Recap / The Vision Of Escaflowne E 19 Operation Golden Rule Of Love

• Downer Ending: Van botches his attempt to confess his feelings to Hitomi. Her disillusioned state allows Dornkirk and Folken to successfully target her (and Allen) with the Fate Alteration Engine.
• Karma Houdini: Allen and the crew of the Crusade escape any legal consequences for their desertion, treason, and attempts to save Freid. Justified, as the King fell ill after they left and Millerna forces Eries to back off and drop the charges.
• Love Triangle: The titular Operation Golden Rule of Love hinges upon weaponizing the one between Van, Hitomi, and Allen to drive the first two apart and remove their disruption of the Fate Alteration Engine.
• Misblamed: Eries blames Allan for Millerna accompanying him to Freid , even though she saw firsthand that Allan physically prevented her sister from even boarding the Crusade. Neither of them anticipated Millerna would actually go AWOL.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Millerna fleeing Asturia to join the unauthorized Freid mission was a massive blow to Grava Aston, whose health has declined in the interim.
  • Van's attempted confession of his feelings for Hitomi. He botches it, leaving her disillusioned and vulnerable to Dornkirk's Fate Alteration strike.
• Screw Destiny: The crux of the titular Operation Golden Rule of Love.
• Take a Third Option: Implied to be Folken's real motive behind Operation Golden Rule of Love. He can't let Van and Hitomi derail Zaibach's goals, but in keeping with his character he also doesn't want Van to get assassinated (as the Generals and Dornkirk are itching to do). The plan is thus a compromise that will allow them to neutralize Van and Hitomi without killing them (and without expending valuable resources, manpower, and equipment trying to get at them within Asturia).
• Time Skip: Three weeks have passed since Van, Hitomi, and Allen escaped Zaibach in the previous episode.