Heavy Object

Episode 23

Qwenthur and Havia have spent so much time in white camouflage lately that I was starting to think they had already retired the other patterns from their combat wardrobes. As silly as it sounds, it's kind of nice to see the guys back in forest green for the show's final episodes. Who says there's no room for men's fashion on the battlefield?

A hostage rescue mission sees the crew finally get a break from the arctic conditions of the last few story arcs, as they set up shop in a sunny mountain range. The Baby Magnum is tasked with backup duty while Frolaytia oversees the transfer of a political prisoner in exchange for some valuable information. The mission is important enough that a grand total of four nations have Objects standing by to intervene if someone decides to start shooting. That's exactly what happens when the long-missing Councilor Flide reappears and unleashes a hacking program on the Baby Magnum's systems. The program alters Milinda's perception of reality and causes her to open fire on just about everything. Her first round of targets include Flide's improvised hacking headquarters, the site of the prisoner exchange, and a very familiar enemy Object. With the Baby Magnum and Rush trading volleys from their big guns, Qwenthur and Havia are faced with the prospect of fighting their own Object to prevent a world war.

This episode's script features more than a few fairy tale references, and it gets a little heavy-handed at times. The idea of real life being devoid of storybook endings has been put forward plenty of times across a variety of genres, so Heavy Object doesn't need to sell the theme quite so hard. To the show's credit, Qwenthur's opening monologue does a solid job of casting a feeling of impending disaster over the rest of the episode. Combined with last week's double dose of foreshadowing, it cranks up the tension by forcing the audience to sit back and wonder when, not if, things will go wrong. It's not always subtle, but it's an effective way of setting the mood for one last desperate fight.

As we wait for the pin to drop, Heavy Object takes the opportunity to ensure that the battle is as personal as possible. It's been a while since Qwenthur and Milinda had a quiet moment to take stock of their relationship, so their conversation in the hangar is important. Milinda's new necklace serves as a visible sign of the feelings they hold for one another, and I'm willing to bet that it'll end up playing a role later on in the story. Even the now-obligatory exchange of wits between Qwenthur, Havia, and Frolaytia is of some importance here; by reminding us of how tightly knit this group is, the show adds to the emotional impact of turning the team against itself with the hacking attack.

It's understandable to have a hazy recollection of exactly who Flide is. The last time he played a major role in the series was way back in episode eight, when he tried to manipulate events to get Qwenthur and Havia killed by an enemy Object. Despite being mostly irrelevant since then, he does resurrect one of Heavy Object's more interesting conflicts by returning to the stage. Flide's big important idea is that the Baby Magnum crew has upset the global balance of power by proving that ordinary soldiers can defeat an Object. According to him, things were better when battles were decided bloodlessly by the simple math of which side could bring more Objects to the fight. His little revenge tour sets the main characters up as victims of their own success; by using unorthodox tactics to survive against stronger opponents, they've become targets for people who would rather maintain the status quo. For bonus points, Flide also lends some vital scraps of plausibility to the brainwashing program that he uses on Milinda. Given that he used to be in charge of developing and training Object pilots, the whole mind control thing is only kind of ridiculous.

Aside from some heavy-handed narration and a bit of technical witchcraft, this episode does a fine job of setting up a compelling premise for the show's last story arc. By turning the Baby Magnum into the biggest threat on the battlefield, the show has chosen to do something more interesting than the usual “beat up the big scary bad guy” approach. This setup is a good fit for Heavy Object's meticulous brainy style, and there are enough variables in play to make it tough to guess how everything will play out. Now that the stage has been set, everything hinges on what the show does with all this potential.

Rating: B+

Heavy Object is currently streaming on Funimation.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.