Now that we have read all the events leading up to the ending of Season 1 of GFL2, with Corposant being a proper season finale, I want to look back and write about my top 3 favorite events.
3rd: Corposant Part 2
Overall, Corposant was full of mysteries, actions and great characters. Being the climax of the event, Part 2 finally delivered the moment when the commander decided to return to the chessboard - because URNC cannot be trusted, and Paradeus was expanding when the commander put themselves into self-exile. Part 2 of Corposant resolved some questions, but also threw out a lot more. How can the commander gather their strength while being branded as a terrorist? How will they handle Helena and Melanie forward? What is the organization behind Defy? In what circumstances, will they meet with Orphelune and Chiloveig once again?
Despite the exciting story, after putting more thoughts into it, I start to feel that Corposant was a bit over-written. There was a lot of unnecessary descriptions in-between the dialogues which made the reading experience a bit rough. The writers can definitely cut some fat from the final script. In addition, there are also some jarring inconsistency, such as Igla being the only 3rd gen doll that made an appearance, while Cocoon was… staying in Odesa alone? And where’s Darture and Bad Groza? I'm also quite disappointed by Zimmermann. Bro was acting like a strategist in Deep Oblivion but in Corposant he was turned into a bully and bootlicker of the URNC military.
2nd: Breaking Butterfly
Breaking Butterfly is the only story event that drove me into tears multiple times. I'm glad that I re-read Deep Dive, UMP45 (Leva) and UMP9 (Lenna) mod 3 stories from GFL1 not long ago - the event story was very newcomer-friendly, but past context definitely helps elevate the experience. I find that the decision to place the story focus on Lenna is genius - her lack of confidence against UMP40, her love and respect towards Leva, her regret due to hiding memory loss issue from Leva all helps develop a complex sentiment and tension throughout. Breaking Butterfly connected all these story threads from past and present and resolved these threads beautifully. Yes, Leva killed UMP40 in Operation Butterfly, and she put herself into an eternal torture by replaying the scene repeatedly inside the neural cloud. But Leva is no longer alone: Lenna is by her side, and she comes into rescue, just like how Leva did to her in the first place when Lenna was involved in the criminal ring of doll trafficking.
It's power of friendship... I mean, family, at works. Some people might find it a cliché, but I find it genuinely endearing - this is a story built upon characters' personal history, and I'm glad to see that the UMP sisters can finally move on from their past and advance together.
1st: Deep Oblivion Part 1
Deep Oblivion Part 1 might not be as exciting as Corposant, or as emotional as Breaking Butterfly, but in my opinion, Deep Oblivion Part 1 is the densest and most well-written event of GFL2. From the opening meet-up between Leva, Robella and Soppo, the event story revolves around the theme of trust and doubt - Robella questioning Leva's capability to lead, Leva and Robella reconciliation at the Odesa Chief's house, confrontation between Rurik and Kalina, the tensed and surprising reunite with Alva outside the mansion, the joint effort to rescue the downed Leva and fight off the 3rd-gen prototype... Everyone of them is good, tight, deep and very consistent. No bullets were flying on the screen in most scenes, but I could really feel the tension and undercurrents between the words.
Btw... did I mention the scene where Robella was in a G11 frame? That was one of the funniest moments in GFL2.
Looking forward, I'm very excited towards Phaetusa. My love towards Doll Community isn't a secret, and with a potential starting point of Sangvis Ferri involvement in GFL2? Hell yeah, bring it on. I can't wait.