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]

Sonic X, 3.21: The Cosmo Conspiracy

Sonic X, 3.21: The Cosmo Conspiracy 

Japanese Title: Assassin Shadow!

U.S. Air Date: April 1st, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 23rd, 2020

Once again, I've got to talk a little bit about the U.S. dub title of a "Sonic X" episode versus its original Japanese title. I actually don't dislike the 4Kids title for this one. I'm partial to alteration in titles and "The Cosmo Conspiracy" has a nice ring to it. It also does a decent job of reflecting the contents and main point of the episode, at least after the fact. But "Assassin Shadow!" has a blunt, propulsive power to it that is hard to shake. It really tells you everything you need to know: Shadow is in this episode and he's out to fucking kill someone. That exclamation point really just seals that you're supposed to shout the title as a startled shout. 

So who is Shadow trying to murder? The English title gives us his answer. The so-called Ultimate Lifeform sneaks aboard the Blue Typhoon, gets into Cosmo's room, and threatens her life. The fearless crew immediately get to work protecting the girl. Tails grabs her hand and they go running through the ship. Sonic, Knuckles, and Chris stand in Shadow's way but none can deter the determined hedgehog. Rouge then informs Knuckles of what they discovered in the last episode. This sets up an even more drastic conclusion. 

Part of why "Assassin Shadow!" works is because it's simple. This is essentially one long chase scene. Cosmo is on the run from Shadow, Tails and everyone else try to stop him, but he just keeps coming. In that sense, it reminds me of horror films like "Halloween," "The Terminator," and many other slasher flicks. We've got a vulnerable female being endlessly pursued by a seemingly unstoppable killer. He can't be reasoned with and nothing will convince him to stop coming. When you combine this set-up with repeated shots of Tails and Cosmo running through closing blast doors, which Shadow easily rips through, and you've got a surprisingly tense half-hour. 

And it certainly helps that, at least in the unaltered Japanese version, Shadow is in an unambiguously murderous mood. The very first word he says to Cosmo is simply "Die!" He repeatedly references his homicidal desires throughout the episode that follows. There's no getting around it. Shadow intends on murdering Cosmo. He even seems to think he's doing her a favor, at one point. That kind of grim determination absolutely helps raise the tension. If Shadow catches her, it's over. So that makes you really invested in making sure she doesn't get caught. (Unsurprisingly, all this kill-y, die-y language was softened considerably in the 4Kids version.) 

While "Sonic X" has sometimes struggled with getting viewers to give a shit about its non-Sega characters, I think this episode being as good as it is proves that we care about Cosmo. Tails certainly cares about her. All throughout this episode, he mentions again and again that he's sworn to protect her. At one point, he clamps himself around Shadow's leg, trying to hold him back. Tails is willing to put himself directly in harm's way to protect this girl. As if this wasn't tensely romantic enough, there's an earlier, rather subtle moment that works really well. As they go on the run, Tails grabs Cosmo's hands. She looks at him meaningfully and grips harder. Going into this season, I never would've guessed that these two would develop into one of the show's best written relationships. 

Watching Shadow chase Tails and Cosmo from point-A to point-B might've been a bit dull but this episode smartly throws in a lot of rather dramatic events. Tails gets in the X-Tornado at one point and attempts to run the hedgehog down, to no avail. There's a confrontation between Shadow and Knuckles, which gives the kids some extra time. The best of this moments occurs when Tails lures Shadow into the inner chamber of the Sonic Driver and uses it to shoot him into outer space. That would work on a mere xenomorph but Shadow just Chaos Controls back onto the Blue Typhoon, which is itself a dramatic reveal. The only writing choice in this episode that strikes me as mildly bullshitty is Shadow collapsing from exerting himself without his inhibitor rings. 

The most dramatic moment in the episode comes at the end. Just as Shadow is about to strike Cosmo dead, the glass separating the bridge of the ship from the cold reaches of space is shattered. There's a moment of all the air being sucked out of the room – another inconsistency in this show's wildly inconsistent depiction of outer space – before the hole is patched by mysterious forces. Its then revealed why Cosmo didn't respond at all to Yellow Zelkova being one of her species last time: It seems Cosmo has been an unwilling sleeper agent of the Metarex the entire time. She's pretty shocked about it and it's a hell of a cliffhanger to end on. How the next episode handles this particular plot point will determine whether this twist really works for me but, within the context of this episode, it's a success. 

I think the showrunners knew this was a better-than-average episode too, as there's a couple of brief splurges of improved animation. When Tails is escaping from the collapsing X-Tornado or trying to hold onto Cosmo at the end, everything's a little more fluid and expressive. (Also, Knuckles spiky knuckles are back, so they either regrew or he just put on a new glove.) Tense thrillers like this really appeal to me so I'm feeling the need to rate this one a [8/10]. I'm betting, in the future when I think back to my favorite "Sonic X" episodes, this one will probably be somewhere near the top. 

Sonic X, Episode 3.20: Zelkova Strikes Back

Sonic X, Episode 3.20: Zelkova Strikes Back

Japanese Title: The True Form of the Metarex!?

U.S. Air Date: March 18th, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 22nd, 2020

"Sonic X" is closing in on its big finale, so it's no surprise this episode is full of dramatic reveals. The Metarex have been tirelessly pursuing Sonic and the others, leading our heroes in an exhausted state. They are confronted by Yellow Zelkova, who quickly corners the heroes on a barren, volcanic moon. Zelkova has been outfitted with a new force field by Eggman, making him even more unstoppable. While the Blue Typhoon crew struggle against this enemy, Shadow and Rouge uncover some of the secrets of the Metarex empire. 

The last time Sonic and the gang rumbled with Yellow Zelkova, the results were, from an action perspective, pretty underwhelming. That continues to be true for this rematch. For most of this episode, Knuckles is struggling against Yellow Zelkova by himself. This mostly results in scenes of the echidna throwing punches at the robot, just for them to prove ineffective. I've got nothing against heroes struggling to defeat an enemy. That's good writing! But when the villain constantly establishes that he's got an impenetrable shield around him, and the good guys just keep trying the same attack on him, the results get tedious fast. I can only watch Knuckles get beaten into the ground so many times before I'm bored. And it doesn't help that the animation here is fairly routine. 

Maybe my big problem with this episode is that I find Yellow Zelkova more annoying than intimidating. The big dumb strong guy is a classic villain archetype. His boastful decrees certainly fit that character type. Yet I find Zelkova too farcical a threat when the story around him is so grim. I like "Sonic X's" surreal sense of humor but having the bad guy ask nonsensical riddles before whooping ass drains the tension a little, in a bad way. Mostly, Zelkova is such a blockhead, it's hard to take him seriously. In this episode, he's defeated when Sonic and Chris encircle him with a wire and let a lightning bolt strike him. And this guy just stands there and lets the heroes surround him with this stuff. A more creditable adversary would try and, ya know, stop his imminent defeat. 

Of course, the action scenes in this episode really are beside the point. The true purpose behind "Zelkova Strikes Back" is revealed by its Japanese title: "The True Form of the Metarex!?" This episode reveals that Shadow and Rouge have been investigating the Metarex on their own. They soon discover a small planet, filled with trees and nothing else. A single, artificial Chaos Emerald provides the light and energy to grow this forest. This proceeds another reveal: Yellow Zelkova's mechanic armor falls away and shows that he's not a robot. He's part of the same species of plant aliens as Cosmo. Cosmo's world was genocided by members of her own race! 

This is a pretty dramatic twist... And it might have been more surprising if the Metarex bosses weren't all named after trees. Even if I hadn't had this plot point spoiled for me by the internet, I think I probably could've figured this one out. Weirdly, this episode does not feature Cosmo reacting to this information. Instead, it's final moments are devoted to a big naked Yellow Zelkova – who looks more than a little muppety – stumbling backwards into an active volcano. Knuckles tries to save him, because I guess our heroes operate on an "all life is sacred" rule or something. Zelkova refuses his help and willingly sinks into the lava, while grinning knowingly. I would much rather see Cosmo's reaction to this shocking information than a last minute, half-assed attempt to give the season's goofiest threat some depth with a honorable samurai demise or some shit. 

Honestly, I probably would've liked this episode a lot more if it focused on Shadow and Rouge uncovering the Metarex secrets. Rouge is creeped out by the lifeless forest world, which is a nice character beat for someone usually so unshakable. Shadow's stoic badass persona works as a nice contrast to discovering these horrible secrets. This is especially true when the show throws some unexpected body horror into its final minutes. At the base of the trees, Shadow and Rouge find the human traitors from "A Revolutionary Tale." They are slowly being consumed by the trees, the roots growing under their skin and into their flesh. That's pretty fucking gruesome for a children's show! Weirdly, 4Kids cut a bunch of random stuff from this episode but kept in this moment of "Evil Dead"-like tree horror. 

This might not be the only moment of bodily mutilation in this episode too, though that depends on how you interpret this next scene. As Knuckles' fight with Yellow Zelkova gets more intense, the echidna's knuckles spikes break off. It has always been debated by "Sonic" fans whether Knuckles' hand spikes were part of his body or just something attached to his gloves. In the Archie Comics, Knuckles' knuckles are definitely a physical mutation, sprouting from his bare flesh. I suppose I just assumed that was the case for every version of the character. But considering there's no blood spurting from Knuckles' hands in this scene, I'm guessing that's not the case for the "Sonic X" version. (Which is kind of underwhelming and makes the echidna seem less "special.") Seeing his little hand spikes shatter is still a surprising sight. It feels like that moment probably should've gotten more attention. 

Presumably Cosmo's feelings about the Metarex's true nature, along with the reasoning behind the villain's genocidal conquest, will be covered in future episode. (And, maybe if we are lucky, we'll find out whether every Metarex is actually a plant person or just the top commanders. So we'll know whether or not Sonic and the gang have been blowing up sentient beings every time they use the Sonic Hammer.) As for this episode, it needed more scenes of Shadow and Rouge sleuthing and people being violated by tree roots and fewer scenes of Knuckles and a mustard-colored robot repetitively wailing on each other. [5/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.19: Hedgehog Hunt

Sonic X, Episode 3.19: Hedgehog Hunt

Japanese Title: Cafe Chaotix

With the Blue Typhoon on the run, the Metarex empire is focusing their military campaign on finding and eliminating Sonic and his friends. Eggman is officially made the fourth Metarex boss and immediately begins bickering with the other villains. Meanwhile, the Chaotix have opened a café on an alien world, hoping to make enough money to repair their damaged ship. Sonic and the gang soon arrive on this world and wonder how they can safely escape with the Metarex and Eggman breathing down their necks. 

Eggman is, surprisingly, emerging as one of season three's most compelling characters. Lately, the show has really been playing with the idea of whether or not the villain is as bad as the Metarex. After joining up with the evil robot empire last episode, it seemed to confirm that the doctor is that ruthless. But maybe not. Black Narcissus confronts Eggman shortly after he's announced to be the new boss. It seems the encounter they had recently, where the doctor chastised Narcissus for his sadism, was totally sincere, creating tension among the evildoers. More than anything else, Eggman's ego is bruised by being part of the team. He doesn't like taking orders, needed to be accepted by the other bosses, or his abilities not being appreciated. The Metarex bosses point out – rightly – that Eggman has never succeeded in killing Sonic. Eggman, of course, believes himself to be a master genius who is the only person who can defeat Sonic. 

This builds towards an interesting conclusion. Eggman single-handedly saves the day but not because he wants to save the universe. He just can't handle the idea of Pale Bayleaf defeating Sonic. He would rather have his enemy escape, have the Metarex believe the Blue Typhoon is destroyed, than have anyone else claim victory over Sonic. He did the right thing for the wrong reasons but it clearly weighs on him. He ends the episode in a bar, drinking away his sorrows like they're a hangover. I figured Eggman would align with Sonic against the Metarex because he realizes they're a threat to both of them. Instead, the rotund one is working both with and against the Metarex, undermining them to prop up his own ego. That's an interesting dynamic and I hope the show milks it more. 

Despite that fairly serious set-up, this is an episode of "Sonic X" co-starring the Chaotix. So you know what that means: It's a goofy one. There's a lot of humor here and it seems to be split into two categories. Sometimes the jokes are almost subtle. Like when Eggman and his henchmen bust into the Chaotix bar, asking to put up wanted posters of Sonic. Since Vector isn't interested in this, they compromise by pasting the posters to the bottom of the tables. When the Sonic Team asks the Chaotix if they want to leave the planet with them, Vector dryly responds that he "doesn't want to die." Of course there's some fourth wall breaking. Vector talks directly to the audience, brags about his piano skills, and Charmy mentions something that just happened in a flashback. Naturally, the setting brings with it a few direct shout-outs to "Casablanca."

But, this being the show that it is, there's still plenty of wacky goofiness to be had here. Vector yells at the weird aliens in the bar that want to set up a tab. The Chaotix ended up in this scenario because they very stupidly piloted their spaceship into a random black hole. The broadest, and funniest, gag occurs early on. Bocoe tells Eggman he's going to have to suck up to the other Metarex bosses if he hopes to be accepted by them. This leads to a deliriously silly montage where Eggman imagines himself complimenting Yellow Zakova on his golf game, gifting Black Narcissus a present, and giving Pale Bayleaf a sensual back massage. I love that the Japanese can include random absurdity like that in an otherwise serious scenario. 

Make no mistake, this is a serious scenario. Sonic and the gang suffered a major defeat at the hands of their enemies, barely surviving. They are now being hunted across the galaxy, with the villains closer to eliminating them then they'd like to realize. Yet the heroes don't seem too bothered by this. In fact, Sonic is particularly jovial in this episode. He laughs at Eggman as he chats with Vector and happily zips around the planet, just under the Metarex drones' noses and swiping food from a grocery store. I guess, since the last episode was fairly grim, the show runners figured we needed a light-weight one this time. But I would've liked to have seen more acknowledgment of how deep into the shit our heroes are at this point. 

It's not a great episode but it's got enough goofy laughs in it to keep me entertained. Mostly, I like the complexity Eggman is showing here of late. It seems that last bit really bugged the 4Kids censors. Most of the scenes of Black Narcissus being suspicious of Eggman, and of the villain wondering if he can handle this, we're cut down or removed in the dub. The circumstances of the ending were changed, even inserting footage from a previous episode to sell the illusion. I guess 4Kids didn't want children emulating, uh, the behavior of the show's antagonist. It's not as severe as rewriting Molly from being dead to alive but it's still a strange episode to change so much. Also, since this episode is largely set in a bar, that was a problem. All the wine bottles were changed to soda. What's weird about this is Eggman never asks to drink anything other than water or vinegar. Meanwhile, the obvious hangover cure reference at the end – Eggman dumping a raw egg into his drink – was maintained. I guess they figured the four to seven-year-olds in the audience wouldn't catch that one. 

Anyway, none of that is really relevant. For an episode where Sonic and the other heroes barely do anything, I still found this one pretty compelling. I never expected to be invested in the "Sonic X" version of Eggman, since I'm very particular about how Sonic's archenemy is portrayed. Then again, I never expected to like "Sonic X" in general and here we are. [6/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.18: Terror on the Typhoon

Sonic X, Episode 3.18: Terror on the Typhoon

Japanese Title: The Eggman Fleet Appears

U.S. Air Date: March 4th, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 20th, 2020

You know this episode of "Sonic X" is going to be a serious one because it starts in medias res. The Blue Typhoon is within a warp zone or something and fighting off a Metarex fleet. Tails reflects on how they got in this sticky situation: They caught the signal of a Chaos Emerald, emanating from a small but fast-moving shuttle. They followed the ship into the warp zone only to be ambushed by the Metarex... And a fleet of autonomous robot ships built by Eggman. Yes, the Sonic Team's two biggest enemies have joined forces and trapped them in a deadly situation.

I have to give the "Sonic X" writers' room more credit than I expected. The recent episode where Eggman helped Sonic out struck me as a genuine heroic moment for the villain. Even though the mad scientist has devoted his life to destroying the hedgehog, I totally bought it that he would object to the Metarex's plans for conquest for one reason or another. This episode reveals that the doctor is working with the evil empire. It's a reveal that shouldn't be surprising. When Tails accuses Eggman of betraying them, he points out that he's always wanted to kill them. Yet the show pulled a convincing swerve here, making me think Sonic and his nemesis has found a common enemy. Instead, the ever-calculating Eggman had the logical conclusion that his goals and the Metarex's line up, at least as far as exterminating blue hedgehogs go. There's even a scene where Eggman taunts the heroes, saying suicide is an option if they don't want to die at the bad guys' hands. Brutal. 

This is, by the standards of a children's cartoon, a brutal episode. Throughout "Sonic X's" history, there aren't very many incidents were the good guys loose. In fact, I'm having trouble thinking of any previous episode where Sonic wasn't victorious in some form. Here, the heroes soundly get their asses kicked. Half-way through the episode, Sonic and Knuckles are both left bruised and bandaged. The echidna is even left hobbling around on crutches at one point. The Blue Typhoon is not victorious against their enemies in this episode. The heroes are merely lucky to escape with their lives, a last-ditch effort to escape the warp zone barely working. They don't win, they just survive. Considering the first season featured multiple episodes where Sonic just bulldozed through whatever stupid thing Eggman built that week, it's surprising to see this one end with our heroes so unambiguously defeated. 

Considering how ruthless the Metarex are supposed to be – they fire on their own ships in this episode – I'm honestly surprised it took them this long to reach this point. Eggman builds a pentagram-shaped shield specifically design to counter the Sonic Driver, the sole trump card the good guys have against the Metarex. Honestly, the villains probably should've thought of that a lot sooner. The Sonic Driver takes extensive preparation time to activate and the heroes have repeatedly used it to win battles. You'd think they would've thought to directly counteract the big giant cannon a lot sooner. The Sonic Driver is not the only deus ex machina that starts to fail the Blue Typhoon crew this time, as the Master Emerald is also beginning to falter. It seems the weird effects of the Metarex universe is causing its power to fade.

In other words, both the times and measures are starting to get pretty darn desperate. It's a lot of pressure for a gang of teenagers and children to handle. Which is why Tails' confidence starts to slip in this episode. Half-way through the battle, he feels like he's already failed. As the captain of the ship, he blames himself. His friends are going to die and it's all his fault. Cosmo talks the fox out of this crisis and he manages to scrap together a solution at the last minute. Yet it's still effective writing. It builds on the insecurities about being captain that Tails has felt all season and it continues to bring him closer to Cosmo. The way all his friends come around to support him at the end is awfully sweet too. 

It's a well written episode, with compelling conflicts of both the external and internal variety. Though maybe the external conflict could've used a little work. Not so much on the writing front. Our protagonists being caught in a tight spot by the baddies is good stuff. But the action is a little uninspired. There's lots of shots of laser beams being fired and little ships blowing up, which aren't a lot of fun to watch. Chris builds Sonic another gimmicky set of special shoes again. This time they are sneakers that generate a little ball of energy, that Sonic can kick at his enemies. Deadly soccer cleats, in other words. Goofy shit. In general, the animation remains a little too stiff to make the action really dynamic. 

Considering the stakes in this episode, there's not too much room for comedy. But this is still "Sonic X," so some wackiness ensues. Mostly when Tails and Knuckles having a stress induced argument is dissolved by the fox making a hat pun. This is so groan worthy that even Knuckles comments on it. A little later, there's a brief gag where Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokkun are caught off-guard by their boss' commands. (Bokkun is back to his normal size again, by the way. I guess that teenage body joke a while back really was as big of a non sequitur as it appeared.) Not too much room for jokes when the heroes are on the verge of dying. 

It's not a perfect episode. The mechanics of the method Tails uses to escape the wormhole raises a few questions. Especially when it causes a massive explosion to backfire on the Metarex ships. I didn't understand entirely what was happening there. The show doesn't have time to think too hard about the science – not that it ever thinks about science – when the good guys are stuck in such a dramatic scenario. Yet it's still a pretty compelling half-hour that managed to catch me off-guard in some nice ways and obviously cares about its characters. Works for me! [7/10]