After Bob got sent into the Web, Enzo had to take on the guardian protocol to mend and defend Mainframe from not only the games, but Megabyte and his army. Despite his slow start, and his spirit being crushed by propaganda, Enzo quickly began to get better at being a guardian. However, his luck would run out when AndrAIa, Frisket, and himself lost a game. Before they were to be nullified, they would change format to game sprites and ride from game to game in hopes of eventually returning to Mainframe. However, this process sped their growth, and AndrAIa, Frisket, and Enzo would become adults. Enzo now went under the name Matrix, and acted as a moody renegade.
As the three were trying to get back to Mainframe, they learned that the guardians were being controled by an evil virus known as Daemon. The only two guardians who weren’t infected were Matrix and Bob. So the top priority was to enter the web to rescue Bob. Teaming up with Captain Capacitor and the crew of the Saucy Mare, as well as a web surfer named Ray Tracer, Matrix and company entered the web, and battled web creatures, and deadly web riders, while braving the deadly terrain. They would eventually find Bob, and the crew would eventually find a portal back home to Mainframe. But what has happened since we’ve last seen this system? Let’s find out in “Megaframe”.
As is customary with each arc, the show gives us a new opening, this time with Dot narrating about how her format is Command dot com of what was once Mainframe.
We open the episode right where we left off in “Mousetrap”, with the saucy mare exiting the portal made by Bob, and arriving in Mainframe. However, as expected, the system isn’t the happy place it once was, and is a dreary dying system with every sector destroyed, and no signs of life. Matrix is concerned about Dot, but Bob assures him that since she’s a Matrix, she’ll have found a way to survive. The two leave the ship to find any survivors, and restore any tears roaming about.
Even Silicon Tor, Megabyte’s old lair has been totaled. We see through a flashback that Hexadecimal managed to free herself from Megabyte’s collar, and wasted little time exacting revenge by destroying the tor and the firewall. With the help of her army of nulls, she also managed to destroy Megabyte’s reinforcements, along with Hack and Slash. Bob and Matrix wonder who won the battle, and can only guess that the answer lies in the principle office.
At the principle office, Megabyte has been given the news that Bob has survived the web and returned to Megaframe, which means that Mouse’s lock has been broken the system has returned to the net. Feeling that he’s ruled over the dead city for too long, Megabyte is ready to finally leave. Bob and Matrix make it to the principle office, but of course Matrix tries to shoot his way in, which sends the guards after the two. Before he can get shot, Bob manages to save Matrix, as the two escape through a portal.
Meanwhile at the principle office, Megabyte learns from Herr Doktor, that while there are many tears to use, without the proper code, they can’t make a portal into the supercomputer. Megabyte suggests they talk to “the head”. Meanwhile, as if things could get worse for Bob and Matrix, they are encountered by Hack and Slash. Matrix, being mr. “shoot everything”, points his gun, before Bob tells him that they’re harmless.
Hack and Slash are happy to see Bob and Matrix, and tell him that Dot will want to see them. Turns out that Megabyte’s threat of getting rid of the two back in “Game Over” was right, and were rebuilt by Phong to take care of Dot. Hack and Slash bring the two to the hideout of Dot and Mouse, as we get a tearful reunion between the Matrix siblings. However, the reunion for Bob and Dot is interrupted by a kiss from Mouse, which makes the reunion between the two a bit… well… odd. It seems that everyone is together for whatever plan Dot has in mind. However, the only one missing is Phong, who through a flashback, we learn was captured by Megabyte when the principle office was invaded.
But not only was he captured, he was beheaded, and his head placed in a device that can extract the codes to open a portal to the supercomputer. Despite the pain he’s in, Phong continues to fight against giving the codes easily. Meanwhile, Mouse confronts Dot over the tension between her and Bob. Dot feels she let him down by giving up hope that he’ll return. Mouse manages to set her mind at ease over the whole situation. The torture of Phong is halfway through, as a giant tear is opened above the principle office. With little time to left until Megabyte makes a portal, Bob begins to come up with a plan, but suddenly vanishes. He ends up transported…
To Hexadecimal’s lair.
“Megaframe” starts the final season 3 arc strong. With so much that’s happened between the events of “Game Over” and now, this episode does a great job in using flashbacks to bring everyone up to speed. This episode really feels like one of the more depressing episodes from a visual standpoint. The destroyed Mainframe is a haunting sight to see, and the visual of Phong’s disembodied head being tortured is actually a pretty gruesome image.
Once again, what makes this episode really strong is the voice acting, especially from Kathleen Barr. She gives off another great emotional performance, from Dot’s reaction to being reunited with Enzo, to her feelings of letting Bob down with how she failed. It’s top notch dramatic work especially for an animated series like ReBoot. I also like that Hack and Slash are now on the side of good, which makes sense since they’ve sucked as villains. They’re just so lovably bad at being bad.
So now things are at a state of urgency as Megabyte is almost close to letting Mainframe die as he finally may have his way to the supercomputer. Can Matrix and the others stop him? And more importantly, can Bob survive whatever Hexadecimal has in store for him? Find out when we get the “Showdown” we’ve been waiting for.