Didn't get around to watching the past two episodes, so I watched them back-to-back today. I'm inclined to agree that the sort of development involving interaction between Mikumo and the rest of Walkure in a scene as simple as having lunch with Makina and Reina was the sort of thing that was long overdue, and by all means should have been factored in during the first half of the series, not the second half during the final several episodes. And with Makina getting shot while protecting Freyja, I can only wonder why there were never more safeguards in place for the singers from the beginning of the series. Between the pilots of Delta Squadron often being too busy keeping the Aerial Knights at bay to stay focused on Walkure at all times, and the fact that those barriers at their command can't shield from everything without fail, I question why there was never anyone on the ground within Delta specifically assigned to preventing incidents such as that, ideally with the same level of mobility granted to Walkure themselves.
Either way, as the series reaches its end, I can't help but feel that it seems like something's missing with it, especially when one compares the pacing and developments from when Frontier aired. It's already been stated plenty of times, by myself included, how badly they've dropped the ball on the love triangle this time around (hell, watching the most recent Gundam series in Iron Blooded Orphans, even the lead for that show actually kissed the girl who liked him long before we got to it happening for either choice here, which should say enough given the lack of focus on romance in that franchise compared to Macross). If anything, I would even say that the war with Windermere in fact should have only covered the first thirteen episodes, with the second half giving way to a much bigger threat and the introduction of new characters among the protagonists and antagonists alike.