Monstrous Like Muir

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“Monstrous Like Muir”
Ōban Star-Racers episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 18
Guest stars	None
Written by	Savin Yeatman-Eiffel
Directed by	Thomas Romain Savin Yeatman-Eiffel
Production no.	118
Original airdate	16 October 2006
Episode chronology
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"Optimised Like Ondai"	"The Origin of the World"
Episode chronology

"Monstrous Like Muir" is an episode of the series Ōban Star-Racers.

The Earth Team has finally begun to catch up in the rankings. Molly comes face-to-face with a racer, whose desire for the Ultimate Prize may not be so different from her own. Faced with the reality that Molly is his long-estranged daughter, Don Wei is conflicted by his desire to protect her and his responsibility to win at all costs.

[edit] Plot

The floating temple flies through the snow covered mountains. Inside the team module, Don Wei slowly descends the darkened staircase to the lower level; his mind deep in thought. Emerging into the hangar he approaches the Arrow III and silently looks at the racer. As he stares, the ghostly image of a race mechanic runs past him and says good morning. As Don watches he sees the image of the man and another mechanic begin working on the Arrow. The hangar slowly changes around him until he's standing in his old race hangar looking at Maya's racer. The image of Maya appears and asks him 'a penny for his thought'. Turning towards the vision, he asks in a quacking voice if it's really her. The ghostly image reaches out and takes his hand and suddenly Don appears as his younger self. Maya asks him if he knows what’s special about that day. He replies that it's their anniversary and the two run off laughing as the two mechanics chuckle to each other.

That evening, Don and Maya arrive at a luxurious restaurant next to the ocean. Maya remarks that Don pulled out all the stops that evening, to which Don coyly replies that he doesn't know what she means. A song begins to play and Don asks Maya to dance with him. Taking his hand she remarks that he married a racer, not a dancer, and asks if he's willing to risk it as he leads her to the dance floor. They stare lovingly at each other as they waltz among other couples. Maya accidentally steps on Don's foot and playfully apologizes but Don doesn't mind. They return home and embrace in a dark room as moonlight pours through a nearby window. Maya wishes that things could be like this forever and Don warns her that her wish may come true, and they share a passionate kiss. They hear rustling footsteps and turn to see little Eva clutching a stuffed animal, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She smiles when she sees her parents and Don walks over and picks her up. Eva's babysitter walks in and comments on Eva's energy and Don says she should be in bed. Eva pouts and asks why they 'abandoned' her as Maya offers a comforting apology. The babysitter leaves them alone and all three stand in an embrace. Don looks at Maya and says that she's made him the happiest man in the world. As she looks back at him, his eyes well up with tears of happiness. Back in the module hangar, tears strike the cold stone floor and Don is left alone in the dark as he's overcome with grief.

The floating temple soars over yellow monoliths surrounded by green waters. Inside, Molly is finishing dressing and moves to the other side of the room. She sighs heavily seeing Jordan still asleep. Reaching down, she grabs his ankle and drags him out of bed; Jordan asks himself what her problem is. In their 'bathroom' they refresh themselves at small fountains. As Molly brushes her teeth, Jordan combs his hair and inspects himself in a mirror; a tuft of hair springs up which he quickly pats down. Looking at Molly's reflection he asks if she's alright and she comments that she's fine since they're only three points behind the race leaders. She walks back into the other room and pulls on her gloves commenting to herself that her father is a disaster, her best friend betrayed her, and that the only thing she has left is the race and leaves. Jordan calls to her saying she should talk to Don. Walking into the next room, he says she should just tell Don Wei off, but goes rigid when he is suddenly face-to-face with Don, who is standing in the doorway. Don asks where Molly is, to which Jordan replies that she's somewhere; Don promptly leaves. Jordan’s shoulders sag as he says space would be a horrible place to die; another tuft of hair springs up on his head.

Don finds Molly in the control room looking at the new racing area. She comments that the canyons and open rivers will be good conditions for them. Stan interrupts saying that the cliffs are made of high density sulfur and are very flammable. Koji lets out a startled gasp saying that the water is actually pure acid and that if the Arrow were to land in it, the hull would disintegrate in three seconds. Molly shrugs off the comment saying all the other racers take the same risk. As she turns to leave, Don tells her not to race that day causing her to stop in shock. Koji asks Stan if Don might actually have a heart, but Stan says there's no way. Don tells Molly that it's too dangerous to race and that he'd feel awful if she was hurt. Molly comments that she earned the right to be in the race through her hard work and intends to race. They hear and see the temple signal the start of the race and Molly leaves. Don chases after her as Koji humorously says that Don's not a robot after all. Molly tells Jordan that the race is about to start but Don tells him not to move. Molly calls Jordan again and he apologizes as he follows her downstairs. Defeated, Don remarks that stubbornness runs in the family and tells Stan and Koji to help them get ready. Stan and Koji go to the hangar and get the Arrow ready to race. Upstairs Don watches as the hangar floor drops away and the race begins.

As the racers fall, Jordan watches apprehensively as they quickly approach the ground. Koji warns that they are going too fast. As they approach the river, Molly pushes the engines to full throttle and skims along the river surface as the acid slightly burns the hull. Muir is in the lead as they approach the first gate. Kross suddenly flies over Muir and lands on him, mercilessly driving his ship down under the acid. Muir's ship thrashes about under the surface and inside Muir roars and turns red in anger. As Molly approaches the gate, Muir's ship suddenly surfaces right in front of them and charges. Molly brushes against Muir's side but keeps enough control to fly through the gate. Muir turns around and pursues them, slamming into the canyon walls as it completely ignores the gate. Molly tries to evade Muir by weaving through temple ruins and walkways that span the river. Muir in his blind rage just crashes through the ruins and catches up with the arrow. His ship reaches out with long tentacles and grabs the Arrow. One of the tentacles burns through Jordan's turret and begins spewing smoke inside causing Jordan to abandon his guns. Molly pleads with Muir to let them go as Muir's ship pulls the Arrow underneath and the bottom opens. As Molly stares in shock Muir suddenly emerges and smashes through the Arrow's canopy. Jordan yells for Koji to override the lock on Molly's door. Muir approaches the frightened Molly as she tries to fend him off with her raised hand. Reaching out with a tentacle he grabs her wrist and Molly is electrocuted. Muir is suddenly assaulted with images of Molly's mother and her crash. Muir then releases Molly and changes back to his normal color.

Jordan finally opens the hatch only to watch as Muir carries Molly in his claw back inside his ship. Jordan reaches out to her but is helpless as the two ships separate. As Muir's ship flies onward, the Arrow descends towards the acid river. Don, in shock, collapses in his chair as Koji quickly engages the backup controls to keep the Arrow from landing in the acid. When Molly awakens, she finds herself inside a strange chamber surrounded by thin membranes. As she moves through the membranes she discovers Muir perched on top of a large glowing sphere. She slips and falls causing Muir to let out a cry before calming again. Molly asks why she was brought there and walks forward stating that she doesn't feel that he will hurt her. She asks if the sphere is what Muir wants her to see and approaches. Peering into the liquid-filled sphere, she sees the body of another alien that looks just like Muir. Not understanding what he wants Muir places the tip of one of his tentacles to her forehead and it glows. Molly is then shown a vision.

She sees a lush green world. She sees Muir approach a rocky outcropping and sees the other alien from the sphere, it’s Muir's mate. It is guarding a cluster of eggs and Muir has brought it food. Suddenly they hear a noise and a ship flies overhead. Muir leaves to investigate where the ship landed. He finds the ship in a clearing and cautiously approaches the boarding ramp of the ship. Suddenly shots ring out in the distance and Muir charges off into the jungle. Back at the outcropping, two hunters have shot Muir's mate and are cutting off her tentacles, claiming that they will sell for a lot of money. Muir appears and charges the hunters, killing them. Looking down at his mate, Muir reaches out a tentacle and touches her as she dies. Muir cries out bitterly as the vision ends. Back inside the ship, Muir removes his tentacle and Molly suddenly realizes the truth; Muir wants the Ultimate Prize to bring his mate back to life. With a sad and understanding gaze, she remarks that she wants to bring her mother back as well.

The Arrow skims along the river surface and Jordan lies curled up on the floor. Stan radios and says they are bringing him back to the temple, but Jordan says there's no point now. Hearing a rumbling behind him he looks up to see Muir's ship approaching, and it's carrying Molly in it's tentacles. Jordan calls out to Molly and Stan and Koji call to Don. Don stands up from his chair and sees Muir’s ship returning with Molly and joyfully states that it's a miracle. The ship hands the sleeping Molly back to Jordan and he holds her in his arms as she slowly wakes. Gazing into his eyes, Molly quietly says hello and ask Jordan, 'a penny for his thoughts'. Later that night, Don walks into Molly's chamber, and parting the curtains gazes down as his sleeping daughter. Smiling he turns and walks into the courtyard where Stan and Koji watch him with curious looks. As he leaves they turn to each other and smile.

Don returns to his room and activates the communication system in his desk. Back on Earth, Don's projection materializes in the Earth President's chamber. The President greets him and congratulates him on getting to Oban. Don reminds him that he’d been asked to take the team as far as possible. They won on Alwas and even managed to score a victory on Oban, but Don has decided to not go any further; the team is withdrawing. The President casually dismisses his statement saying that they can't back out half way. Don presses his argument, saying that he nearly lost their second pilot and attempts to tell the President that she's his daughter. Just as he makes the statement, the President angrily raises from his chair and says that pulling out is not Don’s decision. He reveals that the Crogs are gathering at Earth's borders and will attack as soon as the truce of the Great Race is over. Don tries to protest, but the President says that unless the team wins the Crogs will wipe out all of humanity. Pointing at Don, he states that even if he doesn't like it, the fate of humanity rests squarely on his shoulders. Defeated, Don ends the transmission. In his room, Don's face becomes twisted with rage and he slams his fists hard on the desks asking, "Must I pay with my own daughter?!"

[edit] Standings

Current points as of the fifth race "The Acid River"

Pos	Racer	Points Awarded	Total Points	Points (Behind)	Note
1	Sül	9	21	0
2	Kross	6	18	-3
3	Ning & Skun	--	12	-9
4	Eva (Molly)	--	9	-12
5	O	--	6	-15
6	Ondai	--	6	-15
7	Aikka	--	6	-15
8	Furter	3	3	-18
9	Muir	--	--	-21

(Note: The performance of the racers in this race was not noted, nor was it in the next episode, though in the next episode a glimpse is taken of the scoring pillars suggesting that these were the results.)