Gotta get back. Get back to the past. Ah, but there will be spoilers, Jack.
I was hoping we’d save Aku for some grand reveal. Instead, we get Aku living a sort of banal existence. Sort of. He gets the occasional tribute from some mud folk, the latest advancements from his scientist team and some therapy sessions with a doctor that is obviously just a clone of himself. It’s a bit refreshing to watch, and while funny, it’s about the only levity we will get this week.
The Daughters of Aku have caught up with their prey. They’re relentless, unstoppable, supernaturally effective. They’re also one thing that Jack hasn’t sliced and diced before: human. That will be his conundrum (a problem difficult to solve, we hear) once he’s cornered. Jack has never killed a human being. Until now. Also, he has a dagger stuck to his gut. That’s gotta hurt. He needs help.
And that’s the kicker, right? I think that is what unceremoniously fast forward graduated this show into adulthood. That is perhaps why Genndy Tartakovsky waited so long. I guess this is the reason this season will air in Adult Swim and not in Cartoon Network’s flagship animation channel. How is Jack going to reconcile the fact that he just killed a human being? How is he going to survive a dagger to the gut? How is he going to defeat Aku without his sword?
Same time, same channel next week!
Highs/Lows/GottaGetBackInTime
- Jack’s idealistic past self appears as a vision to reprimand and urge Jack to action.
- Some people will think a human dying, or more to the point, being killed, will turn Jack gritty. I think it’s the opposite. He needs his sense of purpose, his sense of self, his bushido back. He needs that more than he needs his sword.
- However, let’s not forget he needs his sword back.
- I was hoping Jack would turn the Daughters of Aku into allies, but there’s very little chance of that with one of them having her neck cut. And within that lies the problem. How can Jack defeat them without killing them?
- With Jack hurt, the obvious next step is that he will find someone that can help him and heal him. This suggests there might be one or a few allies showing up. New? Old? A mix?
- Every episode goes so quick. Yes, I know it’s 22 minutes. I just wish we get one hour.
- I trust Genndy Tartakovsky to give us a finale worthy of the character and the storyline, but my expectations might be a tad high. I’m glad to have Samurai Jack for another season, sad that it’s only one and a bit skeptic that everything will be wrapped up by the last episode. But I am glad this is not an improvisation but a culmination of the storyline from years ago.
That will do for now.
Never Think Impossible 