Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - Episode Eleven: The Witches from Earth
Written by: Ichirō Ōkouchi
Directed by: Kōhei Kuratomi and Shinya Watada
Storyboarded by: Hiromitsu Kanazawa, Shinya Watada and Hiroshi Kobayashi
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - Episode Eleven: The Witches from Earth (地球の魔女, Chikyū no Majo) is the eleventh episode of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.
En-route to Plant Quetta, Earth House practice docking procedures aboard GUND-ARM Inc.'s new spaceship, while Suletta busies herself with chores, desperate to try and feel useful after her previous talk with Miorine. Miorine discusses appointing Nika as the head of GUND-ARM Inc.'s next project, telling her she believes she can surpass Belmeria, so they won't continue to have to rely on her. As they talk, they pass by the livestock room where Suletta was making repairs; Suletta hides behind a goat, not wanting to run into Miorine, though they spot her ponytail floating in-view.
Arriving at the bustling Plant Quetta factory, Suletta continues to do everything she can to make herself appear useful, panicking when she mistakes Nuno calling an app on his tablet "useless" as being directed at her. Deeper in the facility, Delling meets with Prospera, who candidly suggests he refer to her as "Elnora Samaya". The two discuss a project hidden at Plant Quetta, "Quiet Zero", with Prospera revealing that Aerial's performance reached Permet Score Six during the duel against Grassley House. After a tense stand-off between their assistants, Prospera gives Delling a drive containing data from Aerial for the completion of Quiet Zero, with Delling reiterating to her that it is his project.
Outside the factory's perimeter, Dawn of Fold load their mobile suits aboard the commandeered supply ship. On the bridge, their leader Naji intimidates the crew into going along with their assault. When Guel speaks up, having recognized most of their mobile suits as being of Jeturk make, he is threatened by Sophie, though Naji tells her to stand down.
Back inside the factory, Earth House settles in for lunch, with Suletta insistently deferring her preferred meal to Ojelo after they both reach for the same container. After Aliya accidentally takes an extra lunch for Nuno leaving none for Suletta, she sequesters herself away in a toilet, again believing herself unwelcome among the group. On the bridge, Nika and Miorine plan for where they'll transfer Aerial to, with Nika criticizing Miorine's own avoidance of Suletta.
In a meeting room, Vim discusses Sarius' failed attempt to press charges against Aerial's operators with Delling, suggesting they place sanctions against Grassley, trying to goad Delling by pointing out they could threaten his daughter's company. Delling deflects the attempt at getting a rise out of him by pointing out Guel remains missing, which seems to cause Vim to have a violent outburst, leading Delling's guards to escort him out; Vim uses this opportunity to plant a transmitter on one of the guards. Calling Shaddiq, he tells him to begin the operation in two hours, but as soon as their call is over, Shaddiq signals Dawn of Fold to begin immediately.
As they receive the signal to begin, Sophie watches a recording of the Earth House vs Grassley House duel, transfixed by Suletta and Aerial's performance, expressing a desire to meet Suletta. Meanwhile, in orbit near the Moon, members of the Dominicus Fleet gossip about their ship captain, former ace pilot Kenanji Avery. Surprising them, Kenanji reprimands his men for gossiping behind his back, before receiving a report about the Jeturk patrol fleet from Plant Quetta passing by their own patrol, wondering why it's so far away from its post.
Joining the others after lunch, Miorine realizes Suletta has disappeared, the others suggesting she may have gone ahead to check on Aerial. Belmeria finds Prospera overlooking the hangar where Aerial is being stored, the two discussing the ongoing revival of GUND medical technology, though Belmeria feels something off about Prospera saying how proud she is of her daughter. Sulking in the toilet still, Suletta calls her mother, who easily recognizes something is wrong, getting her to open up about her fears of feeling useless and unneeded. Prospera invites Suletta to come see her in the hangar where Aerial is, when they are interrupted by Miorine banging on the toilet door, having overheard the entire conversation.
Fleeing from an enraged Miorine, Suletta leads her on a chase through the factory, before Miorine lures her back by feigning exhaustion, capturing her in a hold. Cornered, Suletta confesses her fears and worries to Miorine, and how even her motto can't always motivate her through her anxieties. Miorine blows up at Suletta, ranting about how Suletta becoming her groom and that very motto of hers has caused her to give up on running away to Earth, listen to her father's critiques, bow her head as a corporate leader, and how happy she is in spite of it being everything she swore she'd never want. Embracing Suletta, Miorine asks her to speak her mind with her, and when Suletta does ask her to rely on her, tells her to stay with her forever, launching into a list of demands she has of her Groom.
Shortly afterwards, Dawn of Fold begins their attack, launching a trio of mobile suits to first disrupt communications around Plant Quetta, before Sophie and Norea launch in their Lfrith Gundams. As alarms begin to go off around the factory, Prospera begins preparations to activate a refitted Aerial, while Sophie and Norea use large beam cannons to cut the section of the facility where Delling is away from the rest of the Front. Despite orders to create a distraction, Sophie instead moves to investigate the severed area, wanting to eliminate Delling herself. She then spots Suletta, isolated from Miorine by a bulkhead, alone in a windowed hallway.
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The Witches from Earth provides examples of:
- Amusing Injuries: Poor Miorine is knocked into a wall head first, slams into another wall face first and has to roll when she hits a second wall. Similarly, Suletta is given a Dope Slap and slugged in the gut.
- Animation Bump: As the episode makes use of the staff from the Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway's Flash movie; starting from when Suletta opens the toilet door to find Miorine awaiting her, the subsequent chase through the factory features incredibly fluid and expressive animation.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: During Miorine's impassioned rant, she tells Suletta that the reason why she doesn't try to run away and deals with everything is because she has Suletta and her motto and tells her to stop holding things in and let her return the favor.
- Benevolent Boss: Guel's boss is fine with Dawn of Fold taking his ship. He simply requests they let his employees go which is denied.
- The Bus Came Back: Kenanji Avery, the man who defeated the Lfrith Gundams (including the one piloted by Ericht’s father) back in PROLOGUE, makes his return here. However, twenty years has not been kind to him as he's put on some weight.
- Call-Back: When Miorine gives Suletta a Dope Slap, her hand is raised and comes down similarly to how Suletta did so before slapping Guel on the ass back in the first episode.
- Chase Scene: After Miorine overhears Suletta confessing her fears in the toilet, the former chases the latter around, demanding her to tell her what is wrong, calling out her lies when the latter says there's nothing wrong. Suletta proves far more adept at moving in zero gravity than Miorine, who repeatedly slams herself into walls, and only catches Suletta when she feigns exhaustion, tricking Suletta into coming to her.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Sophie Pulone in her Gundam discovering Suletta isolated in a locked-off viewport, gleefully introducing herself to the Witch from Mercury as a Witch from Earth.
- Close on Title: The episode's title card doesn't appear until the end of Sophie's introduction. By then, it's right before the credits.
- Enemy Mine: Lady Prospera is working with Delling, the ultimate object of her vendetta, on the mysterious "Quiet Zero" project, which seemingly requires data from a Gundam to complete.
- Evolving Credits: Sophie and Norea now appear alongside their Lfriths, taking Prospera and Delling's place.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Some of Shaddiq's conspirators express some level of reluctance at beginning the operation before the plan partly due to Miorine being there and that she could be collateral damage. However, Shaddiq dismisses it by stating if she's lucky, she'll survive.
- Formerly Fit: The years have not been kind to Kenanji Avery's body who was once at his peak during the PROLOGUE and has now put on a few pounds over the past 21 years.
- Hidden Depths: Once again, Guel showcases he is far from being Dumb Muscle as he is able to notice what type of Mobile Suits Dawn of Fold are using and that they shouldn't be able to get them so easily.
- Irony: After spending the entire episode avoiding Miorine and thinking Miorine would be fine without her, they make up, and Suletta promises Miorine that she will never leave her side only for the two of them to be separated at the end of the episode due the damage Dawn of Fold causes to the station.
- Made of Iron: Played for Laughs. Miorine gives several punches to Suletta's stomach and chest, none of which seem to affect her in the slightest, due to Suletta being significantly more fit than Miorine. She eventually gets in a lucky hit that leaves Suletta winded.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: The Aerial Gundam shows off a new look, which we only see from the chest up, sporting a dark blue chest plate and shoulder guards, as well as the Mirasol flight pack presumably as standard equipment now.
- Mythology Gag: Miorine gives Suletta a slap when the latter is having an emotional breakdown over feeling unneeded, almost like Captain Bright Noa giving Amuro Ray his iconic slap.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Miorine cries into Suletta's chest while begging her to stay by her side.
- Poor Communication Kills: After last episode's miscommunication, Suletta's convinced herself that Miorine and the rest of Earth House don't like her, and spends the first half of the episode trying to make herself useful while only making herself look ridiculous. When an honest mistake leaves her without a lunch (Aliya took an extra box to Nuno, but he already had one), she hides in a bathroom instead of asking about it. It takes Miorine chasing her down and confronting her face-to-face to clear the air.
- Shout-Out: The ship commandeered by Dawn of Fold that Guel was working on is the "Kashtanka", a Russian short story about an abused dog who becomes lost, but comes to lead a happier life, only to ultimately return to her original, abusive household, mirroring Guel's own journey.
- Spotting the Thread: Guel notices that the Dawn of Fold is piloting Desultors, a Jeturk-manufactured model of mobile suit, which should be beyond the means of a mere terrorist organization.
- Title Drop: Sophie Pulone addresses Suletta as the Witch from Mercury while introducing herself as a Witch from Earth, making this a two-for-one.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Averted. When Aliya accidentally took Suletta's lunch for Nuno, who already had a lunch, along with the fact everyone else in the Earth House were happily eating lunch without her, it caused Suletta to become depressed and leave. No one noticed her missing until Miorine herself asked where she was. If it wasn't for Miorine tracking Suletta down and confronting her, this trope might've been played straight.
- Villain Respect: Sophie watches recordings of the team duel between Earth and Grassley Houses, and expresses admiration for Suletta's skill for taking on six mobile suits at once, hoping to meet her one day. At the end of the episode, she does.
- Wild Card: Sophie proves to be this as she doesn't always follow orders and does what she wants or tries going right for the prize which in this case is killing Delling.
