Saturday, November 9, 2019

Something Jermaine (Xiaolin Showdown Season 2 Episode 23) - 'Toon Reviews 35

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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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