Sunday 19 February 2012

Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing - Episode 16

We head back to the future for this week's instalment of Fam, the Silver Wing after our dalliance with the original Last Exile previously, as preparations for the militarily important Fort Boreas are well underway.

Given that Augusta and company's rebellion has effectively seen former friends become foes, it's not too surprising that there's reticence on both sides as the time to fight dawns - more particularly, on the Federation's side there's a clear and widening gap in the thinking between leading men Soroush and Ourang.  While the former is happy to go along with Luscinia's plans in the name of creating a quick and lasting peace, the latter's loyalty to Augusta and lack of conviction that violence is the best way to bring peace continues to gnaw away at him.


As battle commences, we find that Fam is also having troubles of her own, as military combat simply isn't suited to her style or mentality, making for a short-lived journey in a combat equipped vanship before she trades it in to return, along with her direct comrades, for their signature vehicles and tactics as they try to gain the upper hand in the struggle for Boreas.  Ultimately however, it's Augusta's presence that proves to be the difference between the two factions, with Ourang unable to betray his monarch, leading to him turning on his own friend and leaving him to go it alone in the battle against the rebels - a battle that he can never hope to win in isolation.

Its action may not have been quite as breath-taking as we've seen in previous instalments of Fam, the Silver Wing, proving to be heavy-handed and functional rather than anything particularly grandiose, but it nonetheless set the tone for a similarly solid episode that made good use of its characters in portraying their emotions and the turmoil that war has brought upon them all in their own ways.  With even Augusta now effectively on the front lines, it seems that these emotions towards the conflict currently in progress may prove to be even more important as the series moves towards its end game, although with both factions now looking likely to have an Exile in their hands it may well still prove to be a wholly violent finale to proceedings.

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