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| Yellow Belmont is reunited with an old flame. |
Genesis Climber Mospeada: Lullaby of Distant Hope.
Original Air Date - Genesis Climber Mospeada: Dec. 11, 1983. Writer: Satoshi Namiki. Director: Katsuhito Akiyama.
Robotech: The Secret Route.
Original Air Date - Robotech: June 10, 1985.
Story Editor: Steve Kramer. Supervising Director: Robert V. Barron.
PLOT - MOSPEADA:
With a mountain range blocking their path, Stig and his group stop at a nearby town to get supplies and to find a way through. They learn that the Inbit have control over the mountains, but that a map showing a safe route through can be purchased from town boss Dogarbo.
While the others search for temporary work, Yellow adopts his female rock star persona to visit Dogarbo and set up a concert. Yellow is shocked to discover that Dogarbo's girlfriend is Carla, the woman who saved him after the failure of the previous attempt to take back Earth. Carla set him up with his disguise in order to evade "soldier hunts," and they were briefly happy - until he left her in order to continue fighting the Inbit.
Meanwhile, Mint falls for a local boy whose family is soon to follow Dogarbo's route - a path that Yellow suspects may lead directly into a trap!
PLOT - ROBOTECH:
With a mountain range blocking their path, Scott and his group stop at a nearby town to get supplies and to find a way through. They learn that the Invid have control over the mountains, but that a map showing a safe route through can be purchased from town mayor Donald Maxwell.
While the others search for temporary work, Lancer adopts his Yellow Dancer persona to visit Maxwell and set up a concert. He is shocked to discover that the mayor's girlfriend is Carla, the woman who saved him after the failure of the previous attempt to take back Earth. Carla set him up with his disguise when the locals began rounding up soldiers to give to the Invid. The two were briefly happy - until he left her in order to continue fighting the aliens.
Meanwhile, Annie falls for a local boy whose family is soon to follow Maxwell's route - a path that Lancer suspects may lead directly into a trap!
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| The heroes arrive in another town - one with a secret (again). |
CHARACTERS:
This episode sketches in a lot of Yellow's backstory, including the origins of his female disguise. Flashbacks are efficient, showing enough of Yellow's relationship with Carla for us to believe in their romance in only a few minutes of screen time. Yellow observes Carla's strained interactions with Dogarbo, and he quickly realizes that there is likely a problem with the rich man's map.
The young woman they found in the last episode gets a name. In response to remarks about her being a "queen" because her condition precludes her from working, Yellow dubs her "Aisha," meaning queen. The episode also shows her connection to the Inbit, as she picks up their presence and some of their thoughts.
Characters other than Yellow are mostly backgrounded this time. Mint gets a "B" plot centered around her falling for a local boy. I've disliked this element of her character in previous episodes, but it actually works OK here. The boy seems to be pretty close to Mint's own age, which sidesteps the distasteful undertones present in her introductory episode. I still find Mint more annoying than endearing, but her subplot isn't bad this time.
All of this is roughly the same in Robotech, whose changes are - as usual, in Mospeada - quite minor.
Advantage: None.
NARRATION:
The Robotech narration is mainly limited to some quick scene-setting at the start. The narrator does pop up to make sure that we understand a plot turn at the end - which would annoy me, except that I found that moment in Mospeada to be momentarily confusing, so it probably is warranted. Outside of that, the episode is mostly allowed to play out for itself.
Advantage: None.
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| The newest member of the group gets a name: Aisha in Mospeada, Marlene in Robotech. |
CUTS AND ALTERATION:
Mint Looks for Work: After the group is told that they will need to buy an expensive map to get through the mountains, they go looking for ways to earn money. Mint is trying to find some sort of work when she runs into Eddie. Robotech's Annie is just wandering around, complaining about the town.
Yellow Names Aisha; Scott Names Marlene: In both versions, Rand and Houquet snark about how the amnesiac young woman they found doesn't have to worry about things like work. This prompts the group to decide they need something to call her other than, "Hey, you." In Mospeada, Yellow provides the name, Aisha," playing on Houquet's comparison of her to a queen. In Robotech, Scott suggests "Marlene," after his late fiancée, a shift that reminds the viewer of his own personal loss.
Donald's Dialogue Is More Overtly Villainous: By either name, the corrupt town mayor is despicable. But near the end, when he and his men intercept the regulars, Dogarbo's manner is that of someone who's protecting himself, while Donald seems to genuinely enjoy his villainy, even sneering that since he's rich and the others aren't, he "must be doing something right."
Advantage: None.
INCIDENTAL MUSIC:
Mospeada makes excellent use of Yellow's songs to set and sustain an emotional atmosphere. Robotech also uses its music well, utilizing both of the Robotech Yellow songs and a piano version of Minmei's It's You. Had this been earlier in the series, I'd probably rate it as "No Advantage." By this point, however, Robotech's music has a bit of a canned feel to it, so I'm going to give the edge to the original version.
Advantage: Mospeada.
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| Carla and her new boyfriend, the villainous Dogarbo. |
OVERALL ADVANTAGE - NONE:
Mospeada has, thus far, been the series that's by far the least changed for Robotech, and the two versions of this episode are close to identical. I like the use of Mospeada's music - both incidentals and songs - slightly better. Overall, though, the viewing experience is basically the same.
OTHER MUSINGS:
...And we're back to the "town with a secret" template, though at least this is a pretty good one. The plot may cover overly familiar ground, but the story is well-structured and nicely paced. The episode also provides a heap of backstory for Yellow/Lancer, whose characterization proves strong enough to carry an episode in which the other regulars are mostly left to the background.
Though it returns to a familiar template, Lullaby of Distant Hope manages to maintain the sense of the previous episode that the show is now building to something. Aisha/Marlene receives a name, and we see her actively picking up on the aliens' presence, thoughts, and movements.
This, combined with the indication that the group is starting to get geographically closer to its goal even if they don't have any particular plan as yet, lends a sense of direction and energy that often wasn't there in the early episodes. Hopefully, this means the show has turned a corner.
In any event, this is enjoyable... even if I personally feel that one character is far too easily forgiven for actions that I would label as unforgivable.
Overall Rating: 7/10.
Previous Episode: Requiem of the Battlefield/Enter Marlene
Next Episode: Fortress Breakthrough Boogie/The Fortress
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