Aldnoah.Zero: Before the War (A Storm Brewing)

September 7, 2014 1:50 PM - Season 1, Episode 10

The crew of the Deucalion work to restore power when the Aldnoah drive suddenly stops working and the ship crashes in the tundra. During the investigation, Rayet reveals her secret. Meanwhile, Saazbaum tells Slaine his side of the Tanegashima Incident.
posted by Small Dollar (7 comments total)

Not a huge surprise that Asseylum is okay. People keep talking about her being marked for death (and all sorts of other dour predictions) because Urobuchi, but didn't he only work on the first few episodes? This show is hardly cheery, but it doesn't really seem like it's going to be another Madoka.

I'm pretty firmly in the Cruhteo's dead camp now; there is a possibility they could be faking us out with the Tharsis being powered down and Cruhteo's link having been severed because he was incapacitated, but it seems like a pretty big stretch at this point.

Kind of odd for Saazbaum to say "you're free to go, here's this mech you can't use." Presumably they're going to pull the trigger on the plot point of Slaine, as the son of the Aldnoah researcher, finding a way to activate it on his own.
posted by Kosh at 6:06 AM on September 8, 2014

Apparently Vers pistols shoot bullets that disintegrate when they hit chain, since Saazbaum literally pointed a gun a Slaine's gut and pulled the trigger...

(Though I guess it would be pretty funny if Slaine ended up bleeding on the floor as medics work on him like "What were you THINKING?" and Saazbaum paces back and forth wild-eyed repeating "I was just trying to look cool!")
posted by Ian A.T. at 9:30 AM on September 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

No body = not dead. The fact that this show loves to have its little twists and reversals, and its insistence on telling (rather than showing) that Cruhteo is dead, just makes me more convinced that he's going to spring out of the woodwork during the season finale battle.

I was surprised that the show didn't even have the courage to keep Asseylum's status uncertain for more than ten minutes.

Also, having Asseylum give that speech only to have Saazbaum immediately nullify it is becoming a tedious pattern.
posted by Pyry at 11:26 AM on September 8, 2014

> Apparently Vers pistols shoot bullets that disintegrate when they hit chain, since Saazbaum literally pointed a gun a Slaine's gut and pulled the trigger...

I think this is conclusive proof that Urobuchi's involvement with the series is rather distant at the moment, as he is a well-known gun otaku and I don't think he would have let a scene like this pass. Unless Vers pistols were really magical.
posted by needled at 8:15 AM on September 9, 2014

From this episode's Random Curiousity recap:

The inconsistency in Inaho’s character could hardly have been more unmistakably showcased if it had been the intent of the writing to do so. How can you possibly rationalize the way he dealt with Slaine and the way he dealt with Rayet? The answer is you can’t – it’s preposterous on every level. Slaine fights at his side and saves his life and because Inaho has a suspicion about who he might be, he decides he’s an enemy. Rayet tries (and technically succeeds) in murdering the Princess in cold blood, and he declares she’s not – and hands her the very gun she’s just threatened his life with, barrel pointing at his head?

posted by Ian A.T. at 1:24 PM on September 9, 2014

I find interesting the divergences in opinion I see in the Korean language anime boards (mainly Ruliweb) and English-language anime reviewers like Random Curiosity.

Korean viewers didn't find the divergence between Inaho's treatment of Rayet and Slaine to be "preposterous." Inaho has had first-hand contact with Rayet and they've fought side by side on more than one occasion, as well as her being the first one on the scene for retrieve him after his fight with Argyre. Inaho has no history with Slaine, and Slaine's help in fighting Hellas could be interpreted as Vers infighting. Inaho has thought of Slaine as an enemy throughout the fight with Hellas, if you go back to his comments before joining up with Slaine and after shooting Slaine (and Slaine did aim and shoot first).

Ep. 11 preview is out and Korean viewers see a strong death flag for Yuki-nee. Ep. 11 looks to be the major battle episode and Ep. 12 the aftermath?

Ep. 11: Wind, Snow and Stars (The Battle of Novostalisk)
Ep. 12: Childhood's End (Though the Heavens Fall)
posted by needled at 7:55 AM on September 11, 2014

No body = not dead. The fact that this show loves to have its little twists and reversals, and its insistence on telling (rather than showing) that Cruhteo is dead, just makes me more convinced that he's going to spring out of the woodwork during the season finale battle.

Well, as the Princess has just proven, a temporary heart stoppage in someone will result in an aldnoah drive activated by that person powering down.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 12:57 AM on January 26, 2015