Episode Guide
The Macross Saga
Episode 19: Bursting Point
The catastrophes of war have
reduced the civilian population of Macross City to 56,000. Captain Gloval is
desperate to have the survivors relocated on Earth before anyone else is killed.
He broadcasts his request over open airspace, realizing that he will be refused
again but hoping that someone in the government will hear and do something about
the impossible situation. Gloval will not rest until his orders are changed. His
persistence pays off. The North American Ontario quadrant agrees to accept as
residents any civilians from the SDF-1 who whish to return to the planet.
Azonia and Khyron are quarreling again when Miriya requests permission to be
reduced to Micronian size so she can become spy for the Zentraedi. Azonia is
puzzled but grants the pilot’s wish. Miriya has an ulterior motive. She wants
to find and eliminate the Micronian who defeated her in battle.
The Zentraedi proceed with a new attack plan which quickly goes awry. Khyron
takes matters into his hands, and Azonia ends up having to fight a two-front
battle trying to keep the warlord from destroying the Micronians while she
attempts to capture the vessel herself.
Captain Gloval decides to test a new barrier-shield system. It protects the ship
but renders the weapon system inoperable. Khyron blasts the shield with all
he’s got and eventually, the system overloads. Rick Hunter, now the leader of
Fokker’s famed Skull Squadron, is ordered to evacuate the surrounding area as
the barrier control begins an explosive chain reaction. Not all of the squad is
able to pull out in time. Ben Dixon is killed. By the end of the debacle, they
learn that the attacking Zentraedi fleet has been wiped out and, because of the
proximity to the planet, the Earth’s surface has been leveled over a radius of
twenty-five miles.
On board the SDF-1, Lynn Kyle holds a press conference for his cousin. Lynn
Minmei has collapsed from stress, and her public is anxious to hear how she’s
doing. Kyle chides the newsmen on their priorities: “I don’t understand how,
with all that’s been going on, you people can be chasing after a star who
passed out from a little overwork! Now forget that and let’s find a way to
make these military leaders to stop this war. This fighting is totally
non-productive… There are no winners, only losers. We must get out of this
destructive, inhumane, no-win situation at once.”
While the crew of the SDF-1 is alarmed at Kyle’s underlying suggestion of
total surrender to the Zentraedi, the three spies – Bron, Rico, and Konda –
are astonished at their gut reaction to these ideas. An end to fighting would
negate the Zentraedi reason for existence, yet the thought of life without
constant warfare is somehow appealing.
Next Episode: Paradise Lost