The episode doesn’t open with the intro for once. Instead we’re thrust into a game where Santa Claus is skiing downhill. Enzo and AndrAIa are rebooted as snowmen who have to stop this strange man who only says “Ho Ho Ho”. Despite their efforts, Santa manages to handle himself on the skiis. But Enzo turns himself into an icy slope. Santa tries to drop down slowly with a balloon, but a well timed icicle pops his balloon leading to Santa’s demise.
And we get our opening for the episode, which isn’t the regular ReBoot opening. It’s instead a parody of James Bond films, complete with fiery background and somewhat provocative shots of Dot and Mouse, as well as shots of the others characters in the series. it is still one of the coolest ideas, and is easily the most memorable part of this classic episode. Doesn’t hurt that the theme is extremely catchy to boot. Watch it for yourself and see what I mean.
The game ends with AndrAIa and Enzo celebrating their recent victory, but are confronted by Megabyte. He tells Enzo to send a message to Dot, to which Enzo tells Megabyte that he’s no longer his delivery boy. Megabyte responds by grabbing Enzo by the throat, telling him that it’s by Megabyte’s will alone that he’s still alive. He tells the two that while they may be safe behind the shield of the principle office, the citizens of Mainframe however are not, and he’ll ensure that they suffer.
The encounter with Megabyte has finally broken Enzo’s spirits, believing that he really isn’t a guardian, and he’ll always just be Megabyte’s messenger. AndrAIa tells him to keep fighting, but with the virals outnumbering them, it doesn’t look too good. Enzo suggests that Megabyte should be the one who’s locked up. So the plan is to place an inverted firewall over the sector of Silicon Tor, caging the virus once and for all. Meanwhile, Megabyte checks in on the weakened Hexadecimal. He tortures her some more with the shock collar. With Hex now fully charged and under his control, it is now time to use his new “weapon” into battle.
Back at the principle office, it seems like things are going well with the plans for a firewall. A technical binome named “Hugh” (a parody of “Q” from the James Bond films) sets them up with the plans, just as a game drops. Enzo and AndrAIa enter it, and it appears to be some sort of race game akin to Toy Story. The toys inside the giant room are all sentient and can defeat the user as well as anyone else. Enzo has hopes that this victory can restore his confidence, but unfortunately the propaganda spewing Cyrus and a group of other binomes are still doubting his abilities as guardian. Thankfully Frisket is around to even the odds.
The user arrives, who looks a lot like Penelope Pitstop. AndrAIa reboots into another biker babe, as Enzo gets rebooted akin to James Bond. And the rat Cyrus is fittingly rebooted to look like Dick Dastardly with Frisket as Muttley. Sp we’ve gone from a Looney Tunes tribute in the last episode to a sort of Toy Story meets Wacky Races parody in the next. This is why I love the games, and this show. Meanwhile, outside of the game, Mouse is busy flying around Megabyte’s sector, and placing the spires to activate the firewall. However, Hugh never told them that this is all experimental, and has a high probability of failure.
Back inside, it’s a harrowing race against the user, as plenty of obstacles stand in their way from sentient sneakers to falling darts. Even a giant model Tyrannosaurus Rex, thankfully without a cannon for a head. But it manages to be useful to AndrAIa who manages to catch up to the user. The T-Rex attacks Cyrus, who begs for Enzo’s help. Enzo and Frisket manage to distract the dino to help him out. However a giant lamp (another reference to Pixar?) stops AndrAIa as the user enters a plane to escape through the window. Megabyte watches on from outside the game and prepares Weapon Hex.
Cyrus manages to get Enzo onto the user’s plane. However Enzo is weaponless, save for a teddy bear that he uses to jam one of the wings on the user’s plane. But he is soon knocked off the plane, and falls to his peril. But Cyrus in a plane manages to rescue Enzo just as the User crashes, ending the game. All of the binomes have new found faith in Enzo, and even Cyrus is considered a hero. But this new good streak for Cyrus is quickly put to a stop as Megabyte orders Hack and Slash to seize him. However, Enzo and the others defend Cyrus. Megabyte tells them that with Hexadecimal at his command, they are powerless against him.
But before the virus can do anything, the spires are placed by Mouse and the firewall is activated. The shield is dropped from the principle office to power the spires, which creates a giant wall of flame over the sector, blocking Megabyte. But before the firewall fully takes place, Hack and Slash still manage to grab Cyrus. Hexadecimal laughs in glee that now the jailer is jailed. And the episode ends with a major victory for our heroes. Megabyte is stopped, and Enzo has the faith of his fellow Mainframers. But how long will it last?
ReBoot continues to prove how it can use subtle references and parodies perfectly without them feeling shoehorned. Case in point this episode, which has some mild references to the James Bond franchise. From the opening theme, to “Hugh” to Enzo’s snazzy tuxedo in the game. It feels like it’s just enough to use without going overboard. There are also a few other nods to the works of Pixar, as well as a reference to of all things, “The Indian in the Cupboard”. Although I believe the movie adaptation came out at just around that same time.
This is the episode that finally starts to build Enzo’s confidence, which has been gone ever since he was given the guardian protocol. In the beginning, it felt like no one had faith in him. Not the citizens of Mainframe, who were led on by the propaganda caused by Megabyte’s lackey Cyrus. Not even Dot, who feared he wasn’t ready, and that she would lose him like she lost Bob. But now it feels like he’s finally earning the respect he deserved. He’s winning games, he’s stopping Megabyte, he’s proving his worth. And his influence is even rubbing off on other villainous characters like Cyrus.
It’s finally good to see Enzo mature as a guardian, and prove his worth to the citizens of Mainframe. However, we’ve now reached the end of the first arc of the series. The game is about to change once again, and the single darkest moment in the history of ReBoot is about to occur.