The 4Kids Stars Sing the National Anthem

This will mean nothing to readers outside the United States but, for my fellow Americans, you obviously know that today is July 4th. Otherwise known as Independence Day, the annual anniversary of America declaring its freedom from the British Empire. Of course, I'm not exactly a proud American. There's countless reasons to be ashamed of the things this country has done in pursuit of its manifest destiny. American history is awash in blood, imperialism, racism, and slavery. Moreover, the story of American independence we're all taught as kids is mostly bullshit. To quote someone wiser than me, the truth is a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn't want to pay their taxes. It's a myth created to instill a fervent nationalism in every U.S. child's heart, to make us uncritical of every evil thing our government does. To tie our personal identities to our national identities, so that we interpret any criticism of the state as insults against ourselves. This centuries-long campaign of patriotic propaganda has been incredibly successful and many grown-ass adults who really should know better still tear up with pride on this day. 

And it doesn't help that Fourth of July is one of the dumbest holidays. In my state, where fireworks laws are lax, pretty much the entire month is inundated with explosive noise. Every night, and even frequently during the day, the sky fills up with bright colors – which are pretty, sure – but also a ceaseless cacophony that scares my dog and gives veterans everywhere PTSD flashbacks. But there is, buried somewhere deep within me, a nostalgic longing for the July 4ths of my childhood. When the day meant trying to write my name with sparklers, watching colorful lights plume into the night sky, and eating hot dogs and potato salad at backyard cookouts. 

What does any of this have to do with Sonic the Hedgehog? Nothing at all! However, this national day of American exceptionalism does give me an excuse to talk about one of the stranger relics of "Sonic X" history. In 2006, 4Kids Entertainment was still going strong. The Fox Box had mutated into 4Kids TV but the company's various shows and anime dubs still dominated many children's Saturday mornings. And "Sonic X" remained a part of the brand, even if the show ended its initial run that year. In fact, if Wikipedia is to be believed, it seems "Sonic X" disappeared from the 4Kids TV schedule from June of 2006 into May of 2007. Nevertheless, 4Kids obviously still considered "Sonic X" a trademark program of the weekend morning block. That July, the blue hedgehog and Knuckles would be included in an... unusual promo. 

Yes, I am talking about the infamous "The Stars of 4Kids Sing the National Anthem" video. There's not much information out there about this notorious minute and 33 seconds long spot, or even when it first aired. Fourth of July fell on a Tuesday in 2006 so I'm guessing this played the weekend before. (If not the weekends before, considering the way Saturday morning cartoon blocks replay and recycle promos.) Until someone writes the definitive oral history about this thing, we can only speculate on how it came to be. Whatever the reason, someone at 4Kids thought it would be funny or cute or maybe even patriotic to have a bunch of their cartoon characters – or, more accurately, the English dub voice actors for the characters the company licensed – sing The Star-Spangled Banner as a way to commemorate the annual celebration of American independence. If you've never seen this particular production, I recommend you do so now. 

Let me just run through this thing, because you really have to: The commercial begins with a CGI stock image of the old red, white, and blue, an announcer preparing us for this, and a succession of characters presented in shining stars. A selection of cast members from “Sonic X,” “Winx Club,” the 2003 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” 4Kids' forgotten localization of “Tokyo Mew Mew” and their widely loathed dub of “One Piece” proceed to sing their way through the Star Spangled Banner. A different character handles every other line or so, before the group comes together for the conclusion. The 4Kids announcer returns at the end to confirm that this was all done to celebrate the 4th of July. 

The real question “The Stars of 4Kids Sing the National Anthem” makes me ask is: Why was this done? One assumes that the intention behind this particular advertisement was humor. That the contrast between the solemnness of “The Star Spangled Banner” and the goofy cartoon characters singing it was meant to generate chuckles. The most obvious joke occurs when Master Splinter belts out a line with a rather operatic voice. This might also explains why several of these characters, most notably Luffy and some other weird guy from “One Piece,” screech through their lines in an ear-splitting fashion not dissimilar to Rosanne Barr's notorious rendition of the anthem. Michaelangelo's singing voice is also not easily appreciated. 

Of course, goofing on the American anthem is the kind of thing liable to offend certain sensibilities. (See, once again, Roseanne's performance.) “The Star Spangled Banner” is, after all, a song bound up in all sorts of feelings of patriotism, the meaning of the American flag and institutions, war victories, and those who have died achieving said victories. Those are all pretty touchy subjects to stomp all over in a goofy cartoon advertisement. So maybe this promo is entirely sincere. Maybe the fact that “The Star Spangled Banner” is notoriously hard to sing can be blamed for the obnoxious vocals heard here. 

There's something else I can't help but notice: Almost none of these cartoon characters are American. “One Piece” is a Japanese show. “Winx Club” is an Italian show. Even in the truncated 4Kids version, “Tokyo Mew Mew” still has a Japanese city in its title. “Sonic X” is at least set in America, though it's still a Japanese show starring Japanese-created characters. Only the “Ninja Turtles” are actually American characters from an American city. And even then, I'm pretty sure Splinter is a Japanese immigrant. I'm doubtful that was a deliberately ironic choice, that these obviously non-American characters would be singing the American National Anthem. But it still adds to the weirdness of this entire thing. 

For whatever it's worth, the “Sonic X” cast members don't exactly embarrass themselves. Jason Griffin's vocals are nasally but not eardrum destroying. The guy voicing Knuckles actually has an okay baritone. Like everything 4Kids did, this is also hastily thrown together and half-assed. The final shot, of everyone assembled before the flag, has Knuckles cut off at the waist. Despite that, this still manages to be almost as jarring a contribution to “Sonic” history as “The Fight for the Fox Box.” (Review of that coming soon.) Did 4Kids do any other weird, embarrassing shit with the “Sonic X” characters when they had the rights for the show? 

Baffling, tasteless, and very dumb, it's unsurprising that this less-than-two-minute long promo has become a minor classic of internet comedy. I'm not exactly sure how I managed to write 1368 words about it, but that should show you how stunning this particular video is. I watched it about six times while writing this blog entry and I'm afraid I was starting to kind of like it by the end. As for all my fellow Americans, I hope you enjoy some fireworks, a patriotically colored novelty hat, or at least got holiday pay today. To any “Sonic” fans reading this from other parts of the globe, I apologize for all the terrible shit my country has done today. 

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 50

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): Issue 50

Publication Date: June 29th, 2022

I remember when issue 50 of Archie’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” comic came out. It was a big fucking deal for me, at the time. Though I have many misgivings about the “Endgame” story arc as an adult, as a kid, it felt like such a truly epic moment in “Sonic” history. The issue was poised as the cumulation of everything that came before it, the pay-off to everything the comic and "SatAM" had promised, even if my grown-up eyes see that obviously isn’t the case. Moreover, a silly video game comic running even that long definitely felt significant. Back then, I had no idea the series would last for almost 300 issues. Fifty seemed like the biggest number I could imagine for the book. (Considering "Endgame" was initially planned as the series' conclusion, I guess that was true for the execs at Archie too.)

And now, here we are, almost exactly twenty-five years later, reading the 50th issue of a totally different "Sonic" comic. The "Sonic" franchise has changed in so many ways in all that time, that it's impossible to compare the two. Except in one regard. Issue 50 of Archie "Sonic" really did overturn the book's status quo, at least for a while. While it's hard to say what lasting effects IDW "Sonic's" issue 50 will have on this series, it feels like a similarly big deal. That's certainly how the company is treating it. They've been hyping up the issue for months, creating a separate mini-series almost entirely to set it up. They've released the book with ten alternate covers – this one is my favorite and here's the obligatory hideously overstuffed Jon Gray cover – and much fanfare. There's no way this issue 50 will ever hold as big a place in my memory as the old one did. I'm an old man with old man problems and an old man's perception of time now. Yet I will say: It does come pretty close to living up to the hype.

Picking up where "Imposter Syndrome" and issue 49 left off, "Battle for the Empire" has Sonic, Tails, and Belle following the trail of Badniks to the mysterious Eggman city. This is, unknown to them, a trap laid by Starline and his minions. Before anyone can figure out what is going on, Sonic is ambushed by Surge and Tails is attacked by Kitsunami. Meanwhile, Eggman appears to confront Starline and his attempted coup, the other doctor more than happy to face down his former mentor. While those guys fight it out, Belle sneaks underground with a damaged Metal Sonic, choosing to repair the usually villainous robot. More dramatic confrontations will follow before the night is over.

Ian Flynn does a pretty smart thing in this issue. There's eight principal characters here and they've all got their own thing going on. The author saves space and keeps things rolling by pairing each of them off. Sonic and Surge duel. Tails and Kit battle. Eggman and Starline duke it out. Belle and Metal Sonic, meanwhile, wander towards the innards of the city. While cutting between these four separate events might've fractured the pacing, "Battle for the Empire" somehow keeps your blood pumping the whole time. This is an excellently structured comic book and not a single panel is wasted. 

Maybe that's because these pairings build-up dynamics we've been really eager to see. So much of the last year's worth of issues were devoted to setting up Surge and Kit's rivalry with Sonic and Tails that it's kind of ridiculous that this is the first time they've actually met each other. Similarly, we've been hearing for so long about Starline's desire to dethrone Eggman. Flynn is really aware of this though and makes sure these aren't just fights. The characters quickly lay out the reasons behind their rivalries. it's such a simple thing but, within a few pages, you understand totally why Surge and Kit feel this way towards Sonic and Tails. These handful of pages give these two more actual character development then most of the mini-series devoted to them did. 

It's should be well known by now that I've largely been a Surge and Kit skeptic, despite their immediate and massive popularity with the fanbase. Surge's constant bragging and bullying annoyed me more than it charmed me and I found both didn't have much in the way of depth. Yet this issue accomplishes something no previous story featuring them have: This is the first time Surge and Kit have actually been cool. When Kit first confronts Tails, he coldly informs him how quickly it takes somebody to drown. That's some cold-blooded shit to say to a motherfucker before you kill him. Honestly, I had no idea that Surge's stuttering little simp had that in him. Similarly, Surge really stands up to Sonic, matching him in many ways. These two juvenile goofballs finally prove themselves to be compelling villains that are capable of actually intimidating their enemies. Wasn't sure they could pull that off, to tell you the truth. 

Surge, in fact, becomes a much more interesting character here than before. Previously, she had described a desire to destroy Sonic, betray Starline, and then tear down both his empire and Eggman. While fighting Sonic, the tenrec elaborates on her nihilism a little more. She blames Sonic equally as much as Eggman and Starline for her situation. She's incensed that Sonic has let the bad guys live, to cause chaos again. She's enraged that the world praises Sonic as a hero, when his good guy actions constantly causes the villains to escalate things further. She believes the entire system must be destroyed, because it's not getting any better the way it is. Flynn makes sure to make Surge more sympathetic here too. She points out that, whatever her past life must've been, it was surely pretty bad to bring her here. And that nobody has ever come to rescue her. (I'm sure this is leading to some sort of ironic reveal about her past life.) This slots Surge into an easily understood super villain tradition: The angry young man tenrec lashing out at the world that has abandoned and betrayed. 

I have no problem with that archetype and think it's pretty compelling. But it's also unnecessary, at the moment, because I think Surge is right. I've written about this before: Sonic showing Eggman mercy did lead to more violence and misery later on. In real life, I believe the state executing or imprisoning people is immoral, because it's almost always the fault of our fucked-up society that people do criminal things in the first place. Because human beings, and the way they interact with the world around them, are really complicated. But Eggman is a cartoon character. He's always going to be the bad guy, because he's designed to be Sonic's nemesis, to create reasons for plots to happen. Sonic giving him another chance when he was the docile Mr. Tinker was one thing but the subsequent times he's allowed the doctor to run off are increasingly making the hedgehog look like an idiot. Surge is justified, I think, in being angry at Sonic. 

If this wasn't a comic book ostensibly made to promote video games, to give Sega's I.P. and mascots publicity, Flynn could really interrogate Sonic's motives here. Maybe there's a part of the hedgehog who fears that, if there's no villains to fight, he'll loose his purpose in life as a hero. Instead, Flynn keeps trying to give Sonic the moral high ground. Forgiveness, once again, is framed as the motivating factor of his personality. He doesn't just execute Eggman because he feels the doctor has the potential for goodness in him. There's a difference between believing even people who have done bad things can be redeemed and allowing a super villain to keep building death machines and attacking peaceful communities. Flynn has successfully made Surge not just a physical threat to Sonic but an ideological one too... But this could quickly become a Black Panther/Killmonger scenario, where the revolutionary villain feels way reasonable than the status quo supporting hero. (Especially when, in this case, the status quo is "Sonic and Eggman have to fight each other.")

It seems to me that Flynn was determined to make all the characters interactions in this issue equally meaningful. Kit is not as complicated a character as Surge. While Surge feels a real sense of injustice at the world and how it's treated her, Kit is literally programmed to make Surge happy. Otherwise, he's just a fucked-up little kid, driven by emotions and conditioning he can't control. This is reflected in Tails' conversation with his counterpart. He almost successfully talks Kit out of fighting him. Once he's been disarmed, the threat is essentially over. It's a moment that gives Kit a little more depth but what I really like about this scene is the peek it gives us at Tails' inner monologue. He's actually pretty calculating towards the situation, trying to figure out his opponents' emotional weaknesses and use them against him, even flattering him at one point. Kind of surprising to see Tails act in a manipulative manner, even if it's for Kit's own good. 

Seeing Sonic and Tails rumble with the imposters, while finally getting more insight into their relationships, is very satisfying indeed. Yet the story arc I've been most interested in the comic's last two years is Belle's hang-ups about her origins. At one point, I wonder if Belle might become a villain in a misguided attempt to bound with her "dad." Eggman wonders this too, when the two meet here. He offers Belle a place in the Eggman Empire. But the little wooden puppet has evolved beyond that. She wants to mix things, not tear them down. Freeing all the other Badniks the way she freed MotoBud seems like it'll become her driving motivation from now on. She realizes that the man who made her is gone now and that she has to move on, to become a Badniks Rights Advocate of some sort. She tells Eggman this directly. In other words: This is the conclusion to Belle's character arc, at least as it's existed up to now. And it happens without any fighting or explosion. That's pretty nice and, even if I think the book dragged its feet a little to get to this point, I'm glad it happens like this. I'm sure Belle's relationship with Eggman will continue to be a source of drama eventually, because that's comic books, but I like how it all fell into place here. (I also like Belle fixing Metal Sonic and a strange respect seemingly forming between them. I hope that's further signs of Metal Sonic developing an actual personality, if Sega lets the comic do that.)

Characters growing and evolving and resolving issues is very nice and all. But sometimes you just want to see fools getting owned. Issue 50 provides that as well. Eggman and Starline finally have their big showdown. The doctor confronts his former assistance, delivering a great line – "You're in my seat," which reminds me about that old joke of Bill Gates and God – and the two get to duelin'. Soon, they are fighting it out in the final boss robots from "Sonic Heroes" and "Lost World," a nice bit of symmetry for fans who care about that sort of thing. And just when it looks like everything is going according to Starline's plans, Eggman totally turns the tables on him. Within a few minutes, everything about Starline's perfect scheme is completely undone. Naturally, to an egomaniac like Starline, to be outwitted on such a level is absolutely devastating to him. Eggman defeats him, not just physically, but mentally. To emphasize just how crushing this loss is, Flynn even has the good doctor smack the platypus around with his bare hands. I don't think that's really necessary – Eggman doesn't have to bodyslam his foes to be an effective villain – but this is overall a pretty bitchin' scene. It reminds me a lot of Snively's defeat at the end of the "Scrambled" arc. It reiterates that Eggman really is a force to be reckoned with. He's better at this than Starline and it looks like that's a lesson the up-start villain has learned the hard way. 

To further show off what an event issue 50 is, IDW give this one an extra number of pages to play with. This is a story that really benefits from that extra length. The action scenes are allowed to breath more. Almost literally, in the case of a whole page being dedicated to Sonic and Surge stopping and catching their breathes in the middle of the fight. It's a small addition but one that really makes you how much these two are pushing each other's limits. Similarly, the extra amount of panels dedicated to Sonic and Surge trading blows further sells what a big deal this is. Maybe those action scenes are a little too dialogue heavy. The heroes and villains do have some fairly involved conversations in-between punching each other. It borders feeling unlikely at times but, over all, I'm really glad that Flynn and his team were given more pages to tell this story. The action is better spaced out and the narrative is more well-rounded in general. 

Even though this issue ends on a cliffhanger, another action packed installment being promised next time, "Battle for the Empire" does feel like the end of whatever you want to call the most recent slate of comics. A season or mega-arc or whatever. It even includes some action movie style "death" scenes for two major villains. I put quotation marks around the word "death" because both are vague enough to allow either character to return. Considering we've already seen the solicits for issues 52 and 53, it's known that at least one of these characters will be coming back very soon. As for the other villain, left in a collapsing underground tunnel in a state of shock, I certainly don't think we've seen the last of them... But I do think that antagonist will be out of the story for a while. I don't think it makes sense for a comic book that is still developing its rogues gallery, even after fifty issues, to start killing folks off. Yet I do believe both of these moments are meant to mark this particular chain of events as wrapping up and leading us into the next "season" as it were. 

I imagine that IDW is aware that Adam Bryce Thomas is one of the most well-liked artists working on their "Sonic" titles, so it makes sense to have him draw this one. Highly kinetic action scenes are, after all, one of Thomas' specialties. Yet, as has been seen over and over again, how much Thomas' work pops really depends on who is coloring it. This issue shuffles through three different colorists: Matt Herms, Heather Breckel, and Reggie Graham. The pages colored by Herms look fantastic, none of the details in the lines being lost and the impact of the attacks really being felt. The pages Graham colored also look really good, even if his work is a little brighter than Herms is as far as the intensity of the colors go. However, the Breckel pages really seem to cover up some of the finer details of Thomas' lines that we love so much. Everyone looks a little rounder, a little smoothed off, in those pages. It's really interesting how just the change in style of coloring can change how a page looks overall so much. Definitely makes me wish I could see Thomas' page in black-and-white. 

Considering how much I've been bitching about the set-up to this issue, I'm honestly almost mad that I ended up really liking it. I still think all four issues of "Imposter Syndrome" mostly being build-up to this installment robs that mini-series of its ability to stand alone. A lot of the character development Surge and Kit display in this issue could've been done there. I think waiting so long to get Sonic and Tails on-page with their rivals is a definite example of "Writing for the Trades" that hurt the quality of those previous issues. I can quibble all day about that but it doesn't change that "Battle for the Empire" is a pretty damn good issue. Surge and Kit finally come into their own as villains. Starline is put back in his place. Belle seemingly resolves her Daddy Issues. It's good shit, a satisfying pay-off. Even if we probably could've gotten to this point a lot sooner... [7/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.26: So Long Sonic

Sonic X, Episode 3.26: So Long Sonic

Japanese Title: The Place Where Planets Are Born

U.S. Air Date: May 6th, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 30th, 2020

After many words written about it, and much time spent watching it, here we are at the final episode of "Sonic X." Unlike the season two finale, which clearly left the door open for more adventures, the last episode of season three ends on as definitive a conclusion as I think we could expect. Its popularity overseas might have granted "Sonic X" an additional collection of episodes but another reprieve would not follow. This was the end and everybody knew it. So let's strap in and gotta-go-fast one last time. 

We begin back on Sonic’s home world, which has been restored to its former glory. After a few scenes that establish that normal life has resumed, we flash-back to the previous episode’s events. Dark Oak was destroyed but all the energy from the Planet Eggs being released still threatened the entire universe. Only quick action from Shadow saved all life in existence. Yet Cosmo’s fate was still sealed, leaving Tails traumatized. In the present, Eggman cooks up a way to send Chris Thorndyke back home. And that’s where we close the book on this corner of the “Sonic” franchise…. 

Because the previous episode was so hyper-focused on Cosmo’s sacrifice and Tails’ reaction to that, it ended kind of abruptly. That worked fine for me, as the emotions were more important than the action. But I’m glad this final episode does flashback a little bit, to show us more of the immediate aftermath of Dark Oak’s defeat. It's a nice touch that the danger and tension doesn't immediately evaporate after the baddie is dead. That his universe-endangering actions have wider consequences. Cutting right to Sonic’s world being back to normal – as the first scene of this episode does – made it feel like a chapter was skipped. So I’m glad we see Super Shadow Chaos Control all the Planet Eggs back to their rightful place. 

And speaking of Shadow... The superpowered hedgehogs initially attempt to Chaos Control the Planet Eggs together. Yet the effort seems to be exhausting Sonic. That's when Shadow punches Sonic in the gut, knocking him out, and decides to do it on his own. The so-called Ultimate Lifeform disappears after that, everyone being unsure if he's even still alive. After Cosmo's heroic sacrifice last time, it's a little much for this episode to suggest Shadow does the same thing. Not to mention his ambiguous fate here resembles the end of his "Sonic Adventure 2" storyline. I guess saving the world and then peacing out so dramatically that people think he might be dead is just Shadow's thing. (By the way, he's not dead, as a brief clip later shows the familiarly shaped shadow of Shadow standing over Molly's gravestone.) 

While this episode has the kind of universe-saving dramatics you'd expect from the final episode of a sci-fi/action-adventure anime, "The Place Where Planets Are Born" is mostly pretty low-key. The episode takes its time to revisit some supporting characters, as we see Vanilla visiting the Chaotix and Vector flirting with her. Amy and Cream are shown bonding over food, with Ella being name-dropped. Knuckles and Chris get a nice, friendly conversation about the immorality of land ownership. By now, "Sonic X" has invested enough effort in these characters, and the viewer is rightly attached to them, that it's nice just to spend time with these guys. A last episode having a slower paced, hang-out vibe is honestly appreciated after the epic sci-fi plotting of this season. 

Of course, not everyone is so relaxed. In fact, Vector even cautiously asks Vanilla how everyone is doing since returning. Naturally, Tails is who he's really talking about. In the flashback, we see the little fox weeping uncontrollably. When Sonic grimly hands him the sole remaining part of Cosmo – a small white seed – he hugs his friend and sobs some more. Blowing your girlfriend up to save the universe is a hard ask for anyone, especially a little kid. Yet, in the present scenes, Tails seems to be back to normal. He's shown working in his garage, tinkering away at the X-Tornado. The final shot of the episode, and the entire series, is of a small sprout coming up from Cosmo's seed. Which, perhaps, suggests the two might be reunited someday and puts something of a happy ending on these dour events. But I would've liked to have seen a little more of Tails healing, getting used to and growing with his grief, then cutting right from the initial trauma to him being in the recovery stage. I guess that would've been a bit much for the last episode of the entire show to carry. 

A little more time devoted to how Tails is feeling would've been nice. Or perhaps a peek at Chris' friends and family would've been fitting, considering what a big role they played in the first two seasons. Yet "Sonic X" is still wrapping up the space opera plot that took over the show in its final season. Weirdly, Dark Oak is allowed a little catharsis in his final moments. As he's dying, we see the villain, as Lucas, reaching out to Cosmo's superform. Which heavily resembles her mom. Suggesting, once again, that this entire universe-threatening scheme has been the result of petty squabbling between ex-lovers. While this moment suggests there might been some humanity left in Dark Oak, a later scene has Sonic talking mysteriously with the villain's voice under a tree. The omniscient voice asks if it was really worth it, considering humanity (or "beasts," as Dark Oak puts it) are destined to destroy themselves. Sonic assures him it is, that he'll always keep running. And that's a nice scene and all but I think I would've rather spent a little more time with our heroes than with the thoroughly dead bad guy. 

Though he's taken something of a backseat during this season, I still maintain that Chris Thorndyke is as much the main character of "Sonic X" as the blue hedgehog. This holds true for the final episode, which is heavily focused on bringing Chris' character arc full circle. When Eggman announces that he's built a capsule/teleporter thingy to take the boy home, but he only has a few minutes to use it (because of cosmic alignment chicanery), Chris doesn't hesitate. He chooses to go home, to spend his life with his friends and family, rather than cling to Sonic forever. That's quite a difference from Chris in season two, who was so attached to Sonic, he was willing to strand him on Earth. He still cries as he blasts off, sharing one last meaningful look with Sonic and promising he'll return some day. But he's grown up a lot, turning from a whiny and damaged child into a pretty well-adjusted young adult. I'm glad the show took some time in its last episode to revisit the topic of Chris' mental well being.

Aside from Chris going back to Earth – which forms some nice symmetry with the first episode, where Sonic goes to Earth – this episode doesn't wrap things up on a definitive note. In fact, "Sonic X" goes for an "And the adventure continues" ending. The minute Chris is off the planet, the status quo seems to restore itself. Eggman immediately goes about causing trouble again. Sonic launches into action against his archenemy. Tails decides to help out Sonic. Knuckles is angry. Amy vows to protect and chase Sonic. Rouge is morally ambiguous and fighting for neither side exactly. There's even dramatic freeze frames on everyone's face, with their names at the bottom of the screen. Everybody immediately reverts back to their basic, archetypal roles. This could be seen as disappointing, as all of these characters showed a little more depth than this over the three seasons. The "Sonic" cast can be one-dimensional mascots but, luckily, people are eager to grow them beyond that point. Yet it works in this context, of ending the series on a safe and secure note. It lets the viewer know that, even though "Sonic X" is finished, all these lovable cast members are still out there, doing the things they've always done.

And what's something "Sonic X" has always done? Screwing around with a bunch of wacky bullshit! Yes, the final episode of "Sonic X" is rift with goofy comic relief. The appearance of the Chaotix means there's several fourth wall breaking gags, with Vector and Charmy actively chastising Espio for breaking character at one point. Decoe and Bocoe get several lines of goofy dialogue to themselves. Bokkun is happy to be back to delivering exploding TV monitors again. 

The most inexplicable – and therefore my favorite – moment occurs when Eggman... Randomly tells Rouge she has big boobs??! Much like Sonic shouting "Shit!" in the second episode, this is one of those "Sonic X" moments so unbelievable crass, I can hardly accept it actually happens. What makes this even funnier is that it's totally unprompted and contributes nothing else to the episode! I really wonder if the horny freaks who made this cartoon wanted to slip in one more blatant homage to Rouge's tits at some point and decided to just let 'er rip in the last episode. Obviously, this moment was cut from the dub but 4Kids can never take the sweet memory of it away from me.

I'm not quite done talking about "Sonic X" just yet. I have a few odds-and-ends to discuss before posting my final thoughts on the entire program. I'll save the closing discussion on the program as a whole until a later date. Taking "So Long, Sonic" on its own, it's a fairly satisfying, funny, and sometimes even sweet finale. Not a lot of shows aimed at this age bracket would decide to close on a slower paced, character-orientated episode. I appreciate "Sonic X" for going in that direction and enjoyed spending time with this episode, as I have the entire series. Oh, and this finale does answer the most important lingering question of all: What's in Bokkun's locket that Rouge was using to blackmail him? It's a picture of Cream, implying the robot has a crush on the little rabbit. Let that perplexing, confusing question be this program's final legacy. [7/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.25: A Fearless Friend

Sonic X, Episode 3.25: A Fearless Friend

Japanese Title: What Can I Do For You?

U.S. Air Date: April 29th, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 29th, 2020

As "Sonic X" reaches its penultimate episode, our heroes are in their most desperate moment. Dark Oak has formed a Giant Space Walnut of Doom and is using it to drain the lifeforce from every non-plant-based living being in the universe. The Chaos Emeralds have been rendered useless but a last minute plan by Eggman and Cosmo recharged them. Yet even Super Sonic and Super Shadow aren't enough to stop Dark Oak's plan. Instead, Cosmo realizes she is their best chance to save the universe... But it requires her making the ultimate sacrifice. 

This episode starts out with stakes seemingly as high as they can be. Dark Oak's plan is in its final stage. The Forestation has begun and the heroes are quickly running out of chances to stop it. The writers really pile it on when everyone's vital energies begin to drain and the Chaos Emeralds are reduced to dull rocks. Yet even this is not dramatic for the next-to-last episode of "Sonic X." When it looks like Dark Oak's scheme may be derailed, he develops the attitude of "If I can't turn the universe into a giant forest, I'll just destroy it instead!" I don't entirely understand how this works – something to do with concentrating and expanding the life energies of every living thing in existence – but it makes the worst situation ever even more worst somehow. 

Of course, the Chaos Emeralds still help save the universe and in an extremely bullshitty way. After Eggman says, if he sacrifices all his ship's energy, he might be able to recharge the Emeralds, Cosmo grabs them and starts climbing up towards the Crimson Egg. That's when one of Dark Oak's tentacle strikes her and the Emeralds are seemingly dropped into the void of space. That's when – somehow! – all the hopeful emotions from everyone in the universe gives the Emerald. See, Spirit Bomb shit like this is why I think the Chaos Emerald reacting to emotion is such a lame choice. It turns a set of story-breaking plot devices into an even more contrary and random way for writers to get themselves out of corners they're responsible for. 

The only good thing about this scene is the glimpses it gives us at how other planets are responding to the Forestation. Which gives us another look at those bat people from the water planet and the ugly baby things from the fortunetelling planet. (Though weirdly not Earth, which seems like a pretty big omission. I want to see how the Forestation effects Topaz and Scarlet Garcia!) And that could have been just as easily accomplished with a cool montage of people turning into trees all across the galaxy or something. In fact, this episode really needed a scene like that, to make the threat a little less existential and a little more visceral. Dark Oak doesn't even talk much in this episode, making it feel like our heroes is fighting a natural disaster more than a super villain at times. 

I said a while ago that I fully expected Super Sonic and Super Shadow to appear during the final battle. And indeed they do. However, the super forms don't accomplish nearly as much as you'd expect. The glowy hedgehogs are kept at bay by a force field Dark Oak generates around the Walnut of Doom. Instead, an entirely different super form saves the day. Cosmo shatters the red jewel on her chest, seemingly activating Mover Mode. But it doesn't turn her into a weird dinosaur. Instead, she grows into a mature woman in minutes, gets all shiny, and gives our heroes the self-sacrificial means of stopping Dark Oak. This means we are treated to shots of Cosmo's hips and butt filling out and her bosom expanding. Which seems a smidge unnecessary and was unsurprisingly cut from the dub. Also, why do plant people have breasts? Do the babies suckle chlorophyll from their mother's nipples? This scene is causing me to ask questions I don't want answers to! 

The point is this: Super Cosmo permanently fuses with Dark Oak or something, giving the good guys a path straight to the bad guy's heart. Super Sonic and Super Shadow jump into the Sonic Driver, are fired at Dark Oak, and destroy him at the cost of Cosmo's life. The episode tries to sell this as Cosmo finding her purpose. She knows her sacrifice is saving the universe and that makes it all worth it for her. But, really, is this a satisfying conclusion to her character arc? Is letting someone characterized by her lack of confidence deciding to die, and this being a good thing, a nice message to send?

All along, Cosmo has grappled with the hate she feels towards the Metarex and her survivor's guilt. This has mostly manifested as a lack of self-worth. Tails loving her gave her some confidence but then she found out she had been an unwilling spy for the bad guys the entire time, endangering the people she's come to care for the most. "Sonic X" probably should've found a way for Cosmo to let go of her fear and hate, by seeing that Dark Oak's actions were driven by a similar feeling of loss and resentment. To forgive herself for being a tool against her friends, as it wasn't her fault. I guess Cosmo saving the universe is a way for her to realize her life has purpose but the episode doesn't really frame it that way. Instead, she grows tits, asks her boyfriend to shoot her, and is instantly at peace with all this. I feel like we missed a step. 

Moreover, the entire scenario makes me wonder about something. The very first scene shows Cosmo as a baby, next to her sister and her tree-mom. Tree-Mom then says Cosmo is her final child and the means to save the universe. Was... Cosmo created as a trump card to stop Dark Oak? Did Cosmo's mom design her to be a weapon to defeat her biggest rival? It seems to be heavily implied! Okay, yes, this does save every lifeform in the universe, so I guess it was worth it. But considering Cosmo's mom dropping nukes on Dark Oak is what got everyone into this mess in the first place... It makes Earthia seem like a not very good person/plant, who endangered the entire universe with her unreasonable actions and designed her own child to die as a means to finish the war she started. If this was an intentional touch of ambiguity that would be one thing but everyone seems to treat this one as a win. What the fuck is with the "Sonic" franchise and uncritically praising terrible parents? 

Anyway... None of that is really the important part of this episode. As contrived as the circumstances might be, the fact of the matter is Tails has to shoot his girlfriend in the face to save the universe. Their love was doomed from the beginning and their story was always destined to end in tears. The writers obviously wanted a tragic end to the Tails/Cosmo love story and didn't care how convoluted the path to get to that point had to be. I don't know why the show was so determined to traumatize the eight year old but here we are. She gives him a final declaration of love, assures him it'll all be alright, and Tails pulls the trigger. The universe is saved and Tails has a lifetime of therapy bills to look forward to. 

But at least the program is committed to the seriousness of all this. When Cosmo makes it known that she has to die to save everyone, there's lots of tears but Tails is stunned into silence. As he realizes what he most do, he weeps and gnashes his teeth and grapples with the horribleness of this. The fox and the houseplant have a final heart-to-heart, via one of those dreamy fantasy visions anime loves so much. I'm just impressed by the balls of this show, to depict Tails' pain in such a blunt way. You really didn't expect a scene of a little kid crying in agony after destroying the love of his life from a cartoon aimed by the elementary school set. (Naturally, 4Kids cut this scene way down, because they are afraid of emotion.)

The focus is so much on what Tails is feeling in this moment that the action scenes take a back seat. Sonic and Shadow getting super-launched at Dark Oak almost feels like an afterthought. We don't even get a victorious moment of the bad guy exploding and our heroes cheering. "The Golden Road" plays as Tails and Cosmo share their goodbye, there's a flash of light, and the episode immediately cuts to black. It even skips the end credits, at least in the version I watched. Even if I'm not sure if the contrived path taken to get to this point is earned, at least the writers and directors were determined to make the end of Cosmo and Tails' relationship as dramatic and meaningful as possible. 

"Sonic X" still has one more episode to go. Presumably, the final installment will discuss the fallout of these events that this episode doesn't really have time to explore. Yet season three's story essentially seems over here. I've got some mixed thoughts about it all but I'll save those for later. For now, I'll just say that "What Can I Do For You?" is an episode with the convictions to back up its emotions, even if it's still kind of a mess from a writing perspective. [7/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.24: The Light in the Darkness

Sonic X, Episode 3.24: The Light in the Darkness

Japanese Title: Decisive Battle! Dark Oak

U.S. Air Date: April 22nd, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 28th, 2020

With Sonic swallowed up by Dark Oak, and the Blue Typhoon seriously damaged, things seem grim for our heroes. Luckily, Eggman and his Crimson Egg swoops in to help the good guys out. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so Knuckles is talked into shooting all of the Master Emerald's power out of the Sonic Driver at the Final Mova. This move succeeds in merely stunning Dark Oak, though it does give Amy time to rescue Sonic. The universe is still in peril and the forestation continues. 

In an earlier review, I wondered why the Metarex empire – and most of the other baddies – pay so little attention to the Master Emerald. It's obviously a source of massive power, if it can keep a huge ship or island flying indefinitely and Knuckles has devoted his entire life to protecting it. This episode just proves how serious the Master Emerald is. It produces a blast powerful enough to wound a planet-sized monster in the process of turning every living thing in the universe into a tree. Then again, maybe nobody went after the huge plot device the heroes have strapped to their ship because it's also really fragile. Firing that bolt of energy shatters the Master Emerald. And that also happened in both "Sonic Adventure" games, so I guess it doesn't take a lot to crack the damn thing. Either way, I'm surprised nobody commented on this earlier.

The destruction of the Master Emerald doesn't just mean Knuckles is out of a job. While setting up the MacGuffin busting blast, Eggman explains the nonsense science behind Chris teleporting to Sonic's world. Something about synching with the Master Emerald's energy signature. The loss of some data in the transportation process is why he's back in his grade school body. By shattering the Emerald, Chris is potentially destroying his way back home and trapping himself in his prepubescent body. The evergreen Sonic fanboy isn't too broken up about this. But it is nice that Thorndyke has some sort of emotional role to play as the series heads towards its last episode. 

One of the most interesting moments in this episode occurs while Sonic is trapped inside the Final Mova. There, the hedgehog experienced what can only be called a vision. Apparently, all the memories of pain and hate across the universe are collecting inside Dark Oak. This allows the villain to monologue about his motivations some more. He blames "beasts" – presumably non-plant-y sentient life forms – for spreading violence and destruction throughout the galaxy. Replacing them all with trees will create a conflict free existence, he thinks. The episode makes sure to clarify that this belief is rooted in the mysterious war that made Lucas into Dark Oak. It took the show a while but it's finally provided some psychological depth to this season's big bad.

Sonic's consciousness goes on this vision quest too. Which allows the show to clarify its hero's stance some more too. He makes it clear that he has no intention of giving up fighting, that he's going to keep moving forward even when things look hopeless or bleak. This is visualized by Sonic running through a forest and avoiding weird sand monsters. Which is a nice to illustrate the hedgehog ever-optimistic world view. For a long time, I've felt Sonic being a runner tied-in with his philosophy and it's good to see an official "Sonic" cartoon agree with that. 

Since "Sonic X" is quickly approaching its end, I guess the showrunners felt the need to throw the SonAmy shippers one last bone. After his trippy trip, Amy dives into the watery planet Aquarius where their home world's planet egg saves both of them. (Though if all Mobians can casually survive the vacuum of space, I don't know why Sonic hates water so much. Maybe he just never wants to wash off his manly runner's musk.) The hedgehogs exchange some meaningful glances and words, which was surely enough to inspire a hundred fanfiction writers. 

I think I liked this episode a fair bit, even though it actually barely moves the plot forward. The Forestation is no closer to being stopped. The heroes' desperate attack only manages to temporarily stun their most dangerous foe. Shadow, Cosmo, and the Chaotix each get a few scenes but don't contribute much. This is essentially a place holder episode before the final final battle with Dark Oak, the series taking some time in getting Sonic back before he presumably goes Super Saiyan and saves the universe. 

But that's okay. There's enough interesting or character based moments here for me to be entertained. It remains to be seen whether or not "Sonic X" will botch the landing. But we'll find out soon enough. Just for that bitchin' vision quest sequence, I'm giving this one a positive grade. (And apparently the dub cut that sequence in half, while adding some gobbledygook about Cosmo's mom, because 4Kids is bad and lame.) [7/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.23: Agent of Mischief

Sonic X, Episode 3.23: Agent of Mischief

Japanese Title: The Day of the Plantations

U.S. Air Date: April 15th, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 27th, 2020

Once again, I have to open a "Sonic X" review by talking about the differences between the original Japanese title and the dub title. There's some confusion over the Japanese title, which some sources translating it as "The Day of the Plantations" – which sounds the Metarex are going to do some Paula Deen cosplay – and other sources translating it as "The Day of the Forestation." Which is a fairly straightforward description of the episode's events. For some reason, 4Kids looked at all this and decided to call the episode "Agent of Mischief." Who is the agent of mischief and what does it have to do with the plot? Bokkun is in the first couple of minutes of this episode being goofy and I can only assume that's all the people who make the titles watched. 

Anyway, yes, the episode does start with Bokkun informing the Sonic Team that Eggman has been captured. Before being attacked, Eggman overheard that the Metarex are headed for the coordinates of the Planet Aquarius. This will be the site of a once-a-millennium alignment that will spread throughout the universe. Dark Oak plants to use this to spread the forestation everywhere. And that's where the Blue Typhoon heads to make its final stand. Unexpected allies will appear to help while our heroes face their greatest challenge yet. 

At the very least, this episode clarifies some of the questions I have about Dark Oak's master plan. Yes, it seems his final goal really is to turn the entire universe into a massive forest, with no life but trees in it anywhere. That's a very literal interpretation of "bringing peace and tranquility to the universe." But it's also the kind of insane objective you can imagine zealots getting sucked into. I just wish the mechanics were a little less convoluted. Dark Oak had to get all the Chaos Emeralds, go to this specific point during a specific time, and then instantly spread the forestation everywhere. There's also something significant about Aquarius being a water planet and the role of light. Very specific stuff. Kind of makes you wonder why he was going around collecting random Planet Eggs separately, if an instantaneous transformation of the entire universe was always the plan. I suspect the writers made some of this up as they went along. 

If the last episode was surprisingly character focused, this one does sort of the same thing in a much simpler way. As the Sonic Team flies into combat and faces off with their enemies, all the regular cast members are reduced their own basic characteristics. Sonic has a never-say-die attitude, fighting to the last breath. Knuckles is dumb and strong and angry. Rouge is flirty and vain. Amy is obsessed with loving Sonic. Eggman is only watching out for himself. (Cream, hilariously, just gets to fire missiles at Black Narcissus while yelling at him.) This even extends to the bad guys, as the self-absorbed Black Narcissus carries a huge mirror into battle, so he can admire himself even in the heat of combat. All of these tiny character beats occur between space ship fights, fisticuffs, and explosions. It's reductive, perhaps, but does add a little more flavor to an otherwise standard fight sequence.

Shadow shows up too. He said he wasn't going to run headlong into a suicide mission. When the Chaotix show up on the planet – they followed Bokkun there, believing it could be a lead – he changes his mind. So why did Shadow change his mind about wanting to fight the Metarex? The episode doesn't provide an actual answer but I can guess: He's still pissed at them for killing Molly. Because avenging the murder of pretty little anime girls at the hands of nebulous evil organizations is Shadow's primary defining characteristics. I don't know what they did in the English dub. Probably just have him be angry at the Metarex empire because they're assholes. 

The last third of this episode also justifies all that bullshit last time about Mover Mode. In order to facilitate the Forestation, Dark Oak and the two surviving Metarex bosses all change into Mover Mode. They combine into one massive monster that the Sonic wiki informs me is called "Final Mova." It's a tree-like three-headed dragon thing that looks a little bit like King Ghidorah. (Which, knowing this show, is probably a deliberate reference.) In other words: To save the world, Sonic has to defeat a giant eldritch abomination. Just like the final boss battle of a "Sonic" video game, you guys! This all but guarantees that Super Sonic will be appearing soon. But I've got to give "Sonic X" points for fidelity to the source material. 

Despite being an episode that brings the entire fucking universe to the brink of annihilation, there's a lot of comedy here. The opening scene with Bokkun is pretty goofy, as you'd expect. Even though he's delivering an important message, his TV monitor still explodes. (Necessitating a very unnecessary scene where Tails reveals there's a second deck below the main deck on the Typhoon.) At one point, Bocoe and Decoe combine to form a wacky cannon, which is an amusing gag. The Chaotix showing up, naturally, allow for multiple fourth wall leaning gags, where the detective acknowledge that they are semi-reoccurring characters. Shadow doesn't pay attention to any of this, which is pretty funny. Even though their lives are at stake, Rouge continues to tease Knuckles throughout. The other guys even get in on the fun, Knuckles yelling at everyone after it's implied he likes Rouge. I'm starting to feel sorry for the poor echidna. His friends are so mean to him. 

I wish Cosmo was given a little more to do here. She has only one real scene, where she gets typically self-loath-y about her role in the final battle. Tails assures her that she does matter. He also asks her to live on his home world with him after all this is over, essentially the fox's form of a proposal. Aww, how friggin' cute is that? The episode ends in a fairly dark place. The Blue Typhoon has seemingly been destroyed and Sonic is swallowed by the Final Mova, which has filled itself with water. So, yes, it's an important plot point in this episode that hedgehogs can't swim. One presumes this is the darkest night before the dawn and it makes for a strong cliffhanger. Things continue to ramp up as "Sonic X" races towards its action-packed conclusion and it's pretty entertaining. [7/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.22: Eye Spy

Sonic X, Episode 3.22: Eye Spy

Japanese Title: The Lost Planet

U.S. Air Date: April 8th, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 24th, 2020

This episode picks up right where the previous one left off. After learning she's been a spy for the Metarex the entire time, Cosmo freaks out. The jewel on her chest glows and the entire Blue Typhoon is teleported to a distant planet. The dead world, populated only by a vast forest, is soon discovered to be the former home world of Cosmo's race. Amy and Rouge come across a computer that explains the origins of the Metarex and the conflict that lead to the destruction of this world. Meanwhile, everyone else debates about what to do with Cosmo, whose eyes and ears have been broadcasting directly to Dark Oak this whole time.

I've been wondering for a while what the exact origins and motivations of the Metarex were, so here comes this episode to provide that. Kind of. Here we learn that Cosmo's home world was embroiled in a war with some technological advance enemy. The little tree people can transform into enormous, dinosaur like monsters – which is known as "mover mode" – but at the risk of depleting their life energies. A Metarex scientist named Lucas discovered how to extract Planet Eggs from worlds as a way to keep his race alive while in Mover Mode. And he immediately plan to start taking Planet Eggs from other worlds, to further his scheme. Cosmo's mother, Earthia, opposed this plan. She wanted to stuff the entire species onto a spaceship and simply flee, while wearing jewels that repress the Mover Mode superpower. Once in orbit, she dropped nuclear bombs on the entire planet to stop Lucas' scheme, killing all life on the world. Which seems like a slight overreaction to me! 

Yes, I did not find this to be an especially satisfying explanation. All this origin does is raise more questions. Who were the other people at war with the Metarex? Why were they attacking them? It really seems like a plot point is missing between Lucas extracting a Planet Egg from his own to world to him jumping to plans of universal conquest. The introduction of Mover Mode really needlessly complicates things. If Lucas – who, if you haven't figured out by now, is Dark Oak – suggested blending his race's fleshy, plant-like body with robotics to survive, that would've made sense. I don't know how you get from "giant plant dinosaurs" to "an army of cyborg aliens." Did the Metarex, like an indecisive seven-year-old boy, decide robots were cooler than dinosaurs? I'm guessing someone just wanted to include some wacky kaiju and shoved them in here. The importance of Mover Mode feels like something that should've been mentioned before now. 

Earthia destroying her entire planet to stop the Metarex might've been an attempt to add some moral grayness to this story. Cosmo's mom would rather sacrifice her own planet than allow Lucas to destroy countless other worlds, which is sort of noble. Lucas removing the Planet Egg had already ostensibly doomed the Metarex home world anyway. The planet was going to die, so why not nuke it to stop the enemies? Yet Sonic and the gang have repeatedly returned Planet Eggs and restored worlds to health, so maybe Earthia should've tried that before nuking everything from orbit. Moreover, if the Metarex had nuclear weapons, why was Mover Mode so important? It seems atom bombs would be a much stronger deterrent than a dozen skyscraper sized tree-dinosaurs to me. This plot point mostly just makes Earthia seem unwilling to negotiate and unreasonable. Also, did her nuclear devastation also kill all the unnamed people that were bombing the Metarex? There were probably some innocent families in there. 

Really, it seems to me a much simpler story could've been written here. Why not have the Metarex home world be threatened by some other threat, like an asteroid, not a war with unnamed outsiders? Have the conflict be between Earthia simply wanting to abandon the world and Lucas' insane plot to harvest Planet Eggs. Have Earthia's space colony leave before the asteroid hits, instead of her raining nuclear hellfire down on the planet. That makes Cosmo's mom more sympathetic and also make Lucas/Dark Oak's plan seem understandable, if insane. He lost his world and is determined to recreate it across the galaxy, at the price of every other planet's population. 

Of course, I'm not sure Dark Oak's scheme is to recreate his home world. From what we've seen of Metarex civilization, it had cities and advanced technology. All along, they've talked about wanting to bring tranquility and peace to the universe. It seems the plan has always been to destroy worlds' natural population by stealing the Planet Eggs and then build huge forests on the ruins, powered by the artificial Chaos Emeralds. And it seems the Metarex home world – which is probably still radioactive, I want to point out – was the first planet to receive this forestation treatment. But there's no Metarex on the planet, just trees. Is the Metarex's end game to turn all sentiment life into trees, like they did with the human rebels? Does that include themselves? Does Dark Oak hate all non-tree life and wants the universe to just be an endless forest? Like I said, more questions, few answers.

I might be overthinking it. I've been accused of that before. And I'm not done either. We learn here that Cosmo's eyes and ears have a direct link to Dark Oak. Everything she sees and hears, he sees and hears. Dark Oak using Earthia's daughter as a means to further his own goal would be some decent dramatic irony. (Or speak to Lucas being obsessed with Earthia, as it's hinted the two had some sort of relationship.) Yet, if this has been the case, how come Sonic and the others have won so many battles? If Dark Oak was privy to the heroes' plans all along, shouldn't he have been stopping them every step of the way? How many worlds have the Metarex lost because of Sonic and the others' intervention? I guess the point I'm making is that Cosmo wasn't a very good spy. Or that Dark Oak was making piss-poor use of the intel she unknowingly gave him. 

It might not make a lot of sense from a narrative perspective but it does make a nice addition to Cosmo’s litany of angst. All along, Cosmo has been beating herself up for the hatred and fear she feels towards the Metarex. She has blamed herself for the death of her species all this time. (Considering her mom also talked about hatred and, ya know, nuked their home world, maybe these are qualities Cosmo inherited.) After being accepted by Tails and the rest of the gang, Cosmo now learns she’s been a threat to them all along. This girl/plant can’t catch a break! Obviously, she immediately blames herself for being the villain’s pawn and plans to run away. 

This episode devoted considerable time to everyone else’s reaction to this information. In fact, “The Lost World” is a largely character-driven episode. Rouge banters with both Amy and Knuckles, to amusing effect. Sonic and Chris both have separate heart-to-hearts with Shadow and almost seem to convince him to help out. When Cosmo plans to leave, Tails appears to assure her it’s okay. That’s followed by everyone else immediately standing up for her too. They all plan to stop running and take the fight to Dark Oak. It’s nice to see an episode devoted to everyone’s thoughts and feelings towards their friend. Even if it results in yet another episode of “Sonic X” where Sonic seems like a minor player. 

But I don’t really care about that. This episode ends with a pair of decent cliffhangers. Bokkun finds the Blue Typhoon and begs for their help, as the Metarex have anticipated Eggman’s eventual betrayal and captured him. Meanwhile, Dark Oak completed his collection of Chaos Emeralds at some point. It seems the season is definitely ramping up to its climatic conclusion. I find the backstory in this episode pretty confounding and disappointing but it’s an otherwise decent installment. The characters remain compelling this season, if nothing else. [6/10]