Oh goodness me, things have come to the Digimon equivalent of a clip show, kind of like "Now Apocalymon" from the first season, but with the added defect of a general feeling of inconsequence. The premise actually makes a fair amount of sense, since Kurata does have bureaucratic leverage over these kids, but that doesn't make it any less boring.
The whole story, in a nutshell, is told on autopilot. It's supposed to feel like a dire situation, with the Data Squad rendered helpless without their memories, but never is that impression given; this is one of the episodes with the least feeling of urgency the series has churned out so far. Contributing to that in part is the unnecessary flashbacks of the partner digimon, which fail to tell us anything new or insightful. Furthermore, Kudamon's explanation on the history between Earth and the Digital World is totally redundant.
The second half is largely devoted to the recovery of the central trio's memories, but that very objective is in and of itself a problem. Amnesia subplots serve action series best when creating a new threat for the heroes, such as Tommy being turned on his teammates in "Power Rangers Zeo". They work even better in comedy and drama series, which devote the majority of their time to establishing characters and their relationships. Notable examples of these include "Fugue and Riffs" from "Archer" and "Deja Who?" from "As Told By Ginger". "Data Squad", however, doesn't really allow for any of that. No new threat truly arises from this, and the relationships with the digimon partners are too shallow to derive much heartfelt material from.
After dealing with predictable residual memories, everything is resolved with some mawkish meetings, sad reminders that Marcus is clearly the dominant one in the group, since his memory recovery is the only one to receive any degree of detail or depth. To add insult to injury, Lalamon tries to restore Yoshi's memories by mentioning their time as roommates; why can't we learn more about that? Furthermore, cramming this entire challenge into one episode exacerbates the feeling of insignificance. No matter how thrilled the digimon were to see their partners again, their devotion to their Data Squad counterparts is poorly conveyed by the minimal effort it took to reconnect with them, and this failure to enhance the bond between the two groups is this episode's greatest failing.
Only two things stand out in a positive way. We get our first glimpse at the next threat that Kurata has up his sleeve, and the 3 ultimate digimon get a moment of dignity when they beat on a Gizumon at the end. Other than that, this one is a painfully transparent attempt to fill time.
The whole story, in a nutshell, is told on autopilot. It's supposed to feel like a dire situation, with the Data Squad rendered helpless without their memories, but never is that impression given; this is one of the episodes with the least feeling of urgency the series has churned out so far. Contributing to that in part is the unnecessary flashbacks of the partner digimon, which fail to tell us anything new or insightful. Furthermore, Kudamon's explanation on the history between Earth and the Digital World is totally redundant.
The second half is largely devoted to the recovery of the central trio's memories, but that very objective is in and of itself a problem. Amnesia subplots serve action series best when creating a new threat for the heroes, such as Tommy being turned on his teammates in "Power Rangers Zeo". They work even better in comedy and drama series, which devote the majority of their time to establishing characters and their relationships. Notable examples of these include "Fugue and Riffs" from "Archer" and "Deja Who?" from "As Told By Ginger". "Data Squad", however, doesn't really allow for any of that. No new threat truly arises from this, and the relationships with the digimon partners are too shallow to derive much heartfelt material from.
After dealing with predictable residual memories, everything is resolved with some mawkish meetings, sad reminders that Marcus is clearly the dominant one in the group, since his memory recovery is the only one to receive any degree of detail or depth. To add insult to injury, Lalamon tries to restore Yoshi's memories by mentioning their time as roommates; why can't we learn more about that? Furthermore, cramming this entire challenge into one episode exacerbates the feeling of insignificance. No matter how thrilled the digimon were to see their partners again, their devotion to their Data Squad counterparts is poorly conveyed by the minimal effort it took to reconnect with them, and this failure to enhance the bond between the two groups is this episode's greatest failing.
Only two things stand out in a positive way. We get our first glimpse at the next threat that Kurata has up his sleeve, and the 3 ultimate digimon get a moment of dignity when they beat on a Gizumon at the end. Other than that, this one is a painfully transparent attempt to fill time.
