If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:
Big as Texas
It helps to develop characters by looking into
their family backgrounds. This episode looks
into Clay’s family life when his dad makes an impromptu visit. While it is insightful to see his family,
this episode is a good example of how the parent characters aren’t always the
best ones.
Clay’s dad falls into a
category of a closed-minded parent with strict ideas on how his son should act. He looks around the Xiaolin Temple and
doesn’t approve of its lifestyle. He decides to take Clay home to his ranch in
Texas even though the quest for the Shen Gong Wu is important for the world. While Clay does try to explain this, his dad
shoots down the claim, suggesting an unbelievably strong authority he has over
his own son.
This attitude continues
during a pursuit for one of the most commonly used Shen Gong Wu, the infinite
water shooter, the Orb of Tornami. Jack
Spicer has it, and instead of listening to his teammates, Clay listens to his
dad instead. The fatherly advice fails, and Jack gets away with the Shen
Gong Wu. Even though Clay clearly
followed advice that didn’t work, his dad takes zero responsibility for what he
told him. He puts all the blame on Clay and his teachings, forcing Clay away
from his friends once and for all. These
moves certainly don’t give Clay’s dad good first impressions. Dense characters who think they know everything
are always difficult to get behind.
However,
the following events move Clay’s dad past his less than favorable attitude. First,
the Lone Star he’s been wearing turns out to be another Shen Gong Wu, a
star-shaped flame-thrower the Star Hanabi. This gives the Warriors a great
opportunity to get it before it goes active.
Because Clay’s dad is so dense, he sticks hard to his family’s customs
and refuses to let them have it. To him, Clay can only get it after proving to
be a man. With this father figure being
so stubborn, the Warriors have no choice but to spend a day doing work on the
ranch.
Regarding the ranch, while it’s
interesting to see where Clay came from, the place is standard for people’s
perception on cowboys and Texas. There's a red barn and livestock to heard, all in
the middle of a lone prairie. The
setting may not be very interesting or creative, but I give it credit for
having the characters liven it up as they do work associated with the
ranch. Scenes of Omi getting kicked out
of the barn while trying to milk Old Bessie the dairy cow and
Raimundo and Kimiko getting up to antics as they heard cattle are
comedic highlights.
While
they’re working, the Star Hanabi goes active drawing Jack and Wuya to attack
the ranch. This leads to the Xiaolin
Showdown for the episode, and one of great magnitude at that. It has Clay and Jack riding floating saddles
as they search for the Star Hanabi in a giant haystack all set to an epic
musical score. The showdown
is made stronger when after doing little good while following his dad’s advice,
Clay firmly tells him to be quiet and let him win the Shen Gong Wu on his own
terms. It’s this action that wins Clay
the showdown, giving an honest somewhat unconventional message that parents don’t
always have the right answer.
After spending
so much of the episode being closed-minded, Clay’s dad ends the cartoon
understanding the importance of what his son is part of. It isn’t enough to
forget how overbearing he was with in most of the episode, but
it’s still the best way to wrap things up, and it all unfolds in a standard, if
slightly unusual setting.
B+
The Ranking
- Night of the Sapphire Dragon
- Shen Yi Bu
- Chameleon
- Katnappe
- The Journey of a Thousand Miles
- My Homey Omi
- Like a Rock
- Big as Texas
- Ring of the Nine Dragons
- Tangled Web
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode that goes all out with the concept of Xiaolin Showdowns with many of them occurring all at once.
If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment