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Do you think we could've been friends too?: "Alone Together"
A Highbreed apparently caught the Alien Force off-guard, as Kevin and Ben are rushing to use their powers while Gwen tries to hold him off them. The battle isn't going well--none of them are doing that great, and the Highbreed is heading for a Stargate transporter pod to escape. Echo Echo jumps on him to try to stop him, but Kevin accidentally activates the transporter pod, and both Ben and the Highbreed are pulled to the twin-sunned, desert planet of Tattooine Turawoosta and must find the transporter there to get back to Earth.
Ben realizes quickly that if they're going to survive this planet, they need to work together. The Highbreed--whom he quickly nicknames "Rynie"--doesn't agree, but both are reluctantly thrown together. As their journey to the transporter continues, they are forced to trust each other and begin to understand one another. But when they finally reach the transporter, Rynie tells Ben to go alone--all this time together, coming to understand Ben, has "infected" him and he is a risk to the purity of the Highbreed if he returns. Devastated, Ben is forced to return home alone while Rynie turns away from the transporter to face the a short remainder of his life in exile here, while one of the planet's many monsters growls in the background.
This episode finally gives us the motivation for the Highbreed. Before, we didn't understand just why they believed themselves to be so superior, but now, thanks to Rynie, we do. They believe they are the first race of aliens in the universe and that everything else came after them. And to them, humans are the worst of them all. Because of this, they believe that only pureblood Highbreeds deserve to exist and they have an obligation to rid the universe of the "mongrels" that infest it. This makes them the perfect enemies for the series. When not a single one of the main three heroes is a fullblooded human (Kevin is at MOST half-alien, Ben and Gwen have an Anodite grandmother, and Ben can change species at will with the Omnitrix) and they're working to build an army of other part-alien kids like them, it all makes sense. And the irony hits even harder too: For all the Highbreed hate the other races, they take humans--the lowest on their genetic ladder--and make hybrids out of them, as the DNAliens.
On the other side, we have Ben. One thing this episode does that we don't see in a lot of the other ones is give him some optimism, some hope in people. Throughout season one, he seemed somewhat jaded--he wasn't even sure he wanted to use the Omnitrix again, he spent most of the episodes with a super-serious attitude, things like that. But this episode highlights the faith he has in other people and in their ability to change. Honestly, much as I hated "Be-Knighted" and how it took me a few viewings of "All That Glitters" to really appreciate it, those were the only two episodes to really bring that up in season one (until Ben immediately jumped to Kevin's defense against Gilhil in "Darkstar Rising")--insisting to the Dragon that he wasn't a monster and that he shouldn't prove it, and trying to talk Kevin out of breaking into Morningstar's house since it was something "the old Kevin" would do. Ben tells Rynie that this understanding comes from the Omnitrix since he can use it to change into any other alien race. Back in Secret of the Omnitrix, Azmuth said that this was its original purpose--to let different alien races understand one another by allowing them to walk a mile in each other's shoes. Thus, it wasn't his fault that it was used as a weapon--it was the fault of the user. He also implied that Ben gave him back his faith in the universe, and here we see it. Ben now understands its true purpose, and this makes him try to befriend some of his archenemies.
It plays out the best when we see his interaction with Rynie. When they start out, they are clearly enemies. They hate working together, they keep arguing, and Rynie makes Ben walk ten paces behind him even when Ben's the one who knows the way to the transporter, which really pisses Ben off. They don't even bother to learn each other's names at first: they call each other "Highbreed" and "Human." But Ben keeps trying to strike up conversation, and eventually, Rynie responds, explaining his motivation. They even realize that they're risking their own lives to save each other--something that scares Rynie since it completely goes against his race's dogma, even if it is better having Ben alive to help fight off the draviks and other monsters that keep trying to eat them. After this talk, we finally see them walking to the transporter side-by-side instead of Ben being forced to walk behind Rynie. But ultimately, this doesn't have a happy ending. Ben's influence over Rynie's behavior has him extremely worried, and he realizes that he can never go back home. For the Highbreed, change is an extremely bad thing, and Ben has changed him. He can't risk spreading Ben's philosophy to the rest of his kind, so he knows he has to remain in exile on Turawoosta. After watching this episode, I ended up talking to Raz from Dive about it, and he mentioned how well this episode "humanized" the Highbreed. It certainly did make it easier to understand them, but at the same time, we see that Ben did human-ize Rynie--he gave him an understanding of his human perspective, which psychologically took away his pureblooded Highbreedness. Rynie is a psychological hybrid now, and that is just as dangerous as being a genetic hybrid.
Ultimately, Ben reminded me of Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender in this episode. Like Aang, he is an extremely powerful person with a conflict between his maturity and his naivete. The Omnitrix has given Ben a much more mature outlook on things, since he is capable of understanding things from a Sonarosian's point of view or a Pyronite's or a Chronian's or any of the many other races whose DNA is in the watch. But it leads him to a whole new kind of naivete. Azmuth didn't even consider the fact that a device that could change anyone into any other kind of alien could ever be used for destructive purposes, when it seems so obvious. Just as Azmuth, Ben doesn't realize that it isn't so easy forging peace among the alien races just because you can change into any one of them at will. Because he can understand what it's like to be any kind of alien, he believes it's easier to understand the alien perspective in general. But there's more to it than that: As seen with Rynie, sometimes other aliens just can't let themselves understand one another. And not everyone is going to be capable of being redeemed like Kevin was.
At the end of the Avatar episode "The Blue Spirit," Aang realizes that his mysterious rescuer was his archenemy Prince Zuko. As Zuko wakes, recovering from the injuries he sustained trying to save Aang from Zhao, Aang tells him of Kuzon, one of his best friends a hundred years ago:
"Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble. He was one of the best friends I ever had...And he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could've been friends too?"
Zuko attacks Aang, forcing him to run, and Aang realizes that maybe things aren't so easy. Similarly, after they do become friends, in "Sozin's Comet" Zuko is trying to make Aang see that not everyone can be saved like he was. Everyone constantly tries to convince Aang that he will need to kill Fire Lord Ozai, but Aang can't make himself do it. Ben is much the same way. Paradoxically, the maturity and understanding he has gained from the Omnitrix has made him naive and makes him misunderstand the aliens he sees. There are some things that in his heart, he will not be able to understand. Even if he can change someone, sometimes it's not going to be for the better.
Due to the dangerous nature of Turawoosta, we have the chance to see Ben's aliens have more screentime than before. Echo Echo, Big Chill, and Swampfire all display Ben's personality the best--his stubbornness, his sarcasm... Echo Echo is pissed about having to work with Rynie but realizes he has to. Big Chill insists on helping Rynie survive in the desert when Rynie fears "infection." And finally, Swampfire has had enough of all of that and is fed up with thanklessly saving Rynie's life--getting told off for being a lesser being touching something so pure. In addition, we see a new detail in Ben's demorphs. Previously, it happened by will alone. In this episode, Ben constantly reaches for the Plumber's badge on his forms to demorph, as seen in the original Ben 10 ("Ben 10,000," Race Against Time). It's unknown yet whether this will be a permanent change in the art, but it is a nice touch.
"Alone Together" was written by Charlotte Fullerton. Rynie was voiced by Richard McGonagle.
Ben realizes quickly that if they're going to survive this planet, they need to work together. The Highbreed--whom he quickly nicknames "Rynie"--doesn't agree, but both are reluctantly thrown together. As their journey to the transporter continues, they are forced to trust each other and begin to understand one another. But when they finally reach the transporter, Rynie tells Ben to go alone--all this time together, coming to understand Ben, has "infected" him and he is a risk to the purity of the Highbreed if he returns. Devastated, Ben is forced to return home alone while Rynie turns away from the transporter to face the a short remainder of his life in exile here, while one of the planet's many monsters growls in the background.
This episode finally gives us the motivation for the Highbreed. Before, we didn't understand just why they believed themselves to be so superior, but now, thanks to Rynie, we do. They believe they are the first race of aliens in the universe and that everything else came after them. And to them, humans are the worst of them all. Because of this, they believe that only pureblood Highbreeds deserve to exist and they have an obligation to rid the universe of the "mongrels" that infest it. This makes them the perfect enemies for the series. When not a single one of the main three heroes is a fullblooded human (Kevin is at MOST half-alien, Ben and Gwen have an Anodite grandmother, and Ben can change species at will with the Omnitrix) and they're working to build an army of other part-alien kids like them, it all makes sense. And the irony hits even harder too: For all the Highbreed hate the other races, they take humans--the lowest on their genetic ladder--and make hybrids out of them, as the DNAliens.
On the other side, we have Ben. One thing this episode does that we don't see in a lot of the other ones is give him some optimism, some hope in people. Throughout season one, he seemed somewhat jaded--he wasn't even sure he wanted to use the Omnitrix again, he spent most of the episodes with a super-serious attitude, things like that. But this episode highlights the faith he has in other people and in their ability to change. Honestly, much as I hated "Be-Knighted" and how it took me a few viewings of "All That Glitters" to really appreciate it, those were the only two episodes to really bring that up in season one (until Ben immediately jumped to Kevin's defense against Gilhil in "Darkstar Rising")--insisting to the Dragon that he wasn't a monster and that he shouldn't prove it, and trying to talk Kevin out of breaking into Morningstar's house since it was something "the old Kevin" would do. Ben tells Rynie that this understanding comes from the Omnitrix since he can use it to change into any other alien race. Back in Secret of the Omnitrix, Azmuth said that this was its original purpose--to let different alien races understand one another by allowing them to walk a mile in each other's shoes. Thus, it wasn't his fault that it was used as a weapon--it was the fault of the user. He also implied that Ben gave him back his faith in the universe, and here we see it. Ben now understands its true purpose, and this makes him try to befriend some of his archenemies.
It plays out the best when we see his interaction with Rynie. When they start out, they are clearly enemies. They hate working together, they keep arguing, and Rynie makes Ben walk ten paces behind him even when Ben's the one who knows the way to the transporter, which really pisses Ben off. They don't even bother to learn each other's names at first: they call each other "Highbreed" and "Human." But Ben keeps trying to strike up conversation, and eventually, Rynie responds, explaining his motivation. They even realize that they're risking their own lives to save each other--something that scares Rynie since it completely goes against his race's dogma, even if it is better having Ben alive to help fight off the draviks and other monsters that keep trying to eat them. After this talk, we finally see them walking to the transporter side-by-side instead of Ben being forced to walk behind Rynie. But ultimately, this doesn't have a happy ending. Ben's influence over Rynie's behavior has him extremely worried, and he realizes that he can never go back home. For the Highbreed, change is an extremely bad thing, and Ben has changed him. He can't risk spreading Ben's philosophy to the rest of his kind, so he knows he has to remain in exile on Turawoosta. After watching this episode, I ended up talking to Raz from Dive about it, and he mentioned how well this episode "humanized" the Highbreed. It certainly did make it easier to understand them, but at the same time, we see that Ben did human-ize Rynie--he gave him an understanding of his human perspective, which psychologically took away his pureblooded Highbreedness. Rynie is a psychological hybrid now, and that is just as dangerous as being a genetic hybrid.
Ultimately, Ben reminded me of Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender in this episode. Like Aang, he is an extremely powerful person with a conflict between his maturity and his naivete. The Omnitrix has given Ben a much more mature outlook on things, since he is capable of understanding things from a Sonarosian's point of view or a Pyronite's or a Chronian's or any of the many other races whose DNA is in the watch. But it leads him to a whole new kind of naivete. Azmuth didn't even consider the fact that a device that could change anyone into any other kind of alien could ever be used for destructive purposes, when it seems so obvious. Just as Azmuth, Ben doesn't realize that it isn't so easy forging peace among the alien races just because you can change into any one of them at will. Because he can understand what it's like to be any kind of alien, he believes it's easier to understand the alien perspective in general. But there's more to it than that: As seen with Rynie, sometimes other aliens just can't let themselves understand one another. And not everyone is going to be capable of being redeemed like Kevin was.
At the end of the Avatar episode "The Blue Spirit," Aang realizes that his mysterious rescuer was his archenemy Prince Zuko. As Zuko wakes, recovering from the injuries he sustained trying to save Aang from Zhao, Aang tells him of Kuzon, one of his best friends a hundred years ago:
"Before the war started, I used to always visit my friend Kuzon. The two of us, we'd get in and out of so much trouble. He was one of the best friends I ever had...And he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could've been friends too?"
Zuko attacks Aang, forcing him to run, and Aang realizes that maybe things aren't so easy. Similarly, after they do become friends, in "Sozin's Comet" Zuko is trying to make Aang see that not everyone can be saved like he was. Everyone constantly tries to convince Aang that he will need to kill Fire Lord Ozai, but Aang can't make himself do it. Ben is much the same way. Paradoxically, the maturity and understanding he has gained from the Omnitrix has made him naive and makes him misunderstand the aliens he sees. There are some things that in his heart, he will not be able to understand. Even if he can change someone, sometimes it's not going to be for the better.
Due to the dangerous nature of Turawoosta, we have the chance to see Ben's aliens have more screentime than before. Echo Echo, Big Chill, and Swampfire all display Ben's personality the best--his stubbornness, his sarcasm... Echo Echo is pissed about having to work with Rynie but realizes he has to. Big Chill insists on helping Rynie survive in the desert when Rynie fears "infection." And finally, Swampfire has had enough of all of that and is fed up with thanklessly saving Rynie's life--getting told off for being a lesser being touching something so pure. In addition, we see a new detail in Ben's demorphs. Previously, it happened by will alone. In this episode, Ben constantly reaches for the Plumber's badge on his forms to demorph, as seen in the original Ben 10 ("Ben 10,000," Race Against Time). It's unknown yet whether this will be a permanent change in the art, but it is a nice touch.
"Alone Together" was written by Charlotte Fullerton. Rynie was voiced by Richard McGonagle.