Episode discussion, anybody? :P

I actually liked this episode. It was good. Redeemable, if you will. Why, you ask? Simple. Put aside the rest of the things like plot and characters and I'll tell you the reason for this episode being okay.

Alright, two words: action overload. Really made the episode worth watching. :)

AGHHH!!!!

I want watching it!!!!!

It's quite good, actually. I want to see the two episodes I missed. Let's see...I already swore, and headdesked, so what's left? Right. *takes a shovel and knocks myself out*

I'll be seeing you all on Monday, hopefully that date rerunning those two new episodes that I actually missed. *faints*

DUDES AND DUDETTES OF THE U.S.! Leap of Lorius is on right now!
Even though we all know hero-boy's gonna win, I would have liked to see some human wraith gear! That'd be so cool!

No doubt about it. I'd like to point out a lot of new stuff as well.

- Cain gets the spotlight, instead of Moordryd. And Moordryd somehow takes the place of his father in this episode. I like how they expanded on Cain's whiny-ness and his ability to scream Moordryd's name really loud. :D

- Kitt makes some sense for once, but quickly gets somewhat cheesy after doing so.

- Mortis is uncertain for once! Quoting dialogue:

I'm surprised we never got to see this 'safety net'.

- We get what drakkals look like - they're light brown bills of paper. :) I'm surprised Lance got that much candy from one bill. O_o And I'm guessing The Furox would say about the rock (which never appeared in previous episodes, just in the middle of nowhere, so conveniently placed to make Lance trip and lose his candy bars, not to mention the frictionless ground that enabled one candy bar to slide under Moordryd's tent and not the other candy bars and not Lance who could have just slipped on the ground without the help of a random rock...okay, I'll stop rambling now).

- More evidence of Parm/Lance friendship. I guess Artha's not the only male to hug a ten-year-old. :) Now only if we saw more scenes with Kitt and Lance, that'd be interesting. It's not surprising for Parm and Lance, seeing as how they stuck together to help Artha in racing and other things since episode 2.

- Wulph appears! And also Khatah's pink-haired second-in-command! And that green-haired rider who first crashed in "The Choosing - Part 2"! And a Dragon Flares rider whom Cain just wiped out so early (Pyrrah?)!

- Artha actually learns something from his past weekly episodes! Not sure if it makes him any less Sue-ish. And for the second episode in the whole series so far he doesn't transform into DB! *throws confetti*

- The red booster gears can actually fly off! (Poor Cain learned it the hard way...)

- How the heck did Artha's saddle move sideways without moving Beau's head? :huh:

- Mortis makes his first appearance outside the Dragon Temple! *throws more confetti*

- Question: Are those stars going to stay for the rest of the later episodes now?

That's all the new stuff I can think of. ^_^ Hopefully Furox will provide ones I may have missed or forgotten to mention.

I really thought that using Cain wasn't so necessary, but it was very interesting.

Yeah, Kitt got a bit cheesy, but I loooved the A/K-ness. There was actually tension. Lyk wow. :P

Yep, we saw the bill form of drakkals. There's also a coin form of drakkals, if you remember "The Chromatic Dragon". Lance was flipping a drakkal.

The name of the pink-haired dude is Sarjo, and the rider is Dorsal. (I'm impressed! They brought back the guy from "The Chromatic Dragon"!)

The stars stay. Oh yes, Mortis makes an appearance outside the temple in "The Rules of Power" as well. :)

ARGH! I MISSED THE LAST TEN MIUTES! I GOTTA WAIT TIL MONDAY NIGHT!
(goes and cries in a corner)

*pats back sympathetically* There, there, it's alright. At least you're not like me, headdesking all the time, oh, which reminds me...*gets back to headdesking* *is hopeless and pathetic and realizes that* :P

Yeah, the race sequence kept the momentum going pretty well. I believe this is the longest continuous race sequence in any episode so far. I think it was easily 2/3's the whole episode and maybe even close to 3/4's.

Though the Leap itself is a bit bizarre. Talk about suicidal! And they're not sure if there's a net or not? :) Who (besides a video game designer) would think up such a jump? :D

That was a bit funny. He's supposed to know everything after all.

It must have been a large bill. Parm did tell Lance he wanted the change (which Lance, of course, ignored).

I think you pretty much covered it. :) Yeah, it was rather contrived. Would have made more sense if it was a pile of gear or something that belonged around there.

I'm not sure who it was, but it wasn't Pyrrah or Phorrj. (At least, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. I'll check when I watch it again tomorrow.)

Yeah, that was different. I think it's there to fit what Mortis said about Artha having to show other riders how to release the dragon, plus I think it's also supposed to show Artha expanding his leadership skills which they also talked about. He has to get the other riders to follow him even when he's just ordinary Artha Penn and not the Dragon Booster.

That was comic and it was kind of funny watching it zip around in the air by itself, but it seems inconsistent. We know the gear falls off if the dragon's energy gets too low and they can't maintain the mag-lock, but there wasn't any sign Coershun was suddenly running out of energy.

That one I'll buy. Beau or Artha simply shifted the location of the mag-lock for the saddle. I think Kitt did this as well in "Fanning the Flames." Once we buy into the dragon's ability to generate a mag-lock by will alone, it seems reasonable that they could also move the location of the field around.

Or rather second appearance as Skylii said. Now that we know that Word knows of Mortis, then Mortis must have been coming out from time to time otherwise how could Word know him as an "old friend?" We also saw Mortis on the com-link with Artha in the last episode, which I think was the first time.


There's one main thing I didn't get: why did Word need to set the trap for the riders on the track? Isn't that a little public? Why didn't he just arrange to kidnap the riders he wanted off the street when no one's looking (like he did with Khatah in "Rules of Power")? Does anyone get this?

That "newsreel" footage at the beginning of the episode was kind of a cute idea to let the audience know we were watching a replay of an old race, but it's a bit silly when you think about it. The image was yellowed and the sound was hollow, but it should've been that way. The footage was only 15 years old and their technology is clearly advanced enough that they've probably been in the digital age for at least a century or two by now. With digital recordings, images and sound don't fade over time. (Hard to believe I can worry about this when I can buy into the mag-lock on the saddle shifting around, isn't it? :) It all comes down to logical consistency. :P )

I liked the fact that Artha appears to have mastered his ability to add to Beau's energy by concentrating. He did that almost by accident in episode 2 and we haven't seen him do it on screen since. I just found that to be a nice little bit of continuity showing that Artha's skills are improving.

Did anyone else noticed all the recycled footage from other episodes in this one? And they re-ran the footage of the wraith dragons and mines under the track like 4 times throughout the episode. I guess it was time to conserve the budget. :)

Not a bad episode, but not a great one for me. The long race sequence was fun to watch but I didn't get why Word had to catch the riders during the race. If there was a reason for that, I'd probably feel better about it.

Yeah, it does seem rather odd...maybe it was the gear itself that was faulty, like Parm's homemade gear in "If It Ain't Broke". And speaking of which, apparently dragons can mag their riders back from far distances - but I guess it's because Cain was still supposed to be in the race and not hitting conccrete at less than 200 mph. <_<

Perhaps he was impatient? I wouldn't be surprised, considering how many times he's been thwarted by the Dragon Booster and probably he wanted to test human wraith gears on a number of riders to evaluate the differences in overall performance of each gear before trying out the big one on DB himself.

Maybe they should make it 50 years ago instead of 15? That could be more logical. Or Mortis has a weird video/audio filter that was the fad 15 years ago. I wonder if we'll ever see Lorius in person. B)

It could have been Lorius. Why else was he the only one who made the leap on the day and knew about the mist-shrouded platform and where the freefalling tube led to? If that was the case, he must've been really desperate for attention.

Thanks Skylii! :)

I'm guessing that Mortis's presence was so important to the series that the writers have to force him to use a com-link. :D

I thought they were taking different angles of that trap. :blink:

I like this episode slightly bit more since it gives minor characters a chance to talk some more. :D

He looked to be a teenager when he made the jump, so that would make him about 30 now. So he should be around somewhere. It might be interesting if he shows up in a story, offering sage words of advice or whatever.

I got the impression that the route for the leap was known and was built into the track on purpose. It offers a short-cut to the finish line for those skilled enough to take it, and Lorius was the last person to crank up their courage far enough. So I think whoever designed the track planned it to require the riders to use that particular gear combination, and that's how Mortis knew what to tell Artha at the top of the show.

And speaking of that mist-shrouded platform, did you see the impact Beau had to absorb on landing and how he skidded across it? Ouch! The skin on the bottom of his feet must be nearly indestructible. :D

True. Cain got quite a bit of dialogue and screen time in this one.

From what I've heard, the design for the Loriuos character was the result of a contest the CBC ran. If you won, your likeness would be modelled on a character and be featured in an episode. I'm sorry I don't have the details of the contest...maybe Skylii can fill in the gaps.

WOW

I wonder if existed a contest like that for dragons :D

Got nothing, wait...when I was offline and on the main DB webbie, I saw a thing in the bottom right hand corner called "Enter the Contest!", so I got myself online and pressed it, and found a contest entry form. Strange, though, it said it was for U.S citizens.

You know, if you search one of the older threads I started up (think it was "Original Plot and Artha Design"), there was this webbie having a contest to draw your own dragon, but I doubt they'd show the winning entry in the real show.

Hey, while we're on minor characters, I noticed something about Dorsal. It seems as though his hair is covering his eyes. I've only seen a few cartoon characters with their eyes covered by their hair. Man, it must be hard for that Dragon Fish to race. :P

Oh, yeah. I heard about that contest. I was kind of wondering what the result was. So it ended being Lorius. Interesting. Thanks for filling in that piece of trivia.

Maybe there isn't one. :) Mortis didn't seem to be too sure.

I checked it and it's definitely not Pyrrah or Phorrj. The rider looks like a woman but the helmet prevents you from getting a good look at her face.

I don't know. If that's the case, it doesn't come across in the story. I watched again tonight and I couldn't see any reason why Word had to ambush the riders on the track.

One funny little thing I noticed: in the Dragon Eyes tent where Moordryd was hanging out all episode, there's a poster on the wall that has a picture of a paintbrush on it and the word "PAINT" above it. What an odd sense of style Moordryd has. :D

I find that reason believable. :P Has anybody besides me noticed that Moordryd has a habit to check his nails? ("Opposing Force", "The Stand", "Faster Than Fear", etc, etc...)

Yes, I did notice that, though it was mostly in the back of my mind. Maybe some of his feminine-like features (corsette, long hair, checking nails) is for making up the unbalanced ratio of genders in the main cast. :lol:

Thanks Furox, and now I can't help wondering if it's the same rider that Moordryd took down in the gauntlet in "If It Ain't Broke". Also, why does Artha say that he was in last place when the female rider was taken down far too early in the race (unless there's a way to be officially out of the race)?

Well, maybe he relies on the sense of smell, since fishes are good at. Also, there was a racer in the first episode who also had long green hair covering his eyes, but he was wearing purple uniform, as though he were of the Army of the Dragon. Could Dorsal be a spy? :ph43r:

Gaaah, you're right, Moordryd is waaay too feminine-like. :lol:

It probably is.

I blame re-used character models. :P

Something I forgot to mention was the little gag when Moordryd stepped on Lance's foot. Did anybody hear that elephant trumpet effect when Lance prolonged Moordryd's last name? :D Man, some of the sound effects are a bit wacky, but hey, you gotta admit, they're funny!

Looks like they forgot about her. :) Either that, or she gave up after wiping out like that. Realistically, it could have been an injury that caused her to drop out, but no one ever gets that seriously hurt in a cartoon.

In any event, the overall count is right: there are 6 racers at the starting gate, 1 wipes out, 4 cross the finish line and Cain gets caught in the trap.

One other minor detail that doesn't quite fit: at the beginning they say how sledding gear is uncontrollable and has no brakes, yet at the finish line all four dragons appear to be in complete control and are able to stop on a dime right after crossing the line. Oops.

Still, dragons on skis is quite an amusing sight. That was rather fun to watch. :D

Well, the were in a tabe wth the sledding gear, so really there was nowhere else to steer to. The fate of the female racer made me wonder, so I wrote her a limrick!

Got wiped out at the start of the race,
Then quit to save face.
Don't know who she is,
Or what is her biz,
'Cause she vanished without a trace!

Sledding gear is awesome. :D

From the impression I got, sledding gear is required for slanted ground and not that much friction. So on a common straight track, it would simply slow down a bit. But yes, it is interesting, and now that we've observed several bits of white gear, I wonder how Chute and her White Draconium Dragon Winds act when it comes to racing. I once had this scenario of one of the Winds using sledding gear, then deciding to activate some red thrusting gear to speed up. Boy, is that gonna hurt!

We need a DB poetry section up. Maybe fanart/fanfiction can contain poems too?

I think it said on the official site that Chute's group was unpredicatable. also, the White Draconium Empire was known to change sides during the Dragon-Human war.

A comment based on Parmon in this episode:

Has anyone noticed how expressive Parmon has become as the show progresses? His paradoxical attitude goes from one extreme to the other in this episode, from the one where he literally screams to Artha, saying something like "Artha, keep your eyes on me and don't lose your calm!" (not verbatim, though I think that was Parm's best line in the episode :) ) to the one where Artha decides to make the Leap of Lorius and Parmon, though in the background, stands out in his "Hooray!" stance and does a whirly gig when Artha passes through the finish line. :lol: Either he's becoming more extroverted or he's unconsciously taking on the miscellaneous role of a cheerleader. :huh:

On a sidenote, in addition to Artha and Beau, Parmon gets a close head shot during the intense sequence before the Leap of Lorius. Perhaps this part was unconsciously catering to Parmon fans? ;)

Funny, I thought that was the Light Blue Draconium Empire. I also mistook that, but then "mercenary" shows up, so that means whoever gives more gets them on their side.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. Parmon seems to be very expressive, and I like that. He is most of the humor, after all...

Who knows? Still leads to this question: does the DB staff stalk our boards? *shifty eyes* :P

Yeah, I may ahve messed up on that one about Chute's crew.

I still predict what the characters are going to be like. Vociferous didn't meet my character design prediction, but he did meet a few of my expectations on what he's like. Same with Chute; I didn't see her yet, but I'm still predicting what she's like. Oh yes, and Marianis and Machina, which Marianis showed in "Still Water Freezes" (which, of course, I haven't seen yet) and Machina who will show "The Mechanist". Marianis will probably be the laid-back type leader, and Machina the mysterious, unpredictable one. Then again, I can always be proved wrong, since these are just predictions. :)

Yes! That was a great line! I think it went like this: Parmon was speaking hysterically and saying "Artha, listen to the sound of my voice and STAY CALM!!!!" Cracked me up! :lol:

Ooo, now there's a concept: thruster gear and sledding gear together! A tad uncontrollable I would imagine, yet fun. :D

There was this tiny error at that part where Parm went nuts on comm-screen, and that's when Lance's eyes became freakishly blank and empty. :blink:

I liked it on the com when Lance yells, "Parm did it!"
:D LOL :D

Whee! *has just watched* Nice and face paced, I found that ep rather enjoyable. :) And yay for Artha not becoming Dragon Booster (Damn, I am becoming impressed with the sue... *headdesk*). And I liked that fact that he had to lead through example.

Yay, for Parm, he gets expressive! :D Yup, liked all his little expressions and that 'listen to my voice' line. Also noticed when Artha went over the jump he gets this very shocked look on his face. Looks like he's kindof worried about Artha. :P

Funniest part would have to be Cain getting caught on Artha's... whatchama callit white gear... the one that looks like aeroplane wings (and did the whole angle-down thing to turn and bank and stuff :D ). He looked really freaked out. Poor Cain, he really didn't have a good day. :lol:

"Funniest part would have to be Cain getting caught on Artha's... whatchama callit white gear... the one that looks like aeroplane wings (and did the whole angle-down thing to turn and bank and stuff ). He looked really freaked out. Poor Cain, he really didn't have a good day."

Cain: AHHHHHH!!!!!!


LOL!! I agree.


I wonder what happened to him at the end, I know that he got caught in the trap, but..... after that... :huh: because the trap was meant to turn people/dragons into Wraiths, then Cain falls in it...... Then what? :blink:


"Artha's... whatchama callit white gear..." And that would be called White Aero Gear.

I think (and my friend) have narrowed it down to Hazzard, Embyr or Blaze... I love the part at the begining when Cain says Arthas going to attempt the jump and Wulph sticks out his head then you see Dorsull stick out his and do the traditional sneaky grin and hand rub! :ph43r: :P

Yeah thats a funny part, then Artha starts yelling at Parm then Parm says that lance did it. XD It's a classic.

So? This is probably because Artha acts rather responsibly in this than so far any other episode. If you're starting to be impressed with the Sue, I don't blame you. Besides, sometimes it's fun to just take off the critical eye for a while and watch...;)

True. :P It's probably because he didn't become Dragon Booster the whole ep, yet still managed to be responsible, and such (even more so than when he's been Dragon Booster perhaps). Not to mention he got people to follow him OFF A CLIFF. You gotta give him some points for that. :D

I thought that was just supposed to capture them, and then the (very many :blink: ) Wraith Dragons would have somehow got them, or assisted in getting them back to Word, where he then would have implemented his evil plan *insert evil laugh here*. So, I guess they just let him go. :)

And thanks. :D

If anyone is interested I have taken screen shots of this episode. You can find them HERE
Enjoy! :D

Oooh, nice. Thanks! :)

Artha, responsible. Other than being responsible for something bad, I don't thinkI've ever seen those two words in the same sentance before. Feels wrong somehow.