[2-23] “Franz Hopper” is quite an interesting episode, in my opinion. It’s one of two canonical episodes that shows one of the Warriors celebrating a birthday (the other is [4-13] “Lab Rat”), but it also shows that, no matter what X.A.N.A. can sometimes do within the group, they can come back together, with an even stronger friendship than before, and be forgiving of each other, even if they don’t say “I’m sorry” on screen.
Imagine getting a call from Jeremie, at 3 in the morning. He tells you that you need to get dressed, and get to the factory as fast as you can. Why? “Because, believe it or not, there are FIVE activated towers!”
Then imagine getting another surprise, when you and the others reach the laboratory floor, only to find the chair Jeremie usually sits in already occupied. The occupant? A strange, gray-haired man with thick, round glasses, a white lab coat over an orange turtleneck sweater, and blue jean pants. It’s none other than the mysterious man Jeremie has been slightly obsessed with, throughout most of the second season: Franz Hopper. After a brief set of pleasantries, he pledges to help them find Aelita’s anti-virus, so they can destroy X.A.N.A. once and for all.
The next morning brings the fun little birthday celebration sequence that I’m really fond of; it starts with a call from his father, Michael (he’s called “Michel” on the French version), and ends with a wonderful present drawn by Odd, regardless of how long it took him to draw it.
It’s also amazing how sour everything turns, once X.A.N.A.-Franz fools the others into thinking that the cells in Yumi’s brain are degenerating. I can understand Ulrich getting angry, but I wonder if maybe he was confused, and assumed that Jeremie somehow had to have something to do with it, since he’s the only one who’s ever virtualized them (except for one occasion, [1-11] “Plagued”, where Yumi did it nearly perfectly, with Jeremie’s help over the phone)
One thing I realize I can’t leave out is the suppertime scene, when Ulrich and Odd are still stinging from Yumi’s diagnosis. When Ulrich goes to blame Jeremie for Yumi’s troubles, Aelita gives him a powerful, verbal slap to the face: “You know, Ulrich, if it weren’t for the scanners, I wouldn’t be here!”
The next day, X.A.N.A.-Franz reveals he somehow “found the antivirus to free Aelita from X.A.N.A.”, but needs data from Sector 5. It’s at this point that he somehow manages to completely cut Jeremie out of the picture, with only Aelita coming to his aid. It kinda surprises me to think of the others’ motives, and how not even Yumi says anything to stop Jeremie. I almost wonder what they would have planned to do afterward, had X.A.N.A.-Franz not tried to trap them in Sector 5.
With the mission in full-swing, and something that I think would’ve been cool to explore in fanfiction (X.A.N.A.-Franz’s “outdated” direct transporter to Sector 5’s Arena), Jeremie’s allowed some time to himself to think, after deciding he wants out of Kadic. But there was one thing in particular that X.A.N.A.-Franz said, that gives Jeremie a bit of a clue to the impostor: “…and you’re the one who let X.A.N.A. destroy my diary!” It’s this bit of advice that, after a little memory searching, reveals to him that Franz isn’t exactly who he says he is. It also proves that Jeremie still does care about his friends, even if they treat him like dirt (only for this episode, thankfully).
Another thing I thought would’ve been cool to explore in fanfiction, is the weapon upgrades X.A.N.A.-Franz gave them, to help with the multitude of creepers in the Core Zone, waiting for them. Odd’s Laser Arrows were given a homing ability, and one Arrow could destroy multiple enemies. Ulrich’s katana could generate a sword beam, which could also destroy multiple enemies, and Yumi’s tessen fans gained the ability to destroy multiple enemies in one throw, slicing through each enemy like Odd’s Laser Arrows, rather than losing their power after striking a single monster (even though, on occasion, her fans have sliced through two monsters in a single throw).
If you haven’t seen this episode, yet (and I’m sorry if I’m giving you massive spoilers, in that case), you’re probably wondering why Aelita wasn’t sent to Sector 5 with the others; X.A.N.A.-Franz had other plans for her. It’s at this time that he’s ready to send her in, but he wasn’t counting on Jeremie suddenly becoming wise to his plans, and setting up an incredibly creative trick that I would’ve loved to have seen used in more than just one episode. I think the idea of directly manipulating the data sent from the scanners to the supercomputer, by way of a laptop such as Jeremie’s, is absolutely epic, and I almost wonder if that could’ve been the answer to the burning question a lot of other fans have: “Why doesn’t Jeremie go to Lyoko?” (if the ending to [2-5] “Mister Pück” doesn’t answer this). It’s another fun thing to explore in fanfiction, and if you haven’t already gotten the idea yourself, I’d love to see what you can come up with, if this inspires you.
So, X.A.N.A.-Franz virtualizes what he thinks is Aelita to a remote section of the Desert Sector, where the Scyphozoa is waiting. He also gets an unwelcome surprise from Jeremie, who correctly identifies him as the impostor he is. I love his line, here: “I just came to see how you were managing… X.A.N.A.!!”
Of course, this is also when X.A.N.A.-Franz sets another plan into motion: as soon as he’s able to lull Yumi, Odd and Ulrich into a false sense of security, he decides to take their weapons away, and make each hit from an enemy deal real damage, rather than only taking away life points. It’s also the first of possibly two times that the exit from the Core Zone (the one that opens when the Key is triggered) doesn’t lead straight out to the elevator that leads to the Celestial Dome (the other being [2-26] “The Key”, when the Key opens a downward-facing spiral staircase into a room you never see again); instead, they end up in an interim room, and after trying to escape the Creepers that give chase after they lose their weapons, they find the only tower in Sector 5 (even though I’ve heard different stories, ones that say there are actually two towers in Sector 5, while others say there are three; not sure which is actually right, though), and that it’s activated, immediately cluing Yumi in to the truth about X.A.N.A.-Franz.
A lot of people probably remember the sequence after this one, because of Odd’s little “boxing match” with one of the Creepers. He lays into it, punching it numerous times in different places, and the most it does is roar in pain. He even taunts it, imitating its different stances and movements, before it shoots back. Of course, Ulrich then jumps in, and throws it off the platform, which works to redeem him from the second Creeper shot he takes, while Yumi uses her acrobatic skill to kick the crap out of another Creeper.
Meanwhile, as in many season two episodes before this one, the Scyphozoa gives Aelita a very tight hug, only this time it completely drains her memory. But we wonder why Jeremie doesn’t seem too concerned… Well, the Scyphozoa sure found out something went horribly wrong, as it dances around in horror, its brain pulsating with electricity. This immediately alerts X.A.N.A.-Franz to the problem, which Jeremie explains with two simple words: “A decoy!”
This launches into a silly back-and-forth “evil losing scream” from X.A.N.A.-Franz, and equally goofy laugh from Jeremie, from two different camera angles. I always like to say that Jeremie was thinking at that moment, “CHECKMATE!”
So X.A.N.A.-Franz, in complete shock, dissolves into a ghost, which seeps up into the wiring on the laboratory ceiling, while Jeremie quickly leaps into the chair, reprogramming in life point counts and weapons as fast as his fingers can press the keys. And it’s a good thing, too: Odd, Ulrich and Yumi are painted into a corner, and each time they manage to dispatch a Creeper, another one takes its place.
“I often wondered how this would all end,” Yumi laments, as the three are backed up to the edge of a platform which overlooks the bottom of the Celestial Dome. “Now I know; this is it.”
What further compounds this is their attempts to dodge more Creeper fire, until Ulrich finds out he isn’t so lucky, and is knocked off the platform; however, he gets devirtualized as he falls, leading Odd and Yumi to freak out, fearing their best friend is gone, forever.
I love this part.
“C'mon! Don’t be so pessimistic, Odd!”
“Jeremie?!” (I love how Yumi sounds, when she says this)
“Yes! I’m back! C'mon, let’s start over!”
And with the press of several keys, Yumi’s fans, and Odd’s Laser Arrows return, and just in time: those Creepers are getting crazy!
“Nothing like my trusty old gear!” You said it, Odd.
“But what about Ulrich?” Yumi asks next, concern filling her voice. Thankfully, he’s okay; Jeremie’s quick keypresses turned life points back on at just the right moment, sending him back to the scanner room, albeit exhausted. “He’s home!” as Jeremie says. And with Ulrich safely back on Earth, it’s now Aelita’s turn to actually go to Sector 5, albeit through the old, tried-and-true “get to the edge of the sector, and I’ll enter the password” tactic that they’ve used many times, and know how reliable it is.
Of course, X.A.N.A.’s not finished; just as soon as the blond genius sends Aelita to Lyoko, he decides on a brash tactic: the ghost that was once “that false Franz Hopper” descends from the laboratory ceiling, seeps into Jeremie’s ears, and concentrates on his throat, constricting his windpipe and flinging him out of the chair. The headset gets flung back into the chair, just as Ulrich finally makes it up to the laboratory, to find the choking Einstein, who’s trying frantically to unblock his windpipe, but having no success. All Ulrich can do is watch in horror, as Jeremie continues to choke, X.A.N.A. heck-bent on killing the genius via asphyxiation.
Another good thing, however, is how quickly Aelita finds the tower in Sector 5 (but she probably already knew where it was, or could easily follow the path the others took), just as Odd and Yumi finish off another Creeper, each. This is where another fun thing happens: a lone manta occupies the air around the tower, but happens to “swim” around near the front of the tower, as Aelita tries to figure out how she’s going to cross the gap. (While I was making extra screenshots for this post, I noticed something I hadn’t, before; Aelita gets a bit of a grin on her face, as she realizes the manta will help her close the gap) Once the manta “swims” into position, the elf gets a running start, leaps out, bounces off from it, and swan-dives into the tower.
With the tower deactivated, the last remnants of the ghost relinquish their hold on Jeremie’s windpipe, allowing the blond genius to take one, long, deep breath, as the ghost returns to the laboratory ceiling.
As Ulrich says at this point, “Don’t worry, buddy. Everything’s okay, now!”
One can probably assume there’s an off-screen “can you ever forgive us?”, along with the question that Jeremie answers on-screen with an “of course I’m not angry with you!” So, even though they didn’t technically “apologize”, you can reasonably assume they all apologized off-screen. After something like this, I’m sure a lot of people would be very surprised if they just carried on, with the others “silently knowing” the others forgave them, even if it does turn out to be true. But at least Yumi knows her brain cells aren’t degenerating. “There’s no sign of alteration, whatsoever!”
And, with one of two times (that I recall) that you actually see Mr. Belpois (the other being [4-17] “Distant Memory”, unless there’s more) in-person, Jeremie politely tells him that he’s not leaving after all, because even though his friends treated him like crap, he still cares about them, and they him, even if problems such as the ones they faced in that episode leave a bad taste in their mouth, that sometimes takes a long time to get past, to uncloud their judgement. But Mr. Belpois isn’t angry; he’s glad he can see his son in-person, and hopes he calls them more often.
Yeah, friends fight; there’s quite a few examples in many episodes, probably too many to name. But in every single one of those episodes, no matter how long it takes (albeit never longer than the length of a single episode), they always make up, and become even stronger friends. And that’s one of the reasons why I adore them, because you know that they’re incredible friends; they’re not just working together because it’s convenient, or just because they have a common goal; while the “common goal” part is partly true, they’re also working together because they want to save the world, and they don’t want X.A.N.A. to do anything crazy to any of them. They’ve got each others’ backs, and they know it. If something’s wrong, one of them will want to find out, and try to help.
And that is why they’re epic friends.
When I started writing this, I intended for it to be a simple synopsis with some screenshots, inspired by something I was doing with a good friend the day before I posted this; I later decided to turn it into something similar to a full-blown essay on [2-23], and this is what it turned into. I hope this will be useful for someone/anyone, and maybe I might even make more.
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