- Title: Samurai Jack – Episode XIV: Jack Learns to Jump Good
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Throwback Thursday takes us back to the adventures of the time-displaced samurai and his quest to make his way home. The first episode of Samurai Jack‘s Second Season is one of my favorites. After being denied access to a time portal by Aku (Mako) in the opening moments, a despondent Jack (Phil LaMarr) continues his wandering through the woods where he meets some new friends in a peaceful monkey tribe and the human (Jeff Bennett) raised by them. Jack’s new friends have a remarkable ability to jump good but they are defenseless against a more brutal tribe of apes that steal their food. In exchange for teaching them to defend themselves, the White Ape Tribe teach Jack how to “jump good.”
The lumbering unnamed child of the White Apes is one of the most likable characters ever created for the show, and he fits so perfectly with the peaceful tribe. Taking his leave before the climactic battle, Jack returns to find the White Apes have put the skills taught to them to good use in driving out the Red Apes once and for all. As for Jack, there’s something that so perfectly incapsulates the show itself in seeing the samurai with a giant boulder strapped to his back struggling up a mountain. Although the show never really shows off Jack’s jumping ability to this level again, it’s still a fun standalone episode ending in much the same way it began with Aku denying the samurai access to a portal but being taken aback by Jack’s newfound ability to “jump good.”
