Episode Four - "Iron Vegiemon"

Summary

The Digimon Emperor has built a control spire on a hill above a village and is keeping the villagers prisoner with Vegiemon guards. The villagers are all Gazimon except one: our old friend Gabumon. Gabumon waits until the Emperor leaves and then breaks out of jail, but is soon attacked by Redvegiemon and pushed off a cliff into the water. He manages to make it to a TV (the digi-port on the Digital World side) and call out to Matt, triggering his digivice. He and the new DigiDestined go to the DigiWorld. Yolei stays behind because Izzy has her digivice to study it. Gabumon leads the kids back to the village. Using black plastic rings, the digimon fool the guards into letting them into the village. Once there, they rescue the Gazimon.

Unfortunately, they can't go out the normal way, so they head towards the control spire. Just as they prepare to escape that way, the Vegiemon show up and attack. Davis was depressed that Kari doesn't like him, so Veemon decides to fight Redvegiemon to cheer Davis up. Veemon is no match for him, though, and is beaten pretty bad. The Vegiemon prevent the digimon from armor-digivolving by wrapping them up and holding them down. Just as Redvegiemon delivers the final blow to Veemon, he ducks and the attack hits the control spire. The spire cracks and starts sparking with electricity.

Suddenly, Matt's digivice activates and Gabumon digivolves to Garurumon. Veemon armor-digivolves to Flamedramon and defeats Redvegiemon while Digmon destroys the spire for good. At this point Yolei, Tai, and Izzy show up and they figure out what's going on. The Digimon Emperor sets up the control spires to amplify the power from his dark digivice. When the control spire is in place, no digimon in the area can digivolve, and all the dark rings have power to keep digimon enslaved. If the spire is cracked, it no longer stops natural digivolving, and once it's destroyed, the dark rings stop working. The new DigiDestined vow to destroy every last one of the control spires.

Trivia

What did Davis think his sister said about him to Matt and TK?
How long does the Digimon Emperor think it'll take for him to completely control the entire Digital World?

Thoughts and Rating

Great episode! Seeing Gabumon again was great, and it was even better (and a complete surprise) when he digivolved to Garurumon. This episode is one of the most important in the second season, because it sets up the premise for all the other ones. Now they know they must destroy control spires. I give this episode a 9.5.

Favorite Quotes

"Maybe they could be your backup singers." - TK
"Nah, they'd sound too gravelly." - Matt (about the rescued Gotsumon)
"I want you to tell me everything that happened." - Matt
"Good! We never talk anymore." - Gabumon
"Have no fear while Yolei's gone! This place shall be guarded by Poromon!" - Poromon
"He forgot how to spell TK." - Cody about Davis's habit of calling TK "TA", "JB", "TC", etc.
"What won't anyone listen to me?!?" - Davis
"What'd you say?" - Veemon

Nits

Out of a huge prison, they only seemed to rescue 3 Gotsumon. There's no way that they could've been the only digimon in that prison. From the previous episode we know that there were at least 2 Elecmon there, as well. What happened to them and the other prisoners?
COMMERCIAL ONE
When the Gotsumon are brought to the real world, someone screams. Who was it? It sounded vaguely like Yolei, but why would she scream at seeing the Gotsumon?
When the digimon are wearing the fake rings and taking the humans to jail, it sounds like Patamon says "Where are you taking us?" That doesn't make any sense, though, because Patamon's one of the guards. If it was him that said it, the Vegiemon are stupider than I thought, because why would a guard say "Where are you taking us?"
COMMERCIAL TWO
Why didn't Redvegiemon's dark ring disappear at the end of his fight with Flamedramon. Up until now, they always disappeared after a digimon was defeated, but this one stayed on until the control spire was destroyed.
As I mentioned in the review of the previous episode, the second attack Digmon uses that used to be called "Gold Rush" is now properly called "Rock Cracking."
COMMERCIAL THREE
There's a scene featuring Greymon destroying a control spire. How can Greymon destroy a control spire? He'd have to wait for it to be cracked before he could become Greymon, and by then whoever cracked it could destroy it.

Trivia Answers

Davis thinks she said he bites his toenails and spits them on the floor, sucked his thumb until about a month ago, and wets the bed every other Thursday.
less than a year

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