And now we enter season 2 of ReBoot, and what we’ll definitely learn about this season is how well the writers of this show were with building continuity. While this season did have a couple throwaway fillers, most of the events within the season link to one another, and build to the continuing story we’ll see for pretty much the rest of the series. Season one was an ambitious show at the time being hyped with new technology, but really doing nothing ultimately new story wise. But season 2 is where this show starts to become a classic. So let’s recap and review how this season began with “Infected”.
The opening for season 2 is the same as the previous season. Once again it’s Bob talking about his format, as well as his claims to one day find out about the User. However, this is something that is never furthered on, as the show would go in far different directions with the story, with the user and games just mostly being a backdrop for the major action moments of the series. Still, it would have been an interesting story idea.
We open the episode at the Mainframe principal office, as all of Mainframe is awaiting an incoming file. Files appear from the sky through a yellow burst of energy comeplete with fireworks. Everyone believes that the file is an upgrade that can benefit Mainframe. However, Phong is concerned that the file has arrived earlier than expected. The upgrade drops in a big canister.
Bob, Dot, and Phong descend into the principal office to the core within, with the upgrade in tow. As the upgrade is readied, the principal office is shielded and all of Mainframe is powered down so the upgrade can take effect. With the town shut down, Bob opens the upgrade to find inside is none other than…
Megabyte!
Yep, Megabyte pulled the old “fake upgrade” scam. And Bob, despite being the hero, never even thought to check this before lowering the upgrade canister close to the core. Megabyte saps Phong of energy, claiming that he has business with the core. Bob tries to stop Megabyte by throwing the lid of the canister at him, which Megabyte catches, and follows up by throwing the whole canister at Bob. Bob tries to dodge it, but it turns out the virus has some good aim.
With Bob disposed of for the moment, Megabyte manages to steal the entry code information from Phong and continues on his way to he core control chamber. Dot tries to warn the others about Megabyte, but only relays some of the information. The rest of Mainframe is under curfew, and Enzo is being put in charge to keep everyone calm.
As Megabyte continues to gloat for success, he gets dropkicked by Bob. What follows is a good bit of action as Megabyte tries to attack Dot and Phong, which leads to Bob using a glitch combo of a springy energy field and a lamppost, which the virus collides into. A great humor beat for what so far has been the best action in the series. Too bad this combo dries up Glitch’s batteries, and Bob is still chased by Megabyte. Phong also tells Dot to leave him, as the two sprites manage to escape.
Bob and Dot both end up concerned about leaving Phong, but first have to find a way to re-energize Glitch. While that goes down, Megabyte begins his plans by commanding that Mainframe be erased. And we begin to see the sky darken around Mainframe, as everything shuts down, and the damage begins. He also decides to deal with the sprites by sending some of Phong’s game pucks out to deal some damage. I knew that game was going to be the death of someone. Bob uses Dot’s organizer to restore Glitch for them to escape.Meanwhile, outside things aren’t going so well either, as Enzo and the rest of the binomes in the diner are starting to fade away as their energy is being erased. Even the buildings are falling apart.
Megabyte’s is interrupted by Hexadecimal. Boy, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen her. Hex applauds him for the damage he’s causing, and also wants to make sure that he has no intention of erasing her. Megabyte tells her that wouldn’t be the way to treat “family”. Which is the first time this series has mentioned that these viruses are linked in any way. And it will be a few episodes until we learn of just what he means by family. She wants half of the control of Mainframe, but despite Megabyte’s lip service, he has no intention of keeping her around, and plans to erase her as well.
Dot finds the armory, and what looks to be something that could help her out. Bob recharges Glitch, and is visited by a holographic projection of Phong, who tells Bob to use Megabyte’s greed. Meanwhile, Megabyte gloats to Enzo as he sees the damage he’s caused. But he’s interrupted with Dot in an exoskeleton suit that is clearly a reference to Aliens. She deals major damage to the virus, but the tables soon turn to his favor. Before he can finish her off, Bob puts a stop to him. But again, Megabyte regains control by managing to infect the suit. Megabyte tells Bob that he wants a portal to the supercomputer. And with Bob in no position to argue, he gives in.
Bob shows him a portal inside a containment unit. However, Bob locks him inside, as the unit is really a device to break down viruses. Megabyte has been beaten by his greed. But Megabyte has one last trick up his sleeve as he activates a self destruct command (a Predator reference perhaps), with the intention of blowing himself up and everyone in it. With no other option, Bob sends the unit flying out of the principal office, where it lands at silicon tor. And so the day is saved, as Mainframe is restored, and a real upgrade is ready to drop.
“Infected” is a strong way to open season 2 of ReBoot. First off, the action in the episode is some of the best the series has had so far, seeing as the show’s constant struggle with standards and practices had a lot to do with that. The stakes in the episode were also some of the highest to this date. It’s not just about trying to steal data from Bob’s brain, or trying to turn a tear into a portal. All of Mainframe could have been destroyed and turned into Megabyte’s dream city, Megaframe. If “Identity Crisis” was a sign of change for the better for ReBoot, then “Infected” only helped push the show in the right direction.
Speaking of Megabyte, this is easily his best outing since “The Tearing”. For the majority of season 1, he was pretty much turned into the villain behind the curtain who had others do his dirty work. Those others often being the moronic Hack and Slash. However, when we see him in action, we do see how much of a physical threat he is. Super strength and agility, not to mention razor sharp claws and the power to infect machinery to do his bidding. While his greed and ego are his ultimate flaws, he is definitely not one to be overlooked. Hexadecimal was also back in this episode, which if the episode wasn’t good on its own merit, this would have given it points for me.
Bob is also finally being written as the one who saves the day again. Yes, he’s still naive at times, but he is finally being the one who uses his skills as a guardian to save the day, not Dot, or Enzo, or even Mike the TV. Maybe the fact that Bob is being used correctly again is what really boosted this one. Every character is being used perfectly, and it’s finally showing this show can be filled with action and fun, and not have to rely on tired story elements. In other words, the days of episodes like “The Tiff” are long gone.
In the end, “Infected” is one of the strongest episodes of season 2, as well as the series. And we’re only going to go uphill. But not immediately uphill, as we have a couple rocky bumps to go, like with our next episode.