Random Curiosity

Summary:
Nagi is trying to figure out everything he can about Nina Wang. The black Mikoto had seen Nina and mentioned both the conductor and the protector. Nagi starts putting the pieces together, and from the pictures of when Sergay rescued Nina, deducts that she may be the true princess. At the time, Nina had actually fought and seemingly won against the black Mikoto. In Cardair, Fia Gros tells her master that Mashiro is with the Aswad, and he decides to let Nagi know. Meanwhile, Midori asks Arika and Mashiro for their help in retaliating against Cardair. Arika is against more fighting, and her ideals remind Midori of Yohko from when they were young. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of the Windbloom refugees.
Because of their policy, Midori and the Aswad refuse the refugees despite Arika’s pleas. Mashiro’s not too willing to help either because of the still-fresh memories of Aoi’s death caused by the Windbloom angry mob. A Jabal starts attacking the people, but Rado won’t let Arika interfere. After seeing Mimi in the crowd below, Mashiro is reminded of what Mimi had said about how the queen didn’t care about them. She also remembers Aoi telling her that she’ll undoubtedly become a wonderful queen. With no one to save her, Mimi gets knocked into the air by the creature. That causes Mashiro to head-butt Rado and sends out Arika. With her “Bolt from the Blue” attack, Arika destroys the Jabal and saves the refugees. However, Mimi lays unconscious on the ground.
Nagi looks over the list of the five Valkyrie applicants while John Smith gives reassurances that the girls won’t betray him. From Cardair, Nagi has learned about Mashiro’s location and decides to send out Sergay and the Valkyrie. Because of what he had realized earlier, he now thinks that Arika isn’t needed any longer, but Mashiro and her song are still necessary. During this time, Chie is visiting to a hospitalized person, and Miss Maria and Yukariko talk about fighting and praying. Tomoe leaves Shizuru for her mission and promises to ask Nagi about Natsuki afterwards. As a sign of what happened between the two, Tomoe says that she won’t forget about today. Shizuru also thinks to herself that today was kind of amusing. In the woods, Shiho is still doing her maki-maki, but then Chie comes with a favor to ask. Word has also reached Airies that Mashiro is with the Aswad. Natsuki decides to go to Cardair with Nao and requests a vehicle from Yukino. But the king of Annan arrives to say that he’ll make the arrangements for them.
Back at the Aswad village, Midori declares that there’s no room for outsiders. Seeing Mashiro so concerned, Midori reminds her that these are the people who hate her and killed Aoi. It’s not until after Mimi dies that the tearful Mashiro stands in front of her people, admits her mistakes, and becomes ready to lead them. As the queen, she begs Midori to provide the refugees with shelter. Mashiro promises that if they take back the country, she’ll hand over the Garderobe technology that the Aswad need. Mashiro and Midori shake hands in agreement, and the refugees slowly start to re-acknowledge their queen. After burying Mimi, Mashiro vows to not cry again. Arika has come to the realization that she does indeed want to be an Otome, and the two girls renew their vows. As they are doing so, Midori and the cyborgs fly off towards Cardair. However, the Valkyrie are nearby, waiting in the shadows. With Midori gone, Sergay orders the start of their operation.

Preview:

Click the last image for a full shot of Mai.

Most of the episode is pretty interesting, but it’s overall not as exciting as I would have liked.
Nina the Princess, Part II - So now even Nagi thinks that Nina could be the real princess. But…the more they hint that someone is the real princess, the more I want to think that they’re going to pull a fast one on us. Nagi also thinks that Arika isn’t needed anymore for the Harmonium, but my gut instinct tells me that he’s wrong. From what we’ve seen so far, I’d think that all three girls would be needed to activate the Harmonium.
The Jabal - This is quickly becoming the most overused plot device in recent memory. First it was used to allow the Aswad to find Mashiro, then it was used to get Arika to use her powers, and now it’s being used to get Mashiro to realize that she wants to lead her people. No more Jabals please.
It couldn’t be… - They seem to be hinting pretty heavily that the bedridden person that Chie visits is none other than Aoi (there’s really no one else it could be). I guess that just goes to show that if you don’t see the body, the person is not dead.
Chie - John Smith seems confident that the Valkyrie won’t be able to betray Nagi, but Chie is definitely up to something. I’m curious what favor she asked of Shiho. Oh and the way she gets in front of Tomoe in the final scene is just great.
The Body Count - So it only took two deaths (or shock of deaths as the case may be) to get Mashiro onto the right track of leading her people. Body count is remarkably low so far, especially if Aoi isn’t really dead. I don’t think there’s much danger of a reset anymore.
The Next Battleground - Natsuki, Nao, Midori, and her cyborgs are all headed to Cardair. Maybe Yohko will also find a way to show up so that we can finally learn something about their past. I do find it a bit odd that the king of Annan just shows up and offers to help Natsuki. There’s gotta be some reason for that.
Valkyrie Power - The preview has a lot of shots of what I assume are the Valkyrie attacking Arika. But since there are only four black figures, does that mean that Chie isn’t fighting? And since Miyu and Mikoto are in the same scene in the preview, maybe she’ll arrive to save Arika and gets to show off some of her moves. It also looks like Sergay and Arika are going to get a reunion.
Mai!! - Finally! I don’t even think that the preview shot really counts as an appearance, but at least we know they didn’t completely forget about her (not that I had any doubts). I hope she gets more screen time than “human” Mikoto did this episode.