Episode 7 – Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX

For this entire show, Machu has been craving freedom. When she finally wrests control of her life—everything immediately goes wrong. “Machu’s Rebellion” is about the show’s teen trio choosing the exact worst timing to do a con job because unbeknownst to them, a high profile assassination attempt is occurring at the same time. With tons of action and intriguing plot developments, this was the most successful episode of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX by a landslide. With 12 episodes reported, it is just past the halfway point and things are getting interesting. New character dynamics and huge consequences catapult Gundam GQuuuuuuX past the Clan Battle arc and into a fascinating and high-stakes new storyline. This story is better when it allows its characters to take action, and that’s exactly what happened this week.

The plan was simple: have Nyaan pilot the GQuuuuuuX in Machu’s place so Annqi will never suspect that Machu has stayed behind to crack the safe full of Tomino Bucks. Unfortunately, everything that can possibly go wrong does. The Clan Battle finale never takes place because the Pomeranians’ opponents, Gates and Deux, are otherwise occupied with divesting Kycilia of her life. Deux reveals herself to be your average unhinged Cyber Newtype, throwing a tantrum on the battlefield with a sizable body count—including her own body. After Shiiko’s untimely death, however, Deux’s survival through nearly two whole episodes isn’t something to sneeze at. Did Gates die along with her? I won’t make any statements until I see a body. Did you notice that when Deux transformed, the Titans music from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam was playing? I thought it fit the scene well and wasn’t a callback just for the sake of it.

With no opponents to battle, Shuji and Nyaan wait out the wreckage. Nyaan suggests to Shuji that the two of them make a run for it and leave Machu behind. Any hope I had for Machu and Nyaan to become friends (or lovers!) like in the ED is in shambles. That said, I’m glad the story let Nyaan be selfish here. Machu has treated Nyaan coldly out of sheer jealousy for several episodes, and Nyaan isn’t retaliating, she’s simply wising up. It is certainly interesting that Shuji doesn’t seem to care one way or the other about Nyaan’s proposal, neither speaking up to defend Machu nor immediately agreeing with Nyaan. Whatever Shuji is doing to make these two very different girls fall for him (being a total space cadet? sleeping in a sewer?), I need to know what it is. Either way, Shuji has bigger issues than resolving his love triangle. Once again, the Red Gundam goes “Zeknova,” a term original to Gundam GQuuuuuuX which we last saw in the flashback in episode 2, when Char disappeared at Solomon. It’s a gorgeous scene that draws all of the Kira-Kira to one place, but what does it mean? Where did he go?

As fascinating as Shuji’s disappearing act is to contemplate, I’m more interested in the lost time in which we don’t see Nyaan. What was Nyaan doing after Shuji disappeared and before Machu found the Gundam? I feel like those scant minutes will be critical later on. It’s true that Machu not only found the GQuuuuuuX in the right place at the right time, the machine also saved her life. Unfortunately, Machu’s physical life is really all she has right now, because her life, as in, her family, her school days, and her freedom, are all gone now. When Annqi caught Machu robbing the safe, Machu doubled down by holding Annqi at gunpoint. Annqi wasn’t afraid of Machu for a second—right up until Machu fired that gun. Annqi had a picture in her head of Machu as a sheltered, reasonably well-off schoolgirl who wasn’t gritty or desperate enough to jeopardize her own comfort. Annqi was wrong. And as big of a mistake as Machu made in this scene, Annqi was also to blame for betraying Machu’s trust.

What of the attack on Kycilia? In the end, the smartly-suited monarch’s life is saved by the efforts of both Xavier in his awesome custom Gyan (I admit I am a huge fan of the Gyan) and Challia in his Kikeroga, which he doesn’t even need to transform into its mobile suit mode. Did we know Xavier was a spy for Kycilia specifically before now? Either way, Kycilia no longer needs his services now that she’s convinced of Challia Bull’s loyalty. Little does she know that Challia only spared her because he wants to take out Kycilia and Gihren both in one fell swoop! Challia has been filling the “chaos demon” role that previously belonged to Char in the original show. His moves are so unpredictable that I’m unclear about his long term plan. If he kills both Zabi siblings and creates a power vacuum, does he then take power himself? Or is he preparing to deliver Zeon to his long lost Char on a silver platter? I predict a proxy war in Challia and Kycilia’s future, with Nyaan playing the antagonist pilot to Machu. The episode ends with Machu languishing in a cell surrounded by handrails, which indicate a low-gravity situation. Challia’s Machu and Kycilia’s Nyaan are sure to kindle an interesting rivalry indeed.

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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.