Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing - Episode 18

After all of the fighting and epic battles that have underpinned Fam, the Silver Wing, peace was brought about surprisingly easily by those who wished for it - but can it last?

With all of the major political players in its world gathering together, it soon becomes clear that any peace is decidedly fragile, with Luscinia and Liliana insisting that their way forward is the correct one given the world's dwindling resources, despite the massive loss of human life their use of Exiles have caused.  Ultimately thought, it's a mixture of Augusta and Fam's childish insistence upon what is right that brings about an agreement that peace is the way forward for all and sundry.

Although this way of thinking broadly wins the support of the majority, there are still those who would look to shatter this fragile peace for their own ends, and it's this which dominates the remainder of the episode.  First of all, we have an attempt to persuade Millia to do away with her sister in the name of the greater good - a plot which is quickly picked up upon by Ades' finest bodyguards, although ultimately Millia is no threat to her sister despite having to face up to the difficulties of doing what is arguably right for the world as a whole against what is best for her own people.  Even if Millia has found it within her to forgive her sister, there are still other parties who are less forgiving of what has gone before - a fact which leaves a supposed celebration of peace to provide some unexpected and potentially devastating violence.

Even if Fam, the Silver Wing has generally been at its best when delivering airborne action above all else, I can't really knock it for focusing upon the show's politics for this episode, even if it could have made its main dilemma surrounding saving the world for everyone against protecting your own interests a little clearer a lot sooner within its framework.  Ultimately, this leads us to an episode that isn't hugely compelling, but still proves to be important in its own right while leading us into a final stretch that could twist or turn any way you can imagine.  There appears to be no easy solution to Last Exile's intractable problems at this point in time, and that alone could well hold plenty of potential for the end of the series.