Apparently, even the shapeshifting Master of Darkness despises mornings.
The second episode of the final season of the resurrected cartoon Samurai Jack brought back its iconic villain, who is perhaps the show’s best character — Aku.
Following the opening credits, the ringing of an alarm clock wakes Aku, now voiced by Greg Baldwin in lieu of the late Mako Iwamatsu. Naturally, he punches the clock violently. After stretching for a long time, at least for a demon, Aku is informed that he has visitors.
Humanoid creatures that resemble endlessly melting caramel have come to pay tribute to the Shogun of Sorrow. Aku is having none of it. The creatures are literally oozing onto the freshly vacuumed floor, so he throws them out.
Some of Aku’s scientist minions then enter, gushing about having just created the largest and most powerful beetle drone ever, but Aku, saying he has changed, claims to be apathetic.
“Look, I tell you what, you want to destroy (Jack), go ahead!” Aku says. “Who cares? I certainly don’t, not one bit at all.”
Evidently, Aku does care. In the fantastic next scene, Aku sits down for a session with his psychiatrist — himself.
Aku laments to Aku about Jack’s refusal to give up during the past 50 years.
Screenshot via Adult Swim
“Well, I just assumed that eventually, over time, he would just die!” Aku gripes. “But he hasn’t even aged. I mean, like, at all. He just grew that stupid beard.”
Speaking of Jack, he makes his first appearance in the episode shortly thereafter, once again on his motorcycle. In a tense scene that, as the show often does, toys with the audio, Jack encounters the new beetle drone and, with one throw of a spear, destroys it in a violent explosion.
However, directly afterward, he hits a tripwire and is sent flying off his motorcycle. Flashes of black disarm him and destroy his armor, leaving the samurai vulnerable. The Daughters of Aku have found him.
Jack manages to find a hiding place, where he is confronted by a shimmering blue apparition of himself. In a scene that parallels Aku’s therapy session, the apparition berates Jack for losing his sword and for not having achieved his goals.
Jack claims he can keep defeating Aku’s machines as long as he needs. “They are just nuts and bolts,” he says. “Just nuts and bolts.”
“There’s no way home; there’s nothing to fight for!” the vision says. “There’s no more honor. Come to think of it, the only honorable thing to do is ...”
“Quiet,” Jack says, cutting off the apparition from suggesting Seppuku, a traditional samurai ritual suicide performed to preserve one’s honor.
Jack eventually emerges from his hiding place and sprints for a temple, the Daughters of Aku following closely behind him.
The remaining 10 minutes of the episode are totally and completely without dialogue. In perhaps one of the greatest scenes in modern animation, Jack hides from, then runs from, then fights with, the Daughters.
The scene has fantastic pacing and incredible art, all the while keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. Tyler Bates’ score adds an element of suspense and pushes the pace, with crescendos and decrescendos that rhyme perfectly with the action. It’s too good for words — the scene, and the episode as a whole, is simply a must-watch.
Jack eventually overcomes one of the Daughters and violently kills her. He is horrified, having never taken another human’s life and only destroying “just nuts and bolts.” Blood gushes from the Daughter’s corpse, yet another sign that the show is darker than ever.
Distraught and badly wounded, Jack uses the explosive blade taken from Scaramouche in the premiere and destroys the temple, the six surviving Daughters still inside.
Jack leaps into a river below. The episode ends as he floats away, both his and the remaining Daughters’ fates left ambiguous.
Takeaways
Aku is back. Greg Baldwin’s voice is absolutely spot-on. If you didn’t know the voice actor had changed, you wouldn’t notice. Plus, Aku’s droll, dark sense of humor remains, still one of the best parts of the show.
The parallel between Aku’s hilarious self-therapy session and Jack’s morbid self-motivation session is clear, showing the similarities and differences of the two nemeses. Although Aku seems just as tired as Jack, it’s clear that he will not rest until the samurai is dead. Perhaps a direct confrontation between the two is coming soon, or perhaps it won’t come until the final episodes.
The prolonged ending sequence is what stands head-and-shoulders above everything, though. It’s simply outstanding, and, as mentioned earlier, a must-watch. The episode’s 22-minute runtime flies by and leaves the viewer thirsting for more. For now, we’ll have to wait until next Saturday night. It should be worth the wait — the newest season of Samurai Jack is shaping up to be the best yet, and it has become one of the best shows on television once again.
Rating: 5/5
Samurai Jack airs every Saturday at 11 p.m. on Cartoon Network.
