Last Exile - Fam, the Silver Wing

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 13

While we still don't know what happened to the Silvius, we now know what happened to the Urbanus. Its sad to see it scuttled like that, but against a Guild hit squad it was inevitable really. That said, I think this episode pretty much establishes Dio's badass credentials. He didn't even have to draw his saber for Alauda's squad.

We also get a look at Glacies this week. There seems to be a disconnect with its high-tech reputation and the very spartan lives the people of Glacies live. I suppose it's expected though, since they're pretty much living in Last Exile's equivalent of the Siberian permafrost. From what I could see everything even vaguely technological seems clustered at the launch point for their interceptors, and even then what tech they have look worn down (I noticed a lot of rust going on) or weathered, and the interior of their base looks patchwork and ill-maintained.

And see any men? Well I sure didn't. Even the kids seem to be all girls. Questions upon more questions.

Next week looks like a Federation strike against Glacies. I noticed that Luscinia seems to have singled out Vasant's people to lead the attack. While many might think it a great honor to be the tip of the spear, so to speak, I wonder if this is just another way for Luscinia to purge the ranks?

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 13

It’s ironic, the reason for the Earth Restoration Project was to heal the Earth from all the pollution/wars and now these guys are messing it up yet again. Also, at this rate Anatoray-Disith's exile is going to be the only one left, gives the phrase "last exile" a different meaning.
Hmm, the capital of Glacies and Ades have a similar shape, raised dome cities, I wonder if those were both docking areas for Exiles (given that’s where the dock for the Glacie's is Exile). Hell, I’m starting to think that all of the nations except for the Guilds left and came back from the Prestars after all, would be a nasty shock to the Ades.

Hmm, it seems like the verses for each Exile are a description of the land left behind, snow for Glacies and wheat for Anatorary-Disith, which makes a lot of sense.
Called the Exile dock “a white legacy,” not quite sure what exactly that signifies except that the Guild made the Prestars/Exiles which we already knew/was heavily implied (I like the speculation a few pages back about the Guild expecting returnees to submit themselves to Guild rule again, wonder if they got killed off by the Ades and the cast of TotH encountered the last remaining group when they landed).

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 15

Just some things I keep to remember in this episode:

1. Fam didn't exactly race for Milia. She raced because she felt down, and a big part of that is likely the realization that she was insensitive to the immense emotional burden Milia has to carry. Psychologically this seems closer to displacement, a neurotic defense mechanism.

2. Milia doesn't want to kill her sister, but that doesn't mean she won't if she has to. She has realized that worse comes to worst she will have to make the mortal choice to take out her sister and usurp the position of de facto leader of Turan, but in the end she obviously doesn't want to if she doesn't have to. At least this way, she is more willing to look for alternatives than to simply resign to the belief that she has no other choice but to kill her.

3. Fam's almost stupidly naive clinging to the concept of family comes a lot from the fact that she is fully aware that she doesn't have a blood related nuclear family. She is essentially adopted and knows this. She keeps the story of her parent's passing in her mind, and carries that locket/pendant/whatever as a constant reminder that her origins, the truth of her heritage, is all but a mystery to her. I won't be so quick to blame her sheltered naiveté when I find it abundantly clear that this girl has her own scars as well.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 16

Wow Fam got shut down hard multiple times this last episode. It's consistent with her character to always be standing up for and trying to look out for Millia, but she got a good and I think well needed lesson from the latter on when it's time to hold her tongue. There were multiple times where Fam could have easily sabotaged this tense and loose alliance with her loud mouth, but fortunately Millia was always there to say the right things or just say nothing at all in order to see that the strategy talks went smoothly and everyone ended up on the same page. Her willingness to take all that abuse towards herself and her family just to make sure the alliance works is the kind of stoic quiet strength that has really made me a fan of her character over the course of this series, though if I were her I wouldn't be taking Fam to strategy meetings anymore since she clearly doesn't belong in them and should just stick to flying and sharing the lighter conversations like she did with Augusta near the end of the episode. That's her place, not as a leader or frankly even as a retainer since retainers are supposed to be seen and not heard.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 17

For a minute i started watching this episode, i started saying "Wait, this isn't right. They're playing the original LE OP. What's going on?" And then i remember this was the 2nd recap ep.

I'm impress. Not only did they use the original OP/ED from LE but the ep titles screen from LE as well.
This recap was so much better then the 1st one although if felt weird hearing both of Al's original VA and her new FSW VA at the same time.

And finally, Claus and Lavie are back! Hooray! Sadly at the same time... So we've a crippled Claus.

Really brings sadness to your gut when you think about how much flying meant to his life, identity, and past.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 18

Claus and Lavi. Nuff said.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 19

Talk about a tease of an episode. Yes it was somewhat anti climatic however several things were revealed in this episode and i see where they are going and why this battle was stop with cease fire order.

Sara has never really put forth her power Empress because she feels she is too young however young she maybe she is still empress and Sidri being who he is will not disobey a direct order from empress. This was the first time Sara actually chose to do something herself with her own hand. This is her first step in becoming a true empress and following in her mothers footsteps

Also, As many of us had speculated previously there is something different about Presters Exile. It was confirmed in this episode that Luscinia is afraid of it this came straight from Dio's mouth. So the theory that many of us had including myself is that Presters Exile may very well be the the Last Exile that was constructed. As such it may have technology far advance to the other Exiles and Luscinia may know this. If Preseters Exile is the strongest one then he must either find something that can defeat it or capture Alvus which he has already failed to do thanks to Dio.

I welcome the return of my goddess Tatiana and the Reaper Silivus. Its arrival reminded me of the Silvana's debut in the original when it showed up in assist the Mad-Thane fleet. Plus it didnt come back empty handed. It looks like the Multi piercing rapid fire cannon from the Silvana was borrowed but instead of fire forward only its in 4 positions on the ship and as the ship rotates it brings 360 degree barrage of death. Talk about being fucked just when you think you have the enemy surrounded they pull this out of their hat.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 20

Yes, Millia is the key now. I am curious though, does this mean Alvis also has similar information on the past that was given to her because she is a key? If so, I'm curious to find out what her information told her and how it compares.

As for Lilliana dying, I have to say I really wasn't that surprised it happened and cared even less than the ED for this episode wanted us to feel for her. For all the complaining about Fam not having any development, Lilliana out did her on lack of development IMO. What we found out in this episode was Lilliana wanted to be there "for her man" and didn't care about her people verse "the World" according to said "man" (she flat out says in the sub she needs to be there for Luscinia). Eh?! That's pretty lame Lilly! When she was introduced we were told she was this strong woman but she obviously wasn't even close to being such a person and wasn't truly fit to be a ruler if she could be swayed that easily. I also have to wonder if maybe Lilliana and Luscinia had really just gotten together due to him kidnapping her or she'd been seeing him on the side for a long time and the entire debacle that started this show was staged (I've been wondering about that from when it first happened FWIW).

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 21

So Sara is actually the Maestro of the Earth Guild and an Exile key as well, particularly the key to the Grand Exile at north Glacies. I did not see that coming. And it looks like Vasant and Kayvān are dead.

I liked that Fam finally realizes that she's been forcing her idea of a Grand Race onto everyone else. I still don't think there's anything wrong with her having a dream like that, and it's not like every other character in the series (except for Gissey/people from Anatoray) haven't been forcing their views onto each other as well. I feel like our main characters are almost starting to get lost in the show and I do wish that Fam, and to an extent Gissey, had been given more character development earlier on.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: episode 22

Its the climax to the series, and the battle lines are drawn, with Luscinia's Grand Exile and Sadri's 1st Fleet on one side, and the Alliance along with Orang's 3rd Fleet on the other. There's no choice but to fight, as Luscinia is dead-set on seeing things through until the bitter end, until peace is taken on his terms... or he kills everyone else trying to stop him.

We get confirmation that, yes, Kayvan is as good as space dust, but we have a surprising arrival for the Alliance side in the form of Sorush and his 4th Fleet (which made me go, huh?!?). Despite this gathering of forces, things are REALLY stacked against the Alliance, and the only real way to stop Luscinia is to get Sara back from him... Meaning someone needs to get into the Grand Exile to do so.

Guess who gets the job? With Dian along for the ride (to babysit Al, who as an Exile Key can pinpoint where Sara is in the Grand Exile), and Tatiana and her vanship squads as escort, it's up to (obviously) Fam to get Sara back. Of course GETTING inside the Grand Exile is easier said than done, and the Alliance takes heavy losses in trying (including Turan's Exile, vaporized in trying to prevent the Turanian capital from being destroyed)... but help finally arrives in the form of the Urbanus, Silvana, and the Anatoray fleet (gotta love Sadri's "Oh, drat" expression as he saw the Silvana) !

Ah, nostalgia.

Looks like an explosive finish to the series. The thing is though, everything seems to be hinging on Fam (of all people!) trying to talk Luscinia down. And I'm not really sure that's even POSSIBLE.

 

[Kou]

Spoiler: last episode

Well that was... convenient. So as expected, Fam pretty much talks Luscinia in giving back Sara. Which apparently was what Luscinia was thinking of in the first place. What?

And we finally have our confirmation that Sadri was Fam's grandfather. It was kind of a cop out that he never told her himself, but I suppose there's all the hang-ups being related to a Hafez loyalist that he didn't want Fam to experience.

So we get our happy ending. We have our Grand Race, a peek at all the missing characters from the first series. Oh and surprises, like Kayvan being alive. Sorush was one thing, but Kayvan? Oh Gonzo.

Ah Dio, success is fleeting isn't it?

Spoiler: final impressions

So what was my overall thoughts on the show? It could have been a lot better, original is far more superior. It wasn't at total waste of time because I really loved the Dio parts and still think he and Fam should get together. Even if that didn't happen I could do with a 13 (maybe more) season LE with Dio as the lead. I don't know but one idea I would have for another season would be to have the characters try and find out more about the past? I think they missed the boat not doing a "find the historical library" plot and while Luscinia knew a lot he didn't share where he found it all out at or even if he really knew everything he should have on the subject of the past. They also haven't explored the world all that well either.

I just realized something about Luscinia's history lesson. Luscinia basically admitted that Ades's story about the Prester people coming back was a big lie and there was a lot more to what happened. I still don't think Luscinia really knew everything about what happened though. More like he knew more fact that were based in reality but that he may not have known all the back story to how it all went down.

Anyway, i just remembered another issue I wanted to comment on. The Grand Exile rejuvenating Glacias stuff that's been discussed in the thread and whether there was more than one Grand Exile. I don't think that's what happened at the end did anything to Glacias's weather. It simply turned Spring there after the events (the real Russia isn't snowed in 24/7). As to another Grand Exile having been used before. Whether is was really a "Grand Exile" or maybe the ship the original Guild people came in, I don't know but I do think there were two similar ships that crashed. The wing we had seen throughout the show is simply not in the right place to be off of the ship we see in this one, IMO. Also, as someone pointed out, something caused a big hole in the Grand Lake. That would make sense if it was another ship that did that (as well the set up of the Ades capital seems to be off of a similar type of ship and that could be exactly what it is - off of another crashed ship).

Last thought - the picture the Sky Pirate kids drew on the ground toward the middle of the episode. No one had mentioned it but after looking at it I think that was Dio they had Fam and Gissy pulling along, and not Millia. I'm not sure anyone thought it might be Millia other than me (both Dio and Millia do have similar hair so I wasn't sure who it was) but after pausing the picture that looks like Dio's goggles, not Millia's

 

[meyrinkay]

Spoiler: last episode

Well that was... convenient. So as expected, Fam pretty much talks Luscinia in giving back Sara. Which apparently was what Luscinia was thinking of in the first place. What?

And we finally have our confirmation that Sadri was Fam's grandfather. It was kind of a cop out that he never told her himself, but I suppose there's all the hang-ups being related to a Hafez loyalist that he didn't want Fam to experience.

So we get our happy ending. We have our Grand Race, a peek at all the missing characters from the first series. Oh and surprises, like Kayvan being alive. Sorush was one thing, but Kayvan? Oh Gonzo.

Ah Dio, success is fleeting isn't it?

Spoiler: final impressions

So what was my overall thoughts on the show? It could have been a lot better, original is far more superior. It wasn't at total waste of time because I really loved the Dio parts and still think he and Fam should get together. Even if that didn't happen I could do with a 13 (maybe more) season LE with Dio as the lead. I don't know but one idea I would have for another season would be to have the characters try and find out more about the past? I think they missed the boat not doing a "find the historical library" plot and while Luscinia knew a lot he didn't share where he found it all out at or even if he really knew everything he should have on the subject of the past. They also haven't explored the world all that well either.

I just realized something about Luscinia's history lesson. Luscinia basically admitted that Ades's story about the Prester people coming back was a big lie and there was a lot more to what happened. I still don't think Luscinia really knew everything about what happened though. More like he knew more fact that were based in reality but that he may not have known all the back story to how it all went down.

Anyway, i just remembered another issue I wanted to comment on. The Grand Exile rejuvenating Glacias stuff that's been discussed in the thread and whether there was more than one Grand Exile. I don't think that's what happened at the end did anything to Glacias's weather. It simply turned Spring there after the events (the real Russia isn't snowed in 24/7). As to another Grand Exile having been used before. Whether is was really a "Grand Exile" or maybe the ship the original Guild people came in, I don't know but I do think there were two similar ships that crashed. The wing we had seen throughout the show is simply not in the right place to be off of the ship we see in this one, IMO. Also, as someone pointed out, something caused a big hole in the Grand Lake. That would make sense if it was another ship that did that (as well the set up of the Ades capital seems to be off of a similar type of ship and that could be exactly what it is - off of another crashed ship).

Last thought - the picture the Sky Pirate kids drew on the ground toward the middle of the episode. No one had mentioned it but after looking at it I think that was Dio they had Fam and Gissy pulling along, and not Millia. I'm not sure anyone thought it might be Millia other than me (both Dio and Millia do have similar hair so I wasn't sure who it was) but after pausing the picture that looks like Dio's goggles, not Millia's

Honestly i thought they could've add on more of the last battle scene. what a pity Grand Exile was destroyed within that ep itself, otherwise there could be ep 24- Checkmate.