The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful
Episode numeral: XXIX
Original air date: 11/8/02
Jack wanders into a saloon, where he is attacked by the owner looking to claim his bounty. Jack disarms the owner and offers money in exchange for information which the owner is more than happy to give. Later, after Jack has left, a burly bounty hunter the owner identifies as "Mr. Clench" arrives, asking where Jack has gone off to. The saloon owner tells Clench Jack is getting on a train heading to the town of Cordoba, and Clench departs. No sooner does he leave that a beautiful woman arrives, asking the saloon owner what he told the bounty hunter.
Clench spots Jack boarding the train and attempts to attack, but is attacked in turn by sheriff robots. While the bounty hunter easily fights his way through, it delays him long enough that he misses the train. Clench steals a car and catches up to the train, but when he enters the train car Jack is in he's confronted by the woman: Josephine Clench, his ex-wife who is also gunning for the samurai. Josephine wants in on the bounty, but Clench cites his restraining order against her and approaches Jack alone, and since he's in a crowded train car with plenty of civilians Jack can't fight Clench without risking an innocent getting hurt. Jack and Clench run to a freight car carrying logs, and Jack is able to turn Clench's electrical shock gauntlet against him before seemingly knocking him off the train with a log. Josephine, though, spots Clench as he gets back on the train.
Josephine approaches Jack when he returns to his seat, luring him on top of the train. Once there, Clench attacks again, and Josephine shows her true colors by kicking Jack into Clench's grasp when he tries to defend her from the bounty hunter. During the scuffle Jack loses his sword, and is forced up against the side of the train as Clench and Josephine keep him pinned with gunfire. Jack eventually knocks Josephine off the side of the train and tangles Clench's poncho in the gears, but before he can recover his sword Clench and Josephine snag him with bolas and a chain, respectively.
As the revel in their victory, Josephine cozies up to Clench as if she's willing to rekindle their relationship. Jack takes advantage of their distraction and loops the chain around Clench's leg, and Josephine chooses that moment to push Clench off the train and leave her with sole claim to the bounty. Pushing Clench, though, pulls Jack along so he can reach the sword, the samurai cutting his bonds before snagging Josephine with the chain. Josephine joins her ex in dangling off the tracks while Jack makes his escape, Clench angrily declaring that the restraining order is still in effect.
This episode provides examples of:
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Accidental Innuendo: "Y'all looked so cute up here on the Veranda, I figured I'd fixe ya up some lemonade! Fresh Squeezed! " Sorry, did you just insinuate you were going to urinate on Jack? - Action Dress Rip: Josephine tears off the lower half of her gown when she decides to resort to her pistols.
- Badass Normal: Josephine has no powers whatsoever, yet she’s capable of giving Jack a lot of trouble.
- Batman Gambit: Jack’s plan to escape hinged on Josephine betraying Clench by pushing him off the train.
- The Cameo: Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looey make a brief appearance as passengers on the train.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Josephine. Jack even banks on her doing this to escape.
- Femme Fatale: Josephine pretends to be friendly to Jack to lure him into a trap, and eventually betrays Zeke to try and claim the bounty for herself.
- Flowery Insult: Zeke gives Josephine quite a near-Scotsman (quite appropriate as both are voiced by John DiMaggio) level insult after she shoves him off the train.Zeke: "Dag-burn it, Josie, ya consarn, crammar-lammin', wham-danglin', rattle-snakin', sheep's-wool-over-my-eyes, trick-up-her-sleeve, woo-hoo, whipjack woman!"
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Josephine betraying Zeke is what allows Jack to defeat her. After she pushes Zeke off the train, Jack uses the hook from Josephine's umbrella chain to make her fall off the train too, as well as freeing himself, leaving them both dangling above on a trestle.
- Hollywood Restraining Order: Zeke has one of these against his ex-wife Josephine (which demands she doesn't come within 150 feet of him). In fact, his line from the end of the episode even provides this trope's page quote.
- Muggles Do It Better: The Clenches don't have Aku's resources or his dark magic powers, and yet, with their gear and their skills, they succeeded in defeating and capturing Samurai Jack in open combat. If they didn't turn on each other, that could have been the end of Jack's story right then and there. The feared Samurai warrior that the dark overlord of the world was afraid of would have been dealt with by a couple of Dixie bounty hunters.
- Parasol of Pain: Josephine's preferred weapon. It has a dagger-blade hidden in the tip, and the handle can be launched on a chain as a snaring weapon.
- Parental Bonus: Josephine's flirting with Jack gets awfully intimate. Not to mention that she spends the latter half of the fight with Jack with her (admittedly trouser-length) bloomers exposed.
- Playing Card Motifs: Clench's cybernetic arms have revolving slots that switch to a different card suit with each function they're activating at any given moment:
- Spades for his finger pistols.
- Diamonds for his wrist blades.
- Hearts for an electrified Facepalm Of Doom.
- Clubs for a bola launcher that captures his targets.
- Stealth Pun: The episode's title refers to its principal characters; Jack being the 'Good', Zeke being the 'Bad' and Josephine being the 'Beautiful'.
- Traintop Battle: Most of the action takes place on top of or on the sides of a speeding train (Jack can't fight the Clenches inside the cars for fear of hurting a civilian).
- The Western: The episode revolves around a train battle against two Western themed bounty hunters, with a title that's a direct Shout-Out to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
