junior

Yes, she does. There's also a familiar looking green-haired individual in the crowd standing around Marina Ismail when she watches the Ptolemais's particle contrail rising into the sky. The pair particularly stand out when you consider that Feldt is the only person other than the innovators who has an unusual hair color (and incidentally, we know enough of her background to know that she's a normal human - both of her parents were members of Celestial Being, and are believed to be two of the characters that appear in the prequel manga stories). I figure that we really don't know how many artificial innovators there were. And it wouldn't be surprising to have them turn up in unexpected locations. After all, they exist to guide humanity toward becoming true innovators. And so long as

People keep citing statistics regarding Alto's reticence like, "But Alto never kissed her!" But they keep ignoring WHY Alto never kissed her. Sheryl gives him mixed signals up through episode 22. Every time she acts in a forward manner toward him, she then clams up again and mocks him for suspecting that she might like him. The classic example is episode 10, but there are plenty of other instances. And when she even SUSPECTS that Alto might be making a move on her, she reacts in a defensive manner (case in point, episode 17 when he finds her collapsed outside SMS and smuggles her into his cabin while she's unconscious). So OF COURSE Alto isn't going to try and kiss her instead. Why do people keep ignoring the effect of Sheryl's own actions to discourage Alto? Sheryl does nearly as much to discourage Alto as she does to encourage him, but we never hear anyone argue, "But Sheryl doesn't really like Alto!" or "We can't really be sure if Sheryl likes Alto!" Open your eyes, people! Besides, given the way that the scene fades out in episode 22, it's 90% certain that Alto sleeps with her. There are certain scene indicators that you recognize when you've been around long enough. And a scene change with the camera rising away from a couple in privacy toward the night sky is pretty much as big of a clue as a train traveling into a dark tunnel used to be back in the old days of film. Or in other words, Alto did a lot more than just kiss the girl. Just because you didn't see Sheryl naked doesn't mean that the writers didn't blatantly telegraph it. The scene ending tells us, "There's more going on here, but we're going to give the couple their privacy." So unless you somehow think they stayed up all night playing pinochle, then it's pretty clear that the two of them slept together. Given the way that things work out, the only time that it might be appropriate for Alto to kiss her would be from episode 23 onward. Unfortunately, in episode 23 Sheryl falls asleep right after their shared dinner, meaning that all that Alto was able to do was to take her upstairs, tuck her in, and go home. Episode 24 has Alto visit her... and Sheryl basically tells him, "Don't tell me whether or not you like me because regardless of the answer I won't be able to do my job." So once again, Alto doesn't have an opportunity to express his feelings. imo, the answer has been pretty clear since the end of episode 20. Alto talks to Sheryl on the roof, Ranka bursts through the door, bursts into tears, and then runs away. And Alto doesn't run after her. As far as I'm concerned, that's the end of the argument. The end of episode 25? It's only something that he's been waiting several years to do (episode 12 doesn't count since his plane was brought down). The girls can wait a few minutes. I mean, it's not like he wasn't just talking to Sheryl thirty minutes earlier or something... Earring/Sniper Rifle - Um, yeah. Actually, it was Clan's sniper rifle at that point. But that's beside the point. If you think that the earring wasn't important, then you need to rekindle a little romance in your soul. Sniper Rifle - useful instrument of destruction that is capable of blowing holes in heavily armored targets. Earring - A token of his girlfriend and a sign of her affections. Also has a secondary function of allowing someone to tap into fold wave communications, but Alto and Sheryl clearly aren't thinking about that when she loans it to him.

Not really. What it comes down to is this - do you think that Alto was faking it for Sheryl in episodes 22 and 23? If you don't think Alto was faking his affection for Sheryl, then you think that he ends up with Sheryl. If you think that Alto was faking, then you think that he ends up with Ranka. The comment at the end of the episode between Ranka and Sheryl really means nothing in the larger scheme of things. Ranka was gone in episodes 22 and 23, so she doesn't know about what happened. Sheryl is under the impression that Alto was only paying attention to her because he felt sorry for her because she was dying. So neither of them really know what's going on in his head. Alto's the only person who knows, and he's too busy finally getting to fulfill a life-long dream (episode 12 and 13 doesn't count since his plane crashed rather unexpectedly). The scene five minutes after the end of the episode when Alto finally lands could be very instructive. Personally, I've been leaning Sheryl since episode 5, and have been pretty certain that she's who Alto preferred since the end of the Ranka concert. But I know that not everyone has that view.

Or the son of Jacob that the Kingdom of Judah was named after.

Most of this pretty much matches up with my thoughts. From what we've seen in the first two episodes, Weaver seems to be in place to make changes that will make it easier for SkyNet to take over (and to build SkyNet in the first place). So why would she need another Terminator? Wouldn't any that she needed have been sent along with her? I'm not so sure that she's specifically after John. It seems the most obvious option, but at the same time she has no particular reason to think that Ellison has any information on John, or that John is even in the area. Chromartie obviously hasn't made contact with any other Terminators since he's been working alone (my guess from what's been stated before and what we've seen is that every single Terminator has a "drop everything and kill John Connor!" command embedded in them if they realize that he's in the area). So there's nothing to suggest that there's any evidence of John's presence in the area. As a result, there doesn't seem to be enough to set that up as Ellison's mission. I suppose it's possible that she hired him simply to find out why Chromartie left him alive. Given that Terminators have no compunctions about killing (Cameron and the bird, Charlie's wife and the reason she was still alive), it might strike Weaver as odd that Ellison wasn't dispatched when Chromartie knew for certain that his cover was blown. iirc, there was only a very brief period of time between when Chromartie finally located John, and when John jumped into the water. There would logically be a number of foot cops in the area, but they would need to make their way through the crowds toward the source of the gunfire. That would take time, and John would have been in the water long before they arrived. They may have been there by the time John got back out of the water, but if John came up at a different location then the cops wouldn't have known that he was involved (they'd be looking for a guy wearing a jacket, for one thing, and wouldn't have known what John was wearing underneath it).

Riley's brief comment about her father leads me to believe that he might be the replacement for the guy that was murdered in the season premiere. iirc, she mentions something about her father taking over someone else's job at his company, though I'd have to doublecheck it to be certain. Could just be a coincidence, though (for instance, she hasn't confirmed where her father works). In the meantime, it seems clear that she's meant to serve as a counterbalance to Cameron, since she's a flesh and blood teenage female, while Cameron... isn't. Other odds and ends... I'm wondering what Ellison's new boss wants with him. We the viewers know that the whole thing was a lie. And getting rid of or replacing Ellison wouldn't have required hiring him into the company. So I'm left to wonder exactly what the plan is there. I've also got to admit that it would be amusing to see Chromartie and Weaver ignorantly working at cross-purposes, and one of Chromartie's more successful plans disrupted by Weaver.

Is it still Kilmer? It didn't sound like him in the episode. Zoe, the Asian girl who "hits" on her co-worker (more like harrasses him - she'll proposition him and then basically say, "Just kidding!") is amusing. The FBI agent from the movie (Sidney Poitier's(sp?) daughter) could turn out decently though it's still far too early to tell. But the rest of it looks forgettable. KITT's psychotherapy sessions with his passengers get on my nerves... And a note to NBC - Remember Bionic Woman? The remake of an old show from a few decades back that added all sorts of conspiracy goofiness and shades of grey that weren't in the original series? Do you know where it is now? That's right! It got CANCELLED! Is anyone paying attention over there?

Sheryl gets the meal in episode 23. And you get the impression that it's her version of Alto's wish to fly in a sky without a dome. They're both supporting characters at best. And Nanase's probably the person who could be voted "most significant superfluous character".

Go rewatch episode 5. She says quite clearly in that episode why she likes him. Also keep in mind that Alto might have been willing to pay more attention to Sheryl earlier on if she didn't pull stunts like the one in episode 10. If a girl you know suddenly plays tonsil hockey with you, and then shouts, "JUST KIDDING!" when you look at her with a stunned expression on your face because you think she likes you, then you can be forgiven in the future if you're skeptical about her future attempts to flirt with you. Alto doesn't like to look foolish. Sheryl made him look foolish back in episode 10. So he decides to avoid that in the future by treating Sheryl as a friend and nothing more. Unfortunately, Sheryl doesn't like to look foolish either... The fact that there's no relationship between the two characters until episode 22 is just as much Sheryl's fault as it is Alto's. Both have the same personality flaw that keeps each of them from clearly and unequivocably signaling their interest when it's just the two of them alone with each other.

TV Hikaru takes the cake. One of the bridge bunnies had to tell him in the final episode before he finally realized that yes, the woman who had been coming to his house to clean up and make his bed was in love with him... Alto at least has excuses. He sees Ranka as a little sister figure, and probably mistakes her interest for a similar sort of thing. And Sheryl keeps messing with his head during the first half of the series. If a girl you know approaches you with a dead series expression on her face, suddenly leans forward, and plays tonsil hockey with you, and then mocks you for thinking that she might be in love with you, then imo you can be forgiven for being unsure about her intentions when she flirts outrageously with you later on. Alto takes about as much care of Sheryl as he can without inviting the ridicule that he got back in episode 10 after she lip-locked him.

No, the first image is taken directly from episode 23 at 4:25. It's the apartment that Alto and Sheryl are in during the episode. There's no reason to believe it's the same place that Ozma lives in. First, it would be kind of creepy living in the house of someone that you know without their permission. Second, it's quite common in some areas to have residences that all look exactly identical on the outside. So while it's possible that the silohuette was reused from an earlier picture of Ozma's apartment, that doesn't mean that it's actually in the same building. Example here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraced_house Both Sheryl and Alto have jobs. They get paychecks. They can afford to get their own places to live.

She lived in a hotel room. We saw it on a number of occasions, such as when she realized that her earring was missing and when she left a note written in lipstick on her mirror for Grace. Such a choice represents death for Alto? On a more serious note, I trust Kawamori to have a positive ending, but at the same time I'm starting to wonder... Things look really bad right now, and that's before we even get into relationship issues within the series.

The most suggestive reason that it isn't the same building that Ranka was in is the sign sticking out over the sidewalk that's seen just before the first screengrab (which is the place where Sheryl and Alto eat) that you took. It's the sort of sign that you'd find in front of a shop, and not something that you'd likely find attached to the much nicer digs in the second and third screen grabs. Doesn't count. Sheryl had a hotel room that was acting as her long-term residence up until episode 15, and we saw that plenty of times.

Alto's a disinherited student, but he's also a formerly successful child actor. He might have earned a lot of money on the stage before he walked out. Also, inheritence arrangements don't always send all of the money to the surviving spouse (particularly if the now dead spouse brought a lot of money into the marriage). It's possible that Alto's mother willed wealth of some sort to Alto when she died. In other words, there are reasons that Alto might have access to a lot of wealth. The fact that we still don't know much about his background keeps us from knowing for sure whether any of those reasons apply.

I caught what sounded like the English word 'private' in there, so I'm guessing that they were teasing Alto to try and get juicy bits of information out of him, and he told them to lay off his private life. It fits with his character, imo. Won't know for sure until the subs are out, though.

Nah... You're overlooking the obvious... i.e. WHICH Saotome's mansion? We've never seen where Alto lives. He's got to live somewhere, after all.

I wouldn't call it an homage. Sheryl doesn't have a place of her own (she's been basically freeloading off of Alto's brother and she's definitely got enough self-respect to not be happy with that sort of situation). And Alto would have had his own place to stay since he clearly isn't living with his own family anymore. This episode is probably the first time that we've seen where Alto lived, and I would imagine that he's been in this residence since he moved out of his father's house. I don't know if Sheryl's permanently camped out there, but with the way she passed out it would have been difficult (and rude) to send her somewhere else. One brief scene in the episode got me thinking. During Alto's meal with Sheryl, there was a brief flashback to Sheryl's lonely orphan childhood. We saw her looking into a window high above her in which a couple was eating a nice meal at the dinner table. I get the feeling that when she saw that in her distant past, Sheryl decided that more than anything else, she wanted the two things that the scene to her would represent - 1.) A nice, warm, hot meal (and a good meal at a dinner table is its own reward), and 2.) Someone special to share it with Over the years she's obviously had more than enough warm dinners, but I can all but guarantee that this is the first time that she's ever had a dinner with a "special someone". Back in episodes 5 and 6 she discussed her complete lack of friends. This episode pretty much hammered it home to me. She's been completely alone (Grace was an employee - albeit a pretended one - and therefore could not be considered a friend) for her entire remembered life. And now she's got Alto. If SK takes Alto away from her, then SK will have a lot to answer for. He might as well kick a few puppies while he's at it... What we learned that Sheryl could value back in episode 7 was her home - i.e. Galaxy. With no friends, Sheryl would logically value the one place where she felt somewhat grounded and secure, and that would be her home in Galaxy. Now Galaxy's lost and has been for quite some time. And she's found Alto, who is probably her first real friend. Taking Alto from her would be like stealing the crutch from a one-legged man.

Is it just me, or is Leon obsessed with the really big weapons? First he encourages President Glass to use the Reflex Warheads. Then he helps Grace build Dimension Eaters. Now he's ordering Battle Frontier to sortie. Do ya think he's compensating for something? /duck

I've read about people surviving for at least an hour with minimal long-term damage after a sudden submersion into conditions that basically froze them almost instantly. So it isn't pretty, but the basic idea is there. As for the "blood boiled, pressure, etc..." every time I turn around someone's telling me that, "No, that particular idea is wrong about what happens to you in vacuum. This is what REALLY happens!" So you'll have to forgive me if I take it with a grain of salt. And in any case, it's what Kawamori believes if he's really interested in bringing Michael back. As I mentioned in my original post, in Gundam SEED we had Mr. "His helmet is floating shattered in space!" turn up with just a scar and amnesia in SEED Destiny.

See... Michael's body gets frozen nearly instantly in space, and that takes care of the blood loss and massively slows the oxygen deprivation, allowing someone to pick his body up and revive him! It would certainly be more believable than the return of a certain individual who had his shattered helmet floating in space removed from the post-broadcast versions of the episode in which he "died"... (on a side note, my understanding is that it is possible to keep someone alive with little long-term damage if you freeze their body VERY quickly, and are extremely careful about the defrosting) imo, the triangle is essentially over at this point. If Alto didn't have feelings for Sheryl, then he would have said something when Ranka showed up. Ranka may not like it, but she's going to have to learn to deal with it JUST LIKE MINMAY DID. Minmay sulked and pouted in DYRL when Hikaru chose Misa over her, but finally got over it and did her part to help the Macross survive. Ranka's going to need to learn how to do the same thing. She's 16. She'll get over Alto and find someone else to develop a crush on.

Alto's a guy who's had to rely on himself for so long that he doesn't like to open himself up to others. His father probably belittled Alto's dream of flying. And one of his few friends, Michael, tends to tease Alto pretty much every opportunity he gets. Sheryl's not helping things with her teasing, though it looks like she probably would have pulled it out of him back in episode 17 if Michael hadn't interrupted. And imo Sheryl appears to be similar. My thought is that the two of them are engaged in one of those silly little games that insecure people get into when they like someone but they aren't completely sure that the other person likes them. So they engage in a little game where they try and figure out the other person's feelings before the finally commit themselves wholeheartedly. Sheryl's messed with Alto's head enough times (in particular, the kiss back in episode 10), that Alto probably can't quite ditch the suspicion that her signs of affection are still just her way of teasing him. Even with Sheryl's display in episode 15 (and it's worth noting that Sheryl probably wouldn't have started that if she hadn't felt threatened by Ranka). Finally, given that Hikaru in SDFM didn't realize how much Misa liked him (despite the fact that she'd been letting herself into his home so that she could clean up his place and make his bed) until one of the bridge bunnies flat out told him, I'm inclined to cut Alto some slack here...

The GG sub has Grace all but telling Sheryl that Grace got her infected. Immediately after discovering Sheryl, Grace took her to a hospital for a "check-up". It appears that was used as a cover to infect her. Michael and Clan Clan also discover a picture of Sheryl's "check-up" (the name isn't provided, but they recognize her) when they conduct their research, and she's explicitly identified as someone with the V-Type virus. So no, there isn't any other infection. It's confirmed to be the V-Type. And while it's not flat out stated, imo it's heavily implied that Grace infected Sheryl. Sheryl sings, but only after Ranka starts. Sheryl basically turns Ranka's song into a duet.

Er... whoops... You know who I mean. >.< Except that Kawamori didn't want to do anything more with the characters. He was finished with them. That's why he made the "disappeared" comment, so that people would realize that he had no intention of returning to them. Not ever ever ever ever ever. Unfortunately for me personally, the "disappeared" resolution leaves me with more questions than if the Flashback had been the last word.

Apocryphal story or not, fan whining or not, that doesn't change the fact that "they all went off in the Megaroad and lived happily ever after" is no longer the final word. The final word is that the fleet vanished and was never seen again. It's why people speculate on what happened to them. I don't know for certain, but I suspect if Tomino had answered with, "They never saw another combat mission again, they ended up finding a nice world to settle on 50 years later, and all three of them retired and settled down along with Minmei's husband," then this thread wouldn't exist. But he didn't answer that, and so this thread does exist.