But in a ton of religions, members of the clergy don’t take a vow of celibacy and are allowed - or expected - to marry. And that’s all “cleric” means - a member of the clergy, in general. Not necessarily a Catholic one or whatever.
I agree. I don’t see Tygra ever willing to betray the others. At the most, I can see him getting captured and because he’s in a bad mental state, Mumm-Ra is able to brainwash him into betraying the thundercats temporarily.
Cleric brings up associations of the RPG definition to me, a priest class with magic. A little more insight into their religion and beliefs would be nice to see, though. All we really know is that the Book of Omens is like a sacred tome to them and the Sword of Omens a sacred type of weapon. I’d like to learn more about what gods or spirits the Thundercats follow at some point.
That’s not soley based on being a cleric you know. That’s based more on the religion than anything else. Christianity is the main religion in the real world that does this so it doesn’t surprise me that people would assume this. Considering that Cheetara is flirting with Lion-O, I don’t think that is really a big thing for the Thundercats clerics. Hell, Clerics in D&D could get into relationships with other people. While I’m sure there were some that couldn’t, that was more based on what deity they worshipped.
From Ramlak Rising you also know they believe in reincarnation.
Not necessarily. What did Tygra say? “May the next life show you peace”, was that it? That could just as well mean they believe in a life beyond death, like, for example, the ancient Egyptians. Several old cultures (and religions today) believed in a second life in the death realm.
Don’t forget what Lion-O said.
“Rest now to rise again Father.”
add in what Tygra said and I think it’s pretty apparent reincarnation is part of their theology.
Then the Petalars 24 hour life span must’ve blew Lion-O’s mind!
This whole discussion makes me wonder if Lion-O could be Leo reincarnated.
Anyway this is sorta sidelining the topic. This is supposed to be about love triangles! lol
Bleh, I forgot that Lion-O even spoke during the first part of that episode except to go “No, Tygra, no kittens, you’re not allowed to babysit!”. You’re right, now it does sound like reincarnation.
On topic: I just re-watched the latest episode, and something about Cheetara and Lion-O’s “romantic” interactions make me not like the pairing at all (I think it smacks too much of Sexy!Teacher/student, which always squicked me a bit), which makes me like the idea of a love triangle even less. I’m not thrilled about this at all.
That would be a really interesting concept, and would tie in really well with all the flashbacks and emphasis on ancestors and such. If it is the case I hope Lion-O and Leo aren’t exactly the same–being reincarnated doesn’t mean you’re a carbon copy of your past life.
We put a lot of focus on the Lion-O/Cheetara/Tygra love triangle. I think we should focus on the potential Snarf/Candy Fruit/Lion-O love triangle. What sort of emotional turmoil could occur if Snarf has to choose between Lion-O, his friend/master and Candy Fruit, which is awesome. Snarf and the Candy Fruit haven’t shown a lot of interaction, but something may develop, and Snarf is always following Lion-O around, but maybe it’s just platonic.
We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out I guess 
Maybe the Book of Omens allows Lion-O to actively relive his past lives.
We put a lot of focus on the Lion-O/Cheetara/Tygra love triangle. I think we should focus on the potential Snarf/Candy Fruit/Lion-O love triangle. What sort of emotional turmoil could occur if Snarf has to choose between Lion-O, his friend/master and Candy Fruit, which is awesome. Snarf and the Candy Fruit haven’t shown a lot of interaction, but something may develop, and Snarf is always following Lion-O around, but maybe it’s just platonic.
We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out I guess
I’ll be waiting with breathless anticipation on that one!
I think OS Snarf is cheating on the Candy Fruit with Lion-O. Lion-O probably won’t realize that Snarf is in a long term relationship with the Candy Fruit until the Candy Fruit comes over and punches him in the face for trying to steal his man. It’s all going to be very awkward.
New Snarf would leave both of them for Tygra, I think, because Tygra is always there for him when he needs someone to save him from drowning in sand or falling to his death <3.
Good point about the reincarnation. I forgot about that scene in Ramlak Rising.
I am all for, and would enjoy, a little romance in the show personally (I am a sucker for that stuff:)). But, as others have said, it should definitely not become a large focus of the show or story, and become a distraction to good character development. Given the overall young adult audience of the show, I am sure it likely the romance element will be fairly low key and kept secondary. However, they show clear indications of making it a part of the show given Lion-O and Cheetara’s early interactions thus far.
As far as the “love triangle” angle, I also would take this would a little grain of salt. Again, given the audience for the show, it doubtful they will go too far in that kind of direction as that starts to stray into pretty mature stuff. I think if anything the “triangle” aspect will simply be played out through both Lion-O and Tygra being interested in Cheetara, and how that might affect and shape the brothers’ relationship and rivalry (and thus provide another character development vehicle for the two brothers to overcome and reconcile with each other). The brothers love each other I am sure but there is clearly a big gulf between them as well that they will both need to overcome as I am sure the show will develop on. Even though Tygra is a tad older, I find both characters equally immature, but in different ways, and both Lion-O and Tygra have the biggest potential for character development and evolution, which is exciting.
I find it doubtful that they will play it up as Cheetara having feelings for both guys and being torn about who she loves, etc. as that just goes too far into melodrama and overly mature for the audience IMO. I think the most likely scenario will be a mild and slow developing Lion-O and Cheetara romance, but with Tygra also liking her as well, and thus how he and Lion-O deal with that.
I personally don’t find the idea of a Lion-O and Cheetara romance odd at all and it seems to fit them pretty well (I mean they are only two years apart in age) based on how the show is establishing their characters. I think the element that perhaps makes it a little less believable for some is that the show is highlighting Lion-O’s relative youth and inexperience for now , thus making Cheetara seem rather older. What I think will be interesting to see and what will be quite enriching for the characters is to see some young aspects/vulnerability within Cheetara, perhaps a case where Lion-O actually helps/counsels/comforts her in some way in a kind of role reversal as he grows. They have established her as such a great and strong character already, with the admirable wisdom and equanimity of a cleric, but I suspect she will be revealed to be more complex than that over time with maybe her own room for growth, etc…
But that brings me back to my question as to why include Tygra? Love triangles are used to create drama and conflict between characters but they already have that without this love triangle.
How is Tygra’s resentment and jealousy of Lion-O suppose to go away if Lion-O becomes king, becomes better than Tygra, and gets the girl over him? That would only make it grow, wouldn’t it? Can Tygra really ever be content with Lion-O if little brother gets everything? That’s why I would of preferred them to leave Tygra out of this if the do go the Lion-O/Cheetara route.
Holy crap this is a long discussion board. (And may I say the little Lion-O emoticons are adorable? Because, well, they are. <3 )
Anywho, onto the topic at hand!
Personally, I actually was a bit of a Cheetara/Lion-o in the original series. But in the new show…i am annoyed by how they seem to be shoving it in my face. And when I found out it was made by the same people of Avatar…That kind of made sense. They did that a lot with that series, where they made it beyond obvious which pairings would be at the end of the show. I hope, however, that they will throw a huge curve ball at the characters and the audience. (Cheezey once mentioning how she hopes that all that help and close bond from Cheetara’s side was more her being helpful, and lion-O reading it wrong as a horny teenager. I think I like that angle more. THINK OF THE LOL-FACTOR!)
That being said, Tygra needs SOMETHING. Give him the girl, at least. It would suck to be raised in a home where you were considered family, but you were constantly told you would be second place to your younger brother all because you aren’t technically related. I’m sure living with that mindset made him constantly have to prove himself. Give him the gal with the sexy cleavage and hips, he deserves it. 
Although…I think i was mostly having fun shipping Lion-o with Emrick in that peddler episode. XD
This is pretty much what I think they are going to do as well. To keep the romance to a minimum in the show they’ll probably just have Cheetara just be interested in Lion-O and have it as part of the sibling issues Tygra and Lion-O will have to deal with.
Yeah, I largely agree with you here. I am not sure I see the need either for adding Tygra into the romance mix, but I don’t necessarily see it as a bad thing either. Depends where they go with it and what the end result would be. It could be that the conflict/jealousy with Lion-O over Cheetara is the impetus and final spark that brings out into the open all the other pent up anger and resentment he has for Lion-O…and which could then lead to possible resolution and reconciliation with Tygra eventually moving past/getting over such resentments.
One thing I will say on Tygra though…has it really been so bad for him? I mean, based on the premiere, it is clear that largely growing up Tygra was in many ways the favored son—favored by Grune and seemingly often favored by Claudus (“why can’t you be more like Tygra, Lion-0?”). He has been the favored prince of the kingdom so has that really been so bad? Lion-O has been the silly one, the dreamer, never quite up to what he should be, etc. It is true Tygra cannot be King, which is arguably unfair, but I would argue that is largely Tygra’s problem/issue. His resentment IMO is largely born out of him believing he is Lion-O’s better…he is older, stronger, better fighter, etc…but he can’t be King even though he thinks is the more deserving. But, it is his own blindness and arrogance that makes him view Lion-O as inferior.
So, I don’t see Tygra too much as a victim here and do not overly sympathize for him. As I mentioned previously, I see this arrogance and resentment as an indicator of his immaturity (just as Lion-O is also immature but differently). I think for Tygra to grow, he needs to move beyond all this crap and come to see Lion-O as his equal and his King…and maybe seeing Cheetara go with Lion-O will help open his eyes a bit…
I really like how interesting and complex they have made Lion-O and Tygra character-wise, with significant faults and strengths, etc. Great potential for the show to see both of them “grow-up”… I like both characters alot.
Well, we still don’t know what really makes Tygra tick. We don’t know if his arrogance is really just his immaturity showing or is it a defense mechanism for how he really feels? Is his fued with Lion-O simply sibling rivalry or is it something more meaningful? Would losing Cheetara to Lion-O be an eye opener or a crushing blow to an already fragile ego?
I tend to think it’s the latter of those which is why I do find Tygra to be a sympathetic character at this point but until we get his backstory and events of his adoption by Claudus we don’t really know.