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:
Crystal
Glasses
Much like the last episode, this one is majorly fueled by
shenanigans caused by a newly revealed Shen Gong Wu. There’s a touch more effective drama this
time around which gives it more weight, especially in an emotional sense. That said, getting there is a little slow
despite still being mildly enjoyable.
It
begins with the Xiaolin Warriors venturing to Russia to obtain a Shen Gong Wu
that allows the user to see into the future called the Crystal Glasses. Along the way, they meet a Russian citizen
named Vlad. As a character, he’s
certainly got a funny voice and appealing design, but it doesn’t shake off the
fact that he’s a total Russian stereotype.
You can say that nearly all the characters on this show are walking
stereotypes, but Vlad seriously takes that quality to a new level. Despite all that, he proves productive with
the Warriors’ pursuit of the Crystal Glasses, and puts up a strong fight
against Jack, granting him access to join the team.
After that comes a sequence of messing around
with the Crystal Glasses and Vlad performing the chores around the temple. It’s all right, but it mostly feels like fluff, save for one scene of Vlad informing Jack that he’s
successfully infiltrated the temple, letting the audience know he’s really
bad. You could probably tell from Jack
just leaving the fight when he didn’t have to, but it’s a most disappointing
outcome that makes the Warriors look dumb for trusting him. Think of how fresh the team dynamic would be
if Vlad really turned out to be good.
Anyway, the episode gets more interesting when Vlad convinces Omi to use
the glasses, and the vision is of the world thrown into darkness started by
Omi. Even with all the reassuring from
his friends, Omi is too ashamed of his actions that didn’t even happen
yet. Since the vision is real, the
audience is able to be convinced enough to believe Omi has a point to his
emotions. Feeling the need to run away
into the freezing cold where he becomes a block of ice is an extreme action but
has legitimacy to it if he wants the dark future prevented.
Out of this though is a nice sense of growth
in Raimundo who leads everyone to use the glasses to find Omi. They do so just as a bunch of Shen Gong Wu
reveal themselves at once. Speaking of
that, I have to point out that none of them are named or explained. In fact, some of them look like ones that are
found in later episodes, so why reveal them here? Also, the one that’s fought
over in a showdown is completely derivative from an earlier one. It’s just not that great an exercise in
creativity. At least this part of the
episode does get Omi to learn that his vision was a trick with the Reversing
Mirror, though it comes from sheer carelessness on Vlad’s part.
For good measure, the resulting showdown is
plenty exciting as Omi and Vlad race through a cave filling with water while
stopped by golden idols. Omi in
particular impresses by showing what he can do with his powers by using his
connection with water to win and also snag the Shen Gong Wu Jack stole in the
last episode. So, Omi’s worry about
going bad turns out to not matter, but even if the vision was a trick here,
future events of this season suggest that maybe there was validity after all. It’s somewhat clever foreshadowing,
especially if you’re like me and have a good memory of where things go. That’s a big element to this episode where
even with a couple of questionable decisions, the emotion feels real and you’re
really led to think.
A-
The Ranking
1. Citadel of Doom
2. Days Past
3. Crystal Glasses
4. The Shard of Lightning
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