Episode LII: Jack and the Baby

"Episode LII: Jack and the Baby" is the fifty-second episode in the series and the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth season, where Jack must help a baby find its mother.

After this episode, the series halted (or unofficially cancelled) for creator, Genndy Tartakovsky, had plans to make a movie based on the series; however, it wasn't green-lit until late 2008. The film was said to be in pre-production in 2012. The idea of a movie was then scrapped turning the idea of adding a new season of Samurai Jack which was broadcast in 2017 on Adult Swim, a block on Cartoon Network.

Plot
As the episode opens, Jack finds a grove of peach trees and begins gathering the fruit. Soon he hears the cry of a baby and runs to investigate. Inside a cave, Jack sees the baby suspended by a rope and three robotic ogres deciding how to cook it. The samurai scales the cave ceiling by the stalactites and manages to reach the baby and free it but the ogres notice and attack. Jack fights back, somewhat hindered by the uncooperative infant. Jack and the baby retreat and hide in a tree until the ogres loose track of them.

Jack then sets off to find the child's parents. He asks several people along the road and in a nearby village but none are the baby's family. That night, Jack tells the baby a bedtime story his mother would often tell to him about Momotaro. In the story, an old couple who wished to have a child are blessed with the gift of a baby boy who emerges from a giant peach. They name him Momotaro or "Peach Boy". Momotaro grew into a strong and kind boy and, one day, decided to repay his parents' kindness. He wanted to rid their town of the terrible robbing Ogres that lived on a nearby island. He set off with his father's ax and a bag of his mother's dumplings. Along his way he uses the dumplings to befriend a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant. Upon reaching the Ogre's fortress, Momotaro makes a plan. The pheasant flies into the fortress and, while the bird distracted the ogres, the monkey scaled the walls and opened the gates from inside, allowing Momotaro and the dog to rush in and attack the ogres. After a long battle the ogres finally surrendered and gave Momotaro all of the treasure they had stolen. Momotaro returned the treasure to his people and came back to his parents as a hero and lived happily ever after.

The next morning, after a hard-won breakfast of Indricotherium milk and a diaper change, Jack and the baby continue journeying. Upon being confronted by yet another bounty hunter, though Jack tries to distract the child with mud puddles while he deals with the robotic swordsman, the baby still witnesses the battle and violence. Afterward, the baby becomes ill and refuses both food and herbal tea but mutters the word "momo". Jack rushes the baby back to the peach grove, though the ogres are still lurking, and feeds the baby a peach. However, the ogres soon find them. Jack quickly ties the baby to his back and draws his blade. In the reflection of the sword, the baby sees Jack's grim face of a samurai in battle. Jack is able to defeat all of the ogres and, after the battle, the baby's family arrives looking for him. After returning the baby to its mother, the mother notices the stern face on her baby. Jack apologizes and explains that, after what her son has witnessed in his travels with Jack, he has now achieved Sakai or "The Spirit of the Samurai". While Jack walks away towards his next destination, the baby looks on and shouts, 'MOMOTARO!'

Credits

 * Written by
 * Paul Rudish
 * Genndy Tartakovsky


 * Directed by
 * Robert Alvarez
 * Genndy Tartakovsky


 * Storyboards by
 * Paul Rudish
 * Genndy Tartakovsky


 * Voices
 * Phil LaMarr as Samurai Jack / Ogre #3
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Ogre #2 / Baby
 * Jeff Bennett as Ogre #1 / French Robot
 * Rachael MacFarlane as Baby's Mother


 * Casting by
 * Collette Sunderman

Trivia

 * This is the last episode to be produced before the series cancellation in 2004, and the last episode to premiere on Cartoon Network. The series was revived in 2017, broadcasting new episodes on Adult Swim.
 * This is also the last episode to have a 4:3 Aspect ratio. All subsequent episodes are shown in a 16:9 aspect ratio.