Thread by @paintedarachnid, im going to be rewatching episode nine and analyzing it for Peak [...]

im going to be rewatching episode nine and analyzing it for Peak Hurt and also because i really love this episode so this will be a thread, as requested by @Senna_Feral

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first things first: the episode opens with mk’s frustration at hammering the wall for wukong’s “breakfast nook” right? this is CLEARLY meant to teach mk what wukong keeps telling him, having patience and focus and “stepping into the strike”, but it’s only clear to us. not to mk

this is probably a given and it’s real nice and easy to pick up on, but mk’s frustration is PERFECTLY understandable here. wukong isn’t telling him why he’s doing this, even though he’s been emphasizing the need for practice and training. it’s like how mk said,

“this isn’t practice.”

it makes it VERY easy to manipulate mk into thinking he isn’t fighting to his true potential

just got to macaque’s entrance and NOW i’m curious. now that we know macaque was the one behind the “shadow demon” thing tha was CLEARLY meant to draw someone or something out. so mk then?? seems obvious

my thoughts aren’t clear on that rn so i will come back to that point later maybe, there’s something there i haven’t grasped yet

i’ll need to double check this later, but NOW i’m wondering smth else. mk is established to be a HUGE gang of wukong and is very very familiar with journey to the west. does macaque make and appearance in jttw?? because if so, raises the question of why mk wouldn’t be familiar

-with him. much to thimnk about

“but you can never have too many teachers, right? i’m sure monkie king would agree, it’s not like he’d wanna hold you back.”

okay this line confirms this is all premeditated, he is planting the manipulating VERY VERY early on.

he’s feeding into mk’s doubts about wukong’s teachings and whether or not his teaching is what mk should be getting, “it’s not like he’d wanna hold you back.”

i cant explain it, i’ll probably have a better way to later, but he’s making mk very very unsure of wukong and very inc-

-lined to be taught by him and that’s just. wow. he’s a really really scary villain.

just gosh the delivery on this line. stellar character writing and voice acting. there are BRIGHT RED ALARMS going off in my head and that is really entertaining to see KDHKAJD

not to mention mk’s nervous “uhm,,” and then how he says the next part kind of rushed. this kid is NERVOUS and unsure but seeking validation. god

figured out the term i was looking for: gaslighting

dude are you KIDDING?? he is straight up telling mk that he thought he was better, that he “expected more from someone with your power”. and he laughs too, mk didn’t want to be seen as weak by someone he admires. six-eared “manipulator” macaque.

now mk is going to be CONSTANTLY seeking his validation, to see if he meets up to the expectation yet. oh my god.

AND NOW THAT HE HAS HIM HOOK LINE AND SINKER HES GIVING HIM,,, V QUESTIONABLE ADVICE. advice i feel like mk would normally be unsure of if he was in his right mind, but he’s not and wow

“it’s not like he’d want to hold you back.”

vs.

“other people are going to be telling you to be patient. /they/ are /slowing you down/“

suddenly, it’s mk and macaque against the world. against wukong. god that’s,,, i don’t wanna day it’s GOOD manipulation cause man is it not good but it’s WELL WRITTEN AND EXECUTED manipulation. it is Manipulation.

ohhhhhhh the music in the bg when mk smashes the wall. it’s not triumphant like you’d expect, seeing as we’re SUPPOSED to believe macaque has mk’s best interests in mind and that he’s helping him. it’s not triumphant because he finally learned and grew as a fighter

it’s unsettling. when wukong asks him where he learned to do that, you hear the ominous music to give you just enough dread without making it obvious. ugh that’s good

oh my god no it’s actually really prominent. when the wall breaks it goes dead silent and then that cue happens, and then it’s silent again but RIGHT BEFORE mk speaks you hear a quiet roll

listen carefully to the music in the bg

“but since then you’ve had ME teaching you. you’re stronger now! don’t you FEEL stronger?!”

“i guess..”

UGH MUAH MUAH MUAH. THOSE LINES. he DOESNT feel stronger, but if macaque is telling him he should then he has to be right?

he is EVIL and they ARE NOT AFRAID TO SHOW THIS GOSH

it is also worth noting HE DOESNT STOP THE FUCKING,,, GASLIGHTING. “you’re just some kid with a heavy stick!” and then mk proceeds to struggle with finding the strength to push the staff off him BECAUSE he doesn’t think he’s strong enough. that’s ALL of macaque’s manipulation/

- genuinely affecting him after the fact.

it is ALSO worth noting that there are two possible reasons for mk’s gasp/whimper combo there: a. macaque rushing at him suddenly after very clearly identifying himself as the villain now startled him OR b. (and what i personally prefer for the addd flavor)-

- macaque shoves the staff to his chest, knocking the air out of him for a second to really increase that intimidation factor.

think about watching all of this from mk’s perspective, that is TERRIFYING.

okay simp break because my mans is here

i sorta wondered, when watching this for the first time, how wukong knew where to find mk. my current working theory is CLEARLY he saw the emblem on mk’s jacket, like that’s established, so i’m wondering if wukong followed mk around to see what was going on

there’s a few issues with that though: such as why would wukong LET mk’s power be taken, and honestly i don’t know but it is the only explanation i can think of for him know EXACTLY where to go lol

“monkie king! it’s good to see ya, BUD.”

“are you ever gonna get sick of living in my shadow?!”

im sure we are all well aware by now there is a BACKSTORY to these two that i REALLY WANNA KNOW ABOUT. lmk is already taking a few creative liberties with the original jttw tales,

- so i am so excited to find out more about macaque and wukong’s history. hopefully we get that KSHJAHSH

“you are SUCH a gem~. it’s going to be so satisfying killing you with your own powers!”

keep this quote in mind, we will be coming back to it later

these are the impressions both macaque and wukong leave when they start fighting. macaque’s is noticeably more prominent, based on how rock and rubble float in the air even after he leaves vs. the raised ground from wukong’s. keep this in mind, we will also be coming back to this

remember how i said we’d come back to “you are SUCH a gem~. it’s going to be so satisfying killing you with your own powers!” later? well, it’s later.

i talked about this in the past already, but macaque has EVERY SINGLE intention to kill wukong. to defeat him, at the VERY least. and yet...

his clones are only /restraining/ wukong. he bested him! wukong is being held down, even if it was temporarily! he could’ve killed him right then and there.

but he didn’t. he went for mk.

this seemed odd to me at first, but after thinking about it more i don’t think he wanted to kill wukong JUST yet. he either a. wanted to kill mk, or at least seriously injure him, and have wukong /watch/.-

-(which ISNT out of the question, i just happen to like option b a little better. sue me.) or b. was looking for a fight and wanted to provoke wukong into being impulsive and letting loose by threatening mk. which worked, by the way. the threatening anyway.

macaque said it himself:

because this ISNT anything personal. from the beginning mk has been a pawn. he only needed mk for his powers AND to lure out wukong.

and the thing is? it WORKED.

wukong showed up just as he planned, fought him just as he planned and! when he threatened mk?

guess who let loose just a little. to get out and /help this person he cares about/.

im gonna bring up a point @Senna_Feral made when we were in dms chatting during twitter’s crash (muah ily senna ty for filling in the cracks of my analysis)

in order to do that, i need to draw your attention back to these two screenshots. back to the fact that wukong’s divot is less prominent.

wukong has been holding back from the BEGINNING. the entire fight. macaque KNOWS this, he recognizes it.

we’ve seen wukong lift an entire fucking mountain to stop dbk. we KNOW what he’s capable of and yet he gets held down for a pretty good amount of time by clones of all things. clones of MACAQUE, not powered up macaque. i assume anyways. we see him break out of that EASILY when mk

is in danger so it’s not like it was giving him any real trouble

so WHY is wukong holding back? it’s simple.

he’s scared. i dare say a little terrified.

he’s not scared of macaque though, macaque himself acknowledges this.

he’s scared of hurting mk

sun wukong is an INCREDIBLY impulsive character. for crying out loud, he threw what was essentially a tantrum until heaven acknowledged the title he gave himself, great sage equal to heaven. he KNOWS he’s powerful and he challenged plenty of demons just to get a good fight int

but he can’t do that now, or else he’ll hurt someone he cares about.

but he ALSO needs to be strong enough to stop macaque, or MACAQUE will hurt someone he cares about.

throughout this ENTIRE FIGHT wukong is battling with himself and trying to use just enough of his power without using too much.

and that takes a toll.

something i find incredibly beautiful, with this being at least the sixth time im watching this episode, is how it’s resolved. because it’s up to mk to defeat macaque at the end, not wukong.

macaque manipulated mk since he MET him, and like i mentioned earlier in this thread it had a lasting effect on him.

especially up to now.

you hear it in what he says to wukong, “i’m not strong enough!”

mk didn’t even know macaque for that long but the point here is that he fed into his /already existing insecurities/. that LASTS.

but wukong doesn’t give up on mk, and THATS why although he’s flawed wukong is ultimately a great mentor.

it’s wukong’s words that give mk the strength he needs, and mk uses what wukong taught him to defeat macaque. that’s poetic cinema if ive ever seen it

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