[TreyEl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

And as much as I didn't like all the central drama with Gai, the absolute biggest cheat in this episode had to the AIMS Raider goons suddenly having conflicted emotions about their role serving under Thouser because it was convenient to Yua's arc. This is where I say "what if" again, but hey, what if those Raider guys had just been a recurring, specific duo of people who could've gotten names and more scenes to actually demonstrate the things they're saying about their faith in Yua or their doubts about Gai? Because as it is, unless I'm forgetting something, there are only a scarce few scenes that could even be construed as supporting this.

I agree with this so much. I liked the episode, but the moment Eida (the one with the hair) and Ono (the bald one) showed up, I legitimately yelled out that it was some bs that they all of a sudden felt the way they felt. Like, when Aruto told them in episode 31 that Thouser was controlling their hearts, they showed no sign of even being conflicted. All they (and the other) Crab Raiders put off was that they did what the CEO ordered and were perfectly fine with that.

Those two suddenly showing up and saying "We didn't feel right working for ZAIA." with zero prior moments to show this felt like plot convenience just to give Yua her place to potentially go back to. Speaking of Yua, you could tell she didn't agree with some, if not most, of the things Gai told her to do. You could tell from episode 16 that she was uncomfortable with her employment under Gai. That's what made her leaving in episode 33 a great payoff (imo) since it had been building for almost a full 18 episodes.

The way the Raiders just happened to have a turn around never hinted at felt forced.