blooded: gwing commentary - ep 3&4
13 Apr 2005 03:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaigoublooded: gwing, episodes 3 & 4
If the first two episodes were to introduce the who of the series, these two introduce the how. In 1 and 2, of the characters introduced, only Zechs, Heero, and Relena were flying high above the earth in their introduction. Treize, the other Gundams, the military, were all on-ground somewhere. That bare moment of Relena observing just before Heero and Zechs clash is set up as the primary crux, and it's one I recall becomes the major undercurrent through the entire series. Heero and Zechs, with Relena at the fulcrum, although they do shift about at times.
So if that first episode showed us the primary characters: Zechs, Treize; Relena; the five pilots, these two show how they're fighting. Lots of backstory, that I'd completely forgotten about, as well as the depth of its complexity (and the subtlety with which Treize is navigating the waters).
First up, Treize and Zechs. In episode 2, Zechs is decried as Treize's go-to boy. His conversation with Treize in this opening scene is one of relaying information, making suggestions, while Treize listens and essentially lets Zechs' decisions be the the final word. There's a lot more going on in this scene than I'd realized the first time.
This is the second time we've seen Treize, and both times he's been occupying himself as an aristocrat would: at the opera, or at an estate calmly taking aim at popup targets. At the same time, the narration later – explaining the origins of the Specials, and the tensions between the Specials and the regular Army – paints a very different portrait of Treize. The Specials, I had forgotten, are not only the main mobile suit backbone of the general Army, they're also – under Treize's direction and CEO-ship – the main (if not sole) producer of mobile suits. The Specials are also the trainers for other branches of the Army, in the use of mobile suits. This isn't just politics; there's an element of manufacturing and technology here. Treize has been illustrated so far as the lazy, arrogant aristocrat but I caught this time the detail that he's also a very savvy businessman.
Another thing that caught my eye the first time (but didn't think much about it, as these episodes are jam-packed with back-story) is that Treize spends the entire conversation aiming, or so it seems, on the pop-up targets. I just didn't see the foreshadowing until now. When Zechs is done with his suggestions, Treize takes a moment to consider, and then abruptly changes angle of his gun to shoot a live bird – not his original target. The feathers drift down across the screen, and he tells Zechs, "shoot them for me" or some such. There's a bit of nice foreshadowing: Wing Gundam. Treize is, for all intents and purposes, appearing to angle for one goal. But his true goal is hiding behind the apparent ones, and that's where he's going to strike, and without warning.
A third detail in this scene is the manipulation going on, or at least the dynamic, between the two men. Zechs is earnest, but confident; he's considered what he has to say, and is presenting the information as clearly as possible. Like a good subordinate, he also presents his take on the facts. Treize listens, asks a few questions, and then essentially waves his hand at Zechs and says, "go do [what you wanted to do anyway]", with the brackets' content implied. For Zechs, it appears as though Treize has made the decision, and is granting him a privilege. In fact, Treize has done little. He was smart enough to pick a good soldier, and now he's going to trust that soldier's instincts, and let Zechs take the lead – but he doesn't do that outright. He's good enough to keep the credit for the decision, and grant permission as if he's still in charge. Treize delegates. It's a common enough dynamic in some corporate cultures, but not one you see that often, really. In my experience at least, it requires an extremely confident boss – confident both in his/her ability to pick competent employees, and confident that the employees will follow through and deliver.
Back over to Heero, who opens his eyes and registers where he is. We're either supposed to assume he's got the floor plan of every bloomin' hospital memorized, or that he's so good that he just knows this stuff. (It's possible he's reading it off a sign.) A bit ham-handed, but the key point is that although in the previous two episodes he had seemed somewhat lackluster about his overall mission, he's not ignorant of things. He's able to encrypt a disk to the point that the Alliance can't figure out heads nor tails of it, and he immediately recognizes – despite significant injuries – where he is and wisely plays possum until he can figure out what to do about it. He also is quite annoyed to have been captured, but when Duo shows up, Heero ignores him. Duo gets out an opening line, and then Heero closes his eyes. The rest of Duo's dialogue might as well be monologue, for all Heero's interest. More characterization: Heero does have some pride and smarts; as pissed as he may be for being captured, he's not going to ally himself rashly.
Relena's appearance in this part underlines her imperious nature, I think. Her reactions to Sally are downright offensive, tossing off comments like "I'm [the Vice Minister's] disobedient daughter." At one point, while speaking, she uses the most formal of verbiage, however; to be too polite is another way to be rude. It's no surprise that Sally's a little surprised by this behavior. The only word I can find is 'defensive', really. A throwaway line I'd missed the first time, from the duty nurse, states clearly that Relena is the one who brought Heero (although whether that's to mean "to the hospital" or just "to the attention of medical staff, ie, called an ambulance" isn't clear).
I think there are two things going on here. First, Relena managed to save Heero's life. Instead of getting a welcome or thank-you, the duty nurse barely recognizes her, and doesn't seem inclined to let Relena see Heero, despite Relena's role. It's only when Sally walks up that Relena gets any recognition for what she's done, and it's at that point that Relena's attitude goes from hopeful/worried to almost spoiled/resentful. She saved a boy's life, and the response she gets is: "thanks, run along now." Sally's willingness to make an exception rankles, it appears. Second, underneath it, though, is that Heero is being noticed – drawing attention to himself – which again is the dynamic Relena craves. She doesn't want to be trussed up in some hospital slab, granted, but it's the general gist. The fact that she knows Heero's name temporarily gives her a little bit of power; Sally doesn't patronize her or arrest her, though. She just gives Relena a rather amused look – she's not too impressed, really – and eventually Relena chills out on that defensive mode.
A throwaway line but important: When Sally comments on Relena knowing Heero's name, Relena tells her that they're schoolmates and quite good friends. (According to the fansub, she says they're sweethearts.) Contrast this to when Duo joins Heero on the beach. Duo's quite disgusted at the fact that Heero almost made him party to suicide. In the English version, Duo says, "Right now, I'm the only friend you've got." (In the fansub version, Duo says, "Right now, I'm the only one you can trust.")
The first version does make for a better echo of Relena's comments, and I wonder if that dialogue-mirror exists in the original, in terms of connotations. Look at the pattern. Relena may have saved his life at the beach, but I doubt it; he was perfectly capable of getting up and moving about, and in no direct danger – but she promptly puts him in danger by calling an ambulance (and on a military base, the only ambulance you'll get is a military one). Then she puts his life in further danger (by knowing him, and following him), followed promptly by saving his life (twice, possibly, once in stopping Duo and once in getting Heero from the water), but takes him to the military hospital – the last place a rebel wants to go – thereby inadvertantly exposing him to the authorities (along with the mysterious encrypted disk he carries). She claims a level of emotional intimacy with him, which seems to be borne out when she hollers his name from the fiftieth floor while watching Heero plummet to his death. He pulls the cord, opening the parachute and then just as quickly ditches it. His suicidal tendency is stronger than any 'connection' to Relena. (Rumors have it that Sunrise/Bandai intended to play with Newtypes but ditched the notion soon into production; most implications of Newtype behavior are in the first seven to ten episodes, I'm told.)
Lay this against Duo, who puts Heero's life in danger (shoots him), and then saves him (hospital rescue); it could be counted as a second 'save' when Duo sticks with Heero – despite his anger and disgust – and takes him to the Sweeper ship. Both have risked Heero's life by their involvement. From a literary standpoint, what we see in the course of the story is pretty much one attempt each: we see Relena stop Duo from shooting, and we see Duo freeing Heero from the hospital. If Relena's attempts were to have stronger bearing than Duo's, I'd argue we should have seen her either calling an ambulance, getting him from the water, or even just watching as the ambulance pulls away.
And really, if Heero weren't conscious for that, it's irrelevant. He's aware that Relena saved his life once, and now he's aware that Duo has done the same. Relena, however, is part of what put him in danger, by distracting him from both his job and the potential ability to see Duo coming and defend himself. (There's also a good chance Duo wouldn't have shot Heero if Heero hadn't pulled a gun on Relena.)
So there are two characters who, whether Heero knows it or not, are laying claim to him by implying he carries an obligation to each. At the same time, the military's attention has been drawn to him, as well. Heero may not be a perfect solider – and at times, is far from it – but he is the catharsis of the series. His interaction with both Zechs and Relena are setting off changes, with a ripple effect showing up in how their motivations have changed even after a momentary interaction (like Relena ditching her own birthday party to find out what Heero intends). And if Heero is the catharsis, Relena – so far, at least – is the unpredictability. Her presence alternately saves him and endangers him.
It's also possible that the line, "I'm the only one you can trust" does refer to the hospital, that Duo's saying (if not in so many words) that he's not going to turn Heero in. The curious thing was, in rewatching, the number of times Duo says things like "what a guy!" – in some ways, he seems completely blown away by Heero. Between Heero's ability to stay calm in the hospital, to stonefacedly setting his own leg, to fixing his Gundam, Duo is vociferous about being impressed. He hands out the compliments freely with one hand, and yanks them back with the other. He complains about Heero's actions giving him nightmares, making him sick to his stomach, making him depressed, boring the hell out of him... Again, a study in extremes, where Duo swings wildly from far one to far other, with Heero stolidly plodding along in the middle.
Part of the intriguing characterizations at this point exist within the contrasts. Heero reacts to Duo and Relena the same way, by keeping them both at arm's length, going on doing what he'd planned to do anyway, and ignoring them whenever possible. Relena verbalizes staunch support and interest, but her actions swing from being a danger to being a life-saver. Duo verbalizes the extreme of compliment and disgusted sarcasm, but his actions post-shooting are unwavering: he gets Heero out, is good on his word of a safe location, and allows Heero access (and peace, for the most part) to repair Wing. It's rather amusing that fanon's short attention span seems to get both characters in limited detail, with either one or the other (words versus actions) being selected from each, depending on the watcher's biases.
Relena's cry at the beach: the first time I saw this, I remember thinking, ooookay, girl. This time? I can see it's a bit more forlorn. She's lost her connection. Saving him once – then possibly twice – didn't do a damn bit of good. He's not reappeared to thank her (which would make logical sense to her, of course; most people don't want to die). Her life has returned to 'normal', but she's lost her ignorance. Something is happening in the world Out There, past the boundaries of her teenager-life. She clutches at the one thing he'd promised – that he'd kill her – but when she finishes yelling, she just drops her hands and stands there. The final shot is from behind. It's not another up-close shot like the close of her earlier scenes, but one that emphasizes her distance and isolation.
For all the Alliance is shown as power-hungry, this time I'm noticing the number of Alliance officers who specifically verbalize things like avoiding a fight if possible and de-armament and the like. Martial law is, all other things aside, a supremely expensive way to subdue a population. The Alliance is obviously aware of the costs, or else Treize would not have been reprimanded in ep.2 about his subordinate ditching a Leo. To engage in battle costs equipment, ammunition, lives, and infrastructure, and the Alliance officers demonstrate a certain pragmatism: if it's possible to get through a situation without fighting, do it.
The Specials, in contrast, are typified as bloodthirsty and fight-happy. This is where the procession of these two episodes thwacked me upside the head, as I hadn't realized this the first time. The Zeppelin's CO, Bonaparte, grumbles about the Specials appearing, insisting they'll instigate a fight where one may not necessarily be required. Zechs insists a Gundam will appear, based on his instincts (although Treize's informational leak gives Zechs an insider's certainty that a Gundam will bite). He's right. The Specials dive into battle, with the Alliance – less prepared in that moment – delayed but joining. Eventually the Specials assist the Alliance in getting Bonaparte safely out of the picture (meanwhile, Trowa runs out of ammunition and is dryly non-surprised).
Bonaparte wants to achieve victory with minimal bloodshed; his direction during battle is the order of a seasoned general (and Trowa recognizes this as such, which implies to me that Trowa is equally versed strategy for group-fighting, as opposed to solo). Bonaparte underestimates Trowa, however, and his forces suffer damage. Zechs is close enough to observe the battle, and is aware of his friend's death when Quatre takes him out. Prior to this, Zechs had lost men while taking on Heero; while those deaths disturb him, his friend's death seems to hit him quite hard. His friend specifically stated he was fighting for Zechs, to assist Zechs in anyway he could. So, Zechs has lost a champion.
This pushes Zechs to start a gentle shift away from the bloodthirsty, toward counseling a bit more restraint. Like Bonaparte, he's now a blooded leader. The next stage is meeting Noin, with her idealistic worship of Zechs so frickin' overboard it made my teeth hurt. She wants to be needed, both as a friend ("talk to me, Zechs") and as a compatriot ("let me fight with you"). In her own right, she's good at what she does, talks big, etc., but when Wufei strikes the trainees' dorms, Noin loses it. She's experiencing the same as Zechs, but to a larger degree – instead of one friend, it's her entire graduating class of students.
Wufei versus Noin is more contrast with Bonparte versus Trowa: it's not just that Noin is a woman; it's that she's inexperienced. She's thrown by the loss of having a soldier die in her arms, and when her soldiers take aim on Shenlong, she hesitates again. Naturally Wufei strikes in that moment, leaving Noin even more devastated and frustrated. Bonaparte's action against Trowa indicates he underestimated Heavyarms, possibly through lack of any strong knowledge about mobile suits; Noin does the same with Wufei although for reasons of age. Both the experienced and the unexperienced soldiers commit essentially the same mistake: underestimating their opponents.
The reaction from the G-pilots is also a contrast. Trowa is deadpan, cool, and willing to demonstrate the extent of Bonaparte's mistake. He comments on the general's tactical skills, and then lets actions do the rest of the talking. Wufei, in contrast, is furious at being underestimated, both in his short scene in ep3, and in his scene with Noin. However, his attack after realizing he's been assessed as less of a threat is minimal, too. He takes out the other two soldiers, cripples Noin's suit, and then destroys the shuttle – from a distance. Not exactly anything, Gundam-wise, that would inspire one to think he's highly skilled, even if he snuck onto base and set a nice variety of explosives. I suppose I just find it amusing, that Wufei rails at Noin for not doing much, and then proceeds to not do too much, himself.
Back to Zechs: with allowance for an insider's tips, his instincts are right when he warns Bonaparte that a Gundam will appear. In the second battle, as a blooded general, he's now following instincts when he declares that battle is not coming. He remains calm and centered, while the soldier near him panics, trying to get all the Tauruses off-base immediately. Only once the first shuttle takes off does Wufei take out the shuttle, and destroy all Tauruses on board. Two-fold implication: if it weren't for the panicked officer insisting on following previous orders (rather than adjust according to new information/insight), the Tauruses would have remained grounded, and not become a target. The second implication: Zechs' original instincts, expressed in ep1, have become downright flawless.
But there's also a third note, that I didn't realize until I pondered it a bit longer. Zechs gets listened to – some – but for the most part, he doesn't have a lot of power. He repeats his instincts to Treize, but it's only with Treize's blessing that he can act. He wants to fight at his soldiers' side, but just getting the Tallgeese out of Corsica is pushing his command-power to the limit. He tells the soldier to stand down and not let the shuttle take off, but the soldier threatens him with court-martial for suggesting a countermand of standing orders. Zechs can see what's going on, can suggest things, but other than the bonds and loyalties of friendship, there are a damn lot of people around Zechs who don't see need, reason, or obligation to give him the time of day if they don't want.
Onto Une, another bookend with Zechs, around Treize. It's highlighted by the fact that the first words we hear Treize say to Une are praising Zechs. The writers could have put that later, or modified it, but they slapped that one right up at the beginning of the scene; no surprise that Une does not look happy when she hears Treize speak highly of Zechs. She's being pushed into a secondary position below Zechs' in Treize's favor. Zechs collects information about Gundams, while Une brings the rose water. She bookends with Noin, who chooses to take second place, to elevate the man she loves (or at least worships). Where Treize doesn't seem to give a rat's ass what Une is doing so long as his ends are accomplished – and one could say this is also true of his attitude towards Zechs' means, so long as the ends are Treize's – Zechs, with Noin, seems surprised, flattered, and a bit bemused at Noin's attention and devotion.
That's a long jump from Treize's reactions to Une, which are dismissive, confident in her abilities, but also calmly skewering when it comes to a competitive sense. He's playing her as much as Zechs, but in a different way: he's using the image of Zechs to inspire Une to try just a little bit harder for the scraps of his attention. Hell, he doesn't even open his eyes to look at her. He's too busy reveling.
In the base's bar, When Noin taps her sword against Zechs' there's a strong sense of flirting, and Noin looks like she's finding it quite funny. It's hard to read Zechs' expression, so deadpan (and again, with iffy animation quality, grrrr on teh details) – he might be a little bemused, with that slight curl of his lip, but that slight lift could also mean a bit of annoyance. The latter wouldn't fit with his other reactions, though, so I'd lean towards surprise-amusement. I get the sense that he'd been aware of her skills, had never asked or expected her to take second place, and wasn't sure why she would. For all that Zechs starts out appearing self-confident among his own men to the point of arrogance, the more he's seen interacting outside his own command structure, the less power he's shown to have (and the more he's shown to be aware of just how limited his power truly is).
And then, by ep4, we roll back around to the political. Now, curiously, at the opening of this scene – and I backed up and rewatched – there's several pieces of important information. One, the Specials had the specs on the Gundams and their alloys, and had not previously released this to the Alliance. Two, the Alliance (including Septem), had been planning – or were in the beginning stages of – disarming martial law over the colonies. (In the fansubs, it's translated as "stepping down from alert", but in the official, the phrase carries the connotation of reducing troops stationed – I just can't remember the term.) Three: Gundamium alloy apparently can only be produced in zero-G, that is, outer space, so any mobile suits with that alloy must be colony-created. Quid pro quo, the colonies must have built the Gundams.
Remembering that Treize a) produces mobile suits and trains pilots, and b) is foreshadowed to have a different goal than the one he's publicly stated, this is where the machinations come in. The Army is gearing down, with things relatively calm, at least out in space. If the military disarms, first, demand for mobile suits will drop off. Second, they'll be vulnerable to the Specials by dint of their own step-down. Trowa (and Quatre) is drawn to the Corsica base by news of a leak, but Bonaparte's inclusion seems to be by chance, since the Specials (and Zechs) encourage him to leave. Although the Specials/OZ gathered more information on the Gundams, the cost of this was the regular Army learning that the Specials had such knowledge.
Whether or not it's a true threat, the fact remains that military forces the world over have often 'found' an external threat the minute someone suggests cutting back on the number of soldiers. In this case, however, the military is moving towards disarmament, and it's the man in the non-military uniform who insists that the military should ramp up if the colonies are threatening. Septem and the others seem reluctant – remember the theme of these two episodes seem to be between "those who have been fighting long, and those new to the battle" with the former more cautious and even predictable for that reason.
Several others present at the meeting argue for stronger defenses, or even taking offense against the colonies. One has to wonder where the Treize-stooges are in the room; increased military spending also benefits the one making the weapons of war, after all. Really, it's a win-win situation for Treize. If the military steps up mobile suit production, he makes money; if the military steps down, they're open to a coup by the Specials, in which case he gains power.
Vice-Minister Darlian is supposed to be a representative to/for the colonies, and a diplomat of some level. His actions in this scene are anything but diplomatic, and in fact could be a bit on the inflammatory side. He insists the majority of colonies want peace, and that a few bad apples shouldn't ruin it. Septem replies that Earth wants peace, too, but they don't see the colonies making any overtures. Darlian promptly blames the Federation Armed Forces and the martial law it instituted. This is not the way to make friends and convince enemies, and it's no surprise that Darlian is told to leave. I'm not saying a diplomat must kowtow, but a diplomat should have at least some concept of how to persuade. Bald-faced criticisms aren't the best way to do that.
At the beginning of this commentary, I said these episodes show the how, as opposed to the what. The purpose, after all, is still murky; Treize hasn't shot at his true target. But the machinations are being revealed, between Zechs' cognizance of the Gundams' power, and his manipulation of the regular Army, and Treize's masterful puppet-strings in the background with information leaks and subtle jabs. It's a great deal of concrete exposition, really, between the military's hope of learning about Heero (and the disk he carried), the work of repairing Gundams post-battle, the attitudes and tactics of experienced leaders versus unblooded soldiers, and the amount of power each character has, and their dynamics with others. A great deal happens, so there's not a feeling of a lot of setupm, even if that's what it is. Looking back at the two episodes, it's clear that now just about everyone is in place and soon the what will reveal itself.
Ehh! Tonight, episodes 5 and 6.
If the first two episodes were to introduce the who of the series, these two introduce the how. In 1 and 2, of the characters introduced, only Zechs, Heero, and Relena were flying high above the earth in their introduction. Treize, the other Gundams, the military, were all on-ground somewhere. That bare moment of Relena observing just before Heero and Zechs clash is set up as the primary crux, and it's one I recall becomes the major undercurrent through the entire series. Heero and Zechs, with Relena at the fulcrum, although they do shift about at times.
So if that first episode showed us the primary characters: Zechs, Treize; Relena; the five pilots, these two show how they're fighting. Lots of backstory, that I'd completely forgotten about, as well as the depth of its complexity (and the subtlety with which Treize is navigating the waters).
First up, Treize and Zechs. In episode 2, Zechs is decried as Treize's go-to boy. His conversation with Treize in this opening scene is one of relaying information, making suggestions, while Treize listens and essentially lets Zechs' decisions be the the final word. There's a lot more going on in this scene than I'd realized the first time.
This is the second time we've seen Treize, and both times he's been occupying himself as an aristocrat would: at the opera, or at an estate calmly taking aim at popup targets. At the same time, the narration later – explaining the origins of the Specials, and the tensions between the Specials and the regular Army – paints a very different portrait of Treize. The Specials, I had forgotten, are not only the main mobile suit backbone of the general Army, they're also – under Treize's direction and CEO-ship – the main (if not sole) producer of mobile suits. The Specials are also the trainers for other branches of the Army, in the use of mobile suits. This isn't just politics; there's an element of manufacturing and technology here. Treize has been illustrated so far as the lazy, arrogant aristocrat but I caught this time the detail that he's also a very savvy businessman.
Another thing that caught my eye the first time (but didn't think much about it, as these episodes are jam-packed with back-story) is that Treize spends the entire conversation aiming, or so it seems, on the pop-up targets. I just didn't see the foreshadowing until now. When Zechs is done with his suggestions, Treize takes a moment to consider, and then abruptly changes angle of his gun to shoot a live bird – not his original target. The feathers drift down across the screen, and he tells Zechs, "shoot them for me" or some such. There's a bit of nice foreshadowing: Wing Gundam. Treize is, for all intents and purposes, appearing to angle for one goal. But his true goal is hiding behind the apparent ones, and that's where he's going to strike, and without warning.
A third detail in this scene is the manipulation going on, or at least the dynamic, between the two men. Zechs is earnest, but confident; he's considered what he has to say, and is presenting the information as clearly as possible. Like a good subordinate, he also presents his take on the facts. Treize listens, asks a few questions, and then essentially waves his hand at Zechs and says, "go do [what you wanted to do anyway]", with the brackets' content implied. For Zechs, it appears as though Treize has made the decision, and is granting him a privilege. In fact, Treize has done little. He was smart enough to pick a good soldier, and now he's going to trust that soldier's instincts, and let Zechs take the lead – but he doesn't do that outright. He's good enough to keep the credit for the decision, and grant permission as if he's still in charge. Treize delegates. It's a common enough dynamic in some corporate cultures, but not one you see that often, really. In my experience at least, it requires an extremely confident boss – confident both in his/her ability to pick competent employees, and confident that the employees will follow through and deliver.
Back over to Heero, who opens his eyes and registers where he is. We're either supposed to assume he's got the floor plan of every bloomin' hospital memorized, or that he's so good that he just knows this stuff. (It's possible he's reading it off a sign.) A bit ham-handed, but the key point is that although in the previous two episodes he had seemed somewhat lackluster about his overall mission, he's not ignorant of things. He's able to encrypt a disk to the point that the Alliance can't figure out heads nor tails of it, and he immediately recognizes – despite significant injuries – where he is and wisely plays possum until he can figure out what to do about it. He also is quite annoyed to have been captured, but when Duo shows up, Heero ignores him. Duo gets out an opening line, and then Heero closes his eyes. The rest of Duo's dialogue might as well be monologue, for all Heero's interest. More characterization: Heero does have some pride and smarts; as pissed as he may be for being captured, he's not going to ally himself rashly.
Relena's appearance in this part underlines her imperious nature, I think. Her reactions to Sally are downright offensive, tossing off comments like "I'm [the Vice Minister's] disobedient daughter." At one point, while speaking, she uses the most formal of verbiage, however; to be too polite is another way to be rude. It's no surprise that Sally's a little surprised by this behavior. The only word I can find is 'defensive', really. A throwaway line I'd missed the first time, from the duty nurse, states clearly that Relena is the one who brought Heero (although whether that's to mean "to the hospital" or just "to the attention of medical staff, ie, called an ambulance" isn't clear).
I think there are two things going on here. First, Relena managed to save Heero's life. Instead of getting a welcome or thank-you, the duty nurse barely recognizes her, and doesn't seem inclined to let Relena see Heero, despite Relena's role. It's only when Sally walks up that Relena gets any recognition for what she's done, and it's at that point that Relena's attitude goes from hopeful/worried to almost spoiled/resentful. She saved a boy's life, and the response she gets is: "thanks, run along now." Sally's willingness to make an exception rankles, it appears. Second, underneath it, though, is that Heero is being noticed – drawing attention to himself – which again is the dynamic Relena craves. She doesn't want to be trussed up in some hospital slab, granted, but it's the general gist. The fact that she knows Heero's name temporarily gives her a little bit of power; Sally doesn't patronize her or arrest her, though. She just gives Relena a rather amused look – she's not too impressed, really – and eventually Relena chills out on that defensive mode.
A throwaway line but important: When Sally comments on Relena knowing Heero's name, Relena tells her that they're schoolmates and quite good friends. (According to the fansub, she says they're sweethearts.) Contrast this to when Duo joins Heero on the beach. Duo's quite disgusted at the fact that Heero almost made him party to suicide. In the English version, Duo says, "Right now, I'm the only friend you've got." (In the fansub version, Duo says, "Right now, I'm the only one you can trust.")
The first version does make for a better echo of Relena's comments, and I wonder if that dialogue-mirror exists in the original, in terms of connotations. Look at the pattern. Relena may have saved his life at the beach, but I doubt it; he was perfectly capable of getting up and moving about, and in no direct danger – but she promptly puts him in danger by calling an ambulance (and on a military base, the only ambulance you'll get is a military one). Then she puts his life in further danger (by knowing him, and following him), followed promptly by saving his life (twice, possibly, once in stopping Duo and once in getting Heero from the water), but takes him to the military hospital – the last place a rebel wants to go – thereby inadvertantly exposing him to the authorities (along with the mysterious encrypted disk he carries). She claims a level of emotional intimacy with him, which seems to be borne out when she hollers his name from the fiftieth floor while watching Heero plummet to his death. He pulls the cord, opening the parachute and then just as quickly ditches it. His suicidal tendency is stronger than any 'connection' to Relena. (Rumors have it that Sunrise/Bandai intended to play with Newtypes but ditched the notion soon into production; most implications of Newtype behavior are in the first seven to ten episodes, I'm told.)
Lay this against Duo, who puts Heero's life in danger (shoots him), and then saves him (hospital rescue); it could be counted as a second 'save' when Duo sticks with Heero – despite his anger and disgust – and takes him to the Sweeper ship. Both have risked Heero's life by their involvement. From a literary standpoint, what we see in the course of the story is pretty much one attempt each: we see Relena stop Duo from shooting, and we see Duo freeing Heero from the hospital. If Relena's attempts were to have stronger bearing than Duo's, I'd argue we should have seen her either calling an ambulance, getting him from the water, or even just watching as the ambulance pulls away.
And really, if Heero weren't conscious for that, it's irrelevant. He's aware that Relena saved his life once, and now he's aware that Duo has done the same. Relena, however, is part of what put him in danger, by distracting him from both his job and the potential ability to see Duo coming and defend himself. (There's also a good chance Duo wouldn't have shot Heero if Heero hadn't pulled a gun on Relena.)
So there are two characters who, whether Heero knows it or not, are laying claim to him by implying he carries an obligation to each. At the same time, the military's attention has been drawn to him, as well. Heero may not be a perfect solider – and at times, is far from it – but he is the catharsis of the series. His interaction with both Zechs and Relena are setting off changes, with a ripple effect showing up in how their motivations have changed even after a momentary interaction (like Relena ditching her own birthday party to find out what Heero intends). And if Heero is the catharsis, Relena – so far, at least – is the unpredictability. Her presence alternately saves him and endangers him.
It's also possible that the line, "I'm the only one you can trust" does refer to the hospital, that Duo's saying (if not in so many words) that he's not going to turn Heero in. The curious thing was, in rewatching, the number of times Duo says things like "what a guy!" – in some ways, he seems completely blown away by Heero. Between Heero's ability to stay calm in the hospital, to stonefacedly setting his own leg, to fixing his Gundam, Duo is vociferous about being impressed. He hands out the compliments freely with one hand, and yanks them back with the other. He complains about Heero's actions giving him nightmares, making him sick to his stomach, making him depressed, boring the hell out of him... Again, a study in extremes, where Duo swings wildly from far one to far other, with Heero stolidly plodding along in the middle.
Part of the intriguing characterizations at this point exist within the contrasts. Heero reacts to Duo and Relena the same way, by keeping them both at arm's length, going on doing what he'd planned to do anyway, and ignoring them whenever possible. Relena verbalizes staunch support and interest, but her actions swing from being a danger to being a life-saver. Duo verbalizes the extreme of compliment and disgusted sarcasm, but his actions post-shooting are unwavering: he gets Heero out, is good on his word of a safe location, and allows Heero access (and peace, for the most part) to repair Wing. It's rather amusing that fanon's short attention span seems to get both characters in limited detail, with either one or the other (words versus actions) being selected from each, depending on the watcher's biases.
Relena's cry at the beach: the first time I saw this, I remember thinking, ooookay, girl. This time? I can see it's a bit more forlorn. She's lost her connection. Saving him once – then possibly twice – didn't do a damn bit of good. He's not reappeared to thank her (which would make logical sense to her, of course; most people don't want to die). Her life has returned to 'normal', but she's lost her ignorance. Something is happening in the world Out There, past the boundaries of her teenager-life. She clutches at the one thing he'd promised – that he'd kill her – but when she finishes yelling, she just drops her hands and stands there. The final shot is from behind. It's not another up-close shot like the close of her earlier scenes, but one that emphasizes her distance and isolation.
For all the Alliance is shown as power-hungry, this time I'm noticing the number of Alliance officers who specifically verbalize things like avoiding a fight if possible and de-armament and the like. Martial law is, all other things aside, a supremely expensive way to subdue a population. The Alliance is obviously aware of the costs, or else Treize would not have been reprimanded in ep.2 about his subordinate ditching a Leo. To engage in battle costs equipment, ammunition, lives, and infrastructure, and the Alliance officers demonstrate a certain pragmatism: if it's possible to get through a situation without fighting, do it.
The Specials, in contrast, are typified as bloodthirsty and fight-happy. This is where the procession of these two episodes thwacked me upside the head, as I hadn't realized this the first time. The Zeppelin's CO, Bonaparte, grumbles about the Specials appearing, insisting they'll instigate a fight where one may not necessarily be required. Zechs insists a Gundam will appear, based on his instincts (although Treize's informational leak gives Zechs an insider's certainty that a Gundam will bite). He's right. The Specials dive into battle, with the Alliance – less prepared in that moment – delayed but joining. Eventually the Specials assist the Alliance in getting Bonaparte safely out of the picture (meanwhile, Trowa runs out of ammunition and is dryly non-surprised).
Bonaparte wants to achieve victory with minimal bloodshed; his direction during battle is the order of a seasoned general (and Trowa recognizes this as such, which implies to me that Trowa is equally versed strategy for group-fighting, as opposed to solo). Bonaparte underestimates Trowa, however, and his forces suffer damage. Zechs is close enough to observe the battle, and is aware of his friend's death when Quatre takes him out. Prior to this, Zechs had lost men while taking on Heero; while those deaths disturb him, his friend's death seems to hit him quite hard. His friend specifically stated he was fighting for Zechs, to assist Zechs in anyway he could. So, Zechs has lost a champion.
This pushes Zechs to start a gentle shift away from the bloodthirsty, toward counseling a bit more restraint. Like Bonaparte, he's now a blooded leader. The next stage is meeting Noin, with her idealistic worship of Zechs so frickin' overboard it made my teeth hurt. She wants to be needed, both as a friend ("talk to me, Zechs") and as a compatriot ("let me fight with you"). In her own right, she's good at what she does, talks big, etc., but when Wufei strikes the trainees' dorms, Noin loses it. She's experiencing the same as Zechs, but to a larger degree – instead of one friend, it's her entire graduating class of students.
Wufei versus Noin is more contrast with Bonparte versus Trowa: it's not just that Noin is a woman; it's that she's inexperienced. She's thrown by the loss of having a soldier die in her arms, and when her soldiers take aim on Shenlong, she hesitates again. Naturally Wufei strikes in that moment, leaving Noin even more devastated and frustrated. Bonaparte's action against Trowa indicates he underestimated Heavyarms, possibly through lack of any strong knowledge about mobile suits; Noin does the same with Wufei although for reasons of age. Both the experienced and the unexperienced soldiers commit essentially the same mistake: underestimating their opponents.
The reaction from the G-pilots is also a contrast. Trowa is deadpan, cool, and willing to demonstrate the extent of Bonaparte's mistake. He comments on the general's tactical skills, and then lets actions do the rest of the talking. Wufei, in contrast, is furious at being underestimated, both in his short scene in ep3, and in his scene with Noin. However, his attack after realizing he's been assessed as less of a threat is minimal, too. He takes out the other two soldiers, cripples Noin's suit, and then destroys the shuttle – from a distance. Not exactly anything, Gundam-wise, that would inspire one to think he's highly skilled, even if he snuck onto base and set a nice variety of explosives. I suppose I just find it amusing, that Wufei rails at Noin for not doing much, and then proceeds to not do too much, himself.
Back to Zechs: with allowance for an insider's tips, his instincts are right when he warns Bonaparte that a Gundam will appear. In the second battle, as a blooded general, he's now following instincts when he declares that battle is not coming. He remains calm and centered, while the soldier near him panics, trying to get all the Tauruses off-base immediately. Only once the first shuttle takes off does Wufei take out the shuttle, and destroy all Tauruses on board. Two-fold implication: if it weren't for the panicked officer insisting on following previous orders (rather than adjust according to new information/insight), the Tauruses would have remained grounded, and not become a target. The second implication: Zechs' original instincts, expressed in ep1, have become downright flawless.
But there's also a third note, that I didn't realize until I pondered it a bit longer. Zechs gets listened to – some – but for the most part, he doesn't have a lot of power. He repeats his instincts to Treize, but it's only with Treize's blessing that he can act. He wants to fight at his soldiers' side, but just getting the Tallgeese out of Corsica is pushing his command-power to the limit. He tells the soldier to stand down and not let the shuttle take off, but the soldier threatens him with court-martial for suggesting a countermand of standing orders. Zechs can see what's going on, can suggest things, but other than the bonds and loyalties of friendship, there are a damn lot of people around Zechs who don't see need, reason, or obligation to give him the time of day if they don't want.
Onto Une, another bookend with Zechs, around Treize. It's highlighted by the fact that the first words we hear Treize say to Une are praising Zechs. The writers could have put that later, or modified it, but they slapped that one right up at the beginning of the scene; no surprise that Une does not look happy when she hears Treize speak highly of Zechs. She's being pushed into a secondary position below Zechs' in Treize's favor. Zechs collects information about Gundams, while Une brings the rose water. She bookends with Noin, who chooses to take second place, to elevate the man she loves (or at least worships). Where Treize doesn't seem to give a rat's ass what Une is doing so long as his ends are accomplished – and one could say this is also true of his attitude towards Zechs' means, so long as the ends are Treize's – Zechs, with Noin, seems surprised, flattered, and a bit bemused at Noin's attention and devotion.
That's a long jump from Treize's reactions to Une, which are dismissive, confident in her abilities, but also calmly skewering when it comes to a competitive sense. He's playing her as much as Zechs, but in a different way: he's using the image of Zechs to inspire Une to try just a little bit harder for the scraps of his attention. Hell, he doesn't even open his eyes to look at her. He's too busy reveling.
In the base's bar, When Noin taps her sword against Zechs' there's a strong sense of flirting, and Noin looks like she's finding it quite funny. It's hard to read Zechs' expression, so deadpan (and again, with iffy animation quality, grrrr on teh details) – he might be a little bemused, with that slight curl of his lip, but that slight lift could also mean a bit of annoyance. The latter wouldn't fit with his other reactions, though, so I'd lean towards surprise-amusement. I get the sense that he'd been aware of her skills, had never asked or expected her to take second place, and wasn't sure why she would. For all that Zechs starts out appearing self-confident among his own men to the point of arrogance, the more he's seen interacting outside his own command structure, the less power he's shown to have (and the more he's shown to be aware of just how limited his power truly is).
And then, by ep4, we roll back around to the political. Now, curiously, at the opening of this scene – and I backed up and rewatched – there's several pieces of important information. One, the Specials had the specs on the Gundams and their alloys, and had not previously released this to the Alliance. Two, the Alliance (including Septem), had been planning – or were in the beginning stages of – disarming martial law over the colonies. (In the fansubs, it's translated as "stepping down from alert", but in the official, the phrase carries the connotation of reducing troops stationed – I just can't remember the term.) Three: Gundamium alloy apparently can only be produced in zero-G, that is, outer space, so any mobile suits with that alloy must be colony-created. Quid pro quo, the colonies must have built the Gundams.
Remembering that Treize a) produces mobile suits and trains pilots, and b) is foreshadowed to have a different goal than the one he's publicly stated, this is where the machinations come in. The Army is gearing down, with things relatively calm, at least out in space. If the military disarms, first, demand for mobile suits will drop off. Second, they'll be vulnerable to the Specials by dint of their own step-down. Trowa (and Quatre) is drawn to the Corsica base by news of a leak, but Bonaparte's inclusion seems to be by chance, since the Specials (and Zechs) encourage him to leave. Although the Specials/OZ gathered more information on the Gundams, the cost of this was the regular Army learning that the Specials had such knowledge.
Whether or not it's a true threat, the fact remains that military forces the world over have often 'found' an external threat the minute someone suggests cutting back on the number of soldiers. In this case, however, the military is moving towards disarmament, and it's the man in the non-military uniform who insists that the military should ramp up if the colonies are threatening. Septem and the others seem reluctant – remember the theme of these two episodes seem to be between "those who have been fighting long, and those new to the battle" with the former more cautious and even predictable for that reason.
Several others present at the meeting argue for stronger defenses, or even taking offense against the colonies. One has to wonder where the Treize-stooges are in the room; increased military spending also benefits the one making the weapons of war, after all. Really, it's a win-win situation for Treize. If the military steps up mobile suit production, he makes money; if the military steps down, they're open to a coup by the Specials, in which case he gains power.
Vice-Minister Darlian is supposed to be a representative to/for the colonies, and a diplomat of some level. His actions in this scene are anything but diplomatic, and in fact could be a bit on the inflammatory side. He insists the majority of colonies want peace, and that a few bad apples shouldn't ruin it. Septem replies that Earth wants peace, too, but they don't see the colonies making any overtures. Darlian promptly blames the Federation Armed Forces and the martial law it instituted. This is not the way to make friends and convince enemies, and it's no surprise that Darlian is told to leave. I'm not saying a diplomat must kowtow, but a diplomat should have at least some concept of how to persuade. Bald-faced criticisms aren't the best way to do that.
At the beginning of this commentary, I said these episodes show the how, as opposed to the what. The purpose, after all, is still murky; Treize hasn't shot at his true target. But the machinations are being revealed, between Zechs' cognizance of the Gundams' power, and his manipulation of the regular Army, and Treize's masterful puppet-strings in the background with information leaks and subtle jabs. It's a great deal of concrete exposition, really, between the military's hope of learning about Heero (and the disk he carried), the work of repairing Gundams post-battle, the attitudes and tactics of experienced leaders versus unblooded soldiers, and the amount of power each character has, and their dynamics with others. A great deal happens, so there's not a feeling of a lot of setupm, even if that's what it is. Looking back at the two episodes, it's clear that now just about everyone is in place and soon the what will reveal itself.
Ehh! Tonight, episodes 5 and 6.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 13 Apr 2005 07:45 pm (UTC)You know, I'm going to save and keep these. Your insights are very deep, very astute, and far above what one normally notices while watching the series. I'm really going to print those out and take them downstairs with me for my next GW marathon - whenever that may be - so that I can compare your observations with what I think I see and feel while watching.
Thanks for sharing!
no subject
Date: 14 Apr 2005 02:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 Apr 2005 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 14 Apr 2005 02:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 14 Apr 2005 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 14 Apr 2005 02:52 am (UTC)