Jackie Chan Adventures liveblog - part 2!

[vethica]

Started season 2! I figured I'd start posting this liveblog in chunks, instead of waiting till the end of the season to make a huge post. Season 2 is very long, after all, and this way the feels stay fresher! Doing it a few episodes at a time is probably easier to read for you guys as well. c: But let me know if this is too few episodes for one post. I'll adjust the future ones accordingly.

All warnings from the previous post apply, this time also including fetishization of possession. (hi my name is Veth and I have a huge possession kink) (hi veth) So, you know. You've been warned. :B

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'70s Episode (Through the Rabbit Hole)
Okay, yeah. I know I probably should have started this thing with the first episode of season 2, not the last episode. But I just couldn't wait a whole season to get to this one. ;_; The reason I used to justify my watching this one now was that I'm drawing a young Pegasus/young Valmont picture (I've started shipping it SO HARD send help), and I realized I had no idea what kind of shoes chibi-V wears. None of my screenshots had them in them. :c So chibi-V shoe refs was the official reason. But I also just really really like this episode a lot. And oh boy, it did not disappoint this time around.

• I actually had to pause in the middle of this one because I was feelsing too hard to keep going. I think that basically sums this episode up. This is another one that is really perfect in my eyes.It's not as well-put-together or dramatic as the S1 finale, but it is just a really fun, fluffy romp. And I love every minute of it.
  
• And yes, a lot of those feels had to do with seeing Valmont as a kid. (Or Chibi-V, as I termed him when I was an 11-year-old weeaboo. It stuck.) But you have to understand how monumental this was for me back when. It was the first time I'd ever been attracted to someone my own age. Even if I had fallen for him as an adult first and harder, this was a huge step. So I am never going to apologize for squeeing over chibi-V and his ridiculous adorableness. (And no, I'm not attracted to him anymore. Probably. Even if he does have those gigantic damn blue eyes.)
  
• Chibi-V is also how I've always pictured Artemis Fowl. I know that's ridiculous because Artemis Fowl isn't even English. But I've always pictured Abhorsen as Daolon Wong and Voldemort as Hades from Hercules. Blame my brain.
  
• Let's talk about things that actually happened in the episode, ok.
  
• Even though this is chibi-V's episode, the bits that regular-V does get are pretty great too. "'Energy hole'? 'Zappo'?" "I don't care if it leads to the Big Bang, you buffoons!" V. Such snark. <3 I don't know what it is, but I really liked the way he was portrayed in this episode. Maybe it's the snark. Just. Wouldn't complain if he were that way more often.
  
  • Side note: this episode was what caused me to refer to the Enforcers as "the buffoons" for quite a while. Sorry, guys.
    
  • I really enjoy the fact that Valmont paces when he's impatient. Just a nice little consistent trait (he did it in the Dragon Talisman episode too). And judging by this one, apparently the more impatient, the faster the pacing. His hair is practically flying out behind him. [e: I rewatched the scene, and there's no "practically" about it. ♥] V. You gotta learn to chill a little. <3
  
  
• Apparently we do have a canon year for when this episode takes place! It's 1976. I did not remember this, but I'm pleasantly surprised. Given my headcanon that there's a 25-year gap and that Jackie and Valmont are 36 in the present day, this puts the present day as 2001, which is indeed when the show was airing. Hell, it's probably what year it was when I came up with the headcanon in the first place. :P
  
• I love how human the Enforcers are in this episode. Like how they're legitimately scared to go back in time because they don't know where it'll take them. (Not to mention "If there are dinosaurs, they will be busy eating Finn." Tohru u need to stop. <3) Or how the other three are clearly intending to beat the crap out of Finn when they find out he's lost the orb. And of course there are the funny moments, like when Tohru gets the rabbit talisman and they all just kind of leap on him and cling to him so they can make their escape, or when they're tailing Jade at the beginning and Tohru attempts to hide behind a lamppost. You guys are dorks in every time period ok. <3
  
  • I would talk about Finn and his '70s fetish but I am too busy uppercasing and ellipsising every time I think about it. When they're at the school dance and he just rips off his jacket and starts discoing in the middle of a fight, my exact thought process was as follows: "FINN......." I can't with this guy. I can not. I am sorry.
  
  
• Freakin' young Jackie. I loved the heck out of young Jackie. He's clearly the same dude he'll grow up to be, but with a few younger, brattier traits that he evidently outgrows,* like recklessness and showing off. (Remind you of anyone?) And this actually comes into play in the story, without being stated outright: there's no way in hell regular Jackie would have ever thought to defeat Tohru with a wet willie! Plus he's just freakin' cute as anything. "I'm just... very embarrassed." Jackie. D'awwww.
  
• There is, sad to say, one major problem I have with this episode, and it is as follows: HOW THE HELL WAS VALMONT'S NAME IN THE PHONE BOOK IF HE WAS AN EXCHANGE STUDENT?????
  
  • Why was he even studying abroad in America at 11 years old anyway? Either his school in England must have been sister schools with one in San Francisco, or his parents just wanted to get him out of their hair. Could have been either, really.
    
  • Also, either Valmont is very naïve or his host parents are very dim if he thinks he can pass off hanging out with four strange men while another one is tied to the pool chair as a "social studies project".
  
  
• Can we just talk about how he pronounces "harass". HĀRəss. "And I won't be HĀRəssed by American salesmen." V. Stop being so British. ♥
  
• I'm not super-fond of the idea that Valmont got into criminal-ing because his criminal employees from the future came and told him he would. I've never liked causal loops.** My headcanon is that he ended up never being quite sure if any of this had happened, especially since he passed out at the end, and while it all remained in the back of his head somewhere he ended up going into crime on his own terms. Despite this, though, "My first act of mega-villainy! This is exhilarating!" was sUPER KAWAII wow.
  
  • Screamed like a girl when Jackie threw that fakeout, too. Poor kid. Maybe that's why he ended up getting into martial arts?
  
  
• Remember how I said I needed to wacth this episode for chibi-V shoe references? Well, I am really glad I didn't take the lazy way and just base them on his adult self's shoes, because as it turns out they are not the same at all. They are in fact REALLY KAWAII SADDLE SHOES WOW. With dumb dorky little socks too because of course. ♥ And when he falls into the bushes and all we see are his skinny little legs kicking for a few seconds. Just. Babyyyy. ♥
  
• When Jade grabs chibi-V by the lapels — "Jackie wouldn't [hurt a kid], but I would!" And then when she tackles him and they're grappling? Yeah, in another context that could totally have been two kids who don't know how to express that they like each other getting out some tension by tussling. Don't try to tell me that it couldn't. Man. Like I keep saying, I wouldn't ship it so hard if they didn't make it so easy.
  
• I like how Jade characterizes bell-bottoms as "so '90s". Just a nice little bit of humor there.

*Or learns to hide better.
**Casual loops can stay.

Season 2 Opening Episode (The Stronger Evil)
Okay, now let's start the season proper. Fair warning: prepare yourself for a deluge of feels. Once I get to the possession part I'm not sure I'll be able to hold the floodgates closed.

• I spent far too long trying to reason out why Valmont pronounces lieutenant "LOOtenant" and not "LEFtenant". The simplest answer is that that's probably just how Julian Sands pronounces it! He is a Real British Person, after all, and I know there are some parts of Britain where they do pronounce it "LOO-", rare though that may be. But if that's too easy, it might also have been a thing Valmont picked up from spending time in America. Maybe because no one here knows what the hell a LEFtenant is. They'd probably think he was Canadian or something. See? Overthinking. I would be down with either explanation though. c:
  
• The Enforcers' talisman-fueled rampage is still far too perfect for me to handle. They are clearly just having way too much fun messing around with their new powers (they didn't get to use the talismans much in season1, after all!) and making stupid puns the whole time. I would probably be doing the same thing lbqr.
  
  • Finn is a standout here. He and the Rooster Talisman were made for each other. And I will never not love the bit where he complains about having all the "loser powers" and then tries to swap with Hak Foo. "Baby." "...Score."
    
  • I like how Hak Foo was reestablished as a character in this episode also. He is just so disgruntled by having to work with these amateurs who not only need talismans to hold their own, but manage to screw up using them anyway. ("'Walrus'?") Little does he know that by working with them, his competence will shortly be lowered to their level. It's the curse of the Enforcers. Sorry, Hak. (Or does he prefer "Foo"?)
    
  • I'm kind of disproportionately concerned about what happened to all those Section 13 guys who got turned into rats. Did Jackie-tachi comb the area with the Monkey Talisman after getting it back a few days later? Or were those poor dudes doomed to stay as rats the rest of their lives? I hope it was not the latter. I've read Animorphs. :(
  
  
• Can we talk about how canon Jackie/Captain Black continues to be? "I need you, Jackie. One last time." Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh just bang already. Your sexual tension is probably just giving the child ideas.
  
• So, uh, have we ever established why Shendu has it in for Valmont specifically? It wasn't his fault Shendu got defeated! He didn't have anything to do with it, unless you count inadvertently providing Jade with a means of transportation, and that's not a thing Shendu could have known about anyway. Hardly something to tear a guy to pieces over, yeah? Unless... oh gosh. That's a euphemism for hatefricking, isn't it. It's gotta be. Show, you're not helping me not ship this one either. :|
  
• I'm not denying also that seeing Shendu turn into a squirming wuss in front of his brothers and sisters makes the vengeful part of me very pleased.
  
• Uh okay so can we talk about when Ratso inadvertently turns their truck invisible and Chow freaks out and immediately leaps onto Hak Foo? That's a hug, dude, I'm just sayin'.
  
• The demonstration of the difference between immortality and healing is a great bit. Practical and succinct. "Immortality hurts."
  
• I think Chow thinking of weird animals to turn people into is a character trait by this point. First "You're a flamingo!" in the Monkey Talisman episode, then "Walrus!" in this one. (Seriously. "Walrus"?)
  
• I really love Jade's starry-eyed self-assurance on "I can take 'im! I can fly." Never mind that he can fly and also shoot laser beams out of his eyes, and also has three dudes on the ground for backup. She can fly.
  
• Okay so now we get to Valmont making bad life choices, If he had been a little less impatient and stayed at home, none of this would have happened. Not that I'm complaining about what did happen. :B Also, then the world would probably be ruled by demons, so probably not so great for him or any other human anyway, really.
  
  • What exactly was he hoping to accomplish by knocking Jackie off the cliff anyway? The fall clearly wasn't enough to do any serious damage, even if he hadn't had a convenient Finn to break his fall. You couldn't have just, like, tackled him or something, V? And possibly made out with him a little? Come on now.
  
  
• Aaaaand we devolve into incoherent squeeing right about now.
  
• God. Seeing Valmont in possession-induced states of distress is one of my favorite things ever. ♥ Like right when Shendu first bamfs into him and he just kind of stumbles around with his hands over his face for a second before Shendu takes over. Babyyy. ;__; Or when he's just getting control back for the first time and has no idea what's going on or if he's going crazy or what and basically ends up very panicky and frustrated and not very good at hiding it. You can actually see that he's sweating and I just. I juuuust. ;___;
  
• More examples of Finn being unusually forward towards Valmont (well, Shendu at the time, but he didn't know that): when he reaches out to grab his shoulder.That doesn't seem like the sort of thing Valmont would tolerate from just anyone. Maybe he wouldn't have tolerated it from Finn either. We'll never know.
  
• Valmont just makes these cute little noises all the time whenever he comes up or goes under. I know I've mentioned this in the past but it is worth pointing out again because he is perfect.
  
• And of course the first thing he's worried about, putting aside the question of whether he's cracking up, is the money. Of course. V. Don't ever change. <3
  
• I could replay those "Gaah!" noises he makes before going "Get out!" for quite a while. I think maybe I will. After I am done burying my head in this pillow to stifle my squeeing. How does a dude be that sexy and panicky and possessed and perfect I do not know it is a mystery and I want to hug him. Just, a lot, basically. ♥
  
• Meanwhile Hak Foo's probably just like "What have I gotten myself into."*

*"I knew I should have stayed home today."

Pan Ku Box Episode (The J-Team)

• This is another one where Captain Black gets to be unnecessarily cute. His pout when Uncle ignores him, his "Awww" when Uncle takes away his book, and the whole thing with him trying to teach himself Chi spells. Friggin' adorkable.
  
• It is always very strange to me to remember that Viper and El Toro (and Paco) don't show up in this season* after this episode, and as I recall not too much in later seasons either. They just did such a good job setting up the idea of the J-Team in this episode, I guess I always kind of expect they'll follow up on it. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.
  
  • And I want one of those J-Team jackets.
  
  
• Shendu and Valmont having a bodyshare slap fight is still a classic scene. I love how Valmont is concerned about his hair. ♥
  
  • I was wrong; his jacket comes open in this one too. I guess it got pulled open while they were fighting. Do bits of his clothing come open a lot when that happens? Hmm. Something to think about. :B
    
  • I do feel really bad for V here though. He still thinks he has a chance to not get dragged into Shendu's crap. Sorry, V. You've got to wait about eight more episodes for that. :c (But you do so magnificently.)
    
  • Finn hiding behind Hak Foo while all this happens is also very cute.
  
  
• I like how Shendu's expressions are just that bit more extreme and cartoonish than Valmont's. Even with their eyes closed you can usually tell who is who, and I appreciate that. His hair also gets a bit Ghibli-er as well. c:
  
• Okay, so. Why is Jackie the only one who changes his clothes to sleep?? Actually, I think he only changed his shirt, but that's still better than everyone else in this episode. We've got, what, nine people in this hotel, and none of them thought to bring a set of pajamas? I mean, Chow does take off his pants, but uh, that just raises further questions. :\ Jade especially has no excuse, since I know we've seen her PJs in at least one other episode. You guys are just being lazy. :| Meanwhile, Shendu doesn't even bother to get under the covers, but I suppose demons sleep differently. (I can't imagine Valmont had too much say in the whole sleeping-with-his-clothes-on decision, btw. Sleeping in a suit, Shendu? You'll wrinkle it!)
  
• Ratso continues to be the preciousest. He may not have brought his pajamas, but he did remember his teddy bear. <3
  
• I shouldn't appreciate Jade and Paco hugging, since they're only doing so because they're about to get blown up, but. They are hugging. c:
  
  • I also appreciate that their bickering about whether Jackie or El Toro will save them is in fact what does save them from being blown up. Confusing the bad guys is certainly one way to do it!
  

• I only noticed Tohru and El Toro's belly-bump after defeating the Dark Hand guys on this rewatch, and it's really cute. They seem to have gotten over their differences.
  
• I appreciate how Viper hits on like all the dudes in this episode. She pinches Jackie's cheek, adjusts El Toro's tie, and I think I even caught her looking appraisingly at Tohru. You go, Viper. Get it gurl. <3

*Sorry, I meant season 2 proper. The fillers are just so separate in my mind. :c

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3!

Comments

[blueinkedfrost]

Valmont's biggest mistake: giving the talismans to the Enforcers. His unwillingness to get his own hands dirty is definitely one of the biggest factors in his defeats - when he takes to the field himself, he's smart and a good martial artist (good enough to beat Jackie the first time they fought).

But they'd totally have gotten away with the bank robbery in the first episode if not for that meddling dragon spirit!

I <3 Black accidentally turning himself into a frog with his experiments. He's like Jade - can use chi spells, but hilarity results. (Jackie seems unable to use chi magic; he tries in that Tarakudo episode with the Hak Foo shadow-eating Shadowkhan. Jade and Future Jade can do chi spells.)

The way time travel works in this 'verse seems to be that the characters who actively time travel retain memories of how their pasts used to be before they were changed, and only certain aspects of the future change. This fits in with Jackie's scar: Present Jackie still remembers the accident where he got his scar, even after Jade changed time so he doesn't have it on his arm any more. So there was an original time track where Valmont got the inspiration to be a crime lord all on his lonesome, and Valmont remembers it.

Future Jade getting rid of Shendu's teeth in the past is another example: the teeth disappeared in the future, but Jackie and Uncle were still tied up to wait for Shendu's return. However, the fates of Future Jade and evil chi master Iso in the other Future Jade episode make my head hurt - given that Present Jade destroyed the Arcanum, Future Jimmy could not use it, and also, Present Jimmy resolved never to become Iso. So did the evil Iso continue to exist in the future even though his Arcanum was destroyed and his past self decided to make different choices?

(Also, bonus later-season theory that's rather squicky: *Valmont* accidentally created Drago, as a result of leftover dragon essence within him plus some poor unsuspecting lady. I wish that canon had actually revealed Drago's mother; there were few female characters anyway, and it might've made his character more interesting to give him a concrete backstory.)

[vethica]

I know, right? It's a shame, too. We know Valmont likes using the talismans (or at least the dragon one). We totally could have seen him kicking butt out there with 'em. Man. That would have been cool. :c

Your theory makes sense with the way time travel is presented in the show. But does that mean everyone has two lifetimes' worth of memories all up in their heads? Man! That seems like it would get so confusing. D: And I am sorry but my knowledge of season 5 is very shaky so I can't really weigh in on what you said there!

Aw dude no I don't even want to think about that! Though it's scarily possible... But I dunno. I don't like the idea of Shendu making a kid without even being there, and I definitely don't like the idea of Valmont making Shendu's kid. Yeesh! @_@ But that is probably just my personal hangups. And yeah, there really aren't enough lady characters in this show, are there? It would have been a really good idea to go into Drago's mother and backstory. Why didn't you write that season. :c

[blueinkedfrost]

Your theory makes sense with the way time travel is presented in the show. But does that mean everyone has two lifetimes' worth of memories all up in their heads? Man! That seems like it would get so confusing.

I think it's actually the opposite, which is even more confusing and probably involves newly separated time tracks, like alternative universes.

See, Present Jackie remembers his scar and the incident involved even after Jade has changed the past, and still expects the scar to be there when he looks. There's no sign he actually has a double set of memories, just a single set of memories and an altered physical state. Yet Past Jackie is probably going to remember his adventure with Jade quite well.

Or for example, Future Drago collected Shendu's teeth and started a ritual to summon his father, while Future Jackie and Future Uncle were all tied up waiting. Future Jade then time-travelled and destroyed the teeth with Present Jade. From Future Jackie's and Future Uncle's perspective, the teeth suddenly disappeared from the ritual and Shendu wasn't summoned. However, if the teeth *never* existed in Future Drago's timeline, then Future Drago wouldn't have begun the summoning ritual in the first place. So it's all head-hurty and does not make a lot of sense.

[vethica]

Whoa. Split timelines, huh? Well, I can safely say this is all confusing the heck out of me. I appreciate your reasoning it all out, though! Just. I am never going to time travel if it is this complicated. D:

[blueinkedfrost]

I was totally inspired to make a tumblr post about this: http://blueinkedfrost.tumblr.com/post/57052248029/putting-together-a-theory-of-time-travel-in-jackie-chan . If this still confuses you, then the fault is entirely mine. :)

I hate time travel, honestly. XD It just gets stupidly complicated.

[vethica]

I think this is both of us right now.

Whoa, that is some writeup! I understand it... mostly... I think. @_@ I love how you went into everyone's heads regarding things that might or might not have happened. Man. I just love how much thought you put into this stuff, okay. It's awesome to read. Keep it up. ♥