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'
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