Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - Anime Episode Discussion

[Frontier]

When Suletta started questioning their mom after what happened with Sophie, Eri/Aerial made her double-down on believing in Prospera.

She might not know exactly what Prospera is doing but she's party to making sure Suletta goes along with it to some extent or doesn't ask too many questions.

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by Frontier

When Suletta started questioning their mom after what happened with Sophie, Eri/Aerial made her double-down on believing in Prospera.

She might not know exactly what Prospera is doing but she's party to making sure Suletta goes along with it to some extent or doesn't ask too many questions.

In Cradle Planet, Eri/Aerial says she cannot go against mom/her creator even if she wanted to.

It's not just Suletta that needs to be freed, but Prospera already wants to free Eri so...

[magnuskn]

Dang, Prospera is super scary. The last female antagonist in anime I found this compelling was Grace over in Macross Frontier TV.

Originally Posted by vic-vic

Maybe Prospera, after completing Quiet Zero, get the ability (or, at least, think) to get Eri from the Aerial and place her "soul" into a new body. Suletta's body.

It could be an additional reason for Prospera to make Su so obidient to her (aside of her revenge sheme in general of course): "Suletta, please be a good girl and let your elder sister to took full control over your body. Your would make your mama so happy if you do this."

Yeah, that's my read as well. Prospera seems enough of a psycho as to raise a second daughter and condition her into complete acceptance of her wishes, just to use her body as a meat puppet for her "real" daughter.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Frontier

She might not know exactly what Prospera is doing but she's party to making sure Suletta goes along with it to some extent or doesn't ask too many questions.

We definitely need to hear more from Aerial's POV outside of Cradle Planet. How much does she know at this point? How far will she go to obey Prospera?

Originally Posted by magnuskn

Dang, Prospera is super scary. The last female antagonist in anime I found this compelling was Grace over in Macross Frontier TV.

Now that you mentioned it, Prospera is not even the first of her kind in Gundam anime.

Even a lot of Gundam fans tend to forget that they already have a "female schemer masked villain" in Gundam since the very beginning (1979). Her name is Kycilia Zabi.



Her backstabbing a certain character is pretty iconic within the Gundam lore.

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[Dengar]

Credit where it is due, I actually liked this episode. Everything that happened was pretty down to earth and nuanced. Even the one character being an idiot today is actually brought attention to in a fairly nuanced way. And it was nice to see Miorine actually care about Suletta's wellbeing for a change. It gives me the idea that she might actually like her after all.

.....If only the show allowed the occasional adult to be competent. Well, more than just Prospera I mean. Who is very chilling. She always knows exactly what to say. And she actually isn't pretending to be virtuous, which I appreciate. But yeah it's only her.

That said, Miorine making that picture of the bullies, expecting the staff to care is like... They never cared byefore... Why would they start now?

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Dengar

Credit where it is due, I actually liked this episode. Everything that happened was pretty down to earth and nuanced. Even the one character being an idiot today is actually brought attention to in a fairly nuanced way. And it was nice to see Miorine actually care about Suletta's wellbeing for a change. It gives me the idea that she might actually like her after all.

.....If only the show allowed the occasional adult to be competent. Well, more than just Prospera I mean. Who is very chilling. She always knows exactly what to say. And she actually isn't pretending to be virtuous, which I appreciate. But yeah it's only her.

It's not like this is new. The very first Gundam had no competent adults either, at least ones that didn't end up dying really fast (Mathilda-saaaaan) or weren't antagonists like Prospera.

[Dengar]

Originally Posted by Kanon

It's not like this is new. The very first Gundam had no competent adults either, at least ones that didn't end up dying really fast (Mathilda-saaaaan) or weren't antagonists like Prospera.

Sounds like I wouldn't like that either. I thought white base had a competent crew though. Bright isn't a kid either.

Regardless, 00 had competent adults. X had, so did Wing. Those were the main ones I watched, and G.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Dengar

Sounds like I wouldn't like that either. I thought white base had a competent crew though. Bright isn't a kid either.

Regardless, 00 had competent adults. X had, so did Wing. Those were the main ones I watched, and G.

Bright was 19 at the time.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by Dengar

.....If only the show allowed the occasional adult to be competent. Well, more than just Prospera I mean. Who is very chilling. She always knows exactly what to say. And she actually isn't pretending to be virtuous, which I appreciate. But yeah it's only her.

I mean, the Peil hags have been surviving so far. Belmeria is competent at her field. Sarius & Delling only went down due to some grade-A betrayal. Rajan is still there taking over Delling's works. Olcott is badass and Feng Jun is smart enough to sniff Prospera's suspicious operation.

Originally Posted by Dengar

That said, Miorine making that picture of the bullies, expecting the staff to care is like... They never cared byefore... Why would they start now?

A video evidence of abuse in the hand of the Benerit heiress is enough to send those spacian kids from random companies running. There's nothing strange about that.

[FlareKnight]

I suppose it's worth continuing to see just how much of a messed up psychopath Prospera is. She's turned every good natured person around her into excuses for her horrific acts. A good deal of irony in trying to paint Miorine with the blood on the hands of her father while she is staining the hands and names of her husband and mentor with what she's doing and what she plans on doing.

But when have villains cared about being hypocrites?

Can't say I've ever loved Suletta, but certainly a pitiable character. Turned into a puppet that would basically do anything her mother told her to do. Which of course makes her the most unreliable person on the planet since her mother is a psychopath. I guess we can just wait for the eventual command to turn on Miorine and see Suletta have to wrestle with that one?

[Frontier]

It's kind of funny to think that the character most poised to shake things up and interfere with the antagonists' plan is Guel because I don't think any of them have prepared for him...well, unless Prospera knows he killed his dad and uses that to get him on her side .

[Key Board]

the chairman elections will involve mobile suits battles, right?
we still need to justify Demi Barding and Gundam Schwarzette

I always wondered about the 2nd key visual. It seemed like everyone was trying to get a hold of Miorine.
But what if the unseen object in the center was the seat of the Benerit Group presidency.
Miorine just happens to be the closest to it.

//

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

I suppose it's worth continuing to see just how much of a messed up psychopath Prospera is.She's turned every good natured person around her into excuses for her horrific acts. A good deal of irony in trying to paint Miorine with the blood on the hands of her father while she is staining the hands and names of her husband and mentor with what she's doing and what she plans on doing.

But when have villains cared about being hypocrites?

What horrific acts? The only persons she killed were terrorists sent to kill people who were going to kill and/or steal her daughters.

Putting Eri's data into Aerial? Eri was dying from space exposure already. She saved the part of her daughter she could save.

Sending Suletta to school, let her get friends and have access to a safe testing environment for Aerial that was already in place?

You could say Suletta is brainwashed, but as I read elsewhere yesterday: it's like the OS crashed and rebooted into safe mode. Suletta has co-dependency issues and not just with her mother. They are there with Miorine too. Suletta needs to become independent from everyone, not just her mom.

The most evil thing Prospera has done so far is push Miorine's buttons so she could save Suletta from a Witch trial and now have her run for Presidency of the Bennerit Group. Prospera isn't even even trying to get power for herself like the Shaddiq, she's so evil.

Prospera saying Miorine is bloodstained is because she profited of her father's position which was acquired via blood. It's just a redo of their conversation in episode 7, with the added context of what actually happened 21 years ago that allowed her father to become the head of the Group.

And I wouldn't call Prospera an hypocrite. She's clear about her motives and doesn't hide that she's doing it for herself/family.

[Kazu-kun]

I've gotta agree with azarhal. Prospera is not an hypocrite. She's very upfront and isn't pretending to have the moral high ground. Calling Miorine bloodstained is simply a factual statement.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by azarhal

What horrific acts? The only persons she killed were terrorists sent to kill people who were going to kill and/or steal her daughters.

Putting Eri's data into Aerial? Eri was dying from space exposure already. She saved the part of her daughter she could save.

Sending Suletta to school, let her get friends and have access to a safe testing environment for Aerial that was already in place?

You could say Suletta is brainwashed, but as I read elsewhere yesterday: it's like the OS crashed and rebooted into safe mode. Suletta has co-dependency issues and not just with her mother. They are there with Miorine too. Suletta needs to become independent from everyone, not just her mom.

The most evil thing Prospera has done so far is push Miorine's buttons so she could save Suletta from a Witch trial and now have her run for Presidency of the Bennerit Group. Prospera isn't even even trying to get power for herself like the Shaddiq, she's so evil.

Prospera saying Miorine is bloodstained is because she profited of her father's position which was acquired via blood. It's just a redo of their conversation in episode 7, with the added context of what actually happened 21 years ago that allowed her father to become the head of the Group.

Raising your child into a puppet for you to control is emotional abuse, you know.

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by Endscape

Raising your child into a puppet for you to control is emotional abuse, you know.

That's an assumption. So far Suletta has sown to be emotional stunned with co-dependency issues. As a result, she believes everything her mother says like a good little kid and see her self-worth as "helping others". She also shows signs of being neurodivergent which impact the way she learns things and react to them.

The emotionally stunned is the result of growing up without children her own age around. The co-dependency was enforced by the Mercury elders who were only pleased when she did things for them according to Cradle Planet.

The show used a tomato metaphors during the greenshouse scene last episode to explain Suletta and Miorine at that point in time. Miorine is ripe (aka mature), Suletta is starting to have some red but still has a way to go.

Does Elnora and Suletta have an healthy relationship? Not really, but it requires zero malicious intent from Elnora's part to be that way. It's just the result of the events of the prologues and having to hide on Mercury.

I will also note that Prospera never mentioned she needed Suletta for Quiet Zero. Only Aerial. She needed Suletta for the duels at the school. But at Permet 6, Aerial/Eri has full control of the mobile suit, limbs included. In other words, she doesn't need a pilot anymore. She can even turn herself on and off now as shown with El5n last episode.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by azarhal

That's an assumption. So far Suletta has sown to be emotional stunned with co-dependency issues. As a result, she believes everything her mother says like a good little kid and see her self-worth as "helping others". She also shows signs of being neurodivergent which impact the way she learns things and react to them.

The emotionally stunned is the result of growing up without children her own age around. The co-dependency was enforced by the Mercury elders who were only pleased when she did things for them according to Cradle Planet.

The show used a tomato metaphors during the greenshouse scene last episode to explain Suletta and Miorine at that point in time. Miorine is ripe (aka mature), Suletta is starting to have some red but still has a way to go.

Does Elnora and Suletta have an healthy relationship? Not really, but it requires zero malicious intent from Elnora's part to be that way. It's just the result of the events of the prologues and having to hide on Mercury.

I will also note that Prospera never mentioned she needed Suletta for Quiet Zero. Only Aerial. She needed Suletta for the duels at the school. But at Permet 6, Aerial/Eri has full control of the mobile suit, limbs included. In other words, she doesn't need a pilot anymore. She can even turn herself on and off now as shown with El5n last episode.

Especially after this episode, I can't believe that all of that was not an intentional effort on Prospera's part.

The fact that she hasn't bothered to discuss with Suletta and help her deal with the fact that she committed murder says a lot.

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by Endscape

Especially after this episode, I can't believe that all of that was not an intentional effort on Prospera's part.

The fact that she hasn't bothered to discuss with Suletta and help her deal with the fact that she committed murder says a lot.

Suletta talked to her mother about the splat via the phone in episode 1.

Something not mentioned in the show, but Cradle Planet suggest that Suletta is used to see people dying. She was doing high danger rescue mission since a young age with Aerial. She learned to compartmentalize negative stuff a long time ago to survive on Mercury. It's not that different than ep 15 Earthian kids or Sophie/Norea.

Now I guess you could blame Elnora picking Mercury instead of a nice resort somewhere, but according to Aerial in Cradle Planet, it's were people she knew accepted to hide them.

[Endscape]

)

Originally Posted by azarhal

Suletta talked to her mother about the splat via the phone in episode 1.

That really wasn't the kind of conversation you should be having with your child after she commits murder, no matter how justified it was.

Something not mentioned in the show, but Cradle Planet suggest that Suletta is used to see people dying. She was doing high danger rescue mission since a young age with Aerial. She learned to compartmentalize negative stuff a long time ago to survive on Mercury. It's not that different than ep 15 Earthian kids or Sophie/Norea.

It's one thing to see people dying, it's quite another to see them being killed much less doing the killing yourself.

[azarhal]

Originally Posted by Endscape

That really wasn't the kind of conversation you should be having with your child after she commits murder, no matter how justified it was.

Yet that was probably the most exhaustive parent-kid talk about their first kill in a Gundam show.

Also, do you call cops who kills armed terrorists about to kill someone else murderers as well?