One of the good things about Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is the fact that this series takes its time to build and develop the characters. Every action that the characters have taken always has a clear reason and purpose behind it. That is also the reason why every major event will inevitably cause a chain reaction that would affect the lives of lots of characters.
Episode 20 is the testament to that concept. Be it the events that happened in the last episode, or the tragedy that happened decades ago, we can see the ripple effects in this episode. The people that are hurt then are the ones who hurt other people now. Once again, the cycle of sin and violence starts spinning, taking the lives of innocent people in the process.
Guel Jeturk
Out of every character featured in this episode, Guel Jeturk is quite possibly the least unfortunate one. After all, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He is the heir of one of the biggest and most influential companies in the universe, and everybody will go out of their way to please him. But his fate began to change the moment Suletta Mercury enrolled in the same school as him.
He suffered back to back major losses to Suletta, looked down upon by the other students, loses his position as heir, disown by his father, had to leave the school in disgrace, forced to do manual labor works, seeing his company’s mobile suit used by terrorist, accidentally killed his father, detained by Earthian rebel/mercenary group, having to bury a young girl who died in his arm, and find a way to drag himself back to the top of his company.
It’s clear that Guel has been through a lot. But the biggest event that left the deepest scar on his heart is definitely that time when he accidentally killed his father. So imagine what’s going on in his mind when he finds out that the whole thing was orchestrated by one of his classmates, Shaddiq Zanelli? Blinded by rage, he immediately confronts Shaddiq and launches a full-frontal attack on him. Guel was deeply hurt by Shaddiq, and now he is ready to hurt him back.
Shaddiq Zenelli
Shaddiq is the puppet master who orchestrated the attacks on Plant Quetta and the terrorist attack inside the Asticassia School of Technology. He is a ruthless and calculating man who is willing to kill tons of innocent people, and even detained his own step-father, in order to achieve his objective. At first glance, it might seem like Shaddiq is merely the villain of this story. But upon closer inspection, he too, is a man who has been hurt badly in the past.
Unlike his fellow high-ranking students, Shaddiq is actually an Earthian. And just like many Earthian, he also lost his parents and everybody he holds dear due to the attack of the Spacian forces, backed by the Benerit Group. He saw the suffering of his people, and decided to do something about it. So he enrolled in the Grassley scholarship program, and managed to climb through the top of the food chain. He even managed to become the adopted son of the current leader of the Grassley Defense System. Slowly but surely, he managed to earn the trust and respect of the upper echelon of the Benerit Group.
After years of careful planning, he is finally ready to execute his grand plan, destroying the Benerit Group from within. He knows it will lead to a bloody conflict that will snatch away the lives of so many innocent people. But that is the sin that he is willing to bear. The pain and suffering of his people is too great, and if he has to become a villain to stop that cycle of violence, then he will gladly assume that role. He was hurt before, and his people are still being hurt till this day, so he is ready to do whatever it takes to alleviate that pain, even if it means hurting other people.
Norea Du Noc
Norea comes from a similar background as Shaddiq. A war-torn Earth where missiles and laser beams fly above her heads every day, killing everybody she holds dear. However, unlike Shaddiq that chose a long and winding road in order to destroy the source of the Earthian misery from within, Norea prefers the path of full-frontal assault instead. So she joins the Earthian mercenary group, the Dawn of Fold, and voluntarily becomes a Gundam pilot despite knowing how dangerous it is.
Her new life might be filled with blood and violence, but ironically, Norea finds a new family in the form of her comrades in arms. She is especially close with her fellow Gundam pilot, Sophie Pulone. But then the mission to infiltrate the Asticassia School of Technology comes from the higher ups, and Sophie loses her life in the middle of a battle. She is the first victim of a Gundam in this modern age.
Norea tried her best to take everything in stride, but it’s clear that hidden beneath her cold demeanor is a heart torn to shreds. She distracts herself by focusing on the job at hand, but the news about Miorine and Aerial burning her hometown to the ground forcefully opens all of those suppressed wounds. So in a fit of rage, she enters the Gundam’s cockpit for one last time, and goes on a rampage. Killing and destroying everything and everyone at the Asticassia School of Technology. In her mind, the Spacian is the source of her misery, and she can no longer hold back all of those pent-up emotions.
The security forces were eventually able to shoot Norea down, but not before countless innocent students and faculty members lost their lives in this sudden act of violence. Once again, hurt people hurt even more people. And judging from the terrible events that have transpired thus far, things would likely get even worse in the future.