WARNING: The following contains spoilers for 86-Eighty-Six Episode 11, “Here We Go,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
After their loyal companion Fido's tragic demise, 86-Eighty-Six's first cour finale leaves viewers with an even more tantalizing cliffhanger as the five remaining Spearhead Squadron members continue traveling through uncharted Legion territory.
Much like Episode 10, the finale balances lightheartedness with heavy emotions and shockingly tragic moments. After being ambushed by the Legion, Shin, Raiden, Kurena, Anju and Theo are left with little food and ammo and only one Juggernaut still operable. They continue their quest to survive as long as they can, killing every Legion mecha along the way until they finally die. Their journey's end may have arrived.
The gang rebuilds Fido's outer shell and operates him from the inside, also taking turns piloting their lone remaining Juggernaut -- Shin's Undertaker – through the Legion's strongholds. They happen across another abandoned city, this one including a school. In a lovely sequence, they all enter a classroom and sit at the desks while Anju pretends to be the teacher taking attendance. However, their smiles and laughter are also a chilling reminder of what these oppressed child soldiers' lives should have been like all along.
As they leave the city and journey through the wild once more, Shin suddenly wants to switch with Anju and pilot Undertaker himself. They laugh and think he's just bored, but then Shin uses Undertaker to pull down part of a nearby rock wall, separating him from the others. He alone could hear more Legion mechas coming, and not only are they unavoidable, they're now in greater numbers than before. Shin is sacrificing himself so the others can try to escape and live a little longer.
Predictably, Raiden, Theo, Kurena and Anju call him an idiot and eventually make their way to him. Shin battles hard against the Legion but he's only one soldier piloting a single run-down Juggernaut – even he can't hold out forever. As the others arrive with only basic rifles to fire, Undertaker's front legs have been cut off and Shin is severely wounded inside. The scene ends with an enormous new Legion model opening Undertaker's hatch, preparing to take Shin's head. His four best friends and fellow 86 lie elsewhere on the battlefield, all unconscious. Their fate remains unclear, but the finale leaves three potential hints. Two suggest they are dead, but there may be one glimpse of hope for their survival.
Back in the Republic of San Magnolia, Lena visits the 86th sector barracks, the place the Spearhead Squadron and countless other 86 soldiers called home for so many years. Along with their beloved cat, Lena finds one of Shin's books with a ruffled paper inside. It's the photo of an enormous pig in a dress – Theo's artistic depiction of Lena at the start of the series – along with written messages they left her just before beginning their suicide mission. Though they still see her as a self-righteous Alba who's too idealistic for her own good, they begrudgingly show her respect and even friendship with their parting words. It's clear that the emotional Lena believes them dead.
Also supporting the idea that Shin and the others are gone is a startling post-credit scene. The younger Shin is seen with his older brother Rei, whose Legion mecha he finally killed in a recent battle. Here, though, Rei apologizes for everything Shin had to go through, then suddenly appears dressed as a knight in shining armor: the way Shin viewed him back in their childhood. The two hold hands and exit the screen together, before the older teenage Shin is shown with a headless body. It turns out a surprise Episode 12, titled “Special Edition,” is coming soon.
However, one of the Legion Shin fought plays a dead person's voice shouting about protecting a princess. It's unlikely 86-Eighty-Six would randomly place such a distinct message about royalty in its finale. Could the Spearhead Squadron have gotten close to reaching a surviving nation? Perhaps someone out there could still save them? It's the mother of all cliffhangers, and it's not even clear whether their fate will be shown in this “special episode” or if we'll have to wait until the second cour arrives. Regardless, 86-Eighty-Six has been a triumphantly emotional journey and an outstanding adaptation of its light novels.