M.A.S.K. S1E53

Patchwork Puzzle

Two men hold up a wrought-iron screen against a tan wall.

At a Boy Scout Jamboree in Washington, D.C., Scott and T-Bob tour the Smithsonian with scoutmaster Hondo MacLean when V.E.N.O.M. steals a worthless-looking Civil War quilt and a fireplace screen. Hondo calls Matt Trakker, and with Bruce Sato and Jacques LaFleur the team uses Hurricane's infrared scanners to follow V.E.N.O.M.'s fuel trace to its hideout. There they find both objects, and holding the screen's pattern against the quilt's stitching spells out a Morse message about three million dollars buried near the Washington Monument. V.E.N.O.M. digs it up and finds only Confederate money, and M.A.S.K. and the scouts finish the job.

Two sides to a coin means two ways to join.

Everything in Patchwork Puzzle is described as worthless by somebody. The museum database calls the stolen quilt typical and not particularly good, the fireplace screen is low-grade iron of a kind that many have survived, Hondo repeats that the curators think the theft hardly matters, and the money at the end of the trail is Confederate currency that nobody can spend. A show about stolen treasure has chosen to be about the opposite, objects whose value is invisible until someone knows how to read them.

The writing builds that idea patiently. The case begins with Scott and T-Bob in uniform at the Smithsonian, being shown the Foucault pendulum and a Civil War house with no electricity, and it ends with a chest of dead banknotes. In between, handiwork keeps paying off. The scouts practise knots for merit badges, with T-Bob's arms and legs standing in for the rope. They learn first aid, which turns T-Bob into a mummy. They stitch their initials on a piece of cloth that the leaders will not explain, and the Morse message hidden in the quilt is itself a piece of needlework. The B-story with the scouts is not a detour so much as a rehearsal for the climax, and the wiki's account of that climax, in which a giant flag made from the scouts' pieces comes down on Floyd Malloy's Vampire and a rope pulled tight by the troop brings down Sly Rax, bears that out.

The standout is the scene where the team decodes the message. Matt, Bruce Sato and Jacques LaFleur have the quilt and the screen in front of them, and the stitching between the patches seems to form a pattern that nobody can place. They try the screen at different heights and angles, with a call for it a little higher on the left. Then Bruce offers one of his sayings, about the sides of a coin, and Matt has the pair swap places and turn the screen around. The working out continues out loud, with someone remarking that there are many ways of looking at the thing and that this is only the second. It is a puzzle the audience can follow because the characters talk it through, and it gives each of the three agents a small job, which most of the series cannot be bothered to do.

The animation does its best work on the objects. The screen with its scrolled spearheads, the white dashed outline that the computer draws over it, and the quilt in the hideout are all clear enough to follow at a glance, and the same clarity helps the museum scenes, where the huge grey sphere and the crowds give the building a sense of scale. The voices are strongest in V.E.N.O.M.'s squabbling: one henchman asks Nash Gorey whether his brains are leaking out of his mouth or whether that is just his tongue, Gorey answers with a schoolyard retort, and Mayhem calls someone a much more unique idiot. T-Bob, asked whether he can be a good sport, answers that his uncle was a good sports car.

The weakness is a gap in V.E.N.O.M.'s own knowledge. The museum describes the quilt and the screen as ordinary, and the message only shows when the two are combined, yet Mayhem steals them as if he already knew. As far as the dialogue shows, nothing says where the plan came from, only that everything is going according to it. A line about an old rumour or a stolen document would have closed it, and the episode has room for the jokes about merit badges that it spends instead.

It is a tidy, well-made puzzle with a pleasant comic centre, and it deserves to be remembered as the one in which the scouts did their share!

The M.A.S.K. wiki lists this as the final appearance of both Hondo MacLean and his vehicle Hurricane, adding that neither returns in the second season.
According to the M.A.S.K. wiki, the original colour guides for the toyline named Hurricane as Night Stalker, a name that Mattel owned, so it was changed.
The M.A.S.K. wiki says the original colour guides called Jacques LaFleur's vehicle Volcano by the name Assassin.
The M.A.S.K. wiki records that Matt wears his Lava Shot mask and Volcano uniform, travels from Boulder Hill to Washington with Jacques LaFleur in Volcano, and then switches to Rhino with Bruce Sato as co-pilot.
The M.A.S.K. wiki lists Bruce Sato's saying in this episode, two sides to a coin means two ways to join, among the series' Satoisms.
The M.A.S.K. wiki notes that the Outlaw toy has the V.E.N.O.M. logo on it while the animated series leaves it off.
The M.A.S.K. wiki lists several slips, among them Mayhem losing his gloves when he pushes the Foucault pendulum, Rhino's headlights appearing late on approach, and the scouts' laughter being a looped sound.
The M.A.S.K. wiki lists Doug Stone as the voice of Matt Trakker, Hondo MacLean, Bruce Sato and Nash Gorey in this episode, and Mark Halloran as Sly Rax and the assistant scoutmaster Tommy Thompson.
The M.A.S.K. wiki gives the closing safety tip as Matt reminding Scott how to use his scout pen knife safely while carving.

Matt Trakker

Bruce Sato

Jacques LaFleur

Hondo MacLean

Miles Mayhem

Sly Rax

Floyd Malloy

Nash Gorey

Scott Trakker

T-Bob

A scout leader leads a column of uniformed scouts in yellow shirts and red neckerchiefs.

Scott in a scout uniform talks beside T-Bob, who wears a scout hat.

A huge gray sphere rests on a floor in front of a staircase in a museum hall.

A scout leader points as a blond scout turns to look in a hall with a rocket window.

Scott and T-Bob push a pole between a crowd of scouts.

Scott looks ahead with an anxious look as T-Bob leans in among scouts.

A line of scouts files past a museum bedroom display behind a rail.

Two hands pull a teal mask with a slotted mouth over a V.E.N.O.M. agent's head.

T-Bob in a scout hat looks off to the side in a museum hall.

A scout leader, Scott and T-Bob walk past exhibits.

Scott glances up at the scout leader as the group walks on with T-Bob.

A V.E.N.O.M. agent in a teal mask carries a sack across a museum floor as visitors look on.

A museum crowd gasps, including a man in a blue suit and green tie.

A large house with a tennis court and swimming pool seen from the air.

Matt Trakker speaks into a teal telephone.

A scout leader talks on a wall phone.

Matt Trakker sits at a computer console in a control room.

A dark-haired man in a white shirt and blue tie holds a string with a tan object.

A boy in blue rides a yellow skateboard across a plaza.

A man in overalls and a man in a gray jacket hold long poles outdoors.

A heavyset man in a gray jacket grips a long pole with a strained face.

A small building sits on a rocky cliff beside the water in a model.

A circular table with a dark center is surrounded by chairs, viewed from above.

A man in a striped sweater and a dark-haired agent in orange sit at a long white table.

A white light shines from a metal hanging device.

A dark-haired agent in an orange vest smiles from the driver's seat.

An aerial model view of a park with walkways, buildings and an obelisk tip.

Scott points to T-Bob as they sit together outdoors in scout uniforms.

Two scouts in hats sit on the ground with their arms around their knees.

T-Bob, Scott and another scout sit on the ground with arms crossed.

T-Bob swings a gray pole as Scott sits beside him with a hat and neckerchief.

T-Bob lies tipped over on the grass with a rope across his body.

A scout leader looks down with raised eyebrows.

T-Bob stands wrapped in bandages with his yellow eyes showing.

Two scouts watch bandaged T-Bob standing in a field with a first-aid kit.

A scout leader points at Scott as they stand with T-Bob's hat in the corner.

A scout leader smiles at Scott while T-Bob's hat sits at the edge of the frame.

A scout leader looks ahead with a small smile.

The scout leader gestures near bandaged T-Bob as scouts sit on the grass.

A dark-haired man in a white shirt stands beside a man with brown hair and a maroon tie.

The scout leader stands looking ahead in front of a blue-windowed building.

A scout leader stands between a brown-haired man and Matt Trakker in a blue suit.

The lower half of a person stands behind an ornate wrought-iron fire screen in a museum.

A crowd of museum visitors in casual clothes look on at a railing.

Scott in a scout hat stands in front of T-Bob's hat in a hall.

A scout leader holds a hand to his chest, shocked, with scouts behind him.

A scout leader speaks with Matt Trakker and two other men behind him.

High view of a blue plaza where V.E.N.O.M. thieves attack people in front of a stair.

Miles Mayhem grips two joysticks in a cockpit.

Scott in a scout uniform runs with T-Bob beside a large gray sphere.

Scott looks up in alarm with T-Bob beside him.

T-Bob towers over Scott who rests his chin on his hand under a scout hat.

Matt Trakker in a blue suit lifts Scott in his arms.

Matt Trakker carries Scott past a desert plant bed outside a building.

T-Bob stands in a scout hat on a white plaza.

A red truck, a blue van and a flame-painted car face a small group.

Two men in shirts and ties stand with the scout leader under a blue sky.

A hand reaches to a dashboard with a radar display and three round gauges.

Matt Trakker rests his chin on his hand in a car beside a dark-haired man.

Matt Trakker in a red uniform smiles from the driver's seat as a dark-haired agent looks on.

A television shows Civil War soldiers firing a cannon.

Matt Trakker reaches for the controls of a vehicle with a dark-haired agent in front.

Matt Trakker looks startled in a red jumpsuit.

A dark-haired man in a yellow scarf drives with a brown-haired man in a blue sweater.

Matt Trakker smiles in a red uniform beside a dark-haired agent in orange.

An iron fire screen with scrolled spearheads stands in front of a dark wall.

A white dashed outline of the fire screen is drawn on a black screen.

A dark-haired agent looks down at Matt Trakker who smiles.

Two gray barns with brown roofs stand behind a chain-link fence.

A spiky-haired man in red, a mustached man in green and a man in glasses look on.

A brown-haired man in glasses and a work shirt looks aside.

A spiky-haired man in red smiles as a mustached man in a green jacket scowls.

A spiky-haired man in a black collar smiles with eyes closed, a video camera at his shoulder.

A crate lid opens above a small train engine with colorful stripes.

A scout leans forward as T-Bob in a hat crouches beside him on a plain.

Scouts look on with T-Bob in a hat in front of them.

A scout in a red neckerchief holds a large paper map.

Scott looks surprised beside T-Bob and a group of scouts.

Scott looks ahead worriedly next to T-Bob and the scouts at dusk.

A chain-link fence slopes across a pink and yellow sky.

A man in a striped sweater and an agent with an X-shaped harness walk away carrying a crate.

A man in a brown jacket holds an armored vest next to Matt Trakker in a red uniform.

Four men stand in a row, including Matt Trakker in red and a man in a striped sweater.

An ornate metal fire screen stands against a dull blue wall.

A brown-haired man in a striped sweater grips the iron screen with a stern look.

The man in the striped sweater holds up two fingers as he talks, a hand on the screen.

A man in a maroon jacket and green collar holds the iron screen and looks to the side.

The man in the maroon jacket looks off with a thoughtful stare, hands on the iron screen.

Scouts march in a ring around a giant crystal in a night clearing.

Miles Mayhem faces two V.E.N.O.M. agents in front of a helicopter and red truck.

A masked agent in white kneels and pushes a canister into the ground.

Miles Mayhem raises a white-gloved fist in his visor helmet.

A spiky-haired man in red and a teal-masked agent face a dark figure in the forest.

Miles Mayhem stands against a tree with a fist at his chest.

Colored fireworks burst over the trees at night.

Three V.E.N.O.M. agents stand around a man in blue crouching at a hole in the ground.

Miles Mayhem covers his visor with a glove while a masked agent raises both hands.

Dollar bills fall from the sky as a spiky-haired man in red raises his arms beside Miles Mayhem.

Miles Mayhem and his agents stand among scattered dollar bills and a crate.

A blue truck tire and a blue car stand in a clearing.

A V.E.N.O.M. agent in a teal mask with teeth looks to the side.

A close view of black air vents on a blue and white vehicle grille.

A V.E.N.O.M. agent in a teal mask and white suit crouches beside a tipped truck.

A V.E.N.O.M. agent in an orange suit and gas mask sits beside a red vehicle.

Scott, T-Bob and scouts stand among tents at night.

A campsite with several tents and a small vehicle sits under a night sky.

Scott looks nervous with T-Bob in a hat and scouts behind him at night.

Scott cheers with raised arms beside T-Bob and happy scouts.

Scott laughs and holds up a gray object as T-Bob smiles.

The scout leader, Matt Trakker, two men, Scott and T-Bob stand facing a fireplace.

A brown-haired man in a tie crosses his arms and smiles by a wooden building.

T-Bob in a scout hat holds his hands up in front of his chest.

T-Bob covers his eyes with his hands under his scout hat.

Scott and T-Bob sit on stumps in front of an orange tent wearing feathers.

A man in a cream shirt points at Scott and T-Bob who sit before an orange tent.

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