Here's some more of my thoughts on Destiny now that I've wrapped up my viewing (aside from Special 4, which I will probably get around to watching the SEED & Destiny Specials after I get through 00).
We STILL never found out how Mu survived getting incinerated in the Strike who rescued him, and why he was brainwashed/programmed into being Neo Roanoke. Why would someone (Djibril?) go out and look for his body, which was thought to be incinerated by the Dominion's Lohengrin? There's just so much confusion about why he's there and what his point in the series was, except to push Murrue's emotional buttons. They couldn't have done this with, say, a Mu clone? Or perhaps bring in a new character, who reminded Murrue of Mu and something sparked. I dunno, that, along with other elements of the story, particularly late in the series, just felt like fan-wanking. I don't like this whole thing, but I so much wanted Murrue and Mu/Neo to have their happily ever after... *shrug*
Speaking of fan-wanking... one of my other biggest problems with the series overall is... who am I supposed to be cheering for? The series starts off with ZAFT clearly being the good guys (including extremely hate-worthy and yet clearly-understandable Shinn) and following them, but as soon as Kira and the old Archangel gang are brought back into the action partway through the series... the ZAFT pilots & Minerva crew became a mixture of bad guys (Rey, Shinn) or good guys working for the bad guys (also Shinn, Lunamaria, Talia, etc.).
Shinn... such a wasted opportunity for a Gundam hero. I could've totally accepted him as an anti-hero lead for a Gundam series, which would have been refreshing and different... IF he'd had some actual character growth. But he didn't. And that's why he was the single most frustrating element, alongside Athrun (who I'll get to in a bit), of this whole series. His character went NOWHERE. I was okay with being rubbed the wrong way and not liking this guy from the start because of his totally abrasive personality. But if he'd actually GROWN, if he'd had a journey where he truly moved from point A to point B as any well-written hero (or anti-hero) should, then I'd have been happy with it. The only "growth" in his character we saw was his brief time with Stella, caring for her so much and trying desparately to protect her but utterly failing - partly due to his own bad decisions. Otherwise, he just spends the entire series running on pain and rage and hate and fevered ego, eventually becoming nothing more than a Durandal lackey who's completely guzzled the kool-aid. And then, at the very end, after his hopes and dreams are shot and blown up, does he finally have some sort of breakdown and acceptance and an "okay, I'm better now" thing. And then, voila, he decides to be all chummy with Athrun and Kira in Final Plus at the cenotaph. I cried when he put the flowers on it, and I even cried when he buried Stella's body in that lake. But two, count 'em, TWO moments of sympathy from me out of 50-and-a-half episodes does not make for character growth, especially when one of those moments sent him emotionally right back to square one. I'm all for "hiss dark vengeance!" anti-heroes, when they're done well and made compelling. Shinn wasn't compelling at all.
And Athrun... poor Athrun. He could have become the sempai mentor for Shinn and helped him along with his much-needed character growth. It's sad that Athrun tells Shinn during the big final battle that he needs to stop living with his head stuck in the past. Athrun should've told this to Shinn 40 or so episodes sooner! But then, Athrun himself spent half the series with -his- head stuck in the past as well... as did we all, as the director cranked up the "spam the audience with flashback clips" dial to 11. Looking back in retrospect, though, Athrun's wishy-washy-ness makes some sense in the overall context of the series, but I think his character could've been a lot more solid if either (A) he'd gone back home to Cagalli and Orb sooner, and been by her side where he should've stayed, or (B) Kira & the old gang should never have stolen the hero spotlight from the Minerva crew, thus leaving Athrun there to be Shinn's mentor and help the new "lead hero" (which I still fail to see Shinn as in any way, anti-hero or not), thus keeping to his Char/Quattro homage bit he had at the start, as superior officer and mentor to Shinn/Kamille.
That brings me to the rest of the Minerva crew. Lunamaria Hawke and her cute little sister Meyrin were fun and adorable, but ultimately, not very interesting. They both had crushes (or at least strong interests) in Athrun, and Meyrin won the lottery (I think?) simply on the virtue of her being in the right place at the wrong time. Luna had a couple of opportunities to really question what she and her teammates were doing, had enough evidence personally witnessed to realize that -something- stunk really bad, but... ultimately she did nothing, and instead became Shinn's impromptu snuggle-bunny. Oh well.
Rey Za Burrell, I think, was an interesting villain (and would-be mentor - or rather, I should say, emotional manipulator - for Shinn). I just wish they would've worked up his internal confusion over his own identity and his Rau-clone-ness earlier in the series rather than rushed it at the end. But his shooting of Durandal and breakdown in Talia's arms in the end, despite the rushing, was rather moving. He could have been Rau Le Creuset Mark-II, but in the end, he truly was himself (short as it may have been).
Talia, for her part.... she was a great captain, she had a hint of the "hot maternal MILF" thing that Murrue Ramius does so well, but she mostly keeps it to herself, being far more professional in her military role than Murrue. She must save the maternal thing for her own son when she's home.
And her relationship with Durandal was ultimately bittersweet, due to their "following the rules" and staying apart. But in the end, it was her relationship to him that ultimately doomed her to being another lackey for the Big Bad, rather than taking the riskier route of turning the Minerva into another Archangel, deserting the establishment to strike out on its own to do the right thing. You could see the gears turning in Talia's mind as the series went on, and especially after the Destiny Plan announcement. Unfortunately, she's a professional soldier, and like all good soldiers, they have a hard time thinking for themselves, and are just programmed order-following machines, ultimately. Switching sides and turning on your evil, tyrannical leaders would be harder for a crew full of soldiers (Minerva) than it would be for a crew with many civilians (Archangel).
Despite my initial admiration for him, and totally digging his words and thought-provoking dialogue, I was always suspicious of Durandal from the start. I'm an anarcho-libertarian, which means I distrust all politicians, no matter how nice and slick of a package they come in. And ultimately, as I suspected he would, he turned out to be the Big Bad. But he was about as great a Big Bad as they come! And like all tyrants, who may have started off with good intentions, but get caught up in their fevered egos, fueled by the power they possess, thinking their way is the only way, ends up being just as bad as those they're trying to do away with. A fascinating, and tragic, and even sympathetic villain. Definitely a real highlight for this series.
Kira and Lacus and the old gang... it was great to see them back, and it was great that they had an active part in the series... but they truly stole the spotlight. Well, I can understand and support (the real) Lacus Clyne making a public comeback, to take a stand and roll out her secretly-building force to stop the new out-of-control aggressors and tyrants stirring up new trouble, supporting Cagalli's and Orb's ideals, with Kira and Murrue and the rest as her personal guard and right-hand-people. But the way they were handled, totally crowded the Minerva crew out of their would-be-hero status, and put them at odds. If I were to rewrite the series, sure, I'd have Kira & Freedom and the Archangel around, but in a more supportive role, having the Minerva defect from ZAFT following an -earlier- roll-out of Durandal's "final solution" Destiny Plan (which I also feel was rushed and didn't get enough build-up and play-out), keeping the Minerva and its crew center stage as the main heroes. The biggest problem with bringing back Kira & company and having them become the main heroes again is that... they were predictable and had nowhere to go. These characters had all their growth and development in SEED. Thus, all we see of them in Destiny is familiar faces doing familiar things. Over and over and over again. And we get that Kira is a Coordinator god-like being when he uses the Freedom. That sort of thing should be saved for rare occasions in a sequel series like this, not take over the lead hero role.
The Extendeds were okay for villains, the only truly interesting character, of course, being Stella, if nothing but for the fact that she was such a sad, broken, tragic character. My heart still breaks for what happened to her. Truly a moving and tearful part of the series, a real highlight of Destiny.
Cagalli... poor Cagalli. What the hell did the writers do to you, girl? I can understand that she may have found the daunting task of being a head of state and filling her late father's very big shoes a little overwhelming in the face of corrupt opposition like the Seirans... but seriously, she gave in too easily. And I can partly blame Athrun leaving her behind and running off to play soldier again for her downfall... she should be more than capable of taking of herself and sticking to her guns without someone to look over her shoulder or hold her hand. She did it well before she became part of the Archangel team way back in early SEED. Then after being kidnapped from her own wedding (which I still think was a fun, fun, fun scene
) by her brother, she... goes even more wishy-washy. Half the time she's got her old spirit back, fired up and ready to get in there and get the job done, the other half she's having emotional breakdowns in battle, bawling like a very badly hurt small child, when she's not (rightfully, I would say) blaming herself for her mistakes. I did cheer for her when she took back the Orb reigns of power, and from that point on, I started respecting her again (though why she gave her Akatsuki to NEO, of all people, I'll never comprehend - why not Kisaka, or Andy?), though I was sad to see her stop wearing the ring when she bid the Archangel goodbye. I guess, in the end, she and Athrun weren't meant to be - he has his world of MS piloting and soldiering, she has her responsibilities as a leader and politician. I was sad to see them end up going their separate ways (if, indeed, they HAVE, it's still a little vague, but it does seem to be the general consensus), but... that's life. Sometimes things don't work out. I'm sure Mirialla and Dearka could talk about that (there's another story I'd love to hear
).
I also want to talk about Meer Campbell, and her personality and background. I honestly thought the 2 episodes near the end which ended her story and gave us some insight into her was a refreshing and welcome breather before the final big battle. She was another tragic character, a product of both others' design and whatever childhood traumas caused her to WANT to be someone else, someone she idolized, rather than herself. (This is an interesting recurring theme in this series, dealing with false identities: Athrun/Alex, Neo/Mu, Rey/Rau, Meer/"Lacus".) But something that stood out to me in the "diary" flashback scenes, which I didn't mention before, but I think is -very- important... is that she set herself on the road, either through her own decision, or (it would seem) with the encouragement of men-in-black who were working for Durandal... to transforming herself into Lacus Clyne BEFORE being actually recruited. The sequence of events is startling. The diary starts with her waking up frm her cosmetic surgery, having Lacus' face. After that, with some help from men-in-black and other "handlers," she starts practicing her new life, acting and dressing and impersonating Lacus. It's only well AFTER she's put herself through all of this that she actually meets and is recruited by Durandal to be the "replacement Lacus." You have to wonder what sort of psychological damage Meer Campbell is suffering under to do this to herself for the sake of self-delusion (or self-hate of her real self as Meer Campbell). It's a fascinating story that gives me pause and a lot to think about. And, of course... ends in tragedy. In the end, I feel terribly sorry for Meer Campbell, and wonder what she could've been if she'd stayed true to her real self. She clearly had the talent to be "Meer Campbell, superstar" on her own merits - she didn't need to become Lacus to gain fame and fortune. It's just... tragic.
I'm also very curious about the Destiny Plan, and fascinated by the larger themes of genetic engineering, choice/freedom vs. fate/destiny that it plays into. As I said, the rollout of the Destiny Plan in the last 2 or 3 episodes was very rushed and I felt -really- needed more time to be built up, beyond some years-old obscure scribblings found in a notebook at an abaondoned lab. It's the implementation of the plan that I'm really wondering about. Durandal wanted to create a society where everything is engineered and controlled and managed and planned, with the focus being on the genetic side of things... and yet... human beings are more than their genetic code. We're the summation of our experiences and memories, our joys and traumas, and so on. Durandal seemed to be gung-ho on eliminating free will/individual choices in his vision for the new world order, and that would have to involve an extremely oppressive police state, at least inititally during a transition into such a world, followed by an even more Orwellian/Brave New World-ish nightmare society where human beings become nothing more than programmed and managed biological machines. Dr. Whats-His-Name (Ubuki?), the guy who created Kira, admitted that a major drawback for genetic engineering when modified children are born in utero is that the mother's womb and environment and such affect the child, thus the results aren't always what was hoped for. Would Durandal's Destiny Plan have involved moving to 100% artificial womb/in vitro reproduction for humanity? Thus making the entire human race "Ultimate Coordinators" like Kira (on the genetic level, I mean - personality-wise.... see my comments just above).
It's fascinating and I love that Destiny took this whole subject to another level - I just wish it would've gotten more attention and detail beyond where it fit in the "choice vs. destiny" theme.
One more minor item of note in regards to Destiny itself. I saw some discussion about the female leader of the DOM Trooper pilot trio and who she resembles. Honestly, my first gut reaction was I thought she looked like Cecily Fairchild/Vera Ronah and Zabine Chareaux's love-child, with the short orange hair and the eyepatch.
Without the eyepatch, she kinda looks like Matilda Ajan, or the Space Ark captain from F91 (don't remember her name). And I'd still love to see and know more about that trio! A manga or side story about them would be a real treat.
Oh, and before I wrap up this yet-another-long-Burke-post, I also watched CE 73 Stargazer last night. First off, about this short movie, the Junius 7 pieces falling in the ocean and causing tsunamis.... I couldn't help thinking of the earthquake & tsunami that hit Japan earlier this year.
As for the movie, overall.... I'm not sure what to say about it. We get more peeks into the horrors of the Earth Forces' Extended program. Some slice of life stuff of Coordinator scientists working on some interesting projects. And probably one of the most unusual Gundam designs to ever be seen - and it's not even a military MS. The animation is gorgeous, and the little tie-ins to Destiny were nice, including the surprise cameo by everyone's favorite Blue Cosmos slimeball, Muruta Azrael. I guess my general reaction to Stargazer is that it's a strange little piece, it feels very surreal, and it's... interesting. The subject matter, and its 50-minute length, makes me think of the various oddball original short manga stories you might see. It's certainly not something I would call a "mainstream" story for the Gundam CE-verse. It feels more like a "what if" kind of story. It's kind of nice, but it didn't really grab me much. Maybe after repeated viewings down the road it'll grow on me a little more.
I also started reading the first volume of the Gundam Seed Astray manga. Fun stuff so far! I might talk about them in a different thread or post later, but I have 2 questions: since when did Coordinators have telepathic abilities, and that "8" suitcase computer thing sure does seem like a very advanced AI for a "piece of junk" that Lowe found. And yet, in Stargazer, they're developing an AI for that space exploration Gundam which seems extremely primitive by comparison. Just something to ponder.
Actually in all seriousness, I have nothing against Meyrin, I just don't like the fact that they destroyed Cagalli's relationship with Athrun for all bad reasons. I suppose it could go either way given that 
) and, of course, "Kimi mo Raww da"/"You're Rau too." 
Yes, Arthur, why'd you give her the idea...
