The search for the Book of Omens brings the group closer to it, and to Mumm-ra.
What They Say:
Journey to the Tower of Omens
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After a fun episode with the Petalars that was more heartwarming than I would have imagined which was then balanced by an episode giving us Panthro’s origin story while highlighting how Grune came to be swayed by Mumm-ra, ThunderCats really is proving itself to be a solid show in working the main storyline of revenge while helping to show the world to Lion-O and helping him mature so he can handle the task at hand. The series even starts to bring in a bit more back story here, giving us a glimpse to days gone by with a look at how Mumm-ra used events in the past to gain the War Stone that he was after but eventually lost to the passage of time. The scale of it is intriguing as it shows the world itself under siege and plenty of spaceships surrounding it in an effort to achieve his goals.
After Lion-O uses the sword to figure out where it is they need to go, they make their way into the hidden temple where the book of Omens may be. It turns the episode into a classic Indiana Jones style work as they have to deal with all manner of traps, including one room where there are tons of keys hanging from the ceiling and only one that might open the door at the opposite end. When the floor falls away, it becomes even more dangerous as there’s only so much time to deal with it. It’s a really fun moment as it lets the kids take the stage briefly to handle it as they go with the idea of why pick a key and try them when you can just pick the lock. The traps aren’t too elaborate overall, considering they were designed by ancients, but they work well in giving the group a way to work together and figure out what they need to do as a team overall. It lets them highlight their individual strengths and is important for Panthro to see so he can realize that they are a good team since he’s the latest addition.
While the episode plays this out well, showing the journey to discover the Book, it also lets us see Mumm-ra for a lot of it as he’s observing all of it and using Lion-O and the others to find the Book. It’s a smart thing to do and helps to keep him from being a caricature of a villain. So not only does he do something smart, he also holds his own when it comes to taking them on physically, even in his weakened form he’s only just pushed back when Panthro goes at him. When he shifts to his transformed mode of ultimate evil though, it’s impressive and adds a new layer to things, especially as it pits him against the other, younger members of the group. It’s a solid fight in that it’s not all just punch and sword stuff, but rather a regular struggle just to try and slow him down to buy time for Lion-O.
In Summary:
With the core cast of characters now all in place and time spent going over some of what’s caused everything with Mumm-ra’s manipulations, this epsiode does a very good job of bringing it all together so we see how the group works as a team and the level of trust and intensity they now have to deal with the problem. For a young king like Lion-O, it’s a victory to be sure to get as far as they have under such circumstances and it’s a turning point for them psychologically, both in a good and bad way with the results of what they find. As the serial nature of the series continues, ThunderCats really impresses with just about every week other than the Moby Dick episode by giving us fun and interesting characters and some real progression in how they operate as a group and individually. There’s still plenty to explore as well with their interpersonal relationships and what the bad guys can bring to the table. This is definitely a very good episode overall.
Grade: B+
