Episode IX: Jack Under the Sea

Episode IX: Jack Under the Sea is the ninth episode in the first season of Samurai Jack. In it, Jack travels to an underwater kingdom in search of a time portal.

Plot
While being told tales from a crazy old fisherman, Jack is told about an underwater city that holds a time machine that could send him back to the past.

After finding the spot in the story where the fisherman last heard about the machine, Jack dives down to search underwater. While running out of air he finds a Jelly-Whale and gets swallowed into his jelly mass, providing oxygen for him to breath. While admiring the scenery he sees the city and calls for the whale to turn, and when accidentally stepping on a nerve, the whale complies, much like the pedals on a car.

When reaching the city, Jack meets up with the Triseraquins, a race of sea monkey-like people who are the keepers of the time machine. Their leader Guiness invites him to dinner to show their friendship. While Jack scarfs down the dinner of sushi, they each talk about their origin stories: how the Triseraquin's home is now under the sea, and how Jack came to be in their time. When asked why he came to their city, one Triseraquin blurts out about their time machine, to which Jack excitedly wants to see.

After dinner, Jack is shown the time machine and after a series of steps that seem legitimate, it turns out the time machine was really a bubble prison. It turns out that the Triseraquins planned for Jack to come to the city and be their prisoner so they could barter with Aku for their city to be on land again. After delivering Jack to Aku, Aku breaks a small hole in the bubble prison to ensure a slow death for Jack. When asked about his side of the deal, Aku shows his true colors and exclaims that he had "changed [his] mind!"

Feeling betrayed at Aku's deception, the Ticeraquins turn on him, sending in troops to attack. Aku shape-shifts into many spiked tube-worms, then a manta ray, and finally an octopus. Seeing their attacks are useless, the Triseraquins decide to retreat, but not before rescuing Jack and taking him along. Jack, now freed, implores them to turn around that he might face Aku. The Triseraquins are afraid, but Jack begs them to trust him as he once did them; ejecting Jack from their ship at just the right moment, Jack is able to pierce Aku's mouth with his sword, sending the demon into retreat.

The Triseraquin city then rises to the ocean's surface. After a heartfelt apology, and the truth about the time machine being a hoax coming out, the Triseraquins ask if there is any way to repay Jack. He gladly accepts a bag of sushi from the dinner prior for payment and heads off, in search of another way home.

Credits

 * Written by
 * Chris Reccardi
 * Charlie Bean


 * Directed by
 * Rob Renzetti
 * Genndy Tartakovsky


 * Storyboards by
 * Charlie Bean
 * Chris Reccardi


 * Voices
 * Phil LaMarr as Samurai Jack
 * Makoto Iwamatsu as Aku
 * Jeff Bennett as Connery / Fisherman
 * Mark Hamill as Guiness / Other Fisherman
 * Jess Harnell as Ringo / Waitress


 * Casting by
 * Collette Sunderman

Trivia

 * Many of the Triseraquins have UK-based accents that parody famous celebrities such as The Beatles, Alec Guinness, and Sean Connery.
 * Goof: When Aku pokes the hole in the sphere that Jack is trapped in, his goatee is colored black.
 * This is the only episode in the entire series that hints at Jack's real name.