Episode 2 - Hostilities Break Out

[PlatinumSamusUK]

I have recalled to memory the other question that was playing on my mind!

Molly, being the notoriously nosy young girl that she is, was to be found eavesdropping on Rick and Don arguing partway through the episode. During the argument, Rick stated that Don had fired him 3 years ago. Given Rick's prowess as a pilot and subsequent unbeaten record, why would Don see the need to fire him? Did they have some sort of row or disagreement of that sort of nature?

Very interesting. I certainly gleaned more questions from this episode than any other.
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"Nice guys always come last, but that doesn't stop me being the nicest I can be." - Me

[Carthago]

Ah, time for Part Two! (Finally.) This had to be the point when I was watching when I realized I couldn't go another day without going ahead- it was all just too pretty. x3

Spoilers for later in the series.

No theme song today. Sup, Alwas? Alwas has really pretty blue clouds, and a really pretty blue water...after the darkness that was Oban I forgot how bright Alwas could be.

Again, you don't think the ride to Alwas could be a little...cozier? At least Rick got a nice chair. And Molly got a nice, ah, star racer.

"What on Earth are you doing here?" Don Wei, you really can't see the future at all, can you?

"Oh, her again, huh?" JORDAN. Jordan Jordan Jordan.

Molly, that excuse is a bit transparent.

"And I hate surprises!" Ya think? This is another moment that I LOL'd at the first time I saw it and now can't laugh at except in memory.

Wooo, Rick! What is it with Molly and older men? I liked Rick after he started calling her "little mouse"- it sort of proved that he wasn't a certain word that rhymes with his name, or at least that he wasn't rude about it.

And Alwas is...a shiny light! Self-serving monologue there, Wei, you didn't MAKE the shiny light. (Also... Gentlemen, BEHOLD!) I love how Molly has no truck with it. And LOL at Rick LOLing.

And here come all the star racers- all 96 of em! If there were 96 on each planet, then that means 288 species in all. (Well, 287...or 285 if Satis planted himself on all three. I wonder if his race put in a contestant...or if his race even still exists!) And we only get to see...what, 20 of them? Or was the crowd made of racers as well?

I. LOVE. THESE. ALIENS. Especially the Alwas squid- I think I'll just call them Squid from now on. And the adorable elephants! And especially the background aliens. Alwas gets brownie points for being inhabited and diverse. And that three-headed red thing that made Jordan go ASDFGHJKL.

Jordan seems a little xenophobic...well, throughout the series. Perhaps because his grandpa set the Crogs on them? And he's quick to draw his ineffectual gun.

"Well, I didn't expect the Avatar in person..." LOLOLOLOLOL. Now THAT was funnier the second time through! Because who should be down there but SATIS! HI SATIS! (My boyfriend and I didn't know how to spell his name, so we just called him "Duck", because we thought Super Racer looked like a duck.)

"Somehow I feel this won't be the last one today." Ya think, Don Wei? Ya think?

"Faithful servant of the Avatar." OH LOL. Maybe he wasn't lying. If Satis was on all three planets at once, could the main Satis- who was on Oban- have made clone puppets or summat? If Savin YE was still answering questions, I'd ask him that...is he still answering questions, btw?

LOL Satis is nosy. I think he wanted them to be a little condescending- Don Wei would NEVER have called him "buddy" if he'd known he was their host.

"Giant flying cushions." x3

I love the Alwas scenery. It's exquisite. The splosion is really not as funny as it looks... LOL at Jordan all hunched over with his gun. And LOL at Molly, stuck with the cargo. And at the fish they keep the elephant moving with.

Aw, Molly pouts. Don't worry, love...it'll just take a while.

I just noticed...there are a lot of ruins of other Avatar ships. How long has Alwas been hosting races?

Even if the Oban accommodations were prettier, the Alwas pit is DEFINITELY more convenient for them. I mean, they have...BEDS. Now this I'm putting in tiny text- Jordan, when you hold your race, please at least remember your discomfort and Avatar up some beds for the racers!

TBH, I liked Jordan in his nice shirt. But Jordan in camo isn't too bad either. And here's Molly. Funny thing is, if Molly isn't quite that girly, why does she wear a midriff-bearing top 90% of the time?

Ah, Arrow I! How we loved thee. Molly is impressed. I found Molly's "can I help" a little pathetic...and is it just me, or did her voice change a lot after this two-parter?

Jordan must get nauseous in that turret...LOL, JORDAN. I think it was when he did this that I first realized that he could not escape a romantic subplot with her. I love the look on her face.

So is Rick just gonna race without a shirt? And the obligatory problems.

They can just make fuel? Cool! Ah, Koji and his buttons.

"You brought along a secret replacement pilot." Now Rick, Rick can see the future! TRUCK.

"You know perfectly well how I feel about female pilots." ;____; Wait, so she could hear him from there, but Don couldn't hear her shout DAD from a foot away? And Molly's only angry, not sad?

Pensive Rick is pensive. (On another note, I think I know now why some call him Rick Thundernipples.)

CEREMONY TIME! This is so much fancier than Oban, really...

Better not mistake that for water or summat, Molly. Figures they'd go off without the straggler.

HOLY CRAP PLOT RELEVANCE. I TOTALLY missed that guy the first time though! You know, the guy sabotaging the ship! Oh, god...

Crowd! I love these aliens, even if she's scared of them. Especially the little crowd! They're like the jelly bunnies in cuteness levels.

And here he is, our prince, our loverboy, AIKKA! I love his ears. Is it just me, or did they change his voice a bit after this too?

Lul, Aikka's a twit. And at the lemur aliens in the background. It's really funny how she's only fresh with him UNTIL she learns he's a prince. And then she's like, DUH. And then after the DUH, she's like, WAIT A MINUTE, HE'S REALLY PRETTY.

"Hey, you! Stowaway Girl!" Despite Jordan's rudeness it does seem clear that he pays attention to her.

I love how she gives him her name, and then doesn't bother to know his.

Sup, Avatar? Alwas priests. Way to be dramatic about it, Satis. Let's analyze the crowd- there's the Squid racers, there's Beard, there's a humanoid blue-haired thing...

This "take the life" rule seems to be subjective. And required for a TV-Y7 program. KROGBURGER. How ya doin.

Ultimate Prize...psh.

That thing with the blonde hair is LOLARIOUS.

I love how the cheering section is all youngins. Even if Stan and Koji are supposed to be twentysomethings...wait, no, they do look older than Jordy and Eva...LOL at Donny clapping, and Rick doing nothing.

Yay Naurasians! (I just realized that sounds like "North Asians".)

BUG! G'dor, right? I think that's it. D:

"I heard those lowlifes are friends with the Crogs!" That's a little closed-minded, Jordan...

I dunno, Jordan. Your bleachermate has flipped over his smile...kinda like how you will later flip over hers. I love their dynamic. Other guys have a spiny ship.

I love this race-track opener. It almost feels like Alwas was really carefully set up, while Oban was thrown together at the last minute...planet-wise, not animation-wise.

And we're off! Doofy other team, Aikka has no chance of getting by you!

Most of the racing speaks for itself...though Aikka's spell arrows are ALWAYS COOL. Ship go splode...and that's one duffer down that won't be going to Oban. (And one duffer up that will.)

The look on Molly's face is adorable. Rick does seem to be a little angry, even here- far more so than he was to Molly.

Random fanservice from Jordan. How old is Rick, anyway? He can't be any older than his early thirties...or else twenty-nine or thirty on the dot.

Don Wei, stop being affectionate with your estranged daughter around. You might emotionally scar her. At least Rick is nice.

"In time, you'll find your place." REALLY. "I'll see you at the finish line." AGAIN. REALLY. But it's nice to see someone pays attention to Molly while her dad's off being an a-hole.

Oh dear lord, Groor. This guy scares me, especially his steam suit. The Arrow I is a lot more...sedate-lookin than the Arrow II. Nice to see Rick isn't racing shirtless. Jordan's demeanor has always made me jokingly think that he has a man-crush on Rick.

DUDE. At first I thought those were Rick's eyes...turns out they're just reflections of the Groor ship.

"You're going home by e-mail." Now THAT was funny.

And the race is on. Bumper cars time! Yeah, Jordan's DEFINITELY xenophobic.

The first time I saw this, I thought that was a premonition. Turns out, it's a flashback! ;________; Or it could be parts of both...

How'd she get back there so fast? Stan is rude.

Here we go...final stretch...STAR RACER GO SPLODE. OH NOOO.

NOT THIS SCENE. This scene brings me to tears every time... "She's winning! She's winning!" ;___;

And Don Wei's panicking too...! I actually thought he was dead for a time. Jordy, nearly forgot he was in this race. And there goes Rick's racing career, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

And it's over! One con is that the ending is still Never Say Never.
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Sig by me. Currently seeking a screencap archive to make some more...

[AngelLati]

Hehe. That made me lol. 8D
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I has no signature right now o_o

[Koji the Nourasian Knight]

Very in depth. Do you memorize it all, or do you take notes during viewing, or something?
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Credit to Star Racer for the banner.

[Carthago]