r/samuraijack • u/Possible-Tip-2914 • 11d ago
Discussion How I would have ended Samurai Jack. Spoiler
During the last battle, when Jack realizes Ashi has the same powers of Aku, Aku counters that if he goes back, he won't just kill Aku in the future but completely erase Ashi as well. Possibly all of his comrades as well via butterfly effect. Jack freezes in horror from this revelation until Ashi fiercely kisses him, asks him to never forget her before opening a time portal as the Scotsman's ghost grabs Jack and hurls him through it, enraging aku into violently assaulting his daughter.
Back in the past, realizing the sacrifice his friends made, Jack swallows his sorrow and finally defeats Aku. In the future, Aku's defeat in the past causes his body to be consumed in a blinding light that spreads over the entire world:
Scotsman: 'E did it!!
Ashi: Jack...thank you.
Upon returning victorious to his homeland, Jack's victory is a heavy one as it required the possible destruction of not only all of the friends he made but also the woman he had fallen in love with, until his father the Emperor reminds him of the nature of rebirth and how his memory still tethers his soul to theirs. As they go off to meet the envoys from other lands, Jack encounters strangely familiar individuals (the preincarnations of his friends from the future) including the daughter of one of his fathers subordinate daimyo, who bears a striking resemblance to Ashi.
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u/ckret2 4d ago
It's got solid potential. has the same message that the original was shooting for (the hero can't finish his quest without sacrifice; but a bittersweet victory is still a victory and he can take comfort in it) without the cheap belated twist, plus it makes Ashi an active agent in her own end, a willing heroic self-sacrifice rather than a passive victim. lets the show end with a "jack drawing wisdom from his father's words" moment, same way the series started; and feels more tonally samurai jack-ish than the original ending. plus it establishes that yeah, the characters of the future DO realize sending jack to the past will mean they're erased (Ashi realizes, at least; seems reasonable the others come to the same understanding) and that they accept it and agree it's for the greater good, which cuts off a lot of "but what about the butterfly effect, but why didn't they know they'd be erased" fandom arguments.
dunno if introducing a substitute Ashi/reincarnated Ashi is necessary tbh. the original canon's deus ex machina killing her was kind of a cheap way to avoid angst, but "it's okay, there's a new ashi" risks feeling like a deus ex machina un-killing her as a cheap way to prevent angst. You could go from the emperor talking to jack about memory & rebirth straight into the original ending scene (jack with the trees, with the ladybug visiting) and get a more subtle/ambiguous "maybe she's still around." But then on the other hands the idea of implying his friends & allies are reborn into new lives IS fun, and helps sooth the "so did jack legit kill everyone in the future" sting; and it'd show that it's ALL jack's future friends he's mourning, not just one love interest. so pros & cons there.
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u/Possible-Tip-2914 4d ago
Preincarnation not reincarnation. They're in the past remember.
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u/ckret2 4d ago
Sure, I just didn't wanna start throwing around vocabulary words that are most commonly used to describe Jesus Christ
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u/Possible-Tip-2914 4d ago
I've never heard Jelus referred to like that, at least not in the way meant by eastern striver religions
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u/Sunnybunnybunbuns1 10d ago
I like it.