Sunday, September 2, 2018

'Toon Reviews 21: Xiaolin Showdown Season 1 Episode 7: Ring of the Nine Dragons


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:
Ring of the Nine Dragons
While there’s a lot of magnitude to protecting the Shen Gong Wu, it’s been made clear that the people finding them are kids who often face common life problems.  Even after losing lots of Shen Gong Wu in the previous episode, the Xiaolin Warriors still find time for different forms of leisure. 
This is big for Omi who has been sheltered in fight training and studying Xiaolin history for most of his life. He’s impressed with the activities his new friends offer.  He wants to do them all, but can’t find enough time.  What Omi goes through can apply to anyone, even adults, so that gives the episode value. 
This everyday problem works into the main plot when the Warriors go after a Shen Gong Wu called the Ring of the Nine Dragons. It divides the user up to nine times, creating up to nine clones.  After it’s retrieved from an Aztec Temple through genuine stakes and a few solid laughs in an interesting setting, Omi tries the ring out against Master Fung's wishes.  As it turns out, there’s more to the Ring of the Nine Dragons than just making clones.  The clones Omi makes of himself act very childish, dazed, and devoid of any reason.  Watching the clones is a bit unsettling with each of them behaving very weirdly in the body of a character we know is far more mature. 

Then comes another Shen Gong Wu pursuit for a compact eyepiece that allows the user to see through solid objects, the Falcon’s Eye.  During this time, the power of the ring really makes things uncomfortable.  Omi uses it to divide himself into five clones resulting in scenes that show off their disturbing qualities.  They're drawn to something “pretty,” engage in reckless fun that endangers his friends, and complain about things that don’t make sense.  It’s like watching an infant in a mature adolescent’s body.  Even if this is the point of the Ring of the Nine Dragons, that doesn’t make the moments any less off-putting.  It also devalues the idea of making clones when all they’ll do is act too childish to be useful.  You could argue this is an interesting play on cloning though. 

Out of the awkwardness, we do get an exciting Xiaolin Showdown where one of the Omi clones ends up fighting for the Falcon’s Eye with Jack in a snowboard race.  It has fast-paced shots of them boarding through the mountain backed by an appropriately intense electric guitar music.  The showdown is made interesting by how close the Omi clone comes to getting the Shen Gong Wu while not taking the matter as seriously as he normally would.  There’s also one last uncomfortable scene of the clones’ infantile behavior as they throw a tantrum of wanting to join in the fun. That's capped off by a disturbing close-up of their blank smiles as they fall onto the competing clone.  While this does put the real Omi back together, it’s not enough. Jack wins the showdown, meaning Omi’s use of the ring behind his authority’s back led to nothing good.  Thus, we end the episode on another somber note with Omi punished enormously for his misdeed. There is a bit of positivity with Jack now enduring the ring’s wrath in the final scene though. 
I harp a lot on the episode being so unsettling for how much detail to degrading maturity is shown. However, it’s still good for its universal theme and a few exciting and funny standout moments.  It’s not the show at its best, but it still leaves some good impressions.

B
The Ranking
  1. Shen Yi Bu
  2. Chameleon
  3. Katnappe
  4. The Journey of a Thousand Miles
  5. Like a Rock
  6. Ring of the Nine Dragons
  7. Tangled Web
The next Xiaolin Showdown review features the show growing in intensity through an escapade with a dangerous Shen Gong Wu, the Sapphire Dragon.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes' "Plaza Prom."
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