Episode 47 - Crouching Binome, Hidden Virus

Almost exactly one year to the day that I started this blog, we're finally here at the final episode of the show. While this won't quite be the end of this blog as there's two more posts that I will be doing to round of this look back at the show, it's been incredibly fun looking back on the show and documenting my thoughts on each episode. However, all good things must come to an end, so now we must discuss the final episode of the entire show, an episode that is decent in it's own right, but is a bit lacking as the show's finale.

We begin the episode in the Principle Office War Room with the Mainframers watching video footage of Megabyte taking on Specky's form at the wedding. Turbo is on the line via Vid Window, and he suggests sending a squadron of Guardians to deal with the problem. Bob refuses Turbo's help since he'd rather try and reformat Megabyte than delete him, justifying this decision by saying that Daemon would have destroyed the entire net if they'd deleted Megabyte and Hexadecimal when they first arrived in Mainframe. Bob then signs off, telling Turbo that they'll contact him if they need to.

AndrAIa is perplexed at how Megabyte managed to survive in the Web. Bob reveals that Megabyte was protected by Bob's code, which he managed to obtain when he crushed Glitch at the end of Season 2. Bob goes onto explain that he changed in The Web, but wasn't aware that he was missing some of his code. This is why Bob and Megabyte were only partially degraded by The Web, since they both had some Guardian Code.

This conversation is then cut short by Specky alerting them to a commotion outside the Principle Office. Some of Megabyte's former troops are starting a riot outside, chanting that they want to be viral. This ends up being dispersed by a CPU car being driven by binome versions of the Blues Brothers who declare that they hate 'Mainframe Neo Virals'. Then five large Vid Windows open around the Principle Office as Mike the TV gives a news report on Megabyte's return, which causes the citizens of Mainframe to panic. Bob is annoyed at Mike for doing this, but then they determine that this is just Megabyte trying to stir up panic. Welman suggests finding a way to ID Megabyte, but Enzo says this won't work as he managed to fool them all when he was pretending to be Bob, and Phong's scans couldn't tell the difference. They then decide to outsmart him instead, and to do that, they need to find Dot.

Phong sends out a message to the citizens of Mainframe to return to their homes, also including a terrifying artists rendition of Megabyte's new form. Elsewhere, Dot and Mouse are talking in a park. Mouse is trying to console Dot, who is incredibly distraught over nearly marrying Megabyte. Dot feels that the worst part of all this is that she gave up on the real Bob, and isn't sure that he will ever forgive her. Bob and Matrix then show up, but Dot isn't sure that Bob is Bob, thinking that it's Megabyte in disguise again. However, Bob is able to convince her to come with him, as they need her at the Principle Office to come up with a plan to stop Megabyte once and for all.

At Al's Diner, the Neo Virals are gathering and lamenting at their defeat, longing for the days when they were respected and feared in spite of their enslavement. Mike the TV butts in, and the Neo Virals threaten that he'll be the first to go when the revolution arrives. Mike continues to taunt them, which clearly antagonises them. Then it turns out that this isn't Mike, but Megabyte. He tells everyone in the bar to surrender to him, shooting tentacles out of his hands at Al's Waiter, turning him into a zombie in order to show what happens to those who don't co operate with him.

A transport carrying the gateway command being piloted by Bob and Matrix leaves the Principle Office, escorted by a handful of CPU's. Dot's plan is to use the gateway command as bait for Megabyte. The bait works, as a swarm of ABC's instantly attacks the convoy, and the transport carrying the gateway is commandeered by viral binomes. However, no one appears to be flying the vehicle at this point.

Once he has retrieved the gateway command, Megabyte attempts to use it to access the Super Computer only for it to fail - this isn't the real Gateway Command. Then Bob, Matrix, AndrAIa, and Frisket along with some CPU's spring out the back of one of the ABC's, springing the trap and causing a firefight to break out in the room. Matrix uses gun to leave a target on Megabyte, meaning they'll always be able to track him even if he shapeshifts. Matrix eventually corners him, and shoots at Megabyte. This traps him in a tear which Bob turns into a portal that transports Megabyte into a holding cell. Dot contacts Bob and lets him know that Megabyte is in the holding cell. Bob tells Dot that they make a great time, to which Dot replies they always did.

We then cut to the holding cell where Bob and Matrix are doing a scan of Megabyte. Bob explains that the plan is to reprogram him so he won't be a virus anymore. Megabyte considers this a 'fate worse than deletion. And they call me a monster', which brings into question the ethics of Bob's theories. Once the scan is complete, it turns out that there's nothing there. Matrix deactivates the Firewall of Megabyte's cell by shooting the lock and then grabs Megabyte by the throat. Bob reveals that this is just an alias, meaning that the real Megabyte is still out there.

Bob contacts Dot in the war room to tell her about the situation, determining that the real Megabyte is in the war room with them. We then cut between several still frames of the characters in the war room until we eventually get to Frisket, who then turns into Megabyte. Megabyte begins to wreak havoc in the war room as he infects the various binomes. Dot, Hack, Slash, Mouse and AndrAIa are able to escape, but Phong, Enzo, and Welman remain trapped in the War Room with Megabyte.

Bob and Matrix race to the war room, Hack and Slash drag Dot off elsewhere as they panic about Megabyte being back, and Mouse is trying to hack into a door to no avail while AndrAIa stands guard. Then Megabyte's voice booms over the loudspeaker. He informs everyone that the Principle Office is now under his complete control, and while it would be expected for him to give a speech about him turning Mainframe into Megaframe and bringing about a 'New Viral Dawn', this isn't his plan at all. He has no grand scheme, and this is about revenge. He then tells everyone to 'Prepare yourselves for The Hunt!', ending the episode and the series on a cliffhanger.

Before I get into my thoughts on this episode and the season as a whole, I imagine a lot of people's thoughts (especially if you haven't seen the show before) are something along the lines of 'Why would they end the show like that? Did they intend to end on a cliffhanger?' The short answer is 'no', the long answer is related to the incredibly tragic behind the scenes issues that impacted the initial plans for Season 4.

Some time after they'd aired Season 3 in 1999, Cartoon Network expressed interest in funding another season of ReBoot. Initially, Mainframe planned a 13 episode season, 12 of these would be broken up into three arcs with four episodes each, and the 13th would be a musical episode. At one point, there was even talks of going up to 26 episodes. Whether this would have been a full 26 episode season or two 13 episode seasons is unknown. YTV decided that they would prefer to have movies instead of episodes, so the three arcs would be edited together as movies for YTV and broken down into individual episodes for Cartoon Network.

Cartoon Network had big plans for ReBoot - their plan was to show ReBoot in heavy rotation every day in prime time. During the week, they would be showing Seasons 1 to 3 in heavy rotation, and then on the Friday night, a new Season 4 episode would air in prime time. This lead to toy retailers such as Wal Mart and Toys R Us expressing interest in selling toys to tie in with this, so Irwin Toys along with Mainframe planned out an extensive toy line with multiple waves and several characters. Mainframe's production wing also told Gavin, Ian, and Phil that they didn't need to worry about deadlines and they could use as many animators and directors as they needed. Since they felt they struggled to fit all their story into 20 minutes in previous seasons, Gavin and Ian decided not to worry about it for Season 4 - they would write the episodes as long as they needed to be. While the episodes would be cut down for broadcast on TV, the extra scenes would be included in the DVD of the season, with the selling point being that viewers could get the whole story.

Then Warner Brothers, Cartoon Network's parent company, got involved. They weren't happy with Cartoon Network giving so much coverage to a property they didn't own as opposed to something like, say, Batman or Scooby Doo that they did own. The decision to show Seasons 1 to 3 in heavy rotation was changed so that they would run through seasons 1 to 3 once, and then Season 4 was moved from Friday night prime time to something like half 11 on Saturday evening. The toy retailers weren't happy about this, and tried to cancel as much of the toy line as they possibly could. Since the toyline was already so far along, they couldn't cancel the entire line so the toys that had already been produced were sold, and Irwin, having invested a lot of their own money into the production of the toys, ended up going bankrupt as a result. Then Mainframe's production wing turned round and said that they needed to work to the deadlines they had in place, and the 13 extra length episodes was cut down to 8 standard length episodes. This meant that they then had to cram as much of their story for the first two arcs as possible into these eight episodes.

This brings us to the ending. 'The Hunt' which Megabyte mentioned at the end of this episode was supposed to be the third act of the episode, and it had an ending. While this wouldn't have wrapped up the story completely, it would have resolved The Hunt while setting things up for the next arc. However, when writing the scripts, it became clear to Gavin and Ian that they wouldn't have time necessary to fit The Hunt into the episode alongside the rest of the story, especially as they had already pushed the start of the episode back into the end of the previous one. It then came down to two choices - try and cram everything in with an episode that feels more like a trailer, or end the episode on a cliffhanger with there being a slim chance that they'll get another season for them to resolve the cliffhanger. They thought the latter choice - a decent episode with a cliffhanger would have been a better choice than a crappy episode.

Now, for my thoughts on the episode. Overall, this isn't a bad episode. It's pretty engaging, it's got some great action, and also brings forward some great themes which we'll discuss in a moment. However, while it's a great episode in it's own right, I feel it somewhat lacks a little as the finale to the entire series. I know it wasn't intended to be the ending, but this episode's biggest problem to me is that it feels more like the beginning of a story than the end of one, which becomes incredibly jarring when you remember that this is the final episode of the entire series.

Megabyte's return is well handled for the most part. His ability to shapeshift allows him to mess with the heroes in more ways than he was able to previously, such as creating mass hysteria or infiltrating the Principle Office. His way of thinking has also changed. While for most of the episode, we're lead to believe this is the same Megabyte as before with the same agenda - to take over the system and rebuild it in his image as well as access the Super Computer and take that over. However, Megabyte already did this in the previous season. He doesn't see the need to do this again, but he's making it seem like that's his intention to the other characters. Then once he gets the opportunity, he reveals his true intention - to hunt down all the main characters for revenge.

While sure, Megabyte did manage to take over Mainframe and then caused it to crash to the extent they needed to restart the entire system to fix the damage he'd caused, he was also utterly humiliated in his defeat by Matrix at the end of the previous season. Not only did the operation planned by Dot allow Matrix and the rebels to take back the Principle Office, but he was defeated by the 'mere delivery boy' he was used to intimidating and mocking. Then when he tried to flee, he ended up having his escape route blocked by a portal to the Web which dragged him in. Because of this, he has a personal vendetta to settle with the rest of the characters. This is an incredibly interesting plot point, and it's only a shame that it comes up at the very end of the series as it would have been awesome to see Megabyte attempting to execute his planned revenge.

We also get the flip side of Bob's views on converting viruses into sprites. Megabyte describes it as a 'fate worse than deletion'. He loves being a virus, and clearly doesn't like the idea of being forced to be someone he's not. His line also suggests that it's not too different to what he does - infecting a program against their will to perform how he wants them to. Based on how many times this gets brought up throughout the season and some vague comments made here and there by Gavin Blair, I can imagine that the unmade third arc/movie for this season would have covered this idea a bit more. It's just a shame that they never got to tell that story.

As for the season as a whole, I feel it's a mixed bag overall, and not as good as Season 3 or even Season 2. The Daemon Rising arc was a brilliant start and that's almost on par with Season 3 for me. The stakes were higher than they've ever been, we got more exploration of the characters and the backstory of the show, and while the pacing could have been a little better, overall, Daemon Rising genuinely feels like a ReBoot movie (which is a given since that's how it started life). My Two Bob's is kind of where things begin to fall apart for me. For the most part, the plot isn't as engaging and, the characters are somewhat out of character, and the plot kind of just stops abruptly at the very end just when it's starting to get interesting.

Ideally, I'd have liked for this season to have been made as it was intended with the 12/13 extra length episodes. However, if I was in the position that Gavin and Ian were in of having to condense the story down (although I don't have the benefit of knowing what was planned for The Hunt or beyond), I would have possibly merged the second and third episodes, maybe having Glitch Bob try and separate from Glitch during the planning for the wedding between Bob and Dot (Dot seemed to have made up her mind at the end of the first episode anyway before still struggling to choose between the two in the next one) and then have the next two episodes deal with Megabyte and wrapping up that storyline as planned while leaving the plot open for the next arc. Heck, even if we ended it a scene or so earlier than what we got where Bob and Matrix have just captured Megabyte. It wouldn't be a perfect ending, by any means, but it would end the show on a somewhat positive note. However, who knows, it could have turned out even worse if executed this way.

Sadly, Gavin and Ian never got the chance to finish their planned story. In 1997, Mainframe became a publicly traded company complete with shareholders. The downside of becoming a publicly traded company is that you then have to appease these shareholders. As a result of this, Mainframe then began focusing more on work for hire projects (i.e. a company like Mattel would send them a script for a Barbie movie and then Mainframe would have to animate it) as opposed to original projects. This saw Mainframe produce movies based on Barbie and Casper as well as producing a Spider Man series for Sony in 2003.

Not liking the direction that Mainfame was taking, Gavin, Ian, and Phil one by one left the company, leaving the rights to ReBoot behind with them. The franchise remained dormant for years until a fan campaign known as the 'ReBoot Revival' started in 2006 with the aim to get the series back on the air and get a conclusion to the cliffhanger. Then in 2007, Rainmaker Entertainment (who purchased Mainframe and all it's assets in late 2006) announced that they would be bringing ReBoot back. Little did fans know at the time that it would take them 11 years to do so, and when it finally arrived, it proved to be a case of 'be careful what you wish for'...

Next week: We take a look at the toy line produced for Season 4

Episode 46 - Null Bot of the Bride

The previous two episodes, for the most part, haven't really had much going on in terms of plot, and last episode especially was somewhat of a drag with no real stakes involved until the very end of the episode with Glitch Bob's catastrophic attempt to separate from Glitch putting him in critical condition. While some of the flaws from the previous two episodes seep into this one, this episode sees the plot spring into action and has some pretty decent humour to boot.

We begin with Dot, Mouse, and AndrAIa preparing for the wedding. Dot is trying on the veil for her wedding dress while Mouse and AndrAIa look over vid windows of the dress alongside their bridesmaids dresses. This is disturbed by the sound of Bob and Cecil arguing about the preparations. Mouse instantly snatches the veil off of Dot to prevent Bob from potentially seeing the dress. Cecil isn't happy about Dot and Bob's plans to host the ceremony in the war room, while the two aren't exactly enthusiastic about Cecil's desire to host it in the Principle Office hall due to it's spartan nature.

In the Super Computer, Glitch Bob is being rushed into stasis by the Guardians in an attempt to slow down his condition, but the Guardians don't seem confident about his chances for survival. Back in Mainframe, Matrix, Hack, and Slash are made to try on their outfits for the wedding while Al's rollerblade wearing waiter seems all too keen to check up on them while they dress themselves. Matrix isn't too happy about wearing a suit to the extent that he rips the sleeves off of it (much to the delight of the waiter). Hack and Slash are also wearing suits, but are much happier about it, especially as Bob compliments how sharp the pair are looking. Bob asks Matrix to be his 'best sprite', an honour that Matrix accepts. Bob excuses Hack and Slash, and informs Matrix that he's heard from Turbo regarding Glitch Bob's condition. Bob wants to tell Dot and potentially put off the wedding, but Matrix doesn't want her to since he's never seen his sister this happy and doesn't want to ruin it. Back in the Super Computer, the Guardian medic attempts to crack the substance around Glitch Bob to no avail, and doesn't seem hopeful that he'll be able to help him.

At Dot's Diner, Bob, Matrix, and AndrAIa are sitting together when a very stressed Dot joins them. However, Dot's enjoying every moment of it. She then asks Matrix to walk her down the aisle since Welman isn't available to. Matrix isn't sure what to say initially since he's already agreed to be Bob's best sprite, but luckily Enzo walks by and Bob asks him to be Best Sprite instead, so Matrix accepts Dot's request.

At Al's Diner, Dot, AndrAIa, and Mouse are enjoying Dot's hen night, which involves watching stripper binomes on the stage. One of them takes Dot by the hand and invites her onstage. Mouse and AndrAIa comment on how happy Dot appears to be, and wondering if the boys are having as much fun as them. At Dot's Diner, Bob's 'stag do' appears to resemble a child's birthday party, complete with jelly, ice cream, and a clown. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves apart from Matrix, who is reluctantly wearing a party hat.

Back at the Super Computer, the medic tries to penetrate the crystal surrounding Glitch Bob with a laser only for the blast to bounce off and around the chamber. In the Principle Office hall, Cecil has finally finished decking out the hall in preparation for the wedding, something which really impresses Bob. The two begin warming up to each other, but Bob comments that he 'doesn't like it', which kills the mood and the two walk off. In the Super Computer, Turbo enters the room and the medic reports that they feel they've done all they can, but there's no way to penetrate whatever the substance is.

We then cut to inside Glitch Bob's psyche, where he awakens in a bed and then finds himself face to face with a giant Glitch. We hear Glitch Bob ask himself in his head 'Am I real, or just a copy?' Back in Mainframe, the wedding is about to begin, and Hack and Slash are helping the guests find their seats, asking each guest if they are a friend of the bride or the groom. Things get a little complicated when the pirates say they're friends of both Bob and Dot, so Hack and Slash, unsure of what to do, seat them in the aisles.

Enzo and Phong are running late since Enzo wants to take Welman with them as he doesn't want him to miss Dot's big day. Enzo looks into his cage, wondering if he's aware of what's going on around him. Welman jumps out of the cage into Enzo's hand. This momentarily shocks Enzo, but he appears to be okay after Welman is released from his grip. What's more, his icon appears to be back to normal, and Nibbles now once again has Welman's personality.

Back in Glitch Bob's dream, several key tools fly out of the giant Glitch and get sucked into Glitch Bob's chest. In the hall, Matrix is panicking as Phong and Enzo aren't here yet. Luckily, the two arrive just in time, and they tell Matrix that they managed to get someone to walk Dot down the aisle. The door opens and we see some kind of robot suit containing Welman walking Dot down the aisle, followed by AndrAIa and Mouse. Dot tells Welman that this is the 'happiest second of my life'.

In the Super Computer, all hope seems lost as Bob's life signs completely cut out. Then suddenly, all the keytools return out of portals to try and separate Bob from Glitch. It works, and as a result, Glitch has now been repaired and upgraded, and Bob is in his degraded suit from the Web. Turbo gets reunited with his keytool Copeland. The medic reports that while Bob is stable now, his code doesn't match what they have on file, confirming that this Bob is the copy after all. Just after this revelation, Bob regains consciousness.

At the Wedding, Phong gives the 'if anyone has any reasons why these two cannot be wed, speak now or forever hold their peace' speech, at which moment Web Bob appears. He confesses his love for Dot, which causes the other Bob to punch him in the face. Web Bob prepares to retaliate with Glitch before Dot puts a stop to it. She apologises to Web Bob, causing him to walk off dejectedly. Enzo tries to tell Dot that this Bob must be the original since he has Glitch, but Dot says that it doesn't matter and he's too young to understand. Suddenly, Glitch flies off of Web Bob's arm onto the other Bob, causing Bob to give Web Bob an incredibly smug look, and confirming that Web Bob is the copy.

Phong attempts to resume the ceremony, but Glitch begins attempting to exchange and transfer codes to Bob. This causes Bob to groan in pain, and for Glitch to transfer back to Web Bob. Web Bob then mutates and changes back to looking like the original Bob, reversing the degrading that occurred in the Web. The other Bob then changes into....

Megabyte!

This shocks everyone in attendance. Matrix and Mouse prepare to attack, but don't have their respective weapons. AndrAIa prepares to attack, but Bob tells her to back off since Megabyte is his to take on. A fight between Bob and Megabyte then commences. The upgrades from Glitch allow Bob to hold his own against the virus, but Megabyte puts up a fight. Bob is eventually able to knock Megabyte out of the church, and asks Megabyte why he did what he did. Megabyte simply tells Bob that it 'amused me'. Megabyte comments that Bob is 'stronger than he remembers', and breathes some kind of acid breath in his face, temporarily blinding him. In this moment, he approaches Dot and forces a kiss on her, disgusting her.

Megabyte re enters the church, grabbing Specky which causes the remaining binomes in attendance to flee in terror. Soon after, Specky himself flees. Bob and Matrix go back in, ready to take on Megabyte yet again. However, he's nowhere to be seen, but Specky appears to be out cold. This is bizarre as they saw Specky leave. Bob uses this information to determine that Megabyte is now a 'Trojan Horse virus'. Dot asks Bob what they should do, but he's not sure.

This episode is a definite step up from the previous one, but at the same time, it does inherit some of it's issues. The key of these is Dot's personality continuing to be out of character with her choosing to be with the second Bob purely because he looks like the 'original Bob'. Again, if this story was given more time and we got to fully understand the rationale behind her decision, then maybe it would be easier to get behind her decision, but as it stands, it still feels out of character of her.

Another big issue I have with this episode is the lack of concern towards Glitch Bob's condition. Practically everyone seems content to gleefully prepare for this wedding while their friend is fighting for his life. Sure, they didn't know for certain that this was the original Bob, but this is still the Bob who helped them get back to Mainframe when they were in the Web, the one who merged with Glitch knowing how dangerous it was to do so because there was no other way, the one who risked his life in the core to try and prevent the damage that Megabyte had done from completely destroying the system, the one who gambled on allowing the system to crash and potentially restart the entire system, and the one they fought alongside to battle the forces of Daemon. Even if he wasn't the 'original', surely they would show some concern for their friend, and think that maybe it's not the right time for a wedding, which is something that Bob (who turns out to be Megabyte at the end of the episode) suggests to Matrix. When the villain is the only one who is really showing concern for Bob, that's not exactly a good thing.

Another minor gripe that I have is how Al's Waiter is portrayed as flamboyantly gay. This isn't something that was uncommon in shows around the time, but it's a somewhat irksome negative stereotype which kind of knocks this episode down a few pegs.

With all that said, this episode isn't beyond redemption, as there's enough good stuff in it to make it worthwhile. Glitch Bob's dream sequence is interesting yet brief, and it's hilarious seeing Matrix being incredibly grumpy and miserable about Bob's mediocre and juvenile 'stag do'.

We also find out what Hexadecimal did to Enzo's icon, and it turns out that it wasn't anything harmful. Quite the opposite, actually. It allowed Enzo to bring back Welman after she was gone. We can now see what she meant when she said that this change would stop Enzo from turning out like Matrix, as bringing back Welman will allow this Enzo to have a father figure that was missing from Matrix's childhood.

The highlight of this episode to me is the return of Megabyte, particularly his battle with Bob. We'll get more into that battle in a moment, but let's talk about Megabyte's plan - disguise himself as Bob and manipulate everyone and mess with their emotions for his amusement. This is an interesting idea and we do get some hints of this before this reveal. For instance, he's way too interested in knowing about the circumstances behind Bob not being able to ReBoot, and the smug smirk he gives when Glitch flies to him is a pretty big giveaway that things might not be what they mean. We also see him trying to sew doubt in Bob and make him believe that he's merely just a copy.

As for the fight itself, it's pretty glorious. This is the first full on fight that we get between the two, and while it's not quite on the level of Matrix's fight with Megabyte at the end of the previous season, it's an incredibly adrenaline pumping and exciting fight that has some real personal stakes going on. At the end of Season 2, Megabyte bested Bob by sending him into the Web, and now Megabyte has managed to ruin his life by making him doubt if he's him, and almost managed to successfully steal Dot from him.

The end of the episode reveals that Megabyte now has shapeshifting abilities, which puts the story in an interesting situation - anyone could be Megabyte, making stopping him a pretty difficult task. Will the Mainframers be able to stop this returning foe? And with one episode left to go, will the series end with a satisfying conclusion?

Next week: Megabyte is back in full force in 'Crouching Binome, Hidden Virus'

Episode 45 - Life's A Glitch

Season 4 tends to get a somewhat mixed response from ReBoot fans. While some really enjoy it, there are some who really dislike the season for whatever reason. For the most part, I think the reason for the mixed response is this second arc. While I'm a little more forgiving of Season 4 because of all the behind the scenes issues that heavily impacted on the production of the season, this particular arc isn't as strong as anything we've had before, and as a whole, I feel that this episode is one of the weaker episodes of the entire series.

We begin with Dot and Phong discussing Welman, who has reverted back to his Nibbles persona following Hex's sacrifice. However, Nibbles becoming Welman proves that nulls retain the data of the sprite they used to be, and the 'tech boys' have made a device that can download their codes from the games and these codes could then be used in order to restore them back to their original form. While this wouldn't help Welman due to the fact he wasn't nullified by a game, it's a step in the right direction.

We then cut to Mike the TV making a report on Enzo and Hexadecimal's sacrifice, speculating what exactly Hex did to his icon, and whether or not the young sprite could suddenly turn viral. In the background, we see Bob, Enzo, AndrAIa, and Matrix in Dot's Diner, where Matrix eventually starts chasing Cecil round the Diner.

Back at the Principle Office, Dot is having a conversation with Mouse via Vid Window. It turns out she's still unsure of which Bob to marry. Mouse suggests that Dot chooses Bob only for Dot to counter with the fact that Glitch Bob saved them all from Megabyte. When Mouse suggests choosing Glitch Bob, Dot says that Bob 'looks like Bob'. The conversation is cut short by an alarm sounding.

Glitch Bob enters the lab to talk to Phong, saying that he wants to try and separate from Glitch because he feels that Dot likes the other Bob more, and that separating from Glitch could tilt things in his favour. Phong is somewhat reluctant to give him the access codes to the archives so he can research this, but this conversation is cut short by a klaxon. 

It turns out that the alarm means that a game is about to land - a perfect opportunity for them to test the new device. However, there is a slight problem - the device needs to be taken into a game. Therefore, Hack and Slash need to rush Phong to meet up with Bob, AndrAIa, and Matrix before the ygame lands. Matrix isn't particularly happy about them joining, sarcastically saying that 'the next thing they need is for Enzo to show up'. Phong asks where Enzo is, and Matrix reveals that Cecil's watching him. However, Cecil is more than happy to let Enzo leave to go for the game since he's 'not a nanny'.

In the Principle Office lab, Glitch Bob is talking with Mouse about his current predicament. Mouse feels it's a bad idea to separate from Glitch since 'you are what you are', but Glitch Bob is insistent on trying since he loves Dot. After Bob tells him that Phong wouldn't give him access to the archives, Mouse hacks into the archives for him, allowing him access before she signs off.

Inside the game, the Mainframers appear to be in some kind of giant kitchen. No one is familiar with the game, and then just as they try and figure out what the game is, Enzo runs up to join them, claiming the reason he joined the game was because being left with Cecil was boring. Shortly after this, The User appears in the window behind them, and it turns out to be a familiar face - Rocky the Rabid Raccoon. Enzo then ReBoot's much to Matrix, Bob, and AndrAIa's dismay.

At the Principle Office, Glitch Bob has rigged up some kind of machine with three silos. His plan is to enter one silo, then he will exit a different silo while Glitch ends up in the third silo. He sets a timer, then steps into the silo.

In the game, Enzo has ReBooted into a marionette version of Anakin Skywalker from The Phantom Menace, with speech emulating that of Jake Lloyd. Matrix, AndrAIa, and Bob ReBoot. Matrix becomes Darth Vader, AndrAIa becomes Barbie, and then Bob becomes GI Joe. Matrix questions where Phong and Hack and Slash are, and it turns out Phong has become a tub of yogurt (that talks like Yoda from Star Wars) and Hack and Slash are now knock off Coke and Pepsi cans.

Glitch Bob exits the silo, but the experiment didn't work and he is still merged with Glitch. In the game, Rocky makes his way into the kitchen only to be knocked straight out again by an elaborate trap set by the Mainframers - this causes him to lose one of his lives, leaving him with two left.

Glitch Bob has made another contraption that will hopefully separate him from Glitch. This one looks a lot like the teleportation rooms from Star Trek. The idea is that he will teleport, and then he will end up on one circle while Glitch ends up on another. This doesn't happen, and he ends up next to the Picard binome who's brushing his teeth.

AndrAIa carries Phong and the device to the edge of the game wall. AndrAIa activates the device, which causes several tubes to extrude from the device and connect themselves to the game. Phong says that this device is automatic, so they can leave it and go back to the game.

Glitch Bob is sitting at his desk in the Principle Office lab, and slams the keyboard in frustration at not being able to separate himself from Glitch. This ends up opening a vid window that shows Gigabyte being split into Megabyte, Hexadecimal, and the Web Creature. This gives Bob an idea. In the game, Enzo, Hack, and Slash are hunting for the user. Hack and Slash are worried that they are going to be nullified, which causes their cans to fizz up. This gives Enzo an idea. 

In the War Room, Dot and Specky are waiting for the game to leave when Glitch Bob rushes into the room and asks Dot to release a tear so he can turn it into a portal. Dot is confused and doesn't feel like it's the right time since there's a game in progress. Bob doesn't seem as concerned about the game, though, since he's confident that Matrix, AndrAIa, and other Bob will be able to defeat the User. He rushes off to the roof, asking Dot to release the tear once he gets up there. Specky and Dot find it odd that Bob didn't seem to care about a game.

Back in the game, Rocky climbs onto the table, but then gets knocked off by Enzo using his puppet strings attached to Hack and Slash's cans like a Podracer. This once again knocks him out of the kitchen, leaving him with one life left. However, Hack and Slash's cans are now completely empty. 

The top of the Principle Office opens up to reveal a tear, which Glitch Bob stabilises into a portal and then enters. Then in the game, Rocky ends up back on the table, and after several attempts to stop him from the Mainframers, he ends up by the cookie jar. AndrAIa is able to stop him eating a cookie by throwing her handbag into his throat, choking him and allowing Matrix piloting a chicken walker to knock him off the table. With the user temporarily downed, Bob spots some hot sauce. He tells Enzo 'Look, use the sauce!'. Enzo then knocks the sauce into Rocky's mouth, and it's so hot that it causes Rocky to explode, ending the game.

Bob is proud of Enzo for winning the game, and even Matrix is somewhat impressed. AndrAIa is happy that the game is over since she can now smile naturally. Matrix comments that he liked her hair in the game, but AndrAIa takes this to mean that he doesn't like how her hair is normally. Just before this spirals into a fiery argument, AndrAIa hears something in the distance, and feels that something isn't quite right.

Inside the portal, Bob gives the command 'Glitch, splitter', which causes the tear to morph and change, resulting in an explosion that sends Bob flying out of it, encasing him in a black, crystal like substance. Dot watches in horror via Vid Window in the War Room. AndrAIa hears Bob's scream, so those who were in the game come over to help.

Dot orders Bob to contact Turbo and get him to send a team of medics, and gets Phong to get something to stabilise Glitch Bob. AndrAIa attempts to crack the crystal with her nail, but it causes her nail to break. Turbo contacts Dot and Bob and tells them that he has his best men taking care of Glitch Bob, but has no idea what would have made him try such a thing. Dot says that he's been acting strange for a while, and Bob feels that his arrival didn't help matters. Dot tells him not to blame himself. Turbo signs off after Bob tells him to keep him informed on Bob's status.

Bob tells Dot that it's probably best that he leaves, but Dot tells him to stay and to never go away again. The two begin kissing and declare their love for each other, with Bob then asking Dot to marry her, to which she accepts.

This is probably the weakest episode we've had since Enzo the Smart in Season One. While I don't dislike this episode quite as much as Enzo the Smart, this episode is somewhat of a chore to watch. My main problem with this episode is that the plot is kind of a drag and there's a lack of any real stakes until the end of the episode when Glitch Bob tries to separate from Glitch. 

There are some interesting ideas in this episode, such as bringing back the character's plans to try and restore nulls back to their former selves and Enzo's icon. Sadly, these don't get much focus in the grand scheme of the plot with the whole 'which Bob is Dot going to marry' being the main plot point, and the storyline isn't as interesting.

One common complaint from fans regarding this arc is how out of character Dot seems in this arc. I see what the creators were going for with her character arc with her clearly having PTSD and that influencing her decision, but her decision seems somewhat shallow since the crux of her decision seems to be 'Bob looks like Bob, but Glitch Bob doesn't'. I imagine if there was more time to cover her emotional state, then maybe then the audience could have potentially got more on board with her seemingly shallow decision. As well as this, it seems like this is more of a pressing concern to her than her father being turned into a null and her brother potentially being infected with a virus.

The game cube this time around, while it provides for some great humour with a couple of great gags, mainly feels like filler as it doesn't really contribute much to the plot. Sure, it's relevant to the plot line involving the recompiling of nullified sprites, but this plot line is never brought up again after this point, which makes this sequence feel even more pointless in the grand scheme of the episode. Much like in Enzo the Smart, there is pretty much no tension within the game. The joke with Bob telling Enzo to 'use the sauce' is also very forced since the way Bob says 'look' sounds more like 'Luke', a reference to the 'Use the force, Luke' line in Star Wars, and it just feels too contrived to be funny.

Glitch Bob's arc continues in this arc, and he finally makes the decision to separate from Glitch. This is something which Phong isn't too happy about, which somewhat makes sense as it would just make Dot's decision even harder if he looks more like the other Bob. He comes across as somewhat irrational in this episode, but it shows how much that he loves Dot that he's willing to try this for her. 

Overall, this is a pretty weak episode, and while it has some interesting ideas, they aren't focused on enough to salvage the episode from it's flaws. However, Glitch Bob being out of action has presented this arc with stakes that it has been lacking up until now. Hopefully this means the plot will pick up in the next episode...

Next week: Everyone in Mainframe prepares for Dot's wedding and an old foe makes a reappearance in 'Null Bot of the Bride'.

Episode 44 - My Two Bobs

Last week's episode saw the resolution of the first of Season 4's arcs, concluding the Daemon plot line which had it's seeds planted in Season 3. Following that resolution emerged a new plot - a second Bob who hasn't been degraded in the Web like the Bob who Matrix found in The Web. Is this Bob the copy? What if the old Bob's the copy? Which one will Dot marry? These three questions serve as the main driving plot for the majority of this arc, and this first episode manages to set this up pretty well.

With a new arc comes a new intro. This time, we get Bob narrating with a similar monologue to the first season (albeit shortened to fit the 30 second intro) over clips from the previous arc and a few clips of what's to come.

Following this intro, we begin the episode with a sitcom styled opening complete with a laugh track. Dot enters the diner, which is met with cheers from the studio audience. The audience boo's Cecil's intolerance for Enzo's antics, and laugh at Enzo's antics. When Glitch Bob (the Bob who merged with Glitch) enters the Diner, the audience is silent. He gets knocked over by Enzo, who instantly runs off after doing so. Then the second Bob enters, and is met with cheers as his shadow hangs over Glitch Bob's. Bob 2 sits down and joins Dot, who instantly gets doughy eyed. When Glitch Bob gets up, Dot gets overwhelmed. We then get a parody of the Brady Bunch intro that displays the title of this arc, 'My Two Bobs'.

It turns out this sequence was a dream of Dot's, and she's confiding all her feelings to Phong. She says that she's been having these dreams since Bob returned. When Phong asks her which one she's going to marry, she says that she doesn't know. At the Diner, the two Bobs are sat opposite other and are attempting to engage each other in conversation. Both Bob's seem convinced that the other is the copy and that they are the original. However, this conversation is cut short by the system voice announcing an Incoming Game.

Over in Lost Angles, Matrix is conducting a training exercise with the CPU's - involving the use of live ammunition. AndrAIa finds out about this and instantly puts a stop to it, interrogating Matrix about what he's doing. Matrix says his enemies don't use blanks, and that now they've won, he's not sure what to do now. AndrAIa says that they now relax, but then they hear the voice announcing the Incoming Game, something which seems to excite Matrix.

Both Bobs, Enzo, Matrix, and AndrAIa begin to head towards the game together. Matrix gives Enzo an order that he's not to go into the game since they have no idea what Hexadecimal has done to it. This is echoed by Dot when she shows up. She also orders that Glitch Bob doesn't enter the game because of what happened the last time he tried to ReBoot (something that Bob 2 seems all too eager to hear about). AndrAIa elects to stay behind with Glitch Bob and Enzo, and then Matrix and Bob 2 enthusiastically leave to fight the game.

Glitch Bob, AndrAIa, and Enzo go to Al's in order to get Bob an Energy Shake since he has no chance of getting served by Cecil. Glitch Bob isn't in the best mood, feeling that Dot 'couldn't wait to get rid of him'. AndrAIa tries to reassure him that she's just a busy sprite and has to check in with Mouse and Ray. Then an anthropomorphic '&' gets thrown out of the diner, with Al's Waiter telling him 'And Stay Out!'

Inside the game, Bob is concerned about not being able to access Game Stats without Glitch, but luckily Matrix is familiar with this game as he played it when he was younger. They're in the final level of a game called 'Patsu Hebi X', a multi level fight game with a twist. Matrix and Frisket ReBoot, with Matrix becoming a cross between Ash Ketchum from Pokemon and Goku from DragonBall Z, and Frisket becoming a puppy version of Pikachu from Pokemon. This amuses Bob, but this changes once he ReBoot's and finds himself trapped in a small dodecahedron.

Mouse is giving her report to Dot, and tells her that in spite of some minor system problems (presumably Hexadecimal), the net mostly appears to be back to normal, as if Daemon was never there. Mouse then swiftly switches the conversation to which Bob Dot has chosen. Dot tells her she can't tell her which one, as she doesn't know herself.

Back in the game, Matrix explains to Bob how the game works - Bob is a creature called a Patsu Hebi X, and Matrix is his trainer. Matrix keeps Bob inside the tiny container and releases him to fight for him. This is something that disturbs Bob greatly, but before it can be discussed further, the User arrives on a boat, ready to fight. The user unleashes his creatures, but Matrix is able to use 'Bobzilla' to defeat them using both his 'Atomic Nostril Blast' and his 'Atomic Bottom Burp'. However, after Bob has defeated a handful of his creatures, The User sends out more. Bob asks Matrix for help, but Matrix can only call strategy and is unable to fight the Hebi X's. To make matters worse, The User has a full set of 150.

In Al's Diner, some disgruntled binomes get ignored by Al's Waiter, and find themselves reminiscing about the good old days when they were viral since they got more respect back then. They then turn to a timid binome next to them who says he was never Viral and begin beating him. Enzo reassures Bob that being a copy isn't so bad since he's a copy himself. Bob takes this on board, feeling that it doesn't make a difference if he's the copy since he's always been him.

Back in the game, Bob is overwhelmed by the User's creatures. He calls for Matrix to help, but Matrix says it's against the rules. Bob points out that Matrix is a renegade and could cheat. Matrix then appears to be heading towards the user with a flying kick, but it turns out that he was just against a background with Frisket running on a treadmill. Matrix then hits the user, who prepares to strike back (something which doesn't phase Matrix), but just as he's about to strike, Bob steps on him, ending the game. 

Glitch Bob, AndrAIa, and Enzo watch the game leave. Glitch Bob, while happy they won, finds it strange not being in there with them. Bob and Matrix gleefully reminisce about the game, and Bob calls Matrix 'Enzo', which he doesn't seem to mind coming from this Bob. Bob then ends up ruining the mood by asking Matrix if he 'fancies a game of Jet Ball'.

Dot storms into Phong's Office, and seems very frustrated about the appearance of the second Bob since it's messed up her plans. She felt she could finally be happy with Glitch Bob since Daemon, Hexadecimal and Megabyte were all gone, but the appearance of the second Bob has complicated matters as she now has to pick one of them. She explains to Phong that when she sees Glitch Bob, she's reminded of all the horrible things they've been through, whereas with Bob 2, she's reminded of the good times and that being with him feels like 'coming home'.

This is a fairly good start to the arc which sets up the status quo of this particular story. The plot feels a lot slower paced in comparison to Daemon Rising, but there doesn't appear to be much tension or high stakes in the plot. This can make the overall plot of the episode feel less engaging in comparison to what we've had since Season 2. However, there is some great stuff in this episode, namely the humour and some character moments.

One of my favourite moments in this episode is the part where Matrix is training in Lost Angles and his conversation with AndrAIa afterwards. Matrix has been fighting pretty much his entire life, having fought through the games to get back to Mainframe and then battling Megabyte upon his return. Even after Megabyte was defeated and Mainframe was restored, there wasn't much respite as the Mainframers were instantly in battle against Daemon. Now the fighting is over, Matrix feels somewhat at a loss and isn't sure what to do with himself. This is a great moment, and it would have been great to explore this aspect of the character more in the series since as a whole, Matrix doesn't get as much to do in this arc and it would have been great for him to get some development with him trying to find peace after a lifetime of fighting.

Last week, I mentioned that Dot appears to have PTSD. The arrival of the second Bob now appears to have heightened this since now she associates Glitch Bob with all the traumatic things the characters have experienced. The fact that Glitch Bob has scars from his time in The Web probably doesn't help matters as I imagine they serve as a physical reminder of all that pain. However, Bob 2 looks like the Bob she remembers falling in love with, and even sounds like him (literally since they brought back Michael Beneyar, the voice of Bob in the first two seasons to do his voice). Also adding to the confusion is that it's not clear which Bob is the original and which is the copy since the scans are inconclusive.

Glitch Bob also has some baggage to deal with, finding himself sidelined due to his failing Glitch powers, something that leaves him out of going into games, a problem which this new Bob doesn't have. While his friends aren't giving up on him, he feels like this new Bob is replacing him. This carries on Bob's arc that started in Daemon Rising with him at risk of fragmentation by use of his powers, but now that's heightened with a Bob that's able to do things that he can't. To make matters worse, this new Bob sews a seed of doubt in his mind that he might not be the original Bob since he looks closer to the original.

In terms of this episode's humour, the highlight of the episode is the Game Cube, which is a parody of anime such as 'Pokemon' and 'Dragon Ball Z'. The attacks that Bob uses in the game as well as some of the creature designs kind of highlights the absurdity of the franchise, alongside Bob's line about how he finds it sick that you keep creatures in cages and get them to fight for you. The sequence also pokes fun at how some anime shows attacks by having characters placed in front of a background made up of coloured lines. 

While the story isn't quite at the level we've had since Season 2, this kicks off this arc to a good start and presents us with the main conflict for this early part of the story. The slower pacing feels somewhat relaxing after the sometimes too quick pacing of the previous arc, allowing us to catch our breaths for a little while. Dot appears to have made her decision by the end of the episode, but is it a final decision? 

Next week: Glitch Bob decides to try and separate from Glitch in 'Life's A Glitch'