Rush Zone S2 E12 "Mystery Solved"

## Plot

RZ issues an NFL Rush Zone Red Alert. It's basically a recap of the previous double length episode, "Mystery Guardian". The Guardians are stuck in New Orleans, and can't return to the HoK, which is under attack by Wildcard and BlitzBotz. Yeah, I'd say things look pretty grim right about now. The Guardians figure out that whenever the robot stops firing the giant laser into the sky, a red light turns on. They come up with a new plan. They're able to destroy the robot, but Drop Kick gets away with the Megacores. Back at the HoK, RZ tells Ricky that he's very brave. Yep, Ricky's been faking it. I'll give him props though, it was pretty convincing. Wildcard comes in. He tells Ricky that RZ 6.0 was once Dr. Richard Zimmer, a brilliant scientist, and a terrible father. RZ tells him that while his anger is justified, his actions are not. Wildcard uses a stone and starts zapping the computer console. He says that not only was Zimmer never there for him, but that experiment with the Core ruined his life. RZ isn't really Zimmer, but he does share his memories. Wildcard blasts RZ again. Ricky tells him to stop. Wildcard hands the stone to Ricky, wanting him to do the honors. Instead, Ricky turns the stone on Wildcard. He grabs the stone back and zaps Ricky with it. Ricky transforms with his new NFL-R for the first time. Now his color scheme is the same as the others. "Enter the Rush Zone!" The internal comms for the Guardians are still working, so the others can hear everything Ricky says. Now they really have to get back to the HoK. Together, the Guardians and all the Rusherz put their energy together to access the passage to send them back. Wildcard blasts the ceiling, forcing Ricky to move. He blasts RZ again, causing him to disappear. Before he can kill Ricky, Ish blasts him. The Rusherz and Guardians surround him, warning him not to try anything. He does anyway. He isn't called the Wildcard for nothing! He blasts the ceiling again, forcing everyone to move. When the smoke clears, he's gone. The kids look for RZ when their NFL-Rs start glowing. Light comes out of them, and it fully restores power to the HoK and restores RZ. He used their NFL-Rs to back up his system. Ricky says that he let Wildcard in to make him think that he was still on his side. The decision to not tell the others was actually RZ's. He knew that not all of them, i.e. Troy, could trust Ricky yet. RZ explains his backstory to them. His son Warren wanted his attention and to be a part of his life, but he was too busy to notice. Ten years passed. Then they found a project that both of them could work on together. They attempted to harness the power of the Core and make Warren the first Guardian. It was the day of Super Bowl 36, so it was eleven years ago today. It went wrong, and the energy created a massive explosion. The Shards were returned to the stadiums, but the lab was destroyed. Warren and Drop Kick survived. The same experiment that created Wildcard created RZ. The Megacores were created when the Core was put back together. All that energy had to go somewhere, so it created the Megacores. RZ's failed experiment also created excess power, which had to go somewhere. And all of the kids are 11, which isn't a coincidence. That power had to be protected, and it chose to reside in some very unique children: Ish, Ash, Troy, Tua, Marty, and Ricky. That's why they were chosen to be Guardians. Part of the Core is in them. Once he earns his shield coin, Ricky will be a full Guardian too. Troy apologizes to Ricky for earlier. Until the Safe Zone and the HoK can be fully restored, they're on high alert. Wildcard has three Megacores: The Browns, Giants, and Broncos. Combined into a single weapon, their power could take out *an entire state*. Okay, that's really bad no matter what, but are we talking Rhode Island big or California big? I just have one more question: Who won the Super Bowl?!? Wildcard returns to what remains of his old house. At the age of 24, the experiment happened, meaning Warren is now 35. He was in the hospital when Drop Kick broke him out. The suit he was wearing during the experiment is now a part of him, I guess. Drop Kick is also there. Wildcard orders him to launch another attack. A BlitzBot shows up right in front of Ricky's house. "Enter the Rush Zone! Get away from my house!" Another one shows up in front of Ish's house. "Enter the Rush Zone!" Marty lost his backpack, so the others are at the Hall of Fame. One shows up there too. "Enter the Rush Zone!" Ash and Tua deal with the one at the Hall of Fame, while Troy and Marty help Ish and Ricky. Marty helps Ish and Troy helps Ricky. The BlitzBotz have Megacores inside of them. Troy hands Ricky his shield coin. So he didn't have to do anything to earn it. Okay, he totally earned it before when he was fighting Wildcard, but most of the other Guardians received advice from players and underwent character development first. The bots retreat, but then they go to the HoK and transform into one bigger giant robot. The Cardinals' Rusher channels the Core and becomes really big. That is awesome! How come Rusherz don't do that more often? So yeah, the Cardinal Rusher beats the robot all on his own and smashes it into a bunch of pieces. The Guardians recover the Megacores and return them to their teams. At the bowling alley, Patrick Peterson inexplicably shows up, probably so they can have someone from the NFL cameo. He returns Marty's backpack to him. Troy gives Ricky a football so Mr. Peterson can sign it. Also, Ricky is from Arizona, he recently moved to Canton, and he's Mexican. Drop Kick retrieves a disk from a safe in the remains of the old lab, saying that this changes everything. Plot point. Like, MAJOR plot point.

## Review

I liked this episode. The ending fight just felt kind of rushed though, like they were contractually obligated to have a fight scene in every episode. And have someone from the NFL make a cameo in every episode, regardless of whether or not it made sense. I loved the ending with Drop Kick. It foreshadows the overarching dream based plot of the next few episodes, and where Drop Kick's character is heading.