The episode starts on Mainframe's docks, where we see some binomes relaxing and fishing. However, this stops once the system shakes and the voice announces that the system is crashing. Several binomes end up meeting a sticky end as a result of this, including Kiss, Sailor Moon, Fax Modem, and Indiana Jones (the latter of whom gets chased by the 8 ball from Bob's apartment). Finally, a young binome child ends up getting separated from his parents in the chaos.
Our heroes come up with a plan to evacuate all the binomes to the Principle Office. Matrix and AndrAIa escort the binomes inside, while Mouse and Ray round up any straggling survivors. Mouse is clearly flirting with the surfer, asking him if he does his surfing alone. Ray says he has to as he 'hasn't found anyone who will take the risks he likes to take' as the two rescue two punk binomes.
In the war room, Phong is reunited with his body. He says that they need to shut down the power to the other sectors in order to prevent them being completely ravaged by the shut down. The issue with this is that the core control panel was destroyed in the war, meaning that someone will have to go down into the core and do it manually. Bob volunteers to do this.
Outside, it appears that there's still one binome who hasn't evacuated - Old Man Pearson. Matrix contacts him via Vid Window and tells him that he needs to evacuate as it isn't safe anymore. The old binome is incredibly stubborn and refuses to leave, even after Matrix explains that he's Enzo. It turns out that Matrix's plea was only a distraction since AndrAIa sneaks up behind Mr Pearson and knocks him unconscious with her nails. While everything nearby seems fine, three tears suddenly appear in front of Matrix, Mouse and Ray. Out of one of the tears comes Zaytan, the User who defeated Enzo in Game Over.
Bob is preparing to enter the core, when he hears Specky talk about tears opening in the system. Bob is concerned about this, but Dot reassures him that she's got it covered and he needs to get on with his task. Bob reassures Dot that she'll see him again just as he enters the core. Shortly after this, a tear opens in the War Room and out comes 'Ash' from the 'Malicious Corpses' game.
Back with Matrix, Mouse, and Ray, Zaytan has now been joined by Santa Claus, the Knight from The Quick and The Fed, and the clown from Identity Crisis Part 2. Mouse determines that the users appearing in Mainframe are 'Undeleted RAM' being released by instabilities in the system. The three then take on the users in combat. Mouse takes on both the knight and the clown, Ray takes on Santa, and Matrix has a rematch with Zaytan. While Zaytan was able to put up a fight, Matrix is able to best his foe, and puts him down by shooting him through the head.
Elsewhere, AndrAIa is riding Megabyte's bike with Mr Pearson on the back when the spaceship from The Tearing begins pursuing her. After a brief dogfight, she takes out the ship. Then she gets ambushed by a pterodactyl plane from When Games Collide, but this gets dispatched by the pirates in a CPU, who offer to escort her back to the Principle Office. On the city streets below, Herr Doktor and his assistant are cowering in fear of getting discovered by the Mainframers. However, they then get cornered by Hexadecimal, who seems scarily pleased to see them.
Bob tries to contact Dot at the war room, but communications are down due to Dot having to fend off Ash. Hack and Slash manage to get him off her. Specky and Phong are left to deal with the user from Starship Alcatraz. Bob determines that he'll be on his own, but he's then joined by an unexpected face - Megabyte!
After defeating the last few users, the system begins to crash again. Matrix determines that everyone needs to head to the Principle Office. As they get back, Ash is still taking shots at Hack and Slash. Frisket jumps at him and kills him. Princess Bula snaps the neck of the Starship Alcatraz user. Phong tries to contact Bob, but can't get a signal.
Bob finds out that the Megabyte in the core control chamber is a simulation, designed to mock any 'saviours of the system' trying to stop Mainframe from dying. Bob tries to ignore his taunts while powering down the sectors. Eventually, more Megabyte simulations join him to highlight his futile situation. Bob powers through this and manages to fix a particularly difficult sector, which in turn causes the Megabyte simulations to shatter since one was standing in the way to try and stop Bob.
Bob eventually manages to power down all the sectors, and Matrix and AndrAIa go down to fetch Bob from the core control chamber. As he gets back up, he asks if the system is out of danger. Dot tries to kiss him, but Bob gets knocked out the way by Rocky the Rabid Raccoon, who slobbers all over Dot's face. After this, Phong sombrely tells them that while they've managed to survive Megabyte's bane, Mainframe is still doomed.
While this episode doesn't have as much going on in terms of story, mainly consisting of the battle between the Mainframers and the Users being released into the system. However, it still has some moments scattered throughout that make this episode worth a watch. They key of these being Matrix's battle with Zaytan.
I feel the main purpose the users coming into Mainframe brings is allowing Matrix to have a rematch with the user that bested him all the way back in Game Over. Back in my post on that episode, I brought up that it was a bit bizarre that the user was playing as a character that seemed more like a final boss character, but him being in that form pays off big time later on. This episode provides that pay off.
Within the games, Matrix was literally living with demons from his past, namely the feeling of failing his system. Last episode, he was able to combat most of these demons and put them to rest through defeating Megabyte. However, until now he wasn't able to confront the user that bested him to begin with. This user taking on the form of a literal demon means that he now represents the physical manifestation of Matrix's inner demons that he is now able to combat and put to rest.
Megabyte existing as a simulation to taunt anyone trying to salvage Mainframe also provides Bob with an opportunity to reunite with Megabyte, and have the two characters interact with each other. It also gives Bob with a greater challenge as he now has to circumvent the Megabyte simulations while trying to stop the system falling into complete disarray.
While of course, this episode is pretty dark as it deals with the threat of Mainframe being completely destroyed, it does still find the time to squeeze in a little humour here and there to stop the episode getting too depressing and overly serious. While the opening sequence is of course devastating to watch, the blow is slightly lessened through the presence of various binomes taking on the form of pop culture icons such as Indiana Jones and KISS. During the battle with the users, as well, a shark from the Atlantis game in 'AndrAIa' ends up flopping about on the ground, unable to do anything since it's not in water. Just before the episode wraps up and we're told that, in spite of everything, Mainframe is still doomed, we get one last burst of humour through a surprise appearance of Rocky the Rabid Raccoon.
While not the best episode this season in terms of story, this episode is still a joy to watch and the threat of Mainframe being destroyed is a very grave one that the series has somewhat explored at this point, but not at this kind of scale. Of course, so far, it appears that it was all for nothing as, by the end of the episode, Phong says that they're still doomed. With one episode left to go, it's unclear if there's any hope for them...
Next week: Mainframe appears to be done for in 'End Prog'
No comments:
Post a Comment