Thursday, November 7, 2019

The New Order (Xiaolin Showdown Season 2 Episode 21) - 'Toon Reviews 35

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The New Order



It seems that a big theme of this season is not underestimating certain threats.  For instance, you have Jack Spicer who in stature is more pretentious and less mature than most villains.  These drawbacks are a key reason the Xiaolin Warriors are able to beat him most of the time, the opening Shen Gong Wu hunt he takes on with Cyclops being an example.  In fact, it makes sense that the Warriors see the much more competent and powerful Chase Young as an even bigger threat.  As for Chase, he continues to astound in mysterious ways by focusing on his personal goals of getting Omi to the dark side despite Wuya’s desire to obtain more Shen Gong Wu.  Unlike every other key player in the series, Chase has no interest in such things, though when another one reveals itself, he gives in and goes after it. 
This turns out to be more of an exercise in power as he gets it first, and stands strong as all his opponents try to get it back from him.  Then Jack unleashes the Sphere of Yun, trapping Chase in a large glass ball which also means he gets control of all Chase’s possessions, including his army of jungle cats.  This is actually welcome since given the subject of the Sphere of Yun’s introductory episode, not much was known about it.  Now with Jack in charge of everything Chase owned, you’d think that things won’t be much different given his mentality.  However, this belief is wrong because when he raids the Xiaolin Temple, he turns out to be more brutal than ever.  Through commanding the jungle cats, the Warriors get legitimately beaten hard as emphasized by visuals of torn clothes and bad facial wounds.  The moves they unleash aren’t enough to beat them either.  Master Fung comes in with exciting moves of his own for once, but his old age is unable to keep him standing for long.  Even after the raid is over, there’s lament over the hard possibility that victory for the side of justice may never be imminent again with Jack’s new army.  Omi even admits that things were better when Chase had the power considering he never had an interest in Shen Gong Wu. 
Despite visible objections from the others, Omi goes through with his belief and dares to let Chase out of the Sphere of Yun.  For a while, it seems like Omi’s made a huge mistake with Chase claiming he’ll destroy him.  Then when Jack notices that Chase has been let out, he gets several humiliating defeats as Chase beats the power of several Shen Gong Wu used against him. 
This allows Omi to take some of them back with a small Xiaolin Showdown against Chase to finish the job.  During this showdown, there’s noticeable compatibility between the two fighters as they make their way up a spikey crag via several randomly named martial arts moves.  The big takeaway is how it concludes when Chase, who’s powerful enough to save himself, instead lets himself fall after Omi causes him to slip.  Afterwards, Omi gets the feeling that Chase let him win, even to the point of thanking him.  It’s a thought-provoking moment that suggests that maybe Chase has merit with his plan along with a belief that Omi daring to go behind his friends’ backs to save him is the beginning. 
All of this unfolds in one of the show’s most insightful works about how different moralities exist in pretty much everyone.
A+

The Ranking

1.      Citadel of Doom

2.      The Last Temptation of Raimundo

3.      The New Order

4.      The Evil Within

5.      Enter the Dragon

6.      The Deep Freeze

7.      Days Past

8.      PandaTown

9.      The Emperor Scorpion Strikes Back

10.  The Return of PandaBubba

11.  The Sands of Time

12.  The Year of the Green Monkey

13.  Master Monk Guan

14.  Screams of the Siren

15.  The Demon Seed

16.  Crystal Glasses

17.  Dreamscape

18.  The Shard of Lightning

19.  Hear Some Evil, See Some Evil

20.  Sizing Up Omi

21.  The Black Vipers

 
 
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where even petty old Jack Spicer appears to have some depth to his evilness.

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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