Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet - Episode 4

In seeing off the pirate threat last time around, Ledo has certainly proved his usefulness for the time being, allowing him a place to stay and everything he needs to get by for the time being.  However, the question of such usefulness still seems to be very much playing on his mind throughout this fourth episode of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet.

Although Ledo continues to do his best to help out when it comes to moving cargo around and the like, it's really Chamber that is doing all of the legwork, and once someone else takes over control of Chamber to do this more efficiently he's left with literally nothing to do - a rarity for a man from a culture entirely geared for war and nothing else, and where anyone who has no use in helping to win that war is simply cast aside.

Against that backdrop, Ledo cannot even begin to comprehend why Gargantia allows its kids to roam free and play, or why sickly individuals such as Amy's brother Bebel are provided for when they add nothing to the "greater good" of the fleet.  It seems that no amount of explaining from others amongst the fleet, be they doctors or even Bebel himself, can really bring home the difference in attitude exhibited here, although it's Amy's brother who brings back a memory for Ledo that perhaps suggests even to him that this is the right way for life to be lived.

Overall, this week's episode of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet was far more like the kind of thing I was expecting from the series - digging in to Ledo's expectations and past and setting it against the very different values of his new home.  Even without any of the action of previous instalments, or perhaps even because of that lack of action, this made for enjoyable fare with a surprisingly impactful emotional pay-off towards the end that made the whole endeavour well worthwhile.  No doubt the series will have to keep mixing it up to remain compelling, but I'm definitely on-board for more of this kind of content, which is satisfying despite being rather obvious in its nature.