Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX Episode 4 revealed that even though the One Year War is over, the scars remain for some people.
When people thought Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX would still have a long way before unveiling the dark and gloomy storytelling of the franchise, just like Witch from The Mercury, Episode 4 suddenly tore the curtain away and gave fans a taste of what they can expect from the series moving forward. The episode was shocking, full of twists, and had a reference that might be surprising to fans of the original Mobile Suit Gundam U.C. timeline. Episode 4 would be remembered as the episode that started the real GQuuuuuuX.
Warning: Spoilers ahead
The episode starts with a clan battle, during which Pomeranians' GQuuuuuuX and Red Gundam quickly take down two Zakus using their combination. Chalia Bull was watching the match video, and Ensign Comoli Harcourt reported that this was the pair's fourth straight win with no loss so far. Chalia noted that the pilot of GQuuuuuuX has mastered the Mobile Suit.
The Ensign also reported that they have been trying to find out who's behind the Red Gundam and Pomeranians but to no avail. She also worried about the potential of another Zeknova, but Chalia excitedly said that only a handful of people can operate the Psycommu, especially the Omega Psycommu. Comoli questioned her superior's excitement.
In Side 6, a strike was held for the departure of Zeon's vessel in front of the Military Police (MP) base. One of the Military Police questioned whether they were being cheated, as they had already let go of Xavier Olivette to the Sodon. Ward, the MP detective, responded that Zeon had already defeated the Federation, so the next war will be from within. He noted that whichever Zabi family member survives the war, whether Gihren or Kycilia, will control space. However, he also noted that one person could stand in their way, the missing Char Aznable.
In school, Machu struggled to fill out her career goal survey before being interrupted by one of her classmates who won 500 Hytes, the currency used in GQuuuuuuX, at an online casino. Machu, who was uninterested in the talk, remembered that Shuji needed around 150,000 Hytes to buy a second-hand Space Glider to visit Earth. While a normal shuttle ticket can be bought for 1,000 Hytes, Shuji mentioned that it was the Red Gundam's request. Machu said that she wanted to visit Earth, too.
Back home, Machu was scolded by her mother regarding her future career survey, with which she answered with “Jellyfish”. The next day, she talked with Nyaan regarding Shuji. She mentioned that he was always hungry despite having the Gundam. She also assumed he had some kind of friendship with Char because of the Red Gundam. Nyaan said it could also be stolen, which Machu said would be even cooler.
She wondered why Shuji wanted to go to Earth. Nyaan reminded her that it was the Gundam's request. Machu dismissed her however, saying there was no way a mobile suit could talk, and said that it was Shuji's request. Machu asked what kind of swimsuit Nyaan liked and told her not to worry about money. Nyaan, worrying about money, asked for more work. The Agent mentioned a high bounty for the Red Gundam and asked her to use her connection to the Clan.
The Witch from the Earth Federation Forces, Shiiko Sugai
Back in the junk shop, Kaine wondered who the pilot behind the Red Gundam was, and who used the nickname Hara Herimushi or “hungry bug”. Jezzi mentioned that he was the one who gave the clan their winning streak, not Machu. Kaine stated that it was the Red Comet himself, whom Nabu quickly denied. Annqi said it doesn't matter as long as they are winning.
Outside the junk shop, Jezzi's Pomeranian was barking at a woman. Machu saved the woman, who wanted to go to Kaneban Co., the storefront of Clan Pomeranian. Annqi mentioned that Machu was a part-time worker in her shop. She introduced the woman as Shiiko Sugai, a former unicum from the Earth Federation Forces (EFF) with the moniker “The Witch”. Unicum was a term for a flying ace, which Shiiko herself was mentioned as a super unicum with 100 confirmed kills.
Annqi mentioned that Shiiko has retired, married, and has a child in Palda of Side 6. Annqi guessed that Shiiko was in the junk shop to search for the Gundam. Shiiko said that a junk shop owner must have known that it's the real deal, suggesting that Annqi had a hand in its sudden reappearance after Solomon. She mentioned that even though the EEF has lost the war, she hasn't. She vowed to defeat the Red Gundam.
Annqi mentioned that the Red Gundam killed Shiiko's Mav. The crew wondered whether she was lamenting over a man or perhaps wanted revenge. Nonetheless, they all agreed that not everyone suddenly healed from the scars left by the war with the peace treaty.
When escorting Shiiko to the station, Machu asked her why she did this when she already had a happy family. Shiiko asked Machu, "Isn't it absurd to give up on something to get something else?" She continued by asking how happy she would be if she could get everything she wanted. She mentioned that Newtype must've been able to do that easily, which Machu thought was very different from her conventional mother.
Machu knew nothing about Shuji
Before leaving, Shiiko asked Machu what kind of person the Red Gundam's pilot was, suggesting that she already knew Machu's identity. Machu remembered her observing a sleeping Shuji back in his hideout. In her mind, she wondered why Shuji wanted to go to Earth. The mysterious boy then suddenly answered that the Gundam was searching for a rose. In the present, Machu noticed that she knew nothing about Shuji.
Shiiko was then seen training using a simulator in the Dormitory Security Group building. She mentioned the mobile suits she used is better than the EFF's Guncannon. However, she asked that, in the end, it still is a mass-produced type. The engineer who developed the mobile suit, Mosk Han, said that it used the latest technology that even Zeon didn't have. He mentioned that it outshined the RGM-079 Light-type Guncannon or Light Cannon from the EFF.
However, when it was mentioned about its performance against the Gundam, Mosk asked if it was the Newtype's weapon, Psycommu. Shiiko denied that Newtype was just Zeon's propaganda, suggesting her belief that Zeon only used the term for their cause. Back in Machu's home, she got a message that her next opponent had been changed to someone who used the name “The Witch”.
On the day of the Clan Battle, Machu was briefed that her enemy would be two Light-type Guncannon from CRS, a clan that served as a promotion to a military security company. She was also reminded that her enemy is a former-unicum. Machu realised that Shuji and Shiiko could figure out things without being told anything, suggesting that Shiiko was also a Newtype.
To the crew's surprise, Clan CRS didn't use the Guncannons but two gMS-01 Gelgoog, a mass-produced mobile suit from Zeon that was derived from the RX-78-2 White Gundam. Meanwhile, the Sodon's crew were also watching the Clan Battle, Xavier mentioned that the Gelgoog was still in active service. Comoli questioned whether the model had been smuggled out of Zeon.
The Witch versus the Red Gundam
Shiiko quickly rushed to the centre of the battlefield as soon as the battle started to close the distance between her and Clan Pomeranian's mobile suit. Machu stood in front of Shuji to protect him, but got blasted away by the Beam rifle. Shiiko then rushed to Machu and delivered her signature move to the surprise of the GQuuuuuuX pilot. Shuji, however, saved Machu in the nick of time. The Sodon's crew was surprised to see the movement of the Gelgoog, but Chalia remembered that there was one EFF pilot that utilise the same technique.
Clan CRS's members were delighted to see the Gelgoog perform well. Mosk Han, meanwhile, only wanted the battle data to come back to him. In the Clan Battle, Shiiko ignored Machu and focused all her attention on the Red Gundam, saying a part-time worker like her should go home. Shuji was able to hit Shiiko's partner using the Gundam Hammer. However, this led the Witch to close the gap between her and the Gundam.
While Shuji was able to barely dodge every attack by Shiiko, he was completely overwhelmed by the movement. Chalia finally acknowledged that the pilot inside the Gelgoog was the same EFF's unicum that spread terrors using her Light Cannon. Chalia explained that her technique, “Stigma Attack”, involved using some kind of small hook to reorient herself around the enemy, creating the Illusion that she could suddenly appear behind the enemy. The scars left by the hook lead to it being called Stigma Attack.
Machu was helpless watching Shuji and Shiiko fight. She realised that she couldn't keep up with both of them. Shiiko's partner reminded her that the Gundam wasn't her opponent from wartime; however, she didn't care, as the pressure from the pilot was incredible. She believed that her former Mav was a Newtype. But when he died, she accepted that nobody is the chosen one who can have anything they want. She promised to prove that the Gundam pilot wasn't a Newtype, someone who she believed could get everything they wanted.
In her rage, Shiiko shot her teammate so she could face the Gundam alone, to the bewilderment of the Clan Pomeranians' crew, except Annqi, who noticed she wasn't seeking revenge; she was obsessed with her ideals. She vowed that she would kill all Newtypes before suddenly sensed Shuji's presence. Amate, Chalia, Xavier, and Comoli heard a song played from the Red Gundam. Chalia mentioned it was the same “La-La Sound” that he heard in Solomon.
Shiiko continued to deny the existence of Newtypes and proceed to use her ultimate technique. She pitted Shuji between two rifles tht fired at the same time. Shuji dodged both beam, but it was a setup for Shiiko to finish the job using her third Stigma hook and beam saber. While she was turning around because of the momentum, Shuji disappeared from his supposed position.
The Gundam appeared behind the Gelgoog and stabbed the cockpit, killing Shiiko.
Machu, who saw what happened, left horrified before suddenly seeing Shiiko in the Kira-Kira, almost confirming she was also a Newtype. Shiiko mentioned that there was someone on the other side of the Gundam. While Machu asked who it was, Shuji appeared, saying he only had one wish. Shiiko, the only one who heard the wish, smiled, seemingly having closure for her hatred of Newtypes.
The Gelgoog then exploded, confirming the kill. While Pomeranian crew members were relieved that they had won, Annqi only said, “Stupid Witch,” with a pitiful expression. Chalia mentioned that Newtype has killed too many people, so they end up possessed by hatred, believing that Shiko is also a Newtype.
Machu, meanwhile, stared at the explosion, mortified by Shiiko's death. However, she also believed that she needed determination, which rivals Shiko's, to catch up with Shuji.
War, war never changes
Episode 4: The Witch's War reminded viewers that the show is and foremost a Gundam series. The franchise wasn't only known for the cool mobile suits and flashy fights, but also for presenting the reality of war for those caught up in it, the politics surrounding it, and the tendency to outright kill fans' favourite characters without remorse.
Shiiko was a perfect character who emphasised the series' well-known elements. She was a former military personnel who became obsessed with the “injustice” she felt at the hands of the Newtypes. The fact that she couldn't let go of her past and became obsessed with it showed the PTSD she developed because of the war, something that a lot of war veterans had to go through.
Her death was sad because she finally found closure to her hatred of Newtype. It was made even more tragic because in the end, the last person she thought of was her son, not her dead partner.
Shiiko's obsession and denial of Newtype could also stem from her loyalty to the Earth Federation Forces. Newtype was a theory that Zeon Zum Deikun developed, explaining that humans, who have needed to communicate with each other throughout time, would eventually develop a sixth sense to communicate mentally. The theory was proven correct as Machu and Shuji could communicate with their mind, the same as Chalia and Char.
Ironically, Shiiko was one of the Newtypes, as she could sense Shuji's mind and presence. She was also present in the Kira-Kira, a place where, so far, only Newtypes could access, before she died.
The Gelgoog that surprised almost every fan
Besides the story, Episode 4 also gave us a twist that almost no one saw coming: Gelgoog. In the original timeline, Gelgoog was a mass-produced mobile suit by Zeonics that was made to compete with the RX-78-2 Gundam, with the RGM-92 GM as the mass-produced unit based from the white demon itself. However, in GQuuuuuuX, because the Gundam has been successfully stolen by Char, the Gelgoog was made as a mass-produced unit derived from the Gundam.
The unit was first referenced in Episode 2. Mallygan spoke to Char regarding mass-producing mobile suits developed by reverse engineering the Gundam. The result was the Gelgoog, cleverly using Zeon's unique naming sense. Because the EFF has lost the Gundam, they developed the RX-77-2 Guncannon into Light Cannon, a slimmer version of the mobile suit that boast more mobility in expense of one beam cannon. However, the series hasn't yet shown the mobile suits in action. It did, however, show up in the movie, piloted by someone unexpected.
With the introduction of the Gelgoog, it would be interesting to see what the remnant of the Earth Federation Forces came up with to match the GQuuuuuuX. It could be the Gundam Mk-II with many improvements from Tem Ray, the original developer of the RX-78-2 Gundam. In the GQuuuuuuX timeline, he wasn't shown as a lunatic because he lacked oxygen due to being stranded in space for too long. We could also see the appearance of Amuro, Tem's son, as the pilot of the new Gundam.
The possibilities are limitless with the introduction of Gelgoog.
Want to read more about the lore of Mobile Suit Gundam: GquuuuuuX? Check out our review compilation!
