4x10 XLIX

[8.9/10] I really like the concept of this one. Doing a different segment for each season, and making them more tone pieces or vignettes than extended stories is a deft choice that pays dividends in each one.

Summer feels like pretty standard Samurai Jack stuff, which means it’s still very damn good! I like the concept that Jack tries his hardest to fight these smoke or heat demons with his sword, but that as with Mad Jack, it takes peace of mind more than strength of blows to win the day. The imagery of the swirling demonic clouds is very cool, and the notion of temperature as a sort of mind over matter thing is a cool one. There’s real catharsis when he wonders when these visions will end, only to end up in a very real oasis.

Fall was probably my favorite of the four segments. It’s just so weird and subtly dark. I love the tactile strangeness of the little evil scientist eggman starts synthesizing his poison from leaves, running to and from his little windmill factory, and using all of his fancy equipment to gleefully put it together. The joy he takes in this process is both creepy and infectious, and the gradual development of the poison makes you anticipate what exactly he’s working on. But I love the payoff to it, where Samurai Jack pulls a feint with the poisoned well, only to turn the scientist’s creation back on him. The way the scientist turns into a pile of leaves and blows away is legitimately haunting.

Winter was another great at-bat for the show, with shades of the Bounty Hunter episode. In that vein, it’s another great instance of depeicting how skilled and impressive it is by contrasting the epicness of the efforts to forge this mystical ice sword and how battle-hardened and tested its wielder is, only for Jack to disable him in a second. The sequences showing how laboriously the snow monster folk constructed the sword are impressive, and there’s really pathos when their champion drops his bifurcated blade into the snow in ignominious defeat.

Last but certainly not least, I really liked the temptation of Spring. This one had a different feel than the others. Like Summer, it’s a test of will for Jack, but this time it’s not about staving off attacks or remaining steadfast despite hardship. It’s about not giving in to the allure of rest and hedonism and escape from his burdensome quest. There’s some tasteful subtext to the nymph’s temptations, and I like the way the episode uses that idea to scope the psychology of how hard Jack’s quest is and how easy it would be to give in to rest and comfort. The way he soon visualizes what giving in would mean, and the fearsomeness when the nymph turns hostile, helps add more ballast to the event. The art here is particularly well-done, with season washing over the vines making for especially eye-popping imagery.

Overall, this is a great idea for an episode, and each segment has its charms.