Speed Racer: TNG S2 E10

## Plot

X and Annalise have started dating again. Things have been really good between them since she teamed up with Speed and X to help them take down Alpha Academy. Even Speed realizes that she's been kinder and gentler lately. Conor assures him that the virtual track and the Mach 6 are in top shape. X sees Annalise talking to Alpha Leader. Spritle invited him over. Even though they're fierce competitors, there's no reason they can't all be friends. Annalise agrees, and then X comes over and accuses him of flirting with her, and they start trash talking each other. Ugh, boys. Alpha challenges X to a race, and he agrees. Speed thinks it's stupid, but Annalise thinks it's hot. Her character development may have finally started, but she's not about to turn into Zuko or Esteban overnight. At least, I hope she won't. I kind of liked her and X better when they weren't dating. I can see the two of them as friends so their petty post breakup bickering doesn't get in the way of missions, but that's it. X tells Alpha not to try anything funny, and agrees that whoever wins the race gets to date Annalise. I feel like she should be involved in that decision, but whatever. After they start though, Lucy points out a road crew on the far side of the track making repairs. Speed tells X, but he and Alpha just go off road. They drive all over campus, and almost run over several people, including their headmasters. How they'll avoid immediate expulsion and possible charges being brought against them after this is beyond my understanding. They both crash anyways when they get back to the track and run into the repairs. Their headmasters chew them out, and Spritle tells X that he needs to learn to control his temper, or one day he'll find himself in serious trouble. Headmaster Mustache tells Alpha that they'll get proper retribution. Why is Alpha acting as bad as everyone else at Alpha Academy now? I thought he was supposed to be the token good teammate with no clue what the others were up too. Speaking of which, are we ever going to follow up on that village cliffhanger with Sally, or was that just the world's strangest euphemism for death? Conor tells X that the race was a tie. X is glad that Annalise is still his girl, but she says they're still a work in progress. Now Lucy doesn't like Alpha and thinks he's a jerk. Wow. It's like the writers literally forgot what happened in the previous episodes. Spritle announces that they'll be hosting Alpha Academy for some pre-invitation races. They've also decided that no gadgets will be allowed. They'll also be hosting a dance after the first race so both student bodies can get to know each other. X sees Alpha and Annalise wave at each other. Annalise tells him to stop being paranoid and insists that she wasn't flirting with him. Lucy nervously asks Speed if he'll go to the dance with her, and he awkwardly agrees. She even kisses him on the cheek when she leaves! Yes! Progress in a relationship that I actually care about! Zile and Stan are selling concessions. If they're basically under house arrest now, shouldn't they at least change out of their prison clothes? Annalise and X are arguing with each other instead of focusing on the race. She hasn't made up her mind yet about whether or not she'll go to the dance with him. When Alpha falls behind Speed, his headmaster tells him to use the device, even though Alpha wants to beat him fairly. Mustache tells him that their sponsor insists that they use the device during this race. Whatever it is, it causes Speed to crash, making Alpha the winner. Annalise congratulates him, and tells him that he can call her by her first name. X finally tells her that if she really wants to be with him, she can, and says they deserve each other before storming off. The Mach 6 jumped again, but Speed didn't press any buttons. He decides to take it back to Conor's garage and take it apart piece by piece until they figure out what's wrong. Conor says there's nothing wrong, so some outside force must be involved. Gee, do they know anyone or any organization that's dirty? Oh my god, yes, Alpha Academy! The school you just raced against that you know is involved with the Committee in some way! Have they even told Spritle about his older brother and their suspicions? Because if he knew, then he probably never would've invited Alpha Academy over in the first place, or at least not willingly. It's not like he doesn't know that there are bad people out there who want the Mach 6, since he's the one who warned Speed in the first place! Why is the characterization in this episode so out of wack? Speed tells Conor that he didn't see or feel any external force, so it must be a malfunction with the Mach 6. He apologizes for snapping at him, but says they're not stopping until they figure this out. Mustache contacts the shadow woman and tells her that the device worked perfectly. She orders him to deploy it again in the next race, since they still don't have enough evidence on its durability. Mustache starts to say that he had a hard enough time getting Alpha to use it once, but the shadow woman tells him that wasn't a suggestion and orders him to report back tomorrow with further test results. Lucy asks X if he's seen his brother, and he says he hasn't since the race that afternoon, and she thinks he's just running late as usual. They see Annalise show up with Alpha. She reminds X that he told her to be with Alpha, but he says he didn't mean it like that, and decides that if she wants to play games, he can too. He asks Lucy to dance with him. She points out that she's waiting for Speed, but says she might dance with him later. He says he doesn't need any of them. He and Annalise bump into each other later that night near the restrooms. He apologizes, and she tells him he needs to control his temper, because it makes him act like a jerk sometimes. I mean, if anyone would know anything about that, it'd be a former antagonist. They actually make out. Whoa. I was not expecting something that "sexy" to be shown on a children's cartoon. While they're doing that, Alpha meets Lucy at the refreshments table. She doesn't know where Annalise is, and vents about how her date ditched her too. They dance with each other. The next day, X asks Speed where he was and tells him that he missed the dance. He thinks Lucy is pissed at him, and sees her at the track with Alpha. He tries to apologize to her, but she says there's nothing more to discuss, and they should get ready for the next race. Conor still hasn't found anything wrong with the Mach 6, and tells Chim-Chim to sneak into Alpha Academy's garage and look for clues about what's really going on. The next race starts, and now X and Annalise are back to working together in perfect sync. Mustache tells Alpha to use the device again, but this time he flat out refuses, so the headmaster does it himself, and Lucy catches it on camera. This time it causes Speed *and* Alpha to spin out and crash. X and Annalise tie for first place. Conor tells Speed that just before he jumped again, he saw some strange energy readings, but they were from outside the Mach 6. Chim-Chim overhears Alpha and Mustache talking about how they cheated. He sees Alpha hold up a piece shaped like an hourglass.