Episode
                  12: Bewildered Warriors
                  Airing Date
                  2000-03-21

                  
            The Gundam Boys are in bad shape. Like the Buffalo Bills after a 
            Super Bowl, they’ve lost their heart and are limping off toward the 
            shadows. "Bewildered Warriors" mostly centers on Chang Wufei, but 
            there are also mini-story arcs involving Trowa and Heero.
            It’s good to see Wufei get some serious screen time -- he is the 
            most mysterious Gundam pilot, and the only one who hasn’t yet bonded 
            with another one of the pilots. Maybe that’s the trouble with having 
            five pilots. While Duo and Quatre play in the desert and Heero 
            recovers from his failed suicide attempt in Trowa’s pad, poor 
            Wufei’s the fifth wheel. He’s also still smarting from his 
            disappointing loss to Treize Khushrenada in their sword fight. 
            Wufei’s sense of honor seems to be the strongest of the five boys, 
            with the possible exception of Heero, and right now the kid doesn’t 
            even think he deserves to ever fight in his Nataku again. 
            There’s an interesting dialogue set up near the beginning of the 
            episode when Wufei shows up in Nataku to shield some rebel 
            terrorists who are attempting to escape the reining military forces. 
            Wufei tells the rebels -- lead by former Alliance office Sally Po -- 
            that they shouldn’t fight because they’re weak. Clearly, he’s also 
            speaking of his own situation. Since his defeat at the hands of 
            Treize, Wufei hasn’t engaged in a battle because he doesn’t feel 
            worthy of his own Gundam. Sally tries to explain that she fights 
            precisely because she is weak. Wufei can’t wrap his guilt around 
            that concept. Later, after he once again saves the rebels from a 
            combined OZ and local military force (who are doing their best to 
            blow EACH OTHER up!), Wufei seems to take a step towards 
            understanding what Sally’s talking about. Fighting with the weak (or 
            even for the weak) as long as you fight with your heart is the very 
            definition of honor.

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            Heero, meanwhile, slowly regains his strength after remaining 
            unconscious for a full month. Catherine and Trowa take care of him 
            until it’s revealed that their traveling circus will next perform 
            for some OZ troops. Trowa schemes some great stunt for OZ’s 
            entertainment. As the episode ends, Trowa retrieves his hidden 
            Gundam Heavyarms and brings it to the big top. You can bet that the 
            show he’s planning won’t be the diversion OZ is expecting.
            This episode, while spreading its Gundam Wing political rhetoric 
            quite liberally, did a good job of breaking up the verbose scenes 
            with those of action. It was a nice balance. While Heero heals, 
            Wufei contemplates and Trowa schemes, we wonder what adventures Duo 
            and Quatre are up to. Oh yeah -- they’re probably discussing the 
            nature of peace. As long as they do it while they spar in their 
            giant robots, that’s fine with me.
            --Ross Brooks is waiting for Britney Spears to make a guest 
            appearance in her Gundam Heavythighs.