Kimiko's temper gets the better of her, making use of the Tangle Web Comb difficult. However, she'll need to calm down and focus if she wants to win the Golden Tiger Claws from Jack Spicer, who's been given a power-up from the Monkey Staff.
This episode begins in the middle of a Xiaolin Showdown between Jack and Kimiko racing up a large pillar of stone to retrieve the Monkey Staff. In a fit of temper Kimiko uses the recently acquired Fist of Tebigong to try to knock Jack Spicer off the pillar. Unfortunately Jack uses the Jetbootsu (a Sheng-Gong-Wu acquired off screen that allows the user to defy gravity) to make the attack meaningless and grabs the Monkey Staff, winning the showdown and understandably angering Kimiko to no end with his taunting.
We then cut to the monks riding Dojo in boat form through a cold Scottish Loch, with Dojo mentioning his cousin Nessy who lives there. Omi attempts to cheer up Kimiko but ends up further angering her with his unintentional sexism. Clay makes a genuine attempt to cheer her up while Raimundo merely teases her further. Their conversation is interrupted by Dojo who reveals that the Tangled Web Comb (a Shen-Gong-Wu in the form of a comb that shoots ropes) is right below them. Kimiko dives into the Loch and retrieves it.
Back at the Temple, Kimiko’s attempts to use the Comb end up in disaster due to her lack of focus. Master Fung has her attempt to train her focus by pouring tea from a humongous tea pot into tiny cups, but fails due to her fellow monks teasing her with her previous failure or through continued sexist remarks.
Meanwhile in the lair of Jack Spicer, the teenage genius is ecstatic about the abilities given to him by the Monkey Staff (the agility, balance, and strength of a monkey as well as a tail), much to Wuya’s exasperation. She warns him the longer he holds onto the staff, the more monkey-like he will become. During the talk, his parents are having a party, causing Jack to tell them to keep it down. Soon, a young women enters the lair just to get away from the party and expresses her interest in the idea of world domination. Jack screeches at her as he grows even more monkey-like as Wuya predicted and she leaves. Wuya then senses the awakening of a new Shen-Gong-Wu; the Golden Tiger Claws which allow the user to travel to anywhere they desire.
The monks travel to the location of the Claws, the Emperor’s palace, gaining access through Kimiko’s father though all 4 of them have to dress in formal kimonos. Kimiko is shown to have trouble walking in her gown and sandals. The gang search the palace basement discovering a trapdoor down into a cavern were the Claws are. They also discover Jack and Wuya searching for them as well.
While the guys deal with some Jackbots, Kimiko and Jack reach the Claws and call for a showdown. The challenge is a race across the stone bridges to grab the Claws with Kimiko wagering the Tangle Web Comb against Jack’s Monkey Staff. During the showdown Kimiko attempts and fails to use the Comb again, causing Jack to waist time to taunt her. This gives Kimiko time to calm down and gain her focus. The ropes fall away and Kimiko uses the Comb to swing to victory, stealing the Monkey Staff from Jack and snatching the Claws as well.
The episode ends with the woman from earlier showing up in Jack’s lab in a catsuit, introducing herself as Katnappe and tearing up a few of Jack’s robots.
Tropes
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Raimundo and Kimiko's is especially high this episode.
- Foreshadowing: It's thanks to Kimiko's Dad that the heroes can get into a high class temple to look for a Shen Gong Wu. In a later episode, he's revealed to be a powerful businessman.
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: The shockwave Kimiko tried to use to knock Jack off of the Cliffside ended up tossing her off and costing her the Showdown.
- Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: The monks are required to dress in kimonos and geta sandals to enter the temple containing the Golden Tiger Claws. Since the showdown is a race, Kimiko is having trouble and kicks her sandals into the abyss, not that it helps much.
- Mundane Utility: Before ordering his Jackbots to attack the monks, Jack requests some ginger ale, which one of them gives to him.
- No-Sell: Kimiko tries to knock Jack off of a cliff with the Fist of Tebbigong. But because he was using the Jetbootsu, he was completely unaffected by the shockwave.
- Once an Episode: Subverted actually, as there are two showdowns, both of which have Kimiko against Jack Spicer—the first showdown has them in a vertical cliffside climb for the Monkey Staff, with Kimiko's Fist of Tebigong versus Jack's Jetbootsu. Jack wins after Kimiko's errant Tebigong punch sends her falling off the cliff.
- The second showdown is a race across narrow stone bridges for the Golden Tiger Claws in a rematch between Kimiko and Jack, with Kimiko's Tangle Web Comb versus Jack's Monkey Staff. Kimiko wins this time around after gaining a clear, focused mind to control the Comb and snatch the Tiger Claws at the last second from Jack.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: When the monks need to get into a palace where gaining entry isn't easy, Kimiko phones her Dad for help to gain permission.
- Side Bet: The boys make a bet on when Kimiko would gain her focus—Raimundo bet that she would while Omi and Clay bet that she wouldn't, and the loser(s) had to do the winner's chores—it was originally just one week of chores, but the boys doubled it to two weeks and then doubled it a second time to four weeks. Raimundo wins the bet, so Omi and Clay now have to do all of his chores for the next four weeks.
- Slow Transformation: The longer you hold the Monkey Staff, the more monkey-like you become. Jack progressively becomes more animalistic through the episode until he loses the staff.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Omi drops some rather sexist remarks against Kimiko. He's not exactly callous about it; thanks to an 11th book he read in his free time he believes all women are both physically and mentally weak, requiring men to help them do everything except for cooking.
- Team Rocket Wins: Jack (and the Heylin side by extension) wins his first Showdown in this episode.
- Wild Teen Party: Inverted. It's Jack Spicer's parents who are having parties with friends and Jack telling them to keep it down since he's trying to discuss plans with Wuya.
- You Have Failed Me: Wuya starts to consider replacing Jack at the end of this episode. Then Katnappe comes in...
