Aldnoah.Zero

Episode 10

WARNING: the following review contains major spoilers for episodes 9 and 10 of Aldnoah.Zero. Reader discretion is advised.

The end of episode 9 saw Princess Asseylum being strangled by Rayet (ironically using the necklace that was supposed to be a good luck charm). While actually keeping Asseylum dead this time could have had some interesting potential consequences, it also would have made the story being set up completely unfeasible. Thus she survives, but this time there is no gimmickry about it; given that she was found almost immediately, being revived by proper use of an AED, CPR, and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is quite feasible. (And that scene was almost certainly storyboarded by someone who has actually been through CPR training, since the details shown are quite precise to the training I have had myself.)

What follows brings to a head Rayet's situation and feelings and more clearly elaborates on why she went after the princess last episode, as well as laying barer Asseylum's own feelings of guilt about how the war got started. The former rounds out Rayet's characterization nicely, while the latter does not carry anywhere near as much gravitas because it has been touched upon far less to this point. Though Rayet is imprisoned for what she did after being subdued (by Inaho, naturally), the impression that she is let off too easily (especially by Inaho) is hard to escape, as whether a confused and emotionally taxed girl or not, she did just very determinedly try to kill the best hope the Terrans have for ending the war and openly admit that she was a party to conspirators. What her fate will be once the Deucalion makes it to the Earth Forces' Russian stronghold is left up in the air at the end of the episode.

But that isn't the only important development which transpires. On the Vers front Saazbaum shows Slaine the Vers side of what happened at Tanegashima and explains more about the circumstances in the Vers Empire which led to the original war 15 years ago and, by implication, have everything to do with the current war. He describes a land mighty on technology due to Aldnoah but short on viable land and resources and a rulership which turns to propagandizing against Earth and ultimately war to keep its deprived and discontented citizens in line. Some of the details have parallels a little too close to the rise of totalitarian states in Germany and Japan in the 1930s for some kind of allusion to not have been intended. Lt. Marito and Captain Magbaredge's lingering issues concerning Tanegashima also get another nudge.

So in other words, this is primarily a character development-focused episode, one which looks intended to put the main players in place before the next big dramatic push. And given how the episode ends, where that push is going is quite clear; next episode looks very likely to return to the action front. In that respect the writing works well enough, though it still does not seem to know what to do about characterizing Inaho and flounders some in handling Asseylum. Essentially, the problems that the series has at this point are long-standing ones rather than any new development, and the things that it has been doing well it continues to do well.

Rating: B

Aldnoah.Zero is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.