Fistrick being able to beat Shocksquatch because “My boots are insulated” is like the kids on the playground who’d say you can’t tag them because “I have invisible super armor”
I dont think he beat him, Ben wanted to go with him to check what exactly is going on most probably, also he literally worked with Megawhatts, insulation is literally the first thing he would think about
I *kinda* buy it, but seems very convenient that Fisttrick just *happened* to have insulated boots when he wans't expecting Ben to be there, let alone pick an electric alien. Or that Ben doesn't just switch to another alien with different powers. Fisttrick: "These boots are insulated! Your lightning won't work here, Bro!" Ben: "Oh, okay!" *turns into Fourarms* Fisttrick: "... Ah."
To be fair, Rook changed his entire personality to match Fistrick in "No Honor Among Bros" just because he inhaled some of Fistrick's sweat plus a mystery chemical vapor. Maybe the Muroids are also easily influenced by his sweat like Rook was(Or I guess "will" be)? It would explain why they learned to be of a near human level intelligence in such a short time.
Same here! I think a good place for it to be unlocked would be when they were all crowding around him after he spilled the amberogia on himself. One of them could accidentally scratch the Omnitrix.
@@JPJ1608this version would just scan from a distance though. He already had it then which would be odd if he didn’t given this planet has contact with the plumbers
I like the detail that Ben bows at 6:19, Ben may have picked up that there are some similarities between Rook's family and Eastern cultures (using the family name instead of first name and the way they dressed) and tried to do a respectful greeting. It's probably not what the show is going for, but I find it neat
6:30 Kuro is a Brooken shipper confirmed 10:40 Ben loving the attention from his fame has always been canon. "WHO'S YOUR HERO???" 14:45 Isn't Fistrick, like, a canonical slaver? It would make perfect sense for him to look for a place to exploit. And once he encounters Revonnah while checking up on Rook, he's probably rushed there immediately for the jack of all smuggling op. As for Muroid evolution, I'm headcanonning that Fistrick gave Psychobos a pet project during a creative rut. Also holy shit, Revonnahganders are pretty much space Amish. I guess they started with an Earth-like world to justify how humanoid Rook is - convergent evolution.
*Deep Breaths* - I think it would've been interesting to see Ben entertain the name "Blonko" himself, unsure which name Rook prefers. - With the interesting way that other planets perceive Ben, Rook included, does Ben feel pressured to what they expected of him? - I do dig how the alien show about Ben, as well as Young One's alien radio, both have this 1940's Pulp style.
Hey kuro, I know you probably wont see this, but on the off chance you do, im going to write this Thanks for making these breakdowns. Not only have they provided me with hours of entertainment, but theyve also revitalized my love for the franchise and encouraged me to think about media more critically. Cant wait till we get to the season 2 finale!
fistrick is a weird villain for Ben, at first he seem like a street level thug but now he can travel to space and assemble a army of mech suited vermins and often seen with working alien criminal despite being a human , he like the Ben 10 version of bane but instead venom is like gamer energy drink or protein shake
@@mayotango1317 Nah, the episode where Ben goes undercover and gets betrayed by Fistrick will forever be the funniest thing to me. Ben felt genuinely hurt by it, that takedown felt personal. "You got too attached to the case, bro."
My headcanon is that Miuroids are basically like earth rats and are naturally capable of learning the way they do. It is just the Ravanaganders only ever treat them like pests, so they never had the chance to learn until this episode.
Those rock formations are called stepwells. Although, they are man made, theyre for irrigation of crops when water might be scarce,and don't require complex machinery, so i think the artist and/or storyboarders might have put them there as world building.
I was really surprised that we didn't get to see Ben turn into one of Rook's species. This would have been the perfect episode to introduce such a transformation.
@@levievil9220 Idk, but it would have make for a cool figurine so the marketing department could probably have figured out a way to make them use it more.
@@Ender_Onryo true however I think they didn’t give Ben a blanko transformation to make sure rook can still be unique kinda like how both gwen and Ben are anodites but only Gwen uses it fully
World building in ben Ten is one of its best parts as it's so interesting to hear about aliens' home worlds and their characteristics, which is why i like and beyond honestly
Rook's homeworld is one of the more well-explained alien planets in the Ben 10 series, from its landscapes and architecture to its culture. It helps that he's settled in as one of the main characters at this point.
The closest thing to Rooks naturally layered landscape are the stones at Giants cuaseway, they have a hexagonal look to them that look similar to Rooks homeworld. Also strata closely resembles Rook homeworld
Not to throw around accusations of queercoding, but (as Kuro joked) the parallels to “meeting your boyfriend’s parents” and also the “work with my hands line” at the beginning. No wonder Brooken/BenRook is such a big ship.
Why wasn't Dr. Animo in this episode? Y'think they'd do some kind of bait-and-switch, where the hyper-evolved animals point to Animo, and then Fistrick showing up is a funny twist or something.
It still boggles my mind that Fistrick of all villains just casually has a planet destroying super weapon, was able to travel off world to find a planet that grew a fruit that just so happened to be the exact fuel source that weapon needed, and was able to train the common vermin living there to do his bidding.
@InevitableOption-ic2vx This honestly felt like it should have been a Dr. Animo plot in my opinion. Controlling animals is his whole MO and he has far most history with Ben to the point where it'd be more believable that he'd try making his way up to becoming an off world threat. Not the petty thug who we just met dealing alien technology on the streets!
I’m glad that you decided to give this episode a full breakdown. Yeah it may not be anything exciting but it’s still cool seeing Rook’s family and world. I also completely forgot about the whole sludge puppy pretending to be an extreme 90s superhero version of Ben was a thing. So seeing those Rob Liefeld inspired posters of him was a funny reminder
3:13 Generally rock patterns can look like this anywhere that has severe weathering. As rocks tend to stack on top of each other (huge simplification, but let's run with it), erosion can expose these layers long after they have been laid down. I saw cliffs like this in Corinth in Greece, and some in canyons on the Isle of Skye.
This was an interesting episode for sure. Pretty sure I saw something about Derrick saying the Amber Ogia are like papaya with a core of honey in terms of the taste.
17:33 I think that after that phrase it would have been cool show the clip from "The Secret of Chromastone" where Humungousaur changes into Jetray without touching the Omnitrix's symbol. Sometimes you do that, after pointing an ability that a character has used in previous episodes then there are short breaks from the breakdowns that shows clips of that character in previous episodes using that ability.
3:07 10:45 These are probably based on farming terraces, which have been used in lots of areas around Earth for around five thousand years to decrease erosion and soil runoff It’s a good detail given how much of the Revonnahgander society is based around agriculture
I never knew there were 5YL videos with the Soundtrack and Audio taken out. That is such a smart business decision I wish more companies would incorporate. Very smart Ink Tank!
3 Years of breakdowns already goddamn. What a ride it's been. Still discussing Ben 10 lore in 2024. Still love enjoying them on a Friday evening after work with a good fresh pizza and beer, hell yeah
3:09 What you're looking for is something called a terrace. It's a man made shape in the land that makes it easier for us to farm on the sides of valleys and hills. The Aztec people are famous for their terrace farms
Personally, I think the Muroids always had the capability of higher thought, it's just that the Ravannaganders only saw them as pests and treat them as such, kinda like rats and mice
11:41 okay Kuro but how do we know this isn’t the first time the Celestial Sapiens recreated the universe, huh? For all we know the Ben Tennyson we have right here could be an artificial recreation of another Ben Tennyson. Just saying
18:45 my theory on the rats; like earth rats they’re actually pretty intelligent already and fisto just trained them to repeat certain actions and complete certain basic tasks. You can train earth rats to do much the same, minus the speaking. Make the alien rats about as intelligent as a chimp and this is very easily possible. Well, possible for Ben ten.
I love seeing fantasy culture especially when it's inspired by real life one's, from what I've seen with how alien lore is handled in and beyond/5yl you guys do a good job with that
ALSO regarding the naming conventions - it's possible "Rook" is more like a family name. I remember in Elder Scrolls Morrowind the elves have a similar situation where the family name comes before the given name.
I voted for Rook's family in the poll, but I have to say my absolutely favorite part is that Rook is a freakin' Chad in his hometown that has girls running up to his house at dinner time. Dang, son. I would contest importance being bumped up to three because of what it sets up later in other arcs, a lot of it is retreaded but the Incursean invasion of earth may have gotten it's start here as per your headcanon Fistrick doing research and getting out in the universe may have led to the Incurseans (specifically Attea) learning about Amber Ogia. Honestly, it's a bit of a surprise that no one else has tried to conquer Revonnah for the Amber Ogia, which makes me headcanon that Revonnah and its people are relatively unknown in the Milky Way since Rook Blonko was the first Plumber despite the interstellar police force being active for several decades at the least. This could explain why Rook Da was so against his son getting out into the universe for other reasons beside what he said, anonymity is a protection of its own.
Ah yes, I remember this episode. I actually have very little problems with that one; it's one of the few where I do think OV's world-building genuinely works. Rook's planet is fairly unique and interesting and I like Revonnahgander. They feel like an actual culture compared to say the very stereotypical portrayal of Gourmand as a bunch of Homer Simpson wannabe or Anur Transyl being a stereotypical Halloweentown. Uh. I missed the part about Ben saying transforming feels like a good stretch the first time I watched.... I actually kinda like the idea. Funny, I remember getting annoyed by Ben being ridiculed for not knowing customs the first time I watch, but rewatching it now, it doesn't bother me that much. Guess I was biased about it back then. I guess that's also why I missed the part about Ben and Rook Da bounding. That was neat. Only part that still bothers me is Ben throwing the fire stick thingy. I even kinda find it funny that Ben is put in alien drags now^^' I approve your idea for handling rabbits by the way, Kuro^^ Best of luck with that! Aaaaaand yeah Fistrick is my One major issue with this episode: him having access to space travel came out of nowhere when until now he seemed to have been a street-level villain. And so does his ability to inexplicably train the Muroid. Personally I expected Dr Animo; him being in space would also have been a stretch, but at least he had precedents with his time in the Null Void, and controlling and hyper-evolving animals *was* his thing. It doesn't ruin the episode or anything, but it's a bit jarring. Overall I think my opinion of this episode has improved with time. It's good, and my only real issue is a nitpick at worse.
3:13 Those "layered landscapes" on Revonnah look similar to rice terraces, like the one in the Philippines. While technically not naturally occurring, the farmers carved the mountains so they can hold water on each layer (kinda like a mini pond), which is the ideal environment for the growth of rice.
So glad to have the Breakdowns back and I love this episode Ben and Rook get to bond and we learn more about the universe and Rooks planet a great time overall and Ben’s personality is pretty chill in this episode so that’s great too
the way room and Ben interact in either this episode or one of the other episodes where were on rooks homeworld is so funny, they pose like they're dating sometimes its so funny
i would just like to say I ain't being a shipper in fact I don't think Ben is shippable with anyone, he's at his most fun when he isn't dating anyone and is just an absolute lad to everyone he meets
Fun fact. According to Derrick J. Wyat, Muroids are actually intelligent enough to be in the Omnitrix. This is why Fistrick was able to train them to handle machines.
I really love it when you note the similarities between Earthern-Culture and Alien Culture. It really feels like that was what the writers of the show were trying to convey when noting the various similarities and differences between Humans and other Alien-Species. We’re different but we’re also a little bit the same. Love you Kuro, keep up the good work 💚👍 You’re keeping my favorite Childhood series alive with these videos, brother. (Is it alright if I call you brother…?)
8:55 reminds me of a friend of mine who went to Guatemala with his dad for a missionary (yes, his dad's a pastor), and my friend had girls running to him and had skirts minimal. Thank God i didn't have to see that happen for him.
Those terraces remind me of the manmade Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines, which further adds to the Asian influence of Rook's homeworld (Filipinos use the western given name + surname structure though unlike many East Asians)
I remember seeing a post of one of the writers saying Muroids are sentient enough for Ben to turn into So if they have sown kind of intelligence i imagine they can still be trained and taught things like the lucubra and wildmutt, kinda reminds me how Max had one in his team back in the null void Also in a future episode they say Revonnaghganders get their names after their tail comes off which is why young one is named that, but Rooks little sister has a tail yet has a name? Could of been a future decision they wanted a reason why he was ‘young one’ Good break down 👍
3:10 there are similair rock structures in my country , a rock formations that are layered but also slanted, probably dating back to Earths precambrian era when it was still forming
I would prefer if Fistrick stayed a villain who only committed crimes in Earth. It's an absurd feat to think this guy went from gang leader in the streets to a villain that can travel across the universe by himself.
16:22 Thiese binds look similar... Wouldn't it be funny if he got them from Vilgax? And the whole "past tense" is simply because they don't work together anymore or something.
Theory the muroids are actually an intellectual species but never had the room to learn cause of the revanaganders and so that why the seem like wild animals. But that is just a theory a ben ten theory, thanks for reading 😀
i enjoy seeing Ben 10 explore different alien homeworlds. it adds on worldbuilding (is it worldbuilding if it's other worlds?) and it makes the show more enjoyable for me personally.