22. The Astral Prison
Peter Lawrence
Reviewed by: Purrsia
The Sword signals a warning in the night, and Lion-O rushes to the Sword chamber to see what the fuss is about. Using the Sword's powers of Second Sight, Lion-O observes Jaga, who is being held prisoner by a three-eyed, four-armed freak in the Astral World.
Alarmed, Lion-O corrals the others into a Council meeting to discuss how to help Jaga.
Mumm-Ra, unbeknowst to them, is spying via his cauldron. When he hears the kittens suggest going to the Netherwitch for help, he's pleased. Why? Because Mumm-Ra *is* the Netherwitch. He harkens to the Sorcerers of the Netherworld to transform him before he sets out to lie in wait for Lion-O.
The 'Cats take Lion-O to the Den of the Netherwitch, and he insists on going alone. As he crosses the Bridge of Slime, they leave him to the task of rescuing Jaga.
Meanwhile, the Mutants - tipped off by Mumm-Ra that Lion-O would not stand in their way - are at Castle Plundarr putting the finishing touches on a Thundrainium cannon that they hope will immobilize the 'Cats so that victory can be theirs.
Back at the Den, Lion-O faces beasts, spooks and slippery slopes to finally come face to face with the Netherwitch. She knows him by name, explaining that she knows everything - even why he has come to see her. He doesn't question this, so eager is he to save his mentor. To her credit, she does warn him that if he goes, he can never return. Lion-O chooses to be sent to the Astral World, and as she casts the fateful spell, she reveals herself as Mumm-Ra.
Resigned to his fate, Lion-O focuses on his task in the strange Astral plane. His first obstacle is the steep walls of the tower where Jaga is being held prisoner - and the moat monster that protects the area.
Inside, Nemex - Jaga's captor - insists on having Jaga's vast knowledge. Jaga seems determined not to share a darn tidbit - not even his best homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe - eternal imprisonment be damned. Of course, it's not long before Lion-O bursts in to save the day.
I found it amusing that Jaga actually had to chide Lion-O to use the Eye on that freak. Hail Cap'n Obvious.
Lion-O succeeds in freeing Jaga, and he welds Nemex inside the cell they abandon with a little help from the Sword. It slices, it dices, it arc welds - we love our Sword of Omens!
As the duo flee, they can't help but pause at the sound of faint cries for help coming from a nearby cell. In the cell is a really old dude named Brodo. And I mean *old* - he made Jaga seem like a dapper young gent. He turns out to be a wizard from Third Earth, and asserts that in his heyday, he was the most powerful sorcerer. That is, until Mumm-Ra tricked him by sending him to the Astral World.
After they are safely out of the tower, Jaga and Lion-O have a bit of a reuinion. Jaga insists Lion-O get his hide back to Third Earth where he belongs, and Lion-O insists he can't. Interrupting this pointless arguing is the Sword's growl. Using Second Sight, Lion-O sees his friends and the Lair under heavy attack by the Mutants. Lion-O is quite upset that he's stuck there now, if not for realizing he's stuck with two old coots whose endless stories won't be amusing the first time - not to mention the 100th time they get told. Oh cruel fate!
Brodo offers to send Lion-O back using the Ancient Spirits of Good, figuring its the least he can do for saving him. The next part is one of my favorites in the whole darn series - Lion-O calls to the Sword as he's materializing back on Third Earth and you can practically smell the nuggets of fear that have to be populating the Mutants' undershorts at this point.
Lion-O makes short work of the Thundrillium canon, and indeed Vultureman gets owned in the most comical fashion.
After all is said and done, Jaga pays Lion-O a ghostly visit and they chat about how they're 'even' with each other now - Lion-O for saving Jaga, and Jaga for saving everyone from Thundera. And Lion-O declares to Snarf that he's found a new appreciation for life on Third Earth, Mutants and all. Awwwww.
Fave Quote:"Ancient Spirits of the Void, transport Lion-O to your Astral World." - The Netherwitch's transportation spell.
Shay Leona: Nemix, Nemeks, Nemo, whatever his name is, was extremely annoying.His voice was horrid! Other than that, the episode was great, especially the ending.
(02.05.2006, 21:07)
Lyonnarra: Okay, maybe now I'm showing that I never grew up, but did anyone else notice that the creature that jumped up out of the water in the Astral World looked like a Nidorino from Pokemon? I guess the creaters of Pokemon used to watch Thundercats! Great Show any who!
(08.05.2006, 22:35)
~Ryan: Is there something special about the Astral Moat Monster that screamed, "Make an action figure of me!" I swear, it's like they just chose characters at random to put into plastic. But I'm probably the only one who thinks a Mandora figure would've been cooler.
(13.06.2006, 01:51)
Nick: No, Ryan-- you're not the only one who thinks that a Mandora action figure would've been cooler. I'm surprised that none of you mentioned the cool ThunderCats pose in front of Cat's Lair-- where Lion-O holds up the Sword of Omens, and the other TCats pose around him... IT WAS FREAKIN' SWEET!!! And yes, Vultureman got his tail handed to him on the silverest platter that Lion-O could find!
(03.04.2007, 12:24)
Bosun's mittens: Moral of the story: Witches bad!
(11.07.2008, 06:48)
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