Well then here we are at the last episode of a truly magnificent show. So now the mystery of the second Bob that appeared is history and the reason is running loose in Mainframe once again and could be disguised as just about anybody thanks to his insidious new tricks. He sows fear and discord amongst the populace while wearing the guise of Mike the increasingly annoying TV, and soon claims the PID codes of idiotic loser binomes that actually want to be his viral slaves again and he begins to rebuild his army and brings turmoil and strife to the formally peaceful system once more. It just doesn't seen fair at all that Megabyte got to come back and be in a position of power again after he bled Mainframe dry not so long ago and was justly beaten fair and square in combat by Matrix. And it's the former renegade that helps to capture the vile menace - or so they all think until they discover that what they've detained is a kind of elaborate holographic copy, and that the real virus is hidden right under their noses inside the main base of operations where he soon overpowers the defenders and infects the supercomputer at last, granting him complete control over the workings of the entire system, and as everybody is trapped within the halls of the Principal Office they can only listen and look on helplessly as the virus makes a momentous announcement over the speakers informing them that he has no grand plan in mind for them all except revenge, that he has decided to fully embrace his predatory nature as a virus and that the time has come for them to prepare themselves... What did the villain have in store for our heroes of Mainframe next? Well we don't know but whatever it was you can be sure it would've lived up to the tantalising promise of the cliffhanger and would've been darker and action-packed, it probably would have concluded with Bob going up against Megabyte again and being forced to choose between going against his pacifist nature in regard to viruses and destroying his foe and saving someone else or some similar scenario, and like "Daemon Rising" and "My Two Bobs" it would've been over in four episodes, making the episode count of the fourth season an even twelve and making it the most fantastically varied season of the show, but sadly that's just not how it all ended up. A big part of what makes for a great story is its ending, and the entire series is somewhat marred by this finale... I mean don't get me wrong, it's an amazing cliffhanger, but it's one that's so frustrating and utterly overshadowed by the sorry fact that it's a forever unconcluded one. I may sound like I'm taking this all awful seriously but if you're a big fan of this show, then it is very sad that it ended up this way, it was a fate that it never deserved at all, it was too good of a show to just let go of like that. Unfortunately like all good things it had to come to an end. But it still had so much untapped potential left, so many terrific twists and surprises left in store for its loyal audience. I guess it's just a case of being happy with what we did get, and we got a hell of a lot, this show was and still is a fun ride, and while "Crouching Binome Hidden Virus" hardly feels like an ending that celebrates the magic of Reboot like "End Prog" was, it is a strong episode that feels like a return to form after the odd lighthearted trio of episodes that lead up to it, it feels like the show is fully coming back to life just as its run draws to a close. And there are small hints of what was to come next, how Megabyte no longer seems interested in ruling Mainframe and has his wicked sights on much larger things that remain a mystery, and what exactly it is that he does to the binomes that he drains of energy but doesn't infect is interesting as well, if they're not viral then what exactly are they? Questions questions... Although Hey Arnold and Samurai Jack did recently get surprise conclusions announced after being finished for a lot of years, so you never really know what a strong ongoing fan base could generate in the future... So anyway this episode does end things on a high note that leaves you dying for more, so in that way it's quite true to the show's spirit. Cliffhanger aside, not a bad way to go out at all. The lasting life of the series has been a lot longer than its creators probably ever thought possible when they first brought it out all those years ago, and it has a real legacy as an incredibly well written saga of action, drama, awe, comedy and mostly just immense fun that's always worth watching for generations both old and new as one of the most special and uniquely realised animated shows ever made. Thanks for all that awesome fun as well as the sweet memories Reboot, it was a real blast and a pleasure.
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