Brief Summary: Henrietta and Rico take on a job as bodyguards for the chairwoman of the Straight of Messina Bridge project. Meanwhile Franca requests assistance from an old colleague, Nino. However, she was turned down because Nino can no longer justify his actions as a terrorist.

Thoughts: It has been a while since the last episode and I think the break has made the show somewhat better, at least for me. Before it was just endless complaints about the animation and how this is not Gunslinger Girl and to some extent those thoughts still reside in me but I think I am beginning to accept the fact that the show is what it is. Or perhaps I just don’t have any expectations for the show any more. Nevertheless, on with the episode.

There were fair a bit of developments and not just on the side of the girls and their handlers but also between the terrorists. I really liked that. They are giving them, especially Franca, a bit more of a character and not just portraying them as “terrorists that deserves to die because we love the girls at section II”. Nino’s role played out pretty well, he’s almost like a conscience trying to put Franca back on the “right” path. Shame that it doesn’t look like he is any one important nor is he going to come back. Having said that though, while it might be nice to make the story a little more interesting, I would have thought a professional bomber like Franca would have sorted out all of her hesitation and should be fairly firm with her decision.

While the main focus of the episode was on Nino, there were little bits involving the girls and their handles as well. Henrietta is still pretty attached to Jose and quite protective to him as demonstrated in her conversation with the Chairwoman, that I don’t think will ever change. It’s also what makes Henrietta so cute, so I sure hope she doesn’t change. We caught a glimpse of Jose’s past, apparently he had lost someone dear to him and that hatred has been influencing him from the inside. What could it be? Wife, daughter, family? I wonder if we will ever find out because Gunslinger Girl seem to be one of those series where a lot of the interpretations are left for the audience.

Long story short, the episode wasn’t bad. The pacing was decent, there was a good balance between the focus on the villains and the girls, the music complemented the animation quite well or should I say, the animation complemented the music quite well. If they can maintain the show at this level, it can still be enjoyable despite all the flaws. Action? What action?