Samurai Jack Season 05 Episode 03 Review

Samurai Jack is truly a very special show, and Samurai Jack Season 05 Episode 03 proved just how special. Picking up right where last weeks episode left off, Jack had to face a hard true, as well as face the rest of the Daughters of Aku.

It’s proof of the team’s ability to know how to craft a story that they decided to spend a good amount of time showing Jack not only trying to recover from the beatdown he got last episode, but they showed both the physical and mental damage that was done to him last week, and how it was affecting him. Now yes, you can cry foul about how Jack was even conscious, or alive, with how much blood he lost from the knife wound, but are we really going to be that nitpicky?

The simple fact of seeing Jack shivering in the cold, fighting the pain in him as he had to get the knife out, and then both heal physically and mentally, before the Daughters of Aku even showed up, was powerful.

Add to that, the mental state of Jack led to him seeing a very distorted version of himself, one that almost teased him for the fact that he had taken his first human life. Again, Jack has killed all manner of robots, but he killed his first human in one of the daughters last week, and it clearly scarred him. But, in true Samurai Jack fashion, the writers used this reflect on Jack’s younger self, and teach him a hard lesson.

For them to tie his killing of the daughter to his father was brilliant. After all, his dad was an Emperor, he knew all about choices, and when it was the right time to kill, if any. Yet, you could understand why Jack was horrified because of what he saw his dad do. But to hear the words echo about how your choices define you was very true to who Jack is, and it gave him strength in a very believable way.

Before I go further, I want to note that the return of the white wolf from last weeks episode was amazing, and it again showed how similar the two were. Both were still licking their wounds (literally and metaphorically) from their fights, and both were trying to survive. Yet, both could sympathize with the other and was willing to help the other. It was very touching and very beautiful. If you don’t believe that…look at this:

Moving on to the Daughters of Aku, it was fun to watch them both track down Jack, and get an unexpectedly tragic yet beautiful moment as they saw the deer interact with each other. The team didn’t need to show this, it may not have hurt the episode any, but by doing it, it made the daughters even more tragic. These are seven girls who were raised with one simple purpose: Kill Jack. They know almost nothing else about the world, even in regards to the kind gestures beings give to one another. It was very sad.

Of course, once the battle came on, the episode soared even higher. Jack’s warning felt true, and then once they declined it…he went freaking savage on them. There was no fear in this version of Jack, he willingly killed them one at a time because he knew there was no other way. No remorse. The way it was depicted was very dark, and could only have been done on Adult Swim. This was Jack in top form, even without his sword he is a threat with every weapon he had, and the fluidity of his movements made it so that he hasn’t lost a step after all these years.

Then of course, there was the art for the whole episode. From the scary moments of the rider with the green mist hovering around. To the shots of Jack and the white wolf covered in blood and looking at each other. To the wintery setting of the final fight that faded the scene in and out with the snow, this show is a poetry of visuals. I thought last weeks was amazing, and yet this one topped even that.

I can’t say enough about Samurai Jack Season 05 Episode 03, I do wish it didn’t end of a cliffhanger, but it’s a small price to pay for another masterpiece.

Check out our review for the next episode!