Mumm-Ra uses the Sword of Of Plun-Darr and the Ancient Spirits to transform himself into a deadly and indestructible creature. But a recently acquired elixir may be able to subdue Mumm-Ra and defeat him for good.
Read on to check out our review of Thundercats Episode 23: Recipe For Disaster. The Story
Mumm-Ra uses the newly acquired Sword of Plun-Darr together with the help of the ancient Spirits to resurrect and transform himself into a deadly creature. Meanwhile, the cats are heading back to the dog village to meet up with the Wily Twins. Lion-O is trying extremely hard to impress Pumyra and accidentally squirts her with a flower that makes her face puffy.
Elsewhere on third Earth, an apothecary named Ponzi (yes, that’s his name) is selling miracle elixirs that seem to have disastrous results. Facing an angry mob, he packs up his wares and flees along with his giant caterpillar like creature named Lucy. While riding, he loses a wheel and breaks down. The Thundercats spot the traveler and offer their assistance. Ponzi sees the puffy faced Pumyra and offers his elixir. Lion-O buys it, but Pumyra wants nothing to do with it.
As Ponzi leaves, the Thundercats are attacked by a giant dragon…Mumm-Ra transformed. The dragon proves nearly indestructible. but as Lion-O saves Pumyra from the dragon Mumm-Ra, he is snatched up. as he struggles, the elixir falls and smashes releasing a cloud that immediately knocks the Mumm-Ra dragon unconscious. Realizing they may have found the key to defeating Mumm-Ra for good, they head out to find Ponzi and acquire more of the elixir.
Ponzi sees the approaching Thundertank and assumes they are after him. He speeds up to get away. He heads towards some narrow cliffs and eventually falls off and smashes all of his potions and elixirs. The Thundercats arrive and assure him they mean no harm. they explain their situation to Ponzi. he informs them that they need to acquire the leaves of the last remaining magic tree that he uses to make the elixir. Later that night, Lion-O is stalking, I mean watching, Pumyra as she relaxes. Ponzi sees this and offers Lion-O a love potion. Lion-O puts it into her drink, only to have Tygra inadvertently drink the potion. Tygra is immediately transformed into a super happy and sappy love parody.
When the cats arrive at the tree, Ponzi says he needs all of the remaining leaves so the Thundercats, minus the super emotional Tygra, get to work. Almost immediately after collecting all of the leaves, Lucy proceeds to consume them all. Ponzi berates her and she crawls up the tree. Unsurprisingly the Mumm-Ra dragon begins his attack at that exact moment. Ponzi remember he has a single leaf left and gets to work to try and mix up some elixir while the cats go off to battle, again minus Tygra who’s off being “super happy fun time” Tygra. As they fight, Lucy, who has become a cocoon, falls off the tree to the ground. During battle, Pumyra rewards Lion-O with a smooch on the cheek for his bravery. Ponzi completes his elixir and throws it to Lion-O. Lion-O immediately uses it to no effect.
As Mumm-Ra is about to attack, a giant flying creatures intervenes. It’s a giant Butterfly Lucy. She is infused with the magical properties of the leaves she ate and uses her powers to encase the Mumm-Ra dragon in a crystal tomb she creates. As the crystals collapse, Mumm-Ra emerges, transformed into the crow to flee the scene vowing they haven’t seen the last of him. Ponzi packs up and leaves, and the Thundercats head back towards the Dog Village.
Review
After last weeks slapstick episode, I figured this week would give us a serious story driven episode. Unfortunately, we only partially get that. While the ep focuses on the main crew, it does little to drive the story forward. The writers can’t seem to string a consistent series of episodes that allows the characters to progress naturally. Here Lion-O regresses back to a creepy stalker, Pumyra reverts back to being overly agitated and aggressive after seemingly warming up to Lion-O a few episodes back. The introduction of Ponzi was interesting, but he wound up being a throwaway character who had no lasting effects on the team. Also, the name Ponzi…Really?
The fight scenes were well done though. They continue to allow Lion-O to display bravery in the face of certain doom. Also, having Mumm-Ra be truly formidable and near indestructible added an element of real danger, if only for a minute. The less said about the Tygra stuff, the better. And the episode ultimately amounted to very little. It was a stall to extend the season by an episode before getting to the final set of stories for the season.
Bottom Line
At the end of the episode, the characters are basically left as they started. An odd mix of comedy, a stalker-ish Lion-O and a throw away character introduction amounts to a bland showing this week. Not terrible, but certainly nothing that pumped me up for the last 3 episodes.
Overall: 6.5 out of 10
- Thundercats Episode 23 Review
Remember, Thundercats Episode 23: Recipe For Disaster airs Saturday May 26 at 9:30 AM EST on Cartoon Network. Discuss the episode here.
"When Mumm-Ra unleashes the deadly Sycorax upon them, the Thundercats must turn to an unlikely savior - a snake oil salesman named Ponzi whose potion is the only thing that repels the beast. Ponzi also provides Lion-O some helpful romantic advice as he begins to pursue Pumyra. Don't miss an all new ThunderCats, TOMORROW at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT on Cartoon Network!
"
The description does not fill me with anticipation -_-
And I thought the Thundercats found a poison or potion to destroy Mumm-ra instead of the other way around. I think that will be more interesting but why aren't we getting any more previews????
The reference to a snake oil salesman named Ponzi -_- I get the references but basically, you know how too many cooks spoil the broth? Yeah, too many references kill it for me. If most writers actually bothered to write decent scripts instead of throwing in 'witty' references like this, the show would be better.
Plus, sounds like comedy filler. 3 episodes left to go and they're not building up the tension at all to the showdown.
But what reference are they talking about? Do you know a Ponzi somewhere? What snake oil salesman is the show talking about?
snake oil salesman means someone who makes a dishonest living by selling stuff that may not work. Ponzi refers to Charles Ponzi, the man behind the first ponzi scheme. It's 2 references to the guy being a weasel and it's not very subtle about it.
i don't get why lion-o would take romance tips from anyone. or want to get with Pumyra. maybe it's just me, but i wouldn't want a relationship with someone who beat the crap out of me. or being in a relationship after the last one was a whole thing of mixed signals and stuff. how would he know if she's really interested?
I'd personally want to see him get with someone like Panthera (if the show continues) near the series finale. I don't like relationships rushed, and his heart hasn't had enough time to heal. You don't just get over your heart being stomped on and then told you were just an assignment (Dan Norton's words) to encourage and make a better king. Though i do think they're making the Ponzi thing too obvious. I'm afraid to watch tomorrow cause i don't want Lion-o to get shot down and ridiculed. And i really hope Tygra doesn't ridicule him about any of this. Or try to give him tips. :/
I don't think the triangle destroyed Lion-O's self worth or anything like that. I don't think he's anymore scared than any other person whose been in his shoes. The fact that he's even taking the initiative shows that he's hasn't been emotionally scarred beyond repair.
It is a bit stange that Mum-Ra has unleashed some sort of hell onto them, but Lion-O has love on the brain
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The description does not fill me with anticipation -_-
Ponzi...wonder if he'll look like Bernie Madoff?
Romance with Pumyra....way to make her the silver medal.
A lot of fans feel she and Tygra would have made the better pairing that's a discussion better reserved for PM's so eggshells don't have to be walked on.
Step Brothers - Best Friends - YouTube
Pumyra: Hey Lion-o, grow up you big whiny cat!
Tygra: That's what I thought! On the count of three, name one cat that deserves a wedgie.
Pumyra and Tygra: Lion-o!
Tygra: Most skilled at?
Pumyra and Tygra: Marksmanship!
Tygra: If you were a dude, which cat would you date?
Pumyra & Tygra: Cheetara!
Pumyra: WHAT?!
Tygra: Did we just become best friends?
Pumyra: Yup!
Mumm-ra should just pay Ponzi to slip the guys some catnip. So when he faces Lion-O, he'll be all purring and rubbing up on the Sword of Omens.
Lion-O: I need some help to get in with Pumyra.
Ponzi: Ah yes, try these Sweetarts.
Lion-O: What will they do?
Ponzi: One of these will make her very lax and easy going for fun.
Lion-O: I'll try it.
*Sometime later.*
Lion-O: Oh right, now to talk with Pumyra. *Searches pockets.* Hey where are they?
Cheetara: Lion-O you have to come check this out.
*Lion-O sees Wilykit and Wilykat out of their clothes chasing Snarf around the Thundertank.*
Wilykat: You're not going to get away.
Snarf: *Yea*
Wilykit: I feel so free. Hey, Lion-O. *Hugs Lion-O.*
Lion-O: Hey, Wilykit.
Wilykit: Let's get married so I can be a queen in a beautiful dress.
Lion-O: Sure. Sounds great.
Wilykit: *Kisses Lion-O on the cheek and runs off to Pumyra to tell her she's engaged to Lion-O.*
Cheetara: *Snicker* I never seen them act like that.
Lion-O: Yeah, I think it might be.....
Panthro: Hey can someone get him off me.
Wilykat: *Hugging on Panthro's leg.* Will you be my daddy?
Panthro: Uh....*Looks at Lion-O nodding his head in yes.* Yeah, I'll be your new dad.
Wilykat: Hooray, I'm going to tell sis that we have a new dad.
Panthro: What is wrong with them?
Lion-O: I think they got into my Sweetarts.
*Panthro and Cheetara have a shocked and disgusted look.*
*Outside the Thundertank.*
Snarf: *Happy and loving.*
Tygra: Really, you got no one else you can bother.
Ponzi: This elixir will allow you to see things in the past.
Lion-O: I'll try it. *Drinks it. and then looks at the group seeing them in their 80s look.*
Snarf: Hey Lion-O.
Lion-O: Hey Snarf.
Snarf: Did you brush your teeth, make up your bed, and wash up? Snarf.
Lion-O: What?
Snarf: Oh Lion-O, what am I going to do with you? Snarf Snarf. Your father would be so disappointed in you. Snarf
Lion-O: I'm not a kid anymore! And quit saying your name, you're not a Pokemon.
Pumyra: Why is Lion-O yelling at Snarf?
Tygra: I think he finally lost it.
I can't believe this show is attempting "romance" again. They really need to stick with making the show a straight forward action/adventure. The "flower" incident proved romance isn't their forte.
To be fair, the idea of romance nowadays is a bit warped. Apparently stalking females and watching over them while they sleep is considered a 'romantic' thing to do, so giving flowers must be even more so.
To me it feels like they are pandering to specific cliques instead of being fair to all fans. One of the reasons the OS was so great was it didn't need to have moronic Twilight style romances in it. The OS could stand on its own whereas this reboot needs crutches, stints, a walker, pins and rods yet it still keeps falling down.
Nah, Panthro is just going to have the Berbils put in a Fleshlight add-on for him in the ThunderTank.
Odds are they are trying again at romance because they did such an abject failure the first time. The crew wants to prove to all the fans that when they screw the pooch, they go all out.
Is it just me, or did that remind anyone else of a bloody Pokemon episode???? >_<
*insert facepalm here*
First episode I liked tygra, but he was back to his d%%k self at the end.
It kills me with the writing, it took a flower and almost killing lion-o to get cheetara, but lion-o has to go 4 episodes or more for pumyra. Still think she is better for tygra, she was only impressed with lion-o for is combat.
There was some funny parts, pumyra's face and tygra. But looked like a stand alone episode.
Not impressed.
At first I was like "Why would Mumm-Ra need that body?" but then I realized...he's actually fighting them in daylight in that body.
I gotta say I liked this episode. Not only does it introduce the good ol' Wallows it's made me laugh.
So the Mumm-saur was defeated by a giant butterfly? I wonder what would've happened if they used that love potion on him?
That's exactly the reference I saw too!
I especially enjoyed the little Godzilla shout out between Mumm-Ra and Lucy.
And who knew Ponzi was right? All Lion-O had to be was himself, good thing Pumyra is turned on by AWESOME. But screw Lion-O/Pumyra, the shippers are really gonna have a field day with Love Potioned!Tygra.
It looks like Lion-O/Pumyra is pretty much official, you could argue that her kiss didn't really mean anything more than the one Cheetara gave him in "Into the Astral Plane," but it's the way she clings to him even after everything is over, as if to say "This is mine."
Loved the inclusion of the original theme when Lion-o squared off the first time with Mummrasuar. I did lol at the Ponzi scheme reference.
overall an okay episode .....i don't know whether this was filler or not because of mum-ra's presence. i wasn't too thrilled with the episode but the scene with liono fighting that monster with the Os theme was awesome. i must say, here we go again with this romance crap, i don't want to sound like a jerk, but one couple for now is enough damn it. so all of a sudden liono likes her and he is trying to charm her, when last two episodes ago she was the aggressor. this series is really pissing me off, there is about three more episodes till the season finale, and this is what the writers choose to come up with. i honestly expected the plot to move a whole lot more forward this episode since we are nearing the end of the season. so im guessing the stones and loss of the Sword of Plundar isn't the much of a concern for the cats, but romance takes priority over everything. i don't think im demanding too much when i say can we get a little bit more going in the main plot of the series.
This was a stand alone to me.
Have the writers gone absolutely mad? What in the world did I just see?! Are these people trying to get this show cancelled?
What was the point of this episode? To show us once again how terrible the writers are at “romance?”
I need some time to recuperate.
What was the point of this episode? To show us once again how terrible the writers are at “romance?”
I need some time to recuperate.
I think I've seen every cliche in history in that one episode. I'm sure folks would agree to disagree with me on that one. (Debate me if you will, my opinion will not be swayed, sorry). Parts were funny, I agree, but when I look at the big picture I just went, UGH....
Then Razer and Aya (from GL The animated Series) saved it for me in a way. Mind you I don't follow this series too much but I love those two (Off topic, sorry)
And BTW she would be the man in the relationship.
Pretty funny and interesting episode here. The Thundercats have not reunited as a whole as the twins and Snarf are not in this one after last week. We see Mumm-Ra finding a way to fight in daylight by turning into a gigantic monster just as Lion-O and Pumyra's relationship begins. All attempts by Lion-O failed until he faced Mumm-Ra's monster form in front of her to succeed after Lion-O getting love advice from the cowboy Ponzi. There were funny moments such as Pumyra's bloated face and Tygra's lovey-dovey spell. It took a giant butterfly to defeat Mumm-Ra's giant monster form. Good episode that has Lion-O and Pumyra as the central focus.
Another thing that was stupid. After lion-o hits mummra with the SoO, he stands there with the SoO in the air and smiles. Come on, the enemy would've took advantage of that.
When are going to see lion-o use the SoO and the Spirit Stone at the same time like in episode 13 AP.
All of the sudden pumyra is impressed with what he did with the SoO, forget the other three episodes. TCats is turning into a soap in a bad way.
Not my favorite episode but I really, really liked it. I thought Lion-O jumping around and dodging attacks -- paying homage to the 80's opening credits -- was awesome!
Pumyra is growing on me, but I really, really don't see Tygra/Cheetara lasting... what kind of guy rubs it in his girlfriend's face that she shot down another guy, his brother at that? that was low even for Tygra.
will say stoned Tygra was funny as heck. and line of the ep "Like I always say, can't beat um? run um over!!" - Panthro
Mothra vs War/Skull/Graymon hybrid.
I mean c'mon now, I know this reboot has originality problems but to rip off character designs from Toho Studios and Digimon.....
I mean c'mon now, I know this reboot has originality problems but to rip off character designs from Toho Studios and Digimon.....
I will summarize my take on this episode with this outtake (that's just me ofcourse...)
GameFly Commercial "Bad Game" 03232009 HQ Version - YouTube
It doesn't bode well that the best thing about this episode (and others) is the throw back to the OS with the Lion-o sequence with old school score. My nine year old son hates the romantic stuff and so do I. Who in the world is the target audience? I don't like to be negative about writers, ect. because I'm sure it's hard but come on...who gives the green light for this stuff? It feels like to me that they are trying to be an all things to all demographics cartoon. Unfortunately they are alienating all. It breaks my heart. It seems to me it didn't have to be this way. I just don't understand, it's basic marketing. Maybe somehow it was all supposed to make sense in season 2 or 3 or however they are doing that but my fear is they won't see the light of day and it's gonna go down as a flop. Thundercats deserved better...all I can say. Here's hoping they still have a chance to get it!
Romances can be hinted and shown some, but keep all the work off screen. It wastes time in the show as nothing but trouble.
Cheetara utterly became a victim in the middle of this mess, because she chose to be nice and a friend to Lion-O. She was scapegoated with stupid things like the surrender after Lion-O's decision to rush the enemy and nearly sacrifice Tygra to continue the fight.
I think Pumyra is perfect for bringing fury to Lion-O. She can take it and dish it back the same way Lion-O flung his fury at Cheetara about the whole betrayal thing in his head.
Cheetara is no victim, there's no way she can be that dim not to have known the game she was playing. Pumyra is impressed by his fighting skills. This is going to end badly for the Lion O, just like Cheetara's douchebag boyfriend said at the first of the ep. And what kind of horrible person would say that to his girlfriend anyway? there's no excuse. I don't understand how ANYONE can be a fan of this character. Slythe has more redeeming qualities.
The whole is she in love with me or not can be debated, the main fault point is that no one asked. Lion-O or Tygra could have asked Cheetara since they had all the time in the world walking together, camping, and etc.
Lion-O has been a douchebag on a number of occasions all the way up to the Trials. Then it fizzled down to a small amount only to flare up a bit when he clashes with Pumyra.
Lion-O doesn't have a good track record with the ladies. He'll ogle any girl he finds attractive. He treated Cheetara with scorn about the whole choosing Tygra and the betrayal prophecy that elephant monk put in his head. Finally, he tried to slip Pumyra a drug to get close to her.
The whole is she in love with me or not can be debated, the main fault point is that no one asked. Lion-O or Tygra could have asked Cheetara since they had all the time in the world walking together, camping, and etc.
Lion-O has been a douchebag on a number of occasions all the way up to the Trials. Then it fizzled down to a small amount only to flare up a bit when he clashes with Pumyra.
Lion-O doesn't have a good track record with the ladies. He'll ogle any girl he finds attractive. He treated Cheetara with scorn about the whole choosing Tygra and the betrayal prophecy that elephant monk put in his head. Finally, he tried to slip Pumyra a drug to get close to her.
It is always lion-o's fault with you in everything you post.
A friend doesn't do what she did to him. Hell, she went to tygra when she knew what she was doing. A friend would have let him known instead of him find out on his own.
That was the writers making lion-o do that to make tygra act that way.