SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online – Episode 11 - Psycho LLENN [Recap/Review - SPOILERS]
By: v.o.lynn
Summary
Picking up where episode 10 left off, Pito emerges like a Sith Lord to take on the remnants of Memento Mori.
Cheerfully brandishing a lightsaber, she cuts down the last two members as Llenn watches from the sidelines. Llenn doubts herself as SHINC rushes in to buy time.Unwilling to let Llenn run in while still doubting herself, Fuka traps her partner with tied bootlaces around one of her abandoned grenade launchers. This forces Llenn to stop and take stock of the situation without having to plan around using SHINC or Fuka as a necessary part of her plan. One by one, SHINC goes down, and Fuka is crippled on four limbs and being targeted by Pito for the killing blow when Llenn finally quits stalling:
At the last moment, she shows herself to Pito and M, but then angles away from the cottage to draw them out. They abandon Fuka. Hopping in one of the tanks that Memento Mori brought with them, M and Pito use it to catch up to the speedy player.Riding the tank like a charioteer, we finally get the standoff we've been waiting for: Llenn vs Pito... and then Pito goes over a cliff. It's a short one, though, and recoverable. After another stand-off, Pito tags Llenn in a low-level lake, and appears ready to just watch her health points tick down. M suggests getting closer to Llenn, Pito brushes him off: she's not trying to fall for a simple trap. It's basic strategy.
Fuka re-emerges with a reasonable amount of hitpoints and a tank of her own, swooping up Llenn and evening the footing between the two teams.Grenades and bullets are traded, then natural guyser formations provide extra terrain obstacles, and in the end the tanks collide, Pito being thrown from her own to a low-lying lake.Llenn uses P-chan as a shield again, racing through Pito's bullet spray towards her prey, disarming Pito at the close of the episode.
Review
The fast-paced action of the episode after Llenn finally gives in to being the only one left to oppose Pito almost makes up for her crisis of faith at the beginning of the episode with Pito's emergence. After all of the other times where Llenn pounces straight into the action, it's a little frustrating to see her hesitate when the time to confront Pito is... right... there.The cold feet are understandable: Pito is remarkably strong, and there's no doubt at all that Llenn looks up to her as a fighter and comrade. But if the only way to save her is to fight her, with all the careful plans laid to waste, then SJ1 Winner Llenn needed to be in full play at the top of the episode, not hiding in the woods.
The return of Fukaziroh is glorious.
Fuka fills the role of both buddy and godsend. The friendship she has with Llenn is not only much-needed, but she's also an experienced team member who knows how her friend ticks. When Llenn doesn't know what the hell to do and is hesitating, Fuka makes sure that her hesitation is no longer a choice, forcing her to clear her mind and take action.When Fuka is in peril, Llenn finally snaps out of her doubts. When Llenn thinks all is lost in the battle with Pito, then Fuka arrives to provide support.
Rounding out the episode, there's still one other group of snipers somewhere on the map. They were away from Pito and Llenn on the last scan, and still could arrive to screw things up for both battle girls. Even so, next episode promises to be a lively one!