Justifying SJ's Conclusion

>>92582309
Yes, the pacing is shaky at times, but this is nothing new. The old show, given its episodic nature, never had a consistent pacing, it's just that the ones that stood out in people's minds are the ones that took their time. I understand people's frustration with that aspect though.

The thing to bear in mind though is that Jack had two consistent goals throughout the series:
>kill Aku, which his whole life prior to being flung in the future was in preparation for
>get back to the past, which Jack consistently turn down in order to do the right thing
Everything else that happened was incidental. Sure, Jack made plenty of friends and allies throughout his journey, but until the start of season 5, he never lost sight of his quest. In fact, the only hindrances to this were Aku (who was destined to be destroyed eventually) and Jack's tendency to sacrifice for the sake of others.

This is one of the things I like about the finale. Jack spends fifty years helping people, giving up plenty of opportunities to get back to the past. He sacrifices for everyone in their time of need, and when he himself is in danger, those he had helped show up to do the same for him. They too were willing to sacrifice, fully aware that they had little chance against Aku. But they did what they needed to, distract Aku long enough for Jack to help Ashi and get his sword.

Cont.

>>92582333
Now people have been complaining about how Ashi was able to use Aku's powers so easily after she broke from his control. But I believe her ability to do so is justified in that:
>she spent x amount of time on autopilot as her body was manipulated by Aku, but still experiencing the sensation of his powers
>she's been established to be a skilled warrior, being brought up from a young age to be that way
As for her sudden realization that she could time screech, this was foreshadowed in the previous episode. She asks Jack if he thinks about home, and of course he still wants to go back, but there's no portals left. Assuming she's heard the full story of him how he ended up in the future, she obviously realized that the best course of action was to take him back to the past once and for all, because that's what he really wanted. She had already committed to helping defeat Aku, so getting him back to the past was killing two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, Ashi herself ended up being one of those birds.

Cont.

>>92582367
I don't think either of them initially thought she would disappear, Jack definitely seemed surprised when it happened. But even still, Ashi made a huge sacrifice for Jack's sake in the way he did for her and everyone else who showed up to help. Jack could have easily killed Ashi at the end of episode C and then Aku, fulfilling the primary goal of his quest; at that point, he didn't even consider getting back to the past to be an option anymore. But Ashi's and everyone else's sacrifice were what helped him achieve BOTH of his goals. He just happened to lose Ashi too; an unwilling sacrifice, but necessary and in line with everything that's happened.

In episode C, Jack laments over the fact that everyone from his past was just a memory, and didn't want Ashi to become one too. Ironically, the show ends with him returning to the past, and Ashi (and everyone else he knew in the future, presumably) becoming the memory. I think Jack had already come to terms with only having memories of those he loves, it just happened to be Ashi instead of everyone else he loved. And at the same time, both his objectives were realized; his fifty years of struggling and suffering paid off, and he'll always have those experiences.

Cont.

>>92582399
But this calls into question the time paradox shenanigans, which I think requires an assessment of how time works in the show, since it's never explicitly stated. So Jack initially is flung into the distant future, displaced from his correct time period and thus physically removed from its natural progression. His absence is what allowed Aku to build his empire, and his presence in the future is what caused Ashi to be born. Of course, Ashi was a direct descendant of Aku, who was destroyed in the past, meaning Ashi couldn't exist. Everyone else in the future, their existence wasn't directly dependent on Aku's, so there's no reason to think they wouldn't be born anyway.

Why didn't Ashi disappear right away? Well, why not? The whole scene was obviously an homage to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (it feels unfair to call it a rip-off), and Nia also stuck around for longer than she should have, so this is no different. There's also the theory that she starts disappear because she thought of it, which isn't inherently wrong. It just has a lot of weird implications; for example, if Jack pulled some mental gymnastics for how she could still have existed, who's to say she wouldn't suddenly pop back into existence on the spot?

Cont.

>>92582429
Regarding Jack's continued existence, it all comes back to the concept of time displacement. The Jack that gets sent to the future is the same Jack that returns immediately after, and he hasn't aged a day since he left his correct time. Once he got back, he resumed aging as if nothing ever happened, his existence was in no way tethered to events in the future. But clearly the erasure of the future doesn't affect the experience of it, as Jack remembers everything that took place when he was "outside" of time.

Again, that's why at the end he accepts everything that's happened. He has his memories of the people he's lost, but instead of remembering them as having suffered like those from the past, he remembers them as being saved from suffering, and now there's a bright, Aku-less future for everyone to look forward to. His quest his over, the world is saved. He loved and lost, but he still has that love.

Cont.

>>92582457
I was one of the people who expected Jack to stay in the future with Ashi and defeat Aku there, and you know what? I think Jack expected that too, up until Episode C at least. I still have my qualms with some aspects of the conclusion, but I think it's still a satisfying finish. It was emotionally impactful for me, but maybe that's because I was invested in the ship. But it obviously didn't ruin the series for me, I don't think anything could.

It hurts, and I'm sad it's over, but I'm okay with that. It was a fun ride, and Samurai Jack will always be one of my favorite animated programs.

I agree with every single word of this, even though /co/ will despise you for it. Bravo, anon.

>>92582309
>>92582333
>>92582367
>>92582399
>>92582429
>>92582457
>>92582482
Tl;dr it had its flaws but it was a satisfying conclusion. Jack completed his quest, and fifty years of sacrifice was paid forward for that's to happen.

>>92582507
Thanks, I really needed to get this off my chest. No one on this board is consistently happy with anything, and I feel like that's been rubbing off on me. But I still thoroughly enjoyed the show, and experiencing it alongside you all, so I wanted to give the whole thing a positive spin for once.

It's far from perfect, but it was fun as hell.

>plebs feel empty and write 2000 word essays that no one cares about
Good to know sin still punishes itself.

Exactly my thoughts OP. I agree completely with you.

>>92582791
Out of curiosity, what did you think of the ending?

> Jack spends fifty years helping people, giving up plenty of opportunities to get back to the past.

this is what I hated about the ending. he costs himself multiple chances to go back to the past to help people in the future. meaning, he has a bond to the people of the future because he cares about what happens to them over his own goal of returning to the past. the ending throws all of this away. he goes back to the past, leaving everyone in the future to face Aku without him. he defeats Aku in the past, which as we see when Ashi dies, erases the future timeline.

so, he might as well have not helped anyone at all and went back the first chance he got. it was all for nothing since they all got erased fro existence anyhow.he suffered for 50 years for no reason at all.

>>92585823
I agree, but at the same time, Jack clearly doesn't understand how time works (and maybe we don't either). It's not in Jack's nature to let someone suffer when he has the power to stop it, and the possibility of them not existing probably never crossed his mind, especially given his surprise at Ashi's disappearance.

But the fact that he contiually sacrificed for the sake of others was paid forward by everyone he helped, culminating in Ashi, who he possibly helped most of all, helping fulfill his quest and get back in time, sacrificing herself in the process.

>>92582309
yeah i liked it, i loved tha last interaction between the scotsman and jack.yeah it was a bit rushed but i feel satisfied in general