(writerkat) In All Flashback Scenes And Storytelling About Chase Young Before He Became Evil, It's Interesting

(writerkat) In all flashback scenes and storytelling about Chase Young before he became evil, it's interesting that he always looks the same as he does in the present. Just Nicer. Same armor, same hair, even his complexion is the same in flashbacks, even though he gets visibly pallor after drinking the soup compared to when we actually see him.

I almost wonder if it might not be the recollections of the individual person that colors how Chase was seen and how his story was told.

Guan, who told Chase's tale through a stylized storybook, didn't even mention Hannibal Roy Bean. Just said that Chase used to be on the side of good, before he betrayed the forces of good for power when he became evil. Who or what made the offer didn't matter. To Guan the heavier part was the betrayal. He probably Knew who gave Chase the soup, but the fact of the matter is that Chase sold his soul and betrayed Guan and Dashi. So that heavily colors Guan's recollection of events. Chase Young sold his soul and then he hurt Guan and Dashi. That's it, end of story. The fact it's in a book might even be a personal way to distance himself from that part of the past. The only memories he wants to hold onto now are those where Chase Young is an enemy, Chase Young once being on the side of good was just a thing that happened a long time ago and is no longer.

Dojo's later retelling, on the other hand, is kind of interesting. He includes the detail of Hannibal Roy Bean and his offering the soup to Chase. Though his recollection still paints Chase as clad in armor and looking the same as he does in present. (Guan looks the same too, so maybe that's a bit of a limitation of the medium, but his looks still didn't go through as massive a change as Chase's.) Dojo is sympathetic enough that he may remember Chase's better qualities even through his fear of him, though. Because the flashback over his telling of the story shows a Chase Young that's hesitant and unsure of accepting the soup and listening to Bean, and the implied pain of the transformation after drinking it.

Who knows. Maybe, in the end, it's a little easier on those who knew him back then to think that Chase was always the way he is and there was nothing that could have been done to prevent it. That there was always the Prince Of Darkness lurking under the surface of Chase Young the Xiaolin Dragon, so the betrayal feels a bit more like it had more of a Reason than him so viciously turning on them for seemingly no reason, even after they considered him a friend.

Good catch!

It seems like, even for the people who were around before Chase’s transformation, they remember him back then as he is now, with spikey green hair, pointed ears, slitted eyes, dark armor, and pale skin. We didn’t see the original Chase’s true appearance until Omi went back to see for himself.

In the case of Dojo’s flashback, it’s possible that this is just what the kids are imagining based on what Dojo is telling them, or it’s possible that Dojo’s memory is just being a little fallible, as it often is. But still, forgetting that Guan used to have a braid is a much smaller detail than forgetting that Chase used to look completely different. Guan mostly looks the same as back then, but this isn’t the Chase Young that Dojo grew up with at all.

Maybe it’s because Dojo’s view of Chase changed so dramatically after Chase almost cooked him into soup. So perhaps Dojo’s mental image of Chase is the more monstrous version that probably haunts some of Dojo’s nightmares. But like you said, the weird thing is, despite the fact that this is visually the same as the current Chase, his mannerisms really are kinder. He smiles genuinely at Guan, he looks nervous and anxious about the deal, he frowns and shies away from Hannibal. It looks a little odd to see this personality in that body. He’s so wary and scared of Hannibal, way more so than actual good Chase was back then, when he was willing to talk back and snap at Hannibal and doubt him, argue with him, etc.

So Dojo still remembers a friendly, heroic Chase who would be hesitant to give away his soul like this and enjoyed his friendship with Guan. In fact, he remembers Chase as someone even kinder and more timid than he was back then.

Like you said, Dojo’s memory is still ultimately sympathetic towards Chase. His more positive traits from back then are still intact in Dojo’s memory. There’s just some part of him that’s still… othered, in a way that he wasn’t at the time.

Whatever discrepancies are in Dojo’s recollections, I feel like they’re subconscious.

Guan, however, is very conscious and deliberate in the things he misrepresents about Chase’s past.

Guan has this whole book draw to tell the backstory of Chase. Not to spread the legend for knowledge sake, because this isn’t common knowledge. Omi is very bookish and didn’t know about this, so this isn’t a published book or one that’s widespread. So Guan apparently keeps this on his person in case he has to personally talk about Chase. He might have even made it by himself.

Or maybe Guan just made the book as his way of giving himself closure about Chase’s betrayal and making it make sense in a way that suits his current legacy.

Chase is already in his armor, already has his spiked hair. And even in the part of the book where Chase was a good guy who fought against the forces of evil, in Guan’s version of the events, Chase fought alone.

In Guan’s version of events, Hannibal Roy Bean doesn’t exist, or at least isn’t mentioned as he is. Chase Young traded his soul to a standardly designed Satanic goat figure, and he did it for immortality and nothing else. It’s very unsympathetic and straightforward.

It’s very stylized, simplified, purposely inaccurate. It’s either how Guan is choosing to remember the events or how Guan has decided he’s going to pretend to remember them.

But either way, both Dojo and Guan seem to either purposely or subconscious distance themselves from the real Chase that they both knew growing up. Neither Guan nor Dojo described Chase as a “former friend” in either of their stories, even though that’s what he was. I guess it hurts less after all this time to simply pretend otherwise.

I’ve just watched 3 episode of 3 season, and this is by far my favourite scene. Chase’s actually a tragic character. The good in him may be stronger than he knows, but it’s Omi who doesn’t know about the strenght of the evil Chase’s traded soul to. 

Xiaolin Showdown concept designs by Chris Battle Chase Young’s fallen warriors.

At the very least, in the case of Xiaolin Showdown some liberties were taken where exact time periods weren't the most major concern in historical clothing styles so much as making character designs distinct and recognizable in a certain way to a Western audience. So a decent amount of anachronism can be forgivable imo. I think there's actually a production note/script thing floating around that Dashi's outfit was meant to be a reference to a Kung Fu thing. And I think Chase's Good clothes were meant to be evocative of a Tai Chi practitioners clothes, though that one is just my guess.

Here’s my issue with TV studios trying to make content appeal to western audiences, by doing so, they’re kinda looking down on their viewers. I don’t think that children wouldn’t be able to wrap their minds around the idea that people in a certain dynasty or culture dress differently than now. I do appreciate the work the character designers have done on XS, but if they had the funds and freedom to do more extensive research into the history and culture it would have added to the narrative. Plus I just happen to like historical dramas so the idea appeals to me

Actually, on that note, when I watched XS for the first time I thought Wuya’s dress had been ripped as a result of being trapped in the box all those years. That could’ve been a fun twist. We see her in Time After Time and realize just how far she had fallen.

I didn’t know about the Kung Fu/Tai Chi references. That’s a nice touch. Thanks for letting me know.

I guess if you look at Chase, Dashi and Guan side by side, the only one actually wearing a variation of a Shaolin Monk outfit is Guan. Curious that Dashi, despite being a Grandmaster Dragon dresses differently, like he’s not exactly allied to the temple. Neither is Chase, but we know he’s gonna turn his back on the Xiaolin side 🤔

Omi doing the right thing even though he doesn't want to. It's simultaneously adorable and incredibly relatable.

Omi: We must protect the weak. Even if it’s… JACK SPICER.

monks: <facepalm>

is there even a caption in existence that can make this more relatable