You know it's
getting very tiring just saying these episodes are great over and
over right?
Welp, here's my
review...it's great. See you later!
I've just been
informed that I'm contractually obligated by Nondescript Corrupt Evil
Megacorporation That Pays The Bills Inc. to continue this column of
Animation Deviation by threat of the closing of the Cybertavern and
subject to painful torture and death by something called a “Lemon
Demon Cuddle Party.” I don't know what that last one is but I don't
want to find out.
So episode 4 of the
return of Samurai Jack actually addressed an issue I brought up in
the most recent episode of That Random Podcast Show. The temptation
to maintain a moody and atmospheric show that prides itself on adept
visual storytelling while also giving its protagonist the opportunity
to emote and fight with his personal mental demons without it turning
into an animated fantasy Mad Max knock-off. Talking with a former
version of himself was appropriate in the last two episodes to
contrast what Jack was to what he had become, but there is only so
many trips to the Going Mad From High Expectations well you can make
before it becomes stale.
Case in point, the
episode's very first two minutes. Jack recovers from his last major
encounter with the Daughters of Aku. He even finds out dead from a
combination of fatal wounds and the long fall they had. As
established before in the last episode, Jack recalled that the
bushido code taught to him by his father still allows the slaying of
human beings as long as they are given the opportunity to walk away,
everything else after that being self-defense. But this still doesn't
stop Jack from believing he is being judged, in this case by a
literal murder of crows cawing “murderer” at him in cacophonous
glee.
Jack then proceeded
to yell at them that she chose her path and moved on. It was brief
and it was a callback to the last episode, but it also shows there is
still some level of discomfort with the idea on Jack's behalf after
entire decades of fighting robots.
But then the meat of
the story begins where the last of the Daughters, Ashi, is still
alive and continues her attack on Jack.
The result is
probably the closest this season has gotten to a full on comedy
sketch. She keeps going after Jack like a rabid dog, screaming about
how Aku is total MLG and Jack is poser trash – note to self get
slang body modification checked out – while Jack just casually
knocks her away while getting her to see how false her idol really
is.
Then a giant monster
breaches the ground and eats them. Ashi even continues trying to kill
Jack while they're being sucked into its bowels. Yes he even lets out
an “are you freaking kidding me?” reaction to the absurdity of it
all.
Leave it to this
show spending two episodes showing just how deadly and efficient the
Daughters of Aku are only to have their last surviving member turned
into a parody of itself and make it seem natural. Though this is in
part because its paying off some set-up back in episode one during
her extended training montage.
From here the
episode turns into....a neon colored riff on The Fantastic Voyage
with a mix of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Even while Ashi is basically tied
up and hostage to Jack, chained up by the remains of her kusari-gama,
she still tries to trip up Jack while he's fighting off the monster's
immune and digestive systems while pulling off his best John Carter
of Mars impression. Seriously he gets sprayed with blue blood while
using the severed leg of an insect monster as an improvised blade and
it's just as awesome as it sounds.
It is here that the
meat of the episode lies. Jack and Ashi are literally in the belly of
a large beast and for Humanities majors out there, the metaphorical
Belly of the Beast section of The Hero's Journey. In the case of
Jack, it is arguing with his common sense to try to redeem Ashi, by
trying to undo her programming, which of course means more of Ghost
Jack but in an even more diminished role than in the last episode,
complete with some moments of self-reflection as to how this can be a
window to some new hope for him and his journey. As for Ashi it is
her coming face to face with a person she was raised to hate,
despise, and told to kill, despite everything from his actions and
his compassion being not actively hateful or heartless, putting her
world view into question which manifests as internal conflict and
seething angry confusion. This is all framed around them traveling
through the unknown insides of a leviathan looking for an escape.
Starting to see the
pain in trying to find anything wrong with this episode's second
half? It has a comedic start with a montage of Ashi not shutting up
about the glory of Aku while Jack takes it all in stride, but then
things settle with the aforementioned meditative sections. We get
some inventive action where Jack is not only fighting off monsters
but Ashi's passive-aggressive interference. There's even some solid
and succinct dialogue between Jack and Ashi showing that Jack hasn't
completely lost his ability to socialize juxtaposed with Ashi's total
lack of the practice. Also, once again the art direction is just
beyond gorgeous, mixing together biological imagery like blood
vessels and digestive enzymes with serene deep sea wildlife is equal
parts soothing and haunting.
The crown jewel of
course comes at the end where the two escape and enjoy their freedom
on some sandbar out in the middle of a vast ocean, with Jack gaining
a new ally.
So yeah, episode 4
ends with a major villain getting an alignment shift by Jack
re-embracing his selfless nature, a side of him I've been waiting to
see for a while and it was worth the wait. This is even hinted at
with the Ghost Jack interaction in this episode. While episode 2's
scene was aggressive, antagonistic and defeatist and episode 3's
scene was surreal feral and warped, episode 4's dialogue is very
casual, almost like two friends finally catching up after a long time
apart. Normal Jack remembered why he is still fighting the good
fight, and Ghost Jack – his literal manifested ideals and samurai
code haunting him – claiming it would be better to just leave Ashi
to die. It's a subtle but powerful swing of power and volition that
is all expressed in body language and some sparse dialogue.
Episode 5 teases the
great lord of darkness Aku putting down an insurgency of some kind,
which of course means more of Greg Baldwin and some creative
shapeshifting mayhem. Can't wait, and I'll see in the next one!
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