Rush Zone S2 E1 "Lions, Texans and Turkeys, Oh My!"

Welcome to the first episode of season 2 of NFL Rush Zone! First of all, the episodes are now a normal length, 22 minutes. The animation is much better, and the old characters have new and improved designs. There's also an intro with narration and a theme song.

## Plot

It's been one year since the defeat of Sudden Death. The episode starts at a warehouse. Two security guards are guarding some BlitzBotz. They start talking about football and how they're looking forward to Thanksgiving when there's an explosion. A man appears and tells them to never underestimate the Wildcard. Then the new intro comes on. On a football field, Ish, now 11 and living in Canton, Ohio, catches the football and scores a touchdown. He has some new friends to play football with. Ash shows up, complete with a whole new look. She's introduced to Troy, Tua, and Marty. Troy is surprised to hear that she plays. She throws the ball insanely far, and Troy catches it. Ish invites everyone over to watch the football game. Deep underwater, a robot, Drop Kick, is working on reassembling the BlitzBotz. A recording shows OT picking Ish as the Guardian. Wildcard mentions someone named RZ. He wants something called Megacores. There's 32 of them. Like how there were 32 Shards, hidden in 32 stadiums by 32 teams, coaches, and Rusherz. 32 is basically the arc number of this show. Ash is a little distracted. She feels bad about how she helped Sudden Death last year. She hates how easy it was for him to put her under his spell. If it wasn't for Ish, she might still be a mindless drone, and thanks him for rescuing her and the Shards, and rebuilding the Core. Ish tells her to keep it down, since no one in Canton knows about that. Besides, he knows that wasn't the real her, and it's old news. Suddenly, what feels like an earthquake hits, and Wildcard appears. Ish wants to know who he is. Wildcard tries to zap them, but Ish uses his watch and shouts, "Defense, engage!" A blue shield surrounds them. Ash wants to know where he got the watch. Ish simply says, "Upgrade." Wildcard creates a pulse of energy that brings down something called the Safezone. Ish is extremely worried about this. He asks Wildcard what he wants. He wants power, revenge, and the megacores. Ish, and especially Ash, have as many questions as the audience. They go to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Shandra works there as a tour guide now. Ash goes on a private tour with her. Ish goes to a mirror, holds up his watch, and turns the dial. The mirror transforms into a portal, which he goes through. Ish has a bunch of questions for OT. He tells Ish to prepare to enter the next level of the Rush Zone. OT disappears, and a man in a computer takes his place. This man tells Ish that OT was an avatar, one of many, to protect his identity. He introduces himself as RZ 6.0, an AI, created by the founder of the room they're in, the Hall of Knowledge, or simply HoK. He says that the NFL has created vessels called megacores to protect and channel the essence of every team. They look like footballs. RZ also knows Wildcard, who wants the power of the megacores. A Rusher hands Ish his Shield coin. Combined with his NFL-R, it will power Ish in ways he couldn't even imagine. He has to leave right away to protect the Lions' megacore. A portal transports him and the Rusher to Detroit. The portal also comes with a voice that gives them some basic information on the team. Ish transforms, and he makes it clear that this isn't his first rodeo. He has armor and a helmet. It says QB 1. Ish is chasing after a robot when he suddenly powers down. The Rusher tells him that he's not fully accessing the power of the Rush Zone. He's more worried about the robot that's getting away, so he tackles it untransformed. It's a surveillance bot. Wildcard and Drop Kick are watching. Drop Kick tells Wildcard that he needs to recharge. Wildcard says he wants to make sure that the people who did this to him live to regret it. Ish is with his family. He just wants to spend Thanksgiving with them, but he has to go back to Detroit. Shandra and Matt say they understand. They both knew that there would be sacrifices when they agreed to let him continue being the Guardian. Matt tells Ish that when he was overseas he missed them a lot too. He doesn't know when or if he'll have to go back, but he wants to make the most out of the time they have together. Ish is about to go through the mirror portal when Ash shows up behind him. She knows this is Guardian business, and she wants to help. He says no. She thinks it's because he doesn't trust her. He says that's not the point. The point is that it's dangerous. He doesn't want her getting hurt. Aw! He goes through the portal. She goes in after him to help. She not so stealthily goes to Detroit too. RZ, being a big floating head in the center of the room, naturally sees her. Anyone else feeling the *Power Rangers* parallels? The Rusher takes Ish to the megacore, where an old friend, Calvin Johnson from season 1, is guarding it. He gives Ish advice about being away from family, especially during the holidays. Wildcard launches another attack. A BlitzBot attacks. Ish takes the megacore and shows off some impressive moves. Wow, he really has been training. He runs to get the megacore to safety while the Rusher holds off the robot. He runs into a dead end. The robot comes for the megacore, but Ash shows up behind it, open for a pass. Ish throws the ball and Ash catches it and runs. Unfortunately, she gets blasted. Ish doesn't know what to do. The Rusher tells him to use his Shield coin to channel the energy of Calvin Johnson and all the Lions. "Enter the Rush Zone!" He shoots a laser at the BlitzBot. He's strong enough to push the bot into a wall. Ash is fine and the game is over. They head home. Ish, his family, and Ash all get to enjoy Thanksgiving together. Meanwhile, Wildcard's real plan is revealed to the audience: He distracted Ish, who was busy guarding the Lions' megacore, and took the Texans' instead. Never underestimate the Wildcard is right.

## Review

Now that was a premiere! What a great way to kick off a new season! I loved everything about this episode! I did have a problem with the Rusher seemingly disappearing during the fight with the BlitzBot, but that's minuscule in the grand scheme of things. I love all of the characters' new looks. I love Ash's red hair. What bugged me the most though was that after a whole season of watching OT on monitors like he's early Dr. K from *Power Rangers RPM*, we finally see him in person, only to be told that he's an avatar and get immediately replaced by RZ. We'll only see him again once this season, in a very brief and silent cameo. That stinks. Still, it's not so bad, since OT and RZ are the same person. The animation has improved immensely since the last season. I love the intro and theme song. I like the armor aspect instead of having Ish pilot a robot. Sudden Death was a good villain, but Wildcard is a GREAT villain. It was his plan to take the Texans' megacore all along, by distracting the heroes with a wild goose chase. He's also a threatening villain. When Drop Kick warns him about how he needs to recharge, what does he do? He goes after our heroes to give them a message himself instead of having Drop Kick do it. That's bold. The purple exo-suit and those slits for eyes are very creepy and threatening because you don't know what's behind them. We know little about him, which makes him a mysterious villain. We know his motivations are power, but he also wants revenge on the people who did this to him, which makes him more of a complex villain. He wants to do things his way and only his way. Ish having to overcome his own issues before he could fully transform was great, and it adds character development. This will happen with every new Guardian, so they all have a chance to be in the spotlight. I liked how it showed more live action in the Hall of Fame, for the exposition on the teams and the players. It helps people learn more about football and the players. The Easter eggs were cute. Like how Ish's position is quarterback, and in season 1 Norv Turner told him to think of a Guardian like a quarterback. And Ish's shirt is blue with yellow lightning bolts, and his favorite team is the San Diego Chargers, like how Ash's shirt has a Union Jack on it, and her favorite team is the New England Patriots. In general, this was a great episode; definitely one of my favorites.