This Is About the TV Show, Sorry Actual Slug Fans

About Me:

They/she, aroace, I'm an adult, but will never post nsfw

Anxious introvert with a job. If I don't respond, it's not you, it's me

I will generally keep shipping at arm's length for Slugterra. No hate to the people who enjoy it, but I always liked that it's a show with no romance and generally don't engage with shipping content.

Favorite character is Trixie, favorite slug is Rookie.

Oh my days he looks like a puppy! Generally you don't see that level of big-eyed excitement on anyone but the slugs. Nice to see the show's animation is comfortable pushing it's limits sometimes.

Anyway, remember what I said about how Eli, a kid who has been taking healthy amounts of Idiotic Heroic Courage vitamins, is a great fit for Slugterra's protector because he does not care about lethal danger? Yeah, that character trait is going to be a blessing and a curse throughout the series.

I also love that Kord seems to be the most careful of their group. Like. Pronto is a straight-up coward, but he's too dumb/impulsive/gullible for his cowardice to actually help reign Eli in. Trixie is more gaurded than Eli, but she's been getting herself involved in trouble since we met her. Kord is always the one who's like "what if we just took a day off and didn't do a crazy plan that gets us killed?" I'm actually curious to see if the company he keeps ever kills his self-preservation instinct.

It's also fascinating because between his mech expertise, how much he practices slinging, and the fact that he's just physically quite big (AND WEARS A HELMET LIKE A GOOD LITTLE CAVE TROLL), he's honestly got the most tools to survive the dumb stuff they get into (I mean minus Eli's plot armor, but that can't be helped).

"And remember if you lose limbs it's up to you to pick them up, unless you lose both arms in which case, no high-fives for you"

THAT'S KINDA GRAPHIC FOR A KIDS SHOW HOLY COW! This is not a criticism, I am being continually delighted by the lack of censorship when it comes to the violence in this show. This is at least half of why it seemed so fun when I was younger.

Tbh, I kinda love Sedo. Like, first of all, I love that of ALL the characters to get semi-consistent lore drops, it's Pronto. The character with a lifelong nemesis is not Trixie, the girl who left her home cavern to film the corruption of Blakk Industries and the general sorry state of the caverns. It's not Kord, the cave troll who left home because he didn't want to be a miner like the rest of his clan and was instead looking for adventure. It's not even Eli who is THE MAIN CHARACTER.

It's the freeloader they keep around out of. . . loyalty? Pity? Amusement? Probably all 3. It's just deeply amusing to me that Pronto has apparently had a very eventful life prior to this. For all his bluster, I do feel like the Shane Gang's shenanigans are practically a break for Pronto compared to some of the other stuff he seems to have gotten himself into. I honestly can't wait for Keys to the Kingdom.

Sedo also fulfills the important function of showing that Pronto being a bum has nothing to do with him being a molenoid. I appreciate when we get a lot of variety in fantasy species instead of them all being a monolith. And it's kinda fascinating because it shows everybody in the Shane Gang is basically an outcast from their culture. Kord, Pronto, and Trixie are all far bolder and ready for action than your average cave troll, molenoid, or teenage cavern-dweller, which goes a long way towards explaining why they let themselves get roped into Eli's nonsense so easily.

Also love Trixie farming Pronto's personal drama for content. Girl has NO mercy

Interesting things at the start of the race:

-Love that the announcer fired his blaster like you would a pistol with blanks for an irl race. That's an interesting application for floppers (since I'm assuming you can't dry fire a blaster anymore than you can dry fire a real gun)

-I'm fascinated by the NPC racers btw, if just because I love looking at their mechs. We've got a punk girl with a powerful but slightly worse-for-wear snake, a construction worker looking dude with a very well maintained wild boar, and a teenager with goggles and a busted malfunctioning chicken. I love that we can get little bits of personality for irrelevant characters through tiny tiny things like this. I'll bet you anything that the punk girl blew her life savings getting her own mech and loves it like a child, the construction guy services his own mech, and the goggle kid either built his by himself or touched up an old one because he's an *aspiring* mechanic.

One of these days, I wanna see a character on a mech that doesn't aesthetically match them because it was cheap or they inherited it from someone with a very different sense of style. I'd also love to see a well-functioning, well-maintained mech that's an absolutely lame animal. Slugterra runs on rule of cool, so it makes sense that all the "cool" characters with "cool" mechs get "cool" animals but I'd love to see a character who's clearly competent that just really loves. . . Idk, gerbils or something, and went out of their way to get a gerbil mech. I think it'd be a fun gag.

"Aren't you a little young to be in the slug run?"

"Are you kidding? I've been riding mechas since. . .wait. Has it really only been since January?"

"Want some advice newbie,"

"What, work on my racing banter?"

Two things:

-Implications of a timeline! Eli's birthday is in January, and it's been several months since he came to the caverns.

-I'm sorry, I'm just never getting over the fact that Eli religiously practices his sass. This is too funny. He heard people describe his father as a wise-cracking hero and took that so incredibly seriously. I hope this joke never ends

-LOVE how much more cautious Eli is around the Shadow Clan this time around. He's hard-headed, but experience is a brutal BRUTAL teacher.

-I love that Vance is genuinely an honorable person underneath the show-boating. It shows that Blakk still has an air of legitimacy to his business right now, and makes things like Trixie's filming very important.

-I'm extremely surprised that a race that's been running for at least 4 years hasn't had ANYBODY creatively interpret the no-slugging rule yet. I'm seriously shocked they haven't had people blasting rocks to make shortcuts or seal them off and stop other people from using them, or using frostcrawlers to make ice bridges. But maybe the no-slugging rule is a more recent addition.

Man, I kinda wish we got to see more horrifying slugterra wildlife like this crystal wyrm. The show mostly limits itself to actual physical obstacles like gorges or lava pits, and then slugs and ghouls. But every once in a while they drop these bits of cool wildlife or other sentient species, and I like thinking about the circumstances in any given cavern that might have caused that. I love the consistency in everything down here except for the humans being a burrower or a cave-dwelling creature by nature.

Also love this episode being the one to firmly establish that slugs get home or back to their slinger on their own. Dropping this kind of thing early sets us up for fun episodes like The Way Home, and it tells you it's okay to turn your brain off and stop wondering how everyone collects their one-of-a-kind ammo after a fight. The slug tunnels are genuinely such a brilliant bit of worldbuilding that solves that issue so well.

It's great that Eli doesn't win this race. He's an OP protagonist, but slug-whispering and leadership skills don't automatically translate to good mech racing skills. He's only allowed to be OP in the specific area of slug-slinging, which is a good way to keep things balanced.

Sedo asking "where have I heard that before" when he hears Pronto screaming and rumbling from underneath---I'm actually loving thinking about their previous encounters. Pronto needs to have about a million more noodle incidents that keep coming back to haunt him, because Pronto being forced to solo problems he caused a long time ago is much more entertaining than watching him create problems for other people.

KORD ACTUALLY EATS HIS WRENCH LMAO!!! Never let it be said he's not a man of his word

Alright, let's actually break down this commercial monologue bit by bit:

"Do you spend hours on tedious dueling and your slugs still aren't learning new moves?"

-There are two ways to take this. The first is to believe the commercial and suddenly we know slugs work on Pokémon rules where they CAN be taught new moves deliberately, but they also just figure new ones out while working on basics.

-The second is to believe the commercial is being misleading, because the Pokémon game logic doesn't make a lot of sense compared to the rest of the show where training seems to be a very deliberate practice. You don't learn to do new archery tricks by shooting at the same targets over and over again, and you don't teach your dog new tricks by running them through the same old agility course.

-Given the outcome of this episode, I'm inclined to take the second route and say Skill Issue

"Are the other slingers gettin the best slugs leaving you with floppers?"

-Sir, that is a Flatulorhinkus you are holding, and as Pronto will demonstrate multiple times over in this series, it's actually very effective if you know how to use it (even if he constantly complains about Stinky being useless). False advertising.

"Tired of never knowing what slug to use or even if it's worth using at all?"

-This comment is par for the course culturally in the 99 Caverns, but SIR, Club Slug is literally just illegal steroids with bad side effects, how does that increase the SLINGER'S knowledge of which slugs are gonna be effective in which fight? I'm not even blaming the commercial, the people who buy this are dumb. Hence why Pronto buys it.

Also, OH MY GOSH you can tell the "satisfied customer" is being paid extra to do this and is not a trained actor, he sounds so tired and bored lol.

Fantastic terrible dumb commercial, good to know malevolent and bad advertising is a universal experience!

OH MY GOD I WAS WONDERING WHAT EPISODE THIS ONE WAS IN!!!

Eli and Kord PRACTICE their smack talk as religiously as they practice dueling. I think Trixie insulting Eli's one-liners in The Trade got to him more than he's letting in. This is the kind of absolute tomfoolery and cringe teenager behavior I LIVE for. And of course, Trixie OWNS them both because she is ACTUALLY cool while Eli and Kord just WISH they were.

Also, timeline! It has officially been A Few Months since the gang got together, which does a lot for justifying how skilled Eli (and everyone else) will be in these next episodes!

That actually makes me retract some previous statements about how fast Blakk has gotten his ghouls perfected and distributed. We now know that multiple weeks can be passing between these episodes!

Oh my gosh, Club Slug's THEME MUSIC even reeks of terrible exercise commercial. It sparks some deep internal inexplicable rage in me just from hearing it, this is fabulously awful

This whole opening scene actually has really great casual characterization. It's this kind of silliness that provides character depth that I feel has been lost in some modern TV shows. Trixie shows off that she's knowledgeable about Slugterran media and entertainment (makes sense given she's a vlogger), Kord shows that he's a bit jealous of Eli surpassing him, Pronto is impulsive and gullible and spent all their money without asking, and Eli is appropriately wary of something that sounds too good to be true! Good instincts buddy!

Speaking of money!

Eli: "We all worked hard for that gold Pronto"

YOU DID?! DO YOU HAVE A JOB?! HOW ARE YOU MAKING MONEY ELI SHANE, I NEED TO KNOW THIS?! WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?!

I think I've mentioned this before, but my current theory is that Trixie gets revenue from her Slugnet videos (and probably knows where to pick up odd jobs) and Kord makes money servicing mecha beasts for people, but I genuinely have no idea how Eli and Pronto are making money. Like even if Pronto took something with him in his self-imposed exile, it's definitely gone by now (hence his squatting in the Shane hideout), and Eli is waaaaaayyyyy too nice to ask for a tip when he saves people or does them favors. HOW are you not BROKE, boy, do NOT look me in the eyes and tell me you're working part time at 7/11!!!

Seriously though, WHY are the slugs so eager to get into the Illegal Stimulants machine? Does it smell yummy or something? Slugs---and especially slugs that choose to go with Eli---are genuinely very happy to train with a good slinger and become more powerful. It definitely seems fun for them. But this is very sketchy, and generally the slugs are good judges of character. What about this specific machine is throwing off their instincts? Even Burpy seems excited about this and he almost always knows a bad situation when he sees one.

Like I understand that this is the drug abuse metaphor episode, but you don't find drugs appealing and addictive before you even try them, you are wary and worried about the awful effects. It takes at least one use for them to start messing with your neurotransmitters and changing your brain chemistry.

Eli: "Did someone say duel? Count me in!"

I'd also like to add, I'm not surprised that Trixie goes for the machine, even though she's usually the type to be suspicious. She's NOT a traditionalist, and while she's skilled she doesn't have Eli's natural talent or understanding of slugs and how they work. This early in the series, she's still thinking of them more as tools than friends, and this seems like as good a way as any to sharpen her tools, while Eli is approaching this from the "I'm worried about my friends" angle.

Aaaaand there's that shonen braincell. Eli is much smarter and a better judge of character than your classic Goku archetype who is only focused on Food Fighting and Friendship, but he definitely has a similar priority list.

Sargeant Slug: "Takes a few rounds for them to get seasoned like Old Butch here"

CUT TO OLD BUTCH AND HIS SHADY YELLOW STONER EYEBALLS! They're really not being subtle on the drug abuse metaphor.

Also, more of Eli and Kord having a very sweet bromance where Eli is genuinely happy that Kord got one over on him, just confused on the method, and Kord is genuinely worried that he hurt Eli. UGH! FRIENDSHIP!

And! Eli's a graceful loser! This is more of what I'm talking about where he's just such a fundamentally good person. And while it is inspiring to some people, it's also ANNOYING AS HELL to others like the three extras in this episode, and honestly? Most of Slugterra, who have been conditioned for cynicism by the chaotic lawless lifestyle. It's why a lot of people aren't actually inclined to listen to him until he proves himself. He seems naive with how kind he is.

Even though Eli's been on top of his game for months now, he's still a beginner who makes dumb mistakes like firing Bolo straight into a Tornado. He's still got. What? 4 seasons and a couple movies to go before he's REALLY unbeatable!

A NEW ONE FOR THE BURPY LOSS COUNTER! Burpy does actually take a solid hint against one of the jacked up threshers.

Trixie is STILL dissing Eli's one-liners in this fjght and she's not even winning lol! Good job girlfriend, don't let his ego get too high just because he's right!

Side note about this whole episode, I love that Seargant Slug has nothing to do with Dr. Blakk, he's just a garden variety scammer doing dangerous stuff. Hammers home that ordinary people can be just as big of a problem as the big bad if nobody stops them, AND keeps Dr. Blakk from getting overexposure and losing his menace!

The intro to this one cracked me up so bad. I don't usually go through the effort to get pictures for these, but I need you all to appreciate the body language happening in this encounter:

Kord: "How about we do that after we catch some [frostcrawler slugs]?"

Trixie: "I'll get the snares!"

Pronto: "I have the gloves!"

Eli: "Why don't we just talk to them?"

Eli looks relaxed and casual. The rest of the gang doesn't just look high strung, they look absolutely ridiculous. Remembering the slugs are intelligent and treating them with respect isn't just the morally correct choice---it's also so much easier in every way.

*Sighs.* Okay, this is how you DON'T do failure comedy with Pronto. He's allowed to create problems for them, but this feels like he's being an obtuse idiot for no reason. At least it's in character. He periodically demonstrates that he is the least compassionate towards his slugs---I'd even say he's less kind to them than average Slugterrans. Love-hate relationshiop is pretty much the only type he knows how to have.

Kord: "Your slugs have gotten too powerful for a blaster like that!"

Fascinating. Eli got that blaster from his dad's stuff. Does that mean that Eli's slugs are even more powerful than Will's? It's a possibility, but for now I'm assuming the hideout Eli found was more like a backup safehouse. With the exception of Eli's mecha Lucky (LKE), he wouldn't have been keeping very high quality stuff in there. Which also explains why it's not the most hidden thing in the world, and why nobody but Pronto took up residence there or tried to loot it.

Okay, I was gonna make fun of Eli for picking a high stakes fight with a broken blaster, but Billy's even dumber. We've established there are very few laws down here and even fewer enforcers. WHO would Eli have gone to if he DID claim he deserved a do-over? Nobody! This isn't a practicality thing, it's an ego thing---Billy is so full of himself that he's willing to remove the curb-stomp disadvantage Eli has just so Billy can prove he's better.

Kord is SO sweet. He's Eli's best friend and number one hype man, and it's too cute. He might be exasperated by Eli's impulsiveness, but he'll also be the first of any of them to sing his praises. I think a lot of the pride comes from the fact that he basically taught Eli to sling slugs, so this isn't just a testament to Eli's talent, it's also means he was LISTENING to Kord and proves Kord is and has been a great teacher to him.

Eli's had the frostcrawler for a few hours at most and it's ALREADY beating a tried and tested Flaringo. Another one of the advantages to ASKING if the slugs want to come is that it naturally selects for the most adventurous and tough slugs (as well as ones that like Eli and will bond fast with him).

Tbh I actually forgot that Doc used to belong to Billy. I also forgot just how awful the Hooligang was in their first appearance, since their later ones are far more comedic and light hearted. The slugs get threatened with ghouling on the daily, but it's very rare that anyone actually tries to KILL a slug. Early show Billy might take the cake for the most despicable enemy our heroes have.

Also, I LOVE how quiet and intense Eli's rage is when he BODY-SLAMS Billie and goes "Careful there. You almost stepped on that slug." If you've got a quiet Eli, you've got a PROBLEM.

No wait, that's a good question Pronto! Did he go by Red Hook before or after he got the hook? What do ya'll think? After makes more sense, but I like before better for the irony.

The redhook ebcounter IS how you do failure comedy with Pronto! Not no stakes, but lower stakes, and thers's immediate catharsis about it. You can buy that he IS actually trying to help in this situation and just isn't self aware enough to know he's doing the opposite of helping.

When Blakk raises his hand to grab Billy's slug, Billy startles and covers himself like he thinks he's going to be hit. Since Maurice had to introduce Billy, this is his first time meeting Blakk. Do we think hitting children is considered normal in Slugterra? Do we think Billy specifically has been surrounded by bad adults who hit him a lot and now he assumes all of them are like that? Or have Blakk's agents roughed him up before? All three seem equally plausible to me. It may even be all of them.

Alright, so between Blakk saying it's not surprising that Will has a son and Red Hook's teasing, amused inflection when he says he never knew Will had a kid, I think we can safely assume Will was the rakish hero archetype.

One of the awesome things about this series is that even the most serious fights aren't exempt from slapstick. They do a really good job of incorporating the characters' personalities and the slug's whacky powers into basically every single one. Which means we can get moments like Pronto successfully taking someone out by holding his gun backwards and firing THE WHOLE GUN at his opponent. And it doesn't make the fight feel lower stakes at all!

Ooh, and here we see another interesting difference between Eli and Trixie's approach to heroism. Trixie is really focused on recruiting the residents of the cavern so they can help them help themselves. She's way more frustrated by their spinelessness than the others. Because she's seen this happen over and over again---she stood up because nobody else would, and it's driving her a bit crazy because she didn't have anything special that made her a hero except willpower. Eli wants to keep them safe, and wants them to defend themselves too, but he's less aggravates by their passivity because he hasn't been stuck in the same situation Trixie's been in.

He doesn't understand how common of an occurrence this is and how difficult it is to get people to stand up to Blakk. It highlights Eli's hopefulness, but it also highlights Trixie's because it shows she's still going on and being a hero DESPITE her lack of success in inspiring others. It might also be why Trixie was drawn to him in the first place---Eli DOES find her inspiring and actually listens to her good advice.

WOW! Blakk got those ghouls distributed FAST! I mean I know he has the train and a powerful reputation and that a lot of slingers out there don't give two whiffs about their slugs beyond strength. But still! In episode 2, he said he'd just barely perfected ghouling (we saw his volatile previous attempts send Will Shane to the shadow realm). He's not wasting any time!

Eli: "Are you gonna go quietly, or is this gonna get loud?"

Trixie: "Really?"

Kord: "Give him a break Trixie, he's still figuring out this hero thing."

LOL THE SHADE?!?!?! Like, that's not the best one-liner in the world but it's not terrible either! It's interesting here because I think Trixie's judging him off her OWN experience being a wise-cracking hero (which she's good at, so she's not being forgiving), while Kord is judging him off of past encounters/experience with Will Shane (Will was an adult and probably had an embarrassing period himself, so Kord expects Eli will grow into it).

More really great establishing character in the CC fight here! We see that ghouls are really quite OP, which means our heroes aren't just underdogs, but every fight they win shows they are VERY skilled at slug slinging. We see Eli's trademark confidence on display again, and most importantly, we see that confidence comes from trusting the slugs and his team. He wins this fight by utilizing a flatulorhinkus and by totally sacrificing himself, relying on his team to make the winning shots.

Speak of which. . .Trixie, Kord, and Pronto threaten to open-fire their slugs on CC at point-blank range, which is a pretty normal position for the winners of a fight. In the show, this is almost universally met with surrender, but like. Are all duels technically to the death in Slugterra? If your opponent doesn't surrender, how unusual would it be to follow through on your threat and basically kill them from sheer force? Gonna have to keep an eye out for the general opinions on lethal methodology.

We can also see that Trixie is probably the most people-oriented member of the gang---she's been helping out and making videos through lots of caverns for a while. She's the one who's actually familiar with the residents of Slugterra (marked by her knowing who CC is well enough to feel betrayed). It doesn't come up much in the show, but I imagine Trixie has a reputation of her own that ISN'T related to Eli, and especially in the early days, I bet she's the thing that makes people trust him.

. . . Finding the Shane hideout can NOT have been that easy. Nobody except Pronto even touched it for like 5 years after Will disappeared, and it's implied he came upon it by accident and just decided to start squatting. Blakk TOTALLY would have ransacked it if he'd known where it was before. Either Blakk was hellbent on finding it so he could deal with Eli ASAP, or Eli is the most unsubtle person in the world. Given the number of practice duels Eli and Kord have on the front porch, I'm inclined to say it's the second one.

Kord and Trixie are good people who are bonded with their slugs and treat them with respect, but even they trade their slugs for gear with nary a second thought. It's so routine down here, they didn't even think to warn Eli beforehand and are straight up annoyed when he decides to go back on the deal. The mistreatment of slugs is FREAKISHLY normalized, and I have to wonder when that started happening. I'm SURE it wasn't always like this. Just how recently has this attitude developed? I think my key to figuring it out will be looking at the Shadow Clan lore, since their main reason for being so hostile is trying to protect the slugs and the caverns from the other thoughtless residents.

Love that Joules hasn't been with Eli for very long but is already remarkably powerful. It's little moments like these that make me buy every improbable fight Eli wins. Being bonded to your slugs really does accomplish THAT much. Even ignoring the kinds of crazy maneuvers he can pull off when he includes the slugs in the plan, it STILL gives them a sizable raw power boost.

Alright, it's been brought up before, but WHO decided to name the evil second-in-command "Diablos Nacho?" It's such a stupid name, but the worst part is that his voice actor put SO much sauce into the performance that he STILL seems menacing! Major credit to Brian Drummond, you did a lot with not very much!

Eli is SMART! And even a little genre savvy! We're only on episode 3 and he's already cottoned on to his main character priviliges. He knows he's Blakk's biggest problem right now and is already weaponizing it to demand the bad guys' attention.

Also, he asks one of these guys "Sooo, did you always wanna be a henchman or was it something you just kinda fell into?" Which. Eli, honey, you can't just call people henchmen to their face. You are so lucky Trixie and Kord weren't here, they would have made so much fun of you.

And Pronto pulls his weight by being able to tunnel! And through pretty thick material too. Why don't they use this skill more? Did Blakk start making everything out of industrial grade steel after this? Questions for the ages.

I forgot to mention it in episode 1, but Blakk personally manufactures the red cans for The Aesthetic. We see it here, too, with Joules. Like, we know dark water does turn the cans red, and it's entirely possible that just firing a ghouled slug can change the cans color, but Blakk is extra enough and committed to branding enough that he pre-makes the red ones. Fabulous villain behavior, I love it.

Blakk, menacingly walking towards Eli with a blaster: "Sons do have a way of repeating their father's mistakes," ALRIGHT SO THIS IS TO THE DEATH AND THAT'S JUST FRICKING NORMAL AROUND HERE! This is gonna be so much fun to watch now that I know death is technically a possibility in EVERY serious duel. I don't think the Shane Gang is ever PLANNING to kill (they're assuming most folks have self preservation instincts and will surrender, but barring that they could always just fire some arachnus slugs to tie them up). But it is not out of the question!

Alright, so I don't like Pronto, but I'm going to make an effort to stay positive in these reviews. He and Eli took the dangerous route instead of the road and almost died 4 times, but they DID actually make it to the tournament, so this early on we can confirm that Pronto's tracking skills are actually functional even if his common sense is not. So he's not exactly pulling his weight right now but it could be worse (it will get worse).

SO, second episode is confirming my theory that Slugterra has an exagerrated level of lawlessness comparable to a post-apocalypse (or more like a post-post-apocalypse). We already know they don't care about safety from last time because they let Eli join the tournament at all, but here we introduced to Thresher slugs by seeing one of them CHOP OFF A TRAINING DUMMY'S HEAD, and Kord tells Eli to try not to DIE. We know from Maurice's dialogue that this is a random backwater tournament that happens all the freaking time. I genuinely love how messed up the implications of the setting get in children's media.

Fortunately for Eli, he's got exactly the right attitude to deal with this setting. Lava explodes almost right on top of him, and what's his reaction? "Okay, that was kinda scary, but kinda awesome!" His standard issue idiotic levels of courage are actually required for the plot and are usually going to be more of a help than a hindrance.

It's interesting to me that while most Slugterrans don't name their slugs and find Eli's habit of it weird, they are very clearly loving and bonded towards the little guys. This first rando Eli fights is deeply caring towards his thresher slug and looks genuinely heartbroken when he thinks they'll have to separate (and so does the slug). It's like Will Shane said---the slugs are the key to everything down there. The show regularly reinforces that genuinely loving your slugs is the natural way of the world and makes everything work better. This key principle is what makes Twist so freaky when he shows up.

There's an early King of Sling cameo in this episode! It's gonna be so fun to see how much Trixie grows in skill as the show goes on and how much her early opponent DOESN'T. We can also immediately see Trixie using her three favorite slugs to win---An arachnus, a tormato (Bluster! <3), and a rammstone.

Awww! They had such a cute little dnd party "share your character motivation" bonding moment here! I love that they all have different reasons for sticking together and doing what they do. It creates a really fun dynamic. Kord's in it for fun, Trixie and Eli are in it to help people because it's the right thing to do, and Pronto apparently just couldn't think of anything better (since he's basically in self-enforced exile, but that's a different episode).

The entire shadow clan encounter is a delight! In addition to just establishing them as a thing that exists since they're a pretty load-bearing element of the plot and worldbuilding, it's fun seeing how different this early encounter is compared to later. Eli doesn't consider them dangerous at all until they have him cornered, but he'll maintain a healthy amount of respect and caution for them in the future (this incident may have contributed).

Kord has no idea whether they should run in and try to rescue their idiot protagonist, but they'll quickly learn that yeah, this maneuver is standard for Eli. Because he is a numbskull teenager with no frontal lobe. Trixie is completely flabbergasted and tells Eli "Your dad was WILL SHANE! You? You're just crazy!" Which totally hits him where it hurts, but she doesn't know that yet.

Speak of which, Will apparently didn't tell Eli that the shadow clan are super territorial, don't trust slugterrans, and are plenty dangerous when they want to be. Which could have been an oversight, but I think it was on purpose. The shadow clan have an extremely negative reputation in the 99 caverns and I think he wanted Eli to be as free of that bias as possible so that he would be willing to work with them, trust them, and treat them as allies right out the gate. Which worked! Will definitely gave Eli a rose-tinted view of Slugterra, but I think that optimistic outlook works in his favor more often than not. Eli might be naive, but he's also so hopeful and determined that he inspires literally everyone else he meets.

I love me a good gilligan cut! Right from Eli asking "what's the worst that could happen" to them getting clobbered! Great for comedy. Anyway, more disturbing implications for my "The 99 caverns are comparable to a post-apocalypse," the Powers Triplets have apparently been training together SINCE THEY WERE BORN? EXCUSE ME? Apparently, training gunfighters with a gimmick from birth is just a thing that happens down here. That's so messed up, I love it.

We also see Eli's natural leadership skills on display! Every team leader, real or fictional, needs to have a source of charisma that makes people want to follow them, otherwise they won't be very good at it. Eli's charisma is this casual, unobtrusive confidence. He very seldom doubts himself, and he doubts his teammates and his slugs even less. Somebody having that kind of confidence in you makes them easy to follow. Which he demonstrates very well when he immediately makes a plan and fully trusts Trixie, Kord, and Banger to pull it off (and it works)!

I don't think Kord knows what a high-five is. I love these little moments where Eli Does A Weird Surface Thing and everyone else just looks on in confusion. I needed so many more of them. I love when big secrects between the cast does stuff like that, it's my bread and butter. Nothing that threatens the sanctity of the secret, but little things that makes everyone else go "what is their deal?!"

So the main form of transportation in Slugterra is high speed magnet rail, which firmly establishes this as a slightly high tech setting despite the Lawless Wild West vibes. We also learn that some form of capitalism is still intact because Blakk owns the only train and it gives him effectively infinite money, which is pretty standard fare for the Big Bad. However, this does beg the question of where the Shane Gang is getting their money, since none of them appear to be employed. My current theory is Trixie gets some small revenue from her videos and Kord picks some up from doing comissions on other people's mecha beasts, but that scavenging/foraging is really standard for Slugterrans and is how most slingers cover their necessities.

I think it's interesting that Blakk is very clearly projecting his hatred of Will onto Eli. Which does make sense---Eli is very much his father's son, with similar goals and the same ideology on life, and the same unwillingness to let Blakk create ghouls and destroy the caverns. But you can tell from the first moment Eli repeats his father's words, that Blakk isn't seeing a 15 year old kid who is his own person, he's seeing his old rival and is going to treat Eli like a replacement for Will. This is especially interesting because a lot of people like Dana Por do exactly the same thing, and they're basically always wrong.

Eli's comment about how nobody handed him anything and his dad has been gone a long time breaks my heart a bit. Poor kid has already been through SO much, which makes his easygoing and fun-loving nature all the more impressive.

I think it's so important that as much as Will loved Slugterra, he loved Eli more and made it abundantly clear that all of this is his choice---he firmly stated that he'll be proud of Eli no matter what he decides to do, on Slugterra or on the surface, or otherwise. He loves his son and knows he raised him right, and it makes Eli feel like a hero doing this because he genuinely wants to do good instead of someone with a family obligation. Let's hear it for awesome dad Will Shane.

I think I'm gonna be keeping a Burpy loss counter, because we all know he's one of the most powerful slugs, but he's not unbeatable and I think it's gonna be interesting to keep track of!