After deserting the White Base, Amuro wanders the desert of Central Asia being hounded by the forces of the Federation and Zeon alike. And, as you can guess from the title of the episode, he’s discovered a secret Zeon mine and plans to take it head on.
We continue our journey through Mobile Suit Gundam with “Zeon’s Secret Mine!” Spoilers ahead, obviously.
1. Kycilia Approaches
As the show progresses, I can’t wait to meet more of the Zabi family. I mean, sure, we’re technically “met” them in past episodes that introduced them in the wake of Garma’s death, but they seem to slowly be entering the bigger picture and Kycilia makes her way to Earth to oversee M’Queve’s mining operations.
I simply love Kycilia’s design aesthetic. The mask covering his lower face as well as the hat and shoulder pads displaying golden iconography which contrasts with her purple uniform. It’s a visual design that marks her as unique among the Zeon forces, who have generally worn pretty bland, grey and green uniforms so far. Except for Char, of course, but he gets to be special because he’s cool.
2. Amuro On His Own/ Fraw Bow On The Hunt
Following up from last week’s episode, Amuro remains on his own with only Gundam as his companion. On the run from both the White Base and the patrolling Zeon forces, Amuro is left to camp out in bombed out cities and subsist on rations cooked over a portable heater. It doesn’t seem like the nicest existence, I’ll be honest, but I’m impressed by how much Gundam has committed to this plot line.
Back at the White Base, the crew consider what will become of Amuro when they catch up to him and the idea of execution is genuinely floated. It’s harsh and it’s what causes Fraw Bow to go out in search of Amuro, but it’s also what the Federation does to deserters in times of war. Does that make the Federation the bad guys? Does it make Amuro the bad guy for deserting in the first place? That’s the thing about Gundam: depending on your perspective, anyone could be the bad guy.
3. Assault On Zeon’s Mine
Naturally, after telling Fraw Bow that he’s only going to stay to monitor and observe the mine while she contacts the White Base, he immediately attacks the mine. Thankfully, the Gundam means that this heroically naive assault on the mining base is easily handled by just Amuro, but I have to wonder when he’ll pick a fight that’s too big for him. I mean, he rushes headlong into battles like this and, sure, there were no Zakus at the base (that he could see) and the main defences were gun emplacements and tanks, but what happens when it’s not just that?
What happens when he goes up against something like the Adzam and he doesn’t win out of sheer determination? The White Base crew mentioned in this episode that Amuro’s behaviour has been selfish and I wonder when that will put him in a dangerous position.
4. Gundam Vs. Adzam
Mobile Suit Gundam was a show built to sell toys. I don’t say this as an insult, but as a point of fact. Much like Transformers and G.I. Joe that would come later, the money that went into making the show came from toy sales. Well, in the case of Gundam, it was plastic modelling kits aimed at adults, but still. Merchandising. What that means is that, every so often, Gundam will introduce a new ship or mobile suit or, in this case, mobile armour into the fiction that, in hindsight, I know was to create a new kit to sell, but in universe adds a new wrinkle to the conflict with Zeon.
The Adzam is pretty impressive, though, in how it creates a new battlefield against the Gundam. The Mobile Armour aspect brings a verticality to the fight that’s unique compared to battles between Mobile Suits. I mean, sure, it threw everything it had against Gundam and could barely dent it, but I’m interested to see how this will affect Kycilia and M’Queve’s plans in the future.
5. Complications Of War
Alas, after besting the Adzam and taking the base, Kycilia and M’Queve self-destruct the mine and destroy all of the data within. That’s fine, though, right? Because Amuro’s brave and heroic decision to assault the mine by himself meant that the Odessa Day offensive can be called off. In a moment of deliciously tragic irony, Amuro comes to find that this mine is one of hundreds under M’Queve’s control and isn’t even the main mine the Federation are targeting.
It’s, ultimately, a cruel twist of fate, but it’s one that I enjoyed because it undercut Amuro’s decision to take on the offensive by himself. It was a cocksure decision with no backup and, even though he destroyed the mine, has revealed that the Federation are targeting the mines and will likely lead to an increase in defences. It’s, like I said, a cruel narrative twist, but one that I hope will develop Amuro’s decision making in the future.
