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| "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." ~ Gloria Steinem |
"After landing in the future, the samurai, now named Jack, begins his quest for Aku."
With some quick cut scenes spliced together, a summary of the last episode opens our second episode. Noticeably, the theme song also plays for the first time - which explains everything that happened previously (save Jack's epic training). Jack lands in the future, impresses the locals, gets a name, demonstrates his abilities, gets tipped off to Aku by a three eyed waitress, and is surprised to find rocket flying space dogs who have a deep love with anthropology. This is really a transition episode as we prepare for the first encounter with Aku's army and Samurai Jack takes aim to help his new canine friends.
We learn a great deal about the future in this opening. The foremost being the kind of society that Aku has built for himself. Earth is now an intergalactic hub for trade and theft. It is a spit bucket of mongrels, thieves, scoundrels, outlaws, and bounty hunters. Aku uses it as a means of stealing resources from other planets - as we will see later. One of the monochromatic pedestrians points out to Jack that, "You do not see Aku. He sees you!" Aku has a strong grip on everything that seems to go on across the globe and parts of the galaxy - or at least, this city.
Breakdown:
Flying cars! We have them in the future (see above)! Also, bounty hunters already know who Samurai Jack is somehow. If I lived in this universe, I would imagine it might be a little out of place to see some random dude wearing a dress (; fall from the sky and land on the flying auto-mo-car in front of me, I likely would not shoot him. Maybe drive away? Just from this simple action, we know that Aku has created a universe in which the majority of people (and aliens) are hostile and short fused.
Samurai Jack once again proves himself worthy of BAMF status, as through self defense, he is able to wreck this future flying car and its driver in a cinematic action sequence. Did we mention he flying squirrels his way from car to car and gracefully lands on the ground to only ignore the explosion he created? He probably has no clue what an explosion is to begin with. But he impressed the hell out of these guys - whom we never see again. Ever.
They did not seem to pleased about it either, but they direct Jack for a drink, give him a name, and represent a facet of the new culture that Jack has yet to internalize. Also, a bug is on the Interstate. This is a horrifying future.
That is Jack's first "Oh F#@$!" moment. And like a scallywag of on the wrong shore, he starts a fight. Fortunately these lizard men are robots, because otherwise they would be short a few irreplaceable arms.
He has the eyes of a man who has lost everything: his family, his home, old friends... Only to find a world abused and criminalized by Aku. He is more motivated now than he has ever been before. This is one of the most dramatic cuts I can feasibly recall from the entire series, but it symbolizes the first of many that he will slice in the name of justice. But right on cue, the DJ lays down a funky beat as Jack massacres the rest of lizard dude's friends.
This is where the episode gains a little bit of perspective. Let's consider the following: How long did it take Humans to evolve to walk upright? To utilize speech? To develop writing? To create the field of Anthropology *subdivision - Archaeology? Good. A really long time. We are talking at least tens of thousands of years to get where we are today. Now, how long would it take for all of that same process to occur to all dogs?
I would likely make the same face ("Oh F#@$!" moment no. 2). Jack then screams, "Talking Demon Dogs!" and immediately thinks Aku is messing with stuff he shouldn't be messing with. Not to say that Aku did not have a hand in it, but any number of things could have happened to get the dogs talking. But this raises a good point. There is no telling what Aku has done to this world or to what extent he decided to manipulate everyone. The incredible thing is that even after multiple thousands of years, he has not brainwashed the people into loving everything he does. A complete brainwashing of the entire country of Germany happened in roughly 5-10 years... So if the populous still recognize that he is evil in some way, then it is either poor planning on his part or the calming hope that there will always be good people out there somewhere.
These dogs also love cocktails (no pun intended). As introduced in the episode from left to right we have Sir Dryfus Alexander - Chief of Excavation, Sir Colin Bartholomew Montgomery Rothschild III - a Peabody doppelganger, and Angus McDuffy - Artifact Aficionado. Even with whatever forces that allowed them to walk and talk, it seems fitting that dogs "uncover" their past. I imagine McDuffy has more than ample experience digging up all kinds of "artifacts."
After agreeing to go with them, Jack is whisked away by dog rocket (they can also pilot flying rocket powered craft now). While, simultaneously, a shifty waitress breaks it to Aku that Samurai Jack is back.
The waitress takes some sort of teleportation beacon and finds herself at the back of the line waiting to speak to Aku. I believe that this teleportation would work along the same lines as a hardwired telephone. This would mean that Jack could not simply hijack this technology or get a professor friend to aid him in teleporting to any time portal. Not all the world has coverage to see the great Aku. In the above, we meet a water species whose home has been pillaged. Aku admits being the one to do it when a younger member of the species jumps forward. Aku then sends him to "The Pit of Hate" so that he can learn obedience and respect.
This pit must be a truly terrible place because Aku clearly wants everyone on Earth to hate him. After the witch waitress gives Aku the news, we then see his first "Oh F#@$!" face. Bringing the total to three! If someone were to ask "How many F#@$!s were given in the second episode of Samurai Jack?" The answer is not zero. In fact, it is three. These events are worth giving a F#@$! about. Maybe even four - that purple alien top left of the waitress is terrifying.
These are some of the saddest most helpless pictures of Dogs I have ever seen. What could make Sarah McLachlan more sad than dogs struggling with heavy industrial loads, wearing people clothes, and making pouty eyes?
To all you Privileged kids who got to grow up watching all of Cartoon Network during their glory days, you might recognize the gray dog on the right side of the left picture as a character from "Two Stupid Dogs." I had to ask my brother what show he was from because the show shared no passionate memory in my mind. It is cool that he shows up here though. 'Stupid Dog Two' seemed like a G.
Lesson(s):
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?" ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Samurai Jack faced some of the toughest challenges of his entire series right here in episode two, which I affectionately titled Dog Eat Dog. Literally, Dogs are being eaten by Aku in a detrimental and de-dog-ifying way. Also, mechanical bug drones are coming to destroy them.
His first challenge was simply coming to the future and witnessing the change and pain that Aku has caused to the world. The second was that even in what seems like total chaos, there is still good people being oppressed. There is a world still worth fighting for so long as there are nice people to give grow him.
Few things carry the weight of helping others. It is difficult to measure because it means different things for all kinds of people. Sometimes, it can change a day for something, be the highlight of their week, or intrinsically change them for the rest of their lives. A lot of us may not always be good people per say, but we can certainly be helpful and do good in other ways. I have learned that it is not always important to go out and seek good works to give to others, but when the time calls and there is a friend, family member, or the occasional stranger in need, it does not have to be the act that is important. In the episode, Jack has the revelation that, "The question is not where I am... But when I am!" Simply being ready at all times is more important than where you are - because someday you will need a 'miracle friend' too.
