SYNOPSIS

Rukuku sends an assault force to attack Earth directly, planning to draw out the Ideon. After much debate, the colonists do respond to Earth's requests for help. Onboard, Lotta becomes intrigued when Sheryl steals apples from the galley, and follows her. She's feeding Gije, while also trying to find out what the Buff Clan know about Ide. They come to the conclusion that the crew's ever-rising desire for self defence is responsible for the Ideon's massive increases in power. Gije suggests taking Lou onboard the Ideon and seeing what happens. Lotta confronts Sheryl, but they persuade her to keep quiet about Gije for now. She also agrees to let Sheryl take Lou onto the Ideon. Below, Daram realises Earth is the colonists' home planet due to the increased number of defenders, but the Union forces are still no match for the Buff Clan. The Ideon launches to help them, equipped with the Ideon Gun.

Despite only being on half power, the opening salvo from the Ideon Gun not only wipes out four Buff Clan craft, but also devastates nearby towns, even altering the coastline. The crew are shaken by the damage they've inadvertently caused, while Rukuku withdraws her remaining units, planning to use a Freezer Skatch attack on the Ideon. This freezes the robot and nearly kills everyone onboard, but the Ideon Gun fires itself, wrecking the Freezer field. Daram attacks immediately in a Galbo Jick, but Cosmo is reluctant to use the Ideon Gun so close to Earth again. The mecha tussle with each other and the Ideon tackles the Galbo Jick into the ground, disabling it. Daram gets out and challenges Cosmo to a duel, which he accepts. The Solo Ship stands nearby and everyone watches the combat nervously. Cosmo is holding his own, but one of Daram's underlings blurts out that his commander has a nuclear device hidden on his person, planning to wipe them all out. A gunshot kills Daram - Gije was watching from the Solo Ship, took a rifle from a startled colonist and sniped his former commander. Despite this, Bes recognises him and has him arrested. Kasha claims they should execute him for his past actions, but Gije tearfully apologises for the wrong he's done.

NOTES

Rapoh Famu: Rapoh helps out in the galley when no core characters are injured.

Moera Fatima: Moera is very much of the opinion that the Earth should be left to its' fate after abandoning the Solo Ship, one of the few times he really expresses an opinion on anything.

Karala Ajiba: Karala slaps the Hell out of Gije when she sees him - I'm not entirely sure why... I mean, he abandoned her to the colonists, but didn't she want that? Yes, he then spent several episodes trying to kill him, but you'd think she'd be towards the back of the queue for giving him a thump...

Kasha Imhof: Can I just say I love the bit where Kasha points right in Gije's face and yells "That's Gije Zaral of the Buff Clan!". For some reason, it makes me laugh... It's like she's just noticed or something.

Buff: There is a fruit similar to the apple in Etora. What exactly Etora is I couldn't tell you, though (Town? Country? Planet?). The Gel Zone weaponry uses the particles Gije found on Solo.

Freezer Skatch: A large number of small unmanned craft, the Freezer Skatch surrounds its' target with a field of extreme cold.

REVIEW:

A curious episode, which suffers from a lack of a clear, central plot. The Buff Clan directly attacking Earth isn't half as dramatic as it should be, and Rukuku continues to be a very weak addition to the rogue's gallery - she has very few discernible characteristics, especially compared to Daram. And her squadron being equipped with a second never-seen-before Ideon killing device in as many episodes is pushing things a little.

Also, why does anyone agree to Sheryl taking Lou onto the Ideon for what's obviously going to be a very dangerous sortie (it wasn't that long ago Deck was left off the roster for the really dicey stuff). Aside from that, Sheryl's been all over the place, and Lotta knows she's got Gije onboard... So why?

However, two things redeem it. The atmosphere is getting ever more pessimistic, best summed up by the Ideon Gun - rather than it being a magic wand to beat the Buff Clan, it's basically useless in defending Earth, once more showing just how dangerous the Ide is becoming. Secondly, there's Gije, who's come along way from being Henchman #1 in the early episodes and is now fully rounded and sympathetic. Plus he not only shoots Daram and gets him out of the way, but he does it in a cucumber-cool fashion.