Gundam AGE ep40: I am Kio! Your god and protector!

You’ll have to pardon me as I scream in horror.  I may have to apologize to my neighbors.  I let out the same scream halfway through the episode.  Though I’ve strangely learn to deal with the disappointment, even after hiding from the signs for so long.  It’s almost akin to being a Chicago Cubs fan.  You get used to the disappointment a bit.  It’s the disappointment of knowing that a show isn’t what you want it to be, or doesn’t have the values or priorities you think it should.  It’s a selfish thing, I know.  But allow me this moment to have my hissy fit before I move on with my feelings.

There comes a time when all the dominoes start to fall.  And they’re falling now.  Kio’s returned to the Earth Sphere, with dad in tow no less.  And I have to say, Romary is a woman who deserves a lot of credit.  She had to endure a lot, thinking that she may have lost her son.  And then finding out that her husband is alive.  I’m sure Asemu’s got one hell of a talking to when the cameras weren’t on them.

This is setting the stage for an overall family healing, and understanding.  But it won’t come easy.  While Asemu is certainly willing to see to some of Kio’s way of thinking.  Flit is a stonewall of decades of hate and loss.  You could see the conflicts coming from a mile away.  I suppose the question will be whether Kio can change what I don’t believe any other Gundam protagonist has been able to change.  Centuries worth of hatred and conflict amongst humans.  The show is setting him up nicely just to do that though.

After the absolute demolishing that the AGE-3 took while fighting Legilis, the AGE system fits Kio with a brand new Gundam.  A Gundam dubbed the “ultimate Gundam.”  The AGE-FX is something that I think would make even Amuro comfortable.  It’s not the powerful beam cannon that’s the feature this time around, or even the increased mobility (that card’s been played to death already), it’s the Nu Gundam style funnels.  Impressive little things, too.  The Vagan are using the Federation’s lunar base as a massive forward operating base for the invasion of Earth.  And the Federation is ready to take it back.  It’s a good ol’ space invasion, something that gives me flashbacks to several Gundam series.  And it’s the perfect testing ground for Kio’s new Gundam and his new goals.  Oh those new goals.

I’m not sure whether to save my feelings on this subject for my inevitable Check-out Station post, or to blow them here.  I just have a HUGE problem with the way pacifism plays out in series like this.  It comes across to me in all sorts of negative ways.  It makes the characters look like they’re content not to defend themselves or their friends.  It makes the characters look naive, childish, even stupid.  It appears to be an insult to all the other characters in the show who have tried their damnedest to fight for their ideals and their loved ones.  And it’s kind of an insult to my ability to suspend disbelief and my intelligence.  I never really expected Gundam AGE to break the mold, but I would have hoped that it wouldn’t repeat the mistakes of Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz and the SEED series.  I hope this is an overreaction.  I hope to see the tears of time.  I hope this show does its best to be a little more than “kiddie” in the execution of its ending.  I hope I’m right.