Phase 29: Should've Taken a Space Whale

In the aftermath of last episode’s epic battle, everyone’s dealing with the shock and loss. Also Kuzzey’s there. But not everything’s going poorly! New romances are blooming, Mu gets to practice being the impulsive one, and death appears to be only a minor inconvenience!

Phase 24: My Feelings Are This Gun

After some amazing fighter cross-classing, Kira sees the Archangel to Orb, leading to a “surprising” plot twist! Everyone’s pretty tired, even the ZAFT crew, but that’s mostly because Yzak has been dishing sick burns all day. They head off to scheme about how to get some sweet civilian jumpsuits while the Archangel crew negotiate… for their LIVES! And also asylum, I guess.

Phase 23: X Marks the Plot

Teased endlessly by the opening, we finally get some screen time with Athrun and Cagalli interacting! Will the two angst-struck teens be able to survive an entire day alone together? Kira and the Archangel’s crew are determined to find Cagalli, despite Natarl’s strategic objections, and Yzak is getting ready for a command of his own… They grow up so fast.

Phase 18: Water Baron of Yogurt Town

What’s the best sauce for doner kebab? Batarang! In this episode we get dueling condiments, philosophical rambling from Mr. Burnsides, and a submission to the System’s Funniest Home Videos! Also featured: Dress Up Cagalli! Despite not being action-y, this one’s pretty great, and contains one of the best shirts in existence.

Phase 16: Love Punch

This episode sees the return of Cagalli! Again! We also get Mu about to become James Bond, Kira being angsty and fighty about being angsty, and Flay being… well, Flay. In case it’s not clear, we love Flay Lannister. Also, some tacto-babble with the Desert Dawn sets us up for the next episode as Andrew “Folgers” Waltfeld reluctantly takes arms. Emotions are high even as the Archangel is grounded!

Phase 15: Promise Birdies

War. War is filled with coffee. And that never changes, even in space! We return to Earth, and begin to deal with the most important subject in human history: teenage relationship drama! Cagalli’s back, Sai’s angsting, Flay’s… being a weirdo and kinda creepy. Also, we get some sweet melee combat, and Kira’s continued use of improvised moves. No Natural could do that sweet flying knee!

Phase 14: Universal Cheesecake License

Frankly, one of the better contrivances I’ve seen for a clip episodes: the main character is having a fever-induced flashback sequence! Also, the supporting cast is reminiscing or something, I guess. We also get to see the origin of Coordinators, and learn the story of George “Good At Everything” Glenn! More importantly, though, we get an introduction to the most important character in the series: DaCosta!

Phase 13: Beard of Mutiny Prevention

Suddenly, 2-3 ZAFT ships show up and wreck stuff! In this week’s episode, some real times happen, and some people die. It’s intense and generally just great stuff. There’s also some teenage drama llama-ing, nice interplay within the varying factions, and some sweet atmospheric reentry (or just entry[?] in the case of the Archangel?).

Phase 12: Shady Employment Practices

One thing this show is good at is making politics interesting. Even SEED's remarkable prowess fails, however, when all it has to work with is bureaucracy. It even did this to itself! The Archangel is docked, and the Case of the Kidnapped Orb Kids is finally handled. How? By pretending they were conscripted! Convenient! Apparently coerced child soldiering is a problem, but voluntarily doing that is fine. Also, Flay is joining the space arm? I wonder if she ever does anything useful in that capacity. (Spoilers: No)