Sonic the Hedgehog (1993), Episode 2.03: No Brainer

Sonic the Hedgehog (1993), Episode 2.03: No Brainer
Original Air Date: September 24th, 1994

Here are some of the weird things that happen when you do some serious re-tooling to your cartoon show in its second season. Throughout this re-watch, I've been watching the show intro during each episode, because how the hell am I suppose to skip a force of pure awesomeness like that? Obviously, this intro was in no way reanimated during the second season, because it's perfect and also because animation is expensive and DiC is cheap. This does create a bit of a disconnect when you see Rotor and Antoine's original designs, plus Sally running around without a vest like a hussy, and are then faced with their season two re-designs just a few minutes later. Anyway, I thought that was interesting.

Okay, let's actually talk about “No Brainer.” Robotnik temporarily leaves the city and Snively is left in charge. Sonic, Sally, and Bunnie are in Robotropolis for a mission when a message from Uncle Chuck tells them to delay it. Sonic rushes back into the city to get a chili dog, stops in to rescue some other Freedom Fighters headed to the Roboticizer, and gets zapped by a SWATBot. This temporarily wipes the hedgehog's memory. Snively quickly convinces the hedgehog that he's his friend and sends Sonic off to find Knothole, leading the bad guys to their location. The Freedom Fighters quickly catch on to what's happening and plan accordingly.

“No Brainer” sees “SatAM” putting its spin on the classic premise of the hero loosing his memory and being tricked by the bad guys. This is such a common premise that it's not the last time a piece of “Sonic” media would use it. One of Ken Penders' early, better story arcs for the comic concerned this exact same idea. (Whether or not Ken was directly inspired by this episode, I don't know and I doubt Ken would admit it.) At least “No Brainer” does something a little more sound than just bumping Sonic on the head, which it what the comic did. Though why SWATBots have mind scrambling lasers on-board I don't know. The script also further looses creativity points since this is the second episode about a sleeper agent going into Knothole.

Since Sonic spends most of the episode brainwashed by the bad guys, “No Brainer” is largely devoted to the Freedom Fighters. Which, of course, I am fine with. Yes, Sonic is still on everyone's mind. When the hedgehog doesn't return immediately, Sally is very worried and forlorn. (Not that this stops her from teasing and bickering with him later, of course. Also, when he first returns to Knothole, Sonic instinctively heads to Sally's hut. Read into that what you will, shippers.) Yet watching these cartoon animals worry about stuff and figure out a plan, including hiding in a hollowed tree stump as they hide from the robotic forces, sure is entertaining.

Snively's resentment towards Robotnik is obviously going to be a thread throughout season two. And here's the irony of Snively momentary taking over control of Robotropolis: He nearly wins the war. He doesn't immediately try to Robotocize or kill Sonic when his memory is zapped, like Robotnik probably would've. Instead, he hopes to locate Knothole instead... And he does. He locates the rebel's base and has them pinned down, even exposing them to the same memory wiping ray. What ends up being Snively's undoing is, more than anything else, his egotistic sense of entitlement. This is why Snively is such a great character: He's actually relatively brilliant and conniving, a true threat... Yet he feels like he deserves to win so much, that he often fails to consider the possibility that victory could slip out of his grasp at the last minute. I want to segue into some point about male entitlement and modern nerd toxicity – if he was on the internet in 2019, you just know Snively would be an incel – but let's not go too far off-topic here.

Now, granted, “SatAM” still has to leap through some convoluted plot points to justify Snively coming so close to total victory. Unlike the last time they got a sleeper agent into Knothole, Snively actually outfits Sonic with a radio. After the memory-restored Sonic saves the day, the Freedom Fighters zap Snively with his own memory-wiping ray. Now the problem with this, is the original personality eventually returns after a few hours. So Uncle Chuck hacks the radio signal to send Snively and Robotnik to a bogus location, within the Great Swamps. This is after StealthBots, given the coordinates, nearly bomb the place to hell and back. Gee, I guess information broadcasts to Robotnik's robots isn't stored or backed up anywhere? I swear, the only thing that really saves Knothole time and again is the incompetence of Robotnik's empire.

On the special features included on Shout Factory's DVD set, Ben Hurst talks about how a story arc he was really invested in was Tails' realizing his inner potential. Up to this point, Tails hasn't been much more than Sonic's (mildly annoying) kid sidekick. However, this is the first episode where the little fox really starts to show his potential. The Freedom Fighters quickly deduce that a Power Ring will be the quickest way to restore Sonic's memory. The problem with this is the team is pinned down in their hiding place, quite a ways away from the magic pool with only a few minutes to go before it spits out another ring. That's when Tails – who, after all, can fly fast enough to keep up with Sonic – leaps into action, flies off, and gets there just in time to grab the ring. It's a good moment for Tails. Now if only the show didn't have Sally following right behind him, implying she's just as fast...

It's another strong episode weirdly sidelined by occasional moments of overbearing comic relief. Once again, Dulcy is a little too cute in her goofiness. In the middle of the episode, there's an out-of-place sequence of her attempting to fly and colliding with another tree. This cause her to groggily call out to her Mom. After she gets hit with the memory eraser, she also repeats this mantra. Man, that gag was exhausted the first time this show did it. Also, I'm continuously disappointed that season two can't find anything better for Antoine to do aside from him being a massive wiener. The other Freedom Fighters shouting “Shut up, Antoine!” is another lame gag the show is returning to too much.

But you know something that goes a long way towards making me forgive “SatAM's” flaws? How fucking weird it can be sometimes. The episode starts with Uncle Chuck hiding his note inside the head of a grotesque outside a gothic cathedral... Why does such a structure exist in Robotropolis? From what you've seen of Robotnik, he doesn't really favor that kind of architecture. Was it a leftover from the Mobotropolis days that is still standing for some reason? Maybe the same can be said of the chili dog dispenser Sonic uses twice, that is actually a plot point. I don't see much of a need for vending machines in a city mostly occupied by robots. (Also, getting hot dogs out of a vending machine is gross.)

Lastly, this episode introduces the weirdest Freedom Fighter. I'm talking about Dove, a messenger that flies between Knothole and Chuck's hang-out in Robotropolis. It appears to be a cross between a toucan, a dragonfly, and a lizard. While I would assume it was an unintelligent bird-like creature, it also wears a helmet and goggles, suggesting a certain degree of personality. As its name implies, Sally communicates with the creature via dove-like cooing. I sort of like that “SatAM” is just weird enough that it can randomly introduce oddball concepts like this and nobody bats an eye.

Also, as far as flaws go, there are some of those animation errors typical of DiC here. At one point, while attempting to stop suddenly, Sonic speaks without his lips moving. Later, Snively's shuttle lands outside the Great Forest by awkwardly floating down to the ground in a moment that's barely animated. Next, he floats off with some SWATBots on flying platforms in a similarly stiff moment. I can't even blame the show for this shit at this point. You just have to roll with screw-ups like that if you're going to watch a Saturday morning cartoon show from this period. Kids at the time probably didn't notice. I know I didn't. Honestly, I'm more bothered by shit like Bunnie's super-strength being depicted so inconsistently. The same rabbot that can haul up huge machinery struggles with a hollow tree stump here.

Over all, this one works for me pretty well. While it's got its share of flaws, the central conflict is strong and it's executed reasonably well. That's all I need some times! [7/10]