Recap: Voltes V: Legacy, Episode 4 – Voltes Team

Back on Boazan, Rozalia has given birth, but she feels sorry to her son having to grow up without a father. Mama Fadsa believes Hrothgar is still alive and will return to save them. She hugs the baby tight and asks Rozalia what she will name him.

Rozalia flashes back to a moment with Hrothgar as they celebrate the news of her pregnancy. Hrothgar says he is proud to be the father of the future emperor of Boazan. Rozalia asks how he can be so sure their baby will be a boy. Hrothgar shows Rozalia the special twin dove dagger which will be their child’s first weapon to use to protect the empire and a symbol of their family.

Back in the present, Rozalia says their son’s name will be Zardoz, meaning malakas or strong. Mama Fadsa believes that is a perfect name as the baby will be their strength until Hrothgar returns.

However, Mama Fadsa is shocked when she discovers Rozalia has taken her last breaths. She is stricken with grief that her grandson has now lost both his parents.

As Mama Fadsa puts a veil over Rozalia, Zambojil and his mother arrive along with some soldiers. He says he wants to meet his nephew, the son of a traitor. Mama Fadsa screams that Zambojil is the true traitor and she slaps him. Zambojil warns her that he will not hesitate to make-patol to a grandma.

Zambojil’s mother takes the baby. Mama Fadsa begs them not to take her grandson.

Zambojil tells her not to worry. “Hindi ako papayang na mauulila ka sa kanya.”

He takes a soldier’s dagger and stabs her in the stomach, killing her. Now both Mama Fadsa and Rozalia are dead as Zambojil and his mother take the baby Zardoz with them.

Back on Earth, Hrothgar and Dr. Mary Ann are sitting on the beach by a fire. Hrothgar thinks about how his wife would have given birth by now if she was still alive. Dr. Mary Ann says she is sorry for his loss and suggests the only thing to do is try to move forward and forget the pain of the past.

Hrothgar agrees and says Hrothgar is dead. He must now live as a new person on Earth. Dr. Mary Ann says he should adopt a new name then and he asks what she suggests.

Dr. Mary Ann says his name should reflect his strength and resilience, especially in surviving his journey to Earth. In remembering when he grabbed her arm at the isolation unit, she suggests Armstrong… Ned Armstrong.

“Ned” is her late father’s name and she apologizes for letting him borrow the name, but he likes it. He officially takes the name Ned Armstrong.

Dr. Mary Ann says he should get a haircut to go with his new name. As she strokes his hair, HrothNed takes her hand in his and they share a look.

Later, Ned explains that Earth will need to develop weapons that can counter Boazan’s Beast Fighters, powerful robots with artificial intelligence. That includes their own fighting robot. Ned will use his knowledge of the Beast Fighters and intelligence to develop it.

Colonel Oscar Robinson says they will build a camp on Falcon Island in the Philippines where all this development will take place.

Ned introduces his Ultra Electromagnetic Volt In Fighting Machine (UEVIF). Dr. Richard Smith suggests they call it Voltes. But Ned says it is called Voltes V because it comprises five separate war machines that can combine into one large fighting robot which will save Earth.

After the presentation, Dr. Mary Ann congratulates Ned and he says he was just inspired by her. Or, everyone like her who are motivated to protect their world.

But actually, Ned takes Dr. Mary Ann’s hands in his and they kiss.

A couple of months later, they are married and they give birth to their first baby. Ned suggests the name “Steev En,” which means “a good leader” in Boazanian. Dr. Mary Ann says why not Steven or perhaps Steve instead. Ned likes “Steve.”

Ned promises to Dr. Mary Ann and Steve that he will not let anything bad happen to them, especially nothing like what happened to those he loved before.

Fast forward a couple of years. The Camp Big Falcon Research Institute is under construction, but already up and running.

A pregnant Dr. Mary Ann tours her now two sons Steve and Bert through the camp where the Voltes V robot is being built. They move on to look for Ned.

Ned is speaking with Colonel Robinson and Dr. Smith as they look over Hrothgar’s now-repaired spaceship. They ask what it is for and Ned says he will use it to return to his home planet.

Dr. Mary Ann is shocked to hear Ned’s plans. The colonel and doctor leave to allow the family to talk privately.

Dr. Mary Ann asks when Ned was meaning to tell her all this. Steve and Bert hug their father and ask him not to leave them. He tells them that he is not leaving yet and will wait until their mother gives birth so he can see their younger brother.

Steve asks if he and Bert can go to the other hall and watch the building of the big robo. Ned says yes and they hurry over, leaving their parents alone to talk.

Ned apologizes to Mary Ann and says he must return to his planet to save the slaves that he knows are still being oppressed. Dr. Mary Ann asks what then of Earth. Ned says all the necessary defense systems Earth needs are being built and being readied.

Dr. Mary Ann asks what about her and their children. Ned says he loves her and their children. Dr. Mary Ann is afraid something may happen to him, but he assures that nothing will happen and he will return safely to them so they can be a family again.

Dr. Mary Ann says she feels like she doesn’t want to give birth anymore knowing Ned will then leave.

Ned takes her in his arms.

Episode Thoughts

Another good episode. Not much action. But definitely a lot of drama that furthered the story. Or backstory, at least. And that is great.

I guess the biggest “surprise” was that Zardoz is Hrothgar and Rozalia’s son. I came across some comments saying that in the original series, this reveal was done a bit later. And I definitely see the value of dropping that bomb later in the middle of the action.

Based on the preview though, I assume we’ll be getting more about Zardoz’s childhood and growing up. Perhaps explaining how he became the way he is today with wanting to conquer worlds like Uncle Zambojil. I don’t know if the original series explored Zardoz’s story. But considering Voltes V: Legacy is 80 episodes compared to 40 of the original anime, I’m sure they will be adding a lot more to the story.

It will be interesting to see as I think it can definitely add to the conflict and drama that would develop between Zardoz and his little human brothers. Again, it’s a very toku-like story that I’d expect to see on Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. (And even teleseryes.) So having that familiar story with the unique action of Voltes V is very fun.

Lots of emotional scenes this episode. From Rozalia and Mama Fadsa’s deaths to the sweet relationship that develops between HrothNed and Dr. Mary Ann to those final scenes of Ned telling his family he is leaving them; all really great character moments.

Max Collins and the acclaimed actor/writer/director Bibeth Orteza were great in their roles. Again, short, but impactful performances. And definitely integral to the greater story.

With Ned and Dr. Mary Ann, I can see how it might feel rushed. But at the same time, Dennis Trillo and Carla Abellana’s chemistry is so great that you can easily believe and be invested in their relationship.

Have you watched the interesting film duo To Every You I’ve Loved Before and To Me, The One Who Loved You? Because it almost felt like that here with HrothNed and Dr. Mary Ann and Rozalia. lol At the end, you can’t help but think HrothNed still hopes that Rozalia is alive and that she is his true love. Even though he mentions wanting to free the slaves, you still can’t help but think about it. So where does that leave Dr. Mary Ann? Lol I do think he does love the kind doctor. And it’s of course hard to just forget a past love. But I thought it was amusing considering I had just watched those two movies recently.

The rest of the episode quickly set-up Camp Big Falcon and how Voltes V comes to be. I don’t know if the anime introduced all that specifically like here, or they just had it exist like toku would do with their headquarters and the like. But I liked seeing it here. It was quick, but good establishing scenes.

Elsewhere, I’ve always had trouble translating from Tagalog to English. I mean, especially when Tagalog isn’t my first or even second language. And there’s always a lot of nuance and no direct translations for some words. So this will probably be my biggest challenge in recapping Voltes V. lol So pardon my random Taglish or konyo in my posts. Lol

Anyway, this was another good episode overall. I enjoyed all the nice drama and it really feels like we are getting to see this big world and story being unfurled with every episode. It will really give the action-heavy episodes the needed depth to truly be impactful and exciting.

Voltes V: Legacy Episode 4 is available on GMA Network’s official YouTube channel:

However it is restricted to the Philippines only. Hopefully it will be made available worldwide soon!