Scrapped Princess ep.16-18

May 23, 2004 | 14 Comments

After the hectic episode fifteen, these three episodes seem to be comparatively slow and non-eventful. Having said that, it does give the series an opportunity to explain some of the plot points that it has created thus far. I am especially glad to know that the series actually make an effort to explain the perspective of the Peacemakers. Admittedly, their action and reasoning are hard to swallow from our perspective given the fact that we are humans ourselves. Having said that, there are a lot of truths in their arguments and the series does a good job of illustrating this fact throughout the entire series. It's also great to see some of the supporting characters being used efficiently in these episodes. I think in general, the series has done a good job in the development of the characters.

Episode sixteen begins with General Peter Stahl firing Baroness Bailaha from her position as the Director of the Task Forces after she refuses to send her troops to a war against the Giat Empire. General Stahl also believes that he can use the Scrapped Princess to conquer Giat and therefore orders the senate to use all of their forces to find and capture Pacifica alive. Hmm, have I mentioned I hate power-hungry people like General Stahl? Steyr, who's also in the room, seems to share my sentiment about the General's decision. Elsewhere in Sauer city, Pacifica is seen living together with Fulle and basically makes his life a bit more difficult. At the same time, Raquel is seen looking around for both Pacifica and Shannon but doesn't seem to be having much luck. While trying to get some food from a bar, she is spotted by Bergens who invites her to sit with him.

Raquel tells Bergens that she recently lost contact with her two siblings and therefore in the process of looking for them. Bergens then warns Raquel that the kingdom is on the lookout for Pacifica. Much to Raquel's relief, however, Bergens assures her that he's not going to make an attempt to capture Pacifica. Meanwhile, Shannon is seen sulking at a rooftop. Zephiriss tries to tell him that he needs to rest to recover his energy. Shannon, however, harshly tells Zephiriss not to care about him because if he dies, she can just find someone else that has the factor. Zephiriss, however, tells him that she has no intention of experiencing the same emotion that she felt when she lost her first master to death. The episode then shows Uinia and Leo discussing the reason behind the cold shoulder treatment that Chris gave to Uinia. In the middle of their conversation, however, they spot Pacifica walking together with Fulle.

Uinia and Chris then decide to follow Pacifica after she bids goodbye to Fulle. Their attempt leads them to a small live-performance theatre, where Pacifica greets someone who turns out to be none other than Kidaf Gillot. At the same time, Shannon realises that he's being followed by Cz and therefore decides to tell her to go elsewhere. Cz, however, reminds him that the Peacemakers will kill 10,000 people if they can't find Pacifica. When he hears this, Shannon becomes angry and tells her that weapons like Peacemakers shouldn't have human face especially when they can speak cruel words that no humans will use. Cz, however, calmly tells him that it is true that from his perspective the Peacemakers are evil. But the truth is, their true function is to protect mankind. She believes that as long as it is for the good of many, some casualties is acceptable.

Meanwhile, Leo and Uinia decide to approach Kidaf after Pacifica disappears into the theatre. Kidaf is surprised to see the two but never the less then informs them that he actually met Pacifica again by chance not too long ago. Unfortunately, Pacifica seems to have lost her memory and now is known simply as 'Pamela'. Kidaf feels sorry for her and therefore persuaded his boss, the owner of the theatre, to give Pacifica a job as one of the players. Upon hearing the story, Leo asks Kidaf if he can hire him and Uinia as well because they want to keep and eye on Pacifica. Leo eventually ends up being one of the performers on the stage while Uinia becomes the snack-sales lady. Later on, despite Kidaf's advice to allow Pacifica live her new life, Leo decides to follow Pacifica and Fulle to a noodle shop. He, however, becomes jealous when he hears the playful banters between the two of them.

While Leo tries to contain his jealousy, Raquel and Bergen arrive at the same noodle shop. Raquel is obviously surprised and happy to see both Pacifica and Leo inside the shop. Pacifica, however, doesn't seem to have any recollection of her foster sister and friends. She also doesn't believe that Raquel and the others are who they say they are, and tells Fulle that she doesn't want to leave with them. Upon hearing this, Raquel asks Fulle if he can allow her sister to stay with him for a little while. Fulle doesn't seem to mind and allows Pacifica to stay in his house, much to Leo's chagrin. Later on, however, Raquel tells Bergens that right now Pacifica is better off living a peaceful life since she never had the chance to have one ever since they became fugitives. Besides, Raquel thinks that by staying under the radar, maybe Pacifica can reach her 16th birthday in peace and in the process, hopefully nullifies the prophecy.

The following episode shows Pacifica still refuses to acknowledge the possibility that Raquel is related to her even when she meets her sister inside the town. Bergens tries to cheer Raquel up by saying that maybe unconsciously Pacifica doesn't want to remember the memory where the enemies were chasing her around. Raquel looks sad but tells Bergens that it's okay that Pacifica refuses to remember that for now. Meanwhile, inside the Obstinate Arrow headquarter, Baroness Bailaha leaves her office and bids goodbye to Chris. She tells Chris to believe in himself and to trust his own will. Not long after this, Major Luke Sturm arrives to replace Baroness in her position. Much to Chris' shock, Major Sturm tells him that the Obstinate Arrow has a new task to find and capture Pacifica within the confine of three days or else, the unit will be broken up.

Elsewhere in the city, Shannon is having a conversation with Zephiriss about his lack of rest. However, in the middle of their conversation, Zephiriss disappears. It turns out Cz is standing next to him and her presence basically cancels out Zephiriss'. Shannon becomes irritated and tells her that he doesn't like being followed by a 'monster'. Upon hearing this, Cz asks Shannon how much of 'the truth' has he heard from Zephiriss. She adds that what Zephiriss told him is one way to interpret the story but the truth is, the so-called 'invader' didn't annihilate nor pillage the Earth whatsoever. In addition to this, even though the invaders sealed mankind, mankind never feels as if they are being imprisoned, so to her it means that humans are never imprisoned. Cz also reveals that the system that seals the world actually exits to protect mankind from extinction.

Back then, 'The Invaders' decided that mankind is a species whose actions carries too many contradictions for their own good. If another intelligent species comes into contact with humans, this instability puts both parties at risk. The system exits to protect mankind from becoming extinct due to their own savageness. This is why the level of civilisation has been lowered down so that mankind will never feel apprehensive from knowing the size of the world. Cz believes that having a stable environment is a good condition to live in for humans. She also adds that they seek to exterminate the providence breaker not out of hate and therefore if Shannon wants to hate someone, he should direct his hate to the person who decided this 5000 years ago. When Shannon snidely comments how Cz turns out to be quite talkative, Cz replies that it means that even a 'monster' doesn't like to be blamed for nothing.

Elsewhere in Sauer, thanks to Pacifica's carelessness, a sketch of her face is found by a Sauer soldier who realises that the existence of the sketch confirms that the Scrapped Princess is still alive. Pacifica herself is seen at the theatre with Uinia and Leo. Leo, who's jealous of Fulle tells Fulle that he can work easily because he'll take care of Pacifica. Fulle is annoyed a bit but decides to not involve himself in a petty childish bickering with Leo. Meanwhile, the news about the search for Pacifica has finally reached the ears of Forciss. He asks Chris if it means that she actually is located in Sauer. Chris, however, tells him that it simply means that there's a high possibility that she's in the city. Chris then informs Forciss that the bureaucrats intend to use the Scrapped Princess in a war against Giat. Forciss looks sad upon hearing this and wishes that he had more power to stop the war.

Somewhere at the Giat Empire, Seness and Eirote is seen alive and in the middle of constructing what looks like three giant monsters. Seness complains about the adjustment work that needs to be done because it means it will be a while before they can test run the creation. She thinks that if the thing doesn't work, it'll simply be a steel coffin. Natalie, however, tells her not to rush things because if they activate the main body before disguising it first, they will become the target of the Peacemakers. Seness tells Eirote that she heard that the others have also survived the Peacemakers attempt to kill them. She swears that she'll exact revenge on the Peacemakers or else she'll not die peacefully. Meanwhile, the search for Pacifica by Sauer soldiers as well as the Obstinate Arrow members has intensified.

Leo and Uinia become especially worry when Sauer Soldiers come to the theatre where Pacifica works and ask them if they've seen a blonde girl working in the theatre. Uinia ends up lying and telling them that the only person with a blonde hair that works at the theatre is an old lady. However, the leader of the group seems to be suspicious of both Uinia and Leo. Meanwhile, Pacifica is seen enjoying her simple life together with Fulle while listening to the bickering couple next door. Their quiet time, however, is quickly interrupted by Uinia and Leo's arrival. They have decided to inform Pacifica about her past and how it is catching up to her now. The two also tell Pacifica that they should escape now while they have the chance. Fulle, however, wants to know if the two have any ideas on where they are going to take Pacifica.

When Leo and Uinia can't come up with any answer, Fulle tells them that he can't hand over Pacifica to people who are this irresponsible. His statement ends up causing a huge standoff between him and Leo. Before the situation escalates into a fight, however, they are interrupted by the arrival of Fulle's friend from the military called 'Slay'. 'Slay' is also there to inform 'Lace', Fulle's code name, that he is needed for the upcoming battle with Giat, where they'll be involved in sabotage and assassinations. Fulle, however, tells him that he's not interested to rejoin the military. Angered by Fulle's answer, 'Slay' tells Fulle that he is dreaming if a person covered in blood like Fulle thinks he can live a normal life. Never the less, 'Slay' decides to leave Fulle alone. What Fulle doesn't know, however, is that 'Slay' ends up alerting the other soldiers that he has found the Scrapped Princess in Fulle's house.

Continuing from the previous episode, in episode sixteen, Fulle tells everyone that they have to get out of the house quickly because he suspects that 'Slay' will come with reinforcement to take 'Pamela' away. His word turns out to be true because not long after they left the house, a squad of Royal Force soldiers comes and breaks down the door to Fulle's house. They, however, are disappointed when they find no one inside the house. Meanwhile, Shannon's search for Pacifica leads him to the theatre where Pacifica used to work. But it looks like the owner of the theatre doesn't know her whereabouts either. At the same time, Raquel and Bergens have arrived at Fulle's house. Raquel is worried about the fact that Pacifica is not there anymore but Bergens believes that no one has captured her yet since the Royal Force is still seen patrolling around the area. Besides, Fulle seems to be a reliable type of a person so Pacifica should be safe for now.

Elsewhere, Leo is seen walking quietly around a quieter part of the city and accidentally stumbles upon a horse stable and immediately recognises one of the horses as the one that he used to own. Before he managed to do anything with the horse, however, he is startled by the presence of a soldier. Leo is about to inquire about the status of his horse, but decides to flee when he sees four posters, which basically puts him, Pacifica, Uinia, and Fulle as wanted fugitives. Leo quickly informs the recent development to the others, who turned out have been hiding inside the theatre. Uinia believes that they should get out of the capital quickly because the theatre itself won't be safe for long, especially after another person has inquired whether or not Pacifica used to work in the place. Meanwhile inside the Obstinate Arrow HQ, Chris is pressured by other members of the group to make a decision about capturing Pacifica soon.

Back inside the theatre, everyone is trying to come up with a solution on where they should go. Leo believes that maybe if they can make it to the Giat Empire, the royal force won't be able to pursue them. Fulle, however, thinks that it's a bit dangerous to do that since the situation between Sauer and Giat is currently at its worse. Kidaf suggests that maybe they should consider going to the Holy City of Grendel. Although this is the place where the Mauser main temple is located, the area is independent. Even the Royal Force's soldiers are only allowed to bring minimal weapons into area and Kidaf thinks that no one will guess that the Scrapped Princess herself will actually head to Grendel. Everyone then agrees that for now this is the best solution. Therefore, Kidaf decides to stay in the city to inform Raquel about the decision while the others are going to disguise themselves so they can get out of the theatre safely.

Thanks to their disguise, Pacifica, Fulle, Leo, and Uinia manage to make their way to the forest area. Fulle and Leo then decides to steal horses from the soldiers so they can get away from the city quickly. Unfortunately, the soldiers spot their attempt and they are quickly being chased by the Royal Forces. Seeing the dire situation, Fulle orders Leo to run ahead and leave him behind to deal with the soldiers, since he's already wounded from an arrow anyway. Leo refuses to leave Fulle behind but Fulle tells him that Leo is now the only person who can protect Pacifica. Leo has no choice but to run with the horses, pick up Pacifica and Uinia and make their way out of the city. Meanwhile, Fulle ends up being defeated by the soldiers and falls to his death and is found by Shannon. Unfortunately for Pacifica and the others, before they can go far from the city, the Obstinate Arrow members who are lead by Chris managed to capture them.

Well, it didn't take long for Pacifica's simple and happy life to be shattered into pieces. And now that Fulle's dead, I don't think Pacifica will ever find another person that she'll be interested in, Shannon notwithstanding. The problem is, I don't think the series will change her relationship with Shannon from pseudo brother-sister with a little hint of attraction to something more serious. At any rate, I'm glad to see the series moving fast towards the final six episodes. I think the majority of the questions have been answered so far except for why Pacifica has the ability to repel the Peacemakers' control. As for the reason why humans got sealed in to begin with, I can only say that I think humans have done a lot of damage to each other and to Earth but this particular 'solution' does not help much since people still behave the same way even after they got 'sealed in'. So I am curious as to how the series will resolve this particular issue.

© memento 2003