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Something
Jermaine
This show has many villains that can and have made comebacks,
but not much in the way of supporting heroes.
This episode’s main gimmick is that it brings back a well-known
supporting hero from the previous season, Jermaine. Just as before, he’s just as cool and savvy
with his attitude even if his mannerisms can feel like he’s trying too hard to
reach a standard. Sadly, his return is
tarnished somewhat by Omi’s more concerning than average egotism.
Jermaine comes to the Xiaolin Temple
announcing that he’s joining the Warriors and is even so good that he’s
advanced past Xiaolin Apprentice. From
there, Omi can’t take that someone is in a higher position than him even if the
same can be said for all the other Warriors.
I know that it’s always been his thing to be the best of the best, but
here it’s very hard to accept and completely immature. It’s like all the moves and knowledge of
Xiaolin history mean nothing if this is how the character devoted to those
things is going to act.
In this pitiful
display, Omi’s jealousy goes so far that during a Shen Gong Wu hunt, just when
Jermaine is about to retrieve it, he’s clearly at fault through getting in the
way. Afterwards, he has the audacity to
blame Jermaine for the loss even though he was doing everything right. As an even sadder state of affairs for Omi’s
mindset, his new rivalry with Jermaine gets to the point where they get competitive
over everything. It isn’t even helped by
the wiser authority figures. Dojo
enhances the somber tone of the conflict by bringing up a story of how
friendships that reach a conflict can never be mended which foreshadows an
episode in the next season. Master Fung
even has them settle things by sparring, even though it doesn’t make sense how
this will help them make peace. At least
during the sparring match, Omi does get suspicious as he recognizes a fight
move only he knows. In addition to
bringing a fresh direction, he also shows genuine regret when Jermaine decides
to leave.
After this comes the episode’s
big reveal. Jack is trying out a new
team strategy by hiring Tubbimura the fat ninja as his sidekick. Like in earlier appearances, Tubbimura’s
appeal comes from being a funny fat man in a threatening ninja’s body. As a sidekick, he orders Jack to get him
stuff, usually to tend to his dog.
During his pursuit, he learns that Jermaine knows all these advanced
fighting moves because he’s working for Chase Young and even lets his enemies
know. What could be a dark reveal for
Jermaine is lightened somewhat as it shows that he doesn’t know he’s evil as
Omi and the others try to warn him.
This
results in a Roman gladiator-inspired Xiaolin Showdown built on exciting
chariot races, sword fights, and surprise trap doors. The thing that makes it stand out is how Omi
and Jermain reconcile. Omi finally shows
humility by refusing to fight and saying that his attitude wasn’t because he
wasn’t proud of Jermaine, but he wasn’t proud of himself. The latter point is hard to believe, but it
makes for an interesting finish to the Showdown as it ends with both opponents
making peace instead of one coming out on top.
So peace is retained as well as the status quo with Jermaine deciding to
leave and never appearing again. It’s an
unfortunate outcome since his inclusion could be a good shakeup to the dynamic
and he and Omi are on good terms again.
While disappointing, at least we can leave the episode with a positive
feeling, even if there’s uncomfortable immaturity on the way there.
B
The Ranking
1. Citadel of Doom
2. The Last Temptation of Raimundo
3. The Apprentice
4. The New Order
5. The Evil Within
6. Enter the Dragon
7. The Deep Freeze
8. Days Past
9. PandaTown
10. The Emperor Scorpion Strikes Back
11. The Return of PandaBubba
12. The Sands of Time
13. The Year of the Green Monkey
14. Master Monk Guan
15. Screams of the Siren
16. The Demon Seed
17. Crystal Glasses
18. Dreamscape
19. The Shard of Lightning
20. Something Jermaine
21. Hear Some Evil, See Some Evil
22. Sizing Up Omi
23. The Black Vipers
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Omi and Chase Young's secret alliance comes to a head as spider's get released and threaten to eat the world.
If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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