Film Theory: Samurai Jack is the VILLAIN?!

I should probably point out that in the game Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is that if you collect all the collectibles, you unlock an ending where Ashi doesn't disappear after the death of Aku and is with Jack. Genndy Tartakovsky has gone on record saying that is the canon ending to the show.

I like that Jack wants to find Ashi no matter what, but I don't like that he could be Aku, cus that would mean he is Ashi's dad 💀

That’s cool and all, up until you realize that this would make Ashi his daughter. And I don’t like the implication derived from the implication I have pointed out.

Jack's Katana: You hearing this Odin?

Oh, i love theories that are fundamentally wrong in every single way

1) The Samurai Jack game you mentioned and confirmed is canon fixes Ashi disappearing, so Jack has no reason to go back and become Aku to ensure Ashi is even born. This isn't a "what if" ending, it is the canon ending to the canon game. Jack is reunited with the love of his life and it's happy ever after. No reason to seek out the portal and the guardian. 2) If Jack is supposed to go to the sentient portal to transport further back to the past to become Aku, wouldn't the portal and the guardian remember Jack using the portal in the past since it would have already happened? It wouldn't be prophecy at that point, but straight up remembering a memory, and given the guardian has been defending the portal for eons he would have remembered dealing with Jack in the past. He also wouldn't have said "Not yet" because Jack would have already used to portal. 3) Even if Jack went back to the past to "become" Aku he wouldn't be the same Aku. Aku already has an origin story that goes beyond the history of earth and while there may be similarities between Aku and Jack's darker side they are still not the same. Similar =/= the same. Jack would just be going to the past and encountering Aku, and even if he "became" Aku he wouldn't be the same Aku from which Ashi was born, so Jack going back would still not ensure Ashi's existence. Plus that would make Jack Ashi's dad and that's just all kinds of wrong. 4) Aku was not even aware of Ashi's existence until the penultimate battle. He stopped the fight with Jack purely because he smelled something that was just like him, looked at Ashi, and had to work backwards to figure out how she was born because he was like "Wait, when did I have kids? Well, I guess there was that one time when I left a cup of my essence on an altar, the priestess must have drank it, and, ohh..." Worst dad ever. Didn't even realize he had a daughter the whole time, let alone there were also sisters born at the same time and they had all died previously without Aku even knowing they existed at all. If Jack is Aku going back to the past to ensure Ashi is born to reunite with her, he'd be very aware of her from the moment she was born because he would have purposefully made Ashi. The best explanation for the inconsistency with the portal's prophecy is a bit disappointing: either the writing team forgot that bit of lore, or they consciously decided to change course and do something completely different when they came back to make the final season (there were 13 years between the release of season 4 and season 5...). Never care about a franchise or a character more than its creator. You'll be disappointed every time.

15:32 Fun fact about Battle Through Time, if the player collects all the kamons belonging to Jack's father but corrupted by Aku, they can unlock an alternate ending where Jack and Ashi live together happily ever after regardless of Aku's destruction thanks to the time pocket copy of the future preventing Ashi's nonexistence.

Save 50% on your system and your first month is free when you sign up for professional monitoring. Visit https://www.SimpliSafe.com/FILMTHEORY to customize yours! Try SimpliSafe risk-free. If you don’t love it, return it for a full refund within 60 days. Make sure to follow them on IG: @simplisafe TikTok: @simplisafe

"So...just double checking this. Samurai Jack is *Aku,* or becomes him." "Yep." "And *Ashi,* is *Aku's daughter.* The show confirms this." "Yep, and she's also the love of Jack's life." "Hmm... what did your test audience think of this?" I uh... I'm going to be honest, this video doesn't sound like it was thought out. Samurai Jack is iconic and legendary to many, he was written as a honorable man trying to save what was taken from him, and undo a horrible, twisted future. What you're implying, that doesn't sound like what Jack would do, even in his darkest moments, because that's not who he is. I can't see him doing *that* to *his own child.* Especially since Samurai Jack was born in Japan, not Alabama. It might be worth finding someone to run your script by, to catch things like this, because as much as I love this channel- it really feels like you're following a single narrative and ignoring obvious red flags like this for shock value. I really, really hope that this video can be a helpful lesson learned about taking a step back to review theories before releasing them into the wild, because this breaks a fundamental part of who Samurai Jack is that just doesn't add up.

me when my theory is just me lying