In the hospital, Hikaru thinks about how he was shot down and thinks he's pathetic. Misa comes in to the room with flowers, and he's surprised to see her. She tells him she's sorry he was hurt because of the orders she gave. He's surprised that she's actually apologizing to him, and she tells him it was her fault. Hikaru says that if he had been a better pilot that he could have survived no matter what orders she gave. Misa says she's lost her confidence, and Hikaru tells her it isn't like her to say that kind of thing. She places the flowers in water and tells Hikaru to get better before leaving. Misa returns to the bridge, and Claudia tells her to stop moping because she felt the same way when she first met Roy. Claudia tells Misa that she should take a chance and tell Hikaru how she feels even though he's younger. Their conversation is interrupted when Global enters the bridge. Misa asks how much longer they will be staying in the Pacific Ocean, and Global answers that they will leave when they finish getting supplies. Roy, Max and Kakizaki go down to visit Hikaru and find he is depressed. They ask if Minmay came to visit, and he says a big star like her doesn't have time for him. Roy is glad that Hikaru isn't seriously hurt, and Max foolishly says that he shouldn't have been injured by those missiles. Kakizaki then foolishly says that he and Max are hoping to get their own squads, which makes Hikaru feel even worse. Roy decides they should leave, and Max asks if the flowers came from Minmay, to which Hikaru answers they came from Misa. Roy sees that Hikaru's problem is mental and needs special medicine. He meets with Claudia at a cafe to get Minmay's shooting schedule for her movie. Elsewhere, the three spies steal a Minmay singing doll and run into Kim, Vanessa and Shammy. Shammy asks them if they're lolicons, and Loli explains they work in the Bamboo House Disco. The girls then drag them along with them to the disco. In space, Quamzin argues with Milia about the Macross and tells her they have an ace pilot too. Roy visits the set of the martial arts movie Shao Pai Lon and asks Minmay to visit Hikaru. Kaifun says it's Hikaru's own fault because soldiers like to fight. As he drives through the city, he receives a call from Misa that they've spotted incoming enemies.
A Zentradi ship enters the atmosphere, and Milia's Queadluun-Rau squad launches. She tells the other pilots to make it so that she can find the ace from the Macross and fight him one-on-one. Roy launches in his Skull One and is joined by Max and Kakizaki since Hikaru isn't there to lead them. Max destroys several Queadluun-Raus on his own, and Milia realizes he is the ace Quamzin was talking about. She attacks him and is surprised that he can dodge her attacks. As they continue to fight, Claudia and Misa find the attack to be strange because the Zentradi aren't attacking the ship. Though Global doesn't want them to attack the ship, he agrees that it is odd. He sees that one enemy is making too much of an effort to fight Max, so he has Roy tell him to pull out of combat. In his hospital room, Hikaru receives a visit from Minmay. He asks how she knew about him, and she explains that Roy told her. She lies down on the bed and says she is very tired because she's only getting two hours of sleep a night. Before she can say much more, she falls asleep. When Milia continues to chase Max, Global sees that Max was indeed being targeted. Roy fights off several Queadluun-Raus, and his Skull One is damaged. Milia pulls in ahead of Max and heads for the Macross, and Global orders all the hatches to be sealed. Milia manages to get inside the ship and breaks into the city, followed by Max. Hikaru leaves his bed and watches them fight. Max shoots at Milia and damages her, and she can't believe she's losing. Global has the hatches opened to chase her out, and she fires several missiles and flies away. Max begins pursuit, but he is ordered to fall back as Milia escapes. Milia vows she will get revenge for her disgrace. Minmay's manager comes to the hospital and takes her away while Hikaru is gone. Two mechanics working on Roy's Skull One are shocked when they see the cockpit is full of blood. Roy plays the guitar in Claudia's quarters while she prepares her pineapple salad. He suddenly stops playing and falls over, and she sees his back is full of blood. At the hospital, Claudia collapses in tears when Roy is pronounced dead. As Hikaru plays with a biplane toy, Misa comes in and tells him Roy is dead. Hikaru drops the toy because he can't believe what Misa has said.
What a surprise this episode was. Who would have ever thought they'd kill Roy? There are some hints, though. As a rule in anime, when a character is about to be killed, that episode suddenly focuses entirely on them. So if you're watching a series and find a character who is generally ignored suddenly in the spotlight, chances are they're going to die. Roy's death brings sadness to the whole ship, but especially to Hikaru. With his sempai dead, Hikaru now has nothing left from his childhood and is forced to be more of a man in a war that seems to have no end.
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