J. Larry Carroll
Reviewed by: ThundercatsX
The episode opens apon the visage of the Black Pyramid, deep in a thunderstorm. Mumm-Ra is at his cauldron, being chewed out by the Anchient Spirits of Evil. They're quite sick of his complete failure to defeat the ThunderCats over the years, and now that the Mutants and the Lunataks have been taken away on the Circus Train, *shudder* they've had enough. He has until sundown to defeat the ThunderCats without fail, or he'll be cast into exile, far from Third Earth. To prove that they're serious, they then proceed to throw Ma-Mutt into exile. Mumm-Ra knows that he can't simply defeat the ThunderCats how he is, after all, he's failed all these times before. So he asks the ASoE to grant him incredible powers, more than he's ever had before, even more than the boost he recieved in ThunderCubs, and then he speeds off, into the sky.
At Cat's Lair, Lion-O, Panthro, and Snarf brace themselves as they're violently rocked around. The monitor comes on, and Tygra mentions that the Tower of Omens has just been hit by an earthquake, and Lion-O admits that they just felt the same thing. Lion-O asks how they're doing, and Cheetara says that everyone at the Tower is ok, but the Tower's scanners have picked up multiple massive earthquakes, and new forming Volcanoes all across Third Earth. Lynx-O then cuts in, from the Feliner, returning from a trip to Thundera. Pumyra says that she has finished a computer simulation of what will happen to Third Earth if everything continues to go out of control: Third Earth will explode in 12 hours! Bengali says that they'll try to get back home before sundown, and sets the Feliner to full speed. Lion-O, Panthro, and Snarf then start searching Third Earth, and they see the damage the disaster has caused: Volcano eruption has burnt the Treetop Kingdom to the ground, and Earthquakes have caused flooding in the Berbil Village, and Avalanches on Hook Mountain. Panthro checks the control panel, and learns that the natural events aren't natural at all, someone is controlling them! Lion-O knows it can't be the Mutants or the Lunataks because they're in exile, which leaves only one evil, Mumm-Ra. Snarf wonders how to find him though, and Lion-O says that they'll split up: Snarf will stay and guard the Lair, The Thunderkittens will guard the Tower of Omens, Cheetara and Tygra will go north, and Lion-O and Panthro go south, in hopes of covering as much ground as possible.
Tygra and Cheetara take off in the ThunderClaw, and just above the Treetop Kingdom, they get a message from the Kittens at the Tower. New Volcanic activity has been located just east of their position, so they speed off for it. In the ThunderTank, Lion-O and Panthro get the same message, and decide to go as back-up. They reverse direction, and head to help the others out.
As the ThunderClaw approaches the new volcano, they get a surprise from behind it: Mumm-Ra! Only now Mumm-Ra is 200 feet tall, and really pissed off. Mumm-Ra welcomes them, letting them know that their destruction is at hand, since he has obtained more power than has ever been seen on all of Third Earth, and then he proves this by raising a single finger and firing off an energy ray that quickly brings the ThunderClaw spiraling towards the ground. Tygra manages to pull a safe crash, and he and Cheetara hop off the ThunderClaw and prepare for battle. Mumm-Ra gives the pair one chance to surrender, then shows his might by slamming the Sword of Plundarr into the ground creating a massive earthquake. Tygra pulls out his Bolo Whip, and strikes at Mumm-Ra, but it has no effect. Mumm-Ra then fires an energy beam out of his hand, and Tygra simply disappears.
Mumm-Ra fires a shot at Cheetara, but she manages to avoid and zooms at Mumm-Ra. She's too fast for his continual fire, springs up on her Staff, and fires a few blasts out, squarely hitting him in the chest, but have no effect. Before she can hit the ground, she's hit by an energy beam, and also teleported away. Lion-O and Panthro then drive up in the ThunderTank, and Lion-O jumps in the back and starts firing the cannons. Mumm-Ra simply defends with the Sword of Plundarr, and then fires a spiral shot that blows the ThunderTank to bits. Lion-O pulls the Sword of Omens and begins calling for help, but only gets to the third "Thunder!!!" when Mumm-Ra fires at him. Panthro runs in the way of this blast, and is also teleported away. The recoil of the blast knocks Lion-O off his feet though, and Mumm-Ra uses this time to slam the Sword of Plundarr into the ground and causes the nearby Volcanoes to gush forth.
Lion-O uses the Sword to create a protective shield, and Mumm-Ra decides to be cocky and spare his foe, saying that destruction is too easy for Lion-O; he should be forever buried instead. He watches as the lava flows over Lion-O, and begins to harden. Before he can celebrate though, the ASoE appear, and warn that the time is growing later all the time. As he shrinks some, in total bewilderment, the Spirits warn that he must get rid of ALL the ThunderCats before the day is up, or he still will be exiled.
Wilykat comes running into the control room of the Tower of Omens, telling kit to get prepared, Mumm-Ra is on his way. They bring up the monitor, and are shocked to see how big he has become, he stands even with the Tower! Mumm-Ra grabs the Sword of Plundarr, and in one mighty blow, chops the insignia on top of the Tower in half. The Tower begins to collapse, so Wilykit and kat run for their spaceboards. The kittens escape, but as they speed off towards the Lair, they look back at the last remaining moments of the Tower, as Mumm-Ra attacks again, and it all comes crumbling down.
Snarf meanwhile, at the Lair, is communicating with the Feliner. He is panicking as he tells Lynx-O about the other ThunderCats disappearance, and the destruction of the Tower. Everyone aboard the Feliner is shocked by this news, but Lynx-O tells Snarf to keep calm, he's a ThunderCat, and all ThunderCats are needed for this crisis. Lynx-O thinks for a moment, and comes up with a plan: Snarf should go get the Book of Omens, and go back inside it. Snarf is scared at this prospect, after all, last time he went in the Book, he was almost roasted. Snarf wonders how he can get in, and Lynx-O explains that the eye may not be at the Lair, but the ThunderScope is, if Snarf brings the Key of Thundera with him, he shouldn't have a problem. Snarf runs to the treasure chamber, and grabs every piece of Thunderian treasure he can find. If he's going to have to face the Guardian of the Book again, he wants to be ready. Snarf grabs the ThunderScope peeks through it, and in a flash, he's wisked inside the book.
The moment he arrives, the Dragons show up, and Guardian questions Snarf, wanting to know who this visitor is, and if he has the Key. Snarf says that he's a servant of Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats, and dumps his bag saying that he has all the treasure, and that had better be good enough to get help to defeat Mumm-Ra.
Right outside the Lair, the Thunderkittens are blazing towards it, hoping to reach safety. Mumm-Ra is right on their tail though, and with a well-timed blast, Wilykat disappears, just like Tygra, Cheetara, and Panthro before him. Kit manages to get about 10 feet further, but she's hit too, and watches in awe as her world quickly disappears around her. She finds herself in a mysterious, open, empty, blue fog, completely unrecognizable to her. As she looks around, the rest of the ThunderCats materialize out of the dense fog. Wilykit asks Cheetara how they're going to escape, but she doesn't know. She's not worried though: Her sixth sense has picked up to the fact that a friend is nearby, and that this person will help them. Jaga then teleports in, and says that while the ThunderCats can't actually see or hear him, he will find them a way out. Jaga then appears before Lion-O, trapped in a small pocket underneath the now hard magma. Lion-O is happy to see Jaga, knowing that he'll help him.
However Jaga says that this time it's not just him, but all the ThunderCats who are going to help. He then shows them, explaining that they can't see or hear Lion-O, since they are trapped in limbo, but he will go inside the Eye of Thundera with the rest of the ThunderCats, and they will all lend their strength and power the Sword of Omens to unseen levels. Lion-O watches Jaga enter the Eye, feels it's power increase, and with a mighty "HOOOOO!!!!!" blasts the rock apart and flies out, and back to the Lair.
As Lion-O arrives, he finds the Lair being demolished by Mumm-Ra, smoke coming from everywhere. He lands, and gets ready for combat with Mumm-Ra, but just then, the Eye glows, and Snarf appears in it, from inside the Book of Omens. Snarf explains that he heard from the Guardian that Mumm-Ra will be sent away to exile by the ASoE if he fails to destroy all the ThunderCats by nightfall. Lion-O gazes over at the setting sun, and as he looks back at Mumm-Ra, he watches him shrink a little. Mumm-Ra swings with the still gigantic Sword of Plundarr at Lion-O, who flips out of the way, knowing if he gets hit by that thing once, he's done. He fires an energy shot at Mumm-Ra, but Mumm-Ra simply blocks it with his fist. Lion-O reminds Mumm-Ra that the sun is almost gone, and in a panic, Mumm-Ra glances at it, and he shrinks some. The ASoE remind him that he has mere minutes left, he'd better finish the job quickly. Mumm-Ra leaps at Lion-O and the Sword of Omens and the Sword of Plundarr clash.
Even though Mumm-Ra has been shrinking, he's still at least 15 feet tall, and the Sword of Plundarr is still pretty enormous, and the Sword of Omens can't hold against it's weight very long. The Sword of Omens goes spinning out of Lion-O's hands, and he's knocked far in the other direction of it. Mumm-Ra shrinks a bit more, but that's ok: He's already on top of Lion-O with the Sword of Plundarr drawn, the battle's done, Lion-O has failed. Lion-O looks back one last time, and sees the sun set behind the mountains. He tells Mumm-Ra of this, and Mumm-Ra cries a shout of despair and anger, and a strong wind blows over him. He turns to stone, and breaks apart into tiny pieces, revealing weak, red-cloaked Mumm-Ra. The Anchient Spirits of Evil appear, and tell Mumm-Ra that's failed, and for the last time. They give him his reward for all these years of faithful service, which is being cast into exile, so they won't have to deal with him any longer, then with a strong gust, they disappear into the night.
Lion-O calls the Symbol, and as he does, all of the other ThunderCats appear from inside limbo, and they run and give Lion-O a hug. The group hears a noise, and look up towards the moonlit starry night, and see the Feliner come soaring in.
Inside the Book, Snarf is pacing around wildly. He's upset, because not only did everyone else get to go do a special mission, he's been forgotten inside the Book to rot. All of a sudden, a bright blue light surrounds him, and he's lifted up and out of the Book and appears in the Lair, surrounded by all the other ThunderCats. Lion-O thanks Snarf for all his help, if it wasn't for him, Lion-O would've never learned Mumm-Ra's weakness. Lion-O then says it's a happy day for Third Earth and the ThunderCats, because now Mumm-Ra, the Lunataks, and the Mutants are all gone from Third Earth, and all it's citizens are free to live in peace forevermore. This means a new plan for the ThunderCats though, they're going home, and they're going to rebuild Thundera into the planet it once was. Lion-O leads the group in a "ThunderCats....HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!", as the camera pans out of the Lair, out past the clouds in the sky, out deep into space, to show a full view of the planet of Third Earth, which then changes into the Symbol.
Overall, this was a fantastic episode, one of the most influental on the series from this point forward. I only have one small complaint, and I can't even blame the episode for it, this was a mistake behind the scenes. In my opinion, it should have been the final episode of the series. It ends on a perfect note, both for closure, and in a physical sense: the story closes out here, since all the evil of Third Earth is gone forever, and the planet now lies in happiness. The ThunderCats are free to go home, and rebuild their home planet, in peace. And that final shot? Of Third Earth transforming into the symbol? Perfect way to end things on a high note. But the show went on for another 20 episodes after this, and wound up ending with a rather unresolved, boring, typical episode, that's the only thing that annoys me, at the very least they could've had a more conclusive ending. >_<
* Script Scans
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Captures from The Last Day
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