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Recap / Big Hero 6 The Series S 2 E 17 Hardlight

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Now fugitives, Big Hero 6 lies low as the SFPD searches for them. However, new villain Hardlight shows up hoping to challenge Big Hero 6 to a real-life video game duel.


Tropes in this episode:

  • Accidental Misnaming: Krei keeps calling Ian "Ethan", even as Ian keeps correcting him.
  • Actually Pretty Funny: Wasabi struggles to contain his giggles when Baymax explains how Hardlight creamed Hiro in their video game duel.
  • Antagonist Title: "Hardlight" is the name of the Villain of the Week.
  • Apologetic Attacker: Honey freezes the cops so the heroes could escape and, being herself, apologizes for it.
  • Badass Bystander: During Hardlight's first attack, the old lady is seen beating one of his holograms with her stick. They seem to be in a standoff.
  • Beat Them at Their Own Game: Defied. Hiro tries to do this, only for Roddy to matter-of-factly tell him that Hardlight is simply better at the game, and thus Hiro should instead stick to his own strengths and not play by Hardlight's rules.
  • Busman's Vocabulary: Hardlight uses gaming terminology, to Cruz's confusion. Hiro, being a gamer himself, is able to understand him.
    GoGo: What language is he speaking?
  • Call-Back: Krei not remembering his employees' names. He incorrectly refers to Ian as Ethan, much like how he referred to Judi as Jody in "Muri-Horror".
  • Distressed Dude: Hardlight puts Cruz in a cage, forcing Big Hero 6 to try and save him. Hardlight even refers to him as a "princess in distress".
  • Dramatic Irony: Hardlight's identity is shown to the audience at the end. It's Ian, one of Krei's beleaguered employees.
  • Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Noticeably Honey Lemon gives Wasabi this look after he confirms Hardlight is not a street magician.
  • Fish out of Water: Like with the "chicken fingers" from "Aunt Cass Goes Out", Krei thinks "crackers shaped like animals" are amazing.
  • Foreshadowing: Hiro mentions that Krei Tech is working on forcefield technology similar to Hardlight's own, but hasn't made a breakthrough. It turns out they're one and the same.
  • Hard Light: If the villain's name didn't give it away, Hardlight's technology allows him to create solid holograms.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: As a result of the events in the previous episode, Big Hero 6 have now become San Fransokyo's most wanted.
  • Hope Spot: For a moment, it looks like Chief Cruz is going to change his mind on Big Hero 6 after they save his life. But after Big Hero 6 flies off, he says that it changes nothing.
  • Mathematician's Answer: Roddy does this in a conversation with Fred:
    Fred: So, are you just like, super pro-gravity or just anti-my idea?
    Roddy: Yes. (leaves)
    Fred: Wait - yes to what?
  • Mythology Gag: Roddy Blair suggests Fred and Wasabi should leave the team. They are the ones who weren't part of the team in their debut miniseries Sunfire and Big Hero 6.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: During the events of the episode, Roddy built a state of the art conference room for Big Hero 6.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Detective Kato lets the heroes into Hardlight's tower in spite of Chief Cruz's order and later points out to him that Big Hero 6 just saved him. Too bad Chief Cruz doesn't listen.
  • The Reveal: While none of the characters know this yet, Hardlight's identity is shown to the audience at the end. It's Ian, one of Krei's beleaguered employees.
  • Sudden Video-Game Moment: As Big Hero 6 get set to confront Hardlight, a Mirrored Confrontation Shot graphic in the style of Mortal Kombat appears.
  • Superhero Paradox: Cruz uses this as his reasoning for wanting to apprehend Big Hero 6, that heroes attract villains and removing heroes from the equation will solve everything.
    • Chief Cruz hasn't been paying very good attention, as most of the villains Big Hero 6 has fought to this point are either legacy villains of Boss Awesome or people who became criminals (or those criminals' creations) and committed crimes in San Fransokyo regardless of Big Hero 6's existence, while one of the rare exceptions (Globby) has reformed.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Despite getting rescued by Big Hero 6, Chief Cruz still treats them as fugitives and tries to arrest them.
  • Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Hardlight is defeated, but uses a beam of light to conceal his escape.
  • Wham Shot: The final shot is of Ian putting away his thumb drive in a file cabinet. Inside that cabinet, Hardlight's mask.

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