Alternative Character Interpretation in Samurai Jack.
Seasons 1-4
- Due to their similar designs, the robot hitmen from "Jack and the Gangsters" are often speculated to be members of the X-series from "Tale of X-49". Either as a faction of similarly retired robot mobsters, or an offshoot of the models that were dismissed from service once the Beetle Drones were distributed.
- The Three Monks from "Jack and the Monks", with all the magical realism of the episode, they may have just been three odd stoic travelers, or messengers of a divine power sent to remind Jack of his purpose. Their message to Jack at the end does make them feel magical, and some fans speculate they could be the same trio of gods (Odin, Ra, Rama) that oppose Aku, or even the three monks who forged the sword.
- The Virus from "The Aku Infection". Aku sneezes on Jack and accidentally corrupts him into a Jack-Aku hybrid. Is Jack-Aku just an extension of Aku himself trying to take over Jack's mind? Or is Jack-Aku just Jack being twisted by the evil that Aku is made of? Or is the virus that made Jack-Aku a mutated strain that evolved from when it infected Aku and is the beginning of a new creature that is Aku's spawn, much like how Aku was the spawn of the formless evil from before time?
- The most controversial of them all is the ending of the episode "The Princess and the Bounty Hunters". Did Jack really kill those bounty hunters? Or were they just critically injured and unconscious? The fact that Genndy Tartakovsky gave out a very vague answer in one interview just makes this all the more perplexing.
- "Spring" from "The Four Seasons of Death" is one of the most mysterious characters in the series, and almost nothing is resolved about her motives. Her efforts to get Jack to lie down and rest appear to be a straightforward example of the Lotus-Eater Machine... but she makes little effort to stop Jack from escaping, and her enigmatic smile at the end of the episode clouds the issue further. Is she truly malevolent, or does her smile mean that she set up Jack for a Secret Test of Character?
Season 5
- Does the Aku Cult truly believe that Aku is a good deity, or have they been brainwashed into believing that he is? Or do they know that Aku is evil and don't care?
- The High Priestess. Was she a psychopathic woman from the beginning? Is it explainable by (possibly) having a similarly harsh upbringing like her daughters? Or did Aku's evil essence corrupt her even more? Her claws and unnecessary cruelty seem to suggest she may have a demonic side. Even if it is not confirmed, Ashi's nightmare may have some truth.
- Despite proving far more capable in combat than she initially appeared to be, she would constantly attempt to kill a meditating Jack instead of finishing her fight with Ashi first; a result of her obsessive focus? a pragmatic decision to take the chance while it lasted? or an attempt to carry out her mission while sparing her daughter's life?
- The Daughters of Aku dragging out their deceased sister and simply stating "Death is failure." A callous dismissal of someone close to them as a failure, or a Pet the Dog moment filtered through their warped morality? They did take the time to bring the body with them rather than leaving it in the rubble after all.
- Some Fridge Horror occurs when you realize it would have been better if they had left her in the rubble of the temple/tomb than dragging her out and leaving her out in the open to be ripped to pieces by scavengers. It's entirely possible they took the time to bring the body with them precisely to posthumously humiliate her further for her failure.
- There's no way to know, as we know exactly nothing about the Cult's funeral practices. Whatever their reasons, one of them punches through a thick stone wall just to make an exit; clearly, disposing of their sister's remains properly was very important to them.
- The High Priestess. Was she a psychopathic woman from the beginning? Is it explainable by (possibly) having a similarly harsh upbringing like her daughters? Or did Aku's evil essence corrupt her even more? Her claws and unnecessary cruelty seem to suggest she may have a demonic side. Even if it is not confirmed, Ashi's nightmare may have some truth.
- Is the Omen (the mysterious samurai ghost) a real being that Jack may have faced at some point during the Time Skip, or nothing more than a personification of Jack's guilt and shame that exists because he is dwelling on past mistakes and failures? Or, even worse, is it a manifestation of what Jack is afraid of eventually becoming: a servant of Aku?
- Is "Inner Jack" the embodiment of Jack's doubt and despair, Mad Jack, or at least born from the same part of Jack's psyche as Mad Jack? The parallels between the two reached their zenith with Inner Jack's fourth appearance, with a lot of his actions and lines mirroring Mad Jack's, along with taking on a similar red and black color scheme, and being defeated in a strikingly similar manner.
- When Jack seems content, he speaks with a reflection of his older bearded self in "Episode C", was that image Inner Jack? If it was, did his calm demeanor show how Jack has managed to control and soothe his inner rage, or was he just there to plant seeds of doubt in Jack's mind about his relationship with Ashi?
- After 50 years of battling Jack, Aku's depression is very subject to this as well. This depression appears to have caused a degree of apathy in Aku, or at least unhappy resignation, as Aku apparently knows that the population of Earth is beginning to rebel against his corrupt government, but is either unable or unwilling to do much about it personally.
