Ruthie, honest question here (no intention to be ironic or rude): how did this episode allow Lion-o to get inside Tygra’s skin? I really didn’t see it.
Not to mention forget what you know about strategy.
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I’m guessing that Panthro’s challenge is that he didn’t have to be physically stronger than him to be stronger than him.
I like the idea that Tygra’s test could be a version of the Kobayashi-Maru in that he has to deal with failure.
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I loved seeing that flute in action and hope to see it again in future episodes.
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I also loved it when he yelled “Thundercats Hoooo!”
One thing that bothered me: if the Astral Plane is a spirit world, then how come Jaga was still transparent? Nothing there has any more mass than he does.
Great episode all around. I liked that the trials didn’t truly end when Lion-O thought they did. Very clever. Very cool. Everything was cool. 
Panthro’s “Go-Go-Gadget” arms are starting to become a nuisance. The Berbils must’ve been thinking really cute things when they made those arms for him.
What I don’t get is, when the TCs commanded by Tygra were spying on Mumm-Ra and the Mutants, why didn’t Tygra told Panthro to use his new arms to get the sword and problem solved? Did they all forget about those arms?
I really hate it when these inconsistencies arise.
Panthro’s arms don’t seem to be very fast, so I’ll give him a pass on that one. Cheetara or Tygra also have speed and range (whip) on their side, too.
Strategy-wise, Tygra could’ve sent the rest in to fight as a distraction while he snuck in to grab the sword. Kaynar would’ve been the only potential obstacle with that nose of his. With a few exceptions, Tygra never seems to use his invisibility in a way that makes sense…and fake!Tygra was teleporting with it. Maybe this is purposeful on the writers’ part to show that the younger Thundercats are still learning as they go…students, not masters.
Lion-O had nothing left to lose. I understand why he wanted to go after Mumm-Ra and accomplish as much as he could before sunrise. Good thing Panthro was there.
True, but if he was unable to kill Mumm-ra before that time, then the sword would still be with him. Not very beneficial to the cats.
That’s why it was good Panthro was there 
That and it gave Lion-O a chance to say goodbye, which I’m sure he wanted after everything that’s happened.
Too true. It would have sucked if he didn’t get that chance. It felt rushed, though; I was hoping for some more angst. But perhaps he had suffered enough already.
I loved how they condensed the trials into two parts, but I didn’t think that Lion-O would be in a spirit realm, doing them. Either way, one thing I loved was Wily-Kit, having faith and telling the others that Lion-O wasn’t gone. It gives me the impression that she looks up to Lion-O.
That not withstanding, Kaynar and Addicus are INSANE! I love that Kaynar is just fricken psychotic and wishes to eat the kittens. This next wave is shaping up to be good. Here’s hoping they keep up the pace with “Native Son.”
The trials were really well handled for two parters. Only criticism of mine is that Mumm-Ra is getting too easy to defeat…he hardly puts up a fight anymore. I was so surprised when he just ran away from a fight without trying any harder.
The Mumm-Ra in the classic series was so easy to defeat; this Mumm-Ra in the new series is supposed to be at his most powerful.
Yeah, that disappointed me too.
Mumm-Ra seems to get weaker every time he gets blasted with the Sword. But I’m fine with his character receding into the background, he’s not that deep or interesting at this point. Another “Legacy”-type episode to delve into who he really is would be nice.
Overall I enjoyed Part 2 much better than the first. The “Kobayashi Maru” test was an interesting twist and I liked how the ultimate solution to the no-win scenario was for Lion-O to sacrifice himself - same as Spock’s solution in Star Trek II, and the ending of Sherlock Holmes 2.
The best aspect of this episode was finally seeing Tygra confront his own weaknesses and accept that it’s no cake-walk to be a leader. But I didn’t feel the episode made him out to be a chump. Instead, it made him appear more “human” (cat?) and sympathetic. His strengths and weaknesses compliment Lion-O’s, and vice-versa. Hopefully this will lead them to work together more in the future, and not against one another.
I also hope we see more of a shift in focus after the Trials, away from the internal tension within the group and on to more external events, like what else is happening on Third Earth.
What if that’s actually true? That would be a pretty awesome explanation for a lot of things.
Well I guess the next stone could fall into Mumm-Ra’s hands and shift the balance of power back to a more middle ground between him and Lion-O.
Trouble with Mumm-Ra is they gave him a pretty awesome introduction, but ever since he’s slowly faded into the background, only popping up to boss slythe around or as in this episode attempt to gain the Eye of Thundera and fail yet again.
Although this was a somewhat predictable episode (Lion-O must come back to life to rescue his comrades from Mumm-Ra), there were many enjoyable moments. The trials of strength and mind power were quite good, with Tygra’s cute uttering of “Whiskers!” (do all Thunderian kings say that when suddenly faced with a difficult situation?). Tygra’s humble admission, “We’d follow you anywhere, Your Majesty” proves that Lion-O does beat Tygra at his own game when Tygra realizes his kid brother makes decisions that actually work out. I love WilyKit using her flute to hypnotize the Lizard guards; the writers should have her use it more often, as well as have WilyKat get around to using his grappling hooks. It was good to have her leave a trail for Lion-O to follow as well as have him puzzle over the first sign until he suddenly realizes it’s from Kit, although there should have been an extra scene where he’s agonizing over which way to go before he finds Kit’s trail. I can’t say I enjoy Panthro’s new Mr. Fantastic ability, as it seems like too much of a plot crutch to be believeable, as does Kit’s unshakeable faith that Lion-O isn’t dead. The episode doesn’t show how Lion-O grabbed hold of the bird’s ankles (like the bird in the maze, he probably waited until it got close enough to him while diving for river fish). Nor does it show how he slipped by the Lizard patrol outside Mumm-Ra’s pyramid (probably the same strategy; he waited until they were far enough away to sneak by them and up the pyramid wall to the entrance). My favorite scene is of Kat and Kit running up to Lion-O and throwing their arms around him, and he embracing them in return; he’s becoming the big brother they never had. I would have expected Tygra to welcome him with an embrace, but I guess he’s not the emotionally demonstrative type when it comes to Lion-O, and it may be Tygra believes on some level that Lion-O is still angry at him and Cheetara. Like the Mutant Generals, Mumm-Ra was far too easy to defeat in this story. And I believe it may have been more fitting for Lion-O to say, “And I am King of Thundera”, unless all Thunderians are referred to as ThunderCats, and not just the higher-ranking ones.