Sonic Prime, Episode 3.03: No Escape

Sonic Prime, Episode 3.03: No Escape

Original Release Date: January 11th, 2024

The previous episode of "Prime" ended on the cliffhanger of the Angel's Voyage sinking into the ocean as No Place collapses. "No Escape" quickly picks this up, with Sonic determined to travel to this dimension and save his friends, even if it puts himself directly in Nine's sights. He's soon joined by most of the rest of the heroes, pulling off a perilous but successful rescue mission. Yet, upon returning to New Yolk City, it becomes clear to Sonic that this won't end until he gives himself up to Nine. Which he does but that brings with it a whole new set of complications...

Over the years, a few characteristics have emerged as the defining details of Sonic's personality. Namely, his fastness, his snark, and his devotion to his friends. That final aspect is really emphasized in this episode. Sonic knows heading into No Place puts him in danger. He knows it's a risky situation for everyone. Yet he simply can't allow his friends to be in danger. Now, one can debate whether the Angel's Voyage crew are really close enough to Sonic to classify as his "friends." Yet this is still a nice moment. Sonic's love for his pals is what makes him a hero and that inspires the people around him to be heroic too. That's sweet. 

When "Prime" was announced, it was mentioned that Sonic would be doing battle with his own guilt as well as supervillains on this show. This seems to be an idea this last batch of episodes really confronts. "No Escape" has Nine outright ask Sonic if he's so determined to put things right because he knows the universe shattering apart is actually his fault. Sonic's response is simply to grimace to himself, an unconscious acknowledgement that Nine is right. This is certainly an interesting theme to introduce – that heroics are motivated as much by guilt over past mistakes as ethics – and, honestly, it's an idea more "Sonic" media could play with. (Looking at you, IDW, with the way Sonic constantly lets the bad guys get away.) Do I think Nine straight up saying this is not the most subtle idea to include this idea? Yeah but at least it's a theme. "Prime" has been seriously lacking in depth up to this point, so I'll take what I can get right now. 

If the push-and-pull between Sonic's devotion to his friends and his guilt over causing a multiverse splintering crisis is where the meat of this episode lies, one has to look at Sonic and Nine's relationship. "No Escape" opens with a "Sonic Advance" inspired, 16-bit flashback to Sonic and Tails walloping Eggman. That seems to foreshadow Sonic throwing himself on Nine's mercy later in the episode. Yet that brings up an issue I've continued to have with this show: Nine isn't Tails. Or, at least, he's not the Tails Sonic remembers. This is something the character has repeatedly stated but Sonic continues to ignore it. The final act here suggests that maybe Sonic is right too. Maybe there's more of Tails Prime in Nine than the angst cyborg is willing to admit. Yet everything the show has presented up to this point, especially Nine's most recent turn towards supervillainy, suggests otherwise. 

So which is it? Is Nine simply an altered version of Tails or a totally new character, with completely different motivations? The implication, I guess, is that Sonic is so important to Tails' life that just the mere absence of him is enough to turn the little fox into a totally different person. And that could be a profound idea, an "It's a Wonderful Life" style revelation that one person has more of an impact on the world than they can ever know. This would be better presented by Nine himself realizing that Sonic being kind to him, just in these few episodes, has changed him in some way. Instead, "No Escape" has Sonic show in the Grim, tell Nine that he's his friend no matter what, and the fox immediately switch sides again. It's rushed and sloppy, going back to the idea that Sonic can't tell this variant apart from his actual buddy than the unique bond these two specific characters have. 

Considering how frustrating I've found "Prime's" writing up to this point, I'm willing to give the show credit for trying at all. Honestly, the show works the best when it draws very little attention to these attributes. There's two, small moments here that really add a lot of depth to this world. When the Angel's Voyage is sinking, Catfish is fearful to jump from the ship's mast into the safety of the flying Kraken. Nobody judges the big cat for being fearful. Everyone just keeps encouraging him to make that jump. This shows how understanding Sonic and the gang are and that Big the Cat, in every universe, is no typical action hero. Another moment has someone waving at Rusty Rose in appreciation. The cyborg, previously shown to be coldly emotionless, then cracks a tiny grin and slowly waves back. That's a good, subtle moment that shows Rusty has a softer side that is slowly coming to the surface, the more time she spends around these folks. "Prime" needs more of that kind of subtly. 

I still have issues with this episode. "No Escape" repeatedly features the good guys being in some perilous situation, only for someone to rush in from off-screen and save them. It happens at least three different times, by my estimation. Thorn and Birdie swoop in to save Sonic from a Grim Birdie. The same evil robot is blasted away while good guys dangle off a ledge. The Chaos Council show up to give the Kraken a lift as it starts to fall. This is the kind of dramatic writing you can pull off once, maybe twice, an episode. To have the show repeatedly return to it so many times in one half-hour makes it seem like the writers only have one trick up their sleeve. 

Despite that flaw, I would say this is maybe the best episode of "Prime" yet. There's some cool action beats, of Sonic skipping across the water or Baton Rouge swooping around a ship. That opening, video game style flashback is really cool. The episode ends on a very unpromising cliffhanger that seems to be setting up another one of those dramatic alliance shifts that this show keeps doing and I keep hating. That makes me doubtful that "Prime" is going to nail the landing as it goes into its final stretch. But we will see. At least "No Escape," taken on its own, is a solid installment. [7/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 2.08: Ghost of a Chance

Sonic Prime, Episode 2.08: Ghost of a Chance

Original Release Date: July 13th, 2023

And now we reach the final episode of “Sonic Prime's” latest season. If you're an old person, like me, you might remember the days when you actually had wait a week to see the new episodes of your favorite TV show. Ideally, your excitement would grow as the season progressed, climaxing with a riveting season finale that would bring everything together in the most satisfying of ways, while also leaving you eagerly anticipating the next season that would hopefully follow. Netflix completely obliterated this tradition with their “binge” model of dropping every episode of a season once. Of course, enough time has passed now that the weaknesses of the binge model are well known, to the point that most streaming services prefer a weekly release schedule now. 

In addition to causing a new show to just disappear into the slush pit of endless content after the hype passes, the binge model also has another side effect: It makes season finales matter way less. When you can just tear through an entire season in one day, all the excitement that could've build up simply doesn't exist. It's hard to have much investment in the journey a season of television takes you on when you can tear through the whole thing in a few hours. And I do mean “a few.” Since it's only eight episodes long, you could watch all of “Sonic Prime: Season Two” in about four hours. That's not even enough time to watch any two “Lord of the Rings” movies! 

Anyway, all of that aside, let's get into “Ghost of a Chance.” Sonic and Shadow stand up to the Chaos Council as they invade Ghost Hill. While the hedgehogs fight off the invaders, Nine works on reassembling the Paradox Prism. Somehow, the Chaos Council channel shard energy into their Eggforcers and other weapons, making them super powerful. Nine then does something similar, giving the super-powerful boost needed to fight off the bad guys. Even then doesn't work, as the Chaos Council summons a “Prismatic Titan” in the form of an enormous Eggman. This forces Sonic and Nine to go even further with charging him up. That's when the blue hedgehog and the multi-tailed fox get into a bit of a disagreement. 

When Nine first talking about injecting Sonic with shard energy, I was fully expecting “Sonic Prime” to introduce Super Sonic into its story. It's just become something of a cliché that every bit of “Sonic” media, during the most perilous battle, has to have Sonic go Super Saiyan to crush the gigantic threat he must fight off. “Prime” doesn't do that exactly. Instead, it introduces its own super form. Sonic gains pink eyes and a prismatic trail of color behind him. The catchy name of this super-form seems to be “Prismatic Sonic.” He moves so fast that he can converse with himself, speeding around in the blink of an eye. That's a neat effect and all, even if a new super-form is probably the last thing Sonic needs. 

And I mean that question even in the context of this single episode too. Does Sonic need a super form to defeat the Chaos Council? We are repeatedly told the energized Eggforcers and the Prismatic Titan are serious new threats. Yet, all throughout this episode, up to that point, Sonic and Shadow where tearing them apart with ease. “Prime” continues to showcase elaborately choreographed action scenes. When the heroes can destroy all the enemies with relative ease, however, the kind of tension and suspense that are necessary for an action scene to really be successful are never created. This becomes even more true once Sonic gets a power upgrade, meaning he can blow through these even bigger threats with similarly relative ease. “Prime” goes through all the motions of a compelling action story here but never really sells any of them. Everything is just too easy for Sonic.

I know this is not the first time I've made that point. I've had that criticism for “Prime” consistently across season two. Here's another criticism that continues to stand with each episode: The Chaos Council aren't very creative as villains! Once again, when granted near-limitless power by the magical MacGuffin they've been pursuing this entire series, what do they do? They make their disposable robot soldiers a little more powerful. When that doesn't work, they create a giant Eggman out of shard energy or some shit. It shows such a total lack of imagination, from these guys and from “Prime's” writers and show runners. I know CGI cartoons only can only afford to create so many models but surely they could've thought of something better than this?

All of this is aside from my criticisms that the Chaos Council just aren't very effective villains either. Deep, Don't, and Done-It continue to be humiliated through this episode. But, whatever, that's an old issue by now. These guys suck on an individual level, even though the show continues to tell us they are a threat on a collective level. That's not really what's on my mind here. As I said, Mr. Dr. Eggman creates a giant prismatic version of Eggman to attack the heroes. How did the Chaos Council know what the original version of Eggman looks like, if they are the only Eggmen who exist in their universe? The exact relationship the Council has with Eggman Prime has never been established and this moment just further muddles the water. (The Council also doesn't know who Shadow is, which I guess makes sense. Though the exact bafflement they have over a second hedgehog seems a bit much.)

Last time, I mentioned that the show was clearly setting up some sort of conflict between Sonic and Nine. That comes to the front here. The obvious disagreement – that Sonic wants to restore Green Hills while Nine wants to recreate an ideal world on the Grim – nicely doesn't play out as cartoonish squabbling. Instead, both characters have good points. I even like the way Sonic is genuinely held at fault a bit, with the way Nine doesn't appreciate how he's seen only as a replacement for the “real” Tails, not his own person. Yet I wanted more, you know? At this point in the season, a good moment like this can't help but feel too-little too-late. 

And so “Prime's” second season ends in as frustrating a place as it began. We are sixteen episodes into this series and most of my complaints about it remain. The series has already been picked up for a third season, so we'll see a resolution to the cliffhanger here at some point in the near future. Maybe if “Prime” leans into Sonic and Nine's schism in the future, the show could finally come into its own. Yet I'm doubtful of that happening, at this point. I just don't know if I can ever get into this one, even as a lifelong “Sonic” fan. [6/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 2.06: Double Trouble

Sonic Prime, Episode 2.06: Double Trouble

Original Release Date: July 13th, 2023

I'm fourteen episodes into “Sonic Prime” and I just now realized something: A lot of these episodes, maybe all of them, end on a cliffhanger. It only takes a minute of thought to reason how why this is the case. “Prime” is a Netflix show. Most of the streaming service's success is based around how long people's eyeballs are glued to their app. Having every episode end in a perilous place insures that viewers don't press a damn thing when the “Play Next Episode” button comes up. It's writing designed, first and foremost, in order to service Netflix's binge format of episode releasing. Creativity servicing technology and not the other way around. Welcome to life in the 21st century, fuckers.

Anyway, the point of this rambling introduction is the previous episode ended on probably “Prime's” biggest cliffhanger yet: Seemingly the introduction of this show's version of Metal Sonic. Quickly revealing himself to be named Chaos Sonic, the hedgehog and his robotic double battle all throughout New Yolk City. While the heroes are distracted, the Chaos Council uses their newly minted shard technology to begin conquering other universes. The mutiversal implications of the situation really dawn on the characters when Dread finally makes himself known, Renegade Knocks meeting another version of himself. It all comes to a head, kind of, when Sonic rushes into the center of the fray to rescue Nine.

In his previous appearances in “Sonic the Hedgehog” cartoons, Metal Sonic has not exactly been a very talkative character. He has exactly one line of dialogue in the OVA and I'm not sure he said anything during his brief appearances in “Boom.” Even in the video games and comics, where Metal Sonic is a featured character far more often, he's still a robot of few words. It seems almost everyone agrees that Sonic's robotic doppelganger is more effective when he keeps his mouth shut. After all, he's Metal Sonic, a material not exactly known for being expressive and yielding. The machine's personality doesn't often extend much further beyond “Priority One: Hedgehog” anyway, so there's no need for him to be all that talkative. 

“Sonic Prime” goes in a radically different direction with their version. We know Chaos Sonic is called Chaos Sonic because he calls himself that. In fact, the evil robot rarely stops talking whenever he's on-screen. He chatters at his fleshy counterpart non-stop, constantly belittling him and espousing his own superiority. A talkative Metal Sonic is not a totally unprecedented choice. Archie Comics managed to do something similar with Shard and turned him into a fan favorite. However, in the case of Chaos Sonic, it is fucking annoying. Probably because the quips are so completely non-stop. Even Sonic himself comments on how irritating the non-stop yaking and joking is. I guess the idea of Sonic's evil double exaggerating his traits to more irritating levels has some validity... But did “Prime's” writers have to go quite this far in making him annoying?

Chaos Sonic's characterization speaks to a problem I've referenced before with this show. Are the villains suppose to be intimidating or goofy? The constantly gabbing robot hedgehog – his eyes are emojis too, in case you thought he wasn't irritating enough – isn't the only example of this here. At one point, the Chaos Council get to bickering about how to divide up their empire. Their argument gets petty extremely quickly. On one hand, I don't entirely hate this. It gives the bad guys some personality and, after all, it would make sense that a whole league of Eggmen would let their egos get in the way. Yet it doesn't go far to make them creditable threats. Especially when the baby has the idea to just split their spoils up. 

Previously, I had complained that, when granted a MacGuffin of immeasurable power with the potential to conquer a multi-verse, the Chaos Council instead used the Paradox Prism shards to make slightly tougher robots than usual. At least this episode sees the villains use the power source they've been chasing all series to actually do some malicious shit. They open portals to the other worlds and begin to establish cities there. If New Yolk City is a dystopian city, the Council trying to spreads that same crushing conformity to every other dimension out there is a pretty evil scheme. (And it's pointed out that more worlds are out there in the ShatterVerse, so every member of the Chaos Council get a world to themselves. And “Prime” gets further places to explore next season.) 

If that moment represents “Prime” finally utilizing its multi-verse set-up for more than just a gimmick, the episode goes a little further too. Knuckles the Dread, having been in New Yolk for a few episodes, finally runs into his counterpart. While the series certainly made it seem like, up to this point, that Dread would be an antagonist, he instead immediately begins helping the New Yolk rebels in fighting their enemies. That seems like a bit of a waste, considering what has been set up. Yet the scenes of the two Knuckles being confused and surprised by each other, and finding they have some things in common, are amusing. I don't know if Dread will come into conflict with the rebels eventually but that moment manages to justify its own existence. 

If “Prime” has been a show frustratingly short on character development up to this point, I will give “Double Trouble” credit for trying a little harder in that regard. Nine Tails escapes his bounds – way too easily, I might add – and goes about assisting Sonic and the gang. After the hedgehog hero catches up with the alternate version of his sidekick, Nine expresses some guilt over his role in the Council's plot. Sonic immediately resolves him of this shame, telling him that he's still his buddy and it's okay. It's a moment that has a nice parallel with Sonic's own arc. During one of his many, many mocking asides, Chaos Sonic reminds his heroic double that all of this shit is technically his fault. It's interesting that Sonic can forgive his friends for their mistakes but has so much trouble forgiving his own. 

Of course, that moment of Chaos Sonic pointing out Regular Sonic's role in this catastrophe is abruptly cut short by Dread sailing in and picking a fight. Similarly, Sonic and Nine's dialogue immediately rams into the needs of the plot. The duo get right to grabbing the Shards before the bad guys rush in to provide this episode's obligatory “Keep watching, you fuckers!” non-ending. Yet I'm willing to give “Double Trouble” a little more points than usual, if only because “Prime” has been so anemic on the character development side. A little goes a long way in a drought, ya know? 

Action, as always, is the focus here. As obnoxious as Chaos Sonic is, his robotic body does lend itself to some cool fight scenes. He can twirl around and bend his limbs in all sorts of non-biological ways. The way Sonic momentarily defeats his robotic copy is mildly clever, as is the one-liner Sonic delivers afterwards. There's also a cool shot from Chaos Sonic's P.O.V. as he's wailing on Sonic. “Prime” is a good looking show, there's no denying that. Yet I have found myself continuously wishing the writers worked as hard as the animators. “Double Trouble” represents some possible positive moments forward, even if it introduces an antagonist that is surely irksome. Will the show start to improve from here? It's hard to get my hopes up too much but I guess we'll see. [6/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 2.1: Avoid the Void

Sonic Prime, Episode 2.1: Avoid the Void

Original Release Date: July 4th, 2023

What was the general consensus on the first batch of “Sonic Prime” episodes? It seems to me that most corners of the fandom was receptive to the series. If the folks on “Sonic” Twitter are anything to go by, a lot of people enjoyed it. I, if you recall from my reviews late last year, was mostly underwhelmed by the show. Seemed to me that the show didn't really start to get moving until the very end of that nine episode run, while it's multi-verse hopping premise left little room for character development or meaningful relationships. I've seen similar reactions from other blue hedgehog devotees, so I know I'm not totally alone in that opinion. So I guess you would average that up to a “mostly positive, slightly mixed” reaction on the whole? 

Regardless of how I felt, I've saw a fair bit of hype concerning the new episodes – initially referred to as the second half of season one but not being called the second season – in the lead-up to their release this month. “Sonic Prime” left off on a cliffhanger that promised to give fan-favorite Shadow even more screen time, which was probably enough to whet the appetites of certain corners of the fandom. Premiering on Youtube on the fourth, with the rest of the season arriving on Netflix on the 13th, “Avoid the Void” kicks off the new set of eight episodes and “Prime's” latest chance to either surprise or disappoint me. 

“Avoid the Void” begins with Shadow in the titular space between realities. We learn that he's been watching bounce around the multi-verse from the beginning and that he lost his Chaos Emerald deep within this dimensional sink hole. After confronting Sonic, he takes the blue hedgehog to a lifeless version of Green Hill, populated with repetitive holograms of the cast. After some exposition, Shadow makes it clear that he intends on cleaning up Sonic's mess. A brawl ensues, where Shadow attempts to steal Sonic's dimension hopping tech. Yet the gruffer hedgehog soon learns things are a bit more complicated than he assumed. 

If I felt season one of “Prime” was overall a little aimless, I did enjoy that the last episode actually upped the stakes with the Chaos Council invading No Place. The first episode of season two does, if nothing else, continue this upward trajectory. Sonic is, at first, happy to see Shadow and assumes his presence means Green Hill is still intact. The blue hedgehog's angsty counterpart informs him that their home dimension, as far as he can tell, no longer exists. If true, that would be a pretty big deal. Sonic now has the weight on him of having inadvertently destroyed his home and all his friends. The thought that Green Hill is gone is certainly a lot more dramatic than Sonic just being adrift in the multi-verse. 

Not that I expect Green Hill to actually-actually be destroyed. First off, this is a kid's cartoon. There's no way that it'll go that grim. Moreover, “Prime” as a series is obviously extremely invested in the core cast of Sonic's friends. I mean, every other character is a Tails, a Knuckles, a Rouge, or a Big. If the prime versions of those guys are all gone forever, it seems unlikely to me that this show would constantly be giving Sonic reminders of his definitely dead friends. Even by the halfway point of this episode, it seems Shadow has forgotten his assertion that the prime zone has been destroyed. If nothing else, he seems fairly certain it can be restored in some way. 

Yet the idea that Sonic might believe his home is gone and his friends are dead is a good foundation for his character. When Netflix first released a plot synopsis for “Prime,” there was some reference to Sonic having to atone for past mistakes. Watching the hedgehog grow from the carefree adventurer he is now to someone more burdened by his responsibilities could be fruitful. We get a brief taste of this during the scenes where Sonic and Shadow first visit the lifeless version of Green Hill. The look on the hedgehog's face as he realizes these are just echoes of his friends produces some pathos. I hope the show leans into Sonic feeling some regrets for his actions in future episodes.

“Sonic” media is always finding excuses for Sonic and Shadow to punch each other, sometimes extremely flimsy ones. “Avoid the Void” does, if nothing else, find a compelling angle for their conflict here. Shadow essentially sees this as a mess Sonic has made. He considers the blue hedgehog to be a capricious, irresponsible adventurer while seeing himself as the hero likely to put wrongs back to right. Sonic, meanwhile, is determined to make it back home to his friends and he's not going to let Shadow get in his way. Definitely a much sturdier reason for them to fight it out than “There's a misunderstanding about who's the bad guy.” Both hedgehogs think they are right and deserve to do things their own way, making this among the more natural scuffles the show has presented us with so far.

Since this is “Sonic Prime,” that action sequence is what makes up most of the episode. Again, I have to say that it's pretty cool. Especially once the fighting spills back out into the Void and the two take advantage of the floating debris around them. If “Prime” has done nothing else well so far, it's been capturing the sense of speed Sonic and his adversaries have when fighting. Watching these two race around each other and trade fisticuffs is entertaining. About the only moment that sticks out is when they briefly splash under the lake, which features some mediocre water effects. 

As I finish up this review, I realize most of the positive things I'm saying about this episode mirrors what I've said about past “Prime” episodes. This could go in an interesting direction. This might set-up a strong event later on. Hope springs eternal, I suppose, but I guess it should be obvious by now that “Prime” isn't that kind of show. This is a punchy-punchy action show for babies, utilizing the most simple versions of Sonic and his supporting cast that you can imagine. Maybe I should stop hoping the show will turn into something it's not and instead accept what it actually is. 

Well, maybe. Nevertheless, “Prime” has so much potential that remains untapped into at the moment that I can't help but hope it turns into a more promising show eventually. Now that the tedious set-up is out of the way, perhaps season two will actually go further in developing its cast and the conflict? If nothing else, I don't think any more alternate versions of the primary cast will be introduced soon – probably owing to the expense of making character models for a CGI show – so the show better start getting stronger writing, or else it'll be rendered entirely tedious. I don't want to be too negative. This is a decent episode but whether or not it's another tease of unfulfilled promises or the start of something better very much remains to be seen. [6/10]

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.6: Situation: Grim

Sonic Prime, Episode 1.6: Situation: Grim

Original Release Date: December 15th, 2022

At the end of “Barking Up the Wrong Tree,” Sonic was launched back into New Yolk City and into the middle of a fight between the Resistance and the Chaos Council’s forces. He’s quickly informed that he’s been gone several weeks. In that time, the Resistance has grown into a proper army, waging a full-on guerrilla war against the doctors. The blue hedgehog also learns that Nine disappeared with the Prism Shard moments after it teleported him away. Nine makes a dramatic reappearance, in an aircraft he’s built around the shard that can travel between dimensions. Sonic has to talk him into staying and fighting, which unfortunately hands the Eggmen their most dangerous weapon yet. 

When it seemed like “Prime” was finally finding its rhythm with me, the show immediately swings back into being frustrating. “Situation: Grim” suggests a much more interesting show was going on in-between episodes. Instead of showing us the Resistance fighting an underground war against the Chaos Council’s oppressive regime, it’s all explained to us during a montage. We even learn, early on, that Rusty Rose has been a sleeper agent for the bad guys this whole time, having reverted back to her original programing shortly after the last time we saw her. Imagine the suspense that could’ve been built by that idea, wondering when the heroes will discover the traitor in their midst or if she’ll accidentally reveal herself. It seems like this show’s commitment to the multiverse premise has really kept it from developing the good ideas already available to it. 

The relationship between Sonic and Nine seems to be the sole cornel of heart “Prime” really has. Before the program can get to that, it has to explain a bunch of shit. When the cyborg fox appears in his ship – an ugly, industrial piece of machinery that isn’t anywhere near as appealing as the Tornado – he plucks Sonic up and drops a heaping load of exposition on the viewer. A whole row of phrases, like Shatter Space (Nine’s term for the different dimensions) and Shatter-Verse (Nine’s term for the space between worlds), are quickly explained. The fox has discovered a totally empty world he calls the Grim and it's further confirmed that Sonic’s shoes change properties every time he lands in a new world.

It’s simple to understand, if you’ve ever seen another multiverse story before this one, but it still takes precious time away from what might’ve made this a good episode. Nine sees the emptiness of the Grim as a chance to start over, to build the idyllic home he was denied. Sonic, however, is eager to return to New Yolk City and help the rebels fight their battle. This shows a pretty interesting divide between the two characters. Nine is a nihilist, who thinks things are too bad to fix. Clean-slating everything and starting over is the only chance for peace. Sonic, however, always believes that there’s something to fight for. That, as long as you’ve got friends, a situation can be improved. 

It’s an interesting idea… Which mean it’s one that the show clearly doesn’t have time for. Nine sends Sonic back to the city so that he can continue the fight. A few minutes later, the fox returns in his spaceship and joins the battle. What made him change his mind? I don’t know! There’s a brief line of dialogue between Sonic and Nine where the fox makes it clear he’s returning to the Grim after this battle is over. And that’s it as far as justification goes. It seems clear to me that the writers painted themselves into a corner, with the Resistance being crushed by the Chaos Council’s power, and a saving throw from Nine was the only logical way out of it… It’s just that this, once again, pushes the character development off-screen. 

At this point, I can only conclude that the makers of “Prime” don’t care that much about character development or shit like that. Once again, the only thing this show really excels at are the action sequences. Don’t get me wrong, some of these are fun. Knuckles spindashing through a horde of machines or Sonic bouncing across several Eggforcer robots, in a manner that should be familiar to fans of the game, are entertaining sights. Yet it’s hard to be too invested in the butt-kicking when the people involved are kept at a distance like this. The episode devoted several minutes to the Chaos Council’s fortress transforming into some sort of flying saucer. It seems to consider shit like that more important than whether we care about any of these characters. 

And one more thing about the Chaos Council… I had assumed these guys where aware of the alternate universes. That they were a bunch of different Eggmen from across multiple worlds, who pooled their resources together to totally conquer one dimension. Basically, an interdimensional alliance of Eggmen coming together to do what none of them could alone.  Instead, this episode makes it clear that these guys were not aware of the Shatter Spaces before this moment. So… What are the Council of Chaos then? Are they a family? Is Dr. Done-It the grandfather? Is Dr. Babble the child of one of them? Does that mean Eggman fucks? Or are they all brothers in a very long-lasting lineage? Identical cousins? I can only conclude that it’s something like this, though the fact that they talk to each other more like co-workers than family members further muddies things. 

I’m nearly done with the first batch of “Prime” episodes and the show still feels frustratingly half-formed to me. Any time there’s a nugget of something genuinely compelling here, the show barrels ahead onto something else. Even some of the central parts of its zone-hopping premise that it’s married to remain frustratingly underexplained. Am I the pretentious one here, with unrealistic expectations for a children’s show? Has years of reading the comics, which have the time to explore things more, ruined me for TV? Those are questions for you to answer, not me. As for “Situation: Grim,” it’s another episode that snatches victory away from itself at every turn. [5/10]