Never mind “within the next week,” because this is my second installment of the day. Don’t expect this to be common, though, since I do have classes. That, and other things I enjoy doing.
If you want to watch along with me, you can do so here.
The first thing we see is a guy in a vanship being shot at by a strange ship shaped like a four-pointed star. The vanship flies into a tunnel in the side of a chasm, and the other ship follows. We soon see the guy flying the vanship get shot. It doesn’t seem to bother him much though, as he continues to maneuver through the tunnel. The other ship eventually crashes, and the guy in the vanship gets away.
After the episode’s title is shown, we cut to Claus and Lavie’s shack, where Lavie is cutting some meat and vegetables. We soon see that she’s making some kind of bagel sandwich. She then goes over to wake up Claus…by hitting a piece of scrap metal with a hammer. After he wakes up, he notices something that Lavie put on the ship. We get an funny shot of him wide-eyed with a large chunk of food in his mouth as Lavie explains what it is and where she got it. It’s some kind of speed booster for the race.
Next thing we see is people going over to watch the race, while an announcer tells us who’s starting in what position. Claus and Lavie are getting ready as well. They exchange some amusing trash talk with a few of the other participants. Two boys that have been hanging around nearby wish them good luck, and run off. Or specifically, they wish Lavie good luck. I’d guess that either she’s better with kids, or they’re crushing on her. Or maybe they’re just her friends rather than Claus’s. Could be either, really.
With that, the various vanships begin to take off. Lavie tells Claus that she wants to save the booster for late in the race. The countdown begins. Ten seconds later, all the vanships take off. We see them fly down the course for a while. Claus and Lavie go around a sharp turn and end up knocking some random guy’s clothes off the line. The clothes then get stuck on another racer’s windshield and end up taking two other competitors out of the race. The three people that the duo talked to before the race are currently in the lead, and it doesn’t look like Claus and Lavie are doing too well. Actually, scratch that – they’re currently in fourth, trying to get ahead of a large woman who calls herself Fat Chicken. She makes a comment about how children aren’t allowed to play here, and that really seems to bug Lavie.
The two ships move into a small corridor that looks kind of like a roofed canal. Claus decides to dive underneath the other ship, and manages to get ahead of her. Fat Chicken gets so angry about this that she ends up getting distracted and crashing by mistake. No need to worry, though – she’s OK. Claus and Lavie fly out of the waterway and continue through the course.
The scene shifts. We see a pile of rubble shift. A red periscope-looking thing pokes out, and scans the area. The star-shaped ship from before bursts out and continues flying. Looks like the guy it was chasing had better watch himself.
The duo is apparently in third place now, and they move into a forested area outside of town. We get a really jarring shot of the obviously CGI vanship flying past some trees that obviously aren’t. Usually the CG is integrated reasonably well, but occasionally it does stick out. They follow the first and second place racers past some odd-looking sheep and across the landscape.
We then return to the guy who was being chased before. He’s almost reached his destination, wherever that is, but he notices his vision starting to blur. After the eyecatch, the focus returns to the race. The top three are headed into the last part of the race, which takes place in a canyon. The guys in second place try to use a booster, but for whatever reason it isn’t working. Claus and Lavie seize their opportunity and fly past them.
A really cool bit of music starts playing. It’s upbeat and sounds vaguely Irish. The veteran racer in front of our heroes is warned by his co-pilot that there’s a rough part ahead, and that they should probably slow down. The pilot refuses, saying that racing is about giving it your all. Both ships fly through an enclosed area of the canyon. Claus does some kind of barrel roll and manages to get in first place. Lavie decides that since the final stretch is approaching, they should probably use their boost. The announcer mentions their position, and the boys from before look really impressed.
The man from the beginning is starting to bleed on the controls. He asks someone in the back seat if they’re doing OK, but gets no response. A moment later, his damaged vanship nearly collides with Claus and Lavie’s. This surprise causes their opponent’s ship to crash into the trees.
Soon after, the damaged ship crashes. Claus and Lavie decide that they have to see what’s going on. Lavie laments that they were going to win. The scene switches to the man. He checks to see if his co-pilot is alright, only to find the old woman dead. She’s holding onto a little girl in a red, fur-lined coat. The man checks her pulse. He seems relieved, so one can assume that the girl is alive. The man isn’t sure what to do next, but then he sees the duo’s vanship.
They land nearby, and the scene changes again to the other racers. They suddenly notice the strange ship that was chasing the man. It hesitates, but then leaves.
Claus and Lavie find the guy, and he apologizes for coming out of nowhere. Lavie goes to check on the woman in the back, but the man tells her she’s dead. Apparently she was a maid named Gita. He also says that the little girl’s name is Al. It’s actually Alvis, though that’s not stated, but Al is what they tend to call her.
The man, Ralph Wednesday, says that he’s going to die soon. But before he does, he wants the two of them to take his mission. Claus takes a look. Apparently it’s seven stars, which seems shocking to both of them. Still, they accept. Suddenly, there’s a strange sound. Ralph says it’s found them, and it’s clear that he’s talking about the strange ship. He says he’ll act as a decoy so that they can escape. Apparently the other ship can detect the sounds that an engine makes, so trying to get out the way they normally would won’t work. The last thing Ralph asks them is to take his ship’s figurehead. Claus does.
The two of them find their vanship, but the other ship is there as well. It does some kind of scan, and then leaves. It soon finds Ralph, who seems very calm about all this. It turns itself into a sort of Spider Tank, and lands on the ground. It begins to walk towards him. He tries shooting it, but it just swipes at him with one of its arms. As it goes over to look at Gita, Ralph addresses the strange ship, saying he has a little present for it. He pushes a button. As Claus and Lavie leave, they hear an explosion. Claus tells himself that Ralph is still alive – there’s no way he’d die. Sorry, Claus. I don’t think that’s the case.
We briefly see the guys who were in second place before, who’ve apparently won the race by default. Meanwhile, Claus and Lavie float their ship down the canal. Claus reads the message. Apparently, they’re supposed to take this girl to someone named Alex Row. Lavie is horrified, saying that he’s the captain of the Silvana. Who knows what he’d do to them? Still, Claus says he’ll do it. Why? “Because he asked me to. And I said I would.” He says this in a very serious voice, and the oddness of the line itself makes this kind of Narmy.
The ending begins to play. Looks like that’s it for this episode. You’re probably wondering who this girl is, and what’s so important about her. Naturally, you’re going to have to wait and see. See you next time!
