History NightmareFuel / SamuraiJack

* When the [[GreaserDelinquents greaser robots]] attack Jack and knock him unconscious, the normally [[BewareTheSillyOnes goofy]] and [[BewareTheNiceOnes friendly]] Creature [[DisneyDeath believes that Jack died]], and now it's '''[[UnstoppableRage pissed]]'''. The Creature ''[[HulkingOut transforms into a horrifying monster]]'' and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge chases after the robots]], [[MookHorrorShow mauling each of them to death]]. The last robot is absolutely ''terrified'', hiding behind a rock and futilely praying that he'll make it. By the end, [[KillEmAll the Creature has left nobody alive]]... (well, except for Jack).

--->'''Aku:''' "Oh? Better make it a '''''[[KillEmAll complete]]'' [[LeaveNoSurvivors annihilation]]'''!"

[[AC:Tale of X9]]

* The creatures that the [[BalefulPolymorph chickenized]] Jack battles in the animal-fighting arena ranged from downright creepy to outrageously grotesque. And this was a lighter episode!

* This is a mostly a goofy episode involving Jack dealing with the [[SmallNameBigEgo Da Samurai]], until the last few minutes. Suddenly, an ''army'' of Aku's assassin robots from earlier in the episode show up, but these ones are DualWielding swords and opening the panels in their heads to reveal [[UncannyValley creepy long faces with razor-sharp teeth]]. That alone is scary enough, but after Jack finally defeats the entire army, they all combine into what can only be described as a MechanicalAbomination. Thankfully, it goes down easier than the army did, but it's still freaky to watch.

* When he first wakes from his fall into the snow, Jack's mind quickly flashes back to the fight with the Daughters of Aku, only he imagines one of them with the ''real'' Aku's face in place of the mask, [[UncannyValley distorted into a more violent looking sneer with the same humanoid proportions of one of the Daughters]], kind of like a mix between a JumpScare and a FreezeFrameBonus. It just goes to show in Jack's eyes, the fight isn't over even when the enemies have fallen, and that the Daughters of Aku were not so different from the genuine article. As Jack recollects himself after his most recent battle when several Daughters of Aku met their end at his hands, he gradually gets surrounded by droves of crows, perhaps drawn by the carnage that just took place, and maybe angered by the fact one of the crows died in the crossfire. When he discovers a blood trail, he follows it to find Ashi lying seemingly dead on the ground. Then, the crows start ''mocking him''.

-->'''Aku:''' ''(cackling)'' You are all insignificant insects compared to might of ''Aku!'' ''(raises his hand)'' And insects get... ''(slams his hand down on a group of archers mounted on Woolies)'' '''''SQUASHED...!''''' And... ''(lifts his hand up to reveal all of the beings he crushed have been turned into miniature versions of himself wielding pitchforks)'' '''EXTERMINATED!'''

** In each of the visions Jack sees... ''someone'' on horseback. We're never told or fully shown who it is... but whoever it is? It's something that '''terrifies''' Jack. ''Yes Jack is '''terrified''' of something''.

** Ashi lives on only in Jack's memory which is ''exactly what he feared might happen''.

** The ''mere fact'' that Jack, our beloved childhood hero, the ultimate LawfulGood paragon, the best FriendToAllLivingThings, the greatest NiceGuy to have ever lived, was on the verge of committing ''{{seppuku}}''. Not just any kind of suicide, it's ''seppuku'' (or ''hara-kiri''): a ritual suicide that would have him '''[[GuttedLikeAFish disembowel his own stomach]]''' before getting '''[[OffWithHisHead beheaded by the Omen himself]]''', while ''Ashi is forced to watch''. The sheer horror of such a scene makes the whole fight between Ashi and the Omen that much more intense given what is at stake.

-->'''Aku:''' Pathetic fools! You are all insignificant insects compared to might of ''Aku!'' ''(raises his hand)'' And insects get... ''(slams his hand down on a group of archers mounted on Woolies)'' '''''SQUASHED...!''''' And... ''(lifts his hand up to reveal all of the beings he crushed have been turned into miniature versions of himself wielding pitchforks)'' '''EXTERMINATED!'''

* X9 receiving a call from Lulu when she's held hostage by Aku. From her end, it's PlayedForLaughs. From his end, it's PlayedForDrama. It's AdultFear on two levels, one where your pet goes missing, and one where someone you loved wanders off and gets taken hostage.

* The AdultFear:
** Your (surrogate) infant getting sick.

** The ending touches upon the AdultFear that your young child (very young, in the Baby's case) has [[HarmfulToMinors witnessed something not appropriate for kids to see]]. And it may have ended an aspect of their [[ChildrenAreInnocent innocence]] prematurely.

** We've seen Aku take on the forms of everything from an army to a mass of darkness. Here, Aku merely shapeshifts into a giant ball and ''steamrolls'' over all the attacking tanks. After all this time, this is probably the simplest form he's ever assumed (possibly out of sheer laziness or lack of imagination), but never has something so simple worked so effectively, and it shows how little effort he has to put into killing enemies. The resulting "[[CurbStompBattle battle]]" (or more accurately, near-total ''massacre'' of almost all the troops) is so bleak and purely one-sided that the Scotsman, everybody's favorite badass, ''immediately'' turns tail because [[AdultFear he wants to save his brood of many daughters from getting killed]]. Aku watches them fleeing and has ''this'' to say:

*** AdultFear kicks in when you realize [[WomanChild Ashi]] has suddenly been abandoned by [[ParentalSubstitute the only person who's ever been like a father to her]] in the middle of godforsaken nowhere, and she starts calling out for him in desperation, much like a lost child crying out for a parent who willingly ran out on them.

** In each of the visions Jack sees... SOMEONE on horseback. We're never told or fully shown who it is... but whoever it is? It's something that '''TERRIFIES''' Jack. Yes JACK IS '''TERRIFIED''' OF SOMETHING.

* TheReveal that '''''JACK LOST HIS SWORD'''''. He lost the ''only'' weapon on Earth that can harm Aku. And while he's managed to keep that fact hidden so far, it's only a matter of time before Aku himself finds out about it. Good luck, Jack. ''You'll need it.''

* TheReveal that '''JACK LOST HIS SWORD'''. He lost the ''only'' weapon on Earth that can harm Aku. And while he's managed to keep that fact hidden so far, it's only a matter of time before Aku himself finds out about it. Good luck, Jack. ''You'll need it.''

* When he first wakes from his fall into the snow, Jack's mind quickly flashes back to the fight with the Daughters of Aku, only he imagines one of them with the ''real'' Aku's face in place of the mask, [[UncannyValley distorted into a more violent looking sneer with the same humanoid proportions of one of the Daughters]], kind of like a mix between a JumpScare and a FreezeFrameBonus. It just goes to show in Jack's eyes, the fight isn't over even when the enemies have fallen, and that the Daughters of Aku were not so different from the genuine article. As Jack recollects himself after his most recent battle when several Daughters of Aku met their end at his hands]], he gradually gets surrounded by droves of crows, perhaps drawn by the carnage that just took place, and maybe angered by the fact one of the crows died in the crossfire. When he discovers a blood trail, he follows it to find Ashi lying seemingly dead on the ground. Then, the crows start ''mocking him''.

* The various smaller monsters that all live inside the larger monster; for example, the blue insectoid creatures with huge rodent-like buck teeth. And there's a [[ZergRush very large swarm of them]], so Jack and Ashi can only flee instead of killing them all. Worse, while Jack is fighting them off, Ashi keeps trying to interfere and get him killed. Her fanaticism drives her to not even care [[UngratefulBitch that Jack wants to save both their lives.

** [[FridgeHorror Then comes the implication of how long he has been doing this]].

** For more [[TearJerker tragedy]], when a now-grown-up Jack returns to his home country, he finds everyone [[FateWorseThanDeath has been]] [[MadeASlave enslaved]]. His father got the worst of it; he has become [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen a weak and decrepit old man]], and is denied adequate food and water. Aku sure knows how to [[BreakTheBadass destroy even the strongest of spirits]].

** The family were unaware that they're actually MechanicalLifeforms, only feasting on "the mother" when her face was revealed to be robotic. [[FridgeHorror Who's to say they weren't originally people who underwent some sort of]] [[LaserGuidedAmnesia memory-erasing]] UnwillingRoboticization? What if their story about being "survivors" of a raid was true, and they woke up after being experimented on, perfectly ordinary but having a violent taste for metal? As there's no real backstory regarding them, NothingIsScarier is in full effect.

* [[AnimalisticAbomination The Minions]] [[HumanoidAbomination of Set]]: a trio of bestial, demonic warriors who were created by the [[GodOfEvil evil god]] [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Set]] to wreak chaos and destruction upon AncientEgypt, until they were [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned in a tomb]]. What makes them scary is that [[TheSpeechless they never talk]], [[NighInvulnerable are immortal and invincible]], [[TheJuggernaut and nearly unstoppable to just about any mortal opponent they come across]].

--->'''Jack:''' "[[EliteMooks These creatures are more powerful]] [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter than anything I have ever encountered]]..."

*** And remember, these are just Set’s minions, his servants, and yet they’re still some of the most deadly foes Jack ever faces. Imagine what Set himself might be like in this universe...

** The fight ends with the Guardian delivering a [[CurbStompBattle very one-sided]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown and brutal beating]] that knocks Jack into unconsciousness, and then the Guardian is about to finish off Jack ''by dropping a boulder on him''; but he only relents and spares Jack after the time portal shows him a vision that Jack is indeed TheChosenOne of prophesy, who may (eventually) go back in time.

* As the title would suggest, this episode reveals [[CosmicHorrorStory the origin of Aku]]. Millions of years ago, he was originally [[EldritchAbomination some sort of giant, shapeless, featureless entity]] that roamed around outer space, [[OmnicidalManiac attempting to destroy everything around it]]. The gods [[Myth/NorseMythology Odin]], [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Ra]], and [[Myth/HinduMythology Rama]] fought this ''terrible thing'' and almost destroyed it, [[FailedASpotCheck except for a smaller fragment that got]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero cut off and drifted away to Earth]]...

*** Abominable? More like '''''[[EndOfTheWorld biblical]]'''''!

*** Bit of a [[FridgeBrilliance meta-example]]: [[ShoutOut the dog's name is]] '''[[{{Manga/Parasyte}} Shinichi]]'''. Considering the fact that Aku was little more than a parasitic life-form growing bigger and stronger from devouring other life-forms at this point in time, and the fact that the ''Parasyte'' manga features a dog overtaken by a parasite eating another dog, creates a creepy crisscrossing reminder of each work's NightmareFuel.
** Worse, every time the goo swallows up a living creature, a giant black tree springs out of the sludge with violent crackling sounds. Pretty soon, so many creatures have been devoured it has grown into a veritable ''forest'' encroaching upon civilization and threatening to engulf Japan. Not helping is that when it absorbed the dinosaurs, it grew enough black trees to [[AlienKudzu kickstart a small forest of these black trees from the biomass of the dinosaurs alone, and the]] ''[[AlienKudzu forest]]'' [[AlienKudzu only grows from here]], and it's implied that the impact site where the Black Mass landed must've been '''at least''' a few dozen to a few hundred miles away. [[FridgeHorror Just how many creatures did the]] [[AlmightyIdiot then-animalistic and predatory Aku]] [[FridgeHorror had eaten to make a forest that vast!?]]

* Think of how powerful Aku is. Now mull over the fact that as horrifically mighty as Aku is, he is nothing but a tiny, tiny fragment of an infinitely more powerful EldritchAbomination that took the heads of three pantheons working together to kill... and even then they failed to finish the job. It's a bona fide CosmicHorrorStory [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids in a cartoon for kids]].
** Even though most pieces of the abomination burned up aside from the one that would become Aku, what if there are other ones still alive that ended up in other galaxies far away?

* Aku unwittingly infects Jack with a [[TheVirus small piece]] [[TheCorruption of himself]], and soon Jack starts to [[BodyHorror look scarier]] [[TransformationHorror and scarier]] [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil as time goes on]] [[ZombieInfectee as the infection gets worse]].

* A group of bounty hunters team up to capture and/or kill Jack once and for all, by attempting to attack him all at once. Unfortunately, it backfires and Jack defeats them all, with the Princess being the last member of the group standing. Jack ''seems'' to have ''killed'' living beings, ''flesh and blood'' ([[FlipFlopOfGod or not]])[[note]]Creator/GenndyTartakovsky gave a very unclear answer about this in an interview[[/note]], as opposed to robots or demons. Pretty grim when you think about it.

** There's a lot of FridgeHorror from the fact that not only is her owner dead, but Lulu was still last seen ''under Aku's captivity''. It's all too likely that Aku may have [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness put down Lulu after her usefulness as a bargaining chip to manipulate X9 had ended]]. [[NothingIsScarier The poor dog's ultimate fate is deliberately left unknown]]. And it is a known fact that the protoplasm that Aku used to be [[EatTheDog devoured a dog named Shinichi.]] Let's hope Aku [[FridgeHorror didn't do THAT!!]]

** Your baby's been kidnapped by monsters, [[WouldHurtAChild who may]] [[EatsBabies eat the poor child]].

* The fact that it was the last episode of the first 4 seasons. Horrifyingly enough, the series' abrupt cancellation left Aku '''[[KarmaHoudini completely undefeated]]'''. [[FridgeHorror The rest remained to the viewers' imagination for more than ten years waiting...]] [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome until the release of Season 5!]]

[[UnCancelled Season 5]] raises the horror to new levels; now that the show has moved to Creator/AdultSwim, it gets to have a [[DarkerAndEdgier little more freedom]] [[BloodierAndGorier with its violence]], leading to some very dark and disturbing scenes that provide new waves of terror even veteran fans of the series weren't prepared for.

--->'''Father:''' '''''"HE DESTROYED EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING IS BURNING! YOU'VE FORGOTTEN YOUR PURPOSE! [[NightmareFace YOU'VE]] [[VoiceOfTheLegion FORSAKEN US!]]"'''''

** Scaramouche having a dao that can move under his magical control is reminiscent of the way Aku's banshee took control of Jack's sword. It's later shown that Scaramouche's body is powered by what appears to be the essence of Aku when it spills out of him, so it seems to be one of Aku's specialties. Now imagine if Aku found a way to manipulate Jack's sword [[OhCrap himself...]]

*** Although this is mitigated by the fact that in "Episode XCVII", Scaramouche's severed head somehow reactivates, and he merrily boasts of how he's still alive.
* A big source of FridgeHorror in this episode is TheReveal that '''JACK LOST HIS SWORD'''. He lost the ''only'' weapon on Earth that can harm Aku. And while he's managed to keep that fact hidden so far, it's only a matter of time before Aku himself finds out about it. Good luck, Jack. ''You'll need it.''
* Every single scene with the Daughters of Aku. They are the seven daughters of a crazy female cult leader who [[ReligionOfEvil worships]] [[GodOfEvil Aku]], and she has been raising and training them since birth to become assassins with one goal: to kill Samurai Jack. All the while, these girls are deprived of a normal childhood.

** The worst part of it all is how even as little girls, [[AbusiveParents their own mother]] puts them through [[TrainingFromHell extremely harsh]] [[TheSpartanWay non-stop training]]. Any time they fail a test or get distracted, she throws them over to older women [[WouldHurtAChild to give them]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown a brutal beating]]. She even discourages her daughters from helping out their own sisters when they're down or wounded, [[TheSocialDarwinist believing them to be too weak to live]].

** At one point during the chase, while hiding from the Daughters, Jack is confronted by another vision of himself, which tries to ''[[DeathSeeker talk him into]] [[DrivenToSuicide committing]] [[{{Seppuku}} "honorable" suicide]]''. If his enemies can't end him, Jack may as well try to do it himself...

** They believe that a simple male deer must be a minion of Aku's due to sporting antlers similar to his own. And when the buck kisses a doe, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood they are all baffled]] [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove by this display of affection]]. One of them even says "I don't like it" in a mix of disgust and naivety. It's actually quite sad. Heck, before the kiss, [[TheSocialDarwinist they expected the buck to show his dominance by brutalizing the doe]].

** Even worse; it's implied that Aku has been ''deliberately creating (or spreading) these things'', which further provides some [[FridgeHorror disturbing implications]] regarding [[DeathWorld just how screwed up]] the world has become [[CrapsackWorld under Aku's rule]].

* The various smaller monsters that all live inside the larger monster; for example, the blue insectoid creatures with huge rodent-like buck teeth. And there's a [[ZergRush very large swarm of them]], so Jack and Ashi can only flee instead of killing them all. Worse, while Jack is fighting them off, Ashi keeps trying to interfere and get him killed. [[TakingYouWithMe Her fanaticism drives her to not even care]] [[UngratefulBitch that Jack wants to save both their lives]].

-->'''High Priestess:''' "''Ashi... Ashi...'' '''''Ashi...''''' '''[[JumpScare KILL]] [[SuddenlyShouting THE]] [[NightmareFace SAMURAI]]!!!'''"
** Just knowing that Ashi remembers her mother's appearance by her mask in a warped, demonic form, and not by her ''real face'' is heartbreaking. What kind of mother keeps her face hidden from her own children their entire lives?? Not only does it show how cold and detached she is from her daughters, but how inhuman she is, because she's more akin to a ''monster'' than a human in at least one of her daughter's eyes; for all Ashi knows, she was born from a monster instead of a human, and that's probably not far from the truth!
** Hell, the fact that even ''Ashi'', one of her children that she raised from birth and who accepted her lies about Aku and Jack, thinks of her as a monster. ''That's how bad she is.''

* The entire climax when Jack and Ashi go off to rescue the kidnapped alien children from the [[TortureTechnician Dominator]], a [[{{sadist}} sadistic]] PsychoForHire who [[ForTheEvulz gets his kicks from]] [[WouldHurtAChild torturing and manipulating children]].

*** The Dominator later captures Ashi and traps in her in a torture machine. He [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty creepily compliments her pretty face]], before [[ColdBloodedTorture repeatedly zapping her with]] [[ShockAndAwe several thousand volts of electricity]].

** After Ashi breaks the mind control, the kids get electrified and incapacitated, [[DisneyDeath which made it seem like they died]]. Jack [[DespairEventHorizon believes that he's failed to save the day again and]] ''[[HeroicBSOD finally snaps]]'', so he decides to willingly follow the Omen (the ominous spirit that's been haunting him) to an unknown place.

* The dark specter that is [[TheGrimReaper The]] [[{{Shinigami}} Omen]] is real. And he will ''kill'' anyone that tries to interrupt Jack's [[DrivenToSuicide suicide attempt]]. When Ashi tries to interfere, he comes after her with a drawn sword, throwing her through tombstones, and growing increasingly vicious as Ashi gets closer and closer to breaking Jack away from his DespairEventHorizon.

* [[OneWomanArmy Ashi]] absolutely ''[[CurbStompBattle demolishes]]'' an entire army of [[{{Mooks}} orc]] [[CannonFodder mercenaries]] who were going after Jack. And despite how over-the-top the whole scene is, [[MookHorrorShow the violence is still very graphic instead of cartoony]]; for instance, she spears several soldiers and some through the head. She also causes several of them to [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice fall onto their own spears]], and mangles one guy's arm so badly ''it splinters apart near the elbow with a gush of blood''. By the end of it all, she's ''drenched in blood'' and standing among a field of broken bodies, some impaled with their own blades, some even dismembered, and those who aren't yet dead are otherwise lying and dying in complete agony. It just goes to show that despite [[HeelFaceTurn joining the side of good]], [[GoodIsNotSoft she's still very deadly and ferocious]].

* When Jack and Ashi are visiting a BazaarOfTheBizarre, Jack eats a weird and [[{{Squick}} still-living]] [[AlienLunch worm creature]] which he thinks tastes delicious... but then his face suddenly turns into a ''colorful fish''. It creeps out Ashi so much she decides not to eat it. Even though the effect is temporary and PlayedForLaughs, it's still a little bit freaky.

** The crashed prison spaceship containing Lazarus-92 is empty of all life except for the creature, but the presence of other cells (and scratches on the walls marking the passage of time) indicates that there were other prisoners. Did the inmates escape, or were killed by the initial crash-landing, or did Lazarus [[EatenAlive devour them all]] (along with all the guards and crew members)? [[FridgeHorror Exactly how everyone else died]] [[NothingIsScarier is up to your imagination]].

** As shown way back in his own episode, the Guardian was so tough and badass that ''[[NighInvulnerable missiles can't even scratch him]]'', and he was able to ''[[CurbStompBattle easily defeat]] [[OneManArmy Samurai Jack]]''. Unfortunately, the Guardian seemed to [[DeathByIrony have ironically fallen victim to]] [[TheWorfEffect a one-sided fight himself]]. [[FridgeHorror Whatever Aku did to the Guardian]] ([[EyeBeams such as]] [[DisintegratorRay the obvious]]), it could not have been pretty.

* Scaramouche's second death is as brutal as it is [[BlackComedy hilarious]]. Aku angrily shoots a [[EyeBeams laser beam]] and [[YourHeadAsplode blows up his head]], to punish Scaramouche for (unwittingly) misinforming him about Jack's sword. If Scaramouche was human, it would be a [[BloodyHorror lot]] [[BloodyHilarious worse]].
* TheReveal that the Daughters of Aku are ''[[NotHyperbole literally]]'' '''[[TheAntichrist Aku's daughters]]'''.
** Aku smells his own scent on Ashi, and soon realizes that ''she is merely a piece of himself''. He explains that a long time ago, he visited the Cult of Aku's temple and dispensed a cup full of ''his own bodily fluids''; which the High Priestess then drank down, making her pregnant with [[HalfHumanHybrid seven hybrid offspring]]. The origins of Ashi and her sisters sounds a hell of a lot like a [[CosmicHorrorStory Lovecraftian]] [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth horror story]]. And just to make it worse, his visit appears to have been involuntary. The Cult of Aku raised enough power through prayer, devotion and self-sacrifice to ''summon Aku''.

*** Exploiting his newfound "fatherhood", Aku decides to [[PeoplePuppets take control of Ashi]], [[{{Sadist}} gleefully]] forcing her to fight Jack against her own will. He then [[TransformationHorror forcefully and painfully turns Ashi into]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide a twisted demonic version of herself]]; the new Ashi looks like a [[HumanoidAbomination tall and slender black figure]] with no facial features, except for [[GlowingEyesOfDoom glowing white eyes]] with [[UnusualEyebrows flaming red eyebrows]]. Who then begins bending around with an inhuman range of limberness and gains a black sword lit ablaze with Aku's fire and starts rapidly punching her sword into the metal of a junked robot like a needle of a sewing machine in an attempt to slay Jack, then causes a massive explosion just by ''flexing''.

** There's a ''mountain'' of FridgeHorror attached to this: Jack going back to the past to defeat Aku essentially meant he ''erased'' the entire future that existed because of Aku. But if he and Ashi had refrained from going back to the past, chances are all the people in that future would have remained extant, though at the cost of going back to those he cared for in the past and losing them. And Jack had to sacrifice one or the other. Pick one for the greater good of those to follow by taking Aku out in the past, or just take him out in the future and rebuild from there as [[TheAgeless an immortal]] whose offspring with Ashi would end up being the '''Grandchild(ren) of Aku''' who [[HistoryRepeats could possibly carry on the bloodline of his essence]]? One hell of a SadisticChoice if there ever was one.

** Scaramouche having a dao that can move under his magical control is reminiscent of the way Aku's banshee took control of Jack's sword. It's later shown that Scaramouche's body is powered by what appears to the essence of Aku when it spills out of him, so it seems to be one of Aku's specialties. Now imagine if Aku found a way to manipulate Jack's sword [[OhCrap himself...]]

* When he first wakes from his fall into the snow, Jack's mind quickly flashes back to the fight with the Daughters of Aku, only he imagines one of them with the ''real'' Aku's face in place of the mask, [[UncannyValley distorted into a more violent looking sneer with the same humanoid proportions of one of the Daughters]], kind of like a mix between a JumpScare and a FreezeFrameBonus. It just goes to show in Jack's eyes, the fight isn't over even when the enemies have fallen, and that the Daughters of Aku were NotSoDifferent from the genuine article. As Jack recollects himself after his most recent battle when several Daughters of Aku met their end at his hands]], he gradually gets surrounded by droves of crows, perhaps drawn by the carnage that just took place, and maybe angered by the fact one of the crows died in the crossfire. When he discovers a blood trail, he follows it to find Ashi lying seemingly dead on the ground. Then, the crows start ''mocking him''.

* Inner Jack, ''period''. As Jack begins to come to terms with the fact that his own rage and frustration were what caused him to lose his sword in the first place, Mad Jack (being the manifestation of these dark emotions) becomes increasingly unhinged, his appearance turning absolutely ''[[NightmareFace monstrous]]''. To say nothing of [[FamousLastWords what he says when Jack purges him from his mind]]:

* Aku's [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness quiet, despair-laden reaction]] after Ashi invokes her EleventhHourSuperpower to help Jack return to the past and finally destroy him for good is rather chilling, [[KarmicDeath even if he fully deserves it]]. Just imagine how you would feel if you realised you are going to die very shortly and can't do anything about it, being left only with a horrific, sad realisation; that even after [[AllForNothing at least fifty years of trying to stop your eventual killer from doing so and undoing all your successes]] with everything you had at your disposal, you completely and utterly ''failed''.
-->'''Aku:''' (''[[OhCrap quietly, in absolute horror]]'') [[LittleNo ...oh, no...]]
** Further adding to this is how Aku doesn't just die -- Jack '''''[[RetGone completely erases him from existence.]]'''''

* The flashback to circa 50 years ago. After Aku destroyed the last time portal in front of poor Jack, Aku [[TransformationHorror transformed]] three [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter cute little goats]] that tried to help Jack [[BrainwashedAndCrazy into vicious giant monsters]], and tricked Jack ([[UnstoppableRage who was blinded by his intense rage]]) into killing them all. What makes it even more distressing is that Jack had ''[[AccidentalMurder killed innocent life]]'' after losing control. It's no wonder that after finding their remains in the present day, Jack is still haunted by his deeds. Aku has [[http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=505lp0&s=9 THIS]] facial expression just before turning the little goats into monsters. Why his iris are swirls is anybodies' guess, but it looks ''incredibly'' unsettling.

** When this primordial monster crash-landed on prehistoric Earth, it took the form of a meteor that [[PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs burned nearly all of the dinosaurs]] down to charred skeletons, then proceeded to gobble up the few remaining survivors. The carnage is ''abominable''.

** Worse, every time the goo swallows up a living creature, a giant black tree springs out of the sludge with violent crackling sounds. Pretty soon, so many creatures have been devoured it has grown into a veritable ''forest'' encroaching upon civilization and threatening to engulf Japan. Not helping is that when it absorbed the dinosaurs, it grew enough black trees to [[AlienKudzu kickstart a small forest of these black trees from the biomass of the dinosaurs alone, and the]] ''[[AlienKudzu forest]]'' [[AlienKudzu only grows from here]], and it's implied that the impact site where the Black Mass landed must've been '''at least''' a few dozen miles away. [[FridgeHorror Just how many creatures did the]] [[AlmightyIdiot then-animalistic and predatory Aku]] [[FridgeHorror had eaten to make a forest that vast!?]]

--->'''Mother:''' "You left us all... to... '''''[[red: [[VoiceOfTheLegion DIIIIIIE!]]'''''"

--->'''Mother:''' "You left us all... to... '''''[[VoiceOfTheLegion DIIIIIIE!]]'''''"

** Worse, every time the goo swallows up a living creature, a giant black tree springs out of the sludge with violent crackling sounds. Pretty soon, so many creatures have been devoured it has grown into a veritable ''forest'' encroaching upon civilization and threatening to engulf Japan. Not helping is that when it absorbed the dinosaurs, it grew enough black trees to [[AlienKudzu kickstart a small forest of these black trees from the biomass of the dinosaurs alone, and the]] ''[[AlienKudzu forest]]'' [[[[AlienKudzu only grows from here]], and it's implied that the impact site where the Black Mass landed must've been '''at least''' a few dozen miles away. [[FridgeHorror Just how many creatures did the]] [[AlmightyIdiot then-animalistic and predatory Aku]] [[FridgeHorror had eaten to make a forest that vast!?]]

** Worse, every time the goo swallows up a living creature, a giant black tree springs out of the sludge with violent crackling sounds. Pretty soon, so many creatures have been devoured it has grown into a veritable ''forest'' encroaching upon civilization and threatening to engulf Japan. Not helping is that when it absorbed the dinosaurs, it grew enough black trees to [[AlienKudzu kickstart a small forest of these black trees that only grows from here]] and it's implied that the impact site where the Black Mass landed must've been '''at least''' a few dozen miles away. [[FridgeHorror Just how many creatures did the]] [[AlmightyIdiot then-animalistic and predatory Aku]] [[FridgeHorror had eaten to make a forest that vast!?]]

** Worse, every time the goo swallows up a living creature, a giant black tree springs out of the sludge with violent crackling sounds. Pretty soon, so many creatures have been devoured it has grown into a veritable ''forest'' encroaching upon civilization and threatening to engulf Japan. Not helping is that when it absorbed the dinosaurs, it grew enough black trees to [[AlienKudzu kickstart a small forest of these black trees that only grows from here]] and it's implied that the impact site where the Black Mass landed must've been '''at least''' a couple miles away. [[FridgeHorror Just how many creatures did the]] [[AlmightyIdiot then-animalistic and predatory Aku]] [[FridgeHorror had eaten to make a forest that vast!?]]

** Worse, every time the goo swallows up a living creature, a giant black tree springs out of the sludge with violent crackling sounds. Pretty soon, so many creatures have been devoured it has grown into a veritable ''forest'' encroaching upon civilization and threatening to engulf Japan.

** The scene where the blob monster evolves into Aku. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero After the Emperor tried to kill it]], the magic arrow he used instead has the opposite effect. At first, it seems like it worked, but then we're shown the two red flames that would become Aku's signature [[UnusualEyebrows flaming eyebrows]]. Then, we see all the trees in the pool recede... only to be replaced by one singular towering mass that gushes out of the pool. Its appendages creak, groan, snap, and contort into place until they form that all-too-familiar shape of the Shogun of Sorrow from behind, just like in the first episode. Then we see the flaming eyebrows ignite atop his head, and his eyes ''snap'' open for the first time. And ''then'' come his first words.