Here's how Samurai Jack season 5 episode 3 forced the title character to become a killer. Samurai Jack is a classic animated series following the titular samurai after he's exiled by an evil demon named Aku to the future. Jack's sword is the only thing that can slay the demon and fans followed his journey across four seasons as he fought Aku's forces and helped those in need. The series ended abruptly after season 4 when creator Genndy Tartakovsky switched focus to the 2D Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.
In the long gap between seasons 4 and 5, there was some talk of a live-action movie, but for a time it seemed Jack's story would never receive a proper finale. Luckily for fans, Samurai Jack eventually returned for a fifth and final season in 2017. The fifth series was designed from the very beginning as a goodbye to the character, with the story taking place over 50 years from the end of season 4. The ageless Jack has grown depressed after losing his sword and being permanently stranded in the future, and the final season featured a darker, more mature tone.
Being a show intended for children, Jack never actually killed anybody in the Cartoon Network Samurai Jack, with his wrath typically aimed at Aku's army of robots. Samurai Jack season 5 episode 3 broke this tradition for good, when Jack is ambushed by a cult of female assassins dubbed the Daughters Of Aku. In episode 2 Jack has his first confrontation with the daughters and slits the throat of an attacker in self-defense. He's stunned to realize she was human as he believed her to be another robot, and Samurai Jack season 5 episode 3 finds him coming to terms with taking a human life for the first time.
Episode 3 finds Jack disgusted with himself but when he realizes the rest of the cult will come for him he has to fight back. In one of the most important turning points of the entire series, Jack offers them a chance to walk away, but when they refuse, he doesn't hesitate to kill them. It's a thrilling battle but its also shocking - and a little sad - to see the normally placid samurai embrace his dark side to survive.
In the end, Ashi is the only Daughter of Aku to survive the bloody battle, and after some understandable tension, she and Jack become a team. They eventually fall in love too, which leads to a remarkably bittersweet finale for the series. Samurai Jack season 5 episode 3 was a real shift in tone for both the character and the series and unlined the mature themes the fifth season would be tackling. The fifth season was acclaimed for how it wrapped up Jack's adventure and is regarded by some fans as the best season of the show.