I have to say, I really am looking forward to analysing what happened during the void century, in the near future.
But I first want to turn to the Egghead plot-line: Here the SHPs are almost able to flee and are preparing, with Zoro and Jinbe almost at where Nami’s group is.
What is very interesting is the dialoge between Edison and Stussy. I said before that Stussy is not on the SHP’s/Vegapunk’s side and will betray them. And here Oda hints at it again, with Stussy refusing to let go of the control panel of the barrier. It does not serve any purpose anymore that she stays behind to deactivate the dome, because the Gorosei are able to get past it easily. Oda even highlights this statement of Edison in bold. And although it is obvious to her that the Dome serves no purpose anymore, she won’t leave her post. This is because she does not want to make sure that nobody can get in, but to make sure that the SHPs/Vegapunk cannot get out. Because it is only Nami’s group, who will have problems leaving, if the barrier stays up – not the Gorosei. And this is exactly why Stussy won’t leave the control panel – it only makes sense for her to stay, if she is there to block the exit of the SHPs. She even flatout lies her to Edison, faking concern.
Than we still have the Gorosei trying to find the Transponder snail by using Haki. This is most effective and guaratees that they can knock out most in less time. It also shows how desperate they are in finding the right snail. It makes them focus on this task rather than going after the SHPs and Vegapunk, which makes their chances at fleeing tremendously better.
However, when the transmission ends, the Gorosei will focus their attention to the crew again. And this is why it is important that they flee, either before the transmission comes to an end or before the Gorosei are able to find the right transponder snail. And now it gets even clearer, why it is important that Stussy lifts the barrier as soon as the SHPs/Vegapunk are ready to flee. Should the barrier stay up, than the Gorosei will have a chance at hindering a flight. This is a key point in the upcoming plot.
What interests me is the last sentence of Stussy: “Now that Stella is gone…Who am I meant to live for? I have no purpose…” This sounds strange coming from her, because I wonder what her purpose was in live that involved the Stella. Oda did not get clear here. We could interpret anything into it and probably have to wait until the next chapters drop (-we still need some background info of Stussy and how she came to be.).