Indirect Spoilers abound:
A very good episode, best one so far for me.
Spoiler
Poor Carta, this episode you became my favorite character. Her interactions with McGillis show that she had a great heart, despite being born in such a corrupted body as Gjallarhorn.
Overall great voice acting has been a hallmark for this show, I think. Even where its animation department failed to deliver, its actors nailed the emotional notes time and again without missing a beat.
It does show how far Mika's come, this ep. Back in CGS, he accepted the proposal for a duel, or at least waited for Orga's word on it. This time he just skips to the berserk option and refuses to stop until his enemies lie dead.
Merribit does indeed have a very real concern, as Radioactive put it. I can't see them not wanting revenge, but they're personifying what happens when you start rolling down that road for its own sake with nothing to stop them at the end. Problem is, as Orga keeps bringing up, they don't really have anything else but fulfilling their mission to Kudelia. What's left to fight for but their revenge? After all, when the job gets done, Mars won't be offering anything new for them, so far as things are headed right now.
Oh, and that Kimaris Trooper. It sure does get me my mecha fix. Oh it's a crime that there wasn't more of the snow battle. We get so few real engagements in the snow. Wing and X are the few I can think off the top of my head that showed significant fights in icy regions. 'tis a shame.
Now, what happened to Ein, I suspected from the moment we saw that Graze hanging malevolently from the ceiling last time, but they did a good job of making the whole scene creepier. And you know what's so funny? It's as horrible to a viewer like me as it is to Galileo. And for no better reason than Ein's exuberance about it!
Please oh please tell me this is not the end of IBO. They've taken things slow, which was chancy, but if we get a second season heavy in combat or with continued development, all'd be swell. Alas, two more episodes is NOT enough.