Jack Tales
Episode numeral: XV
Original air date: 3/8/02 (produced in 2001)
A collection of vignettes showing some of the smaller adventures Jack has gotten himself in to on his journey.
All three stories contain the following examples:
- Genre Roulette: The three stories switch between genres. "Jack vs the Worm" is a straight up comedy, and despite being the only one of the three to end on a Downer Ending is still played for dark laughs. "The Metal-Eaters" is a straight up horror story and much darker than the other two. "Jack, the Gargoyle and the Fairy", which closes out the episode, is a more traditional adventure story.
"Jack vs the Worm" contains the following examples:
- Downer Ending: Even though Jack can obviously get out of the Worm's stomach, in the end, he just wasted his time on another dead-end. The episode doesn't even show the audience Jack getting out; it just ends with him looking dejected as he realizes he's been fooled again, though it's likely that he at least managed to free all the Worm's previous victims.
- Failed a Spot Check: When presented with the final question, Jack is told first, that one of the two heads only tells lies, and second, that the other head only tells the truth. The Worm's right head and left head give the two statements, respectively. Had Jack stopped to consider this, he might've realized that the two statements would lead to a contradiction if one was spoken by a completely truthful head and the other by a constantly lying head. However, a contradiction wouldn't exist if both heads are capable of lying.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: As stated in Failed a Spot Check, there were hints that the Worm never had any intention of helping Jack.
- Kick the Dog: Jack learns firsthand at the end that the Giant Worm didn't know how to get him back home.
- Knights and Knaves: The two heads of the Worm present this puzzle to travelers; one head is magical and can help them in their quests, the other will just eat them. As Jack learns the hard way, it's a lie and both heads will just eat the traveler.
"The Metal-Eaters" contains the following examples:
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unknown if the family's story is true. Could they have been lying to Jack or were there actually robot bandits, only they were trying to defend themselves from the monstrous family?
- Horror Hunger: Despite being a family, the robots turn on each other and immediately devour one another upon realizing they're all robots. Based on the mother's reaction to the smell of her own metal, it's possible they might have even been driven to eating themselves if they'd been alone.
- Monstrous Cannibalism: Once all of them realize that they each have metal, the family eat each other until there's nothing left of them.
"Jack, the Gargoyle, and the Fairy" contains the following examples:
- A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Despite the fairy making multiple attempts to warn Jack throughout the short, Jack's continued impatience gets him partially trapped in the prison orb and results in him killing the gargoyle that knows the spell to undo the orb's magic.
- Bittersweet Ending: In the end, Jack could only choose in wishing to separate himself from the fairy, which would also free her from her imprisonment, or going back to the past. He chooses the former. At the very least, it ends on a comparatively triumphant note compared to the first tale.
- Die Laughing: The Gargoyle does this once he realizes that Jack and the Fairy are stuck together.
- It Only Works Once: The fairy has the ability to grant any wish, but only once in her lifetime.
- Take a Third Option: Now that the Gargoyle is dead along with the secret of unlocking the prison orb, Jack chooses to use the Fairy's power to free themselves.
