In this episode, managerial meddling
causes Thomas and Marcus to collectively screw up two missions that
either of them could have handled individually.
With only three characters to introduce
and most of the primary evolutions debuting well before the series
began, Data Squad gets to the crappy opening filler very early.
Digimon has never been renowned for cutting to the chase. Most
seasons take anywhere from six to eight episodes before anything
interesting happens, and that's usually followed by another string of
fluff. Here we have a particularly excruciating example as not only
is the story meaningless in the long term, but the only thing we can
take out of it is that not only do Marcus and Thomas hate each other,
but that this somehow doesn't translate to a professional working
relationship either.
As demonstrated by the Numemon mission,
the dilemma is very simple: Thomas prefers to break down the
situation and develop a foolproof strategy, while Marcus likes to
charge in and attack head on. The correct approach, of course, is c)
stop debating tactics; it's a freaking Numemon! Marcus's approach
worked, Thomas's approach worked, but they were both so consumed with
arguing over whose approach worked better that Yoshi just strolled up
to it and had Lalamon take care of it. It's pathetic that these two
are arguing over the best way to beat the Digimon equivalent of Glass
Joe.
The problem is that sending all three
agents at each emergence is not only unnecessary, but the conflict of
styles is a bigger issue than the lack of respect between Marcus and
Thomas. Both of them have their own way of doing things, and both of
them work... just not necessarily with each other. Prior to this
episode, Marcus was three for four on solo missions, which is a fine
record for someone so inexperienced. His one failure was his first
try against Demimeramon, where Agumon was at an elemental
disadvantage and the job was better suited for Yoshi and Lalamon.
Marcus hasn't been at this long, and rather than letting him perfect
his style at his own pace, he's being thrown into conditions that are
forcing him to conform to a method he's not comfortable with. Thomas,
meanwhile, has an arsenal of perfected tactics with Gaomon, but is
being forced to incorporate Marcus into them on the fly.
What all this adds up to is that
Commander Sampson is terrible at his job. Forcing two incompatible
styles together just for the sake of forcing the two to get along
ruins them both. It's unfair to Thomas to command him to treat Marcus
as an equal partner; Thomas has earned a position of superiority. At
the same time, it's unfair to expect Marcus to do it Thomas's way.
Marcus should be allowed to fly solo for a while, slowly building up
his credentials and earning Thomas's respect. Eventually, Marcus
should be given more difficult missions that aren't suited for his
style, giving him better appreciation for the more tactical approach
Thomas prefers. Expecting them to get along now is naive and
dangerous, especially when his only direction is that they should
figure it out themselves.
Kudamon only makes it worse by
exaggerating the significance of their failure. The Drimogemon
debacle was certainly an embarrassment, but it was hardly a disaster.
Yoshi still caught the robbers and Drimogemon retreated back to the
Digital World. Kudamon makes it sound that Drimogemon still being
alive is some sort of travesty, fearing that he'll raise an army and
strike again. This ignores the fact that Drimogemon was frightened,
gullible, tried to run away from the fighting and is clearly more of
a follower than a leader. Both Marcus and Thomas refuse to accept
failure and Sampson is trying to add injury to insult. It's no
surprise that Thomas sneaks into the Digital World to go after
Drimogemon, which is a pretty drastic move to punish the Digimon
equivalent of Johnny Five in Short Circuit 2.
My Grade: C
Loose Data:
- Somehow the Numemon seems less disgusting with a slug-like trail and the way it throws slime instead of crap. It's still gross, but it feels more natural and less cartoony than its portrayal in Adventure.
- It's amusing and very natural for Sarah and Kristy to be friendly to Thomas. Thomas's melancholy reaction at the family seems slightly off considering both families are missing a parent and there's no shortage of love between him and his sister. Had he even specified that he missed his mother in particular, it makes more sense.
- Does DATS not understand that Marcus is just a middle school student? It's natural for him to be late due to family obligations (or his efforts to dodge them) and scolding him as a result seems unfair. Thomas even delivers a very premature “not just a game” speech.
- At the same time, it was awfully stupid of Marcus to just randomly push buttons at the computer terminal? If he doesn't know what he's doing, why would he do that?
- Agumon seemed far bigger in the car than he usually does. Even with him in there, it shouldn't be that cramped.
- If it was stupid of Marcus to be randomly pushing buttons at the computer terminal, why wasn't Yoshi during the night shift? It would be awfully draconian to expect her to be on guard but not let her check her e-mail.
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