The Traitor Plot-Twist We Never Asked For

Edens Zero Chapter 206 Review/Recap
Okay, Mashima, I have to ask: are you just trying to use a bunch of cliches now? Because coming up with this kind of twist out of left field feels like a cliche. It turns out that there is a traitor amongst the Crew of Edens…except it’s not really betrayal if the person doing it isn’t aware of it. There is, however, a real traitor amongst the Oracion Seis Interstellar, it seems. It’s just…someone that we have almost no memory of.

Review

With Kleene now out of the fight, the mission to destroy Crow takes a turn for the worse, both inside and out. Crow manages to tear off an entire wing of the Edens Zero in a single blast. Meanwhile, inside, Holy, Laguna, and Jinn continue to be overwhelmed by Crow’s machine’s. Despite this, though, Jinn manages to stay in the fight thanks to his cybernetics. Despite Holy saying he should rescue his sister, Jinn made a promise to her. Kleene learned about Holy’s horrorific past, and she wants to help. Anyone who steps aboard the Edens Zero is family to her and Jinn, and the latter intends to follow through with that.

Elsewhere, Rebecca’s group retrieves their mother’s and sends Homura topside with them. However, Pino then shocks everyone by outing herself as a traitor.

Sort of. She found out that Ziggy hacked her processing and used it to spy on all of them, much to her remorse. However, this also led her to uncover an important record, one that she thinks might be the key to stopping Ziggy, who’s currently beating the tar out of Shiki.
Back in the depths of Crow, Holy makes it to his CPU, only to be met by Cure, one of her comrades from Oracion Seis Interstellar.

Review
I’m sorry, what, Mashima? No, seriously, what is going on? Why add a traitor at this point in the game? That’s not necessarily a bad thing when done right. Kanjuro’s betrayal of the Scabbards threw me for a loop. However, this comes out of nowhere and with no foreshadowing whatsoever. That’s not good storytelling, from my perspective.

Firstly, regarding Pino, she is not a traitor. A traitor is someone who would intentionally betray their comrades. Pino would never do that, and thus she’s not a traitor. If anything, she’s an unwitting mole who had no clue what Ziggy was using her for.
As for the apparent real traitor, Cure of Oracion Seis Interstelar, it would be more of a bombshell if we knew who Cure was. I actually had to ask on Reddit to remind me who Cure was, because we’ve barely seen him in the story until now. If he’s the one behind Deadend Crow, and this is supposed to shock us, then Mashima failed in regards to me.
Storytelling flaws aside, one interesting thing did come out of this chapter. If Pino’s right, then maybe the record she found will give us the answers we want regarding how Ziggy ended up this way. I need to know, and I need to know it soon! Do better, Mashima, because you’re losing me again!
I Give “Traitor” a 2/5
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This arc has been up and down- with the downs being more prominent. And yeah; this was a little weird- it was an offhanded mention by Weisz, but that’s about all it was. At least something good is about to come out of it!
I also like that Pino is about to get involved in the fighting. Do I sense an Overdrive incoming? I already have an idea of what Mashima will do design wise, but I’m more curious what he’s gonna do with her power set.
I have 3 ideas on what this twist with Cure is doing, but it doesn’t justify this lack luster twist. When I read the spoilers, I was just like “Oh…… Okay.” Not one of Mashima’s better reveals.