This episode is a notable one for UK fans of ReBoot. I imagine that for fans outside of the UK, this is simply the first episode of the third arc of the show's first season, dealing with the search for Bob in The Web. However, across the pond, this was the last episode of ReBoot that aired in the UK. I'll get more into this on my future post about ReBoot's UK broadcast and how the show was handled over here, but the reasoning given for this ranges from apparent low ratings and the show's content being deemed 'unsuitable'. This, of course, meant that UK fans such as myself had to wait several years for the internet to progress in order to see the rest of the series (not helped by the fact that the show has never had a home video release over here asides from VHS tapes of the first four Season 1 episodes).
With a new story arc, comes a new title sequence. This one is similar to the previous one in that Matrix is narrating, but instead of Mainframe, he says it's Bob he's looking for. The clips are mainly taken from this arc, although there's a few shots from The Episode With No Name in there as well.
Following the title sequence, this episode begins shortly after the end of the previous one in the desert port system, and we see a ship enter the system through the tear and dock at the ports. We then cut to outside the bar, where we see Captain Capacitor and his first mate, Mr Christopher, hiding from a CPU. A vid window pops up, announcing that there is a 10,000 unit reward for their capture, deleted or compiled. The two decide to enter the bar in order to blend in and avoid detection. However, the bar is empty asides from Matrix, AndrAIa and Frisket. Matrix recognises Capacitor, and walks up to him. Capacitor, of course, doesn't recognise Matrix, mistaking him for a bounty hunter aiming to capture him. Capacitor and Mr Christopher flee the bar with Matrix and AndrAIa leaving soon after. Matrix fills in AndrAIa on who Capacitor is, and then sends Frisket to pursue Capacitor and Mr Christopher.
At the prison at the top of the system, we see some prison guard binomes escorting a sprite sporting goggles and a shiny blue outfit to a room which features a machine that looks somewhat like a vending machine. The machine announces that this sprite, Ray Tracer, has been found guilty of unauthorised system travel, and is set to be deleted at 0800 in the name of the Guardians. The machine wishes for him to have a nice day as the binomes escort him and his surf board out of the room. Ray mentions that the guards look 'uptight', and recommends that they try 'logging off' as it relieves tension. This remark provokes one of the binomes to hit his surf board with his baton, causing Ray's suit to lose it's shine as he gets knocked out cold, and he's thrown into a cell. We pan over and see that Capacitor's crew are also being held in the prison. One of them remarks that it's not the Captain, but as long as he's free, there's hope for them.
Frisket manages to catch up to Capacitor, but ends up getting frozen in a cube by Capacitor's sword. Capacitor recognises Frisket, mainly through his teeth. Matrix and AndrAIa soon catch up, and Capactior prepares to strike Matrix as well, but stops when Matrix calls him by his true name, 'Gavin'. This causes the pirate to enquire how Matrix knows his name, and Matrix changes his icon to normal while telling Capacitor that he's Enzo, Dot's brother. Matrix asks Capacitor for help finding Bob in The Web and getting back to Mainframe, but Capacitor says he's unable to do so without his crew or his ship, both of which have been locked up by the Guardians. A blimp passes over head giving the same message about Capacitor as before. It turns out that once Mainframe shut down, Capacitor and crew attempted legitimate trade with other systems, but the Guardians took exception to that. Mr Christopher thinks there's no way of getting the crew out of the prison, but AndrAIa informs the two of a secret, unstoppable weapon that will allow them to free the crew from prison - Matrix.
Within the prison, the guards are monitoring the cells with CCTV. AndrAIa then comes in, asking the guards for help finding her missing dog. AndrAIa then invites Frisket into the room, and he proceeds to make quick work of the guards, allowing AndrAIa to disable the video consoles using her starfish as a throwing star. One of the guards sounds the alarm, which Matrix and Capacitor take as their cue to enter the prison. Matrix uses Gun to make a hole in the wall, allowing himself, Capacitor, and Mr Christopher to enter.
AndrAIa and Frisket eventually make it to the gates at the entrance to the prison only for them to close soon after they get there. This doesn't prove to be a massive obstacle as Frisket is able to destroy the gate with his jaw and throw it at the pursuing guards. AndrAIa asks Frisket to meet Matrix at the docks while she distracts the guards.
Within the prison, Matrix and Capacitor are blocked by a combination lock to the cells, but Matrix shoots the lock, and uses his strength to pull the doors open. Outside, AndrAIa attracts the attention of the CPU's, who begin to chase and fire at her. However, she manages to evade them by using her trident to pole vault over the wall of the prison.
Upon entering the cell room, Matrix blasts the bars of the cell Capacitor's crew are being held in, allowing them to escape. As the crew reclaim their weapons, they end up shaking the cage that Ray's surf board is kept in, causing him to regain consciousness. Ray calls out for Matrix to release him, as the Guardians want him deleted too. Matrix refuses, as he believes that Ray is of no use to him. However, he relents and agrees to release him after Capacitor points out that Dot wouldn't react well if she knew her brother was acting in such a churlish manner. Once Ray is released, he asks Matrix to fire another shot at the locker his surfboard is kept in. Matrix initially aims at Ray's head, but shoots the locker open, saying that next time, it'll be Ray's head he shoots. Ray then heads off on his surf board, suggesting that Capacitor and his crew head straight for 'The Edge of Beyond'.
As he flies out of the prison, Ray is spotted by three CPU's who immediately begin to chase him down, giving him the choice of surrendering or being deleted. Ray simply flies off with the CPU's in pursuit. Ray's quick manoeuvring proves to be too much for the CPU's, since they are unable to catch up and end up crashing into walls. At the docks, we see that the pirates have been able to free the Saucy Mare from the docks, and prepare to set sail out of the system and make their way into the web. However, there is trouble on the horizon as two ships are sailing towards the docked ship, and are preparing to attack.
In the city, AndrAIa has ended up in a dead end with three CPU's right behind her. They give her the choice of surrender or being deleted, but AndrAIa chooses to draw her trident. Meanwhile, she's spotted by Ray, who decides to help her. His surf board cuts the tips of the CPU's guns, rendering them useless as Ray drops down, picking up AndrAIa and flying away on his surfboard. More CPU's end up following them, so Ray quickly heads off. He asks AndrAIa if she'd like to join him as he catches the next system wave out of here, but AndrAIa asks him to drop her off at Dock 66 so she can meet up with Matrix and the crew of the Saucy Mare.
Back on the ship, Capacitor has called for battle stations, and is preparing to head off. Matrix insists that they don't leave without AndrAIa. Frisket then excitedly barks at the sky, and we pan over to see AndrAIa and Ray flying over to the ship. They land on the deck, and Matrix isn't exactly enthusiastic to see Ray again. However, this reunion is cut short by the approaching ships beginning to open fire. Matrix orders the gunners to 'fire at will' (causing one pirate to ask 'Who's Will?'). The ship then sets off, and begins firing on the approaching ships. While they are able to land a few hits on the Mare, the ships end up sinking as the Saucy Mare heads for the disk at the centre of the system's energy sea, allowing them to escape into the net.
Matrix gets angry at Ray, clearly jealous of the affection he appears to be showing AndrAIa. He asks Ray to stay out of his ray before storming off. The ship then leaves hyperspace and enters a space filled with spheres and various other 3D shapes. It turns out that the Mare's portal generator has been damaged, meaning they are stuck where they are. However, Ray reveals he's able to open portals to the Web. AndrAIa asks him if they'll help them get into the Web, and he replies with 'for you, pretty lady; anything', and we zoom in on Matrix's eye as he turns round, ending the episode.
As the end point for the series in the UK, this was a pretty bad place to end the show. Not just because the title sequence makes it clear that there are episodes that follow this one and this isn't the end of a season/series, but also because this episode was never intended to be the end of the show. However, as the first episode of this new arc, this episode does a pretty good job of setting up the dynamic of this arc with the Saucy Mare crew and Matrix and Ray Tracer's rivalry for AndrAIa's affections. As an episode, it's got some pretty fun action sequences and some really funny gags, but there's a couple of small nitpicks that stop the episode from being a truly great one.
The first of these is Matrix's attitude towards Ray when the two first meet each other in the prison. Matrix is antagonistic towards Ray from the get go, refusing to release him from prison as he feels he has no use for him. Then once he releases Ray, he nearly kills him for asking for help. This is a little out of character since Matrix doesn't really have a reason to dislike Ray, and in previous episodes, we've seen him willingly help those in need. In the end, Matrix is antagonistic towards Ray because of the affection that he's showing AndrAIa, but at this point, Ray hasn't even met AndrAIa. Of course, this doesn't affect my enjoyment of the season as a whole, but it feels a little bit off.
Another small nitpick I have is the character of Ray Tracer himself. In the almost 12 years that I've been part of the ReBoot fandom, I don't think I've seen anyone say that Ray is their favourite character. I imagine that's because, as a character, he's pretty bland. He's basically just a relatively carefree, living life on the edge thrill seeker kind of character and doesn't really have much of a personality outside of that. He feels somewhat like a character who's there more as a plot device than a character, since he's there to allow the Saucy Mare to enter The Web as well as being a foil for Matrix.
As for the rivalry between Matrix and Ray, it mainly comes across in this episode that Matrix is jealous of Ray and the attention that he's giving AndrAIa. This is something that has consequences in the next episode, so I'll get more into that next week, but as stated in my look on Icons, AndrAIa is the reason why Matrix hasn't gone 100% over the edge from his time in the games. Sure, he's incredibly hot headed and aggressive, but the love and affection that AndrAIa has provided him with has kept him somewhat stable, so it's somewhat understandable that Matrix would be a little bit on edge about potentially losing that to someone else. Even if it paints a picture that he's not 100% secure that AndrAIa would leave him, I imagine that Matrix hasn't had a rival for AndrAIa's affections until this point.
As teased at the end of the last episode, here we get the return of Captain Capacitor, a character who previously appeared in one episode of the first season. That episode was one of the highlights of the first season, and his return is more than welcome. Given that the show is going into some pretty dark territory in the coming episodes (or at least, somewhat darker than what we've had so far this season), the presence of him and his crew provides for some moments of levity amongst the darkness.
The action in this episode is well paced and enjoyable as well as well edited. It can sometimes feel like this episode is mainly chase sequences, but it makes for some exciting visual sequences and some great editing. One of my favourite moments is the part where Ray causes a CPU to crash, and just before we see the CPU make impact with the wall it's about to crash into, we cut to the pirates punching a computer console in order to release the Saucy Mare from the docks.
This episode also has some of the funniest moments this season. I find it somewhat funny (albeit also morbid) that, after sentencing him to death, the computer voice tells Ray to 'have a nice day'. I also like that Ray makes a subtle masturbation joke when he tells the guards they should try 'logging off' to 'relieve tension' (or at least, that's how I interpreted that particular line). Another of my favourite moments is a more subtle one where you faintly hear a pirate ask 'Who's Will?' after Matrix gives the command to fire at will.
While I do have a few nitpicks with this episode, overall, it's still a good episode. The writing and characterisation is still on top form for the most part. It's a little more lighthearted and not quite as dark as some of the episodes we've had so far this season, but I feel that it provides a little bit of levity just before our heroes enter the abyss next episode...
Next week: The search for Bob begins as the Saucy Mare enters The Web in 'The Edge of Beyond'.
I enjoyed this one too! A great start to the arc.
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