"The Ukumbusho Tradition" Season 2 Ep. 10

[SimbasGuard]

[quote="zerodix"]yay! this looks so promising! i wonder who else will get into simba cosplay![/quote]

I doubt any lionesses will dress up, but I would love to see Zuri have to dress up as Simba just because it would irritate her so much.

[AnonLion]

A trailer for the episode including a bit of the song was released:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi9HbycnM0E

After watching it I'm starting to think this tradition involves the current Guard to do some kind of performance.

[SimbasGuard]

[quote="AnonLion"]After watching it I'm starting to think this tradition involves the current Guard to do some kind of performance.[/quote]

Agreed. I will be interesting to see all of the details behind this tradition.

[Panpardus]

Well, we only have a couple more hours until we find out.

[TTB-Kun]

it's out and i loved it!
https://watchtlg.netlify.com/watch?v=4131403
The song was good but most important to me i liked the tradition, i always look forward to discover new lore
We got to know an important aspect of the past of the lion guard and now we know the name of the first leader of the first lion guard, Askari (means soldier in swahili)

[Panpardus]

Interesting episode, though obviously not quite what I was expecting (or would've written myself). That said, I won't really gripe on negatives, as there are a couple things I really liked.

For starters, the tradition of Ukumbusho itself wasn't quite as deep as I'd hoped it would've been insofar as celebrating the spirits of the Great Kings - rather it's essentially a Founders' Day celebration between the lions and elephants, and the costuming itself was a one-time in-universe gimmick as opposed to an actual tradition that carried some greater meaning (my personal point of disappointment) - but there is some nice lore regarding the founding of the Pride Lands as the kingdom we know and love; we even get the name of the founding leader of the Lion Guard, the aptly named Askari ("warrior"). Plus, the song (and overall underscore, as per usual) is nice, though needs a full version, and it was great hearing the Guard all singing together; Fuli's riffing was a nice feature, especially since you don't usually hear singers on this show go off-script with their melodies.

As for the story itself, it was pretty standard. The bees thing was a bit of a letdown, but it made sense in context and it is what it is. I liked how they at least tried to touch on the idea of reimagining traditions for new generational norms and circumstances while still maintaining the integrity of said tradition, and it worked in context with regards to Simba not having experienced an Ukumbusho celebration. It kinda underscores just how far-reaching Scar's destruction of the Guard was and how much his actions really left things in ruin; he didn't just cause physical harm, he nearly destroyed his own peoples' culture by tainting and/or erasing their legacies and traditions through his actions. If you think about it, that's one of the big through-lines of The Lion Guard: reestablishing traditions and rebuilding aspects of a nearly lost culture and legacy. (I guess that itself is pretty deep.)

Returning from my minor epiphany, let this not be forgotten or overlooked...

Spoiler: show

We finally got our first in-show glimpse of the rest of the lion pride, including two lionesses who could very well be Sarabi and Sarafina! Granted, they don't have any speaking roles and the one frontal shot we get of them obscures their faces via their distance from the camera such that we can't clearly tell that it's them - though they look so deliberately on-model that it's hard to doubt at least Sarabi's presence - but it's still exciting to see them(?) finally make their first post-Lion King appearance. I really hope they get properly introduced to the younger audience in a later episode; we need to see these two interacting with their kids and grandchildren!

[TTB-Kun]

i don't think those lionesses are sarabi or sarafina, just randoms lionesses

[Panpardus]

That's entirely possible; then again, the one that looks like Sarabi looks way too much like Sarabi for it to just happen to be another lion in my honest opinion.

[AnonLion]

Until we find out if they really are Sarabi and/or Sarafina I'm just really happy that we finally got to see other lionesses.

I agree though the tradition wasn't what I expected it's still nice to learn more of the Pridelands' traditions, and even more fascinating it was to realize that it really was Simba's first Ukumbusho. I enjoyed the song, seeing Timon and Pumbaa again was fun and having more relevant appearances of Makini is always good. The conflict with the bees wasn't the greatest, but overall I still enjoyed the episode, I wasn't even expecting that sweet moment with Bunga and Ma Tembo's mom. I'll definitely be watching this episode again.

[zerodix]

i watched it, and i liked it. This season is getting better, and I liked most of the episode.
What i liked: of course, the lionesses, although they deserved WAY more screentime. Also we heard the name of the first Leader of the Lion Guard, first I thought he said Scar, but it is Oscari/Uscari. So that must have been a king's brother. I am curious which king this was. Could have been Mohatu, or Ahadi.
I loved to see Makini, she's the typical non-functioning intern (we have one like that at our work, adhd and same personality, so I had a good laugh at her go) The song gave me goosebumps, and it was a blast to see Tiifu and Zuri again.
The elephants have a point in respecting and keeping up with traditions, and the value of them. In my country we have opressors who want us to break with our ancient traditions, and have their festivities instead. Lot of fuzz about it, and my opinion is that traditions are part of your culture, and you should be proud of that and defend it.
So I am with Ma Tembo on that one (even though she gave in later, that is sad)

What I didn't like was the long filler-scene where the guard is chasing the elephants and saves them one by one. Slow and disturbing.
So, that's my 2 cents on this episode