disinherit: gw analysis
19 Apr 2005 12:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaigoudisinherit: gw analysis - episode 11
I think 'disinheriting' is the theme of this episode, both in subtle ways and in broad ways. It's Quatre, Relena, and maybe a little for Noin, and possibly even Une.
The episode starts with Duo some distance from the battlefield, hiding from OZ's security trying to track him down. His expression is pensive, serious, and his tone has dropped a pitch or so; his voice is deeper, more thoughtful, with less of the slightly nasal Tokyo-rough edge he'd had when talking to Heero. His expression isn't as extreme, but drawn simply, with only a slight line between the brows while he considers his options.
When Quatre offers Duo a place to hide, Duo's response is rather intriguing: "I could use some sympathy," he says. (In the fansub translation, Duo says, "I'm too emotionally drained right now.") Quatre, in contrast – he's the empathic one, remember – doesn't mention feelings. Instead, he wants time to think and come up with a plan. He needs a chance to regroup, form a new strategy; Duo wants time to mourn. He's just lost someone who may have been (if I read the previous episodes correctly) someone he considered not only a comrade-in-arms but also a friend – maybe his only friend on earth, and certainly so far the only Gundam pilot or even boy his age. (Howard ain't exactly a spring chicken, after all, and to some extent, that seems to be more of a business partnership.)
As the Maguanacs (and yes, the U is in there, I was right!) join Quatre, Duo's sarcastic edge creeps back in, but only a shadow of it, really. His tone and expression is uncertain, and bewildered about the hidden base. Once they arrive, Quatre is greeted warmly by the town's leading official, who uses the -kun honorific, while Rashid continues to use the -sama honorific. When Quatre takes the blame for the failed mission onto himself, Duo's just getting out of Deathscythe, and agrees; both accept the blame squarely on their own shoulders. Duo approaches Quatre's group, but I noticed he also hangs back a fair distance, as if waiting, still uncertain. He's not got his arms crossed, either; he's just standing, hands out, as if ready to defend. Quatre approaches Duo, instead, when Duo doesn't come closer.
Duo's modulating back into his usual cool, but in an assessing mode; his eyes are wide, playing at defenseless/non-threatening, but the nasal's reentering his voice. He's getting his bearings back. When Quatre finally introduces himself, his reaction to Duo's extensive list (the Winner family, the one that owns a satellite, etc etc) is more of an amused smile, if a little chagrined, head lowered as he watches Duo. He looks like he was expecting that reaction, and won't interrupt, but will let Duo say it and get it over with. Duo, meanwhile, is checking things out; I think he's under the impression that it's Quatre's base; only once Quatre speaks of disinheriting himself does Duo halt abruptly. His eyes are wide, his head thrown back in the act of looking around, and he seems to almost visibly relax from the posturing he'd been using a moment before. It's not the comical shock he'd shown around Heero, but more of a puzzled assessment. I get the impression part of his relaxation is because Quatre is right back in the same boat with Duo, using someone else's facilities.
The contrasts between the two continue, and in some ways they're ignorant of each other's reactions by virtue of placement and position. The comment is made that this unnamed Middle Eastern country is unified in its fight against the Alliance and OZ; the distinction is not lost on Duo and Quatre, who realize they're fighting for colonies who are anything but. And given the fact that no colony responded to the demand for the Gundam's surrender, they might as well consider themselves not unified with anyone. Duo's again got that serious, intent expression, so different from the wide-eyed snarky expression he had in battle or while dealing with Heero (or even Relena). He's focused; he tells Quatre they should talk.
In the little bedroom overlooking the town's main square, Duo is disgruntled while Quatre fills him in on the other pilot's. Duo's questions – and tone – give me the impression that he's only half-interested in the fact that there are more pilots. He'd never mentioned the others after they met at New Edwards; it seems his focus was on the only pilot in his immediate range. Together, he and Quatre realize they came with the same mission, even reciting the words together: "Your mission is revenge. Don't worry about the colonies. Destroy them [OZ] first. That's your responsibility."
What was really striking – and I'd completely missed this the first time – is the contrast between Quatre's attitude and Duo's, in that Quatre is far more idealistic (not naive, but idealistic) than Duo. While they agree they feel they'd be better off dead than under OZ's rule (Duo's words), Quatre sees Heero's death as an ideal, while Duo sees the loss of a personal friend. In the official translation, Quatre says, "your friend is a role model to us" – in the amatuer translations, his lead-in line is clearer, "The colonies do not want war; therefore, the colonies must not be sacrificed. Your friend was too noble."
The official version of Duo's reaction, "I didn't realize he'd be so stubborn" didn't make sense at first. In the unofficial version, Duo says, "Too noble? I thought he was a bit smarter than that!" For Duo, the act of self-destruction was – as backed-up by his reaction to Heero's death during the battle – a wasteful and stupid thing. I suppose, however, that the official version might be twigging on Heero being stubborn enough to keep trying to kill himself when Duo first rescued him, in which case it adds an extra twist: Duo realizes he'd not truly made any headway in getting Heero to ease up on that suicidal tendency.
When OZ finds the town and sets up the bombs, Rashid again emphasizes the 'unified nation' fighting to assist the Gundams and to stay independent, telling the people they have an honorable duty to get the Gundams out in one piece, so the Gundams can continue their battle for everyone's sake. Duo and Quatre, flanking Rashid, aren't aware of each other's reaction. Quatre is outright startled by Rashid's statement, but is reassured by the local official's hand on his shoulder, at which point Quatre accepts the town's decision, but looks pained. He's aware that offering them sanctuary is the reason the town's being attacked, and that in the act of being attacked, the town will fight back so the very cause of their targeting can escape.
On Rashid's other side, Duo looks somewhere between determined and pissed (though the latter is probably more at himself, judging from his words at points during this episode); his eyebrows are lowered, head down, mouth in a hint of a frown (though it has just the barest lift at the end that could make it an angry, frustrated almost-smile). He's intent, listening, and again without any of his prior manic smirking edge. As Rashid sends them on their way, Duo is angry and ashamed that he can't help, though he puts on a happy face for the girls who bring him flowers (and he does seem genuinely surprised that they'd treat him like a hero when he's a good chunk of the cause for their town's destruction).
While the Maguanacs battle below them and the Gundams get away, Duo's in Deathscythe's cockpit. He asks Quatre to circle around; he has an idea of how he can help. Quatre's eyes go wide, but in slow-motion, exaggerated, and I realized that he'd not heard Duo speak to Rashid of feeling ashamed for not helping. Nor had he seen Duo's expression while Rashid spoke to the townspeople. In fact, it may be the first time Quatre gets any indication that Duo isn't availing himself of help, and cheerfully heading on his way now that the heat's on. And lastly, we get another contrast between Quatre's expectations and Duo's, as they leave the battlefield behind. Although the official translation has Quatre saying "see you later," he definitely says 'sayonara', farewell. Duo, in contrast, says, "next time we see you..." indicating he's certain they'll see the Maguanacs again, and he'll have his chance to repay their hospitality and protection.
Moving over to Une, we find her apologizing abjectly to Treize for single-handedly ordering the destruction of a colony. His attitude is no harm, no foul, but more importantly, her rash action had benefits – it flushed out the ringleader (or at least one of them) – so as far as Treize is concerned, things turned out well. He's identified the Gundams as backed by extremists, which fits with what we saw via Darlian and Relena (and Treize's comments here), that the colonists don't want war. Not surprising; the colonies have been living with martial law for twenty years. Nor is it surprising they're quite anti-military. Finally, in the amateur translation, Treize tells Une to loosen up; in the official version, he tells her to lose some of her formality. I'm sure it's probably unrelated, but there is a Japanese colloquial phrase which goes something like, "drop the formalities," which means to speak truthfully of one's feelings. Just odd, I suppose.
In terms of disinheriting, in some ways it's really a familial-term for breaking away from the family's traditions and patterns. In that sense, Treize is telling Une to break away from her military background and seek a different route to connect to the supporters in Moscow, to prepare her for dealing with the colonies. In a stricter sense, Quatre had to disinherit himself to join the Gundams' acts, and Relena straddles their methods. She doesn't actively disinherit so much as realize that her birth-family's traditions are limited.
Flowers are the other theme through the episode, from the flowers given to Duo (on which Quatre swears he'll avenge the Maguanacs), to the bowl of roses on Treize's desk. Une appears wearing a rose, and Relena mutters, annoyed, to the television: "that rose doesn't suit her at all." She's arrived in Moscow, following Une's footsteps, but over the course of the scene it's still not clear to me whether she'd planned ahead of time with Marquis Weridge or whether it was a chance meeting and she'd planned to bluster her way in. I'll assume for the sake of the rather rushed storyline that he had some warning she was coming, or she's got damn good eyes and ears somewhere. (Who knows. Could be Pargan, again, that Mary Sue from hell.)
What's important in this scene are several things. One, Weridge fills her in on a little bit of information about her birth-family, and the Peacecrafts' pacifism being caught in the crossfire between the Alliance and the UESA. When Une appears, Weridge draws attention to the rose, saying it should only be worn by someone peaceful, like Relena. To my mind, the theme is that of giving flowers to heroes; Une is no hero, Weridge might be saying, and thus shouldn't take on such a facade. But where Duo and Quatre took the flowers as a note of gratitude (though Duo expressed shame at not being able to fulfill his role), Relena doesn't see that she could be both. She's in killing-mode, seeking revenge. Saying she'd look better bathed in the blood of OZ, she pulls out a gun and shoots Une. Narrow miss, too, but she does hit the rose, an action I think is deliberate on the part of the writers: Une's fake heroism is/will be torn away by Relena's actions.
The first time I saw this, I thought, oh, please! But I think the writers set it up better than I'd realized. First, we've seen her hold a gun before, so she's not afraid of doing so. She wasn't even afraid staring down the barrel of a gun, so she's got the coolness to handle that, too. And second, she doesn't pull the gun from her purse, but from the small of her back – exactly like Heero had done. There's no way, with international news (and the fact that at least twice now she's been shown paying attention to broadcasts) that she'd miss the word that one of the Gundams had self-destructed. So she believes he's gone, but she's learned what she can from him – including how to mask, then draw, a gun. However, her previous reliance on Heero – and her time of mourning – is over. She's done her thinking and this is her point of action.
It's also another way in which Relena is mirroring Heero. Every successful act by Heero seemed to stand in opposition to Une, such that his successes were her failures. Relena's acts here are doing the same. Une had come to speak as Treize's representative, again with arrogant hubris, and Relena metaphorically (and in some ways literally) shot her down, if only by being her opposite. That is, someone who shoots not because it's what she'd do if she had other options, but because she cares so much. Now, I'm not saying that it's a good idea to go around shooting people who've blown your parental figure up right in front of you, but I can't deny that Relena's acting out of strong emotions. Une's emotional on the surface, but underneath, she's ruthless and uncaring; Relena is reticent and calm on the surface but underneath she's all passion – again, much like Heero seems to be.
While considering this episode, I thought about the fact that up until now, there's been no indication of Quatre's background, although in his meeting with Trowa, we might've gotten that as conversation. We've only seen he has some kind of base(s) on earth, but for each scene in which he's in some kind of mansion-compound, there's a scene in which they're camped in tents in the desert. Not consistently home-bound, I mean. But I think the reason the writers waited until this episode to spill Quatre's background is because it highlights Relena's choice, as well. She's finding out her birth-family is pacifist, but her drive for revenge/vengeance is stronger than some distant ideal by people she's never met.
And just as Quatre's choice is respected and appreciated by the townspeople – who band together in the face of overwhelming odds to distract OZ troops while the Gundams escape – so also is Relena's choice respected by the nobility gathered at the party. Weridge is unarmed, but puts himself in the direct path of the soldiers. There's a long overhead shot, showing other people coming closer to flank him. Again, it's an action by people otherwise uninvolved, moved to take part by the strength of someone else. Each on his or her own is defenseless; together they're enough to stymie Une and force her to backtrack out the front door rather than follow Relena out the back.
Lastly, Noin also chooses disinheritance. She interrupts the soldiers trying to tackle Relena, and shoots the cap off one man's head. (Sharp shooting, woman.) When the men leave at Noin's orders – that she acts on Treize's behalf – Relena isn't some twit who goes along with Noin for being a friendly smile. She pulls her gun on Noin (and I'll ignore that I would've expected the men to disarm Relena and take the gun with them, but whatever), and Noin responds by shooting OZ's badge off the cap.
It's a short, blunt illustrative moment that Noin is not acting in conjunction with OZ (underlined when she calls Relena with the surname of Peacecraft). Up until now, Noin has been supportive of Treize's leadership (although sometimes skeptical when speaking to Zechs), but she's otherwise been as starry-eyed as the rest about 'this brave new era' being ushered in by OZ. Noin's retrieval of Relena, and her actions, indicating she's also breaking away from the tradition that's made her the soldier she is now.
I think 'disinheriting' is the theme of this episode, both in subtle ways and in broad ways. It's Quatre, Relena, and maybe a little for Noin, and possibly even Une.
The episode starts with Duo some distance from the battlefield, hiding from OZ's security trying to track him down. His expression is pensive, serious, and his tone has dropped a pitch or so; his voice is deeper, more thoughtful, with less of the slightly nasal Tokyo-rough edge he'd had when talking to Heero. His expression isn't as extreme, but drawn simply, with only a slight line between the brows while he considers his options.
When Quatre offers Duo a place to hide, Duo's response is rather intriguing: "I could use some sympathy," he says. (In the fansub translation, Duo says, "I'm too emotionally drained right now.") Quatre, in contrast – he's the empathic one, remember – doesn't mention feelings. Instead, he wants time to think and come up with a plan. He needs a chance to regroup, form a new strategy; Duo wants time to mourn. He's just lost someone who may have been (if I read the previous episodes correctly) someone he considered not only a comrade-in-arms but also a friend – maybe his only friend on earth, and certainly so far the only Gundam pilot or even boy his age. (Howard ain't exactly a spring chicken, after all, and to some extent, that seems to be more of a business partnership.)
As the Maguanacs (and yes, the U is in there, I was right!) join Quatre, Duo's sarcastic edge creeps back in, but only a shadow of it, really. His tone and expression is uncertain, and bewildered about the hidden base. Once they arrive, Quatre is greeted warmly by the town's leading official, who uses the -kun honorific, while Rashid continues to use the -sama honorific. When Quatre takes the blame for the failed mission onto himself, Duo's just getting out of Deathscythe, and agrees; both accept the blame squarely on their own shoulders. Duo approaches Quatre's group, but I noticed he also hangs back a fair distance, as if waiting, still uncertain. He's not got his arms crossed, either; he's just standing, hands out, as if ready to defend. Quatre approaches Duo, instead, when Duo doesn't come closer.
Duo's modulating back into his usual cool, but in an assessing mode; his eyes are wide, playing at defenseless/non-threatening, but the nasal's reentering his voice. He's getting his bearings back. When Quatre finally introduces himself, his reaction to Duo's extensive list (the Winner family, the one that owns a satellite, etc etc) is more of an amused smile, if a little chagrined, head lowered as he watches Duo. He looks like he was expecting that reaction, and won't interrupt, but will let Duo say it and get it over with. Duo, meanwhile, is checking things out; I think he's under the impression that it's Quatre's base; only once Quatre speaks of disinheriting himself does Duo halt abruptly. His eyes are wide, his head thrown back in the act of looking around, and he seems to almost visibly relax from the posturing he'd been using a moment before. It's not the comical shock he'd shown around Heero, but more of a puzzled assessment. I get the impression part of his relaxation is because Quatre is right back in the same boat with Duo, using someone else's facilities.
The contrasts between the two continue, and in some ways they're ignorant of each other's reactions by virtue of placement and position. The comment is made that this unnamed Middle Eastern country is unified in its fight against the Alliance and OZ; the distinction is not lost on Duo and Quatre, who realize they're fighting for colonies who are anything but. And given the fact that no colony responded to the demand for the Gundam's surrender, they might as well consider themselves not unified with anyone. Duo's again got that serious, intent expression, so different from the wide-eyed snarky expression he had in battle or while dealing with Heero (or even Relena). He's focused; he tells Quatre they should talk.
In the little bedroom overlooking the town's main square, Duo is disgruntled while Quatre fills him in on the other pilot's. Duo's questions – and tone – give me the impression that he's only half-interested in the fact that there are more pilots. He'd never mentioned the others after they met at New Edwards; it seems his focus was on the only pilot in his immediate range. Together, he and Quatre realize they came with the same mission, even reciting the words together: "Your mission is revenge. Don't worry about the colonies. Destroy them [OZ] first. That's your responsibility."
What was really striking – and I'd completely missed this the first time – is the contrast between Quatre's attitude and Duo's, in that Quatre is far more idealistic (not naive, but idealistic) than Duo. While they agree they feel they'd be better off dead than under OZ's rule (Duo's words), Quatre sees Heero's death as an ideal, while Duo sees the loss of a personal friend. In the official translation, Quatre says, "your friend is a role model to us" – in the amatuer translations, his lead-in line is clearer, "The colonies do not want war; therefore, the colonies must not be sacrificed. Your friend was too noble."
The official version of Duo's reaction, "I didn't realize he'd be so stubborn" didn't make sense at first. In the unofficial version, Duo says, "Too noble? I thought he was a bit smarter than that!" For Duo, the act of self-destruction was – as backed-up by his reaction to Heero's death during the battle – a wasteful and stupid thing. I suppose, however, that the official version might be twigging on Heero being stubborn enough to keep trying to kill himself when Duo first rescued him, in which case it adds an extra twist: Duo realizes he'd not truly made any headway in getting Heero to ease up on that suicidal tendency.
When OZ finds the town and sets up the bombs, Rashid again emphasizes the 'unified nation' fighting to assist the Gundams and to stay independent, telling the people they have an honorable duty to get the Gundams out in one piece, so the Gundams can continue their battle for everyone's sake. Duo and Quatre, flanking Rashid, aren't aware of each other's reaction. Quatre is outright startled by Rashid's statement, but is reassured by the local official's hand on his shoulder, at which point Quatre accepts the town's decision, but looks pained. He's aware that offering them sanctuary is the reason the town's being attacked, and that in the act of being attacked, the town will fight back so the very cause of their targeting can escape.
On Rashid's other side, Duo looks somewhere between determined and pissed (though the latter is probably more at himself, judging from his words at points during this episode); his eyebrows are lowered, head down, mouth in a hint of a frown (though it has just the barest lift at the end that could make it an angry, frustrated almost-smile). He's intent, listening, and again without any of his prior manic smirking edge. As Rashid sends them on their way, Duo is angry and ashamed that he can't help, though he puts on a happy face for the girls who bring him flowers (and he does seem genuinely surprised that they'd treat him like a hero when he's a good chunk of the cause for their town's destruction).
While the Maguanacs battle below them and the Gundams get away, Duo's in Deathscythe's cockpit. He asks Quatre to circle around; he has an idea of how he can help. Quatre's eyes go wide, but in slow-motion, exaggerated, and I realized that he'd not heard Duo speak to Rashid of feeling ashamed for not helping. Nor had he seen Duo's expression while Rashid spoke to the townspeople. In fact, it may be the first time Quatre gets any indication that Duo isn't availing himself of help, and cheerfully heading on his way now that the heat's on. And lastly, we get another contrast between Quatre's expectations and Duo's, as they leave the battlefield behind. Although the official translation has Quatre saying "see you later," he definitely says 'sayonara', farewell. Duo, in contrast, says, "next time we see you..." indicating he's certain they'll see the Maguanacs again, and he'll have his chance to repay their hospitality and protection.
Moving over to Une, we find her apologizing abjectly to Treize for single-handedly ordering the destruction of a colony. His attitude is no harm, no foul, but more importantly, her rash action had benefits – it flushed out the ringleader (or at least one of them) – so as far as Treize is concerned, things turned out well. He's identified the Gundams as backed by extremists, which fits with what we saw via Darlian and Relena (and Treize's comments here), that the colonists don't want war. Not surprising; the colonies have been living with martial law for twenty years. Nor is it surprising they're quite anti-military. Finally, in the amateur translation, Treize tells Une to loosen up; in the official version, he tells her to lose some of her formality. I'm sure it's probably unrelated, but there is a Japanese colloquial phrase which goes something like, "drop the formalities," which means to speak truthfully of one's feelings. Just odd, I suppose.
In terms of disinheriting, in some ways it's really a familial-term for breaking away from the family's traditions and patterns. In that sense, Treize is telling Une to break away from her military background and seek a different route to connect to the supporters in Moscow, to prepare her for dealing with the colonies. In a stricter sense, Quatre had to disinherit himself to join the Gundams' acts, and Relena straddles their methods. She doesn't actively disinherit so much as realize that her birth-family's traditions are limited.
Flowers are the other theme through the episode, from the flowers given to Duo (on which Quatre swears he'll avenge the Maguanacs), to the bowl of roses on Treize's desk. Une appears wearing a rose, and Relena mutters, annoyed, to the television: "that rose doesn't suit her at all." She's arrived in Moscow, following Une's footsteps, but over the course of the scene it's still not clear to me whether she'd planned ahead of time with Marquis Weridge or whether it was a chance meeting and she'd planned to bluster her way in. I'll assume for the sake of the rather rushed storyline that he had some warning she was coming, or she's got damn good eyes and ears somewhere. (Who knows. Could be Pargan, again, that Mary Sue from hell.)
What's important in this scene are several things. One, Weridge fills her in on a little bit of information about her birth-family, and the Peacecrafts' pacifism being caught in the crossfire between the Alliance and the UESA. When Une appears, Weridge draws attention to the rose, saying it should only be worn by someone peaceful, like Relena. To my mind, the theme is that of giving flowers to heroes; Une is no hero, Weridge might be saying, and thus shouldn't take on such a facade. But where Duo and Quatre took the flowers as a note of gratitude (though Duo expressed shame at not being able to fulfill his role), Relena doesn't see that she could be both. She's in killing-mode, seeking revenge. Saying she'd look better bathed in the blood of OZ, she pulls out a gun and shoots Une. Narrow miss, too, but she does hit the rose, an action I think is deliberate on the part of the writers: Une's fake heroism is/will be torn away by Relena's actions.
The first time I saw this, I thought, oh, please! But I think the writers set it up better than I'd realized. First, we've seen her hold a gun before, so she's not afraid of doing so. She wasn't even afraid staring down the barrel of a gun, so she's got the coolness to handle that, too. And second, she doesn't pull the gun from her purse, but from the small of her back – exactly like Heero had done. There's no way, with international news (and the fact that at least twice now she's been shown paying attention to broadcasts) that she'd miss the word that one of the Gundams had self-destructed. So she believes he's gone, but she's learned what she can from him – including how to mask, then draw, a gun. However, her previous reliance on Heero – and her time of mourning – is over. She's done her thinking and this is her point of action.
It's also another way in which Relena is mirroring Heero. Every successful act by Heero seemed to stand in opposition to Une, such that his successes were her failures. Relena's acts here are doing the same. Une had come to speak as Treize's representative, again with arrogant hubris, and Relena metaphorically (and in some ways literally) shot her down, if only by being her opposite. That is, someone who shoots not because it's what she'd do if she had other options, but because she cares so much. Now, I'm not saying that it's a good idea to go around shooting people who've blown your parental figure up right in front of you, but I can't deny that Relena's acting out of strong emotions. Une's emotional on the surface, but underneath, she's ruthless and uncaring; Relena is reticent and calm on the surface but underneath she's all passion – again, much like Heero seems to be.
While considering this episode, I thought about the fact that up until now, there's been no indication of Quatre's background, although in his meeting with Trowa, we might've gotten that as conversation. We've only seen he has some kind of base(s) on earth, but for each scene in which he's in some kind of mansion-compound, there's a scene in which they're camped in tents in the desert. Not consistently home-bound, I mean. But I think the reason the writers waited until this episode to spill Quatre's background is because it highlights Relena's choice, as well. She's finding out her birth-family is pacifist, but her drive for revenge/vengeance is stronger than some distant ideal by people she's never met.
And just as Quatre's choice is respected and appreciated by the townspeople – who band together in the face of overwhelming odds to distract OZ troops while the Gundams escape – so also is Relena's choice respected by the nobility gathered at the party. Weridge is unarmed, but puts himself in the direct path of the soldiers. There's a long overhead shot, showing other people coming closer to flank him. Again, it's an action by people otherwise uninvolved, moved to take part by the strength of someone else. Each on his or her own is defenseless; together they're enough to stymie Une and force her to backtrack out the front door rather than follow Relena out the back.
Lastly, Noin also chooses disinheritance. She interrupts the soldiers trying to tackle Relena, and shoots the cap off one man's head. (Sharp shooting, woman.) When the men leave at Noin's orders – that she acts on Treize's behalf – Relena isn't some twit who goes along with Noin for being a friendly smile. She pulls her gun on Noin (and I'll ignore that I would've expected the men to disarm Relena and take the gun with them, but whatever), and Noin responds by shooting OZ's badge off the cap.
It's a short, blunt illustrative moment that Noin is not acting in conjunction with OZ (underlined when she calls Relena with the surname of Peacecraft). Up until now, Noin has been supportive of Treize's leadership (although sometimes skeptical when speaking to Zechs), but she's otherwise been as starry-eyed as the rest about 'this brave new era' being ushered in by OZ. Noin's retrieval of Relena, and her actions, indicating she's also breaking away from the tradition that's made her the soldier she is now.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 19 Apr 2005 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 19 Apr 2005 10:35 pm (UTC)And then I'll go watch more! Wee, it's faux-productive-ness!
(I finished this essay, btw.)