Ok, so this is the second last episode.

After a quick trip to Anidb, I confirmed that Macross F will indeed run for 25 episodes. Silly me for not confirming this earlier.

Anyhoo, the beginning of this episode sees Ozma and Cathy discovering that Ranka’s mother was originally…

...infected with the V-type virus!

This would explain her com-link with the Vajra. Well, shocking as this revelation was, we cut to Grace who’s evil plans are in full swing. She easily manipulates Ranka and turns her against the humans in order to ‘right her past mistakes’. And evil as Grace is…

...she's got nothing on Sephiroth!

And before the break humanity plunges into it’s final battle for survival, Alto and Sheryl have a tender moment, followed by a…

...nice little pep talk.

It’s the same old ‘come back alive’ and shit. Right about now I’m having a premonition that things will go down real bad.

And they did indeed. Leon is happy that his far fetched plan of attacking the Vajra home planet and inhabiting it is…

...actually working, much to his surprise.

Ad just as predicted, the heavily stoned manipulated Ranka has no sense of what she’s doing and decides to…

...stop the human forces.

In typical human fashion, we go to our new home…

...guns a blazing!

To which Ranka says…

...no thank you.

This quite literally…

...wtfpwns almost the entire Macross fleet!

Alto’s emo level was already at an all time high, and this was the last straw for him. He tries to go on an all out attack against the main ship where Ranka is, except that dear old onee-chan comes to the rescue. And so rigorous was his offense against Alto, that Brera…

...shoots him down...

...and Alto blows up!

Well, this episode was quite disappointing really. Our fair maiden gets so emo, that in her vulnerable state, she is easily manipulated to do bad things. The good guys (us humans) attack the bad guys (Vajra) and at our seeming victory, the table’s overwhelmingly turned at the last moment. Also, our protagonist apparently dies.

We know Alto won’t die, Humans will emerge victorious and Grace will get her ass well deservedly kicked; so why bother with such cliches? Ranting aside, the second half of this episode, as evident from the screens above, was pure eye candy. And for that, at least, I’m greatful.

On that atypically disappointing note…

...see you next deculture!