to a young woman who's seen the cruelty of war firsthand. The sudden catastrophe sends her into a state of extreme shock and causes her to close herself. She was never fond of Coordinator in the beginning, and she blames Kira for not fighting seriously because of his Coordinator status. Then, she hears it, and something starts stirring inside her. The pilot of Aegis is a childhood friend of Kira's.

What can she be thinking when she hears it? That Kira is indeed acting all along in a conspiracy with his Coordinator friend? That Kira is also facing hardship and forced to fight his friend because of the war? That Kira is pitiful being betrayed by his friend and his own people? Whatever her thoughts, her attitude toward Kira changes almost instantly. She realises that she can use Kira as a tool of revenge against Coordinators, the root of the war in her mind.

When they have the chance to leave AA and become normal citizens again, she makes the decision to stay and join the Earth military. Even knowing that she might be the only one staying, she is willing to give anything if it meant to be able to end the war once and for all. What is going on in her mind when she stood in front of Kira's locker peering at the pilot suit? What is she thinking when Kira returns to pilot Strike and doing it for her sake as well? But Kira does come back and is determined to fight. That's enough. She would protect him with her feelings. She would keep him from breaking down in the face of war. She would hold him close to comfort him. She would be the one for him until he died on the battlefield. She would not allow anyone to interfere and come between her and Kira. She would be devoted to Kira and in return have him commit to her resolution.

Times and times again, even in the midst of battles, Kira is constantly reminded of the fact that he is different from everyone else. Just because his friends are onboard AA, he has to fight despite hating it. He has to fight against Athrun. He has to endure the accusation and scorns. He has to kill. He has to carry the burden of other people's expectation and their lives on his young shoulders. Once he fails to protect, he is overwhelmed and gets crushed by the weight. The death of Fllay's father marks the beginning of his mental deterioration. Each consequent failure eats away his sensitive conscious until he can't take it anymore. He is drowning and being sucked into the endless black hole called despair.

But an angel with wings of light pulls him from the terrible darkness. She gives him hope and courage when he feels he can't keep going. She shows him compassion and love when he feels isolated and neglected. She is always by his side. She is his lifeline. She is his guardian angel. The desperation to protect her and the others prompts his SEED mode to awake when AA is trying to enter the atmosphere. After that, his tensed nerves are stretched to the limit all the time. He is eager to fight and destroy so he can protect her and the others.

The relationship between Sai, Fllay, and Kira is starting to turn ugly, and no doubt it would get more complicated with Cagalli back into the scene. The first cours ends with AA landing in ZAFT's territory on Earth, and Kira is going to confront another major influence in his life, Andy Bartfield, very soon.

Character relationship aside, the battle between the 8th Armada and Creuset ships is really something. The scale of the battle and the emotions involved are so intense, it got me glued to the screen and had me thinking, "Where else can you see something like this but in a Gundam show?" Of course, I assume the UC Gundams to be on a similar level. Wing, with just the five brats in their super invincible Gundams, can't even come close.

On a side note, the scene where Lacus appears with the bulge in her stomach is interesting. Sai's comment and the look on Athrun's face are amusing indeed. The comment that they don't need to put out N-jammer anymore is also funny.

Ah, and this time I was able to identify 関 as Fllay's father, 三石 as Yzak's mother, �進藤 as one of the councilors, and �笹沼 in a few other places. And I finally noticed the scene where Kira's mother was shown holding two babies. For a show as complex and integrated as Gundam SEED, maybe watching it only now is better as I've learned more about it in the past year.

Lastly, Natarle is gotta be the most beautiful woman in the whole series!! XD I wonder when Maryu and Fraga developed their relationship? And the idea of a Goddess of Victory is also very stimulating... まぁ、ここまで以上だ。