Chris Davies wrote:

On Sat, 28 Nov 1998, David Johnston wrote:

Did I miss the part which explained why Pluto did such an idiotic
thing?  I've been waiting quite a while for Serenity to face off
against Pluto and demand an explanation, so I'd hate to think that
I missed it.

        You didn't miss it.  You're never going to see it.  "Pluto as deus
ex machina" rides again.

Chris Davies.

It's particularly bad in this case because it seems so peculiarly unhelpful.

Consider, here we have Misako, the neglected second child being encouraged
to hate her elder sister to whom she'll have to swear loyalty one day.  
Even worse, although Usagi has the claim to the throne by primogeniture,
Misako is the inheritor of the power of the Earth.  Who better than the
holder of the Earth power to be the queen of Earth?  With only one 
generation into the dynasty, the basis for royal legitimacy hasn't been
established by tradition, so Misako makes a very viable claimant to the
throne who has been trained to be disloyal.  

At this point one begins to suspect that Pluto does not have the realm's
best interests at heart, which is a possibility, but not one that seems
to be supported by the general style of the series or the redirection of
Misako away from being groomed to be the next Queen Nephrenia.  So what
the heck is Pluto doing?  Preserving the One True Timestream?  Nonsense.
Misako wasn't _in_ the One True Timestream.

Pluto's use as a plot device is aggravated by its lack of necessity.  
It was perfectly believable that Misako would be neglected in favour 
of the heir, particularly given the bizarre circumstances under which
Serenity met Princess Usagi for the first time and their similar 
dispositions.  Parents screw up.  It happens and can be forgiven as the
product of human fallibility.  But this...