Episode 37 - Showdown

This is the episode that the season has been building up to since Firewall. That episode featured Enzo's first face to face encounter with Megabyte since becoming a Guardian, which left the young Guardian feeling humiliated and ineffectual - reinforcing the notion that the only reason he was still alive because Megabyte allowed him to live. Towards the end of that episode, Enzo said that he wouldn't rest until he stopped Megabyte. Enzo has been somewhat true to his word, even after losing a battle with the User in Game Over - fighting his way through games and systems as Matrix in order to get back home and defeat Megabyte. Now he's finally returned home and found his nemesis has practically destroyed it, it's finally time for him to face Megabyte and stop him once and for all - but is he up for the challenge?

We begin the episode on the outskirts of the now desolated Mainframe, and we see that several binomes have been left without a home in the aftermath of Megabyte's devastating takeover of the system. They observe the sky and see the Principle Office sub sphere transform into a tear as a squadron of ABC's flies overhead, forming a blockade around the tear. One of Megabyte's binomes informs him that they've successfully formed the blockade around the tear. Megabyte tells him that he will soon be able to escape from this system before turning to Phong. Phong tells Megabyte he will never win, but Megabyte simply mocks him, asking Phong who can possibly stop him.

Elsewhere, the Saucy Mare takes to the skies and flies towards the blockade. The ABC's all notice this, and take fire on the sip. While most of their rockets miss, a few manage to hit and penetrate the hull. We then see that the ship is unmanned, and the ship has been filled with explosives, which all detonate and cause the ship to set alight. The flaming ship then approaches all the ABC's, and causes them all to explode as the Mare crashes into the sea. This is observed by Capacitor, who is saddened to see his ship go down. AndrAIa reassures him that he's helped to turn this hopeless situation into a chance they have to win. Capacitor tells AndrAIa to go to Matrix, assuring her that the Mare will not go down in vein.

Near the Principle Office, Matrix and Mouse observe the Mare sinking into the sea, which Matrix confirms is the signal for them to start their attack. Matrix signals to the CPU's to fire bazookas at the Principle Office. Once they hit, Matrix orders the rebels to attack, and they all begin to head towards the Principle Office. We then cut to Dot in the rebels hideout, where we hear her thoughts on the situation. She feels that her and Bob should be out there with them, but the attack needed to go ahead either way. She wonders where Bob is as the rebels need him, but more importantly, she needs him. At Hexadecimal's Lair, Bob is tied to a chair. Hex pulls Bob closer to him so they can dance together.

Back at the attack on the Principle Office, Matrix and Mouse end up getting pinned down behind some debris by an attacking turret. This doesn't last for long, as AndrAIa knocks out the binome manning the turret with her throwing starfish. Once they're free, Mouse runs off. Inside the Principle Office, Phong is still enduring Megabyte's painful extraction methods. Megabyte gets impatient, and orders Herr Doktor and his assistant to take care of Phong.

Matrix is ordering the binomes into the Principle Office, but then glances the entrance to the main hall where Megabyte has taken up residence. He begins to tell AndrAIa that he needs to do this alone, but she cuts him off before he can tell her, as she understands. She gives Matrix a tender kiss on the cheek, and asks him to come back to her. Meanwhile, Bob is forced to dance with Hexadecimal, and she then offers him a biscuit. Bob asks to leave, but Hex tells Bob that she's unsure whether or not she wants to talk to Bob or kill him.

Matrix tears open the doors to the main hall, and Herr Doktor stands his ground. However, him and his assistant get quickly scared off by Matrix firing shots at them. Matrix approaches Phong, and introduces himself as Enzo. Phong is happy to see him, but is visibly very weak. Matrix asks where Megabyte is, and Phong tells Matrix that he's behind him just before Megabyte can strike him with his claws, knocking Matrix down to the ground. As he realises who it is, Megabyte gives a menacing grin.

As Matrix gets up, Megabyte taunts him. The taunting continues as Matrix pulls out Gun and aims it at Megabyte. Megabyte tells Matrix to put the gun away and fight him 'like a real sprite'. Megabyte cockily stands as Matrix approaches him, preparing to punch him. Matrix punches Megabyte in the chest, sending him flying to the floor and putting a dent in his body. Megabyte is visibly shocked by this turn of events, showing that he underestimated this new foe. As he gets back up, Matrix body slams Megabyte through a wall.

With Megabyte on the ground, Matrix continues to punch him. Megabyte takes a few hits before he grabs Matrix's fist and squeezes it just before his punch lands. Megabyte the extracts his claws and prepares to strike at Matrix, only for him to miss. Megabyte then backs Matrix into a corner with his claws, and prepares to strike. However, just before he can land the killing blow, AndrAIa throws Matrix her trident, which narrowly misses him. He pulls the trident out of the wall, and begins using it to battle Megabyte. AndrAIa tries to break Phong's head out of the jar and stop the codes being extracted. However, it's too late, and Megabyte now has the code to turn the tear into a portal to escape the system.

Bob is being forced into a tea party with Hexadecimal, but she won't allow him to leave since they have 'so much catching up to do'. Bob notices that Hex's mask is damaged. He wants to have a closer look, but Hex hides her mask, not wanting Bob to see it as she's afraid. Bob reassures her, and pulls her close. Hex's hand reaches out behind Bob's head and prepares to strike him. However, she's prevented from doing so by Bob firing a blast of energy from his hand at her mask.

Back at the Principle Office, Matrix and Megabyte are ascending the staircase to the roof of the Principle Office while battling each other. Megabyte is now using some kind of pipe to repel Matrix's trident. Matrix eventually uses the trident to strike Megabyte's torso, exposing some kind of wiring. Megabyte then punches the roof, causing rubble to tumble down the stairs towards Matrix. This causes Matrix to fall down the stairs on a slab of rubble. Luckily, he's able to jump off just before the rubble falls off the staircase.

Bob eventually stops blasting Hex's face with energy, and it turns out this wasn't an attack at all. He's actually healed Hexadecimal's face and now she's able to move her lips. She says that she feels 'whole' for the first time. To return the favour, Hexadecimal sends Bob back to the others.

Megabyte has now made it to the roof of the Principle Office, and prepares to turn the tear into a portal. Matrix soon catches up to him and resumes their battle. After a few blows, Megabyte hits Matrix and sends him flying. As Matrix prepares to get up, Megabyte kicks him again, sending him hurtling down the top of the Principle Office, only stopping at the edge of the roof. Megabyte slowly approaches him, extracting his claws once he's caught up. As he strikes, Matrix moves out of the way, and his claws get stuck in the ground. Matrix, visibly weakened, crawls up to Megabyte who chokes him and prepares to strike again with his claws. However, Matrix frees himself by punching Megabyte in the chest. Once free, Matrix gets out AndrAIa's trident. Matrix and Megabyte then strike each other with Matrix emerging victorious as he shatters Megabyte's claws and sends him to the ground.

Matrix puts his foot at Megabyte's throat, aiming the trident at his head. Megabyte tells Matrix he can't kill him, as it goes against everything he stands for. Matrix tells Megabyte that he took away his life, destroyed his home, and caused nothing but pain and suffering to everyone he's held dear. He pushes the trident down, but we see that he's decided to show mercy to Megabyte. He says that Mainframe will always endure, and that Megabyte should remember this defeat and humiliation, and that he can never win. Megabyte uses this opportunity to escape, turning the tear into a portal and heading towards it. Just as he reaches the portal, Mouse hacks it to turn it into a portal to the Web. A tentacle emerges from the portal and pulls Megabyte inside, and the portal vanishes just as Ray Tracer re emerges. Bob then appears on the roof, but then suddenly, the system begins to crash...

Alongside both Firewall and The Episode With No Name, this is another episode that instantly comes to mind when considering my favourite ReBoot episode. While this might partially come from the joy I felt finally watching this episode when I was 13 after waiting 9 long years to see what happened after the show was taken off air mid season in the UK, this episode serves as an incredibly effective conclusion to Matrix's character arc.

At the end of Season 2, Enzo was forced into being the defender of Mainframe through circumstances outside of his control. While he was able to fend off The User, he was no match for Megabyte, who only allowed him to live so he could convince the citizens of Mainframe how ineffective he was. His first encounter with Megabyte since becoming a Guardian left him feeling both humiliated and ineffectual. While he was eventually able to contain him in a Firewall, last episode showed that it was only a temporary measure since Hex was able to disable the Firewall and allow Megabyte to take over the system.

Not only did he fail against Megabyte, but in the end, he couldn't even defeat The User. Again, this is through no fault of his own, since as a literal child, his opponent outmatched him in both size and strength. This obviously made Enzo feel that he'd failed to defend his system, but it also lead to Matrix deciding to become tougher in order to not only survive in the games, but also defeat Megabyte. After all, if he couldn't defeat a mere User, how could he expect to stand up to Megabyte?

In Firewall, Enzo told Megabyte that he wouldn't rest until he stopped him. This episode shows Matrix fulfilling that promise by taking on Megabyte in combat. Upon seeing Enzo had returned, Megabyte initially belittles his foe, still seeing him as the mere ineffectual delivery boy. However, as the fight begins, Megabyte realises that he underestimated his foe. While Matrix is able to hold his own against Megabyte, Megabyte proves to be more than a match for his foe. The question during this fight isn't just whether or not Matrix will be able to defeat Megabyte, but also if Matrix will be able to show the virus mercy if he does manage to best him.

When we first met Matrix in Icons, he quickly took care of a virus and killed him without mercy, feeling that viruses are not worthy of mercy. This stems from his experiences with Megabyte and how he blames him for everything that he has been through. This episode shows Matrix's character growth as, in the end, he decides to show the virus mercy and spares him. As far as he's concerned, he's bested his foe, and now the virus is stuck with the humiliation of this defeat in the same way Enzo was in Firewall. The moment where he spares Megabyte is really well done, as we are initially lead to believe that Matrix has killed Megabyte only for the camera to reveal that he has spared him. This is done through a trope fairly common in programs intended for children where the impact of killing blows is shown off camera - something that is equally as effective as showing the death itself.

Megabyte's attempt to turn his defeat into victory ends up costing him in the end as well, since Mouse turns his escape into imprisonment. Ironically, being given the same fate that he subjected Bob to last season. Of course, Megabyte could still get the last laugh since as soon as he leaves the system, it begins to crash - something he's put in place in order to ensure his legacy.

Hexadecimal ends up getting somewhat redeemed in this episode, as well. This is thanks to the efforts of Bob causing her to feel whole again, somewhat helping to calm down her somewhat fragmented and chaotic personality. While we won't truly see the effects of this until next season, this episode plants the seeds for this plot line.

While it's a bit of a shame that the other characters end up a little sidelined in this episode, it's for the purpose of us focusing on the conclusion of Matrix's character arc and his final confrontation with Megabyte - something the show has been building up to for a while. With Megabyte gone, it appears that things are going to be okay - for a few seconds, then the system begins to shut down. With two episodes left this season, there's no telling if the system can be saved...

Next week: Our heroes try in vein to stop the system shutting down in 'System Crash'

Episode 36 - Megaframe

It has been eight whole episodes since we last saw the system of Mainframe (Matrix's dream sequence in Number 7 notwithstanding), the setting of the show up until that point. Since then, we've followed Matrix and AndrAIa travelling through games and systems, hoping to eventually find Mainframe. This search brought them into The Web in order to find Bob and get back home. Now, they're finally home, but things aren't quite the way that they remember them.

With a new arc, comes another new intro. Much like with the intro to arc 2, this intro kind of spoils the suspense of what Mainframe will be like when the heroes return, as we're greeted with shots showcasing a devastated looking Mainframe. While it is of course a good intro, it does kind of spoil the reveal of this now devastated Mainframe. However, it is nice to hear Dot narrating the intro.

Following this intro, a Web portal forms above the energy sea as the Saucy Mare enters the system before the portal closes. On the deck, Bob, Matrix, AndrAIa, and Capacitor are clearly devastated by what they see, and the camera reveals Mainframe, which is now in complete and total ruin with every sector being destroyed. Matrix's first concern is if Dot is okay, and Bob reassures him that she's a Matrix, and he's sure that she'd have found a way to survive like Matrix did.

Matrix and Bob decide to go into the system to investigate. AndrAIa stays behind in order to affect repairs to the ship since it's nowhere near battle ready, and she has a feeling that they're going to need her. Matrix and Bob's first stop is Megabyte's sector. Bob mends the tears in the area. Matrix is perplexed since when he left, the viruses were contained in the Firewall. 

Since the Tor is in ruins, Bob reckons that Hexadecimal must have broken free and destroyed it. We then cut to a flashback where Hexadecimal flies out of Silicon Tor, tearing her collar off and destroying the Tor with an energy blast. She then proceeds to shoot at the roof of the Firewall, causing the generators to overload and the Firewall to offline. Back in the present day, Matrix walks over to the generator, pointing out that it was overloaded with energy. Bob notices that one of Megabyte's ABC's has viral scorch marks on it, theorising that there was a battle between Megabyte's forces and Hexadecimal, who also brought reinforcements of her own.

In another flashback, we see Hexadecimal commanding a sea of nulls to attack Megabyte's ABC's, including Hack and Slash who are on the front lines. The two get blown up by Hexadecimals blasts, and the remaining ABC's are destroyed by nulls. Back in the present day, Matrix wonders who won the fight, and Bob theorises that the answer lies in the Principle Office. 

In the main hall of the Principle Office, we see that Megabyte has made the place his new headquarters. A binome informs him that he's seen Bob. Megabyte takes this to mean that Mainframe is back online, and tells Herr Doktor that it's time for them to leave since he's ruled over this decaying system for long enough.

Matrix and Bob approach the Principle Office, and see that it's guarded by ABC's patrolling the area and several searchlights. One of the searchlights shines on the pair, and Matrix initially launches into a rage, flying straight at one of the searchlights and shooting it. This causes a siren to sound, and a platoon of ABC's comes out to battle the two of them. Matrix eventually ends up getting knocked off his zip board, and separated from Gun. One ABC has him locked in their sights, and fires at him. However, Matrix is saved by Bob shielding him. Bob deflects the ABC's blast back at it, causing it to blow up before he creates a portal that allows him and Matrix to escape to elsewhere in Mainframe. Just as they leave, one binome remarks 'Those rebel scum, will they ever learn?'

Matrix and Bob find themselves elsewhere in Mainframe. The two are in disbelief that Megabyte is in the Principle Office, and Bob theorises that Megabyte needed somewhere to set up shop after his Tor was destroyed. We cut to another flashback where Megabyte's limo pulls up outside the Principle Office with a battalion of ABC's behind him. While the Principle Office fires at the invaders, all the ABC's fire at once and manage to significantly weaken the Principle Office. Back in the present day, Matrix questions if it can get any worse, and the two are asked to surrender and put their hands up by Hack and Slash, who are noticeably worse for wear.

In the Principle Office, Herr Doktor is drilling screws into some kind of device. Megabyte asks how progress is coming along on their portal generator. Herr Doktor tells him that the device is useless without Mainframe's codes, so Megabyte says that they need to 'talk to the head'. Herr Doktor initially laughs at this, but then looks shocked once he realises what Megabyte is referring to.

Matrix points Gun at Hack and Slash, but Bob reminds Matrix that the pair 'were never that bad'. Hack and Slash eventually realise that this is Bob, and seem very happy to see him. They ask who Matrix is, and Bob introduces him as Enzo. The two are initially relieved that he's on their side, and then realise who it is, and decide to take the pair to see Dot, who they have been taking care of.

Dot is commanding the resistance out of a warehouse. As Hack and Slash enter the building, two guards aim their turrets at the pair. Hack and Slash tell Dot that they have a 'very big surprise' for Dot, then split apart to reveal Matrix. Dot is initially unsure of who this sprite is, and then Matrix greets her, calling her 'sis'. She realises who it is, and then begins crying as she runs up to her brother and hugs him. Matrix tells her he kept his promise to her and has brought Bob home, and then we see that Bob is preoccupied as Mouse has decided to greet Bob by kissing him, much to Dot's displeasure. Bob and Dot aren't sure how to greet each other, but eventually settle with a handshake. Dot asks if AndrAIa and Frisket are okay, and Matrix tells her that they are both on the Saucy Mare with the pirates. This pleases Mouse, who tells Dot that her plan can now work. Bob then notices that Phong is absent, and asks where he is, causing Dot and Mouse to give each other sad looks.

We then cut to another flashback inside the Principle Office war room. After Megabyte's forces manage to successfully infiltrate the PO, Phong suggests that they evacuate. Dot gives a command that causes a secret door to open. All the forces manage to evacuate, but Phong decides to stay behind in order to give everyone else enough time to escape, ordering Hack and Slash to look after Dot, as this is the purpose he rebuilt them for. Just as they escape, Megabyte tears down the door to the war room, and extracts his claws.

Back in the present, Megabyte approaches 'the head', which turns out to be Phong, who's head has been decapitated and kept alive in a jar full of liquid. Megabyte asks Phong for the codes he needs, but he refuses. After he refuses, Megabyte commands Herr Doktor to activate the extraction device. This causes electrical impulses to fire into Phong's brain, slowly giving them the access codes required. 

Dot is sat alone in her office, crying to herself when Mouse makes an entrance. Dot tries to put on her 'fearless leader' act, but Mouse isn't buying it, and demands to know what's going on between her and Bob. It turns out that Dot feels guilty as she gave up hope that Bob would ever come back, and feels that she can't face him as a result of this guilt. Mouse reassures her that everyone has lost hope and changed, but what hasn't changed is Bob and Dot's love for each other, encouraging her to go to him.

Herr Doktor manages to get another character of code from Phong, which completes phase one of the plan. This causes the sub sphere on the Principle Office to shatter and become a tear that appears in the sky. This is visible from the Saucy Mare, and AndrAIa tells Capacitor that she has a 'bad feeling about this'. On the ground, Bob uses this sight to determine that Phong is still alive, as there would be no other way to get the codes needed. He tells his friends that they don't have much time, but he ends up being teleported away mid sentence...

Bob finds himself in Hexadecimal's Lair. She tells Bob that she's been so bored since Bob's been away, but now that he's back, things will begin to get interesting...

As the beginning to this final arc of the season, this episode does a great job of both establishing the new status quo in Mainframe since we've been away, but also filling in the blanks of what has happened in the intervening time through the use of flashbacks nicely spaced out throughout the episode to slowly allow us to figure out what has been going on.

The reveal of the war ravaged Mainframe is incredibly well done, initially hiding it from the audience and letting us see the reaction of the characters before we get a glimpse of the decaying system. The only things that let this sequence down are the intro sequence spoiling the reveal, and the sad music that plays throughout the entirety of the sequence, even before we see Mainframe. This wasn't always intended to be the case, as the idea was for the music to start off sounding victorious, only for a record scratch to stop the music before the sombre sounding music begins. Sadly, composer Bob Buckley was briefed too late to make this change, so the music ended up how it did in the final episode. However, these things don't diminish the effect of our heroes seeing that the place they've been trying to return to for eight whole episodes has been turned to ruin in their absence.

This Mainframe is somewhat similar to Dot's vision from 'Identity Crisis Part 2', which showed a Mainframe where Megabyte had complete and total control over the system. Of course, this one is a little different since in that episode, Mainframe's buildings were still intact as opposed to this episode where Mainframe is in complete ruin. 

This episode also has the first instance of flashbacks in the series, slowly showing us snippets of what's been happening in Mainframe since we last saw it in Game Over. The Firewall was obviously not going to be a permanent measure to stop Megabyte, so in the first flashback we see Hexadecimal disabling it after she's destroyed Megabyte's fortress, her payback for his imprisonment of her (or her choosing to free herself now she's got bored of playing his prisoner). Seeing these events played out in flashbacks is a lot more satisfying than if we simply had Dot or Mouse giving a lengthy exposition detailing the events.

It's also great to finally catch up with Dot and Mouse and the other characters we haven't seen in a while. Dot's reunion with Matrix is an incredibly moving moment where Dot, currently in a hopeless situation where she was forced to flee and hide from Megabyte to the extent that she gave up hope on Bob coming back, finally regains a little bit of hope when she meets her brother, whom she believed to effectively be dead.

Megabyte keeping Phong's head in a jar for his own nefarious means is a pretty dark twist, even before it's revealed when Megabyte suggests to Herr Doktor that they talk to 'the head', and even he is worried when Megabyte brings it up. When even your own henchmen have issues with what you are doing, that's a pretty big sign that it's a messed up thing to do.

This episode does a great job of setting up what's going to go down in this arc - our heroes need to somehow reclaim their dying system from Megabyte, but what next? The system is in pretty bad shape, is it broken beyond repair. Plus now Bob has been kidnapped by Hexadecimal, so he's effectively out of action until he can find a way to escape her clutches. This leave it up to Matrix, who blames Megabyte for everything he's been through, to take him down. Will Matrix show the virus mercy?

Next week: The resistance begin their assault against Megabyte's forces in 'Showdown'

Episode 35 - Mousetrap

Last episode saw the long awaited return of Bob, missing in action from the series since the finale of Season 2. While he didn't return until the very end of the episode, his presence after being away for so long definitely had a weight to it, which was welcoming after the more gloomy vibes we've had so far in The Web. In this episode, we get to see the effect that Bob's return has on the rest of the cast as well as a new obstacle the crew of the Saucy Mare have to face before returning home to Mainframe.

Following last episode, the crew's morale is pretty high. They're all sitting round the table celebrating, partying and drinking. Several binomes are passing out. Eventually, Bob calls for a toast to the crew of the Saucy Mare, followed by Capacitor toasting the Web Riders, and Ray toasting Matrix and AndrAIa, 'the sprites that brought us all together'.

Speaking of Matrix and AndrAIa, they are not partying with the rest; they are on the main deck observing the view of the Web via Vid Windows. Matrix talks about how he's happy to have Bob back, but is worried that Bob won't like what he's become. AndrAIa encourages him to talk to Bob, since the two old friends have a lot of catching up to do.

Back below deck at the party, Ray is eating the Web Rider's snack of choice - large black live worms. Bob makes a comment to Capacitor about how he never got used to them as they 'wriggled all the way down'. The Web Riders have a similar discussing amongst themselves. Ray drops the slug into his mouth, and appears to choke and fall unconscious. However, a few seconds later he gets back up and is greeted with cheers from the crew. One Web Rider tells him he is a warrior and has honour, slapping him on the back and sending him flying right into Matrix as he joins the party. Matrix's first instinct is to draw Gun, pointing it at the surfer. This causes the Web Riders to get agitated, and Bob tells Matrix to put the gun down. The situation calms down once AndrAIa lowers Gun for Matrix. Matrix is clearly ashamed of his actions, claiming he 'just reacted' before sadly walking off. AndrAIa gives Bob a look, and Bob responds with an understanding nod.

Bob joins Matrix above deck. Matrix apologises for his actions, saying he wanted Bob to be proud of him. Bob reassures him by confirming he is proud of him. Matrix says that he did questionable things, and Bob says that Matrix simply 'did what he had to do', and that once the Surfer gets them back to Mainframe, they can deal with Megabyte and then Daemon together. The two go to join the others, and Matrix tells Bob it's good to see him. Bob replies that it's good to see him too, referring to him as Matrix rather than Enzo.

Mr Andrews, the ship's helmsman, informs Capacitor that the tear is in sight with the address of Mainframe. They are nearly home. However, the happy atmosphere on the ship is disrupted when the ship is hit by some kind of energy. It appears that the Saucy Mare is now stuck in an energy trap. The Web Shields get struck by a lightning bolt, and the crew decide to power the ship down in order to make them a harder to spot target. Matrix assumes that this is the work of the Guardians, but Bob doesn't think that it's their style. Eventually, they work out that this trap is the work of Mouse. This worries AndrAIa since they might have stood a chance against the Guardians, but against Mouse is a whole different issue.

Another energy surge hits the ship, leaving the ship dead in the water. Capacitor has an idea, getting Matrix to use his eye to determine when the next energy surge is going to hit, and then hoisting the sails to use the surge to escape the trap and reach the tear. It helps to get the ship out of the trap before the sails get completely torn to shreds.

Bob asks for the ships schematics so he can work out how to get the power back online. AndrAIa looks at the schematics, but can't see in the dark. A light suddenly appears, and then eats through the schematics charts. It turns out that these are pixels that are beginning to eat through the ship. The crew attempts to fight them inside the ship, but Bob determines that this isn't effective as they need to stop the pixels before they enter the ship. He sends the Web Riders outside to deal with the issue with Ray deciding to join them.

They initially can't get outside since the airlock has been sealed shut with the power out. Matrix uses brute force in order to open the airlock and allow the Web Riders and Ray to exit and dispose of the pixels. Once the pixels are gone, Ray generates a forcefield around the ship and AndrAIa's able to get the power back online, setting them on course to get back to Mainframe. However, another trap gets activated, separating the ship and the Surfer, meaning he's unable to turn the tear into a portal.

AndrAIa says that they need a plan to get out of this situation, but this is out of Bob's element as he's used to thinking on the fly and letting Dot do all the planning. AndrAIa isn't sure why Mouse's traps are attacking them because they should only be attacking Web Creatures. Matrix's idea is to ram the tear and make a hole in the buffer. Bob is reluctant, and eventually realises why the ship's being attacked - the Web Shields are made of dead Web Creatures. Bob suggests tearing down the shields just before they reach the tear, but there's another problem - there's no way of turning the tear into a portal back to Mainframe.

Glitch begins to communicate with Bob, and suggests something to Bob. Bob isn't too sure about what Glitch is suggesting, but eventually reaches the conclusion that there is no other option. He gets the rest of the crew to stand back, and then gives the command 'Glitch, Download!'.

Energy begins to swirl around Bob which culminates in an explosion of white light. Bob is now clad in a silver outfit with yellow accents. He says that him and Glitch are now one, and now it's time to go home.

He floats up to the top of the ship surrounded by a golden glow. He bursts through the Web Shields, shattering them and encasing the ship in the same golden glow. Bob then uses his hands to shoot energy at the tear, turning it into a portal. The ship then reaches the portal as Bob gives his classic narration and we end the episode as the Saucy Mare enters the portal back to Mainframe with the ReBoot logo.

As the ending of the penultimate arc of the season, this episode does a good job of capping off the story arc of finding Bob in The Web, a storyline that has been in the works since the end of last season, as well as the cast finally making it out of The Web. As well as featuring a different type of threat which hasn't really been seen in the series up until now, it also has some really good character moments, particularly with Matrix.

At the start of the episode, we see that while Matrix is happy to be reunited with his hero, he's worried that he won't like the man he's become. What I like about this moment is how it echoes Matrix's worries that we saw in Number 7. In that episode, we saw Matrix's fear of his friends and family not liking what he's become amplified in a dream where he literally becomes Megabyte. Those fears clearly haven't gone away since that episode, as Matrix is paranoid that Bob might not approve of how he's turned out.

Then at the party, we see Matrix's nature of resorting to aggression when met by it, something he clearly regrets once he calms down. My reading of this is a result of Matrix's time in the games. He had to live with the failure of not being able to save Mainframe, feeling helpless against both Megabyte and The User. This clearly affected him through his time in the games, shaping his worldview and making him incredibly trigger happy when agitated.

The fallout of this scene, featuring the first full conversation between Matrix and Bob, is another great scene. It's nice to see these two characters talk and to see how Bob is proud of Matrix and understands that he did what he needed to in order to survive. This is a great lesson to learn when growing up - sometimes we do things we regret or wish we could change, but these provide us with important lessons that help us to grow as people.

The threat of this episode is something that we haven't really seen before - an intangible foe. This gives the episode a different feel in comparison to other episodes since our cast are made to fight against a foe that they can't physically defeat. This is something that puts the characters out of their element as they are used to facing opponents that are able to be subdued with the use of brute force. Another great thing about this threat is that it's something that was brought up in Web World Wars - Mouse hacked into The Web to make it impossible to locate Mainframe from The Web.

The episode's ending where Bob merges with Glitch is a really profound moment. We can see in the scene that Bob is reluctant to do so for some reason,  but since we're only hearing half the conversation due to Glitch communicating through sounds rather than words, we don't know why Bob is reluctant. However, he eventually realises that it's the only way they can get back into Mainframe, and decides to make the decision to merge with Glitch, allowing the cast to return home.

This is a great episode that gives a triumphant ending to an arc that has been pretty sombre. It gives a lot of hope now that our heroes are finally returning home. However, there's no telling if things will be as they remember them once they get there...

Next week: Our heroes return to Mainframe only to find it in ruins in 'Megaframe'

Episode 34 - Web Riders On The Storm

Last episode left our heroes in pretty bad shape - AndrAIa is still rapidly losing her energy after being bitten by a web creature, and everyone else now has to contend with a new unknown threat that clearly has an advantage over them in terms of numbers. The crew is clearly out of their element, and the odds are stacked against them. This week, we get to see how truly formidable these mysterious Web Riders are and learn exactly what they are as well...

We begin the episode in the Web, and the Web Riders that attacked them last episode appear to have disappeared. Matrix has the feeling that they're still out there and preparing to strike. Ray comments that in all his travels to The Web, he has never encountered anything like the Web Riders. Matrix goes below deck to see AndrAIa, who's condition appears to be getting worse. Ray goes down to join him, and Matrix gets frustrated with him for not being able to cure her. Princess Bula manages to prevent the situation from escalating, and Ray consoles Matrix, saying he understands his frustrations but his fight isn't with him, it's with whatever drove the Web Creature away. Ray leaves to see if he can pick up the creature's trail. After he leaves, Matrix laments that this is his fault, and because of his jealousy, he could now potentially lose AndrAIa forever.

On the decks, Captain Capacitor and the crew are preparing for battle when Mr Christopher approaches them, worrying that this voyage through the Web isn't generating any profit for them. Capacitor says there's some things that are more important than profit, such as repaying a debt to an old friend. Back below deck, Princess Bula brings out a device that will transfer energy from Matrix to AndrAIa. Matrix says that while it won't cure her, it will at least buy her some time. Bula points out that it might hurt, but this doesn't phase Matrix. Bula connects Matrix and AndrAIa together via the machine, and energy transfers from Matrix to AndrAIa. While Matrix becomes noticeably paler as a result, AndrAIa becomes a little more stable and less transparent.

As the pirates are preparing for the upcoming battle, Miss Sally reports that Ray is on his way back - and he's not alone. We then see that Ray is being pursued by the Web Riders. Ray calls out for the pirates to open the hatch. Ray then taps his board, causing him to disappear into it. The board then speeds ahead to the airlock, eventually crashing into it and leaving a large dent. Capacitor orders the crew to open fire. Below deck, Matrix is still with AndrAIa when he feels the ship rocking. Bula goes up to assist with the battle. However, when the battle gets particularly intense, Capacitor asks Mr Christopher to go downstairs and 'extend an invitation to Mr Matrix to join us'.

Mr Norton is able to successfully shoot down one of the Web Riders, but this victory proves to be short lived as another cannon gets disabled by another Web Rider's sword. Ray regains consciousness, although he's still noticeably weak. Matrix is also in a pretty rough way, as he's struggling to remain conscious as he approaches the deck. He climbs up the rigging and eventually reaches the wall. He pokes gun through part of the ship, and uses it to target all of the web riders outside before firing. One by one, the Web Riders get shot out of the sky. After seeing what's become of their ranks, the leader gets the remaining riders to fall back. After this brief victory, Capacitor tells Matrix that Bob would be proud of him, which leads Matrix to ponder if Bob has come across these warriors.

Their victory proves to be short lived, as the Web Riders return herding the pod of Web Creatures towards the ship. They attack the walls, causing a breach in the hull that leads to some of the crew being sucked out into the Web. The breach also allows the Web Riders to enter the ship. A large warrior instantly begins attacking Matrix. Capacitor attempts to use his sword on them, but it has no effect on them. Princess Bula is able to subdue a couple through knocking their heads together. Ray manages to hold his own until a couple of Web Riders grab his board and hit it, causing him to get knocked down.

Matrix eventually manages to get the strength to knock off the helmet of the large warrior he's battling, revealing his face. It turns out these Web Riders are sprites who have been degraded by The Web. The creature speaks in the Web Rider's dial tone dialect 'Disrespect Is Unwelcome' before knocking Matrix down to the ground. At this point, it appears that all hope has been lost for our heroes....

Then a new player enters the battle on a zip board. He orders the Web Riders to stand down, referring to the crew as his friends. The riders behind him close the ship's breach. This mysterious new rider approaches Matrix, and extends his hand out to him. Matrix isn't sure what to make of this, but then Glitch flies off of Matrix's belt and into the stranger's hand. The stranger then attaches it to his wrist - confirming that this is Bob. Mr Christopher staggers onto the deck, saying that there's not much time to save AndrAIa. Upon hearing this, Bob makes his way down below deck.

As Bob enters the room, Frisket growls at him. Bob says hi to Frisket, causing him to briefly stop and sniff, and then resume growling after realising who it is. He hooks himself up to the machine, and AndrAIa instantly stops becoming transparent. Bob taps his chest, revealing his Guardian Icon that has been absorbed into his suit. He uses his icon to restore AndrAIa's code, allowing her to regain consciousness. As she wakes up, she says 'Oh Bob, we found you'. With the rest of the Mare below deck with them, Bob removes his helmet. Everyone is expecting him to be fully degraded, but as he turns around, we see that, while he's certainly got some scars from his time in The Web, he hasn't degraded fully like the other Web Riders. Matrix is certainly excited to see Bob, briefly reverting back to Little Enzo and preparing to pounce on Bob. However, Bob stops him, saying he's a little too big to do that now, so the two settle on a handshake.

A large chunk of this episode's focus is on the conflict between the crew of the Saucy Mare and the Web Riders. While this is certainly an exciting sequence with a lot of great action, it does mean that as a consequence of this, there's not as many character moments throughout the episode. It doesn't hurt the episode too much since the onslaught of the Web Riders doesn't leave much breathing room for the characters to reflect.

The scene with Matrix at the start of the episode is a good one at establishing that Matrix is aware that he is somewhat to blame for AndrAIa's condition. His frustration with Ray this time around doesn't come from his jealousy, but from his fear of losing AndrAIa and how helpless he is to do anything about it. When Ray leaves, Matrix blames himself for what happened, claiming that he could have been there to protect AndrAIa if it wasn't for his jealousy. We also see how prepared Matrix is to save AndrAIa, giving up some of his energy in order to keep her stable.

The battle with the Web Riders that makes up the chunk of the episode is a pretty intense battle that really takes it's toll on the characters, who are greatly outnumbered in both strength and numbers. It also provides us with one of the gorier moments of the series when we see the corpse of a Web Rider floating in mid air with green blood spilling out from his head in the aftermath of Matrix's attack.

As for the Web Riders themselves, we find out more about them and learn that they are degraded sprites. This is an interesting plot point since it creates more of an intriguing aspect behind their character - they are sprites who, much like Bob, have somehow ended up in The Web, and now roam the wastelands as warriors trying to survive. This concept was one that was pitched by Brandan McCarthy as a potential sister series to ReBoot called 'Web World', which would follow these warriors who assist those who end up in The Web. While this idea was scrapped, it ended up somewhat making it's way into Season 3.

Of course, the main point of this episode is the return of Bob, largely absent from the season asides from the dream sequence in Number 7. He doesn't appear until the end of the episode, but his return is built up pretty well. Up until this point, there hasn't been any signs of Bob in the Web, and then suddenly this mysterious stranger shows up, and orders the Web Riders to stand down since he considers the crew of the mare as his friends. Of course, since he's masked, we don't know who he is. However, when Glitch is drawn to the stranger it makes it pretty clear that this is Bob.

The reveal of Bob's face at the end is interesting since it's pretty clear that the stranger is Bob up until this point, but since the other Web Riders have all degraded, it's assumed that Bob would have also been degraded as well. Luckily, it's revealed by the episode's end that Bob has only partially been degraded, and very much looks like his old self. The way his mask operates is very similar to that of Predator.

This is a great episode that builds off the promise of the previous episode of the threat of the Web Riders, revealing their identities as degraded sprites and living up to the threat that they were built up as in the previous episode. Likewise, the end of the episode saw the return of a familiar face in the form of Bob, the one Matrix had ventured into The Web to save to begin with. With that part of his quest now complete, there's only one thing left to do - return to Mainframe!

Next week: Matrix, AndrAIa, Bob, and the crew of the Saucy Mare begin the treacherous journey back to Mainframe in 'Mousetrap'