[GrandComplete]

Episode 29 "The Distant City: Uqbar"

In what seems like a return to the franchise roots Ultra Q we have a very strange episode of Gaia. It’s introspective, and grounded, telling the story mostly from the viewpoint of just two ordinary citizens and veering between edge of the mundane with the otherworldly. You can’t help but feel tense because you can’t tell whether Nagata is simply delusional or if he’s telling the truth and also whether either way would be better or worse. At the end we're left with no answers, a bunch of questions and a sense of being humbled we don’t have all the answers to life and what we find in that search is neither good nor bad just is.

I think Rukulion or as it is nicknamed Ruku is cute. It’s not very threatening and looks very friendly like it just wants to have fun and play with kids on a sunny afternoon. It doesn't try to fight Gaia. Heck Gamu/Gaia involvement felt more mandatory than anything (the show is named after them) but it’s also a little eerie since we know nothing about it.

This track name is the same as the episode is mysterious, atmospheric, and somewhat somber. It makes you feel for Nagata and his mental state and whether Uqbar really exists and the implications of such. But it also can describe Uqbar as a whole and being told about it doesn't make it feel malicious, just unknown and how to attribute fears to that. Perfect for the episode and Sahashi brought his A Game for this specific track.