26 February 2015: Aldnoah.Zero postpones Slaine's looming catastrophe by another episode
I guess it could just be gas.
The standard Aldnoah.Zero caveat about megas spoilers applies again. The following addresses concerns and questions through the first 19 episodes and once more engages in considerable speculation.
That is the worst-looking sandwich.
I'm still in disbelief that Aldnoah.Zero not only permitted Slaine and Asseylum to re-unite, but that everything went better than anyone could have hoped. Well, at least so far. I'm pretty sure Slaine is still totally fucked. With five episodes left (I presume), I have no idea how the show is going to resolve everything in any sort of fashion other than through a rapid-fire sequence series of stunning disasters. Then again, there's actually a lot about Aldnoah.Zero I don't know.
- Why does Slaine have Aldnoah powers? As I understand it, blood is still a necessary component (even if it alone isn't enough). Does this actually go back to when Asseylum saved his life years ago? And he's been carrying the latent ability around with him all this time? At least since Lemrina can override and re-activate Slaine's Aldnoah powers, this should rule out any chance he's secretly a long-lost member of the royal family.
- Who has been running the war for Vers all this time? It looks as if the answer is literally no one, which explains why they haven't crushed the Terrans yet. I thought the apparent lack of cohesive cooperation and planning was meant to be taken as hyperbole, but it truly seems as if none of the stuffed shirts on the Vers side has any idea what anyone else is doing and all of them are acting independently outside of the occasional VTC. The logistical issues alone must be nightmarish.
- How does Rayet maintain her figure without dieting?! Wait, I actually know the answer to that one.
- Can it seriously be at all possible that phoney-baloney-princess-stand-in Lemrina and Slaine's yes-man Harklight are not sinister? I can't be the only one waiting for them to stab him in the back. Lemrina at least displays open resentment and envy towards Asseylum, but there's nothing overtly evil or malevolent expressed during her private moments when only the audience is privy to her thoughts.
- What did El Dorado Ritsuko frown at when she was pushing Assey around the garden? Presumably, her displeasure was directed at Slaine's appearance, but I don't know that this makes a lot of sense considering her improved opinion of him. Plus I think he would have been off in the other direction, and she did retrieve the totally subtle bouquet he left behind.
The secret is a high-carbohydrate diet and feeling cold all the time.
Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic. Maybe Inaho's cybernetic A-Eye will take over what's left of his brain and force him to spend the rest of his days closely scrutinizing discount eggs. Maybe Assey will call for an end to the war and retreat in a castle with Slaine to a less bombed-out part of Earth to spend the rest of their days watching flying rats and experimenting to see what other forms of fluid transfers confer Aldnoah powers. And maybe Nina will crash the boat into a giant cake and Rayet will teach the rest of the girls how to eat their way free without getting fat.
