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One Small Step, aka The Fall of the Neo Sapien Empire Part 1, is the forty-seventh episode of ExoSquad. The title on the screen is The Fall of the Neo Sapien Empire, but the one used for solicitation was One Small Step. I prefer the latter. The ExoFleet launches a full-scale assault on the moon, in preparation for their final liberation of Earth. Typhonus does his best to hold out despite being outmatched, but he only needs to hold out for a few hours. Phaeton launches the bulk of Earth's E-Frames against the ExoFleet, a desperate gamble that pays off for him... until a dying DeLeon impersonates Typhonus and plays to the tyrant's fears. Believing his troops are surrendering, he initiates a self-destruct and the Neo force goes up in smoke. DeLeon also convinces the lunar Neos to surrender before expiring. O'Reilly, Marsh, Weston and the squad mourn their fallen comrade.
What Works: Wow. Everything. There's so much strong about this episode. Starting with the elephant in the room, DeLeon's death. It's an interesting choice, pairing him with O'Reilly for his final scenes. Makes sense to put the two techies together given what he accomplishes, but moreso it makes her feel more a part of the action. Plus, "tell [J.T.]. I never told Maggie," is a great bit.
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Things continue in this vein. There's an undercurrent of nervousness that's making everyone a little philosophical. Simbacca and Winfield commiserate on being the ones to send young people into battle. DeLeon thanks Bronski for saving all that art while making eyes at Weston, Butler gives his people an appropriate pep-talk ("there's no atmosphere and the gravity's low, so try not to bump your head on the ceiling."), as does Marsh. It only takes a few moments, but it helps ground the episode.
Speaking of kicking off the episode, we open on a flashback to Neil Armstrong, 1969. It's a nice way to kick things off, and plays into the final scene when Torres rights the American flag at Tranquility Park, knocked over in the battle. It's clever to juxtapose the human accomplishment of first walking on the moon with the military accomplishment with taking it back and opening the door to Earth...
A fact of which Typhonus is well aware. Of all the wonderful lines in the episode, I chose to give the opening of this review to his. He understands the tactical importance of the moon, and incidentally lays it out nicely to the audience. What's more interesting is, his speech works. The Neos under his command battle tenaciously, and this is as tough a fight as any in the series. The Neos are consistently shown as giving as good as they get if not better.
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And what a battle it kicks off! The level of carnage hearkens back to season 1. Neos get toasted, sure, but along the way they're destroying e-frames and capital ships galore. Had the episode not been titled The Fall of the Neo Sapien Empire, one could easily have imagined that the season was going to end with the ExoFleet repulsed.
The storming of Typhonus' headquarters is well done, especially Butler's reaction to the news that the e-frames were needed in space. We also get the last bit of Weston/DeLeon banter here, the echo of an earlier "why, DeLeon, I didn't know you cared." Oh, so sad. I also love the design of the Neo lunar bases.
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I'll end things with an amazing speech by Phaeton, I do believe his last. "Of all the creatures who have occupied the earth, it is we, the Neo Sapiens, who have proved most fit to rule. The door to our future is opening, and beyond that door lies the road to greatness. Life is a journey. Every action we take, every decision we make, large or small, is a step on that journey. Only when we take the last step is the final destination revealed. But you have chosen your future! You will not take your final step in darkness, but in the brilliant flash of ultimate sacrifice. As your enemy crumbles before you, you will know that your journey was not made in vain!" The images that accompany it are terrific as well.
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I mentioned preferring the One Small Step title. This episode feels very much like a stand-alone, unlike the next four which all go intimately together. The overall effect makes it feel as if someone in marketing said "hey, can we end on a five-parter" and thus the odd disconnect between this episode and the next few. This one, in my mind, fits in much better with The Price of Courage and Dark River, making a little trilogy of Phaeton's generals. (Oh, and Phaeton has a terrific line regarding that: "Is it my fate to suffer the idiocy of incompetent generals... Typhonus, Draconis, Shiva... and now Typhonus again!" There's some unintentional comedy here.)
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The arm of Weston's frame gets blown off. Five minutes later (and for the rest of the episode), she's fine. That's some mighty fine field repair
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Oh, and I was wrong. Pelligrino's bio was not the only place with a generic version of the Draconis frame, several of them show up here. So much repaint potential, squandered.
Bio: Torres. Need I point out that DeLeon would have been the much, much better choice? Typhonus would have been pretty decent too.
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Next up... well, it's pretty much in the title. The Fall of the Neo Sapien Empire kicks off in earnest next week.
1 comment:
Pelligrino's bio was not the only place with a generic version of the Typhonus frame, several of them show up here. So much repaint potential, squandered.
I think you mean Draconis's e-frame right?
This was indeed one of the best episodes in the series. DeLeon's death was certainly a punch.
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