I genuinely love that Addicus and Kaynar are cannibalistic serial killers.
It is wrong that I LOVE Kaynar? He’s kinda hilarious and totally nuts.
Honestly… I hated this one, I’m sorry. Ever since episode 13, it felt like a real cop-out. I mean, I had doubts about the show, but I got hooked fairly quickly; the artwork and time spent on detail was great, and I could forgive the stilted and generic dialogue and plot points (because that’s what made the original so much fun x3). But, oh MAN, there was a chance that they could have done something seriously cool with this whole “Tygra-betrayal” thing, and what happens?
Er, nothing. I was left scratching my head going, “wait - what was the betrayal???”
And find by episode 14, the answer is as silly and boring and time-wasting as you could expect… a very weak love-triangle dispute that has now taken the center stage. Sorry - I just can’t get my head around it, or how it’s supposed to be so important. There’s no plausible backing to it, especially when I can’t help but notice that really big elephant in the room:
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Did all the other Thunderians die? Are they the LAST of their kind? If not, what about their people - did they even think about seeing if there were survivors, and moving them to a safe place? (Already, bad leadership.) And if they ARE the last, maybe that’s why Lion-o’s upset??
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Cheetara is a CLERIC. Clerics GUARD the Royal family. I groaned all the way through this episode because apparently, this struck Lion-o as a complete surprise.
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Loyalty is obviously a joke. In the first few episodes, no matter how illogical an order, they had to follow Lion-o. And, “Thundercats do not retreat!” Cheetara immediately backed out in a fight to save Tygra. How can Lion-o trust the only people he’s got if they’re going to surrender every time they get a beating?
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THEY ARE AT WAR. I seriously doubt that they have time for a love triangle only fourteen episodes in, especially on such a weak excuse for a romance. And, cue jealousy and all this, that came out of nowhere. I couldn’t believe they’d practically sacrificed Grune, the coolest baddy so far, for…this. AND Panthro’s arms.
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The siblings are not my favorite; they waste screen-time that could be used EXPLAINING/Addressing all of the above.
The only thing I really liked about this episode are Kanar and the monkey-man; they were pretty neat, and I hope to see more of them beating some common sense into this story soon. 'Til then… replays old episodes of TC, for good-times sake.
Kaynar is ****ing ballin’.
But I adored Addicus. Normally, I’m not totally keen on rebooting 80’s villains and trying to make them more “serious” (save Cobra Commander on GI Joe Renegades and Animated Megatron). Because it always seems too easy to me unless there’s an Adam DeCobray-esque twist to it. That’s why I LOVE this Mumm-Ra, because he’s still a boogeyman way past his prime and even Slithe notes that something’s not right here.
But Addicus and Kaynar are so much fun that I think they’re an amazingly successful revamp of Monkian and Jackalman.
Kaynar and Addicus shocked me. I was actually anxious about what they were going to do to Tygra and Cheetara in that last fight. :eek:
I hope not, because I’m right there with you.
On another note, am I the only one with the feeling that this is not the last we have seen of the Bird Nation?
I too felt like this was something of an introduction for that one executioner/ninja Bird person. But at first when I saw that scene I was thinking “ohhh look they’re bringing in Vultureman… Oh what nope its just Monkian er… Addicus? cool he’s got a name now.” 
That scene with Kaynar being offered “cats” as motivation to fight gave me a hilarious image of Kaynar barking up a tall tree at a team of hissing thundercats. Oh imagination…:rolleyes:
That thought crossed my mind for a second too.
If I may bring up this dream scenario:
At this point, even though it may derail the Thundercats quest, the series really should be more about the misadventures of the mutants totally wrecking third earth. Slythe reunited with the mutants was just delightful to see again after the OS incarnations.
And how the introductions of Monkian and Jackalman, well Addicus and Kaynar respectively, were just very well delivered. Their presence in battle against the Thundercats, even for Slythe, was very dominating. I dislike to bash Mumm-ra, but Slythe really gave Lion-O a match more so than Mumm-Ra did. At the Tower of Omens episode, meh… okay Mumm-Ra had that but still in “Between Brothers” beaten, practically pushed over…
Panthro…Have to get used to his new look and abilities…
The WilyKittens…Awesome as always! Good to see they have their hoverboards now!
Lion,Tygra and Cheetara: as much of a Lion-O fan I am, he was being a baby…but he has a crushed heart so… hopefully he gets over this.
And Lion-O battle skills was good, he definitely likes to play chicken with blasts from tanks it seems.
I don’t think he really wanted his brother to die though, seeing the conflict perhaps it was his way of bluffing against Slythe to not show weakness even though they were getting beaten.
Cheetara surrendering = lame. I understand she doesn’t want Tygra dead but she could have easily utilized her super speed to kick Kaynar away or something?! She was not grabbed yet by Addicus so easily she could have pulled a speed attack like how she beat Grune WAAYYYYYYY back in the first episode…
Tygra was awesome, and with his sniping skills. Although even though he raised his disagreements about the lizards, at this point I think he could have been a bit more open towards the good lizards.
The Love Triangle…ehhhh…it really is dragging. All three of them are acting stupid to their own degrees. That’s the main problem with love triangles it seems. Hopefully if Pumyra is intended to be a romantic interest for Lion-O, hopefully its a belligerent love tension. And a comedic and actual workiing one that actually takes its time developing at that!
Also, more screen time for the mutants, and they better bring back Vultureman! YESSssss?!?!?!?
First of all, let me start by saying that Kaynar and Addicus are so well portrayed as the menacing,harassing and vicious dynamic duo which ravaged and terrorized Third Earth.
J.M Dematteis(one of the best and personal favorite in Comic Book writing) once again as in ‘The song Of The Petalars’ gave as a perfect example of how good an episode could get if you have a rich and intriguing story unfolding. Many new elements were added that will take the plot one step further in the future. The two new Generals had this sinister appearance as well as character. By the time, we see Monkian(yeah i like the old school names!!) strung up and the Judge/leader saying: '‘for your crimes against the Bird-nation, you are here sentenced to death..’ it is made clear that a certain level of terror is brought into the game.Art Director Dan Norton did an amazing job depicting Kaynar and Addicus as ferocious as possible devoid of a goofy style,we were so fed up with at their original representation in the old show.
These two are by far the best character upgrade i’ve seen so far from the 80s cartoon. Probably, they will lack too in brightness but their intimidating outlook convince you of their cruel nature, moreover their ability to wreak havoc everywhere. I am so pleased they have nothing in common with the two bozos we knew.Many hardcore fans have stated their annoyance with the stupidness of Mutants, the 2011 Thundercats have brought a breath of fresh air to the evil side, i am so content with that.
Lion-o is weighed down by Cheetara’s choice to give her heart to his brother. It seems in the end,the love triangle will inflict much pain to one brother or the other. Witnessing this whole love affair unfurl is very interesting and thankfully they writers have been cautious from turning it into a boring soap opera. It’s so great to see serious matters, tapping on mature territories being pointed out at a cartoon series. As we progressing to next seasons it is corroborated the mature storytelling the producers were initially stressing.
Now a few points like Lion-O’s ‘lightning’ shield created by the addition of the Spirit stone to his claw or Panthro’s mechanical hands that fans might not like, they are just second-rate changes which don’t affect by any means the overall quality of the show, on the other hand i find them great and innovative modifications. Also, i think the beefed-up Thundertank looks terrific!!
Conrats on the team, it worth the 4 months wait!!
I feel that the whole series has been written a little “too carefully” - a little more emphasis, a little more expansion (and better dialogue, especially) wouldn’t hurt. Right now, I feel I can guess what the characters are going to say; and so far, they’ve used almost every cliche in the book. (HOWEVER: Props to Eps 1&2, and 5, for doing it so tastefully, and special mention to Episode 4 “Song of the Petalars” for no recycled tropes/points/dialogue at ALL.)
And especially now, seeing that as it looks like we’re in for a boring romance sub-plot, the writers need to step it up several notches - take TC to the next level. I’m guessing the reason its been written so blandly was because the target-audience changed (really young kids), but I urge them not to forget their older fans, too - and do not assume that because its for a younger audience, said audience is incapable of understanding. Putting some depth and complexity into the characters will do nothing more than make them 3 dimensional again instead of completely flat, and of course, could turn out completely fantastic. (case in point, “Avatar: The Last Airbender”).
Elaborate this point, please.
I wish I was in the camp of people raving about the episode, but I’m not. Maybe I just love the OS too much or something.
The good: I enjoyed Kaynar and Addicus and was glad to see they incorporated their animal traits. Their back stories were good and helped establish them as real threats. I always loved Jackalman in the OS and I really enjoyed Kaynar here in the new. Great to see the kittens hover boards and the bird people (future Vultureman).
The bad: The new Thundertank as well as Panthro’s arms are too much. With the addition of the go go gadget arms they are removing more and more semblance of who / what Panthro is.
Side note: A lot of people complain about how the mutants were bumbling idiots in the OS (and while I liked them I do agree they could have been a bit tougher) but IMO the struggle between good and evil remains much too one sided in the NS (which I was hoping wouldn’t be the case).
We already know that the reptiles are pretty much no threat to the cats and might as well be written out of the show, and just when they bring in Kaynar and Addicus to even things out, boom here comes this huge new Thundertank and now Panthro can punch you from 20 yards away. Why??? There was absolutely no need for that. It took so much away from the debut of the new generals and the possible shift in power away from the Tcats. Sorry but that was just terrible timing.
I’m no writer but I think it’s obvious that the closer you keep the struggle for power the more interesting the show becomes. The baddies have barely put together a team of formidable foe’s and yet the Thundercats already have so much.
^^ The target-audience for the new series is so far written as though its not for an adult audience, or an audience for both kids and parents/adults, but more for kids. The morals are simple, and remain simple and are most times the entire basis of the current plot/sub-plot.
…And kind of over-emphasized. There are no “subtle” morals or messages instilled in each episode. “Vengeance is bad, life is precious, respect nature, don’t be reckless” and so forth are good messages, no doubt, but could be played more subtly, and perhaps played subtley by the characters actions instead of their words. It would leave much more room for character development, and world development - the culture of ever race looks so interesting, but we’re never really given time for it to sink in past, “this is where we’re setting the story, this will remind you of this moral, the moral is this”.
To AlexofThundera: totally agree about the power struggle. I especially enjoy how the Cats weren’t even necessarily the “good guys” to start out with, and how the others have to get over their generations of contempt / distrust to even have a remote chance of getting along. (Now that’s a complex moral, that’s taking up a kind of extended theme…instead of being learned and solved in a day.)
Wait, a cartoon based on a toy-driven 80’s property is for kids? WHAAAAAAT?
The demographic didn’t “change.” The original Thundercats and this Thundercats target the same general age group. The new series, though certainly not the most nuanced show ever produced, is a bit more sophisticated than where we started. I’d argue the current Thundercats is more nuanced than the various comics aimed at adult audiences (if you recall their inspired plot choices such as sex slave Wilykittens and sex slave Cheetara).
New Thundercats isn’t exactly a complex series. It’s a highly archetypal fantasy that implements an absurd 80’s universe. The only core difference, besides most of the cast now being actual characters, is setting the various insanity into a recognizable monomyth. All the better, I say. Thundercats was the right kind of genre mishmash back then to inspire the imaginations of children, but suffered a lack of any cohesive story editing. As much as I actually ENJOY William Overguard’s insanity, a lot of his work on the show defines the sort of redundancy or incoherency that hurt individual Thundercat stories at times.
Thundercats now is the original series with new (better) characterization and a linear journey. I didn’t walk into this show expecting more than what I knew Thundercats was. Thundercats is a vast wild universe that will fire the imaginations of an entirely new generation of children, only now with the benefit of a structure to its inherent anarchy. I LOVE that we can get such a range as ancient science fiction and an entire episode homage to Moby Dick and that kids can get such a wide range of iconography from one show.
I’m GLAD the show is for kids. I’d rather kids get an archetypal fantasy story full of robot bear gerbils, wood forgers, and ancient space mummies than something full of less wonder. The fact it now airs the same morning as my favorite currently running series, Young Justice, is icing on the cake.
I am afraid i totally disagree, i would understand it if you told me that in the OS, we almost knew exactly right off the bat how an episode would end, and the events were pretty much predefined.Also, the whole first season had absolutelly no story continuation and each episode was independent.But do you really can say the same for the NS? here we have a story arc, which trends on uncharted maps and keep on introducing new elements to the Thundercats world.
I keep reading how irritated some fans are by the emphasis laid on the love triangle.But this doesn’t happen to the detriment of the story neither lose focus on the main plot,which is to find the stones and Lion-o to progress as a leader. Additionally, the writers are masterfully addressing this issue by making it one more reason to disunite the brothers as well as the whole team instead of simply showing as two brothers pining for a girl.
Remember what chetara said,'I decide to go with him(Tygra), when Lion-O is ready to take on Kaynar and Addicus on his own. Lion-O has already got the heir and the sword and starts to understsand thst he can’t have anything but deep down he thought Cheetara was on his side. Tygra has made it very obvious that he should be the rightfull owner of the Sword as the more capable, ready and older brother, still he has to make do only with Cheetara, at least thus far…Every point from the above is on a tight rope, no bonding nor permanent friendship and loyalty between the team’s members can be taken for granted, the love triangle just perplexes things even further…And this is good writing for me. I really don’t know why you find it lame guys…
xD I know, I know, I’m a nitpick (out of love). There’s nothing wrong with any of that. (I meant, for all ages to enjoy ^^. )All I’m saying is, it wouldn’t hurt to be a little more complex, a little more subtle. (And explain / portray the ideas better. What happened to all of the Thunderians??). I’m not tearing it a new one for being horrible or anything; I loved the OS, and I like this one too. When I saw the first episodes of this one, they attempted to flesh out the world and characters so much more than before, and I was totally on board with that - it’s just now it’s kind of lost the attempt of those first eps. Every problem gets solved in a day, nothing really happens… “You killed our father, nooo, my heart belongs to someone else”… the dialogue could be better, the characters better, among other things.
Yep. Could all be better. ^.^
the target audience from the very start of the show has been kids 6-11. when the crew watches the ratings that’s the demographic they watch. Heard that one straight out of the horses mouth. They don’t even pay attention to the adult ratings.
They might throw in some easter eggs for the fans of the OS, but we’re not the target audience and never have been.
We were once 
and then we grew up. The easter eggs are fun (about died at the “samoflange” reference).