In secret, some program recodes the billboards of Argon Square, causing colorful graffiti reading "TRON LIVES" to appear. The program evades some guard who mistakes him for The Renegade, to be surprised when the program shows a black visor with a toothed grin drawn on it. Several other programs masked this way appear and aid his escape. Observing from the hideout, Beck asks Tron if he should introuduce the programs to the Uprising. Tron advises against it, warning Beck he'll be getting them in trouble.
Later, Paige detains a train to investigate a bomb aboard it. The defusing fails and the bomb explodes, the effect being painting "TRON LIVES" graffiti over the entire station, including Paige. The three mischief-makers run, content, until they're caught by a sinister program in a black suit with Occupation highlights. He pokes them around, then reveals himself to be "Tron". The programs reveal themselves, with their leader turning out to be Mara, who possesses the most enthusiasm. They are eager to participate in the rebellion. but disillusioned (sans Mara) that all he needs them to do is distract the guards by painting over the refueling towers while he sneaks onto Tesler's ship. The other two programs, Moog and Rasket, disobey and get onto the ship in order to use it a a huge canvas.
It's a success, and that's all the worse for them. Tesler notices and sends Pavel to hunt them down, who straps them to some gruesome torture device. Beck and Mara break them out, but are intercepted by Paige with a heavy contingent of guards. Mara manages to paint over a Recognizer and create enough ruckus for them to narrowly escape, nearly falling to her death. Ultimately, Moog and Rasket back out, Rasket's arm having been permanently damaged, while Mara is insisting to join "Tron". Beck, in his desire to protect her, rebuffs her with fake anger. He later wonders in front of Tron whether he did right, while Mara contemplates her graffiti, determined not to give up.
This episode features the following tropes:
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Moog and Rasket are mostly in for the thrill. They get more of it than they ever wished for.
- Break Her Heart to Save Her: A platonic example (at least on Beck's end, since Mara seems to have a crush on "Tron"). He notices her enthusiasm and that gives him all the more reason to call her useless and shoo her away in order to protect her.
- Call-Back: Beck recruits the Jolly Tricksters in much the same way he himself got recruited, by changing into Rinzler's suit, distorting his voice and restraining them in a harmless way to interrogate them menacingly before revealing himself.
- Covered in Gunge: Paige, when a paint bomb goes off on her. She's just as pissed by that as she is about it not being an actual grenade and scaring her.
- Graffiti of the Resistance: They're launched by small devices or paint grenades, latching onto a surface and creating points from which colorful lines start propagating, generating the words "TRON LIVES". They're quite hard to remove, as guards are seen doing so pixel by pixel.
- Friendly Enemy: Paige gives the Renegade a nod and a small smile when she catches up to him and resumes their duel.
- Nice to the Waiter: Paige decidedly isn't. When a sapper is too slow to defuse a bomb, she knocks him over and sets out to do it herself. Luckily, the bomb isn't lethal. Also, while she is rude, she does warn the guard to get down.
- Refusal of the Call: Moog and Rasket, having been scarred, refuse to fight for "Tron". They approve what he does, but, in their own words, they aren't his army.
- Robotic Torture Device: Pavel has one, which drains programs and turns them into dead, brittle husks. Rasket's code starts getting siphoned out through it and his right arm is permanently de-textured.
