| At Area 88 the pilots are admiring Makoto's pictures and are grateful for the prints he gives them--Shin, however, doesn't want any. The pilots are incredulous to learn that Frank, an ace pilot, has been shot down. After being rescued Frank babbles about a "monster lizard" that got him. Saki and Roundell believe it was a single rebel pilot who shot down Frank and his two wingmen in the space of two minutes. Micky finds something disturbingly familiar about the tactics employed by "The Lizard" and the markings on his plane. They remind him of a fellow US Navy pilot from his tour of duty over Vietnam--could this fellow be serving as a mercenary with the rebels? Radio intercepts suggest that the Lizard is in the air, and the pilots who are best at air-to-air combat are scrambled to intercept--including Micky... |
| I think Micky is my favorite pilot at Area 88, being a yankee, handsome, confident, skilled, (but not a braggart), so I'm glad he gets the limelight for one episode. This episode is a fine example of what this TV series does best, namely feeding me fresh stories about characters I've come to love after meeting them in the old OVA series. As such, I consider each new episode to be a treasure, not to be watched while I'm either tired or stressed-out, since that would rob me of some of my enjoyment. Of course, there's no guarantee they'll completely live up to my hopes; in this case, I don't exactly see much poignancy to Micky's talk with the lizard over the radio. I was hoping he'd be escorted back to land at Area 88 and surrender--I think that would have been much more satisfying. One technical peeve: why are two-seater jets always being flown with nobody in the back seat? |
