[Spoilers ahead]

For many of us the “journey to get to the past” started August 10, 2001 and just like that the story of Jack finally comes to a very fitting end.  This final season of “Samurai Jack” was very much so my favorite season.  The show matured in a way as if it aged with the same group of kids who watched it on Cartoon Network over a decade ago. A phenomenal and fitting ride from beginning to end.

The first half of the final season started off much darker than we remember Samurai Jack.  Jack struggled with the pain of feeling hopeless for decades as well as grappling with some very real mental health issues. On top of all this Jack lost his magic sword, the ONE thing that could defeat Aku, his nemesis. This was the lowest we have ever seen Jack. Plus, up to now he has only had to fight robots but now he finds new issues in having to take human lives as well.

After the first half of the season the show lightened up a bit and felt much more familiar to the episodes of the past. I loved how unstable Aku was this season; it was great to see the effects that the endless stalemate had on Jack and Aku over the course of this season.

Jack goes on to recover his sword and fall in love with one of Aku’s daughters, Ashi.  Over the course of the show Jack has impacted thousands of peoples lives but at the end of that adventure they all part ways. Jack chose to be alone because he knows that he dangers the lives of those close to him. For the first time in this adventure Jack was in love and for once something was more important than his never ending mission to get to the past.

Jack goes on to surrender because he couldn’t hurt Ashi and I have to say, Aku live-streaming the shows old opening montage to the world has to be top 5 OG moments.  This backfired though as all of Jacks old companions rushed to his rescue, providing Jack enough time to free Ashi and even had some time to chat with the Scottsman (RIP).  I could go on about the Scotsman for hours, INCREDIBLE character.

This fight was one of the most fulfilling scenes of the show. “Flying Moneys??” “No, Jump good,” my heart was so happy.

It was seeing Ashi fight Aku using Aku’s powers and to see her throw them back into the past. The “You’re back already?!” from Aku was hilarious. Jack defeats Aku quickly and then all is well until Ashi fades away from her and Jack’s wedding day. Without Aku, Ashi would never have existed in the future and she slips from reality.

The show Samurai Jack will always be a personal favorite of mine.  I feel as if the show’s earlier seasons would have concluded the series it would be in Jack being victorious and getting his girl and everything he ever wanted, but this final season proved that “Samurai Jack” could be a show capable of asking tough questions , as well as have Jack lose something and have to  sacrifice to obtain the one thing he fought so hard to achieve. Honestly, some moments of the finale felt kind of rushed  and I feel that they could have benefited from an extended episode (only 15 extra minutes would have been helpful). In closing,  kudos to Genndy Tartakovsky for this masterpiece of a show, 16 Years later we finally get back to the past, Samurai Jack.

WATCH OUT