As 001 attempts to use the Star Entity against VIRM, it is revealed that VIRM had already booby-trapped the weapon with a virus. The APE leaders discard their human shells, revealing their true alien forms and initiating a global invasion. Key Character Developments
001 (the Princess of Klaxosaurs) hijacks Strelizia, forcibly ejecting Zero Two to pilot the weapon with Hiro . Darling in the FranXX Episode 20
The episode is highly controversial among fans and critics. While some appreciate the "Stellaris-style" space opera shift, many others criticize it for being a "trainwreck" that introduced aliens without sufficient foreshadowing, effectively discarding 19 episodes of grounded character development. As 001 attempts to use the Star Entity