|
Episode Summary
Written
by J. Cole Weston
When
Zoners appear who can operate outside the Zone, both the Black
Widows and the Zone Riders race to discover their secret…
Episode
Notes
Written
by J. Cole Weston
In
depth: Somewhere in an Asian country's computer plant, a Zoned
martial artist appears who is outside the Zone. He incapacitates
two guards and more zoned fighters join him to defeat the
other soldiers. Hiro recognizes the men in the video that
they watch of the events back at M.C.C. Hiro has a flashback
to his training in which he practiced with the other monks.
Hiro makes a pledge to free his old sensei.
Overlord
has no knowledge of how these men can operate outside the
Zone, and he leaves to find the reason behind it all. A scene
at the Monastery shows the men unzoned, and plotting Overlord's
destruction through his curiosity. The Zone Riders meantime
ride into the Zone and engage the Black Widows. Meanwhile,
Sensei Daitou and his men break into another installation.
They remove several technical components in backpacks. Kat
receives a signal from Overlord reporting a theft at a Satellite
Weaponry plant outside the Zone.
Hearing
this, Courage breaks off the attack to follow Overlord to
the plant. Daitou-sensei remains behind and observes Hiro
arrive. Daitou radios the others to delay the Zone Riders.
Hiro comes across his old friends in the base and is jumped
from behind. Duchess Dire spies the rest of the Zone Riders
and alerts Overlord's gang. Hiro meanwhile defeats the other
martial artists but is ultimately captured when one grabs
his Needler pistol. Tank and Max are nearby, pinned down by
laser fire. It turns two sided when Kat and Dirk fire from
the other side of the Widows, putting the bad guys in a shooting
gallery.
The
retreating Black Widows order the Zoners to fight, but they
retreat and Reaper is puzzled by this. Hiro reports to the
others that not only can the Zoners exist outside the Zone,
but they have free will also. Returning to Intruder, Overlord
is not pleased by their lack of capture.
At
the dojo, it becomes apparent the martial artists have a weapon
they've stolen components for that will allow them to build
a phase modulator, which will turn Zoners against Overlord.
Overlord believes one of the Black Widows is creating their
own army. Daitou has the woman wait behind while they enter,
and Overlord encounters them. He puts them to the test, but
determines their lesions are makeup and the group attacks.
Bandit uses his Zone Effect cannon to really zone them.
Nearby
the female removes her makeup to talk to the Zone Riders who
realize the deception. Overlord continues to interrogate his
men about who the traitor is. Bandit sends the Zoners to attack
the Zone Riders as they meet in battle. Hiro's equipment and
cycle are damaged and he meets with the former students once
more, only this time in real battle. The other Riders decide
to destroy the Generator. Overlord arrives to provide air
support but Intruder is hit and damaged. Without vehicles,
the Black Widows must retreat.
Later
at Eagle, Dirk talks to Daitou. Hiro confronts Daitou about
whether or not he resisted the zone. Neither will ever know.
Items
Noticed: Judging by Courage's estimated flight time from M.C.C.
(most likely a modified Cheyenne Mountain) to Japan of one
hour, Eagle clearly utilizes advanced propulsion, more than
likely scramjet engines, since we don't see the plane use
low orbit flight.
Considering
that a Satellite Weaponry Plant exists, this shows a progression
of Ronald Reagan's SDI- Strategic Defense Initiative nicknamed
"Star Wars". This system would have proved capable
of being a "missile shield" against the USSR. It
may have been SDI that shot down Overlord's shuttle.
While
"Superconducting Resonator" is probably just a made
up term, SPIRAL ZONE stays on
the bleeding edge of technology, as superconducting materials
are a key area of research in technology today in 2007.
Hiro
reports quite accurately that his suit hampers his ability
to fight hand to hand, which explains why he doesn't go all
martial arts on everyone he sees.
The
very last of the Sakura (cherry blossoms) are falling from
the trees in Japan in the episode, indicating this takes place
in Spring, most likely April of 2008 (since the world was
zoned June 18, 2007.) This marks one of the very, very few
times in which the actual date of an episode can be determined.
Notes:
At the beginning of the episode, as if we didn't have the
episode title to warn us it's a Hiro specific episode, the
overused wind instrumental "Japanese-y" music plays.
I swear, every time Hiro does something they use this bit.
When I go to get a sandwich, I don't have "Living in
America" by James Brown blasting out behind me.
What
do we learn? Hiro was raised in a monastery in Japan by Master
Daitou, one of the greatest martial artists in the world.
The
other martial artist names are "Suzuhara Washi and Katsu".
Earth
has gone to a unified series of currency a la the Euro in
the form of "Credits". This would prove a necessity
in a time of world economic turmoil like the Zoned one we
see here. Whether this is limited to the military or not is
unclear, but Zone Riders are paid in and pay out in Credits.
The
Mitsuro Systems Plant manufactures parts for Phase Modulators,
perhaps a Superconducting Resonator.
Apparently
Phase Modulation is of common knowledge to terrorists or Black
Widows, as Overlord does not believe Bandit when he says he
doesn't know what it does.
Overlord,
like many dictators, is incredibly paranoid, as well he should
be as seen in "While the Cat's Away." One almost
can't blame him, as the more power he acquires the more he
must protect it from others who would seize it from him.
Again
and again in the show, most shots that destroy Zone Generator
are aimed squarely at or above the spherical pods below the
orange dome. This must be filled with an explosive chemical,
as a hit to this area almost always causes a chain reaction.
Goof
ups: Daitou-sensei calls Hiro "Hiro-san". More properly
he should be called "Taka-san", as it is more formal.
However, considering the long relationship of the two, this
is understandable, though still likely a mistake.
Suzuhara,
if I'm hearing it right, is a typical Japanese family name.
Washi means paper I believe, and even more strange is Katsu
- which means "cutlet", as in Torikatsu, a chicken
dish served in Japan. Perhaps it is a nickname?
Daitou
also calls Suzuhara "Susan". With audio quality
from VHS tapes plus accents, it's incredibly difficult to
make these out. Perhaps one day we can acquire scripts.
Quotable
Quotes: "Remember the five credits I owe you from yesterday?"
- Max to Tank
"It was ten credits!" -Tank
"Well, if we get out of this, I'll pay you back!"
- Max
"We'll learn the truth soon enough. And woe to you if
it's what I expect!" - Overlord
|
