We open the episode to yet another different system as a game cube is finishing off. The system this time is similar to a desert city. It’s also silent as Matrix, AndrAIa, and Frisket arrive, until the local bazaar sets up. Matrix for once, is actually happy, as this system has ports to the net, which means they can finally go home. But before the two can have a romantic embrace, they are bumped by a pickpocket, who just happens to nab Glitch. Matrix gives chase to the pickpocket as AndrAIa and Frisket shop around the bazaar.
While all of this is going on, something emerges from the giant tear above the system. It’s three guardians. However, these guardians cause panic to the townspeople, and they certainly don’t look like your Bob-type guardian either. Well, other than the two that are blue, but that’s not what I mean. The fact that they’re gun-toting already makes them far different from our beloved guardian. Their searcher robots don’t make them too happy looking either. Matrix eventually manages to chase the pickpocket into a local bar.
At the ports to the net, AndrAIa and Frisket meet up with a silver sprite named Maxine (A search engine character used previously in the short lived ReBoot: The Ride). AndrAIa asks if they can board her ship, but she tells the two that without access codes, they aren’t authorized to do so, since the guardians for some reason are blocking access outside of the system.
Matrix enters the bar, and asks for a shot. He also finds the pickpocket and wants Glitch back. The pickpocket has some backup to help him, but Matrix places targets on everyone in the bar, and sets his gun to “death blossom” mode. The pickpocket gives Glitch up easily. Everyone exits the bar, as Matrix continues with his drink. However, one sprite has decided to stay, claiming he’s looking for Bob. The man reveals himself as Turbo, prime guardian.
Back at the port, AndrAIa learns that the guardians are trying to control the known net. The “Mend and Defend” motto is no longer being acted upon, and now it’s “Divide and Render”. Anyone who can help AndrAIa is locked in the local prison thanks to the guardians. Back at the bar, Matrix blames Turbo for ruining his life, which is sorta true. It was Turbo who planted Mouse with the bomb that would eventually lead into the portal to the web.
Turbo puts Matrix in a containment field, and learns that he’s the former Enzo Matrix, which easily causes him to remove the field. Matrix tells him about the situation in Mainframe, and about his game hopping. Turbo tells him that all this time game hopping wasn’t as long as Matrix thought it was. That game hopping accelerates sprites faster, making them compile quicker. Which means that Mainframe still has hope in being saved, as well as Bob.
Turbo tells Matrix that because he thought Matrix was Bob, he wanted to warn him about something. However, before he can say so, the guardians begin to shoot in the bar. The two manage to put the guardians at bay for a short period of time. Turbo shows Matrix the strange infection on the sides of his head, as well as on his icon. He tells him that the guardians have been corrupted by a super virus named Daemon, but Turbo’s strength has kept him from being fully corrupted yet. The only two guardians who haven’t been corrupted are Matrix and Bob.
Turbo also explains that it was Daemon who sent the web creature to Mainframe that caused this entire situation, and apologizes for the whole situation. With Bob’s codes, Turbo tells Matrix that he has to find Bob, so that he can save the entire net. Matrix also changes his icon, which helps to lose his location from the guardians. The guardian leader grabs the pickpocket from earlier, who tells her that Matrix came with two others, a girl and a dog.
AndrAIa and Frisket return to see the bazaar destroyed, and ends up being cornered by the guardians. But they underestimate one thing. No one corners Frisket. The two meet up with the guardian leader, who plans to shoot to kill. It’s an old high noon standoff between the two sprites. AndrAIa blocks the shot, and stabs the guardian in the neck with her paralyzing claws.
Back in the bar, Matrix creates a tear to help Turbo make a portal back to the supercomputer. He promises to be a friend on the inside, for as long as he can fight the infection. Turbo makes his exit as AndrAIa enters the bar. He tells her about Turbo. She tells him about the restrictions to net travel by the guardians. So it looks like they’re stranded. But of course, luck just happens to walk into the bar…
By the name of Captain Capacitor.
“The Episode Without a Name” is a good way to not only end the “Matrix” arc, but the begin the next arc. It fills us in on a lot of what’s going on since Matrix began to hop through the games, as well as not only giving us info on how the web creature made it to Mainframe, but that there is a virus out there that’s far more dangerous than Megabyte or Hexadecimal. All that we know now is that getting Bob back is even more of a top priority than ever.
This episode has an old west feel to it, made especially noticeable with the standoff between the guardian and AndrAIa. It’s also pretty crazy to think that AndrAIa may have just killed that guardian with her claws. However, by now we know they only paralyze, so she’ll survive. It’s finally good to see AndrAIa in more action than usual in the series to this point.
Other than that, there’s not really much to say about this one. Other than giving important information and exposition, it really doesn’t hold up as one of the more memorable episodes in the series. It does give hope for some interesting things to come. And with the Crimson Binome back, as well as the crew of the Saucy Mare, that definitely seems like the case.