She can be your angle or yuor devil. (NOT A TYPO)

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

While Stiyl deals with an activated Index, Toma surveys the mass of land called the Star of Bethlehem that Fiamma has lifted up which seems to be susceptible to his right hand. Besides that, Fiamma also has control of archangel, Misha Krushev (who is also called Gabriel apparently…but is referred to as a “she”…but is genderless according to the wiki), as well as control over the knowledge in Index thanks to his doohickey. The angel, being the same one that once possessed Sasha in a previous arc, begins laying waste to the incoming jet fighters and Academy City troops, then goes to find the spell conversion parchment that Accelerator found. Upon seeing the thing, Accelerator identifies it as the way to finally save Last Order.

Toma finds Sasha they compare notes, including that, while the ceremony that summoned it played on the element of fire, Gabriel is the angel of water. Also, Fiamma is likely controlling it with the doohickey and probably wants to pair it with the grimoires in Index’s brain. Gabriel then encounters Carissa and the Maiden of Versailles (who’s a good guy now, I guess?) as they face it with fragments of Curtana Original. And even after all that, Hyoka Kazakiri shows up to deal some real divine retribution.

While this is happening, the sections of the Roman Orthodox Church that sided with Fiamma begin losing control when the events start making people panic…only to be calmed by the pope they betrayed. And in true pope fashion, he forgives the leader of the faction, Pietro, and says he’ll support him in his bid to become the next pope as long as he helps stop Fiamma.

Also, Hazamura and Takitsubo prepare to go help the village that helped them, Acqua plans to go face Fiamma, and Misaka learns that the Russians plan on launching a warhead at the island.

OUR TAKE

The tempo is starting pick up again as the battle escalates into the sky and against the supernatural. Well, more supernatural than usual, at least, and you can’t get much more than bringing in a literal angel. Much like those of Evangelion’s type, this isn’t simply a winged benevolent being from on high that brings good words and trumpets, but an incomprehensible and disturbing creature with unfathomable power. Longtime viewers will recognize Gabriel’s powers from the “Angel Fall” arc of the first season, where Sasha made her first appearance, but now we see it in its full glory. I’m still foggy about how the four elements play into this, but I guess it’s the water angel because it uses ice tentacles for attacks? Though unlike Aiwass, who seemed to mostly be in control of his own faculties, Gabriel looks to be completely under Fiamma’s control.

We also have the proper return of Sasha to the story, since she didn’t really have much of a role in her brief appearances a few weeks ago other than to show up and get caught. With her connection to Gabriel through the ceremony, it might be up to her to control it against Fiamma, which would hopefully go a ways to elaborating on her own motivations and backstory. And while we’re at it, maybe a bit of expanding on Fiamma too? Aside from Acqua, none of the Right Seat of God members have gotten ANYTHING in terms of character development. Terra probably wouldn’t have a lot to go into anyway, but Vento at least looks like she has SOME principles if she’s working on the side of good now. And despite the grand scale of his accomplishments, having Fiamma end this arc without any insight into why he’s doing it is going to end up ringing pretty hollow.

But while this angel summoning and its subsequent battles are the big development of this episode, it and the floating island are signs of the increasing momentum in the plot and the expanding knowledge of Fiamma’s true schemes. It’s still unclear exactly where this is headed and what his goal of becoming like God fully entails, but these shows of spectacle are enough indication that he is not screwing around, as well as the fact that this is fully living up to the scale and scope of a final battle of the past three seasons. It does still feel like there is maybe a bit too much saturation of subplots, but they seem to be converging on a more focused whole more than it did last week. With only four episodes remaining and everything in full swing, it’s anyone’s guess for how this will all end. Unless you’ve read the light novels, in which case you’ve probably known for some time. BUT NO SPOILERS!

Score 8/10