#lmk analysis

[sunburst-duo]

i call this the CMY/DEATH GHOSTS LIFE THEORY!!!

its in the image. everything you need to know is in the image. if you have questions then ask them... i shall answer to the best of my ability

[itsabouttimex2]

With just how thorough Sun Wukong, (often characterized by his bullheadedness and impulsive, reckless behavior) is in obtaining MK’s consent before applying this power seal to him, it might seem a little out of character, right?

But then, when you think about it…

It’s almost like he’s got first-hand experience having his body and powers tampered with and controlled without his own consent, huh?

[rainandthoughts]

How Macaque died (Season 5 spoilers)

@rika1991tr tagged me, and asked what it tells us about Macaque's death/ him and Wukong's fight.

So- this is for you :D

and...

*cracks knunckles*

OH BOY

To get to the bottom of this, we have to understand one thing:

Wukong and Macaque never stopped caring for eachother. Beheind all that hate in the first three seasons, they still cared for eachother (none of them dares to show it though)

Just look at how Macaque reaches out for Wukong- (godamnit)

So... what was that "something" Wukong was going to do, that he was warning Macaque about?

Well... Wukong was going to do THIS to Macaque:

Because as my dear friend @lu-zijing (they talked about it here) mentioned to me, there is chains here in Macaque death scene:

And not only that, thoughs chains look A LOT like the chains Tripitaka and Wukong put on LBD:

SO IN OTHER WORDS:

MK AND WUKONGS FIGHT ARE A PARALELL TO MACAQUE AND WUKONG'S FIGHT.

AND ALSO THIS LINE?

Nine headed demon: How did you know that spell? Who did you make a deal with?

Macaque: What deal?

So clearly Macaque has a power, tha he got from someone else, that he CANT control.

And what do we see here in this scene?

The chains broken (again thanks to Lu-Zijing for mentioning that to me), but the shadowpowers OUT OF CONTROL.

In other words: I higely doubt Wukong acutally killed Macaque.

Yes, they got into a fight, but Wukong just wanted to trap Macaque in chains, so he could talk him out of this fight (instead of fighting who used to be his closest compainion).

But... something went wrong. Because right after that line we saw this:

Meaning that Wukong (acdently), destroyed Macaques eye, causing Macaque to PANIC, resulting in Macaque over-using his shadowpowers and then...

...

And one last thing, I would like to point out-

In that same scene Macaque was laughing, and an pretty evil laugh at that.

Almost like... his shadow powers had "taken over".

So lets do the math, yea?

Super unstable shadowpowers + super unstable monkey + the only friend he has ever had "leaving" him =

Ha ha- not to mention Wukong isnt even wearing a circlet here, meaning it didnt even take place in JTTW-!! but thats another can of worms, I will talk about another day-

(lol, did you know I acutally somehow foresaw this in a fanfic-)

[unbreakable-hold]

LMK Theory Essay: Wukong was not actually the one who sent Macaque to the Underworld

From rewatching the show and especially its Shadowpeach scenes a few times, I've come to the conclusion that the showrunners purposefully presented the Shadowpeach Fight like an Ace Attorney case: things seem open-and-shut, but on closer inspection, the details unravel to a potentially grand turnabout.

By S5, the show leaves hints that Macaque's S3 montage-flashback of The Fight is false

By S5, we have three accounts of The Fight to examine: S2E7 (Shadow Play), S3E4 (The Winning Side), and S5E7 (Into the Pagoda).

Of the three flashbacks of The Fight, S3's is the most incongruous.

Let's compare:

S2E7 (Shadow Play)

Macaque's POV; no voiceovers

Visually: purple and yellow outlines on black

Vivid yellow silhouette indicating Wukong

Freeze frame of Macaque as purple on black, with one of him as a demonic and cackling skull

Shout out to @everlasting-shadow for these screencaps of the S2 flashback!

S3E4 (The Winning Side)

Macaque's POV; LBD narrating and Macaque's non-verbal voiceovers

Visually: series of quasi-stills with minimal movement; more expanded palette and textured as sketch renderings

Depicts Wukong relatively expressionless (mouth closed, barely frowning, eyes glowing golden) and Macaque with a yelling, determined face (irises visible and their normal colour)

Depicts Wukong wielding the golden staff (more on this later)

S5E7 (Into the Pagoda)

Wukong's POV; voiceovers from Shadowpeach

Visually: purple and yellow outlines on black

Vivid yellow silhouette indicating Wukong

Dialogue exchange has Wukong pleading Macaque stop with desperation; Macaque only cackles at him maniacally before shouting at Wukong's blow

While it should be self-evident at this point, it's worth highlighting the main discrepancies between S3E4's flashback and the other two:

Visual differences (in colour palette and presentation)

Characterisation differences in Wukong (his stoicness in S3's flashback VS his yelling desperation in the S5 flashback's voiceover)

Characterisation differences in Macaque (his determined expressions and gritted teeth showing presence of mind VS the purple-cackling-skull freeze frame in S2 and crescendoing cackling voiceover in S5)

Of the points to cash out, the one concerning Wukong's depiction is arguably the most interesting.

Consider the freeze frame of this animation used both in the S2E7 and S5E7 flashbacks – of a silhouette of Wukong with his trademark peach mask and, more subtly, his phoenix feather crown.

Screenshot courtesy of @everlasting-shadow!

The reuse of this animation is significant as S2E7's flashback was from Macaque's POV and S5E7's is from Wukong's – its repetition explicitly shows it being in both Macaque and Wukong's memories, thus corroborating it. It's then safe to say that this event, i.e. Wukong attacking Macaque in the eye, actually did happen.

However, the most important contradiction that animation poses to S3's flashback is the silhouette of Wukong's fists. Specifically, his fist reared back to attack Macaque in the eye.

Wukong is not holding his staff.

The silhouette of Wukong's claw is curled up in a fist, his 'knuckles' facing the camera. If he were wielding his staff, it would appear near-horizontally, i.e. incredibly obviously, to the viewer. His fist is also not drawn in such a way that he's plunging a staff into Macaque's eye. Either way, if a staff were present, it would be visible.

Recall as well that this animation occurred in both Macaque and Wukong's flashbacks. This means that, unless proven otherwise:

Wukong did not land his blow on Macaque's eye using his staff.

But you've seen the theories and Shadowpeach fanfiction – plenty of people believe that Wukong gouged Macaque's eye with his staff.

I put forth that this was a deliberately engineered misconception. Or, as Wukong likes to say dramatically, misdirection.

I believe the showrunners purposefully made that golden Wukong animation extremely short-lived – a literal blink-and-you-miss-it – so that they could put two other red herrings could take front and centre:

Making MK mirror Wukong's pose (which incited Macaque to have the flashback) while MK wields the staff and Macaque obviously blocks it from hitting his eye [S2E7]

Showing a much clearer montage of a stern-to-expressionless Wukong wielding his staff in two separate stills: staving off Macaque's own shadow staff and when he rises from behind a defeated Macaque [S3E4]

The presentation of moment (1), especially in combination with Macaque's action and dialogue (blocking it right over his damaged eye, his remark "You really are just that bit too much like him") reinforces the impression that, since MK just reminded Macaque heavily of Wukong, that Wukong must have attacked him in the same manner. However, that falls apart upon closer inspection of that Wukong-silhouette sequence.

As for moment (2), that jars with the fact that the S2E7 and S5E7 flashbacks, which match up far more closely, contradict the flashback in which (2) occurs.

So, we have a contradiction in flashbacks, with S3E4's as the sore thumb. However, the matter of fact remains that that contradictory flashback was shown as having happened – as if Macaque was recalling his memories.

But Macaque also had the much more visceral flashback in S2E7, which is corroborated far better by Wukong's in S5E7.

What is the takeaway here?

A third party tampered with Macaque.

Consider these exchanges Macaque had in S5:

S5E9: Sacrifice

Xiangliu: Oho, that was quite a trick! That power. Who gave that to you? Who'd you make a deal with?

Macaque: A deal...?

With S5E9's exchange, the viewer is introduced to the possibility that Macaque has interacted with a third party, specifically to obtain considerable power—one that Macaque neither confirms nor denies.

This possibility turns very likely once we see in S5E10 (Harbinger) that Macaque's signature black-purple shadow powers are erratically infected into black-orange Chaotic powers.

By the end of the episode, Macaque also notices those same Chaotic powers electrifying the staff (which, perhaps not so incidentally, is also the object of contradiction in his flashbacks).

With the prominent implications in mind that Macaque, through some third party or external influence, has been infected or influenced by Chaotic power, recall this Shadowpeach exchange:

S5E1: Strings That Bind

Macaque: We have no idea who freed Azure from the Scroll. Are your old companions just—here again!? And you just—!

Wukong: What about you!? You just—come back, just—!

Macaque: (groans in exasperation)

This exchange here is interesting for multiple reasons.

First, it foreshadows a question that S5E9's exchange makes even more contentious: what happened when Macaque returned from the Underworld to the realm of the living?

Note once more that Macaque neither confirms nor denies anything about Wukong's question, implied or otherwise. What we do know of his revival is from the S3E4 flashback – the viewer is shown Lady Bone Demon freeing Macaque and subjecting him to her conditions.

However, as this analysis has already shown, S3E4's account of The Fight is unreliable.

Importantly, there is nothing to indicate that the rest of that same account, covering Macaque's return to the living, should be taken as more reliable.

It's fair to say that the circumstances of how Macaque returned to the living is, at this point in time pre-S6, an open question.

Second, and most interesting of all, the exchange brings up another question:

How much does Wukong actually know of Macaque's circumstances?

On the face of it, given S5E1's Shadowpeach interaction above, Wukong doesn't know how Macaque returned. Again, this is left an open question—one that Macaque, characteristically, is not prone to talking about for his own reasons, given his habits of being cryptic (S4 Special: The Emperor's Wrath) as well as sardonically self-aware about his habit.

S2E7: Shadow Play

Macaque: Sometimes you just gotta talk it out, y'know? D— I don't really do it. Maybe I should. But we'd be here all day, so—

On this matter, I think it is extremely valuable to examine Wukong's characterisation thus far as a point of comparison.

Wukong is shown as having a reliable memory and vocal awareness of how he has put away his enemies.

His exchanges with the Lady Bone Demon ("You should've stayed buried." it's so peak i ain't even gonna cite it ykyk), his regret of ever having kept her alive, and recalling how he didn't need extra power the last time he defeated her, showcase his confidence in his memory and his lack of hesitation voicing it.

Above all, Wukong's interaction with Azure—one of the old companions who mysteriously came back and is brought up in the S5E1 Shadowpeach exchange—is, I feel, the most enlightening to cover.

S4 Special: The Emperor's Wrath

Azure: [...] It's the whole reason I'm here at all!

Wukong: Wait, how are you here?

Azure: What!? What kind of question is that—you know exactly how I—

Wukong: No, here and now! I put you in the Underworld myself! How'd you get out? How'd you get the Scroll? I know for sure you didn't steal it... You couldn't have.

Wukong confirms it explicitly: he put Azure in the Underworld himself. This is not up for debate—it's what set the foundations of the mess of contradictions of Azure's return and how he obtained the Scroll of Memory. It also falls in line of how Wukong has not only a good memory of how he handled the Lady Bone Demon before, but also declares his memories regarding her previous defeat unabashedly.

So, given Wukong's behaviour regarding Lady Bone Demon and Azure, we have a baseline for how Wukong (1) recalls with good clarity how he defeats his enemies and (2) how open he is with his memory and treats it as reliable evidence.

Wukong's baseline behaviour when remembering defeating his adversaries directly contrasts how he is about Macaque's disappearance and return.

In S5E7, after being freed by Macaque from his flashback of the fight, Wukong is also shown quickly scrubbing a tear from his eye. However, when asked by Macaque about it, albeit cynically ("Fun memory?"), Wukong is not open about it ("No, what—what was that thing?").

Taking these in combination with his halting exchange with Macaque in S5E1 ("What about you!? You just—come back, just—!"), we have another discrepancy to deal with.

Wukong's typical certainty about his memory and incapacitating his enemies, including a former sworn brother, is entirely absent when it comes to Macaque.

The only thing we do hear from the usually confident, outspoken Monkey King about Macaque—the only sign we have to go off of about his awareness of Macaque's circumstances—is that he 'came back'.

No mention from where. And, given his frustrated and pointedly unusual stammering, likely with no idea of why or how.

But, by this point, we know Macaque leaving him is established as a sore point for Wukong in their argument in his Scroll of Memory ("Just run off like you always do!").

The most we can be certain about what Wukong knows is that, for him, Macaque—at some point—left him.

How does this bear on theory, then, that Wukong was not the one who sent Macaque to the Underworld?

One of the main points I hope to have made clear by now is this: if Wukong knows (or at least thinks he knows) something, he will show certainty. It stands to reason that if he doesn't know something (and is not trying to bluff about it), he won't show certainty. It is very likely that Wukong, at most, only knows that Macaque left him, but not that he was sent to the Underworld.

There is another point I want to make in support of this theory – bear with me as it takes some more elaboration.

For someone who supposedly knew he sent Macaque to his death, Wukong acts far too petty to him pre-S4.

As the show has repeatedly emphasised in establishing Monkey King's character, Wukong immensely values being immortal because of his driving fear of death. Macaque himself explicates this for the viewer.

S4 Special: The Emperor's Wrath

Macaque: [Wukong] always felt he had to be stronger. More immortal. He was so terrified of mortality. Went so far as to take his name out of the Book of the Dead. But even that wasn't enough.

Coupled with the running references to Wukong's immortality in the earlier seasons and him reveling in it ("If these things didn't make me immortal, they'd literally kill me!" "Why? A little water never hurt no— Ooh, right! Mortality."; "Spacesuits are for dorky mortals."; ), it suffices to say that he cares a lot about staying alive.

Moreover, Wukong wants the people he cares about to avoid death ("You guys have this thing called mortality" and the whole arc of him leaving MK alone to prepare for and face Lady Bone Demon himself).

Of course, as shown with Azure, Wukong is not above placing his enemies in the Underworld or the equivalent. Even when Demon Bull King returns from being trapped under the mountain by Wukong's hand, it can be inferred that he was, in fact, dead.

Pilot Special: Monkie Kid: A Hero is Born

DBK: Flesh... Bone... I have returned to the realm of the living!

As a slight but related sidebar, in the case of DBK, whose return Wukong witnessed in the form of a monkey-tailed bird, Wukong is remarkably nonchalant, leaving handling him and his family's destruction of the city fully to MK. This contrasts to how he is agitated and intervenes directly into Macaque stealing MK's powers – of course, Wukong had multiple reasons to intervene, but his attitude towards Macaque of general vindictiveness ("Ugh! Are you ever gonna get sick of living in my shadow!?") is a far cry from his casualness towards DBK's violence and antagonism.

The point of Wukong's vindictiveness towards Macaque, though, is a good segue back to the main argument: Wukong's pettiness towards Macaque pre-S4 is too out of place if he were actually aware he killed Macaque.

Of course, Wukong does not consider Macaque someone to care about in S1 to S3. Even at the beginning of S5, post-Scroll of Memory and peach popsicle passing, he snaps at Macaque of trying to help after being "a villain five minutes ago".

It's apparent from Wukong's meanness to Macaque, most evident in his barbs in S3 as Macaque is tracking them down, that he holds a particular resentment for Macaque that he does not hold for any other antagonist in the show. He's downright jovial about DBK in comparison, teases Spider Queen, only keeps things ruthless with LBD, and only makes the most of irritating Azure with cheeky antics as opposed to being outright petty.

However, given what we know of Wukong's fear of death and that he is aware of his and Macaque's long history, it does not make sense that Wukong would act as petty as he does while knowing he killed Macaque.

Famously, Wukong is shown to have forgotten himself when it comes to Macaque. But, his endless drive for power and, particularly, immortality, was out of a desire to protect the people he cares about. Specifically Macaque.

S4 Special: The Emperor's Wrath

Wukong: I just wanted to protect the people I cared about. To be strong enough...

[A golden projection of a past Wukong appears, followed by one of a past Macaque]

Wukong: I lost sight of why I was doing any of it. I know I made a few lifetimes' worth of mistakes, but...living them over and over again like this, I...

Here, Wukong admits to forgetting the initial reason why he pursued so much power – in the Scroll of Memory's flashback, Macaque shows some awareness in his chat with Wukong under the tree that Wukong enjoys the idea of being the strongest.

But I want to take care to highlight that this does not mean Wukong entirely forgot about Macaque, or repressed his memories to do with him so strongly as to basically have forgotten about him. As evidenced by the S3 Finale and S5E2, both Wukong and Macaque remember enough of their past that they can coordinate without words – that is the depths to which they know each other. Recall as well that their wordless communication in the S3 Finale happens before Wukong is trapped in the Scroll of Memory.

And, as the Ink Demon momentarily taunts Wukong with before trapping him, it is clear that Wukong does, beneath his pettiness thus far, care deeply for Macaque.

Of course, for reasons of screen time, narrative pacing, and so forth, MK, Macaque, and thus the viewer do not bear witness to all of the memories Wukong must have torn through to try to find a way out before being overwhelmed. So, though it is arguably telling that the memory of the Fight is not shown in what is essentially a highlight reel of Wukong's "few lifetimes' worth of mistakes" that mostly centre around Macaque, there isn't too much to go off of the fact that The Fight is not covered in that segment.

That being said, it is sensible to infer that Wukong relived his significant regrets in the Scroll, most of which focus on Macaque, and stayed to watch them unfold. You'll notice that the replays of Wukong's earliest memories in the segment cut off and rewind to the beginning very soon after they begin, indicating Wukong tore through the memory rapidly after the memory started. That same cut-off-and-rewind does not happen to the memories we see of Wukong and Macaque, including their one of their fight beneath Five Phases Mountain.

Despite being good with his memories usually, Wukong lingers considerably in his memories with Macaque. Ones that, given his overwhelm by the time MK and Macaque find him, cause him a lot of emotional pain (recall him scrubbing a tear after S5E7's flashback).

Of course, Wukong was happy to fight off Macaque and not check on his well-being in S1 to S3. However, that isn't the same as being so driven as to make sure Macaque is dead again like how Wukong did with LBD. Even while taunting Macaque as LBD's lackey, Wukong doesn't go out of his way to try to end or fight Macaque in the same manner. (A potentially interesting point of comparison is how he fights the Mayor, who is a true lackey of LBD's, whereas Wukong insists on the gang running away from Macaque instead of facing him).

Again, this is a subtle point I want to make about the incongruity of Wukong's behaviour.

Given Wukong's fear of death, his want to protect those he cares about, and him acting in a way that shows he remembers Macaque and has known him for a long time, including their history, it does not make sense he would both be aware he killed Macaque and be relentlessly petty like in S1 and S3

For Wukong's pettiness to make sense, it would have to be that, for the particular way in which Macaque wronged him:

Wukong knowingly sent him to the Underworld for it,

the grudge would warrant, upon Macaque's mysterious return, vindictive jabs about Macaque's inferiority ("Oh, good, I thought it was somebody important." "You always did give a sidekick kinda vibe." "On brand for you to have a worse version of everyone else's powers.")

not inspire Wukong to bother or want to expend true effort to incapacitate him (cf. Azure) or straight up end him (cf. LBD).

That is a particular cocktail of behaviours that, given Wukong's character, does not make sense.

And, unless I'm just limited in my creativity, I can't conceive of a type of wrong Macaque, or anyone, could do that would make that combination of behaviours make sense. It especially doesn't gel with someone of Wukong's nature, who employs his craftiness and strength mainly to protect the people he cares about. What would make sense, in combination with the other points about Wukong being not nearly as outspoken or direct as he otherwise always is about the villains he puts away, is that Wukong, to the best of his knowledge, did not put Macaque in the Underworld.

In summary:

On closer inspection, Macaque's S3 flashback of The Fight contradicts his own and Wukong's account of The Fight

Macaque was tampered with down to his magic by Chaos

Wukong, usually vocal about his memories of taking down his enemies, says nothing about taking down Macaque

The only thing Wukong does express about Macaque's circumstances is that Macaque, for unknown and unstated reasons, 'came back'

Wukong's established behaviour and characterisation means him knowingly putting Macaque in the Underworld doesn't make sense

Alternative considerations

Because I just like being thorough.

The planted memories are actually the S2 and S5 flashbacks, not the S3 one

This would require both Macaque and Wukong having been tampered with in some way.

This is possible considering

Macaque was tampered with in some way

The staff, previously having belonged to Wukong, and MK, born from the same stone as Wukong, are both shown to be linked to Chaos

Wukong showing a strange lack of questioning not only about Macaque, but also about accepting MK so quickly, which Macaque explicitly called out, and even Azure's appearance in the S4 special.

However, this alternative version of events would not controvert the overarching argument I make: Wukong was not actually the one who sent Macaque to the Underworld (or, at least, the one behind it).

[luciusdaskel]

Macaque Episode Analysis ramble

So I was talking with a friend about the possible psychological and therapeutic take aways from each episode of Lego Monkie Kid, since I love Psychology as a whole, and came to a conclusion. Macaque's episode has a fuck ton of things to analyze. Such as - Not every role model you meet will be a good person Trust your teachers Don't push yourself too hard otherwise you'll get hurt, manipulated and possibly die (let's be real, Macaque would've killed MK if Wukong didn't step in) And, grooming They will all be covered as I explain the episode in depth. When MK first meets Macaque he thought he was Wukong but even after Macaque declines, MK still had stars in his eyes of pure admiration. He clearly looks up to Macaque since he was just as cool if not cooler than Monkey King. Within the very next second Macaque started the process of grooming, after a tiny test to see how strong MK's admiration was. "[...] I thought uh Monkey King was training you. [...] but you can never have too many teachers, I'm sure Monkey King would agree. [...]"

Then Macaque starts to train MK. This shows the duality of Wukong's more MK's current strength and capabilities training versus Macaque's more destructive and dehumanizing training. With Wukong's "Patience and focus, step into the strike", clashing with Macaque's far more brash "You don't use a weapon, you ARE the weapon." This is effective at isolating MK from Wukong and his teachings because MK feels like he is actually powerful now.

As Wukong says, MK's body isn't strong enough to handle the power. This applies to real life too. If someone tries to weight lift something too heavy for their skills, they could get seriously hurt. This is the just magical equivalent of weight lifting. But because of Macaque's influence, MK fights back and isolates himself from Wukong, his trust worthy mentor. This leads Macaque to his final part of his plan, lure MK into a trap with his full hearted trust in him.

Then Macaque finishes his plan by stealing MK's powers. Let's be honest, with how things were going and by our impression of Macaque in this episode, Macaque would have likely killed MK if it weren't for Wukong. OR left MK to die with the staff pressing him against the moutain. What can we gather from this? Well, first and foremost, MK's admiration made him an easy target for manipulation, and what resulted was MK nearly dying from the ordeal. Check for "not ever role model will be a good person", since Wukong is ALSO a role model, but a good one because he doesn't literally groom MK. (More on that in a minute.) Wukong was right and MK does what he taught him then admits his wrongs by the end and opens up on why, which Wukong responds with "Hey, your heart is in the right place, kid. We can work on the rest." MK learned to trust Wukong when he was teaching him something because ultimately that's what saved his life. I'm not saying trust EVERY authority figure, but one that is teaching you something that you trust and know will not hurt you. Get yourself a Wukong for your MK. Macaque's training has lasting impact on MK, making him feel like he needs to give himself up for others. Before this episode, MK never had the need to sacrifice himself or really seemingly blamed himself for anything. Macaque's dehumanizing training left MK with lasting damage to his mental health and also led to MK not being able to pick up the staff, granted that was after Macaque gut-punched the power out of him.

Ouch...

So, I hear you ask, "Ok, you made your point about various things, here but what about grooming? That's a bold word." Yes, it IS a bold word, especially considering the fandom space being primarily for children. However, I will clarify that grooming does not only apply to sexual circumstances.

This is from the official Canada public safety about child grooming. Notice the none sexual tactics.

"Make promises of a better life" - Promises to make MK stronger/a better fighter/hero

"Cause divsion saying "your parents are too strict" or "your parents don't understand you"." - Macaque says "Other people are going to tell you to be patient. They are slowing you down." to directly conflict with Wukong's training, further dividing MK and Wukong.

"May threaten or pressure your child to do what they ask, which could lead to sextortion." - Might not be explicit but it is implied MK had some minor doubts by the end of the training and was literally pushed into battle. Also he threw MK into the weapons rack on their first session, showing that MK was "weak" and prompted him to take up his implicit challenge, his trick. It's unclear if Macaque ever threatened MK while training, but I doubt it and he just pressured him and manipulated his drive and determination.

One that people might argue is "Approach your child online by pretending to be someone they're not - may falsely identify themselves as a person from school, or someone their age, to build a connection." but I believe it applies. - Macaque comes in creating a show with his own kaiju form, either to make himself popular or to attract MK or Wukong. Regardless, he seemed uncomfortable at first but once he prompts up "But you can never have too many teachers", that's when he starts creating a false identity, a trustworthy teacher who knows better than Wukong. That's also neglecting the fact Macaque pretended to not be that smoke demon.

If that's not "pretending to be someone they're not", then I'm not sure what is. Also for specifically adult grooming,

More signs I feel apply are;

"The person becomes withdrawn, or they may seem troubled by something but unwilling to talk about it. Alternatively their emotions might become volatile." - When Wukong points out MK has been running around other mentors, MK sounds calm and cold, like he was withdrawn. Then when Wukong presses on, MK yells at him and doesn't talk about exactly what was bothering him other than "You just don't like that there's someone who actually teaching me what I need to know."

"You notice them using or wearing something new, that you didn't buy [or teach] for them." - I added teach because Wukong points out he never taught MK how to break a wall like that, and was concerned and upset that MK learned that too quickly. Within that same scene, after MK yells at him, that's when Wukong notices the new symbol on MK's jacket and frowns. That's when he knows MK is being groomed, and by who.

"Groomers often aim to isolate their targets from their family or friends." - Well, we never see Mei, Pigsy, Tang, or Sandy in this episode, after the first meeting and they act like MK was gone for a month or more (could easily be a week lol). On top of that, Macaque was causing a divide between MK and Wukong. MK was very clearly pretty isolated already, and so Macaque just had to remove MK for MK's full reliance.

"The person might be spending more time on the phone, or online, than usual. But they won’t say what sites they’re visiting, or who they’re talking to." - This speaks for itself, but it's likely MK was training more and more with Macaque than being around his own friends, especially considering by previous point.

This video goes into great detail on how it happens, why the victim is manipulated easily, and what it does to someone. Granted this video is about a long-time grooming, but I believe the point and the awareness stands. If Macaque had been grooming MK for about a year or more, I feel MK would be closer to these signs than he is in the cannon LMK. Anyways! I hope you had fun with my analysis, and let me know if you'd like more! I love to just ramble about the psychology of certain characters or the takeaways of LMK episodes! I'd love to do Wukong, Macaque as a whole (not just the episode), MK, Xiangliu/Nine mayhaps?? Or even the Focus episode or something else- I have a minor analysis on the focus episode already in my head lol

[featherstorm2004]

Macaque is born from chaos

LMK SPOILERS FOR S5!!!

Ok so it's basically confirmed Macaque is going to be important for the next season considering dear Nine gave him so much attention, especially when you consider the ending shot is him noticing the chaos magic on the staff.

As for why he is important it's basically been confirmed that Mac's shadow magic is strange and in the finally we see it turn into chaos magic. Now, it's implied by Nine that Macaque would have needed to make a deal for this power, but Macaque has no clue what he's talking about which leads me to two theories.

And no I don't think it was the LBD's doing as he's had these powers long before her so no, I think either Mac was born in the chaos realm and somehow made it to this reality OR and this is my personal headcanon, Macaque was made by the "he" Nine referenced before departing in the finally. As to who this being is I have no idea but he is likely a figure of either equal or greater power to Nuwa, who then made Macaque to fulfill a purpose, similarly to how MK and Sun Wukong were.

As for what that purpose is who knows maybe it was to be his eyes and ears in this reality considering in the book Macaque had the ability to hear the past and future, or maybe it was to kill Wukong and Mk since they were Nuwa's sacrifices, we have no idea as this being is likely a creature of chaos so perhaps he had no reason and just wanted to see what would happen, but it's likely going to play a big part next season.

[autism-autobot]

Probably my most favorite thing about Sun Wukong is that he loves unconditionally.

In season 1, when MK actively goes behind his back to train with Macaque, he does get upset but forgives MK almost immediately.

He goes right back to loving MK, who, in all honesty, he probably wasn't too attached to at the time. He tells MK that the mistakes he made can be fixed and that they can work on that together.

Wukong somewhat does this with the Demon Bull Family as well, though most of that's background and off-screen stuff.

The first time he's in the same room as Demon Bull King since his imprisonment is naturally a little tense. Luckily, DBK got spooked by Lady Bone Demon so much that he dropped his conquering plans.

The next time he sees Wukong? Season 4 special's finale and becomes his fishing buddy! When Wukong arrives at the party with the popsicles, DBK smiles at him!

Those are the only times so far that the two interact, and Wukong isn't being actively malicious or holding a grudge or seemingly lost all affection he once had for his sworn brother.

I have personally run out of examples, but feel free to add on (hopefully involving more characters, too).

[bonnisbon]

⚠️ I am not chinese, so if any chinese person in the fandom wants to add something or just point out any mistake, please do ⚠️

I've seen people in the fandom call Macaque's smoke monster 'kaiju', but this is not a correct denomination.

It is better to call it "法相" (fa3 xiang4), meaning "image of (commonly Buddha)"

"佛教术语，指诸法之相状，包含体相（本质）与义相（意义）二者"

Trans.

"A Buddhist term that refers to the appearance of all dharmas, including both physical appearance (essence) and righteousness (significance)"

Following this definition, a 法相 is your true self, your essence, both physical and spiritual... meaning that Smokey (little guy) is not a 'kaiju'. It is an essence, Macaque's.

Same goes to all manifestations of characters who have a version of their 法相, it's their true essence.

Yes, you got it right! This little (not so little) guy is also a 法相.

(Don't call them 'kaiju', please).

Just to add, they can also be called 'war forms', since they appear in the original jttw.