Thundercats (ep1*11-13) *SPOILERS*

[Captain Qwert Jr]

Damnable reality has prevented me from reviewing these episodes as they came out, so I will briefly give my thoughts on them and season 1 in general.
Episode 11:Forest Of The Magi Oar
The quest to make the Sword of Omens into the acme of all dick jokes proceeds.

• The perspective sequence Vig gave Lion-O was excellent. This is how animation should impart lessons, visually and with flair.
• The wood foragers had an extraordinary look, and power set, but their vague motives rendered them as thin as their chosen weapon. More complex reasons were hinted at, but seemed abandoned to smirking evil at the end.
• Viragor had the right combination of spookiness and majesty, and was wonderfully voiced by Hector Elizondo. eh...maybe a llittle too Great Owl from the secret of NIHM.

Overall:A visually spectacular and action-packed episode, but it could have been more with just a little depth.
Episode 12: Into The Astral Plane
A setting is being set for something.

• The astral plane's introduction felt a bit forced. It's not exactly something that could have been reasoned out.
• I found the flash back pointless. It brings up baffling questions about The Thundarrean religion. Its based around running fast? Too oppress the most animals in the quickest amount of time, I suppose. Or maybe there are, in the secular sense, just clerks. Super speed can be an asset there, I guess. Anyway, It just establishes what we already know: Tygra likes Cheetara, and Cheetara's life revolves around men.
• Tygra does something! How jarring.
• Some nice thundertanking.

Overall: An episode built on the sandy terrrain of a mishandled rivalry cannot stand.
Episode 13: Between Brothers
The season finale. Because the network says so.

• Violence! Glorious Violence. Die, extras! Die for my amusement!
• Hardcore Panthro! I'd expect nothing less.
• Grune lost to a ghostly plane. Possibly intriguing
• It's nice Tygra said he was sorry for his failed attempt at child murder.
• The 'betrayal' may actually create a some legitimate drama. Especially if Lion-O is the heavy.
• Mumm-ra was beaten too easily...again.
• Tygra should have got the gem.
• The definition of Pop culture pacifism: We never fight, unless we want too. I guess the Elephants never explicitly said they were pacifists, so perhaps I'll let this pass.

Overall: Intense action, and some interesting developments help bury some of the seasons story weaknesses.


Final Thoughts On Season One


What Works:

• First Rate production values. A new standard for Basic Cable. Amazing, at times.

• Lion-O: I rather like Lion-O. A quiet hero, even when He's angry, A still center is not a bad thing, especially on the concentrated weirdness that is...

• Third Earth: As stated before, a planet whose geographical features were shaped by the combined psychic energies of a million million Junior-High dungeon masters.

• Wily Kit and Wily Kat: Improved in almost every conceivable way. The are not in the way. Entertaining. Clever, but not at the expense of the adults, and charmingly childish. 'El Darra' was a nice touch.

What Doesn't:

• It's a one man show: Lion-O is not just the primary focus, the other Thundercats are oddly excluded. Notice how much of the information on the others was given, primarily in flashbacks. For some reason the writers favor passive info dumping for them instead of active dramatic interactions. For the most part, they don't even revolve around Lion-O, they just kinda stay on the fringe.
• Complete Moral Obtuseness. To begin almost everything about Thunderra seemed to be designed to horrify anyone with even a partially functioning moral compass. Grune's just an average cat person: evil. The lizards seem to have a valid case. Didn't have to be that way. They could have just made the Cats the best out of warring tribes. Not perfect, and in an arguably unteneable situation, but not pure evil. Claudius: “Look, boy, It's better for everyone that we're in charge. You have no idea what's out there! Lizards, Jackals, Vultures...Hell, you don't even want to know about the Candiru-people” And from then on, it just gets bizzare. The 'lessons learned' at the end of each episode make my head hurt.
• Too Much Vagueness: What happened to Thunderra. and why should I care? How come no one else on Third Earth cares about Mumm-Ra? How is Tygra related to Lion-o? Adopted? Bastard? From a previous marriage? Is he a Lyger, and disqualified from the throne due to hybrid sterility?

Worst Episode: The Horrific opening 2-parter
Best Episode: Berbils I can scarcely believe it myself. The most solidly entertaining episode.


Overall: The main quest line is terribly flawed, but the stand alone episodes were fairly entertaining. The high production values, and changes at the season's end are intriguing enough for me to have some hope. I will continue watching, fo now.