#blu's analysis

Random fun but useless Jim headcanon!

So we know that at some point Jim played baseball as there are pictures of him at bat hanging in the house.

I'm going to assume he was pretty decent at it. He still retains some pitching and batting skills. There was the scene where he hit the amulet well outside of his backyard, and pitching technique which he uses to fling daylight occasionally while fighting.

We know that Jim currently doesn't play any sports at all though. Why? Well, we see in several occasions starting late in season 1, that Jim's right shoulder bothers him.

It's my headcanon that he injured his shoulder playing baseball, which is not out of the realm of possibility as overuse injury is common in pitchers, and had to stop playing because of that. Then comes his trollhunting training and fights; and between the training really ramping up, the intensity and frequency of fights increasing, and having his arm wrenched back a couple of times, that old injury has been re-aggravated. Hence the painful shoulder rolling, and as someone with shoulder issues I can totally sympathize.

Editing to link the amazing art Bianca did based off my post!!!! I'm so giddy!! ❤️

Where the frick are you keeping those phones Jim??? Under the back plate? Thigh plates? Does the under armor have magical pockets? Do they go wherever it is your regular clothes go and you can just materialize them when needed? Velcro? I can't imagine having them tucked under the armor is comfortable, and what keeps them from falling out? Or getting damaged when you take a hit? I must have answers!

It's been a while since we had a good ole fight scene analysis! For this one, we have Jim and Angor clashing in the season 1 finale. Now, I could watch Jim fight all day long. 1: because he's so agile and athletic and I laugh at his lack of dancing prowess because Dude, what do you think you're doing when sword fighting??? And 2: every fight scene has its own unique, and super cool, details which is testament to the quality work of the Writers, Storyboard artists and Animators. So lets get to it!

First up, their very first clash after Jim regains control of Daylight. It's just a few seconds, but they are a thing of beauty. That first jump and then backflip doesn't look like much at full speed, but slo-mo? Watch how he uses the momentum of his swing to rotate himself mid air so he lands facing Angor instead of with his back turned. No wasted energy there, and bonus that it's quite a visually graceful move as well. He also calls the shield as he comes out of the rotation and has it folded/unfolded and vanished again seemingly without thought. Pretty sure he's running on instinct and does his best fighting that way, when he's in the moment and not in his own head. He blocks a strike with his shield, and seeing Angor spin though that hit, back handsprings/flips out of the way of the second strike he knows is coming, and lets the momentum carry him in a slide back, away from a third hit, before launching himself from his crouched position. Here's the cool part though. He does that handspring one handed because he's still holding Daylight in his right hand! Bonus: there's a Stalkling being attacked by a gollum in the background.

Remember how I brought up dancing? The second clip touches on that a bit. Jim and Angor are VERY similar fighters, and if Jim had a bit more experience with offensive fighting under his belt, they would be quite evenly matched, which this clip shows. Neither are really getting hits on each other, but flowing back and forth, mirroring each other. It's definitely a dance, until Angor kicks Jim in the face at least. Did you know that while Jim is predominantly right handed (while writing), he's technically ambidextrous? And he takes full advantage of it when fighting. Here's those little details that you just don't see until things are slowed down. They didn't have to be put in, but again... the quality of this show. Watch Jim's first two swings. He seamlessly corrects his grip for the direction of his swing by swapping hand positions before each one. It's so smooth too, efficient, second nature. I'm pretty sure that's straight up instinct for him, versus training. Even in slo-mo it's hard to catch the second one. I've put a short pause at each one first before playing the full low speed clip.

I didn't cover the entire fight because, as we know, Jim kind of runs out of steam at this point and kind of gets his ass handed to him until Claire and Toby think to lend a hand, or hammer in this case.

Jim up here making my De quervain's flair just watching him hold Daylight sometimes. How did you not get wrist issues to go along with your shoulder? I guess perks of being a teenager.

I checked season 3, and he still hyperextends his wrist sometimes, so he can't use being new to a sword as an excuse. I wonder if this is something Blinky didn't train out of him because it's such a complete non issue with trolls that he just had no clue about how idiotic and bent on it's own destruction the human body can be.

Has sound!

This right here, this is one of my most favorite scenes in Trollhunters. Jim has so much faith in his favorite teacher that he can't even fathom the idea that Strickler might be a changeling while Toby is already convinced. The slightly amused look on Jim's face, the way they both glance at the gaggletack. And then Toby glares at Jim before barreling forward. The ensuing tug of war, and Jim kind of has a point. I'm not sure which of them thought exposing changelings at school was a good idea. Toby is determined though and this we get to the best part of the clip, Toby snatching the gaggletack tack out of a completely shocked Jim's hands and throwing it at Strickler. We get to enjoy a classic Jimism... the head shake! They range from extremely subtle to very expressive depending on the level of emotion he's experiencing. It's one of my favorite Jim things!

Moving on, we have Toby being 'on mission' while Jim alternates between angry glaring at Toby and embarrassed, apologetic looks towards Strickler, who is looking quite amused at their bumbling attempt to expose him. Strickler smoothly and suspiciously avoiding picking it up, which finally kicks Jim's brain into gear, and we get Jim's quick thinking excuse before Claire throws a wrench in their 'plan' and gives Strickler an out, and us Jim and Toby's exasperated looks.

Not in the clip because of file size limits.... Claire giving the gaggletack back to a very embarrassed Jim, Strickler calling Jim Young Atlas (for the first time?), and now Jim too, is quite suspicious of Strickler; So much, that they forget Claire is still there. Finally.... math stuff.

Jim is a decent enough fighter, enough to take down some baddies here and there and not get killed, but not quite good enough in the earlier seasons to take down more skilled combatants like Nomura or Angor, or multiple attackers (unless small like goblins) on his own. I think the skill is probably there but he just doesn't have the confidence, flow or peripheral awareness to do it. He's too unsure of himself and it affects his fighting. Cue season 3. He's been training with Strickler and Nomura and while his technical fighting skills are improving, he's still afraid to just let go. Now, I've never fought or even touched a sword, but I feel like there is something instinctual to it on a deep level. A centering and then spreading of awareness, that needs to take place, and an ability to see your opponents next move. This is what Jim is holding back on, not giving in to. Not until Strickler gives him gravesand. And there it is, Jim's stranglehold on his deeper instincts letting go, and hooooooo boy is it a thing of beauty.

Look at his initial defensive awareness: attention split between both opponents, sword holding off whoever he's not focused on, and he doesn't let his attention linger on one or the other for too long. Compare to just two episodes earlier when the gumm-gumms attack the warehouse and Jim gets a bit overwhelmed and unsure.

Nomura moves first and Strickler soon after and he is ready for it. He flows from blocking Nomura's first blade to sweeping around to disarm Strickler. Then he follows through that swing to counter Nomura's second blade which has him set up to evade Strickler's kick by BALANCING UPSIDE DOWN ON THE FREAKING TIP OF DAYLIGHT and then using the momentum of uncurling his body to launch himself behind Strickler, grabbing him by the head on his way over and sending him sprawling to the ground as he lands on one foot and shifts that momentum forward onto his other foot as he swings through to block Nomura's leap. He absorbs that hit with his legs and that puts him into position for a powerful kick that sends her flying.

I've put a slow motion clip of that in because that move is freaking insane. You can see that he's shifted his attention to Strickler as he's got Nomura in a place she can't immediately attack from. He just launches himself up into what amounts to some cross between a headstand and a front flip with his grip on the hilt and the tip on the ground as his only base of support. Then arrests his forward momentum with nothing but core control, curling up and then unwinding as he hits the balance point. The control and power needed to do something like that is mind blowing. He effectively takes Strickler out of the fight momentarily, and that landing, rolling from one foot and onto the other, up into the hit, absorbing the energy and unloading like a coiled spring to take out Nomura. *chef's kiss*

Now that 6th sense awareness, he shifts attention back to Strickler, effectively dodging the first blades and easily catching the last. Jim goes on the offensive attack, and this is where Strickler starts to look a bit alarmed, that just maybe, Jim without inhibition might actually follow through with his earlier threats. When Jim can't push through Strickler's hold however, he rolls himself into Strickler, unbalancing him, breaking his hold, and using the momentum of the push and twist to flip Strickler and yeet him across the room and into the wall. Just like that, Strickler is out of the fight.

All that's left is Nomura. He dodges her attacks and uses the power of his push up out of that roll to backhand her with his shield and send her sprawling. Then Jim comes for her and you can see the worry on her face as he does. Maybe this wasn't their best idea? Jim pins her to the wall with his shield edge in her throat, and Nomura looks truly afraid until Blinky interrupts and Jim reluctantly backs off.

My brain last night.... "wait.... did Jim??? OMFG did Jim just flip Mr. Hammes off???? "

Watches 15 times, records in slow motion... watches that 15 times. Concludes that it's super blurry, and a kids show, but given the context?? Yes.... yes he did. I've watched this show some unimaginably high number of times and this was the first time I've noticed this.

I've seen a lot of discussion about Claire and her shadow magic, and that she only gained magic because of the shadow staff/Morgana. I don't think that's true though. I think Claire is an innate sorceress/shadowmancer. Her power might not have awakened yet, but it's definitely there, sleeping. As proof I offer this bit of foreshadowing from 1x16 Roaming Fees May Apply, when the kiddos are being watched by Angor Rot.