Where did that last episode come from, amirite? Some spoilerish territory in this review, but not enough to blow everything. Ok, so what I think happened: Not unlike Mezzo and A Kite, the writing/directing team had an idea. But, they knew they didn't have an idea that would sell to the masses, so they made a compromise. They put together the pitch for a crappy sci-fi show, made some cute titty-bouncing shitshow concept art, and sold that. Then, once they got the money, they spent like literally all but 10 cents on the final episode, making a nugget of the story they actually wanted to tell, and justslapped together the rest for the first two episodes to appease investors. It feels, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the last episode was the pilot they wanted to pitch, but couldn't.

Seriously, that was one of the most brutal, and best animated episodes of anime I've ever seen. Having watched the hot garbage first episode, and saw through the narrative tricks of the second, I can say the third is worth it. Beyond worth it.

The first 54 minutes of the series is just a ruse they made to get the money to make the rest of what is essentially a really interesting 27 minute pilot with movie-quality animation. You probably only need to watch the OP with its intro, then the last 5-7 minutes of episode 2 for all the context you need in the last episode, so I might recommend that over watching the first episode and a half as it was quite clear the first episode and a half wasn't the priority.

Listen to me right now:
Grit your teeth,
watch it now.
It barely has a beginning, over half of it is trash, and it sure as shit doesn't have an ending,
but it's, like, an hour and a half long.
You're not losing much, and the first 10 minutes of that last episode are fucking masterful for what they are.