In "The Deep Freeze", Omi holds up a carrot asking if anyone wants to make a snowman - which makes sense in context, but due to how Omi is holding it, the grin and his small figure which makes the carrot look huge in comparison.
In "The Demon Seed", Omi is gloating over his chess victory won all by himself (at the expense of his friends who never even got to play), and mistranslates the phrase "I'm on fire", resulting in this funny little gem:
Omi:(pumps fist) Whoo! Yes! Yes! (shakes hips) I am in heat!
Omi's social ineptitude in the first episodes, lack of street smarts, and habit of butchering slangs qualify him for this.
Dojo's attempts to sound western as he tries to find the Sapphire Dragon are awkward, more so when everyone seems to have just left the temple. He eventually slaps his cowboy hat onto the ground in frustration.
As this person points out in this analysis, Omi is using his prideful behavior to cover his abandonment issues and was legitimately heartbroken when Raimundo betrayed the team and even after he joins back up, is legitimately scared Rai doesn't mean it, only coming to trust him again in the original series finale.
In "Hannibal's Revenge", Jack is convinced that the other antagonists have recorded messages to flatter him, when in reality it's just the heroes dressed in Paper Thin Disguises. Was this a sign of Jack's genuine stupidity or is he so desperate for approval that he doesn't care that it's fake?
Audience-Alienating Ending: The two-part finale is considered rather disappointing due to introducing a huge Continuity Snarl with the revelation that Chase and Guan participated in the war against Wuya, having the main conflict be solved via a Cosmic Retcon that restores the status quo, and concluding the series with a Bolivian Army Ending where every villain, including ones that shouldn't exist at this point (Mala Mala Jong, Gigi, Chase's green monkeys), banding together to assault the Xiaolin Temple. Also, the Big Bad of season 3- Hannibal Roy Bean- is treated as a side character and his ultimate Evil Plan is never revealed, cementing his status as a wasted effort.
Awesome Music: The opening theme is one of the best examples of combining Chinese flutes with some electronic beats. Observe!
Base-Breaking Character: Despite being the main character and having the most focus out of any Xiaolin warrior, some people hate Omi due to all his flaws, mainly his obnoxious arrogance, which gets exacerbated as the series progresses. Others think that he's not that bad, as his morals often outweigh his faults and he does display maturity every once in a while.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The ending of "Judging Omi". Following his journey into the Yin-Yang World, Omi is turned evil by the Yin Yo-yo, which is bizarrely illustrated by the dots on Omi's forehead being rearranged into a different pattern. This is then followed by two even bigger BLAMs: Chase randomly proclaims that "the prophecy has been fulfilled", despite said prophecy not having been mentioned or even foreshadowed at any prior point during the season. Finally, the episode ends with the Earth being split in half. None of these plot points are explained or have any significance for the rest of the arc.
Demographically Inappropriate Humour: From the episode "The New Order", after a battle with Chase's jungle cats that are now under Jack's control:
Clay: Well it's not too bad, most of the Wu are still here. Raimundo: Not too bad? It was a disaster! I got cat spit in places that I don't even like to think about!!
Fanfic Fuel: Due to the finale ending with Raimundo being promoted to Shoku Warrior and Xiaolin Chronicles already having the rest of the monks be promoted to the same rank. There are a lot of fanworks centering around him working around on being the new team leader.
"Mala Mala Jong" marks the point where the series starts taking itself more seriously without losing its humor, the episodes start becoming more interconnected, as well as letting the show become much more character and arc-centric.
The final season is more favourable for developing the Xiaolin monks as they hone their skills and compete for who becomes leader of the group. Their elemental powers get expanded and they gain new Wudai weapons as well. The season/show concludes with Raimundo becoming leader after receiving several character focus episodes and completing his story arc in the show.
Raimundo's throwaway line in "Chameleon" (season 1, episode 6) - "Maybe I'm missing the point. We're never gonna go after each other!" The line becomes darkly ironic when both him and Omi pull a temporary Face–Heel Turn later on; Raimundo at the end of season 1, and Omi at the end of season 2.
When Omi had the job to guard Dojo when he was about to turn evil, one of his attempts to convince him to release him from the box was by disguising as, among other things, his mother, something Omi doesn't fall for, knowing that he's an orphan. The joke becomes a lot less funny after the episode "Omi Town", where he falls for a real parent trap and is overall one of the biggest woobie moments for him.
In Pandatown, Raimundo tricks Pandabubba's goons replacing the Shen Gong Wu in the vault for random junk items. When they present them to Pandabubba, they take out a pair of sneakers calling them "shoes of running real fast". The next season would introduce the Fancy Feet Wu giving the wearer super speed.
Inferred Holocaust: Preventing the world from ending or plunging into darkness is a recurring threat the monks face. But when things do end up taking a turn for the worse, the show doesn’t really address the consequences or implications outside of the casts’ reactions.
The first season finale has Wuya regain her physical form and promptly conquer the world. While it’s not shown explicitly, there is a scene where she orders her minion to send the United Kingdom’s prime minister an ultimatum to surrender or she’ll sink the island to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
"Enter the Dragon" confirms the existence of Atlantis in the show's universe – which Dojo sank during his last evil phase. Atlantis is later shown intact and empty in "Dangerous Minds", but now infested with a horde of giant spiders. This could possibly explain the lack of inhabitants, if they somehow managed to survive the previous catastrophe.
"The Deep Freeze" has Jack Spicer control of the Lunar Locket, which enables him to control the Moon's phases and movement. He loses it to the episode's villain who then proceeds to plunge the Earth into a deep freeze after causing the Moon to eclipse the Sun. Only the temple is shown buried underneath ice and snow, with the rest of the planet’s status left mostly to speculation.
The second season finale has Chase Young bringing Omi to the Heylin side and that somehow leads to the Earth shattering in half, which remains so throughout the finale. In addition, the planet is apparently turned into a lethal world filled with volcanoes erupting and people regularly terrorized by Chase.
The series finale has Jack Spicer taking over the world in a future timeline. The main cast are thrown into what’s implied one of many prisons and the monks have been forced to fight into their old age for Jack’s amusement. The rest of the world is considered to be a dystopia because of him as well.
As the show progressed, Omi became more egotistical and arrogant, began to patronize his teammates (particularly Raimundo), and ends up causing more problems than fixing them. Yet he's still a young child who goes through quite a lot of Hell, particularly in the last season where he witnesses the death of his friends in a bad future timeline.
Raimundo is rather selfish and lazy, not to mention a jerk who outright admits he makes fun of Clay and Omi in one episode, then spends another one antagonizing Kimiko. But underneath his asshole tendencies is someone who fears to be not good enough and letting people down, not to mention his brief stint on the Heylin side is something he genuinely regrets doing.
Jack Spicer. A spoiled, rich teenager bent on world domination, whose first encounter with the monks is ordering his robotic minions to 'mince' them. He has no problems taking advantage of people’s trust, manipulating others, and throwing allies (even Chase) underneath the bus to save his own skin. That being said, because he gradually morphs into the series' punching bag, one can’t help but feel sorry for him.
Once the greatest hero to have ever lived, Chase Young was tempted into drinking the Lao Mang Lone soup which gave him eternal youth in exchange for corrupting his soul to the Heylin side. Betraying his benefactor, Chase spent 1500 years honing his own skills while maintaining his youthful appearance. Seeking world domination, Chase saw interest in Omi, whom he constantly helped deal with common threats earning the young monk's trust. Chase eventually tricked Omi into defecting to his side by trapping Master Fung into the Ying-Yang world, forcing Omi to use the Ying Yo-Yo to rescue him, unaware that his good chi will be left behind. Even after Omi reverts back to the Xiaolin side, Chase took advantage of Omi's adherence by showing him a vision of his Heylin self pledging his loyalty to him, causing Omi to reluctantly remain by his side. When the Xiaolin monks defeats him in a showdown, Chase accepts his loss and releases Omi from his grasp. A ruthless, self-serving yet charismatic and honorable Heylin warlord, Chase Young stood out as one of the Xiaolin's greatest foe, never being truly defeated in the end despite suffering numerous setbacks.
"The Black Vipers": Jesse Bailey is Clay's younger sister and leader of the titular Black Vipers. Holding resentment towards Clay for being the favored child, Jesse researches the Shen Gong Wu on her own, intending to use them to force Clay into a Xiaolin Showdown. After imprisoning the monks, Jesse allows them to escape while tailing them to the newly revealed Sphere of Yun. When Jack Spicer takes over her biker gang, Jesse and Jack trick the monks into revealing all their Shen Gong Wu, only for Jesse to betray Jack and steal them all for herself while still getting back control over her gang. After finally defeating Clay, Jesse realizes how much she cared for her older brother, and willingly sends nearly all the stolen Shen Gong Wu back to the monks, though keeping the Wings of Tinabi for herself.
Memetic Molester: According to some parts of the fandom, Chase Young is this to Omi. Not helped with lines like these:
Never Live It Down: The monks beating up Jack Spicer at the beginning of "Time After Time" has definitely soured a portion of the fandom's opinion of them. It doesn't help that said beatdown comes after Jack had already conceded defeat and ends with them presenting 'mementos' to Master Fung, which included – among other things – a chunk of hair Clay ripped off Jack’s scalp.
One-Scene Wonder: Klofange. Despite only appearing in one episode, he is one of the most memorable characters in the series. The fact that he turned out to be an Anti-Hero who has an ruthless and violent demeanor also helps in that regard.
Rooting for the Empire: Later on, every time Jack Spicer wins just feels better, with how much the guy suffers in one episode.
The Scrappy: Hannibal Roy Bean is the most hated character in the series, for being a Gonk and for being an underwhelming villain with undefined motives who isn't as invincible as the narrative tries to make him look. This is why he's the only major villain not to appear in Xiaolin Chronicles.
Seasonal Rot: With the exception of the monks becoming Wudai Warriors and receiving their Wudai Weapons, the final season is considered the weakest of the show’s three seasons. This is due to several reasons:
The previous ensemble of villains was replaced with a new one named Hannibal Roy Bean. Throughout the season he’s referred to be an even worse threat than Chase and Wuya – although he’s never shown being particularly dangerous or getting the chance. Hannibal also lacks the attractiveness the former two have or the charm Jack’s known for and ended up being one of the most hated characters in the series.
The series was very meticulous about keeping careful track of which characters had which Shen Gong Wu from episode to episode in the first two seasons. They stopped keeping track in the last season, with one side stealing several Wu from the other at once and the show never mentioned which were stolen. It became difficult to stay invested in the show when Wu would just randomly appear for either side.
And finally, a disappointing ending riddled with plotholes that ultimately undoes itself via Cosmic Retcon.
Ships That Pass in the Night: The Chase/Kimiko or Chamiko pairing is fairly popular, despite the fact that they rarely interact with each other outside of battle and are never seen on screen in the same frame. In fact, the only time they had any significant interaction was when Kimiko disguised herself as Jack in order to fight in his place and Chase's line about liking her perfume implies that he knows he's actually Kimiko, but in her normal form, they don't have any significant interaction.
Squick: Jack uses the Tongue of Saiping to communicate with underworld creepy crawlies and orders them attack Omi, who accidentally swallows some of them.
Despite being the one who defeated Wuya, created the Shen Gong Wu, and founded the Xiaolin Temple, Grand Master Dashi appears four times in the show – all of them flashbacks. Beside this and the occasional mentioning from characters present, there's not much known about Dashi. He doesn't receive a backstory explaining his motives and personality like others have gotten.
Wuya is a major character in the show, though her presence begins to diminish when she's replaced as the main villain season two onward. As with Grand Master Dashi, aside from being a powerful Heylin witch, there's no background into who she is or where she came from. The show has alluded to her knowing Dashi and Hannibal Roy Bean on a more personal level, but with no further elaboration.
Jermaine is probably the epitome of this trope: he was introduced in season one, immediately had great chemistry with the monks and Jack Spicer, and had the promise of being a recurring character. When he does return in season two, he's achieved the rank of Wudai Warrior and has been trained by Chase Young. Unfortunately, his second appearance is mostly overshadowed by Omi needing to learn a lesson (again) and he's quickly sent back to New York, never to be heard from again.
Clay is an interesting case: whereas the other monks would receive several episodes focusing on them, he receives the least amount of development and largely remains absent in the show. Interestingly enough, it has been implied several times he's got some hidden depths, as seen in his hobbies and the occasional insightful observations. Furthermore, his focus episodes showcase how dysfunctional his family is, which could give his calm and quiet personality a whole new interpretation.
The show has made several references to the casts' families. In particular, the members of Clay, Kimiko, and Jack Spicer's families have at least one appearance in the show. However, none of them had a substantial role to give an insight to the home life of the monks or Jack Spicer.
Now and then, there are Shen Gong Wu that are outright malicious (the Sapphire Dragon), used to seal an entity (Sibini and the Mosaic Scale), or could be combined to form a particular evil antagonist (Mala Mala Jong). Furthermore, the episode "The Last Temptation of Raimundo" shows Wu becoming sentient after the passing of the Heylin Comet. An exact reason behind this behavior is never really explained or explored.
When Omi becomes evil during the season two arc, Chase proclaims the prophecy has been fulfilled. Said prophecy has never been spoken off before – not even by Chase himself – so it comes right out of the left field. Even worse, it's never referenced by him again for the remainder of the arc or series.
Hannibal Bean's master plan, which Chase Young hints involves something even worse than The End of the World as We Know It. Mentioned in the episode he is introduced in and forgotten for the rest of the series, leading to Bean becoming The Scrappy as a result.
The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman is a MacGuffin that can grant its possessor any wishes. Obtained early on by Hannibal, lost to the monks two episodes later and used only once before the end of the series, in a rather inconsequential wish to boot.
Kimiko is the only one of the group that doesn't turn against the Dragons at any point (technically - Clay was possessed so it wasn't really his own actions) which seems a loss since everyone else had a chance to be a bad guy. She gets a 10 second turn due to the Ying Yang Yo Yo but it is undone before the Showdown even ends.
Wuya and Raimundo's relationship throughout the series isn't expanded upon. One would think that after Raimundo turns against her and seals her away, there would be some friction or animosity between the two, particularly Wuya. Wuya would more than likely want revenge on Raimundo as a result, as opposed to just world domination. Instead they barely interact with one another and the few times they do, it's treated as if their partnership never happened. Furthermore, when Wuya butters up Raimundo with him looking strong, he falls for it like he's never been manipulated by her in the past. When Wuya possesses the berserk, Shen Gong Wu adorned Raimundo, she never brings up their partnership or considers this as payback
Unintentionally Sympathetic: After a while it can be hard to enjoy the abuse Jack Spicer gets put through. While he's undoubtedly done villainous things, his status as a character who's not good enough for either the good guys or the bad guys along with the focus on his insecurities makes it really easy to feel sorry for him. He's given enough Pet the Dog moments that it can look like build up to a Heel–Face Turn, but he never quite makes it.
Values Resonance: Before Wuya possesses Raimundo in "The Last Temptation Of Raimundo", Jack asks if this will make her "a he or a she", as he wants to make sure he's using the right pronouns. Many fans have commented on how this is an example of being respectful of another person's pronouns.
Kimiko, big time in Tangled Web and Return of Pandabubba. In the former, she is mercilessly teased for her temper and being the first Xiaolin warrior to lose a showdown, while in the latter she breaks down in tears after being violently rejected by her own father, who she does not know is currently under mind control.
Dojo in Master Monk Guan what with being the butt of everyone's jokes, called out for not helping the monks fight Jack's Wuya-Bots even though they've always known he's not exactly brave and he almost gets killed so Chase can use him as a soup ingredient.
, Omi is using his prideful behavior to cover his abandonment issues and was legitimately heartbroken when Raimundo betrayed the team and even after he joins back up, is legitimately scared Rai doesn't mean it, only coming to trust him again in the original series finale.