Episode 6: The Fool

July 10, 2006

In the castle, a guard reviews the murder scene, with Tessai and Ukyo present. Ukyo picks up and looks at the sword, but Tessai cautions him and takes it from him. Ayamaro enters and orders Ukyo out. Tessai explains how unlikely that a skilled swordsman would leave his sword at the scene of the crime. Ayamaro disregards the advice and orders an arrest for all samurai. Tessai asks if its wise not to narrow it down to a smaller list of suspects, but Ayamaro disregards this advice as well. On the way out, Ukyo asks if his father's two guards are considered samurai anymore. Patrolmen rush into a room full of samurai demanding their arrest. The samurai resist, with them being defeated. A samurai runs through the streets with patrolmen in pursuit, but a pair of steel pipes stop him. Kambei, Rikichi, Heihachi and Gorobei listen to an announcement about the hunt, mentioning a reward for information regarding whereabouts or capture of samurai. Heihachi jokes about turning himself in for the reward, as people whisper to each other while looking at the group. Gorobei and Kambei walk down the street with people eyeing them suspiciously. Gorobei notes that the road will be rough because of the hunt, but Kambei tells him that any samurai that gets caught isn't worth their time. Kikuchiyo is hauled into a holding cell with many other samurai. He tells them that he was captured on purpose and would break them out if they agreed to help him. He proceeds to breaks through the bars and the samurai run out. With swords in hand, Kiku breaks down the door and takes out the pipe guarding it. As Kirara and Komachi are gathering wood, Kambei and his crew come up. Komachi asks if they found any samurai, and Heihachi says no but gives her a sucker. They explain the samurai hunt when Kiku comes running up with the samurai he broke out, much to the groups chagrin. Kiku tells them where he found them, and Gorobei calls them all losers. The samurai get angry, drawing swords, but Kambei steps in and defeats them all at once. Masamune walks up and notes that the patrolmen will be coming soon. The group discuss options for getting out of the city, when Masamune suggests the old elevator train, a freight lift the runs between the ground city and the top. He isn't sure it works, but Kambei agrees to go because they have no other option. As Gorobei acts lookout, the others prepare to leave. Rikichi worries that they have only three true samurai, but Komachi tells him not to worry. Gorobei spots four guards and a couple pipes coming. Katsushiro asks if he can go with them, and Kambei agrees, as staying there will only endanger Masamune. Gorobei informs them that they need to leave, and Masamune lets down a ladder. Kiku barricades the door, when the patrolmen arrive. They break through the door, finding an abandoned room.

The group crawls through a tunnel system before finally jumping out on a road. Heihachi catches Komachi and Kirara when Kiku drops onto him. The group runs into the lift platform, with the guards in close pursuit. Kiku asks if the piece of junk is safe, and Masamune and Heihachi go to inspect and repair it. Kiku and Gorobei go on lookout, but the job is short-lived, as the guards are within sight. Gorobei yells to Kambei who yells to Masamune, saying he needs time. He asks Heihachi if they'll be able to use it, which says he's not to worried about it. Kiku closes a large iron door right before the patrolmen get to them. They all get aboard the train, while Kambei ties up Masamune to make it look like he was forced. Kiku roughs him up some as the patrolmen break down the door. They throw out Masamune as Kiku jumps off to buy time. Heihachi starts up the train while Kiku holds them off. At the last second, Kiku jumps on the train as it speeds off. The patrolmen shoot up a beacon, signaling others to their position. Gorobei climbs out to where Kiku is as the patrolmen find another train and jump on. Kambei sees patrolmen and pipes running beside the train and orders Katsushiro to take everybody to the passenger car. He jumps down and tells Heihachi to attach his motorized pulley to the passenger car because they were going to detach it. Gorobei and Kiku see the second train as Kambei tells Kiku to reel in the pulley on his signal. Heihachi finishes attaching the cable to the passenger car and meets Kambei in the engine car. He has Heihachi detach the passenger car, and Heihachi jumps down to it. Two patrolmen put bombs on the tracks down the line from the train as Kiku and Gorobei hold off the attack from the second train. The pulley draws taut, which cues Kambei to signal Heihachi. He starts the smokescreen and runs it through the passenger car. The patrolmen blow the tracks, and Kambei signals to Kiku. He starts to reel the cable in as Gorobei and Kambei shimmy down to the passenger car. Heihachi realizes the plan, and Kambei informs the others that they are going to jump onto the platform as soon as the train reduces its speed. The motor blows out on the pulley, forcing Kiku to reel it manually, just as two pipes come flying by. Kiku blocks their attack as he keep reeling, slowing the car down enough for them to jump. Kambei yells to him to jump, but Kiku keeps fighting while the train speeds past the platform. Kiku yells back to them to save the farmers as the train launches across the track and crashes into pieces. The patrolmen, satisfied, leave. Everyone watches in awe as Kambei turns to leave. Katsushiro protests, but Kambei says he has walked over many an allies corpse and that is the man he is. Komachi, crying, runs in front of him and tells him she won't let him leave Kiku.

Wow. With the samurai hunt, this caused problems for the samurai, eventually forcing them out of the city. This ends in Kiku being lost to who knows what. The way it played out, you wouldn't think he'd be coming back, but I really don't know how this could work. Kambei really showed how cold he could be by simply leaving him. This didn't set well with Komachi, seeing how she really liked Kiku. We'll see how this all pans out in the next episode, hopefully.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Buy the regular DVD or the LE DVD (eps 5-8) from DVD Empire

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