Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

Episode 9

This week's Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX was a huge, collective “Oh!” Oh, that's what's going on here. Oh, that's who and what the Rose of Sharon is supposed to be. Oh, that's what Zeknova means. Oh, that's why the GQuuuuuuX and GFreD are named as if they are metasyntactic variables. It's all coming together and Machu is in the right place at the right time to solve the mystery. We are way, WAY past the episodes in which I critiqued this show on whether it is comprehensible to newbies or just grizzled Gundam fans who have seen every Universal Century show. When the question is “Is this a Universal Century sequel or an alternate universe or some fanfiction?” the answer is a resounding, “YES, all of the above!” Even my knowledge of Lalah's backstory couldn't help me here. What Gundam GQuuuuuuX is doing now has moved far beyond a diverged timeline; everything just got quantum. This episode gave me a lot to chew on as I reconceptualized my total understanding of the show up to this point.

When the episode opened on Machu diving down to Earth (looking very much like a red comet, take that as you will), I wasn't sure if “The Rose of Sharon” had time to fill in the blanks of how Machu escaped in the first place. This show has an awful lot to wrap up in a single cour. But once Machu was settled at the mysterious Kabas Estate, in which heavily guarded women in lingerie await uniform-clad “lovers” (OK, there's nothing mysterious about this brothel at all!) the story rewound to history's quietest cross-examination. Even though Machu never said a word, Challia Bull was somehow able to interpret each of her answers to his questions. Is it Newtype shenanigans, like when Lalah and Machu communed in the Kira-Kira? Nah, I think Challia is just majorly perceptive, while our scowling tomato is an open book. When Machu's bugged phone receives texts from a mysterious number urging her to escape, Challia goes ahead and lets her—he correctly determines Machu will lead him directly to the Rose of Sharon.

If you haven't watched 1979's Mobile Suit Gundam, here's the 411 on Lalah: after Char found her in an Indian brothel, he took her to the Flanagan institute where she displayed Newtype potential and ultimately became Char's lover/protégé and the pilot of the tulip-like Elmeth. Lalah was also in love with Amuro, the protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam, and ultimately sacrificed herself for both his and Char's sake. Lalah's final words were “I can see time!” Lalah tells nearly all of this to Machu, so the only difference between a veteran and newbie experience is whether or not you shout, “There she is, blorbo from my shows!” when they do the face reveal. (Lalah looks gorgeous in this art style.) Lalah herself is some sort of anomaly in this universe; there's another version of her in the submerged Elmeth, frozen in time. Lalah's dreams, which her maids insist are of the future, really appear to be visions of a parallel universe. From here we can make an educated guess about what a Zeknova really is: a pilot's violent leap from one universe to the next. Perhaps the Gundams are named after variables because they are placeholders, capable of fitting into multiple universes.

“I will be free… if I go to space,” Lalah tells Machu. This is a fascinating statement because it's the exact opposite of what Machu has been telling us for the entire show—that she would finally be free if she went to Earth. This is a story in opposites; not only Lalah and Machu's grass-is-always-greener diametric, but Nyaan's refugee status compared to Machu's privilege. Char's escape to another universe, and left-behind Challia's hopeless search for him. There's even opposites at play between Lalah and her other self: “My self on the other side is in love,” she tells Machu. In short, we are at the point in Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX that the story is beginning to show more of its hand—and I really like what I see. It builds on what came before it, yes, but it's also something wholly original. Machu has gone from a spoiled high schooler playing dangerous games to the heroine of her own story, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

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Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesdays.

Lauren writes about model kits at Gunpla 101. She spends her days teaching her two small Newtypes to bring peace to the space colonies.