The Scotsman Saves Jack (Part 1)
Episode numeral: XLV
Original air date: 8/23/03
Aboard a freighter, the Scotsman is relaxing and trying to work on his tan. He's interrupted by an assassin whom he dispatches, after which a waiter comes up to him and offers a drink. The Scotsman accepts, but recoils in shock when he sees the waiter is Jack... or rather, "Brent Worthington", a laid back Surfer Dude who just happens to look like the famous samurai. The Scotsman doesn't buy it for an instant and is convinced Brent is Jack, loudly announcing that fact to the entire freighter full of trigger happy bounty hunters. The Scotsman pushes Brent forward expecting him to do his thing, but Brent gets laid out in a single punch courtesy of the biggest bounty hunter. The Scotsman grabs Brent and fights his way out, jumping overboard and swimming to shore.
Along the way, the Scotsman and Brent are surrounded by Fish People, who also recognize Brent and thank him for rescuing them from Aku (with Brent somehow being able to translate their bubbly language). Brent insists he's not Jack, but the Scotsman takes this as further evidence that Jack's suffering from amnesia and needs to jog his memory. Upon arriving on shore the Scotsman looks over Brent for any sign of what might have happened, and spots a fresh scar on Brent's chest. The Scotsman recognizes the scar, and concludes Brent could only have gotten it from a fight with a creature called the Tango Beast.
The Scotsman drags a reluctant Brent to the Tango Beast's lair, asking if it's jogged his memory yet. Brent says no, so the Scotsman decides to re-create the fight against the Tango Beast to see if that helps, luring the monster out with a special plant. The Scotsman defeats the Tango Beast easily (and single-handedly, as Brent had fainted in fear when the Beast made its appearance), and the Beast explains that Jack had defeated him some time ago before sitting him down and helping him work out his issues. And yes, he too recognizes Brent, and points the Scotsman towards a town Jack headed to after their fight.
Their trek takes them to Heck's Bucket, with the Scotsman showing off Brent to any locals who might recognize him to no avail (the local bounty hunters hanging out at the pub were a little more helpful). As they flee the bar, they run into a storyteller who does recognize Brent, saying that he'd seen him come into town looking to hire a boat into the Great Unknown. The Scotsman heads to a cartographer who confirms that the fish people live in the Great Unknown, so the Scotsman believes that whatever gave Jack amnesia must be there as well. The two head back into town and hire a boat to take them into the unknown, the Scotsman preparing for whatever comes their way...
This episode provides examples of:
- Amnesiac Hero: Something happened to Jack to cause him to lose his memories and sword, becoming a dumb waiter named Brent instead.
- Bad Guy Bar: The Scotsman drags Brent into one of these in Heck's Bucket and asks the patrons if they recognize him. A Bar Fight ensues when they do recognize him and decide to claim the bounty.
- A Day in the Limelight: The Scotsman is the central character in this episode, with "Brent" reluctantly tagging along as he seeks to find out what happened to Jack.
- Hammerspace: The Scotsman pulls a gold ingot almost as big as his torso out of his belt pouch to pay the pirate to take them into the Great Unknown.
- The Load: Unlike Jack, Brent is a pacifist who is absolutely useless in a fight, getting knocked out or fainting at the first sign of trouble. He also wants nothing to do with the Scotsman, so the Scotsman has to physically drag him from place to place to keep his eye on him.
- Omniglot: Brent somehow understands the language of the fish people despite being a waiter who has never seen them before, one of the Scotsman's first pieces of evidence that he's Jack suffering from amnesia.
- Paper Tiger: The Tango Beast looks intimidating at first, but goes down with a single punch to the jaw from the Scotsman.
- Shout-Out:
- The alien who threatens the Scotsman at the start of the episode appears to be a Greedo look-alike.
- An old (and surprisingly cheerful) sailor tries to gull the Scotsman into hearing the Rime Of The Ancient Mariner. The Scotsman is having none of it, but apparently Jack enjoyed the tale before he got amnesia.
- Said sailor also has a scratchy voice, a bulbous nose, a big chin, a squinky eye, and a pipe that stays in his mouth no matter what.
- Surfer Dude: The way Brent speaks.
- Vocal Dissonance: The large Tango Beast actually has a pretty timid voice.
- Worf Had the Flu: Thanks to his amnesia, Jack doesn't have any fighting skills whatsoever as Brent and so gets walloped by foes he'd have no trouble dispatching in peak condition. The Scotsman doesn't fully accept this and makes excuses as to why he's constantly failing (the sun was in his eyes, the stench of the Tango Beast overpowered him, etc).
- Wretched Hive: Heck's Bucket seaport.
