Jack and the Warrior Woman
Episode numeral: VI
Original air date: 11/19/01
Jack's travels take him to an alien city out in the middle of the desert, searching for an elderly shopkeeper who the Elder of the Woolies promised might help him return home. After learning of Jack's heroism, the shopkeeper tells him that a magic jewel exists in the middle of the desert, which possesses enough power to rewrite reality—only one who is pure of heart can use its power, but Jack and his mission seem to be worthy. But the shopkeeper is concerned about an evil presence approaching...
Suddenly, the shop is broken into by a trio of thugs who declare Aku will pay handsomely for Jack's death. Without his sword, Jack still manages to hold his own—but it's a mysterious green-skinned warrior woman who dives into the shop, disarms the goons and helps Jack ride off into the sunset.
Her name is Ikra, and she's got a grudge against Aku too—the demon trapped her father in a wheel of fire for all eternity as punishment for speaking against him. Jack offers to help her on her quest, as she can help him—together, they can battle through the desert, find the jewel and rewrite history so that Ikra's father is freed and Jack can return home.
But the evil presence is closer than Jack thinks...
Tropes:
- Action Girl: "Ikra" is more than capable of holding her own in a fight, against bounty-hunter thugs or jewel guardians.
- An Aesop:
- Never be oblivious or disregard red flags that are shown about people not being genuinely good people and having good intentions.
- Watch the company you keep around you.
- All for Nothing: Jack travels across the desert with Ikra to find the jewel that will take him home—only for it to be destroyed.
- "Arabian Nights" Days: The episode's setting distinctively is somewhere in the Middle East.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Aku manages to school Jack on this one—he tricks the samurai into leading him right to the jewel, handily destroys it, and even gets a spot of Evil Gloating in before flying off without a fight.
- Batman Gambit: Aku's plan depends on knowing Jack will gladly take up the cause of a righteous woman with a personal grudge against Aku who needs the jewel to save her father. He's right.
- Bazaar of the Bizarre: The episode opens on one of these.
- Downer Ending: The episode ends on Jack, having been dealt a bitter blow by his enemy, screaming with anger, before vowing once again:Jack: I will destroy you, Aku. I swear it.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: Aku reveals that he had a nightmare about the jewel itself, which he correctly guessed had the power to send Jack back in time to undo the Bad Future. He quickly realized that it was a premonition, so he took precautions to ensure that Jack's mission would fail.Aku: You see, I had a dream. No, a nightmare! Of a jewel that had the power to send you back in time. I knew that this was no mere dream, but a premonition. I had to destroy this powerful jewel. But I did not know its whereabouts.
Jack: No.
Aku: Yes, Samurai. I knew you would find it! - Evil-Detecting Dog: Jack gives food to a small, shrew-like creature, which it accepts gratefully. When Ikra tries to do the same, the creature panics and flees—an early warning sign that she's Made of Evil.
- Evil Gloating: Aku, as ever, just can't resist rubbing his victory in Jack's face before flying off.Aku: Now, how did you put it? Oh, yes. Your time on this miserable Aku-infested land continues.
- Fantastic Fauna Counterpart: The Uklahs. As Ikra explained, they're like camels.
- Fate Worse than Death: The apparent fate given to Ikra's father: to be bound to a wheel of fire for all eternity just for insulting Aku. Of course, the twist at the end means he doesn’t exist at all.
- Fire-Forged Friends: We get a montage of Jack and Ikra's adventure through the desert, and the challenges that help them grow and bond as they save one another.
- For the Evulz: Aku could've just killed Jack while he was sleeping or wasn't looking to impede his quest, but no, he decides to scar Jack by toying with his emotions through his deception.
- Foreshadowing: Ikra gives several hints as to her true nature:
- In her first appearance, the shopkeeper repeats his cries of "The evil!" Jack simply assumes that he's referring to the minions, when in fact he's referring to Ikra after he says "You don't understand!"
- After Jack and Ikra make their escape, the thugs pursuing them give a satisfied look to one another.
- Ikra knows to call Jack "samurai" but is confused when he calls himself "Jack", when anyone else who knows the first would probably know the second.
- The aforementioned shrew running in fear of her.
- They're twice attacked by wild animals after they start journeying together. Both times the animals focus on Ikra.
- The colours that make her up—black hair and a black dress with a red lining and green skin—are the same colours which stand out on Aku.
- At the banquet, she seemed to enjoy the female belly dancer, but when the male one entered she seemed disturbed, hinting that she's actually male.
- Near the end, Ikra can fly and become a giant to defeat the jewel guardian. Both of these are powers Aku has.
- And finally, after the diamond scans both Jack and Ikra, it summons a guardian to destroy them despite Jack's goal being noble and pure, indicating that Ikra is hiding a darker agenda...
- Green-Skinned Space Babe: Ikra has green skin. Considering she's really anything but, this is actually a subversion.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Exploited by Aku when he pretends to be a female ally of Jack's to lead him to a diamond that he heartlessly crushes in front of Jack.
- Just as Planned: The bounty hunters are perfectly happy to let Ikra and Jack escape their clutches. This clues us in that they were in on Aku's plan all along.
- Kill It Through Its Stomach: Ikra dispatches an unlucky monster this way, after it swallows her whole.
- MacGuffin: This time around it's a magic jewel with the power to send Jack back in time. Which leads directly to...
- MacGuffin Delivery Service: What Aku’s plan boils down to- disguise himself, travel with Jack, destroy jewel.
- Mecha-Mooks: The bounty hunters, who also resemble giant cockroaches.
- Morphic Resonance: "Ikra" has the same green-red-black color scheme as Aku in his regular form.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Aku's bounty hunters have four arms, whereas the jewel guardian has six.
- Only the Pure of Heart: Can work the magic jewel. Everyone else gets attacked by its guardian.
- Orcus on His Throne: Subverted: this is the first episode in the series in which Aku takes the fight to Jack, impeding his quest personally.
- The Power of Friendship: Jack says that he and Ikra would be stronger working together, and he's right.Jack: Where as individuals we have failed, together we will be victorious.
- Quicksand Sucks: During their desert adventure, Jack ends up falling into a patch of quicksand. Luckily, Ikra saves him just after he sinks into it.
- Reality Warper: Whoever possesses the magic jewel can use it how they wish; in Jack's case, to return to the past.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The bounty hunter robots have red eyes under their hoods.
- The Scream: Jack's reaction as Aku flies off is to plant his sword in the ground, and scream in anguish.
- Ship Tease: Ikra and Jack get a bit of this throughout the episode—before it turns out Ikra is actually Aku.
- Stupid Sexy Flanders: Jack's anguish is at least partially from his attractive female accomplice, with whom he was developing a nice relationship, turning out to be his worst male enemy.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: In the final battle against the jewel guardian, Ikra turns into a bird-like wraith and a giant version of herself. Since these are powers Aku has, this is yet another clue to Ikra’s true nature.
