Zero Two Episode 02: The Digiteam Complete

In this episode, it's time to break in the new kids! Restraints are involved. Welcome aboard, meat!

It's an exciting time as we're just on the cusp of this new adventure. Today we get to catch up with Sora, Matt and Joe as the season one crew gets together. Yolei and Cody also get their proper introductions and the wave of transition hovers over everything. So why is it that the first half of this episode is so incredibly boring?

A lot of it has to do with the quality of the conversation. The subjects are fascinating- Davis returning from his first trip to the Digital World, the season one kids meeting, Yolei and Cody thinking about their trip. When it comes down to it, though, it's a lot of blabber with little substance and no real comedy. We don't need to know what everybody's having for dinner. Seriously.

The gathering of season one kids has some interesting notes. They're all a little unsettled at the recent developments. Not only because their Digimon are in danger, but because of the realization that they're going to have to rely on a new team to save the day. Keep in mind that there hasn't been any sign yet that TK and Kari are considered part of the new team. Right now it's just those three noobs and everyone's rightfully concerned. Matt even suggests that they take care of things themselves, even though Tai makes it clear that they can't.

The episode picks up once they reach the Digital World. Matt and Joe have other engagements and Tai runs interference, leaving just Sora and Izzy to join the younger kids. Yolei and Cody get their first look at the Digital World... and their random new clothes, which they're really stoked about despite looking awful. This excitement lasts for about a minute as the Digimon Emperor lets loose three Digimon against them. Begin the hazing!

With season one's rookies useless, the new kids are completely overwhelmed. Drimogemon creates a sinkhole swallowing Davis and Veemon, while Snimon nearly kills Sora. For all her yapping about wanting to see the Digital World, Yolei's already crying to get the hell out of there. She and Cody are shaken and absolutely miserable as they retreat. It's beautiful.

Tentomon and Biyomon lead them to a temple where, once again, crest-bearing eggs are present but their crest holders are unable to lift them. Sora and Izzy turn to Yolei and Cody and ask them to give it a try, which raises a pretty interesting question... how do they know that Yolei gets the Digiegg of Love and Cody gets the Digiegg of Knowledge? Given what we've seen from them so far, it makes just as much sense for that to be reversed. Yesterday, Yolei was seen keeping up with Izzy-speak and fixing Cody's computer.

I always saw Yolei being a better fit for Knowledge, leaving Cody with Love. It's likely that their genders played a part in their egg assignments. As they see their new partner Digimon for the first time and realize what is being asked of them, Sora and Izzy step in with a pep talk. Izzy manages to get Cody to cop to his sense of curiosity and his desire to have all the information before forming an opinion. Fair enough. Does Sora get Yolei to talk about how nurturing and warm-hearted she is? Hell no, she mentions how Mimi completely broke down and still managed to be a functioning teammate. What the hell does that have to do with love? Sora is demonstrating Love exceedingly well here, making Yolei look all the more inadequate. That and Hawkmon's really irritating in this episode.

At least Halsemon and his “wings of love” are pretty cool.

My Grade: C

Loose Data:

• Was it really necessary that Mr. Fujiyama came back this season? He was in one episode in season one and didn't exactly make a lasting impact.
• The scenes where Ken and Veemon both emote similar feelings not only makes it clear that they have the same voice actor, but it's sometimes hard to distinguish between the two, even with Veemon's trademark lisp. You don't see that problem with Cody and Mimi.
• Speaking of voices, there's something off about Hawkmon's when he's stammering back at Yolei's initial refusal to fight.
• For a moment there, I was really excited to see Wormmon and Gatomon facing off. Then Gatomon slugged Wormmon in the face and the Digimon Emperor whipped her.
• During the entire time they were in the Digital World, Tai was listening to Mr. Fujiyama talk to him about sex. If he didn't actually have problems with girls before, he's probably worried about them now.
• At one point, TK tackles Sora to the ground to get her out of danger. I'm not trying to make any implications, but it's important to point out. You'll find out why in about 40 episodes.