Hey, so I recently bought the whole series and saw that no one else seems to have done a 'watches' blog on it, soooo grab the popcorn and get ready for episode reviews!
I would’ve loved to see the Xiaolin kiddos sharing their cultures with each other, especially language, food, and holidays. Omi is coded as Chinese (so, I headcanon that his native tongue is Mandarin), but we know that Raimundo, Kimiko, and Clay are Brazilian, Japanese, and American respectively. I headcanon that they’re all bilingual, since they all live at the Xiaolin Temple in China, and every thing we’ve seen written in the scrolls is written in Chinese, which they can read. So, they can speak their native languages, English, and Mandarin. (What exceptionally talented children Master Fung chose to be his students, lol).
What's your favorite and then least favorite episodes of Xiaolin Showdown? What's your biggest "this should've happened" and "this shouldn't have happened"?
Favorite Episode
If I had to choose, it’d have be “Royal Rumble.” Xiaolin Showdown, at its base, is a comedic cartoon, sprinkled with action, suspense, angst, character growth, etc. Because of that, I don’t take too much seriously outside of what needs to be. I think this episode presented each of those elements perfectly. The Dragons-in-training are each at odds with one another, still not quite used to handling their differences (which is hilariously showcased in the boulder-pulling exercise), and they suffer for it, even to the point of kidnap. Kimiko irritates Raimundo who irritates Clay who irritates Kimiko, and Omi is stuck in the middle because not only does he want them to get along because they each have something of value and so that they can prosper as a team, but his so-called “goody-goody attitude” gets on all their nerves. The Sun Chi Lantern was an excellent device to bring them together. We see them grow up a little by the end of the episode, set aside their differences, and work together as a team. My only issue is that the Sun Chi Lantern is never used again after this episode, which is sad because it’s one of the best Shen Gong Wu in the series.
Least Favorite Episode
I dunno about everyone else, but I didn’t really like The Last Temptation of Raimundo. Something about the entire episode just fell short to me, like the delivery. The title screams “Rai is going to be tempted by the Heylin side one last time!” I was full-on expecting Wuya or Chase to tempt him, once more, with promises of glory, fame, fortune, and all of his wants. I was, unfortunately, disappointed to see that it was the Shen Gong Wu, instead. And it didn’t really tempt him to do evil either, just to steal more Wu. It didn’t meet my expectations.
This Should’ve Happened
Jermaine should’ve joined the Xiaolin Temple as the Dragon of Thunder (in training). I feel like he should’ve been first draft pick over Jack, who would’ve been the Dragon of Metal, even if the idea never came into fruition. This would’ve been great for so many reasons! One of my favorite things about XS are the amount of POC, and Jermaine would’ve made a great addition to the team as a Black American teen. We could see more of his adorable relationship with Omi, he could establish a bond with the other monks, and the showrunners (probably) wouldn’t have a choice but to extend the series (properly), because they’d have to develop him as both a character and a Dragon-in-training. He was already proven to be on par with Omi, even though we didn’t get to see his elemental power, but he was made to give it up with the promise of someday returning. We could’ve had it all!
This Shouldn’t Have Happened
XC should’ve never happened the way it did. It completely and utterly failed to meet even a single expectation (not that Ms. Hui owes me anything, of course). In short, it sucked balls. The fact that it didn’t pick up where the series left off, despite the cliffhanger, is a major offense in my eyes. I didn’t like the character design; the 3D Shen Gong Wu, name changes, and showdown sequences were an eyesore; we didn’t get to see how Omi, Kimiko, or Clay rose to Shoku Warrior; or how Raimundo handled being the only Shoku Warrior until they caught up and his position as team leader for that matter; Raimundo’s back story was plain awful; Ping Pong and Willow, even if the latter ended up betraying the team, and how they were picked over Jermaine and Jack as Xiaolin Warriors; Jack was neglected as a character (which could be said for all of them, honestly); etc. I could go on, but I’m not going to.
It just wasn’t good. It didn’t live up to the hype, a lot of things were undone and handled horribly, and it should’ve never even been a thought if this was what would be done. It all leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and I personally pretend the show doesn’t exist.
I’ve been working on this on and off for over a month and now it’s finally here.
This scene from the Emperor’s New Groove just really reminded me of the part in the season 1 finale where Omi and Jack try to open the puzzlebox to trap Wuya. 🌿🐉