ThunderCats returns to Cartoon Network on Saturday 7th April at 9.30am with another brand new episode!
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[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]ThunderCats episode 16 “The Trials of Lion-O (Part Two[/SIZE][/FONT]
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The other cats remain trapped in Mumm-Ra’s Pyramid and, believing Lion-O is dead, attempt to escape to prevent Mumm-Ra from getting the Eye of Thundera out of the sword. Lion-O has two trials left: Panthro and Tygra, but he fails to defeat the latter. Pleading for a chance to save his friends, Jaga grants him life until sunrise to try and save his friends … and stop Mumm-Ra.[/I]
Chris here…
Thanks so much to everyone for being so “on the ball” with all this great news!
I’m just updating this first post in this thread with all the preview images and clips WB have sent over to us, to save folks scrolling through the thread.
[ol]
[li]Someone said it is time for Lion-o to beat Tygra at something. Well, if Lion-o defeats Mumm-Ra and frees his friends, he would have beaten Tygra, because he failed at defeating Mumm-Ra (so Lion-o hit two birds with one stone).[/li][li]In the trial, Lion-o tells Tygra (again) that he has always hated him because he has always wanted what Lion-o had, and says that’s why Tygra has always tried to defeat him and be better than him. Lion-o was right, but again, he doesn’t see the whole picture. I’m coming again to the adoption issue, which explains, in my pov, why Tygra is like he is. He envies Lion-o for what he has, not a crown or a sword, but a family that didn’t give him up for adoption, didn’t abandon him. And Lion-o and his family, even when adopted and loved Tygra, reminds him of the fact that someone, somewhere, didn’t love him enough to keep him, not even gave him a chance (I know we don’t know what really happened, but neither we know how Tygra thinks/feels about that). And that’s why he tries to excel Lion-o, to make his father proud of him, because I think in some place in his mind, his unconscious, he has always feared that if he’s not good enough, his adoptive father could abandon him as well, just as his biological father did because he wasn’t good nough for him. This is just a theory, of course, but hope some of it is explained at the end of the next ep and during “Native Son” as well.[/li][/ol]
So Lion-O will fail in one of the trials but somehow he will get his life back (because he is the main character), right? that’s cheap IMO.
One would think that the trial against Tygra was the perfect occasion for Lion-O to overcome his insecurities and his problems with Tygra but no, instead of passing all the trials to finally become the true Lord of the Thundercats like in the OS he will fail against his brother, but there will be no consequences, he will live again and still be king.
Like someone already said, this whole “Tygra always win” thing is really getting annoying, and it leads to bad writing in my opinion. Sigh two episodes before the end of the first half of the season I was thinking of stop watching the show, now I think I will do it or at least I will only watch it from time to time, but I won’t be following it like I used to until now.
Well that’s only my opinion, so enjoy the show, guys.
I still think the same, but at least I’ll try to watch this episode (if I can wake up when the show airs, normally I always wake up late on weekends), and I hope to be surprised.
No worries lordore, we understand. Just a bit of over excitement getting the better of us!
Merged Post:
The synopsis says that liono fails to win the final trial, tygras, but gets given a chance to save his friends from mumm ra. But I don’t think he did fail, I think the point of the trial may not have been to ‘defeat’ tygra, but for liono to realise that there may be some things tygra is better at, but that doesn’t make him a better king, or liono any less of one. Its all about self belief, self confidence and an evaluation of his relationship with his brother, and I think liono achieves this when tygra hands him the key. And the fact that he is given a chance to save his friends and face mumm ra IS the final trial. He will have earned his right to life by defeating mumm ra, regaining the sword and rescuing his friends, and will continue with a more mature, king like attitude and paradigm because of the lessons learned in the trials.
I do Tygra Rules. Great storyline by the writers! I just wish they had longer than the short timeslots cartoons allow! Is there a smiley for stamping feet?? I just want more Thundercats!
Don’t get excited Michael. Sometimes I have the impression we thing deepr plots and character traits than the writers. I wouldn’t be surprise at all if they don’t say a word about Lion-o defeating Mumm-Ra and by that beating Tygra.
Also, I wish they’d say something about Tygra envying Lion-o for havinga family, and that’s why he’s bitter at him, and that he always tried to be perfect and please Claudus in order to make it sure Claudus won’t abandon him like his real family, and then Lion-o will finally understand his brother… but I don’t think writers would go down there even when it would explaina lot of things and be in line with the characters.
Also, I want Lion-o and Cheetara to come in good terms, where he finally understands that her support and encouragement doesn’t necessarily implies her love.
But, for some reason, writers are building and showing us characters with really deep personality traits and conflicts, but don’t bother to dig a little in them and explain their reasons to act/think/feel some way or another (they did a little with Panthro though), and please themselves with some quick, superficial explanation and resolution of the conflict, always from Lion-o’s PoV. It’s always: Lion-o doesn’t understand, Lion-o yells, the other stay quiet or get to say a line to explain themselves (wich is never enough), Lion-o whines and rants even more and nobody ever knew why they act that way. A complete waste of good chances and plots, IMO. Lion-o muts talk to the others for the audience to also know them and care more about them.
For example, we know Cheetara isn’t guilty of what Lion-o is blaming her for, but as they give her not enough air time and no chance to explain herself, we don’t get her point of view and where she’s coming from. Same with Tygra; we know he resents Lion-o, we know Lion-o thinks Tygra hates him, but we haven’t heard what Tygra has to say, really, how being abandoned (or adopted) is affecting him. And how about Panthro? Why is he so bitter most of the time? What about him losing his hometown before being able to see it for the last time, and his best friend, who betrayed him, helped to do that? And what about the kittens and the lost city of Eldera? That plot has been almost left aside.
Judging by the previews, Lion-O fails to win fake!Tygra’s trial and is sent out as one last chance to defeat Mumm-ra. Tygra and co have gotten captured due to a boneheaded manuever on his part (seriously…he can turn invisible, Cheetara is superfast, and the kittens are tricksters…he completely disregarded the assets of the group in favor of jumping in feet first). I think Lion-O will save them in the end, and Tygra will finally and honestly acknowledge that Lion-O is the better king.
Based on the episode title for next week, I would assume that any resentment or feelings of inadequacy Tygra has will get a mention during that episode. I’m really hoping they’ll give us his backstory finally. I’m not entirely certain he was abandoned per se and is resentful about that; I think he just feels he has to prove himself when he visibly sticks out in the most important family in Thundera and is ineligible for the throne despite being the oldest. Plus Grune had a hand in molding him…
Absolutely agree, but then as I said in a seperate thread I think many of these problems are caused by the constraint of the cartoon timeslot than anything else. Heaven is endless seasons of 2 hour long episodes! Lol
Apologies folks for the lost posts I’m sure it was a genuine mistake by Lordore, so feel free to repost your thoughts. I’ve also posted a talkback thread up for when the episode has aired. Any speculative posts posted in the talkback thread I’ll move over to this one
I don’t think Tygra necessarily made a bad decision on that clip. He didn’t really have much of a choice. Cheetara’s speed, Panthro’s muscle, and Wily tricks are hardly helpful when the only way in to the room is up like a hundred feet into the air. They don’t exactly know the layout of the Pyramid to make a detailed plan and sneak up on them.
Tygra’s commando attack didn’t show Kat and Kit taking on the lizards too. Was that scene edited out due to time constraints or did the animators never get around to doing it in the first place?
Better to fight to the bitter end rather than let Mummra get away with murder so easy…That was Tygra’s plan…If you have nothing left…at least die fighting…no one could object to that…and no one in the group did.
Regarding that bolded part, if I have learned nothing else about how the writers work the show, I have learned that one single line tells you everything you really need to know. What Tygra said before they stormed Mumm-Ra’s chamber critical to understanding the setup; and represents something of a role reversal.
My guess is there wasn’t anything to “win” in that trial. It was to illustrate that Lion-O is his own worst enemy, and it is his own lack of confidence he needs to overcome. It isn’t Tygra he has to defeat; it’s his own nature. Ipso facto, no gold key at the end.
Or he just failed and Jaga said “Meh, mulligan” and waved his magic staff.
I’m sure it was a genuine mistake by Lordore, so feel free to repost your thoughts. I’ve also posted a talkback thread up for when the episode has aired. Any speculative posts posted in the talkback thread I’ll move over to this one 