Suddenly it makes so much sense. When I watched episode 13, it felt like I was watching a final episode(the ship action, Freyja jumping off the ship to get her song through, Hayate defeating Keith, etc.). With a few changes, I would have liked it as a final episode.
It's disappointing to find out that producers would sacrifice an already complete storyline and add subpar episodes just because the ratings were good. I understand that this probably happens all the time, but if you have some idea that you might be extended(you really thought you were going to make a 13 episode Macross tv series?), then have a better idea of what the continuation will be. The episodes since episode 13 have been painful to watch. I can't imagine anything other than a train wreck happening at this point.
Well, if Basara appeared in the last episode, my mind could be persuaded.