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Episode 3 - After Festival
As the cities lay burning and in ruins, Loran and Soshie look on in horror as their home town Issian and the nearby Norse City burn from inside the mobile suit known as WhiteDoll.
As Loran attempts to figure out how to control the unknown Mobile suit, Soshie scolds him and the mobile suit for causing such chaos, but quiets herself, and Loran accidentally trips a switch lowering the cockpit down to ground level with breathtaking speed. After recovering from an accidental kick from Soshie, Loran begins to search for a user’s manual on how to operate the mobile Suit. While searching, Soshie discovers that Loran has the Holy marks made on his back, even though she never caused them to be there. It is because of this that Loran realizes that somehow the seat is connecting the driver and the machine, but his thoughts are cut off as Soshie exits the cockpit to help look for some cloths for Loran to wear and out of worry for the fires from below.
The militia tries in vain to shoot down a mobile suit still wreaking havoc, and are shocked and awed by its ability to manoeuvre so well. Planes fly overhead, and the leader of what seems to be the main ship seems to be interested in finding the source of the laser beam fired earlier, which we know came from the WhiteDoll Loran is in. His subordinate confirms that it is from Issan town, and that it was not from a Waldon, the invader's Mobile Suits.
Ralf Grey cries into the radio of his 'advanced' computers, asking what this aggression is for. The voice responding states that over one month ago they had informed him of their return to earth. Desperately, Ralf asks if it is really necessary to destroy cities upon their return to earth.
Masses of people attempt to leave in a panic, all heading for the zeppelins, knocking down Fran as she attempts to take a picture of the Waldon.
The Female Waldon pilot from early seems to be highly irritated, saying that these people not only fly toys, but they also fire at them, and that this resistance does not match their facts. Irritated by the new planes taking off and firing useless bullets at her Waldon, she fires again, taking out quite a few planes with one Beam. The beam, fired in the direction of Norse city, rips apart the stone and leaves the city in ruins wherever anything was in its path.
Back in the Castle, a Waldon walks past the windows, shocking the audience, and causing Kihel's mother to faint.
Soshie had found Loran a set of clothes he may use to clothe himself, and Loran takes to explaining that, although he cannot actually pilot the whitedoll yet, he had found a user guide of sorts, and that, instead of being in book form, it is electronic, with a screen. Filled with Wonder, Soshie hands it back, asking if Loran is worried about the fire.
Back in town, the Waldon's seem to have only one mission: To destroy as much as they can. Launching missiles at any and all buildings, they walk through town destroying the buildings as if they were no more than stray houses. Within Castle Bostonia, Ralf Grey contemplates what to do. He Admits to Kihel that even though he knew of their coming for a long time, the matter is beyond any of their imaginations.
Pulling the Cockpit back up to its regular position, the two men who watched the Adult Festival in the previous episode come running up. Shido, the shorter man, yells up to the two of them as to who is driving it. While Soshie continues to bother Loran about getting home as quickly as possible, the taller of the two begins to speak, saying "in the hidden history, the machines recorded in the Dark Age are these?" As Soshie continues to bother Loran about driving it to get back home as soon as possible, they warn him that if he wants to, he should hide it in Heim's mines so that the enemies will not find it. Suddenly, Loran seems to have moved it, but only a few steps before he loses control and the machine falls down. This happens for two reasons: Loran does not actually know how to control it too well, and, as Shido reveals, there is a hidden mine under the mountain.
Soshie jumps out of the cockpit and begins to run home, still worried about the fire that has been caused by the Waldons. As Loran Protests, the taller man with Shido asks Loran how he wants to dig it out. He reveals that he is a student of Shido. Getting out of WhiteDoll himself, Loran goes and helps Soshie down the hill, leaving the two with the mobile suit.
Down in a mine, Shido contacts Ralf Grey, and explains that the evil of the invading forces caused the WhiteDoll to move on its own. Ralf Grey then asks if others will appear like WhiteDoll did, and Shido seems to confirm this notion. Ralf then tells him to move WhiteDoll, but Shido says that moving it is impractical because it has a moustache.
Dianna's invading troops, still having a hard time locating and determining what shot at them, continue their search, flying high above the city and exploring all possible options. One man then warns them that the Earth has all kinds of Hidden powers they must be wary of. From below, Ralf Grey yells at them out of frustration, saying that they will dig out the machines recorded in the Dark Age. As Kihel tells him to be careful, he tells her not to worry. If he is correct, then the forces are not only here, but all over earth, and that they can use them as weapons.
Carrying Soshie on his back, Loran is still heading back to the Heim home, asking Soshie why he must carry her. She says that it hurt her feet when she found his clothes, and that he is the driver anyway, so it's his job. As they reach their home, they find the charred remains of what was once it. Soshie falls onto the ground, distraught, as Seshika and Sam exit the building, gleeful to have found Soshie alive. As Soshie looks into the house, the sees her father on the floor and Loran runs in as Seshika falls onto the fall in tears. Soshie follows quickly after, and we see that her father is covered in a white sheet and accompanied by an elderly man. Loran pulls out the electronic manual to WhiteDoll hoping for some basic guidelines. Standing up, Soshie slaps Loran, saying through her tears that he was too slow, and that the machine could have saved her fathers life. Soshie runs out of the house and starts running towards Norse city for her mom and sister, but Loran grabs her arm and holds her back, but only with some difficulty. After Soshie refuses to stop attempting to leave for her own safety, Loran then gets in front of her and slaps her so hard that she falls down. Out of frustration, Soshie kneels and cries, and Loran turns and does the same, asking why Dianna would do such a terrible thing.
Kihel places a wet cloth on her mothers head and walks out onto a nearby balcony, looking across a river to where Dianna's troops are stationed, and setting up base, clearly visible. At the base, the pilot who had been hit goes to meet her commanding officer, and he tells her that she will help him capture the mobile suit with a moustache. She salutes and agrees, happily.
Near the charred remains of the Heim palace, a small group is gathered around an open grave, and a priest speaks to them, saying that although Mrs Heim and Kihel are both not there, they have no choice, and that they need her signature. As she signs, Keith is seen in the background, and Soshie solemnly spreads the first bit of dirt onto her father’s grave, then bursting into a mass of sobs. As they begin to cover her father’s coffin with dirt, Loran asks Keith why he is there. He shrugs and says that Issian town is also damaged badly.
Back at Dianna's troops, the female mobile suit pilot from before steps into her cockpit, saying that if she finds the mobile suit, she will step back, then let everyone surround it, and steal it.
On the side of a stream, Loran and Keith sit, talking about the WhiteDoll. Keith says that the machine may be from two or three thousand years ago. They then talk about the battle, and how the WhiteDoll fired without Loran controlling it. Keith says that way, there will be no war - the militia can do little to nothing against the power of Dianna's troops, and he walked out of the city after saving the bakers daughter. Keith then suggests that they dig out the flat and meet with Dianna, but Loran says that he can do it on his own - the two years observing period has passed, and that he can now live anywhere on earth. Keith says that they can get away at anytime, and ask the moon people to protect them. Outraged, Loran asks how he can only think of himself. Keith then looks sternly at Loran and says that he did not see the damage caused in Norse City, and that he would want to leave as well. Keith says that Loran must learn how to pilot the Mobile Suit, so he can either meet with Dianna's troops, or so he can get away - either is good.
Loran shows up as a group is attempting to transport WhiteDoll, and he begins to help out. Reading a telegram from Ralf Grey, Loran realizes that he has been placed as a member of the Militia, and therefore must drive the machine as a member. After quite a few tries, Loran gets the mobile suit to stand, but his lack of control makes the mobile suit look like a gymnast with no sense of balance.
Final thoughts: Even with the re-occurrence of Mobile Suits, Turn A focuses more on the human element than the Mobile suits, making for a very different feel. Loran leaves the WhiteDoll to two people he doesn't even know, running away with Soshie, showing that he cares more about the people who matter to him than some piece of machinery. It is because of this that you feel like Loran is just like you: He's not a superhuman, ultra-trained ace, and his lack of control makes you realize that he actually has no idea what he's doing. The only question lingering in your mind at the end of the episodes is what side he will fight for. While Keith thinks they should return to Dianna, Loran says that he should stay with the people of Earth, yet still seems to have an obsession with Her Majesty, Dianna. The mobile Suit WhiteDoll is also very interesting, as it is thousands of years old, and seems to be causing the invaders quite a bit of grief, and if Loran is correct in assuming that the seat connects the driver and the machine, then this may be a machine like no other.
