Anyway, my thoughts on the finale:
First off - wow. Yes, this show really went out with a bang. Vultaire has got to be the best re-imagined name for any character in this series, because it stays true to the character’s roots without being too generic. And go on, someone’s got to do the pun on the name:
If Thundercats did not exist, it would be necessary to create it.
Of course, the way he’s presented as an essentially neutral character doesn’t quite seem right somehow. True, he’s unfriendly, but he seems to have a lot of trouble making up his mind, until Mumm-Ra comes on the scene and he chooses to side with the more powerful being. Although of course his response, “what can I say? I’m a politician!” is perfect.
Pumyra’s capture of him to open the door is great. I’m trying to think what it reminds me of, or if I’m just thinking back to when I saw the episode for the first time.
And of course we get the final piece of the puzzle about the scattering of the stones. Well, not strictly the final piece, we don’t know what or where the fourth stone is, but it’s not strictly an essential detail in terms of the flashbacks! Vultaire’s explanation is a good one, no question. At least one race has a good recollection of the planet’s history.
The whole Feliner thing is a little goofy. Panthro’s sudden fear of heights on top of his inability to swim makes him a comic grouch who’s only an effective fighter on land. OK, so the fact that someone else flies it is good, and to be fair, Tygra has shown the most mechanical aptitude in the driving department prior to this, having saved the day in the Thundertank back in episode 12 I think. That coupled with his ancestors being pilots makes him the best choice. Mind you, the whole race challenge is a bit dodgy. It might have been more plausible if Tygra had lost and they’d had to try and steal back the sword and claw.
As for the “uexpected betrayal” thing, I remember the first time I saw that episode, I was expecting it to be Tygra. But of course, the minute the stone landed by Pumyra and she didn’t immediately throw it to Lion-O, it was obvious where the rotten apple was in this barrel.
And is it me, or does Mumm-Ra look like Skeletor when he gets that stone?
And of course, when the kittens arrive at the end, for a moment I was thinking, “is he all there is?” - especially as we didn’t see anybody agreeing to help them on their rounds. Then of course I remembered the Forever Bag. Not quite sure either way on that scene, but it was good in showing the unity that Lion-O was already bringing to the species.
Overall, though, a good finale to the season. Considering the series as a whole you could probably have trimmed off about a quarter of it as having no relevance to the major story threads, and made a few tweaks to several others. But overall, not bad. Could have been better, but could have been worse.
Very lazy job by the animation department.
(Regular Show reference)