Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - Episode Fifteen: Father and Child
Written by: Kō Yoneyama
Directed by: Akira Toba, Akihiro Saitō, and Shinnosuke Itō
Storyboarded by: Hiroshi Kobayashi and Masahiko Ōkura
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - Episode Fifteen: Father and Child (父と子と; Chichi to Ko to)
Guel Jeturk, catatonic after accidentally killing his father Vim during the raid on Plant Quetta, is held prisoner at the refugee camp on Earth where Dawn of Fold operate from. Refusing to eat, he is force-fed by second-in-command Olcott, who believes he could make a useful bargaining chip. Alerted by Norea to the Benerit Group's plan to track them down, Dawn of Fold make plans to evacuate along with the refugees.
Hidden by Grassley House on Asticassia, Norea takes out her anger over Sophie's death and the impending attack on a captive Nika, blaming her idealistic behavior. Speaking with his father, Shaddiq explains how he kidnapped him, while Sarius asks after his objectives. Dismissing the notion he wants to be president of Grassley or the Benerit Group, he states his goal is to break apart the group and sell its assets to interests on Earth. In doing so, he intends to start a cold war between Earth and Space, preventing all-out-war, while allowing himself to seize more power. Sarius questions if Shaddiq's true purpose is actually to simply arm the Earth out of a grudge, owing to his being half-Earthian.
On a call with Rajan, Kenanji questions why the Benerit Group's own security forces are enacting the search for Dawn of Fold, rather than Dominicus, especially given public knowledge Gundams are involved after the attack on Asticassia leaked. Rajan tells him the board doesn't want to owe Cathedra, though he wonders about another possible motivation. Their call is interrupted by Miorine, who asks Rajan to tell her what he knows about Quiet Zero.
Back on Earth, Dawn of Fold's evacuation is well underway, with Olcott and several mobile suit pilots volunteering to stay behind to act as decoys. After most of the refugees have left, Olcott spots two children, Sedo and Seethia, sneaking in, stopping them from killing Guel in recompense for the death of Seethia's father during the attack on Plant Quetta. Guel is finally roused from his stupor by Seethia talking about her father, and Sedo mentioning that Jeturk Heavy Machinery is in danger of bankruptcy.
A rookie Dawn of Fold pilot, Jalil, engages the Benerit security forces after nearly being spotted, dodging a barrage of missiles which hit the school Dawn of Fold had been hiding in, collapsing the roof on top of Olcott, Guel and the two kids. Awoken from a memory of his son dying before his eyes by Sedo, Olcott finds Seethia bleeding out, and believes Guel to have been crushed by rubble. Ordering Sedo to evacuate, Olcott joins the other pilots in the fight against the attackers.
Struggling against the superior Benerit forces, the Dawn of Fold pilots are gradually whittled down, leaving only Olcott. Guel, having dragged himself from the rubble, tries to find the evacuation ship, carrying Seethia on his back. When one of the Dawn of Fold mobile suits crashes in front of them, he commandeers it to search from the air, distracting the Benerit Group forces enough for Olcott to finish off their remaining machines. Investigating Dawn of Fold himself, Kenanji recognizes Olcott - a former Dominicus pilot named Ridrick Kruger whose family was killed in an attack by Earthians. Despite his efforts, Seethia bleeds to death in Guel's arms, and he buries her the next morning beside a grave her friends had made for Sophie. Not knowing what to do, Guel asks Olcott to tell him how to get to an orbital elevator, not wanting to lose what remains of his connections to his father.
Sitting down for tea with Miorine, Rajan explains Quiet Zero's origins to her. Her mother, Notrette, a botanical engineer, was inspired by how survival strategies inherent to plants might be applied to humans. A dream without much basis, she was nonetheless supported by Delling, who viewed the idea as a hope to end a chaotic and violent world. Miorine expresses surprise that her parents' marriage wasn't just one of convenience, and deduces Delling set up the Asticassia marriage game so someone powerful would keep her safe, as well as to disguise his plans with Quiet Zero. Noting that Delling became so intent on fulfilling his vow to his wife, he was even willing to use the very Gundams he buried, but that Miorine isn't weighed down by any of this, Rajan advises her to follow her heart.
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Father and Child provides examples of:
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Dawn of Fold mobile suits are easily defeated by those belonging to Benerit Group's security forces, despite giving as good as they got. Olcott was possibly the only mobile suit pilot giving the security forces a difficult time.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Seethia, a young Earthian girl, bleeds to death in Guel's arms while he's trying to find a transport to take her to safety.
- Doomed Hurt Guy: Seethia is badly injured by a collapsing roof midway through the episode and left for dead. Guel rescues her and tries to take her to safety, only for her to bleed out and succumb to her wounds at the end of the episode.
- Due to the Dead:
- A group of kids at the camp are seen holding a simple ceremony for the deceased Sophie, doing so shows how highly regarded Sophie was by the kids in mourning.
- After her death Guel takes the time to bury Seethia and holds a short memorial for her.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Being a Sympathetic P.O.V. episode, Dawn of Fold seems to genuinely care for the refugees at the camp, Sophie is well respected by the children, one of the pilots is shown to have children they are fighting for, and Olcott is revealed to once have a family, who died in an attack by Earthians.
- Evolving Credits: Where previously shown as just a silhouette, Ericht now appears in full-detail in the opening after the previous episode's reveal.
- Fatal Family Photo: Just as the mobile suit Phillip's piloting explodes, a photo of his wife and daughter is shown taped inside before burning.
- I'm Not Hungry: Guel stops eating while taken prisoner, though not out of defiance but losing his will to live. After briefly trying to convince him to continue on his own, Olcott starts Force Feeding him.
- Impeded Communication: At the start of the battle, Dawn of Fold cut off the squad of Benerit Group suits' communication with "ECM Jammers".
- Irony: Suletta's mantra of "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two" which has been shown in a negative light in the last few episodes, is shown positively here, when Guel instead of running away to escape the Dawn of Fold (If you run, you gain one), gathered his resolve and saved a dying Earthian girl who tried to kill him earlier. While his efforts are futile, this act from Guel earns Olcott's respect and its implied that he covered up Guel's survival so he can go free and find a way to back in space (If you move forward, you gain two).
- Leeroy Jenkins: One of the Dawn of Fold Mobile Suit pilots, who is noted as being young and overly cocky, attacks the Benerit Group's security forces that are combing the area for them, drawing the enemies fire and forcing the others to attack. It's deconstructed as this action leads to all but Olcott being killed in the attack and almost jeopardizes the evacuation.
- Madness Mantra: Norea repeatedly shouts “How dare you?!” while beating a captive Nika.
- Never My Fault: When the Benerit Group discover Dawn of Fold were behind the attacks on Asticassia, Norea blames Nika. However, Nika had only threatened to expose the group to the authorities as leverage to keep Norea and Sophie from killing anyone. Norea and Sophie were the ones who decided to preemptively blow their cover in spectacular fashion.
- Out of Focus: The episode focuses almost exclusively on the Dawn of Fold and related parties and as such Suletta and Earth House are completely absent from this episode.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Olcott keeps Guel alive to potentially use him as a bargaining chip, even stopping Sedo and Seethia from killing Guel out of revenge.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: While Guel is unable to save Seethia, and many have died in the raid, he is now out of his catatonic depression and regained the will to live, resolving to go back into space so the remaining things that connected him to his father won't slip away from him.
- Shoot the Dog: Although Seethia was still alive and even able to talk after her injuries, Olcott leaves her behind, correctly guessing she has no chance at survival.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Throughout the second half of the episode, Guel is trying to bring the mortally injured orphan Seethia to safety with the refugees, carrying her on his back through a battlefield and comandeering a dead man's mobile suit to save her. She ultimately dies in his lap long before he can get her help.
- The Stinger: Post-credits, Miorine sits down for tea with Rajan, who tells her the origins of Quiet Zero and how her parents met.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: While Guel's act of saving Seethia may be noble and admirable, she was a lost cause from the start, suffering heavy bleeding, blunt trauma, and a weak pulse. Being carried around by Guel (which is a big no-no as it could make the bleeding hasten) in addition to the lack of immediate medical attention, it's not surprising that Seethia soon expired in Guel's arms.
- Taking the Bullet: Phillip, one of Dawn of Fold's Mobile Suit pilots, blocks a shot that would have hit his comrades at the cost of his life. Before he dies he asks Olcott to make sure the refuges -including his wife and child- escape.
- Villain Episode: Dawn of Fold, previously a purely antagonistic terrorist organization, are given a Sympathetic P.O.V. and focus this episode.
- Villain Has a Point: Norea viciously beats Nika for abandoning Dawn of Fold in protest of killing Spacian civilians, blaming her idealism for the people the Benerit Group will kill in retribution. While Norea is being hypocritical in many ways, Nika did threaten to report the group, and the Benerit Group's disproportionate response (which starts by bombing what was until very recently a refugee camp) doesn't leave her with a lot of moral ground to stand on.
- Villain Respect: Even though Guel's attempt to save Seethia is futile, it is implied that this act was enough for Olcott to keep Guel's survival a secret from Dawn of Fold and let him return to space.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: Guel throws up after seeing the bloodied body of a Dawn of Fold pilot in the cockpit of a crashed mobile suit, which is only shown from his back.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Guel, after getting out of his catatonic state, is unable to get Seethia help before she bleeds out.
