“Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury ” Season 2, Episode 3 (15) Review

Parents, Children and the placement of legacies.

First of all, unlike the colonization and resistance portrayed by screenwriter Ichiro Okouchi in “Code Geass: Lelouch of Rebellion” and “Princess Principal,” this series is remarkable for its careful portrayal of the exploitation to Earth and the psychology of the people who have no choice but to resist against its system. It’s commendable that the show is balanced enough to give viewers both sides of the story. Even the brutal scene, “hawk” Norea Dunoch is unilaterally violent toward “dove” Nika Nanaura, makes sense becasue she was so upset that she lost her comrade Sophie in the previous episode, and because of the depiction of Earth’s refugee camps in this episode. Also, I think the way Resistance fighters used conventional weapons and familiar terrain to fight back, despite the lack of weaponry in comparison to Space soldiers, was well done.

Okay, that’s all the introductory stuff out of the way, let’s talk about something more intersting.

The friend of mine came up with an interesting interpretation of “The Witch of Mercury” as a continuation of the theme of “Tenjo Utena,” in which the character’s original purpose was to become a “prince,” or rise to the top of the existing power structure, but the TV anime “Utena” ended with the skepticism that that alone could not bring about a revolution.

To add to this, Guel, who originally aimed to be recognized by his father as a trophy holder (= “prince”) and succeed him (= inheritance), shares the same perception as Tenzo Utena (though he lacks a sense of ethics). However, as the series progresses, he is stripped of his position and privileges, and by unintentionally killing his father, he disrupts the “kingdom of Jeturk,” making it impossible for him to “succeed” anymore.

If I may add a bit more commentary, the “unintentional” killing of his father is quite significant here. I can’t verify the source, but I read the phrase that “patrilineal society is not broken by paternal murder. Rather, the structure of the patrilineal society is continued when the son kills the father and becomes the new father himself.” Just like a Greek mythology, when Zeus killed Kronos and became a father himself. Guel doesn’t find a “new order” by killing (actually or symbolically) his “father”; the breakdown of the patriarchy is contained in his own question, “What do I want to be?” and in his failure to save the girl from this episode, leaving her to die.

Anyway, from this point of view, My friend took episode 15 as a question of what kind of story is needed for “boys who can’t be princes anymore” nowdays.

From here, it is my opinion that the keywords of inheritance or legacy can be used to interpret the behavior of the characters in “Witch of Mercury” consistently.

The phrase “Prospera is a toxic mother” is often used in reviews of “The Witch of Mercury,” but I don’t think it’s true at all if “a toxic mother” means “a mother who forces her daughter to do certain things because she wants her daughter to achieve her frustrated past ideals,” or “a mother who sees her children as tools to fulfill her ambition”. Like Delling Rembran, the father of Miorine, Prospera seems to think and act regardless of her children’s opinions despite she believes that “the future for my children should be a better world.” So, yes, she puts Aerial and Suletta in danger, but she does that because she actually cares about them. However, it is not up to the parents to decide whether or not children will inherit the “legacy” or how to dispose of it. The Japanese writer Ango Sakaguchi once said, “Even there are parents, children will grow up”. Now, After a corporation Gundam established, Neither Miorine nor Suletta can completely dispense with their parents’ “legacy”. However, it is possible for them to carry their inheritance and go in a different direction without “carrying on” their parents’ plans. If we refer to the ending of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, which is quoted in this work, Prospero (in The Tempest) sees the love between children so gives up his magic and frees the fairy Aerial. So We can be optimistic about the future of Mirone & Suletta.

Similarly, Shaddiq can be interpreted as a keyword for succession or legacy. He’s now fully on the side of the villain, but his behavior suggests that he doesn’t view his stepfather as a mere tool. If he’s genuinely trying to persuade him without directly threatening or imprisoning him in this episode, he probably appreciates Sarius Zenelli as a father figure and respects him, but Shaddiq would judge Sarius as an old man with a narrow vision. But in that sense, he is inheriting the paternalistic society through his symbolic paternalistic murder. For example, the scene at the end of the episode where Shaddiq stands on a desk in front of Sarius, who is unable to get out of his wheelchair, speaks of his ideals while looking down his father is reminiscent of the mounting of animals.

Shaddiq’s role as a “father figure” becomes clearer when we consider that he tries to keep Miorine in “a safe zone”, unlike Guel who sees her as a mere trophy. His decision, leaving Miorine with Guel who beats her frequently “without any conversation” because it is better than being handed over to someone else, is exactly the same logic of Miorine’s “father”, Delling Rembran.