It's nighttime at the Palace of Power. Lana is sitting in her chair by her table in her bedroom, talking to a picture of her father, the King. She then kisses it. Then she hears a voice, and the image of her father appears in her mirror. He explains that Mother Brain had banished him to the Mirror Warp, "the world on the other side of your mirror, where all things are opposite". He tells her to go to the Rainbow Forest on Excalibur. At the end of the rainbow, she will find the Mirror Warp. Step through it, and she'll find him. Then the image disappears.
Lana goes to Kevin and Simon's bedroom, wakes them up, and tells them to get dressed.
The entire N Team meets in a giant computer room. Lana tells Mega Man and Kid Icarus to stay behind and look after the Palace. Kevin tells Lana to not get her hopes up too high, because, the last time they thought they found the King, it was just a trick. Lana says it's different this time; she can feel it in her heart. Lana, Kevin, Simon, and Duke step through a warp.
On Excalibur, the four of them split up and go in different directions - north, south, west, and east - to reach the end of the rainbow faster. Lana says whoever finds the entrance first can signal the others. Meanwhile, a mysterious, white-bearded figure in a cloak and hood watches them from behind a tree.
Simon passes a sign marked "THE END OF THE RAINBOW". He then meets the mysterious figure, who says he's looking for the end of the rainbow and points Simon to the "entrance". Simon then takes the man's hood off and makes some guesses as to where he's seen him before. (The man looks and sounds exactly like the King.) The man walks away, so Simon pulls a trumpet out of his backpack and signals the others.
When the others arrive, Lana, Duke, Simon, and Kevin run through the warp by the sign. They slide down a rainbow. They walk down a staircase and find the Mirror Warp. Their reflections make faces at them when they're not looking. Only Duke notices and gets scared. The man watches them and quietly encourages them to go through the warp. Kevin counts to three and then tells them to jump. They jump through the warp, but then "their devilish reflections leap into Videoland". The reflections talk about taking over Videoland and goof off for a while, then the man, his voice different, says they have to go to the Palace "and do some rockin' 'n' rollin'".
The N Team members arrive in the Mirror Warp. They start looking for the King. Lana leans over to pet a rabbit, but it growls and bares its teeth at her. It hops away, knocking Lana on her butt. Kevin and Simon help Lana to her feet. Simon then spots a werewolf and whips at it. It tackles him to the ground and then licks him. It then leaves, and Kevin realizes that everything is opposite here. Duke barks. Lana spots a castle and bets that's where her father is. Kevin guesses that Lana's father is in a nearby poor village.
In the village, they get directions from a woman hanging dirty laundry. The woman then uses a dirty sponge to get rid of a "clean spot" on Simon's coat. The N Team members go to the tree hut at the end of the village, and they find Lana's father. Lana and the King are happy to see each other and hug. The King realizes that the N Team members had been tricked into coming here. He says that his "Mirror Image Opposite" stepped into "the real world" when Mother Brain banished him into the Mirror Warp. The whole thing was a trick to get the N Team members here and their opposites out. He explains that they can't go back home unless their opposites step back through the Mirror Warp.
Meanwhile, at the Palace of Power, Mega Man and Kid Icarus are sitting in front of the viewscreen in the same room from "The Most Dangerous Game Master". Five hours have passed without a word from the others, so they're worried. The opposites arrive. Mirror Lana tells Mega Man and Kid Icarus to "show His Majesty a royal welcome".
Mega Man and Kid Icarus prepare a large meal. They all sit at a long table. Pigging out and goofing off ensues. Mirror King decides to invite "all" of Videoland's villains to the party.
Mirror Simon greets the villains as they come through the warp. The opposites then dance with each other and with the villains - to Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" (again, not performed by him). Mega Man and Kid Icarus have to roll a red carpet wherever the Mirror King dances.
The next morning, in "the strange Mirror World", before sunrise, Lana and her father are sitting outside, talking. They have probably been up all night. Simon walks by, carrying some eggs, falls over, and gets his face covered with eggs. Kevin then comes by and says that they might be able to "call Mega Man and Kid Icarus to the Palace's mirror" by using Simon's mirror. Simon walks by again, falls again, and gets his face covered with eggs again. Duke licks the eggs off of Simon's face. Kevin and Lana help Simon to his feet. Lana takes Simon's mirror out of his coat. Kevin takes the mirror, looks into it, and calls Mega Man and Kid Icarus.
At the Palace, Mega Man and Kid Icarus are in an empty room, talking about how "mega weird" those guys are. They hear Kevin's voice, and his image appears in a tall mirror. Kevin warns them. When Mirror Simon walks into the room, Kid Icarus, who's flying above Mega Man, faces the mirror and pretends to comb his "hairicus". Kevin does the same thing. Mirror Simon leaves the room, and Kevin tells Mega Man and Kid Icarus to "bring those phoney N Team dudes to the Mirror Warp". Kevin's image disappears. Mega Man and Kid Icarus go into the other room. Mega Man tells the "Nasty Team" that they know all about them. Mirror King orders the villains to attack. Mega Man opens a vacuum warp to the Garbage World. All of the villains are pulled into it and end up in the Garbage World. Mirror King orders Kid Icarus to drop his bow. He does, and Mega Man catches it. He fires a rope arrow at the opposites (except for Mirror Duke) and ties them up.
Meanwhile, back in "the Mirror World", Kevin, Duke, Lana, Simon, and the King await the arrival of "their devilish counterparts". Then Mirror Mega Man and Mirror Kid Icarus arrive and attack them. Kevin and Simon fight them. Mega Man and Kid Icarus return Mirror King, Mirror Kevin, Mirror Lana, and Mirror Simon to the Mirror Warp. The opposites break free of the ropes and prepare to toss Mega man and Kid Icarus through the warp to get their "Nasty Mega Man and Kid Icarus out". Mirror Mega Man tells them to get ready to make the switch. Kevin yells, "Use your elastic arrow!" Mirror Kid Icarus (I think) fires an elastic arrow through the Mirror Warp. The elastic band surrounds Mirror King, Mirror Kevin, Mirror Lana, Mirror Simon, and Mirror Duke. Mirror King orders "Grab them!" Simon whips Mirror Mega Man and Mirror Kid Icarus away from the Mirror Warp. Kevin, Lana, Simon, Duke, and the King run towards the Mirror Warp. Mirror Lana gets free of the elastic band by grabbing hold of the rainbow that appears next to her. Lana falls. Mirror Kevin, Mirror Simon, Mirror King, and Mirror Duke are pulled into the Mirror Warp. Kevin, Simon, the King, and Duke run into the Mirror Warp. Kevin, Simon, the King, and Duke arrive back in Videoland. Mirror Kevin, Mirror Simon, Mirror King, and Mirror Duke arrive back in the Mirror Warp. Kevin sees Lana pressing her hands against the Mirror Warp and realizes that she didn't make it out. He says that they have to get Mirror Lana back into the warp. Mirror Lana protests and backs away. Lana walks over to the Mirror Warp and presses her hands against it. She tells her father that it's best for Videoland that he's safe. The King refuses to let Lana do this for him. Mirror King puts her left arm around Lana and pulls her away from the Mirror Warp, choking her. The King grabs Mirror Lana and pulls her into the Mirror Warp. Lana pulls Mirror King into the Mirror Warp with her. Lana arrives back in Videoland. The King, Mirror King, and Mirror Lana arrive back in the Mirror Warp. Lightning flashes. Thunder crashes. Mirror King tells the King that he must "balance the mirror". The Mirror Warp shatters and is destroyed. Lana picks up a piece of the Mirror Warp and talks with her father for a while. He says it's better this way, Lana has a long life agead of her, Kevin is doing a fine job defending the kingdom, and, if there is another way out, he'll find it. He then tells her good-bye. His image disappears. Lana kisses the Mirror Warp fragment, it shatters in her hands, and she tells her father good-bye. Kevin walks over to Lana, hugs her, and tells her that her father is a strong man and will be okay. Lana asks "Guess I should look on the bright side, huh, Kevin? At least I got to spend a day with him."
Misc. Tidbits (2:25 PM - 2:27 PM)
"In Search of the King" is the twelfth Captain N episode script that Jeffrey Scott wrote and the twelfth episode that aired.
I first saw this episode on NBC, then on The Family Channel, and finally on "Captain N & The Video Game Masters".
Interesting Notes (Tuesday, January 21, 2003, 9:40 AM - 11:06 AM)
The title is white with quotes around it.
Kevin and Simon share a room. Duke sleeps under Kevin's bed.
Simon sometimes takes mudpack beauty sleeps.
The Palace of Power has a large, blue, circular computer room. In the middle of it is a purple, circular pole with a warp to Excalibur (and other worlds, too).
The Palace of Power has a long dining table.
Notice how, after she takes the mirror out of Simon's coat, Lana looks like she's about to try to contact Mega Man and Kid Icarus. When Kevin takes the mirror away from her, Lana looks offended momentarily. Heh, heh.
Videoland has a Garbage World, where, apparently, all of the trash in Videoland goes.
There are three instances of Lana pressing her hands against a mirror in this episode: her bedroom mirror in the first scene and the Mirror Warp twice in the final scene.
Great Lines (9:40 AM - 11:18 AM)
Lana: "Oh, it's been another long day, father, but all is safe in Videoland. If you should ever return, I hope it will be to a world of peace. But until then, good night, father, wherever you are. I love you."
Simon: "The worst part about being a handsome hunk of hero is having to get up early to save the day."
Kevin: "Well, leave it to Simon to find a mirror."
Simon: "Hey! I know that guy!"
Kevin: "Of course, you do. He's your King."
Simon: "Oh. So, that's where I've seen him before. Huh?"
Mirror Kevin: "Hey, Simon, uh, how about a turkey sandwich?"
Mirror Simon: "No, thanks. I'll have a BLT. Bat, Lettuce, and Tomato - my favorite. Guess I'll have it to go!"
Mega Man: "Uh, I guess, now that you're back, Your Majesty, you'll be showing all of Videoland's mega villains who's the boss."
Mirror King: "I'll do better than that. I'll invite them all to the party!"
King Charles: "Seems like a nice, young boy."
Lana: "Oh, that's Simon. He's okay."
King Charles: "But I haven't got a mirror."
Kevin and Lana: "Simon!"
Simon: "Breakfast is...ruined!"
Simon: "Stop it! Simon Belmont is a respectable hero, not a dog's breakfast."
Mirror Simon: "Give it up, Kid Ludicrous. No one is as handsome as Simon Belmont."
Mega Man: "The party's over, you Nasty Team. We know all about you."
Mirror King: "Well, if you know all about us, then you know we're going to...get you. Get them!"
Lana: "At least you're safe, father. It's best for Videoland this way."
King Charles: "No. I can't let you do this for me."
Lana: "Oh, no! Father, why?!"
King Charles: "It's better this way, Lana. You have a long life ahead of you, and Kevin is doing a fine job defending the kingdom."
Lana: "But I'll never see you again!"
King Charles: "Never say never, my child. If there is another way out, I'll find it. Good-bye, my little princess!"
Lana: "Good-bye, father!"
Kevin: "Your father's a strong man, Princess. He'll be okay."
Lana: "Guess I should look on the bright side, huh, Kevin? At least I got to spend a day with him."
Dumb Lines (9:52 AM - 11:18 AM)
Simon: "Oh, this is ridiculous. You can't reach the end of a rainbow. The closer you get, the farther away you are."
Huh? While I do guess that the only end to a rainbow is in the sky itself, just what does Simon mean here? How can you get farther away from something by getting closer to it?
Lana: "Look! We've found the end of the rainbow!"
The reason that this line is dumb is because Lana says it after 1) they've found the sign marked "THE END OF THE RAINBOW", 2) run through the warp, and 3) slid down the rainbow to its end. The way Lana looks behind her and up at the rainbow and then says this line makes her sound incredibly dense.
Sick Moments (10:13 AM)
Mirror Simon likes to eat bat sandwiches.
Rant (Wednesday, January 22, 2003, 9:10 AM - 11:54 AM, 7:28 PM - 10:58 PM; Thursday, January 23, 2003, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, 8:50 PM - 8:53 PM; Friday, January 24, 2003, 9:48 PM - 11:59 PM)
Mother Brain isn't in this episode. Odd, considering that this series is about the war against her. But this episode does deal with the search for the King of Videoland, so I can understand MB and company being put on the back burner for this one episode. Anyway, I wanna get to complaining about the bad stuff, so let's get the good stuff out of the way first:
This is a Lana episode, so that's a big plus in my book right away.
We get to see Lana interact with her father.
Lana talking to her picture of her father is a nice continuity touch (see "Kevin in Videoland"). If this episode was the season finale, it would seem like things have come full circle, and it would have made a great lead-in to the Season 2 premiere. But it wasn't the season finale.
There are some nice dramatic moments in this episode, particularly the ending.
I like the villainous N Team, especially Mirror Lana. They're described as being "devilish" (a religious reference!) three times in this episode (twice by the narrator and once by the King).
The N Team doesn't goof off in this episode. The mission starts almost right away.
The outer space view of Excalibur looks the same as it did in "Nightmare on Mother Brain's Street".
I like the giant computer room with the warp. It can connect at least to Excalibur and CastleVania - and presumably to every other world as well. Too bad that this wasn't thought up earlier and made the warp room that the N Team goes to in every episode, when they're about to leave on a mission.
Now for the bad.
In case you're not familiar with it, I'm going to tell you now. This episode is a rip-off of the original "Star Trek" episode, "Mirror, Mirror". No, I didn't ask Jeffrey Scott about it. So, how do I know? Here's what Jeffrey Scott told me in an interview on Saturday, January 26, 2002:
"So I'd say I'm a fan of the original Star Trek, and the subsequent movies with Kirk & Company."
Add to that Kevin's reference to "The Changeling" in "Simon the Ape-Man", and it's pretty clear where Jeffrey Scott got the idea for this episode. But the universe in "Mirror, Mirror" is a separate, legitimate universe. Jeffrey Scott took the idea and made it literally a "mirror universe". Bad, bad move.
The basic premise of this episode - that there's a world on the other side of our mirror - is completely absurd. Everybody knows what a reflection is (except maybe some Romanian gypsies) and that it has no life of its own. But even if we accept that there is a mirror world where our reflections live, shouldn't the only difference be that all of the images are reversed? Wouldn't our reflections do the exact same things that we do? Wouldn't the Mirror King do in Videoland the same things that the King does in the Mirror Warp? Not according to Jeffrey Scott! His view is that the Mirror World can look completely different than Videoland, and the opposites can act independently of the N Team's movements. Apparently, the opposites just go along with being the N Team's reflections - except when they don't want to. Kevin's opposite can even be calling "Mega Man! Kid Icarus!" while "partying to the maximus" at the Palace. Also, almost everything is opposite in the Mirror World, such as good people being evil and dirty clothes being preferred over clean clothes (a serious health hazard, to be sure).
Besides this major flaw, there are many smaller errors:
How can Mirror King contact Lana through a mirror, if he's not in the Mirror World?
Kevin refers to the "last time" they thought they found Lana's father, but it was just a trick. This was never shown before, so it must have been an off-screen event (like so many other things in this series).
A rainbow has two sides, yet Kevin suggests that they go in four different directions to find the end of the rainbow!
How does Lana expect to signal the others? How does she expect Duke to signal the others? Sure, Simon might have something in his backpack, and Kevin could fire his Zapper into the air, but Lana and Duke have nothing!
Simon can't find the end of the rainbow, even though he had briefly looked at the sign marked "THE END OF THE RAINBOW", and the warp was later shown to be right next to the sign, so surely Simon would have seen it. Right?
Simon fails to recognize "the King", even though he had removed the hood from his head.
Why did Kevin feel the need to jump through the Mirror Warp? Walking would have been fine.
Why don't the N Team members see their opposites when they pass through the Mirror Warp the first time?
If the floor near the Mirror Warp looks the same in the reflection, then why wasn't it there on the other side of the warp?
Is Kevin's opposite from a Mirror Earth or something?
How can a piece of cloud be picked up?
Kevin says of the Mirror World, "I've never played this world before." Well, duh! It's another universe! Okay, to be fair, Kevin might not know that. But still, it's not in any video game! This episode is based on a made-up world!
The King has a picture of Lana in his tree hut. How'd he get it? Was it taken when the King was kidnapped and tossed into the Mirror Warp with him? Maybe it's a painting. Lana is wearing a green-and-yellow shirt or dress in the picture, which is a nice change from her normal attire.
Simon fails to recognize the real King.
Why does the King call Videoland "the real world"? Is he implying that the Mirror World isn't real?
Jeffrey Scott seems to be unable to decide what to call the mirror universe. Yes, it is a separate universe, since it's said that the N Team's reflections "leap into Videoland". Despite that, the place is called "the Mirror World" and "the Mirror Warp" (which is also the name of the passage, making things even more confusing). Also, the reflections are called "reflections", "opposites", "mirror image opposites", and "counterparts". Note to Jeffrey: settle on your terminology before you write your scripts!
Mega Man and Kid Icarus fail to recognize the opposites as imposters. Besides behaving rather rudely, there are also the reversed "N" on Mirror Kevin's jacket (sometimes) and the different voices that give this away.
Yeah, different voices. The opposites speak, for the most part, differently than the real characters do. Mirror King and Mirror Simon sound very different from the real King and real Simon. Mirror Kevin and Mirror Lana sound somewhat like the real Kevin and real Lana. Mirror Lana seems to have a gutteral, growling voice sometimes, but it's not consistent. I don't know if Venus Terzo did the voice (probably, since it would have been inconvenient and likely too expensive to cast six other speakers), but she sounds kind of like Blackarachnia on "Beast Wars: Transformers", who Venus Terzo would start voicing seven years later in 1996.
Also, regarding Mirror King's voice, he disguises his voice to sound like the King at the beginning of the episode. Later, after the N Team's opposites escape from the Mirror Warp, he changes to his normal voice. However, he says "and do some rockin' 'n' rollin'" in a completely different voice, which is weird.
The featured song in this episode is "Dancing With Myself" by Billy Idol - sung by someone else, of course. I don't understand why this song is playing. The opposites aren't dancing with the real characters. For example, Mirror Lana isn't with Lana. So, no one is dancing with themselves. I suppose that they played it due to the "mirror's reflection" lyric, but they probably weren't aware of something: this song is about masturbation. That's right! There's a song about masturbation in the "Captain N: The Game Master" cartoon series!
I mean really. You'd think that the "love vibration" lyric would clue them in. Maybe it did. Maybe they decided to cover the song and stick it in the episode to see if they could "sneak it past" everyone. Who's the pervert now, ya wimpy fanboys?!
Furthermore, they changed the lyrics. They removed the Tokyo and London references. Here are some of the lyrics:
"All the girls are tinted yellow,
and I love that town-a-go-go.
With a record selection
and a mirror reflection,
I'm a-dancing with myself."
Girls tinted yellow? Town-a-go-go? WTF?
How can Mirror Kevin jump onto the dining table and cause all of the food to be knocked into the air and land in a pile on the floor?
Why are Mega Man and Kid Icarus surprised at the "N Team" and the "King" dancing with the villains. They had already been dancing with them for a while. It sure took them a long time to ask "Huh?" and "What?".
The King calls Simon a "young boy". Simon looks older than that to me. Wouldn't "young man" be more appropriate?
Kevin has the idea to call Mega Man and Kid Icarus to "the Palace's mirror". I assume that the Palace of Power has more than one mirror. Anyway, shouldn't Mirror Kevin be that one that gets Kevin's message?
How can Kevin's full image appear in the Palace's mirror, when he was holding Simon's much smaller mirror?
What's that weird thing that we see in the mirror briefly while Kevin's combing his hair?
How could Mirror Simon possibly be convinced that Kevin is Mega Man and Kid Icarus' reflection?
If Kevin was holding Simon's mirror, then how could he clench his fists in the Palace's mirror?
Why does the N Team have such a strong vacuum warp? Surely, someone would accidentally get sucked in while throwing out the trash.
I don't know if this is the writer's fault, the animators' fault, or both, but only the human opposites are tied up and taken to the Mirror Warp. Mirror Duke isn't taken. Yet, when the elastic band surrounds them, he's suddenly there. My explanation is that someone couldn't figure out how to get Mirror Duke, who's so much shorter than the others, tied up, but he needed to be sent through the Mirror Warp, so that Duke could return to Videoland, so he was stuck in at the crucial moment, and whoever was involved hoped that the audience wouldn't notice. Well, guess what. I noticed.
The whole idea of taking them to the Mirror Warp being a trap set by the opposites seems tacked on. Did the opposites communicate with each other through mirrors at some point (or prior to coming to Videoland) and agree to do this?
How could Mirror Kid Icarus fire an arrow through the Mirror Warp? It would have required that Kid Icarus also fire an arrow through the warp, but this doesn't appear to have happened.
Why does Mirror Mega Man yell "Grab them!", when the opposites are caught in an elastic band and can't possibly grab Mega Man and Kid Icarus?
How could the King and the N Team members not get slammed by their opposites or repelled by the elastic band when they escaped from the Mirror World?
It's awfully convenient that the rainbow appears for Mirror Lana to grab onto, and Lana falls, right at the worst possible moment. I smell a plot (device) to get the King back into the Mirror World.
Lana is shown to be pressing her hands against the Mirror Warp, then she's shown to walk over and press her hands against the Mirror Warp again.
How is it that Mirror King can pull Lana away by her neck, and Lana is strong enough to pull him through the Mirror Warp, but Mirror Lana can't break free from the King? Are their strengths reversed, too?
Why didn't Kevin and/or Simon help the King to push Mirror Lana through the Mirror Warp? That way, the King could stay in Videoland.
Why does Kevin look like he's about to protest what the King was about to do?
Where did the rest of the opposites go when Lana and Mirror King were struggling? Wouldn't they try to help him defeat Lana?
Why is there lightning and thunder in the Mirror Warp?
How can the King being in the Mirror World with his opposite destroy the Mirror Warp? If anything, wouldn't it have farther-reaching consequences, like destroying both Videoland and the Mirror World?
Why would the piece of mirror that Lana's holding suddenly shatter?
With most of the N Team away from Videoland for over one day, wouldn't Mother Brain try to take over Videoland? She's got that "all-knowing computer mind mirror", you know. She's given only two mentions.
In addition to the plotholes, there are numerous animation errors in this episode. More than usual, I think. Here are the ones that I've found:
In her bedroom, Lana starts out barefoot and wearing a nightgown, her tiara, and her earrings. When it shows the close-up of Lana's hands holding her picture of her father, Lana's wearing her bracelets and regular shirt. Then she switches back to her nightgown and no bracelets. When it shows her from the back, standing in front of her mirror, Lana's suddenly wearing her boots. When she presses her hands against her mirror, Lana's wearing her regular shirt, her tiara, her bracelets, and her necklace.
In Kevin and Simon's bedroom, Lana starts out barefoot and wearing her necklace and a pink robe. Kevin starts out wearing his pajamas. When Simon looks at his reflection in the mirror, Lana's suddenly lost her necklace and gained her boots, and Kevin is just finishing putting his jacket on! How did Kevin get changed so quickly? Did he strip in front of Lana and Simon, or did he simply put his clothes on over his pajamas? When it shows Kevin and Lana, Lana's regained her necklace.
The "N" on Mirror Kevin's jacket, from our perspective, should be on the left and reversed. However, in addition to like that, it's also shown to be regular and on the right and regular and on the left.
The gold appears and disappears from Lana's necklace.
Mirror Simon picks up the piece of cloud out of nowhere.
The hair color of the woman in the village changes from dark brown to light brown. Her clothes change from brown to pink.
In the overhead views of the dining table, Mirror Kevin's jacket is colored all orange.
When she backs up after Mirror Simon cuts in on her dance, Mirror Lana's legs become transparent briefly.
When Mega Man and Kid Icarus react in surprise to the dancing, Mega Man's eyebrows are purple, like his mask.
When Simon asks the King how he likes his eggs, his lips don't move.
When Lana explains Simon to her father, she doesn't close her mouth between sentences. Not necessarily an animation error, but it's an interesting observation of Lana's speaking habits.
When Kevin says "The King and N Team in the Palace are imposters", the voice has a certain effect, like when he's heard through the mirror. But that line was given while the Mirror World was shown, so his voice should have been clear.
The floor present at the Mirror Warp on Excalibur is also now present at the Mirror Warp in the Mirror World, whereas, earlier in the episode, there was dirt there. In fact, the rock that the King and the N Team members hide behind wasn't there earlier, and the Mirror Warp is now smaller in the Mirror World than it was earlier. The scenery surrounding the Mirror Warp on Excalibur is different now than it was earlier, too. It even changes during this one scene alone.
When Kevin fires at Mirror Mega Man and Mirror Kid Icarus, his Zapper is colored blue and grey.
Kevin and Simon stand up to fight Mirror Mega Man and Mirror Kid Icarus, but then they're crouching again.
When the elastic band surrounds the opposites, the blue on Mirror Lana's boots changes to pink.
The King's sword keeps switching between his left and right sides.
When Lana presses her hands against the Mirror Warp and yells "Father!", she's standing on dirt, rather than the floor that's there before and after?
As Lana struggles to get to the Mirror Warp, the normally-white part of her skirt is colored blue.
When Kevin hugs Lana, part of her bracelet on her left arm disappears briefly.
At the very end of the episode, the scenery where the Mirror Warp used to stand is completely different than anything that we'd seen earlier.
I'm sure that there are more animation mistakes that I've missed, too.
Lesson: Be grateful for the time that you can spend with family.
This episode is pretty bad. Yeah, it's got some nice dramatic moments, but it spends too much time on the opposites and fails to answer some questions, such as: How long has the King been missing? What's the King's name? (We don't find out until next season. I included it with the quotes for convenience.) How is Lana doing, filling in for her father as Ruler of Videoland? Background on Lana's childhood would have been nice, too: What are her hobbies? How did her father train her to fight for freedom? Why is her father so old? What happened to her mother? None of this is addressed. We really don't learn anything at all.
Add to that all of the plotholes and animation mistakes, and this episode definitely approaches the bottom of the Captain N Season 1 barrel.
As for what to cut out, the turkey sandwich / BLT / Mirror Duke stealing Kid Icarus' food parts look dumb enough to be good candidates. Removing them would have freed 37 seconds. The card game between Mirror King and the skeleton would go, too, freeing an additional 18 seconds. Those 55 seconds could have been better used for more conversation between Lana and her father to establish some backstory on Lana.
This episode, bad as it is, is pretty important. Vital, even. Still, think how much better it could have been. The stupid Mirror World could have been done away with, and the King could have been held prisoner on Excalibur itself. The evil King and evil N Team could have been doppelgangers created by Malkil or something. But I guess this would have been to much for Jeffrey Scott to handle. Better to stick to the "lame rip-off" ideas. Yeah.
All in all, this episode was one of the worse ones of Season 1 (despite "focusing" on Lana, which it didn't, really). The N Team's opposites (especially Mirror Lana) make it watchable. They and the fact that this episode is important to the overall plot of the series saves it from the level of "Mr. and Mrs. Mother Brain" and "Wishful Thinking".
Usefulness ratings:
Kevin: 3 (guessing where the King is, contacting Mega Man and Kid Icarus, fighting Mirror Mega Man and Mirror Kid Icarus)
Lana: 0
Simon: 1 (fighting Mirror Mega Man and Mirror Kid Icarus)
Mega Man: 2 (defeating the villains, bringing the opposites to the Mirror Warp)
Kid Icarus: 1 (giving his bow and arrow to Mega Man)
Duke: 0
The running total usefulness ratings so far are:
Kevin: 47 (12 episodes)
Lana: 9 (12 episodes)
Simon: 21 (12 episodes)
Mega Man: 14 (12 episodes)
Kid Icarus: 21 (12 episodes)
Duke: 14 (12 episodes)
That's the end of my review of "In Search of the King". Next episode - "Happy Birthday, Megaman"!