Morning Glory

Morning Glory
Information
Season	2
Episode	26
Japanese Airdate	16 October, 2005
English Airdate	21 October, 2006
Episode Guide
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Overview

The military prepares their assault on the Gekko, while Holland rushes back to try and extricate Gekkostate from impending disaster. However, when he shows up without Renton, Eureka takes matters into her own hands and goes out to search for him... just as he returns to the Gekko, looking for her.

Synopsis

The Federation army is moving into position to finally lock down the Gekko. On the Gekko, Eureka remembers a straw trick Renton showed the kids, which he dropped water on it and made it seem like it was alive. Again, Eureka asks Gidget what love is, and after stammering, Gidget asks Eureka is that means she likes Renton, but Eureka is still struggling to understand her feelings. On the hanger, the Nirvash is bucking, violently unwilling to be piloted just by Eureka. Moondoggie reminds her that Holland promised to bring Renton back and mentions the city Guianas that Renton asked about earlier. The kids ask Eureka to fix the mechanical mouse Renton made, and ask when he's coming back. Maurice says he may not come back, but Maeter and Linck believe he will, and Eureka assures them that Holland has never broken a promise, even though the kids say he has many times before. Eureka corrects this, saying he has never broken a promise to her. The crew picks up the 606 is heading back, but not because of the military but because the Beams are heading towards them. Talho reminds him about Renton, but Holland says that the ship is more important and even a kid would understand that. Talho says that must mean Holland is less than a kid himself.

He goes looking for Eureka and is shocked to see the Nirvash discombobulated, and heads to Eureka's room. He finds Renton's tracksuit and knows she still misses Renton. Eureka enters and snatches the tracksuit from him, and asks if he's found him yet. Holland says no, but the Gekko will be changing course because of Charles coming after them. Eureka still demands to know why he is not going to keep looking for Renton. They start to argue, and Holland shouts at her that they are in trouble and reminds her about how dangerous Charles really is. Eureka asks him if he really hates Renton, which Holland says no, but Eureka doesn't believe him because she knows how badly he treated the boy. Holland says that is because she is more important to him than Renton is, but Eureka rejects this and runs off. Frustrated, Holland struggles to understand why he can't have the kind of bond Eureka has with Renton. The Beams have allied with the Air Force and have deliberately left a tiny escape route open so Holland would think he had no choice but to take it. Talho asks Holland if running away is fine with him, and he says it is only a temporary escape. She repeats this question (implying that she knows he is really leaving Renton behind on purpose) and Holland, disappointed by Eureka's rejection and desperate to escape from the Beams, says yes. Eureka takes Gidget's board and realizes she can't trust Holland and the others anymore, so she will go look for Renton herself. She politely turns down Gonzy's offer for tea and jumps from the ship. She doesn't realize, however, that Renton is returning at the same time she is leaving. As they fly to their separate destinations, both plead for the other to wait for them. Gidget notices her board missing and the kids see Renton land on the ship.

The Gekko gears itself to bust through and Holland is not bothered sending out the LFOs. Matthieu and Stoner bring Renton to the bridge, and Talho and the others are surprised but happy to see him. Matthieu tells him to make it a good apology, but Renton just stares at Holland, who asks him who gave him permission to come back. Charles is in front of his LFO and quoting Adroc's line "Don't make somebody else do it..." and wonders what Adroc was seeking. Renton tries to warn Holland that he is walking into a trap because the Beams are prepared, but Holland shouts at him and orders him to leave. Stoner tries to get Holland to admit that he searched for Renton, but Holland orders him to shut up and denies it. Renton, however, says he has no intention of rejoining the Gekko and only came back to see Eureka again. Eureka is still reffing her way towards Guianas through clouds and skyfish, and then comes across the Beams' ship and the military. Gidget gets a scrambled communication from Eureka, who is trying to warn the crew, just as Ray opens fire on Eureka. She drops her communication and tries to dodge the attacks. Holland says there is nothing on the screen, and Ken-Goh points out that it's coming from the Rainbow Sea. Hap tracks the communication to outside the ship, and Gidget realizes that Eureka has her board, which angers Holland that Eureka left the ship without permission. Realizing Eureka is in danger, Renton takes off and is able to launch the Nirvash.

Launching his LFO, Charles tells Ray not to kill Eureka before he can get to her, but she says those were simply warning shots. Charles goes into a power-drive as Eureka laments she couldn't keep a promise to anybody and she may never get to see Renton again, and mentally apologizes to him and the children. Suddenly, energy bolts lash out and destroy one of the battleships while Holland decides he is an effective leader and gives out orders. Charles almost has Eureka before he is stopped by the Nirvash, and Charles quickly realizes it is Renton piloting it. Renton grabs Eureka's hand and pulls her into the cockpit. Charles is troubled that Renton saved her, and Ray reminds him about what she wants, which is having Renton back as their son, and he vows to give her what she wants. Eureka tells Renton she was able to do something crazy because of him, and her partner has to be him. She tries to confess her feelings to him, but he interrupts her by hugging her and telling her how relieved he is that she is alright. Eureka tearfully tells him that she has wanted to talk to him for a long time, and he says the same thing. Charles is angry at the Nirvash for saving Eureka and the commander of the Air Force ship figures strength in numbers will give him the Gekko, though he wonders if this matters to Charles. The Nirvash leaps into the fray, but it strikes by disabling the limbs of the KLFs, rather than destroy them, which Charles calls foolish. The Nirvash is happy that Renton is back, and he tells the Nirvash that he is happy, too, to Eureka's delight. She says "Let's go back together." and she puts her hand on his on the Compac Drive. A stream of new energy tears off not only the KLFs' weapons but also the reflection film on the ships. The commander calls retreat as Talho wonders what is happening. Holland says it's not the Seven Swell effect and what makes him mad about it is that only Renton can do it. Ray pouts that they have to retreat, but Charles says it's just for now. As they fly through a mass of skyfish, Renton and Eureka talk to make up for their time apart from each other. Renton talks about all the people he's met and he has finally understood what is most important to him. Eureka says the same thing and how everyone says she has changed, as everyone eavesdrops on the conversation from the communication. When it is cut off, Holland chuckles in defeat as he finally accepts the fact Eureka has chosen Renton to be her partner and tells Diane he knows what he has to do. Meanwhile, Charles aims his rifle and promises that he has not given up yet.

Major Events

• Renton returns to the Gekkostate after being away in order to rescue Eureka from Charles and Ray. He is able to confront Holland about his behavior and vows to never return to the Gekkostate, but he will protect Eureka on his own.
• Eureka feels betrayed by Holland for not keeping his promise to bring Renton back and loses her trust in him when he says she is more important to him than Renton is. For the first time, she is able to go against his orders and leaves the ship to look for Renton on her own.
• Renton and Eureka finally confess their feelings for each other.
• Due to Renton and Eureka's desire to stop killing their opponents, Nirvash creates a Seven Swell wave that disables KLFs.
• Holland finally accepts Renton and Eureka's relationship after hearing the two confess to each other their feelings.

Trivia

• The episode is titled "Morning Glory", which (other than referring to a song) refers to a very rare weather phenomena called "The Morning Glory Cloud" (also called "Morning Glories"). This can be observed at the Gulf of Carpentaria in Northern Australia, hence the Sea of Rainbow clouds in the episode.
• Although it is not technically a "Kraft Light Fighter", Ken-Goh's radar display registers the 606 as a "KLF".
• The scene with Eureka bailing out of the Gekko closely mirrors a similar scene involving Renton in "Runaway". Segments of the scene with Eureka lifting to avoid Charles, as well as the scene with her and Renton in the Nirvash cockpit, closely mirror Renton's lifting scene in "Blue Sky Fish". These parallels are shown in the closing visuals of the recap episode "Navigation ray=out".
• The "to be continued" screen for this episode and subsequent episodes (with some exceptions) is voiced by both Renton and Eureka, as opposed to Renton alone.
• Renton is referred to as "The Prodigal Son" by Ken-Goh when he returns to the Gekko. This refers to the parable in the Bible about the son who squanders his fortune but is welcomed back by his father. However, Holland reacts to Renton's return with disdain and ordered him to leave for good.
• The scene where Renton catches Eureka from the open cockpit of an LFO bears a strong resemblance to a scene that occurs in episode 2 of Macross/Robotech where Hikaru Ichijyo/Rick Hunter rescues Lynn Minmay from the open cockpit of a VF-1 Valkyrie variable fighter.
• Due to Charles and Ray not existing in the manga, the ones who penetrated the Gekko were a few SOF soldiers who got the biological data of Eureka. Then they were going to kill her, but Renton came and saved her.
• For the first time, most of the crew begins to wish for Renton to come back and are happy when he does. Even the kids are shown to miss him, although it was mostly Maeter and Linck who wanted him to come back and Maurice didn't seem to care. The crew further grows to respect Renton after he confronts Holland for his behavior and demonstrates his newfound maturity.
• The fact that the children surprise Eureka by telling her that Holland can never keep a promise reflects more of her naivety and dependency on him, and that she is too trustworthy of him that she believes that everything he says and does is true and best, no matter how bad it appears.
• Eureka becomes shocked and angry at Holland when he tells her that everything he's done for her, including how much he's hurt Renton, are out of his concern and affection towards her, and that Renton is unimportant. This causes her to realize that she can no longer trust him, meaning that Holland has lost the faith of the remaining member of the crew, but Holland became so wrapped up in disappointment by her rejection that he ignored it and was still adamant about leaving Renton behind.
• For the first time, Eureka is able to go against Holland by secretly leaving the ship to go look for Renton on her own and reunite with him, even if he wants nothing to do with her anymore. This reflects her understanding the trust and treatment issues Renton went through with Holland and the crew, and how she intends to confess her new-found feelings to him.
• It turns out that Eureka knew all along about how Holland treated Renton, but kept quiet about it. This may be due to her loyalty towards Holland and her inability to disobey him.
• The way Eureka took Renton's tracksuit from Holland suggests her fear that he might discard it, which seems possible when Holland asks her if it belongs to Renton (suggesting he was thinking about getting rid of it because it was the only memento Eureka had of Renton).
• Eureka first attempts to confess her feelings to Renton, but she is too shy to actually say it. Renton, however, realizes her feelings after he sees her put herself in danger to find him, and they are able to reconcile.
• After hearing the two talk about their feelings for each other and that being together is what is important to them, Holland finally realizes that, rather than deny what makes Eureka happy and keep her and Renton apart for his own desire to be her partner, he should be protecting them and support their relationship because they are now the world's new hope, putting his obsession and eventually his habit of running from his problems, to rest.
• The way Holland is just so focused on running away, not even being prepared for a fight, and the fact that Charles knew that he would do so and have the State Army set a trap that takes advantage of that, shows that if both Eureka hadn't defied Holland to try and find Renton and if Rentaon had not return to stand up Holland, tell them about the trap and reunited with Eureka, Holland would have lead all of Gekkostate to its doom.