@MetaMario:
They weren't entirely innocent as they were all trying to kill him just a few days ago. He was cornered in that moment; it was his life or theirs.
But considering we have more of this green figure and we don't know if those other two sisters are 100% dead yet, I don't think it's going to go overlooked.
Idc as long as they touch on the subject.
@Count:
He's still the one with the most experience of knowing how the world works in terms of compassion and generosity, as well as basic wisdom. Not to mention combat. And Jack has been saving people for fifty years despite the rut he's ended up in. He doesn't need a moral high ground to inspire somebody as long as he's willing to do good, whether there's redemption involved or not. If anything, showing how he's about to rise from the mental state he's in and both Ashi and him being able to relate with trauma helps them support one another. And while these girls were brainwashed since birth, Jack had no choice but to defend himself. He's not a villain that murdered these girls out of pure malice, and they were still acting on their own free will. And he still went through the trouble of trying save and redeem Ashi when she was detained where there was no need to put himself in such a risk. AND he let himself get attacked by those alien kids in the most recent episode who were technologically forced to attack him.
The psychological trauma is understandable, but he doesn't really deserve any harsh punishment for his actions. He doesn't deserve to be suffering his trauma for such desperate choices. Nobody in a position like Jack's should after everything he's been through. It's not fair to solely compliment Ashi for holding back against Jack and not do the same for Jack sparing and redeeming Ashi after being hunted down like a dog and giving them a whole speech about telling them to leave and not fight if they value their lives. And Ashi's family never cared about her anyways, so she's not even that emotionally attached outside of fulfilling the purpose they indoctrinated in her.
The reason why Jack is hanging out with Ashi is the first place is to get his moral obligation and state of mind back in check. She supports him by having hope in him gaining back the will to fight Aku, and he teaches her the ways of the world as they venture. And I'm pretty sure that it's not the style of many people to hook up with someone who killed their family. And I know that there's fictional stories out there of mentors and non blood-related parental figures not being the most morally upright people, and being responsible for mortally wounding or murdering their loved ones due to complex moral conflicts. Jack taking on a parental/mentor role does not mean he'll treat Ashi like a vulnerable child that must be shielded instead of a partner he respects and trusts with his life.
I think the term you are looking for is friend not mentor. Don't assume, this is what bothers me that people think Ashi will be so moved by Jack's awesomeness that she reveres jack. I prefer lovers because it implies patners. For only maybe 20, ashi couldnt have handled tge situation more nobely. Both commiting her life to the fight and stopping when she found out she was wrong. She helped those kids just as much as Jack did.
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@Wagomu:
I really don't see where gender enters this at all. Mentor/student relationships aren't often gendered beyond the usual uneven distribution of genders among characters. Plus, insisting that it is gendered here just ignores most details about each character. Jack is mentally in his 60s or 70s, while Ashi is practically a baby when it comes to anything besides combat. Jack is old and worn down, losing sight of the purpose of his battle, while Ashi is young, learning, and wants to take action. That was the whole dynamic from the last ep, where Ashi asked to learn about the world from Jack and, after learning of Aku's cruelty, dragged Jack along to take action. Sure, you can read romance into that, too, or friendship or something, but Jack as the teacher here makes a lot more narrative sense, since he has to assume that role, anyways.
On the other hand, insisting that they have to be in a romantic relationship borders closer to sexism. Would you have come to the same conclusion about their relationship if Ashi was a boy? Or if Jack was a woman? Maybe you would have, and that would be fair, but there's definitely a heteronormative pressure to romantically pair leads if they're opposite genders, so those relationships lean way more on gender roles than mentor/student relationships ever do.
Of course you don't see where gender is important if you're a sexist you wouldn't.
There is no 60, 70 year old mentality. After about 24 your body stops growing and starts dying. The plascitity of your brain depends on the individual. Jack is a man, ashi is a woman both have bodies of 20 year olds. Thats about it. A man can live to 60 and be no wiser than a 30 year old. Jack can fight better than anybody, thats about it, if she wants revenge on her mother or Aku thats unforseen. Jacks superiority comes from him fighting for 70 years not his original training. The reason i say it's sexist is because it it plays into the mind set that man can kill a womans family and that a woman should revere him.
If you flip situations and Jack had all his brothers slaughtered by ashi and looked at this woman as a mentor you'd understand. Jack is quite bit stronger than Ashi so I can understand training her. But saying mentoring her and devoloping her into a better person than I call bull. Jack didn't kill the sisters because he was ok with it. He thought they we're evil. He was tricked just like Ashi. Theres a strong differnce from being taught by someone and mentoring them. As far as wanting to do the right thing both Ashi and Jack are equals. In conclusion it's one thing to forgive somebody for making a mistake and being friends rather than looking up to someone who made a mistake.
Respect and admiration should be equal and as far as I can tell it is. Ashi since the end of episode 4 has been cooperative but not freindly and jack has been the same way. Ashi not trying to kill jack in his sleep and Jack showing Ashi the truth in my eyes portrays patnership. It's kinda like if batman killed Robins parents because they we're evil and raising robin to be his sidekick. Except that instead of Robins parents being evil they thought batman was a criminal and batman tried to kill robin at first also. It just screams extremely sexist vibe but instead of a vibe this is fiction so it's more like a sexist portrayal.
I'm not saying it's right or wrong but i'll lose love for the season if it goes how peoples want and the subject is never touched. She repayed him by saving his life and my guess is she'll find his sword. What exactly does she need to take away from jack when their in the same position? Jack needs her as much or more than she needs Jack.