I actually got really turned off by Ranka this episode, despite my obvious preference for a green haired DFC compared to a full-bodied pink-haired bishoujo. Nonetheless, I find myself supporting Sheryl more and more, as her strong personality (despite being weak at times of personal pain) and her attitude of never giving up much more pleasant than the childish and ridiculous actions and antics of Ranka.

If anything, Sheryl’s slap and hug routine really pulled out the shots for me, and I am very impressed with Sheryl. In fact, I will go as far to say that Sheryl should be with Alto, simply because she knows what is love compared to the selfish and blinded love of Ranka. Ranka is way too young, childish and emotionally unstable (due to her maturity) to have Alto’s love for now.

Sheryl, on the other hand, is the one that alleviated the spirits of those in the moment of despair. As she said clearly, if Ranka is the songstress of hope, I believe Sheryl to be the Healer in imminent despair. Her voice, despite the inability to fend off the Vajra, can relieve and heal the hearts of everyone who is fearful of death. They might still die, but because of Sheryl, she gives back calmness.

Of course, the biggest pull to the heart is definitely the death of Mikhail. Since it is clear that he has been sucked away into outer space with his body pierced through front to back by a Vajra, I think it’s pretty apparent that he’s dead, gone and out of the picture.

It’s one of the more poignant and beautiful scenes in Macross Frontier by any degree. I almost cried, which is almost unthinkable in a mecha series, but the pull to my heart is so strong because it is definitely the worst thing ever when the person you love dies right in front of you in order to protect you from harm. He never did say that he loved her. That’s the saddest thing for Klan, but she’s still fricking awesome in my books.

what will happen to Klan2x?

this is so saddening…

This episode is proof that Sunrise CAN do a proper death scene, as well as making it such that there is no doubt in the minds of the viewers that it’s for real. Why the Sunrise A-team of Code Geass can’t do the same as the B-team of Macross Frontier still eludes me, although the revelation of Sunrise executive meddling did explain a lot.

No, honestly. This is the closest I have gotten to shedding tears in a mecha anime. That speaks a great deal for itself.

Overly harsh on Ranka? Not in the least, Crusader-shogun.

Someone give Sheryl a Core Drill.

I blame Luca for Mikhails death cause hew as there suited up adn didnt fire a single shot

Thanks for a great write up on this one Crusader !
As her memories slowly return, Ranka is almost ready to reconnect with Brera as a sibling. However she’s not at all ready for an adult relationship with Alto. The slap scene seemed like 2 parents dealing with their out of control child, not a love triangle. Sheryl was awesome throughout. The only humorous moment in this episode was the end of Cathy’s engagement. The loss of Mikhail was hard to watch - and your tribute is appreciated.

who shall be the next to go?

@Crusader : I take back every bad thing I have ever said about you.

@jack, mel

Ranka is 16, this is true. Sheryl is 17. She isn’t acting like a child.

Like her descsion not to follow biohazard procedure and report Ai-kun and maybe have him chucked into an incinerator as an anomoulous biological. If she’d followed the rules, Ai-kun would have at the least been taken away from her, that was as deep as the theory penetrated. Somewhere on Galaxy, a cute as a button cyborg-girl just made the same call about a warf rat. It’s infuriating, but it’s normal. We long for the person on the spot to be a wee hollander who will stand through the night and keep the land safe from flood, but mostly it’s just Ranka out there.

Here’s the issue: Ranka’s never had to deal with disappointment before (good going, Ozma - way to baby her all the way to adulthood where the damage can be WORSE), which means she didn’t know how to cope with it here. Worse yet, no matter how much Ranka says she loves Alto, does things for Alto, and is disappointed she didn’t know anything about Alto’s Kabuki past… what does she do? The answer is… either a) nothing, or b) what she’s told to do. There’s never her ‘acting for her own interest’ or even ‘asking questions’.

Look at episode 10: she’s upset she didn’t know Alto was a kabuki performer, which is where he got his advice about not forcing things from (which he gave her earlier that episode). So, after that… what does she do? Nothing. She doesn’t seem to pump Grace for info (Sheryl did this), doesn’t ask his friends about his past (Mikhail would be a natural person to turn to, since he’s in Skull Squadron), doesn’t even talk to Alto except once or twice (at Gallia 4 and when she asked if she should keep singing in Episode 17). She doesn’t tell him she likes him, and expects Alto to run after her confessing love when she expects him to. And then when she sees him standing with Sheryl doesn’t even really ask what’s going on, but runs away assuming the worst and is unwilling to fight for him or even inquire as to what WAS really going down.

Worse yet, she’s had zero character development over the past eight episodes - at least Alto and Sheryl have grown some as characters. Ranka’s just sat there on the sidelines expecting everything to be handed to her, because she’s Ranka and it’s always happened. Part of the point of a drama is watching how characters deal with situations and change for the better or worse. Ranka’s done no changing, and when she starts wishing herself dead and doing nothing (not even looking shocked or horrified) as people die around her, there’s very little sympathy that will be mustered.

Ranka isn’t a professional, isn’t disciplined, and isn’t grown up - those aren’t excuses for what happened here. Even a child will often try to do SOMETHING in the middle of a disaster, be it hide or look scared or try to help others. Only very young children (ages 4 or under) will stand there crying and not care about what’s going on around them for the most part. If next episode shows her whining ‘oh, woe is me… everyone around me is dying but woe is me…’, then she’ll have successfully completed the Lin Minmay school of ‘How to be a Self-Absorbed Bitch and Lose Your Man in 5 easy steps’.

Good going, Ozma - you really fucked everyone now. You should’ve let Ranka deal with at least a BIT of disappointment instead of spoiling her to the point where not having everything go her way made her wish she and everyone else was dead.

Hell, she’s with her love interest and all she can think about is Brera? Yeah, we know how much you ‘love’ Alto… since you didn’t even get to know him, don’t seem interested in trying to help him keep you alive, etc.

People using the excuse that Ranka is a “kid” (mind you she is 16 damn years old, she is a teenager, not a kid.) to excuse her actions is just as revolting. Who cares if Ranka is a “kid”? She knew when vajras attacks that it is her job to sing, she has done this in the previous episodes and just because her heart may have been broken is no excuse to let the people suffer.

She “loves” Alto yet she refused to sing even after he begged her!? Is that someone Alto should be in a relationship with? She couldn’t sing even for HIM, Ranka just needs to be killed off and have her body dumped behind a dumpster with Ai-Kun fapping on it. I’m done with her and her bs.

So does that mean if the show stays on track Ranka will lose? I was never on the Ranka ship so that doesn’t bother me. Will they have Ranka rise up from this new low by the end of the show?

I sure hope not because I like the current course that the plot is taking.

@Impz
Yeah Sheryl seems to have out shined Ranka for most of this series, it’s a real pity since there was ample opportunity for Ranka to grow up a bit but they all kind of fizzled out in the end. Sheryl did what she could and that is all anyone can really ask of her. Ranka however this time did nothing… At least Alto-hime and Sheryl have some basis of mutaul attraction, with Ranka we have damsel in distress de jour.

Mikhail certainly had a death worth of song, too bad Klein will have to go at it alone. Hopefully she will live on to carry on his memory.

@mel
Yeah DYRL Minmay was at least decent enough to sing a song that Misa found. I doubt Ranka will be wanting to sing a Sheryl song anytime soon. That Brera flashback just made Ranka seem even worse in light of her inaction.

@rollchan
Hopefully Klein will find some one else in a few years, but right now I hope she kicks some bug butt.

@Ascaloth
Other than Satelite =/= Sunrise Mikhail did have one of the more powerful deaths this season. In Rolo’s case it was dependent on whether or not you could forgive Rolo for all the wrongs he has committed. If you can’t Rolo’s death was too clean for such an evil shouta.

@bakaneko
Hopefully Ranka will never know why the Vajra reaceted the way they did to her song if she did she would be even more scared from the knowledge that her emo state brought about a Vajra murder streak. When Sheryl left in episode 1 she did one of three tenets of Patton: We herd cattle, we drive sheep. Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way. Sheryl got the hell out of the way, while Ranka followed, but failed to contribute even after her dear friend Nanase was injured.

Ranka messed up big time and while I don’t doubt that she will recover, its kind of late for that unless we focus only on Ranka and at the speed things are going Ranka is not going to have the spotlight to herself. If the rumors of Kawamori concluding the triangle sooner rather than later then Ranka has such dismal development with Alto-hime that it would take a major ass pull to justify it in the wake of this catastrophe. Ranka has had ample chances to grow up and so far hasn’t seized them to the fullest. Right now she is a kid.

@Milestailsprowe
Luca was at least firing his weapon and co9ming up with a plan. the poor Shouta can’t fight but at least he was trying to do something.

@Westlo
Gundam 00 had some good animation though some of the more recent episodes do fall under the moniker of QUALITY, but yeah Sunrise has no hand in Macross.

@vjean
Cathy broke up with Leon, that was how it was. End of story.

Since Ranka can only think about Brera in her dreams these days I wish her all the best, but I agree. Ranka is not ready to enter a serious relationship, not yet anyway.

@tofu
I would ask for Leon to die, but more likely than not Klein seems to be a possible candidate.

@jack
I agree that much was expected of her and for a long time I was really hoping that Ranka would grow up. She may be 16 but mentally she is younger. I thnk this episode hammered home just how little Ranka has come in terms of maturity and might be a signal that Ranka will not be blossoming into womanhood by series end. My hopes for Ranka were high after episode 12, but then Brera, Grace, and now this happened and it’s just been a down hill slide for Ranka.

I know she is a kid, but that is starting to become a problem Ranka cannot run away from this. She has to grow up or be a huge non-factor in the hard times to come. Ranka might have hero worshiped Sheryl, but it has become plain that Ranka has not learned much about courage or maturity from her hero. Ozma may have cared but it seems that Ranka is far too accustomed to hand outs and encouragement to the point that they have crippled her ability to stand tall alone.

@Zentari
No hard feelings, though I am not sure what you said though I probably should pry any more than that.
@Erias
Yeah though truth be told like Minmay Ranka is acting like a kid with fame thrust upon her, and we know how that has not to date turned out well.

@jack
I think Ranka is not a commoner, more like a princess. Many people like Elmo, Ozma, Bobby, Alto-hime, Sheryl, and Nanase have helped her along at one point or another. Ranka never had to deal with real adversity alone and Ozma seems to have made sure of it for fear that Ranka might relapse back to a catatonic state. Here all that was taken away and Ranka was ill prepared to cope. She may be nearing her adult years, but given her upbringing Ranka will have to ween herself from all that support that seems to have a been a detriment in the long run.

@tueac
Ranka at least wasn;t being a bitch like Minmay, so Ranka might be given a kinder fate.

@Haesslich
For the most part I agree, but to be fair I think Ozma being a single father figure and deathly afraid of Ranka going catatonic on him was a major driving force in his keep Ranka happy mentality. I am sure Ozma did all he could though perhaps if Ozma had dated Cathy this would have all been avoided since Ranka would no longer have been the sole receiver of Ozma’s attention. Being a single parent is tough, the results sometimes aren’t too different from how Ranka ended up. Ozma probably came from teh school of throw money at the kid school of parenting. Kawamori knows that scoring Sheryl tickets for Ranka was no small feat in itself. At least with Cathy we know that she was mother material given how she’s helped raise Ram, Monica, and Mina. Such a pity Ranka did not benefit from Cathy the wise, at least Ranka could have had more help with her bid for Miss Macross.

Ranka has had development of a sort, unfortunately it was all with the Kaifun equivalent. Though to be fair Brera isn’t as unlikeable as Kaifun was. Still you are right after Galia 4 Ranka hasn’t made many advances on Alto-hime nor has she been using her new found fame to get more information. I am sure that as Savior of the fleet an audience with Ranzo and Yasaburo would have been more than possible. Given how Ranka is vital to the war effort calling upon Ozma and the rest of Skull Squadron to be part of her guard would have also been possbile. Sadly since Ranka is vulnerable to suggestion and always accepts teh advice of other unquestioningly it comes as a small surprise that Ranka has only gotten farther from her beloved hime.

The lower Ranka sinks, Sheryl seems to shine all the more brilliantly for not making Minmay moves. If Ranka is still emo in the next ep with “woe is me” she will be at Minmay levels of hideousness. Even if Kawamori has been playing around with some themes and tropes of SDF Macross I don’t think Kawamori would go so far as to allow for a Minmay win, at least I hope not.

That dreaming of Brera moment was just awful and made Ranka seem more unlikable. If the Shinji move of “I want to die” after her heartbreak was not bad enough along with her I will sing of no one move, then the Brera flashback was just a kick in the nuts. It just brought back memories of Kaifun again, and if Ranka “dumps” Alto-hime for Brera then I think Ranka might even surpass Minmay in terms of ugliness of personality. Given how much Ranka has been thinking of Brera as of late it seems plausible, though I hope it won’t happen.

@Nakki
While Mikhail is no longer with us I am sure that Alto-hime will finally make a decision as not to suffer the same tragedy as Mikhail and honor his comrade’s memory. Right now Alto-hime would be a dope for rejecting Sheryl, though their last alone time was vastly different from their previous meetings. I wasn’t behind Sheryl in episode one since she reminded me of the worst aspects of Minmay, funny how Ranka ended up channeling Minmay while Sheryl started making Misa moves.

I think that many of us were expecting Ranka to be the savior of the fleet and songstress of the galaxy without the negative shadow of Minmay hanging over her, but it seems that the in series assertion that Ranka is the new Minmay has rung more true than we ever would have wanted.

@Kaori
Ranka might redeem herself later, but right now I just hope that her first disappointment in life is in love. That would at least be a wake up call since nothing else seemed to motivate her to fully realize her potential. Ranka could have at least sung to save Nanase, her friend of many years, the friend who always and still did believe in Ranka from day one. Shafting Nanase over heart break was a really bad move on Ranka’s part, so I understand how frustrated you feel to want Ranka to reap such a fate.

@square
Sorry, for got about that one it’s been a long time since I last revisited Macross 7, though Huey Lewis and the News still did a good rendition of “Heart and Soul.” Ranka sang but in the aftermath went back to doing nothing, and her refusal the first time was already damning considering it was Alto-hime whoe was begging Ranka.

Soldier-hime finally showed up to the party and I love it…

“If When he died it would have been was incredibly emotional” should be Mikhail’ epitaph. Still he went out like a true beloved of Klein should have, with guns blazing and the bodies of his enemies littering the ground.

@zqube
Going by Kawamori’s prior history it seems that Ranka is losing, though Kawamori is a wily old director so nothing is beyond him. If it were to conclude with a Ranka end while she is emo then it would be a major downer character development wise.

@indr0008
In a few years I might be able to support Ranka again, but right now she has failed me to the point where I don’t want to keep out any more hope for her to grow up.

Ranka could have focused on singing for the sake of all the people who supported her in her life, but when the chips were down only her broken heart mattered, not Ozma, not Nanase, not even Alto-hime. It would have been fine if Ranka simply sang the first time and failed and did something other than hide behind Alto-hime. Her initial reaction and subsequent actions are what I have problems with. To suggest that Alto-hime should love Ranka in order to keep her happy is absurd. Love is a two-way street and Ranka dreaming of Brera is not in a state where she could love Alto-hime in a mature relationship.

Ranka acted like a human being, a human child to be precise. She could have done more than she did. Luca could have used a hand, maybe Klein might have needed one too. Every trooper would love to have an ammo runt, but what did Ranka do? She hid instead of passing ammo. Just because Ranka’s actions are expected of a child does not make them any less cowardly and craven. Ranka can’t be a kid forever, she just proved that she was still a kid despite having most of the series come and go. At the very least if grasping hime’s hand is all that she can do (which I still don’t buy since Ranka can make a barricade, pass on ammo, or carry water for Mikhail and Alto-hime) she did not have to think of Brera. That was what really sealed it.

Ranka will get over it, but in what time frame? Even if she does at this point it might be too late since there are other things to deal with for the remaining eps. Ranka will learn nothing and remain a child if Alto-hime chooses her as she is now.

The big picture is that Ranka is still self absorbed child little different from how she was in the first part of the series. When the chips are down Ranka is still a child. Right now with Ranka being a kid, its no longer cute, it’s just sad that she didn’t mature since Galia 4 and now the Fleet is paying for it.

ani_d: She didn’t do anything to pursue Alto, and then she’s surprised when she finds him (apparently) with someone else? Talk about SPOILED, expecting someone to fall in love with you because you love them but not enough to even find out what they like and dislike. She’s acting like a child… which at the age of 16 is pretty bad, but I blame Ozma for not helping Ranka grow up any. He’s protected her so much that she’s expecting everything to come to her, because she’s ALWAYS been the center of Ozma’s world.

As I noted earlier, here’s the decision point - she can either pull herself together and start acting for herself and her beliefs… or she can sit there and whine like a Gundam SEED character and do nothing but cry about how she hurts and how even as her friends are dying she can’t do anything but feel hurt.

If so then Ranka has no place in her heart for those who care for her. That is rather sad if that is the case. When Nanase was injured there was no cry from Ranka, her BBFL. I don’t demand that her heart be calm, but Alto-hime should have had only to ask the first time. When Ranka refused she made clear that no one-else mattered. I have a problem not with how Ranka sang, but how she outright refused the first time she was asked to. Frustrated is something you can feel and wallow in in peace time, but when bullets start flying there is only duty and little room for wangst unless you want to get killed or get others killed. Ranka refused to sing the first time she was asked to for the sake of everyone including every person who ever cared about her. I didn’t expect her song to work the first time, but I did expect Ranka to try and sing when asked to the first time for her blatant refusal she deserved that Sheryl slap.

She could have helped carry Klein’s clothes, and any kid who can read and knows the color green and the shape of a box can carry an ammo can. It’s quite alright for Ranka to recall her beloved Brera, but that does not help RankaxAlto-hime in any way at all. If Ranka is still needy and learning the ropes of independence the last thing she needs is some one to hold her hand and walk her through it. If Ranka can’t stand tall alone then she doesn’t have a prayer if she finds someone to carry her every step of the way. Just because Sheryl can function on her own doesn’t mean she will end up alone. Misa could have stood tall without Hikaru, and we all know who won that round.

This episode pretty much confirms that Ranka is the modern Minmei, but will she have the same fate as Minmei? Less likely.

Noone is arguing that Ranka acted mature here because she didn’t. It was one of those days. Like I said, she just snapped. We don’t crucify people just because they flew off the handle. They’re just human. I can understand if Ranka didn’t sing AT ALL. However, she did once she got a hold of herself. Despite her heartbreak, she PRETENDED she was okay and sang. This just made more harm than good. No matter how much she acts mature, as long as her heart feels the pain, her emotions will still reach the Vajra. Nothing would change.

This isn’t really something worth hanging her on the stake especially if we all know that she WILL redeem herself in the future. I think it’s very evident that if Ranka obediently obeyed Alto and didn’t even express frustration, that scene will just make her character development less uneventful. It’s because Ranka was portrayed as very immature, contrary to Sheryl, that her character development would have more impact once it sets. I just see it as a ploy from the writers to escalate the drama. So no need to be that harsh on her. I actually like where things are going for her lol Ranka needs this turn of events.

What I didn’t need was Michael’s death though, and seeing him kicked into outerspace to ensure 100% death.

I have a problem calling Ranka the modern Minmei because to me Minmei represented the corruption and isolation of fame. Ranka doesn’t seem to have been tainted with the stereotypical traits of arrogances, selfishness, and loneliness that we normally associate with fame.

Ranka’s problems are more about her maturity and her transition to womanhood than anything else.

@Crusader
Ah, the Minmay reference. I actually does not want to brought it up, since this is not SDFM or DYRL, but Frontier. The story will take a different path even though there are homages to them (the curse of Pinapple, which is broken btw, and the others-you know better than me ;))

To me Frontier is something new with mix of this and that from all Macross Series but ultimately, nothing can change the fact that its story was taking its own way rather than following or contradicting the SDFM. Sure Pineapple was contradicting from the original, but in retrospect, this may or may not change Minmay’s curse which is now implanted on Ranka. Only the master of troll, Kawamori-sama can change this. Judging from his animes before though, I would suspect romantic scenes means nothing for the last resolve. Admit it, Escaflowne has more romantic scenes between Allen/Hitomi or the senpai/Hitomi which I don’t buy as like the others since we know Van-sama is the winner, no matter twist or screwing brains the troll-fu master take Macross F is the only one I was screwed by troll-fu Kawamori, aside of DYRL…

But yes, at this rate Ranka is taking the cursed path of SDFM Minmei… This does not bode well for her character. At this rate she is regressing rather than improving, still being spoiled and wishy-washy… I don’t dare to mention relationship right now, since it’s Kawamori we are talking about Not to mention both Ranka and Sheryl mostly have elements from Minmay though different Minmay at the same time, SDFM and DYRL respectively. So both girls can have the chance to win if Kawamori going to contradict the original, but which original? DYRL or SDFM?

Kawamori has already fried my brain though, so I just give it to the shippers respectively to argue about that and I’ll just sit back with popcorn now My joy will be complete if Kawamori give the blessing to Alto/Sheryl rather than Alto/Ranka, since I support the pairing more since Sheryl start developing in Episode 5 ^-^ It also makes me remember Noe relationship with the dumb fool whose name I have forgotten-too bad the writers give the choice to the obvious childhood friend scenario.

@ani_d
No one really hate or dislike Ranka. Ambivalent yes, but not likely hate (aside from interrupting the Alto/Sheryl shipping ^^;) But please, no matter how many symphathetic scenes that Macross F gave, Ranka is just terrible, Terrible in this episode. Sure this is a set-up, like you said. But humans will remember more the bad aspect of life more than the joy itself. A black dot in the middle of white paper would not be ignored easily. Even when Ranka can grow, I doubt a lot would be able to forgive the SDFM Minmay move she pulled in this episode.

She is just human, but human grows. In this matter, I take that she has not grown emotionally that much. She has been given more than enough episode to show her growth but nooo, I never see any growth except 13, and she is, I dare to say, decreasing in her growth-seeking protection and comfort from Alto yet again and again in every episode. Can you see, as a woman yourself who had gone through the phase, how childish and attention depraved baby she is?

That aspect alone would not help her in relationship if you support Alto/Ranka. No matter how much romantic scenes been showed (which I’m sorry to say I don’t see the romance) if the participant is shown not ready to enter a relationship yet, the relationship would juggle heavily on one side, the one that seeks attention will demand all the attention to be given. It is quite sad to think the romance is only depending on the protection and comfort given by a side, and the other just take it for granted…

But then again it’s your preference, so it’s okay to think about Alto/Ranka relationship working in your vision. Only time will tell, and Kawamori’s confusing brain can give the result. Until then, let’s support our respective pairing faithfully. Screw whoever think fangirls and fanboys are crazy, because we are humans like them after all

I think that Ranka’s current problems stem from the fact that she chose to become Frontier’s symbol of hope for the wrong reasons. In episode seventeen, she decided to commit to her role because she wanted Alto’s approval. I suspect that there was an underlying expectation here on Ranka’s part that Alto would reciprocate her feelings if she followed through.

Episode nineteen explores this idea a bit further, wherein Ranka comes to the conclusion that the only reason why she’s singing is for Alto’s sake. Her decision to skip the parade similarily suggests that her heart really isn’t in her job anymore.

In this episode, when Alto asks for Ranka’s help, she tells Alto that she doesn’t want to be a tool to fight the Vajra, and has a flashback to her realization that she only was singing because of Alto. Since she feels that her expectations for Alto were betrayed, she no longer has the desire to follow through with her singing.

The problem boils down to the fact that Ranka has blurred the boundaries between her personal needs and the obligations of her career. In so doing, not only did she lose sight of her original goal (to be heard by everyone and to not go unnoticed), but she also treated her responsibilities as secondary to her personal needs. Sheryl intervened in order to remind Ranka that a professional must follow through with their responsibilities, first and foremost.

While it can be difficult to do your job when you’re in a state of emotional turmoil, part of learnig to be responsible is in learning how cope with those emotions.

Sheryl too has a lot of issues weighing on her mind, because her illness has stolen her chances of having a future. You can see this in the way that she echoes Nanase’s word “Hope…” during the conversation between Nanase and Ranka. Likewise, even her decision to sing amidst despair carries a double meaning: she’s not just referring to the despair of the people around her, but her own despair as well.

There are two things that Sheryl does well in this episode.

First, Sheryl recognizes that she needs to set aside her personal needs in order to resolve the task immediately at hand. We’ve seen this before during episode 6 (”If it’s a pilot’s job to fight, then it’s my job to sing!”), episode 13 (where she tells Alto that she and Michael do what they can to free Ranka while Alto keeps Brera occupied), and in this episode, where she tells Alto that it’s more important that he put an end to the conflict than come back and get her. She has her priorities in order.

Secondly, Sheryl takes her painful feelings and manages to produce something positive from it. When Canaria’s husband tells his son that he’ll die to protect him, Sheryl echoes these words, which lead her to her decision to sing. The impression that I took from this was that those words reminded Sheryl that the people around her had so much more to live for than her, which is why she needed to help raise them out of their despair.

When you look at the lyrics to Diamond Crevasse, it’s carries a different meaning depending on the context. The song speaks about trying to stay strong (”waiting for a hopeless miracle”) after being forced to say goodbye to a loved one, and the thought of meeting again in another lifetime. In one sense, Sheryl’s words echo the sentiments of the people in the shelter, uncertain of the safety of the loved ones whom they have been separated from. In another sense, they echo the sentiments