Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

Episode 4

Leave it to me to be the resident Gundam naysayer this week. Amidst generally positive reactions to “The Witch's War,” you can't expect me to clap and cheer while they fridge the mom of a toddler so Machu can have a quick empathy level-up. Putting this tired trope aside for a moment, the latest episode of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX brought moviegoers into the unknown for the first time, finally delivering a full episode of animation never seen before. Flashy action sequences, the classic Gundam protagonist arc, and a shared inability to get over the events of the One Year War continue to characterize this latest entry in the franchise.

This week introduced Shiiko, a woman with a childlike appearance who has a child herself. Her dot-like eyes and hair color remind me strongly of Mirai, a character who served with the Earth Federation in the original Mobile Suit Gundam before becoming a mother to Hathaway (the main character of Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway). Mirai may or may not exist in this alternate universe, but it's not surprising that Shiiko, such a clear echo to Mirai, is also an Earth Federation veteran. Machu's new Clan Battle boss, Annqi, who is definitely hiding a couple of secrets about her true identity, knows all about Shiiko—including her formidable kill count that gave her the nickname “the Witch.” There's no overt reference to Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury here, but GQuuuuuuX had to know what it was doing with this title. I only wish that instead of killing off Shiiko so quickly, it had taken the G-Witch route of allowing the mom character to live and become irredeemably evil first. Prospera was delightful.

It may seem like Shiiko found a happy ending with her husband and toddler son, but this mom has returned to the battlefield before her child has even learned to talk. Like with Challia Bull, the One Year War has maintained an emotional hold on Shiiko. In both cases, it's because these characters lost their Mavs and are unable to get over what might have been. Last week, I guessed that the definition of a “Mav” was a support machine to a Gundam. Turns out I was wrong—a Mav seems to be a mobile suit that serves as an equal partner. Why else would Machu say she is Shuji's Mav and that Shuji is her Mav? This uniquely close battlefield relationship seems to explain a lot of why both Challia and Shiiko are living in the past. Challia can't stop holding back hope that Char is still alive. And Shiiko can't return to her domestic life until she's had a chance to get revenge on the Red Gundam that killed her Mav. As it turns out, Shiiko will never get a chance to return to her family at all. It's clear why the show made this narrative decision. Witnessing Shiiko's death at Shuji's hands was clearly a turning point for Machu, who previously saw Clan Battle as a low stakes game. Now she can't deny the formidable power of the Gundam, and on top of that, she feels complicit in this death.

It's an interesting wrinkle that Shiiko doesn't believe in Newtypes, and yet clearly appears to be one. As explained in the second episode, a Newtype is a person who seems to have evolved to attain psychic abilities, possibly as a result of spending a lot of time in space. Machu, Shuji, and Shiiko all exhibit Newtype capabilities in this episode when they commune in the “Kira-Kira,” that sparkly space in their shared consciousness. This episode drops a detail that is especially interesting to Mobile Suit Gundam fans—the Kira-Kira may be connected to “the Lala sound.” This is an overt reference to Mobile Suit Gundam character Lalah Sune, a powerful Newtype with a close relationship to Char. Like with Mirai, it's unclear if Lalah herself exists in this alternate universe, but some element of her psychic energy certainly appears to.

Between all the references to the 1979 TV show and Shiiko's powerful but brief narrative arc, there's barely time for Machu to do anything but make her trademark scowl, then sit in the cockpit slack-jawed while Shuji mercs somebody's mom. I'm still unclear on Machu's goals in this story—and so is Machu herself. As her mom pointed out, she unseriously wrote “jellyfish” on her career goals worksheet. At least Shuji has a goal—to go to Earth “to find a rose,” whatever that means. As for Nyaan, who still needs money for some nebulous reason (to buy a swimsuit to go to the beach with Machu, maybe?) it looks like she'll take a more central role in the next episode. I hope "Nyaan Doesn't Know About Kira-Kira" gives us a lot more of the main trio's dynamic, because right now I'm not sure why I should care.

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Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesdays.

Lauren writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.