As much as I love Rimba Racer, I have been unhappy with how they handled Meika’s storyline in recent episodes. Her betrayal at the end of season one was huge, and during the gap between seasons, my expectations grew and I looked forward to seeing where it went. Unfortunately, a payoff never happened and after this episode I’m convinced that it never will. I was bothered by how quickly Sonny forgave her in the previous episode, but it was at least somewhat understandable because they were always very close. Yet this episode not only skipped over Meika’s reacclimation with the rest of the team but it opened with a joke that further diminished the dramatic tension that it should have provided. Meika was never asked the pertinent questions: what does she know about the Ringmasters and why she is working for them – and both Meelo and Tamira, the two characters who have the most reason to distrust her, just seemed to welcome her back to the team without raising a single concern.
Yes, the episode ended with both of them blaming her for everything going wrong, but it was really kind of late for that. Besides, the other characters quickly defended her so it didn’t really mean anything anyway.
The episode still ended dramatically, with Tag and his friends losing everything and being both defenseless and weaponless against Pike, but it was an entirely self-inflicted wound and I still can’t take Pike seriously as a villain. Meelo, the most paranoid character in the show who always assumed the worst, let his guard down for no reason by assuming that the device Meika planted on his computer was inconsequential. And because they rushed through Meika’s storyline, they never even bothered to ask her what she knew about it. I know she wouldn’t have been much help, since she wasn’t told what it did, but considering how adamant Pike was about getting it placed, she should have been able to convey that it had to be something bigger than Meelo thought it was.
I’m still very fond of this show. It’s a great show with a far more ambitious story than most other shows in recent memory. But just because I enjoy it doesn’t mean I can’t criticize it. These words aren’t born of malice, but of love. I remain optimistic that they can right the ship and still have a fantastic end to the season, but the show would do well to make sure that if it builds up a story like that in the future, it needs to be given the attention that it deserves. And they really need to make the villains earn their victories if we’re supposed to be impressed by them.
Glue Studios is continuing to work on the remaining five episodes of the season, and while I’m uncertain when it will actually happen, if it even happens at all, an indiegogo campaign is still planned to help finance the post-production work that is still needed. I intend to back the campaign and I’d encourage other fans of the show to as well, but the constant delays don’t exactly feel me with optimism. As always, this episode can be watched on the official Rimba Racer YouTube channel.
