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.
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'
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