A sedate character piece and epilogue that addresses one of many issues I had with the original series: forced and somewhat vacuous "character moments" that are more paint by number rather than demonstrating both agency and gravity. Here the episode gives proper space or 間 for characters to properly breathe, for dialogue to flow naturally, for what's unsaid to peek out into the surface for a fleeting moment. Does it redeem the wasted potential and mediocrity of S2 (and I dare say parts of S1)? No, no it does not. What should be compelling arc villains were reduced to monsters of the week. Inaho and his AnalyticalEngine steamrolled the opposition at nearly every turn, overshadowing the scant moments where other characters were given a chance to shine. We never get another villain as complex and driven as Count Saazbaum, with Slayne being far too sympathetic to reach his adopted father's level. We settled into a routine of battles becoming generic shootfests rather than Real Robots vs. Super Robot, until The World's Only Autist Kaizuka Inaho arrives. Terran military politics is limited in a way that betrays its cultural origins. We were strung along on a barebones plot with plot-driven dialogue that had so much meaningless repetition, crowding out chances for better scenes.

All these things annoyed me, and while individually they could be overlooked, all together it seemed to a sort of death by a thousand cuts. A rewatch of S2 confirmed my feelings on this.

Yet, watching this episode... I was at peace. I remembered how charming the characters were. Of their conflicts and agency. And of Kaizuka Inaho having trouble with proper emotion yet still with a silent, almost naive resolve to help people. Of the connectedness over distance of so many characters.

It reminded me of that initial beauty of watching those first few episodes so many years ago.

I am thankful. I am glad for this little bit of closure.