Sonic X, Episode 1.25: A Dastardly Deed

Sonic X, Episode 1.25: A Dastardly Deed

Japanese Title: The Last Chaos Emerald

Japanese Air Date: September 21st, 2003

U.S. Air Date: March 20th, 2004

The penultimate episode of “Sonic X: Season One” details everyone trying to find the damn last Chaos Emerald. Eggman deploys a robot named Lucky, apparently designed to stumble upon the emerald by pure chance. The government debates the merits of gathering all the emeralds and Chaos Controlling Eggman off of Earth. They still send Rouge and Topaz to find it. Knuckles gets the idea of trying to convince Eggman and Sonic to put aside their differences and pool their emeralds together, figuring getting back home is the most important thing to do. The echidna convinces Chris — very conflicted about the idea of his new friends leaving him — to go along with this plan. Naturally, Eggman betrays them immediately and Sonic is chasing after his buddy by the episode’s end.

Following the completely random episode last time, “Sonic X” remembers it has an on-going plot. In fact, “The Last Chaos Emerald” is twenty-four minutes of nothing but set-up for the season finale. The A-plot is devoted entirely to setting up that cliffhanger, of getting us to the point where Eggman has six of the Chaos Emeralds and is on his way to grab the last one. The B-plot, of Rouge and Topaz sneaking around and finding Eggman’s ship, sets up the U.S. military deploying that mysterious beetle tank they showed off not that long ago. All the exciting stuff is going to happen next time, leaving us with the first part of a two-parter mostly devoted to the characters thinking about what their next course of action will be.

So this is not an action-packed installment but it still finds something interesting to focus on. Chris Thorndyke is one angsty little boy. On one hand, he knows Sonic and the rest of his furry friends going home would make them happy. On the other hand, Chris doesn’t want them to leave him. I know “Sonic” fans are supposed to hate Chris. Because he’s a whiny little bitch the show focuses on, instead of the titular hedgehog. Both Danny and Francis are in this episode, so it’s not like the Mobians going home would leave Chris totally alone. But I’ve pointed out in the past, Chris’ obsession with Sonic mirrors his longing for his parents. Sonic is cool and heroic and also goes out of his way to avoid Chris, even though he spends a lot of time just hanging around the Thorndyke mansion. Chris’ parents are famous and successful and barely see their child, even though Nelson is a tech billionaire who doesn’t have to work. And Lindsey could easily take long breaks between acting jobs, if she wanted to. 

Chris is going to spend his whole life looking up to people who don’t want him, instead of appreciating the friends that actually choose to spend time with him. Predictably, Chris chooses to help gather the Chaos Emeralds, having already accepted his fate as someone inevitably abandoned by the people (and hedgehogs) he loves. I know Chris is kind of annoying but I do feel sorry for the kid.

Chris’ dilemma over how he should feel is such a pivotal part of the episode that it even devotes an extended scene to Chris laying down in the school therapist’s office and talking out his feelings. Mr. Stewart — I guess to save the designers the work of making a new character for this one scene — takes on the therapist role… Despite presumably not being licensed to do so. He gives Chris a piece of candy as part of a strangled metaphor, about how Sonic may leave but the sweet memories of his time here will linger on. Considering there’s a whole idiom about not taking candy from strange men, all this moment really does is further the illusion that Mr. Stewart has an unhealthy fixation on his student. If I was Chris’ parents, if Chris’ parents actually gave a shit about their child, I would be worried why this adult man wants to spend so much time with him. I get that the government is paying this guy to keep an eye on the kid but I’d hope a CIA agent would know how to do this without setting off the stranger danger alarms.

Another deep character insight I perceive in this episode: Knuckles is an idiot. He’s so laser-focused on his job, of getting back to the Master Emerald, that he’s apparently completely unable to recognize patterns. He walks right up to Eggman, promises to bring him the Chaos Emeralds, and believes him when he promises to do what’s best for the greater good. This person who has never been anything but selfish and duplicitous in his entire life. Chris is a deeply depressed and impressionable child, so I understand why he went along with this. Knuckles knows Eggman can’t be trusted. He knows this because Eggman betrayed him once already! When Knuckles gets back to Angel Island and sees that his precious big rock is fine, will he remember that time he endangered his friends and all of humanity by handing the mad scientist six MacGuffins? At the end of the episode, Sonic doesn’t even get mad at Knuckles about this, which shows that his capacity for forgiveness far outstrips my own.

It really says a lot about Eggman’s competency as a villain that the good guys have to promise to bring him the plot devices, when his brilliant plan for this episode is to literally hope he gets lucky. E-77 Lucky is designed to find the last Chaos Emerald. Does he do this with a built-in Chaos Energy tracker or with powerful, long-distance scanning abilities? No, he’s a child-like robot outfitted with various good luck charms. His design is outfitted with rabbit’s feet, a horseshoe, a four-leaf clover, the number seven, a ladybug, and a general bell-like shape. (Also a squirrel tail and angel wings, two good luck charms I am not familiar with.) Because this is a cartoon, this plan actually works when Lucky finds the white Chaos Emerald near the end of the episode… But only after suffering the humiliation of falling down a lot, landing in a dumpster, and being taken to a junkyard. I just don’t know if I can give Eggman this W, man.

Also, in this episode we discover that former White House press secretary Jerome White now knows the honest labor of working as a garbage man and that he’s still holding a torch for some lady named Vivian. The previous episode was unusual for its aggressively weird content. This episode is unusual for its introspective tone and lack of wacky hijinks and exploding robots. It’s another one where Sonic doesn’t have too much to do, save for running after the Egg Fort II at the very end. I don’t know if I can give an episode this focused on simply setting up the plot of the finale too much of a recommendation but I did find some things to be interested in here. It need more of Rouge and Topaz arguing/flirting though. That definitely would’ve improved things. [6/10]