“You Cats take all the best land for yourselves, leaving the other animals to fight over scraps. If we steal your crops, it is to feed our young.”
“Our only crime is not being as strong as the Cats. It is the same for all other Animals.”
Much as I had predicted in my Speculations thread, the Thunderians turned out to be species supremists, giving the other animals a reason to hate them, and make the “Mutants” fight with them more justified.
Now, this doesn’t mean that some (Lion-O, Jaga) weren’t like that, but others (Tygra, the Mob threatening the lizards, Claudus) were, and believe that strength and the sword were the only ways to get along with the other Animals. Now, that is not to say the Lizards didn’t make a deal with the devil in working with mumm-ra. But given thier circumstances, can you blame them?
I wonder how this will affect later episodes in the series? Will Lion-O be trying to befriend other races to get thier aid, while Tygra argues they should just take what they need as the “Top Predator”, leading to group conflict?
I’m not sure if I like that part. We’ve grown up with the mutants being the evil ones and now it’s suggested that the thundercats are “the top predators”.
I don’t mind some lizards helping out but Slythe should remain a big baddy.
It seemed like it was more personal for Slythe. He talked about Claudus specifically, and made a point to destroy his statue. I think they might have some kinda history together.
Yes it was definately personal for Slyhte and I have a feeling he has a good point whatever it might be.
The thing is you should relate to the bad guys too. In avatar Zuko is a bad guy but you immediately felt there was more to it. I want that kind of stuff too for some villains.
Even Mumm-ra seems to have a special history with them, he spoke about his stone that was stolen
I like this change from the original, the Thunderians think they are doing the right thing to ensure their safety and peace and I’m sure most of them are “good”.
I like it because it’s more realistic, nothing is black or white so even though the Thundercats are the heroes of the series that does not mean they can’t do “bad” things or make mistakes.
It adds a more realistic twist to it. It’s just everyone trying to surivive in the end. But things will most like go with the Lizards, or their leaders, going overboard with the thirst for power and it ends up being their undoing. And this undoing may come in the form of the now fighting for survival Thundercats.
I like that realistic twist too. It has something from “Black Lagoon”, where no person is really good or bad. Everyone has a motive why he’s acting in their own ways. This was a very clever move from the producers, I really want to see a conflict between the races. Racism is never a bad thing for a plot and pushes the niveau beyond our imagination.
ya it was an interesting twist to the new toon that the Thunderians may not be as perfect and noble as they were in the 80’s and to be honest it did make me kinda side with the Lizards when they finally attacked.
This is a very sensitive topic. It’s weird how the new series has stereotyped Thunderians considering the OS so much imposed the Code of Thundera. Yet in the one hour premiere, I saw a lack in the Code among the Cats. I wonder if the Code doesn’t exist yet, if it will be invented as the series progresses. It would be interesting if the Code comes about by each of the 4 adult ThunderCats bringing one element of it in.
I wonder if there will even be a code of Thundera this time. But if there is, it might be an ancient code the ancestors of the Thundercats followed, and has been forgotten or abandoned by more recent generations. If that is the case, Lion-O may have to revive it.
And from what I saw, I think the majority of Thunderians had become corrupt and decadent. Notice how Lion-o’s Compassion and interest in tech was frowned upon by everyone else in Thunderian society, and they wanted Tygra as thier king. The Thunderrcats lived in a society that needed to change, and didn’t want to- As Jaga said, “The Tragedy to come was nesscesscary.”
Personally I don’t think I like how prevalant the racism was in Thunderan society. I like my good guys to actually be good guys, I’m not saying faultless, I liked flawed heroes, but I want to root for the good guys and it’s hard to do that when you think the villains are right. I’d have liked Tygra and Claudus, at least, to be a little more sympathetic. I cheered the Lizards attack, I’m not sure that’s what they were going for.
That was also something I noticed, and it reminded me of a school of thought that was going around some of the fandom back in the day. It went something like this: Everything on Third Earth was just peachy until the Thundercats crashed on it. It woke up Mumm-Ra and triggered a whole bunch of other bad things. So the reasoning there kind of went that the Thundercats could hav actually been bad guys depending on the point of view.
I never really liked that idea personally, as I thought there were a few big holes in it. But listening to the Lizards and how they only were attacking because they were trying to survive made me wonder if that was a possible nod to that whole theory.
It would also explain why they probably threw in with Mumm-Ra, as he might have promised them power and freedom from persecution from the Thunderians. It’s an easily understood motivation and actually has some historical precedence. At the risk of invoking Godwin’s Law, both the Germans and the Italians supported their respective leaders initally in WWII because both their countries had been economically devastated and demoralized in the wake of WWI. And they were making them promises of leading them out of that and into a new age of prosperity and global dominance. Of course, we all know that didn’t turn out so well for them, and most didn’t realize it until it was almost too late.
I just want to point out though that the Thunderians don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. As far as they’re concerned they’re capturing enemies and criminals.
Tygra: “They’re our greatest enemy Lion-O.”
Sure the lizards are stealing to feed their families…but they’re still stealing. End doesn’t justify the means and all that.
and don’t forget the mural at the beginning that shows the lizards on Mumm-Ra’s side before all this happens.
I was thinking along those lines. I think they don’t understand other cultures due to lack of proper exposure. I think it’s typical of hiererchy. It’s not just other cultures but also seen within Thunderian culture, there is definitely a social class structure and those of higher class feel a superiority to those of lower class. Etc…
Some Thunderians (Lion-O, perhaps others) saw somthing was wrong, and tried to change it. Taking the lizards as slaves, oppressing them, and using force to deal with the other animals is what led to Thundera’s downfall. Stealing may not be right, but neither is slavery and brutality, even if you believe you are justified.
Both the Lizards and the Thunderians are in the wrong. One for thier opression of another species, and the other for the total brutality in ridding itself of that oppression (and in msking a deal with Grune and Mum-ra). Still, the thunderians brought it upon themselves.
Maybe I’m stretching here, but for me it kind of echoes the relationship between the Colonials and the Cylons in BSG. The Colonials never recognized the Cylons as potential sentient beings when they were created, and more or less treated them like slaves. The Cylons of course revolted, but took it too far when they committed genocide against the Colonials. Both were equally in the wrong for what they did, and both sides ultimately had to answer for their actions. My favorite line from the show in fact was, “Sooner or later, the day comes when you can’t hide from the things you’ve done anymore.” It could be argued that the Thunderians had their reckoning when the Reptilians attacked. And again, the way Thundera was attacked kind of mirrors the destruction of the Colonies in both the old and new BSG. Then again, I’ve always thought both TCats and BSG had a few similarities between them. Maybe it’s me, but it’s interesting to see these parallels continuing with the new show.