Carole & Tuesday – 17

「Head Over Heels」

Back when Carole and Tuesday were competing in Mars Brightest, Tuesday was the subject of harassment. But now it seems bad luck has befallen Angela. Fame comes with its share of consequences but Angela is playing right into the hands of so many different characters. Aaron is using her to get his fifteen minutes of fame, Tao is using her vocals so his music can make it to the top of the charts, and her stalker “Dark_Knight” wants her all to himself. How long will she be able to stay sane when she’s surrounded by so many people who are ‘using’ her to gain for themselves? I’m empathetic to her cause because after watching her sing on the Mars Brightest stage and her debut conference, it’s clear how much she loves to perform. I’m hoping her relationship with music doesn’t change too drastically when or if it all comes crashing down.

Ertegun’s story also took a turn for the worst. He’s a victim of fraud and loses all his assets, reputation included. The tabloids are no friends of celebrities when they go down in the dumps and people are digging through his past to add to the humiliation. It’s twisted how our world works, eh? When one’s life is in the spotlight, the public is so easily swayed when the individual is subject to harsh criticism and scrutiny. In this case, the result is Ertegun’s total meltdown. Who can blame him? Mental instability is not always an easy topic to include in an anime but I think it was done well here. He spirals down into a slump because there’s a vicious, cyclical, cruel, and abusive inner voice guiding his every thought. To be honest, I would have preferred he continue in this state a little longer as to expand on the topic. But it was really nice to watch him fight for his original creation in front of Tao and Angela. It pulled a few laughs out of me!

That said, where does he get the audacity to use Carole’s keyboard and then walk off to ask Angela to sing the song? They were right there. I thought they might come together and make a hit single but I guess it would be too easy. I suppose now that Carole and Tuesday are on an uphill climb, they need to hit some hurdles.

Their music career isn’t the only thing they are struggling with. Kyle, now reporting for the Alba Times, sheds some light on Carole and Tuesday’s friendship being at risk. With Valerie’s campaign promising to break the trade deal with Earth and refuse any more refugees from Earth, their friendship might be affected. Does the 7-minute miracle refer to how their music changes the course of Mars’ political history? Will Tuesday’s mom reconsider her position, fire Jerry, and rekindle with Spencer? I doubt there’ll be any such resolution but I can imagine Spencer and Tuesday working together for a future they want.

In the meantime though, it looks as though they’ll have to put a lot more work into their album. Tobe’s a harsh producer but I have faith he’ll help them blossom as true music artists.