REVIEW: ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury,’ Episode 16 – “Cycle of Sin”

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Following a quick detour to check in on the galaxy’s saddest boy, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 16 dives right back into the bigger picture. It has been revealed that Prospera Mercury’s firstborn daughter Eri isn’t completely gone, but was actually turned into Aerial, Suletta’s Gundam. This new thread changes everything for the entire world of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, and it’s time to see how it all plays out.

In Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 16, we get to hear more of Prospera’s reasoning for why she did what she did with Eri. As she explains it, Eri would have died in outer space, and so by turning her biometric data into Permet particles, she was actually just saving her. It is the type of twisted thinking that one would expect from a grieving mother. But Prospera is not shown as a weak, grieving mother here. Instead, she has been so warped by her thinking that she genuinely believes what she did was not only right but should be done on a much larger scale. She reminds me in many ways of Char, an antagonist who first appears in the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. Like Char, Prospera will stop at nothing to see her dreams realized, and it does not matter who she needs to crush along the way.

Humanity has a very apprehensive relationship with GUND technology, so Prospera is at odds with virtually the entire universe. She kept her true motives under wraps, disguised as simply wanting to help enhance humans in order to help them. Learning that she has deeper, more personal motives changes her entire image. It also changes how Suletta fits into everything. Prospera may have seen her as a daughter at one point, but now she is just using her as a means to an end like she uses everyone else. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 16 even shows that Suletta is okay with that, although she really does not see that she is being used, nor do I expect her to see her mother as anything other than loving and caring.

Suletta is a kind and extremely likable main character, but she is also incredibly naive. A lifetime of being molded to obey Prospera without catching on to her true motives has made her a mindless slave to her mother’s will. She is fortunate to have people close to her who see this and try to help, but she is going to have to see it for herself if she is going to stop Prospera’s plans. I firmly believe Suletta is going to be the hero that saves the day in the end, but she can’t do it alone, and it is going to take a lot to break her conditioning.

In the midst of Prospera’s scheming is the massive war brewing between those from Earth and the Spacians. Guel Jeterk is back after enduring extreme trauma and is going to play an important role in what happens next. He is perfectly set up to help bring peace between the two sides, given his experience in the last episode. He doesn’t seem like he wants to die anymore, but he is putting the full weight of the conflict on his shoulders. It is not an understatement to say he really is the galaxy’s saddest boy, but his trauma has changed him in ways that can make a real difference in the galaxy at large.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 16 gives a deeper look at Prospera’s motives and how Suletta is helping her without even realizing the gravity of the situation. Suletta is slowly starting to realize just how bad things are, but will she be able to fully accept reality before it’s too late? I hope so, and I believe she will, but for now, it seems like she is resigned to continue to obey her mom regardless of how horrific the things she asks her to do are. The world is stuck in a cycle of sin that, hopefully, Suletta, Miorine, Guel, and the rest of their friends can put an end to.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 16 is available to stream on Crunchyroll. New episodes premiere on Sundays.