Episode XLV: The Scotsman Saves Jack, Part 1

"Episode XLV: The Scotsman Saves Jack, Part 1" is the forty-fifth episode in the fourth season of Samurai Jack. This two part episode features The Scotsman helping Jack to find the memories of his quest.

Plot
The Scotsman, traveling on board a ship, is working on his tan when a bounty hunter points a weapon at him. After dispatching his assailant with a single punch, the Scotsman loudly demands a drink. A waiter on the ship attends to his demand. After finishing his drink, the Scotsman thanks the waiter, only to be shocked by who he sees. The waiter looks identical to his friend and brother-in-arms, Samurai Jack, though his clothes and speech patterns are different. Delighted at the unexpected prospect of encountering Jack on the boat, the Scotsman tries to catch up on old times. However, the waiter doesn't seem to recognize the Scotsman, and insists his name is "Brent Worthington." At first, the Scotsman thinks it's just Jack joking around, but realizes something is wrong when Brent tells him he doesn't carry a sword because of a belief of nonviolence. The Scotsman grabs the waiter and tries to jog his memory by loudly recounting his deeds, reputation, and the bounty Aku put on his head, which draws the attention of other bounty hunters on the deck. The Scotsman turns to the largest of them, and asks him to confirm the waiter's identity. He does, and punches Brent into a pile of crates. Though the Scotsman believes this shock treatment will snap "Brent" back to his senses, it only succeeds in knocking him out. The Scotsman is forced to fend off all of the bounty hunters, before grabbing Brent and abandoning ship after throwing a grenade. The Scotsman starts swimming with the unconscious Brent on his back.

After a while, Brent comes to, wondering how he wound up in the ocean. The Scotsman tells him he lost the fight (which Brent doesn't remember getting into in the first place), chalking it up to the sun's glare blinding him. Moments later the duo find themselves surrounded by fishmen riding on giant fish. The Scotsman, not understanding the bubbling sounds they make, believe they are in for a fight. However, Brent is able to translate their speech, and tells him that the fishmen mean no harm. Jack was on a boat when he saw their undersea kingdom under siege from Aku's minions. He came to their aid and left before they got a chance to properly thank him. When they heard the explosions coming from the ship, they surfaced to investigate. The fishmen thank and salute Brent, despite his insistence that he only looks like the hero who saved them. The Scotsman on the other hand, takes this as further proof that Brent is indeed an amnesiac Jack. The fishmen dive into the water, and the Scotsman continues swimming.

When they reach the shore of an island, Brent thanks the Scotsman for saving him and tries to go on his way. The Scotsman stops him, determined to help get his memories and sword back. When Brent asks how he plans to recover a lost memory, the Scotsman replies that he only needs to find a lead. Noticing a fresh scar on Brent's chest, the Scotsman decides it is the clue he needed. He recognizes it as a mark left by the Tango beast. Knowing where to find the creature, the Scotsman sets off carrying an unwilling Brent along.

When they reach the beast's lair, the Scotsman asks Brent if it seems familiar. Once again, Brent says no, and insists he's no legendary samurai hero. Unwilling to accept this, the Scotsman decides that Jack's fight with the Tango Beast must be re-enacted. He pulls out a small sample of the wily jub-jub plant, the scent of which is known to drive the beast into an angry frenzy. It works, and the Tango Beast's fierce appearance causes Brent to faint. The Scotsman subdues the creature with one punch before asking if he recognizes his traveling companion. The Tango Beast, revealing itself as sapient and capable of speech, confirms that he recognizes him from a previous encounter. After Jack fought and defeated him in order to save a town he was terrorizing, the two talked things out. Jack ended up helping the Tango Beast by working through his self-esteem issues and getting his life back together. The Scotsman asks where Jack went after this, and goes off with Brent in the direction the Tango Beast points.

Later on, Brent regains consciousness and asks what happened. The Scotsman tells him that the beast's stench must have caused him to faint. The Scotsman sees sandal prints in the ground and believes that they were made by Jack, even though Brent claims he never wears sandals. The prints lead them to Heck's Bucket, a disreputable port town. Brent doubts he would ever come to a place like this, especially after seeing the disgusting wares the merchants sell. The Scotsman shoves Brent into the faces of several passerby and asks if they've seen him before, to no avail. He decides to try his luck a bar called The Stinking Hole. He holds up Brent for everyone in the bar to see and loudly asks if anybody has seen him before. The patrons first look at Brent, then slowly shift their gaze towards an enormous wanted poster of Jack on the wall. They all stand up and brandish weapons, determined to get the sizable bounty on Jack. After they turn down the Scotsman's generous offer for a quiet cup of tea, he decides to treat them to a fight to the finish instead. The Scotsman draws his sword and stows Brent safely into the sheathe and engages the bounty hunters. After a while the Scotsman throws another grenade and runs out of the bar before it explodes.

The Scotsman rolls and stops short in front of an old storyteller who is eager to tell him a story. The Scotsman is uninterested, and pulls Brent out of his sheathe and puts him on the ground. The storyteller recognizes Brent as one of the people who listened to and enjoyed his story. The Scotsman immediately asks where he's seen Jack before, and the storyteller replies that he had come to town in order to hire a boat headed for parts unknown. Though Brent doesn't remember the storyteller or his stories, the Scotsman decides to look into this boat-hiring business, leaving the storyteller without an audience.

They soon reach the local chart house and meet with a chartman well-versed in the oceans and routes that ships take. The Scotsman asks where the fishmen live, remembering that Jack had recently helped them. The chartman replies that their kingdom lies below the waters of the Great Unknown, an uncharted and dangerous place that none have ever returned from. Naturally, Brent is reluctant to go to such a place, but the Scotsman drags him along anyway. They meet with a crew of sailors willing to sail them there (for a very steep price). The Scotsman hands over a large gold ingot as payment, and they set sail for the Great Unknown.

To be continued...

Credits

 * Written by
 * Bryan Andrews
 * Brian Larsen


 * Directed by
 * Randy Myers
 * Genndy Tartakovsky


 * Storyboards by
 * Bryan Andrews
 * Brian Larsen


 * Voices
 * Phil LaMarr as Samurai Jack / Vender #1 / Mate
 * John DiMaggio as The Scotsman / Pedestrian / Vender #2
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Ancient Mariner / Gill King / Ticket Guy
 * Daran Norris as Hunter #1 / Chartman / Captain
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Hunter #2 / Customer / Tango Beast


 * Casting by
 * Collette Sunderman

Trivia

 * This episode includes many references to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, such as an alien character similar in appearance to the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo, a bounty hunter in the background wears an armor with a notable resemblance to the mandalorian armor of Boba Fett, the Captain's lines directly quoting Han Solo, and the Scotsman describing Heck's Bucket as "a wretched hive of scum and villainy."
 * Heck's Bucket also appears to be the same seaport that Scaramouche visits in Episode XCVII.
 * The character in the port city who offers to tell the Scotsman an epic tale is a reference to the The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.