[8.9/10] What a nice way to close out the show’s original run. Jack’s done escort missions before, but I don’t think any have been this sweet. Having him do a Lone Wolf and Cub routine with this little babe was a real treat, and a lovely note to end on.
What I like best about it is that it is both a glimpse of Jack as a surrogate father, showing that hiss compassion and kindness is not limited to the bounds of his sacred quest, but that it’s also revealing of his childhood. There’s a lot of adorableness to this one, but also a subtle implication, through Jack recreating his mother’s care and remedies, that this was the treatment that turned him into the fierce but caring person he is today. It is ultimately a story about Jack’s soul as much as it is a story about protecting a babe from harm, and both sides of it are outstanding and endearing.
I particularly enjoyed the way the episode leans into the joys and pains of child care. Jack is overjoyed and very sweet himself when he talks baby talk to the little tyke, or warmly tells him a story, or revels in the satisfaction of a happy child. But he also has to try to fight while having his hair-pulled and his location exposed through crying, and to struggle to find the nourishment that his ward needs, and to have to worry when the kid in his care seems sick and uncontrollable.
Of course, the show doesn't skimp on the visual coolness of it all. The design of the baby himself is impossibly cute, with appropriate coos and cries to tug the heartstrings. The images of him and Jack trudging through rain, or mischievious crawling around through trees, or having to be strung and spun away from attackers are all striking. And the tale of the Peach Boy has a subtle art shift that befits the fable.
It’s a fun fable! I don’t know whether it’s based on something real, but it works both as the type of children’s story that sounds familiar to anyone who’s been read or told one, with a simple tale of adventure and kindness that teaches kids important lessons about courage and altruism. But it connects to the peaches, a sign of new life growing in spring, and a symbol of both innocence, growth, and strength in a child’s upbringing here.
The fight scene through the peach patch is a strong one, with the child-eating ogres/trolls each having unique designs and Jack having some creative defenses. The addition of the child to the skirmish adds stakes and creates complications for our hero. But my favorite part is the end, where Jack finds the child’s mother and returns him, only for the mom to discover that her child has experienced so much with Jack that he’s developed the spirit of the Samurai, replete with Jack-like eyebrows and a cry right out of the story Jack told him.
It’s a great way to suggest that, if this had been the end of the line for Samurai Jack, Jack still would have left a legacy, of the lives he touched who could carry on this fight inspired by his story and struggly. That works for those both behind and in front of the screen, with the suggestion that just as the baby became emboldened by the story of the Peach Boy, so too would the kids who watched Jack’s adventures be inspired by him, and strive to achieve great deeds like their own fictional hero. At the end of the day, Samurai Jack is a story, and done right, the purpose of a great story isn’t just to entertain, but also to move us, to make us think, and to inspire us. This episode implies that Jack himself was once inspired by such tales, and made into the man he is by the care and concern of his own parents. A television show can only do so much, but as “Jack and the Baby” shows, these four seasons of adventures hopefully meant as much to you, made you want to emulate Jack’s example in spirit if not in deed, as they did to me.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-05-08T19:34:08Z
[8.9/10] What a nice way to close out the show’s original run. Jack’s done escort missions before, but I don’t think any have been this sweet. Having him do a Lone Wolf and Cub routine with this little babe was a real treat, and a lovely note to end on.
What I like best about it is that it is both a glimpse of Jack as a surrogate father, showing that hiss compassion and kindness is not limited to the bounds of his sacred quest, but that it’s also revealing of his childhood. There’s a lot of adorableness to this one, but also a subtle implication, through Jack recreating his mother’s care and remedies, that this was the treatment that turned him into the fierce but caring person he is today. It is ultimately a story about Jack’s soul as much as it is a story about protecting a babe from harm, and both sides of it are outstanding and endearing.
I particularly enjoyed the way the episode leans into the joys and pains of child care. Jack is overjoyed and very sweet himself when he talks baby talk to the little tyke, or warmly tells him a story, or revels in the satisfaction of a happy child. But he also has to try to fight while having his hair-pulled and his location exposed through crying, and to struggle to find the nourishment that his ward needs, and to have to worry when the kid in his care seems sick and uncontrollable.
Of course, the show doesn't skimp on the visual coolness of it all. The design of the baby himself is impossibly cute, with appropriate coos and cries to tug the heartstrings. The images of him and Jack trudging through rain, or mischievious crawling around through trees, or having to be strung and spun away from attackers are all striking. And the tale of the Peach Boy has a subtle art shift that befits the fable.
It’s a fun fable! I don’t know whether it’s based on something real, but it works both as the type of children’s story that sounds familiar to anyone who’s been read or told one, with a simple tale of adventure and kindness that teaches kids important lessons about courage and altruism. But it connects to the peaches, a sign of new life growing in spring, and a symbol of both innocence, growth, and strength in a child’s upbringing here.
The fight scene through the peach patch is a strong one, with the child-eating ogres/trolls each having unique designs and Jack having some creative defenses. The addition of the child to the skirmish adds stakes and creates complications for our hero. But my favorite part is the end, where Jack finds the child’s mother and returns him, only for the mom to discover that her child has experienced so much with Jack that he’s developed the spirit of the Samurai, replete with Jack-like eyebrows and a cry right out of the story Jack told him.
It’s a great way to suggest that, if this had been the end of the line for Samurai Jack, Jack still would have left a legacy, of the lives he touched who could carry on this fight inspired by his story and struggly. That works for those both behind and in front of the screen, with the suggestion that just as the baby became emboldened by the story of the Peach Boy, so too would the kids who watched Jack’s adventures be inspired by him, and strive to achieve great deeds like their own fictional hero.
At the end of the day, Samurai Jack is a story, and done right, the purpose of a great story isn’t just to entertain, but also to move us, to make us think, and to inspire us. This episode implies that Jack himself was once inspired by such tales, and made into the man he is by the care and concern of his own parents. A television show can only do so much, but as “Jack and the Baby” shows, these four seasons of adventures hopefully meant as much to you, made you want to emulate Jack’s example in spirit if not in deed, as they did to me.