We’re treated to some gladiatorial combat this week–a cat is forced to fight in an arena for the favor of dogs.
The episode opens with the Thundertank coursing across the desert toward a city built from desert rocks. The city is one full of dogs, and Panthro comments they should find the supplies and get out of there. He’s got some bad memories about that town; Tygra comments he’s probably just scared of getting fleas.
Kit and Kat run off to find some bone stew–Lion-O sends Snarf along to make sure they stay out of trouble. Then Tygra finds a poster of a cat who’s battling in the arena–The Pit is what Panthro calls it.
The Pit is a traditional Roman-style arena with raised seats around it. The fight going on when we first see it is between a group of dogs and some sort of robotic creature, or person in a suit using technology. The fights ends when the robot creature rips its head off and throws it around.
The cats are not pleased by the arena, so Lion-O demands to know whose in charge from a bystander. He meets with a rottweiler, Dobo, who oversees the games. There’s a bit of posturing when Lion-O says the fighter cat is free, and Dobo gets in his face. Then Panthro gets up in Dobo’s face…and it soon comes out that they’re really old friends.
The refugee cat goes up against Gormax, that robot creature, and Lion-O comments she doesn’t stand a chance.
Kit and Kat see an old raccoon pick some pockets while eating their stew. Kit boasts that they know everything about pickpocketing, and it’s not until after the raccoon leaves that they realize he swiped their weapons. Whoops!
Back at the arena, the cat makes quick work of Gormax. She stands atop the fallen robot to the cheers of the assembled dogs. Pumyra is her name, and she’s making Dobo a fortune in the games. Typical greedy thing, eh?
Lion-O offers to buy Pumyra’s freedom, but Dobo says she’ll earn it after 100 fights. However, Lion-O then says it’d be a shame if she escaped…something that Dobo does not approve of. He tells Panthro to make sure Lion-O doesn’t do anything stupid before leaving; Lion-O moves to follow, but Panthro tells him they can’t afford a war with the dogs. Lion-O is of course a moron and tries to break her out anyway. Pumyra’s shouts draw the attention of the guards, and Dobo pulls the Sword of Omens and Extend-o-Claw off him. So he throws Lion-O in prison and tells him he can fight Pumyra in the Pit next. Ruh-roh, Raggy.
Panthro demands Lion-O’s release, but Dobo tells him instead that the king of the ThunderCats can fight for it himself. Cheetarah scoffs at the idea–they don’t have time to wait for Lion-O to win 100 fights. Dobo declares, however, that Lion-O can have his freedom after only one fight. If he beats Pumyra, then he can go free.
This triggers an explanation of how Panthro knows Dobo. Turns out they were teamed together in the arena, until the day Panthro escaped and left Dobo behind. The dog thanked him for doing that…he learned he’d have to fight for his freedom himself. So now Lion-O can do the same.
Kit and Kat catch up to the raccoon who took their stuff. He’s carrying a silver plate that he has no idea why he stole. The raccoon explains that he’s a kleptovoyant. He has no idea why he steals the things he does, but it always works out in the end. And then he agrees to give Kit and Kat their stuff back…but only if they steal something for him.
Pumyra flips out on Lion-O for deserting the cats when Thundera fell. She promises then and there to rip him apart for failing to save his people from their torment. Anyone else have a bad feeling? In the arena, Tygra comments that cats won’t fight each other for the sport of dogs. But Dobo laughs since he’s never yet seen that kind of loyalty from a cat. Lion-O makes one last entreaty of Pumyra to stand with him. But instead she attacks.
Kit and Kat swipe a sheet, a button, and a cane from three separate dogs to prove they can steal. The dogs chase them down, but the raccoon uses the cane to swing up the stairs, the button to break a lock, and the sheet as a parachute. Right after they land, the raccoon bolts without even bothering to give back their things.
In the arena, Pumyra taunts Lion-O by saying he’s a weakling and it’s no wonder Thundera fell in a day. Up in the stands, Panthro tells Dobo he ran because he found out their next match would’ve been to the death against each other. He ran because he was afraid he’d have to defeat his friend.
Lion-O keeps getting up despite Pumyra’s continued beat-downs. She demands to know why he does that–and he says it’s because he promised to stand by her. She then drops her bow, and declares to Dobo that she will not kill her king. And Lion-O won’t kill a fellow cat. When Dobo tells them the penalty for forfeit is death, they both nod…accepting of their fate. And then he instead declares they may both go free, for they have earned his respect. Huzzah!
Well outside the Pit, Lion-O’s at last able to ask Pumyra about where the other cat slaves are. She then tells them about the mining operation at Mount Plundar, which is of course a dark scary mountain in the distance. Anyone else surprised?
If you missed the previous episode be sure to read our ‘ThunderCats: Survival of The Fittest’ recap to catch up.
