Suisei no Gargantia - 8

"Separation"

Bevel is much wiser that his age seems to imply.

Though there are still little elements of Gargantia that bother me when they come up (mostly whenever Saaya and Melty open their mouths, though they've been less grating than usual at least), this is very much the sort of soil I love seeing the series tread. The division that started last week with the killing of the whalesquid is only exacerbated by the Fleet Commander's death, which creates problems for Ridget as his successor. Not only is her position on shaky footing, but the already departing ships only amass more people who want to leave Gargantia when it seems they have little faith in her leadership. Her reluctance to let them leave only makes things worse, especially when the death of the Commander was a very personal thing for her in the first place.

Meanwhile, Ledo has discovered that getting in touch with the Galactic Alliance by normal methods is impossible; a signal would take over 6,000 years to reach his people, let alone any physical attempt he could try to make. As it is, he has to face the cold, hard truth that this is it; he can never leave Earth by any feasible means, but that doesn't shake him of his desire to kill the remaining whalesquid as soon as possible. Still, though his goal is the same, his reasoning is not. In a conversation with Bevel, he mentions that he doesn't want the Hideauze to someday attack and force humanity to become like his alliance; he doesn't want to see other people's weak younger brothers disposed of, and because of it he doesn't want Amy to have to face this sort of painful future. It's the biggest sign that he has indeed changed, and that his feelings for Amy are not all that different from the feelings she's harboring for him.

There's no arguing with a resolve like that, and it's not as if Ledo is completely wrong in assuming the Hideauze could attack if the Gargantians become too civilized. But Bevel is right too, in mentioning that by leaving Ledo is causing Amy pain regardless. And really, this personal dilemma goes for all those who are leaving; good reasons or otherwise, relationships are being broken off, and sometimes there's nothing you can really do about it. Ridget soon understands this, and instead of stopping Flange's ships, she asks the remaining Gargantians for the strength and support to start again and stick together. Just as when someone dies, separations require mental strength, fortitude, and the will to move on, and unsure though she is, that's what Ridget is learning to bring to her new position.

N.B.: Thanks again to Ivan for helping me out this week!