REVIEW: ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury,’ Episode 19 — “Not the Best Way”

It has been a dramatic back half of the first season of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, the latest series in the Gundam franchise. Suletta Mercury has finally learned what her mom, Prospera Mercury, has been up to all this time. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 19, aptly titled “Not the Best Way”, shows that protagonist Suletta Mercury and her friends like Miorine Rembran are committed to establishing peace between the Spacians and Earthians in negotiations no matter the obstacles even as pilots.

The centerpiece of The Witch From Mercury Episode 19 is Miorine’s meeting with the leaders on Earth. She travels with Guel Jeturk and Prospera in an effort to convince the Earthians that she wants to use GUND-ARM to create medical devices and help people. It doesn’t help that Prospera travels with them with Aerial and other Gundams as protection though, and it felt like foreshadowing that Miorine was immediately skeptical of even bringing the weaponless g-witch at all. It is an interesting look at how most of the others see the defenses as a show of force and a necessity to keep Miorine and the other Spacians safe while Miorine does not see the danger the same way.

Miorine’s meeting with the Earthian leaders gets off to a horrible start when they are surrounded by protesters the second they arrive. Guel sees Sedo, the kid he met at the Dawn of the Fold refugee camp, and leaves Miorine to follow him. That leaves Miorine to meet the Earthians on her own where they demand that all Spacians leave Earth. Miorine counters that it would mean all Earthians have to leave space, something the Earthians are ok with, but she rejects it entirely.

She refuses to live in a world where Earthians and Spacians can’t live and work together, which is why she wants GUND-ARM to focus on medical innovations and not weapons of war. The Earthian leaders can feel her sincerity and seem to be willing to work with her, showing that some people do actually want to put an end to the endless wars and proxy wars and find real peace. She will need to actually become the president of the Benerit Group in order for it to happen, but she is finally willing and accepting of that reality

The problem is not everyone shares her vision. Prospera is always scheming behind the scenes, and it is no different in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 19. Prospera claims that the Spacians are under attack by the protestors and uses that as a pretext to enact her plan. Prospera’s plans havae no intention of allowing any sort of peace, and her attack sets off a conflict between the Earthians and Spacians who don’t know how to react rationally in the face of what they all believe is a trick from the other side. Miorine is distraught, she knows war is not the best way for humanity, but Prospera has her own motivations and won’t let Miorine’s ideals get in her way.

Throughout all of this, Suletta is processing what happened in the last episode. She shut herself away and only comes out after intense pressure from her other friends at Asticassia and her need to eat. The way she processes all of the truth that was revealed to her is authentic, and she isn’t the only one who has to deal with learning uncomfortable truths. Guel, during his confrontation with Sedo, also learns some really shocking realities about who has been behind much of the fighting. Seeing these young leaders learn the harsh reality behind the war makes me really excited to see how they decide to act in order to put an end to it.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 19 is a brutal episode that starts to give viewers hope before crushing them beneath the weight of war. Miorine has no power to do anything without being the president of Benerit Group, so she will have to win if she wants to stop Prospera. She will also need Suletta and Guel’s help, but only if they are willing to do whatever it takes to fight against Prospera and the other shadowy figures behind it all.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 19 is available to stream on Crunchyroll. New episodes premiere on Sundays.