The Awakening

"**The Awakening**" is the first episode of Season 1 of *Unicorn: Warriors Eternal*, and the first episode overall, which also serves as the series premiere. It premiered on May 5, 2023 at midnight on Adult Swim, alongside "The Awakening, Part 2".

## Synopsis

A young girl, unwittingly infused with magical ability, discovers that she is part of a group of eternal heroes destined to fight a supernatural evil throughout time.

## Plot

Starting out in the cosmic plane, the cosmic monk Seng comes across a serpent-looking creature. He murmurs that he has "found it."

Some time later, in Ancient Egypt, Seng, along with the warrior elf Edred and the sorceress Melinda are battling the same serpent creature. While they are able to temporarily chase it off, the trio are also impatiently waiting for someone. Distracted, Melinda is attacked and injured when the serpent comes back. During this, she hears a voice speaking to her, before she is able to fight back. While Edred tends to her, a portal opens. Emerging from the portal is a large steampunk robot and the trio's ally, Merlin. Merlin tells the trio of his plan to have Copernicus (whom he brought from the future) reincarnate their souls in order to defeat the Evil, as it is doomed to return. They then see a unicorn in the distance, to which Merlin refers to as "a blessing of the magic realm".

As time goes on, Copernicus casts the trio's souls into various hosts. Each time they try to defeat the Evil, but are unsuccessful.

Years later, in London, England 1890, a group of large men (later to be revealed as Otto-Mans) are trekking through a graveyard. They come across a particular grave and start to dig. After some time it is revealed that Copernicus is buried underneath. The ringleader of the group attempts to destroy Copernicus with a chainsaw, only for him to re-activate and defeat them.

At a church, a young woman named Emma Fairfax sits in a carriage with her parents. Lord Fairfax is trying not to tear up. Mr. and Mrs. Fairfax wish their only daughter the absolute best with her future husband, Winston, and the three share a warm hug.

During the wedding ceremony, Copernicus storms in. Winston and a few other guests attempt to attack him, to no avail. Copernicus then casts Melinda's soul into Emma, transforming her hair and clothes black. Melinda lashes out at her loved ones calling her "Emma", and she flies out of the church, with Copernicus following her.

Back at the cemetery, a mysterious woman discovers the destroyed Otto-Mans. After repairing one, she learns about Copernicus' reactivation, also happening upon the grave of the royal pet, an Indian Elephant named Lulu.

When Copernicus catches up to Melinda, she also lashes out at him, wondering what has happened to her. She doesn't exactly remember who she is, and is unable to understand Copernicus' toots and whistling. Copernicus then takes her underground, where a tapestry of the trio from Ancient Egypt is hung and Melinda learns that the woman is herself.

Frustrated and confused, Melinda asks Copernicus where to find the others in tapestry. With that, Melinda gets upon Copernicus, and the two set off on a journey across the water.

## Characters

*(listed alphabetically)*

* Rosalind Ayres as Lady Katherine Fairfax
* Ron Bottitta as Lord Edward Fairfax
* Jeremy Crutchley as Merlin
* Grey DeLisle as Orignal Melinda/Mysterious Woman
* Hazel Doupe as Melinda/Emma Fairfax
* Jacob Dudman as Original Edred
* George Webster as Winston
* Alain Uy as Original Seng
* Copernicus

## Trivia

* On May 9, 2023, Tartakovsky did an interview for WIRED's Youtube Channel where he ended up sharing some concept art and rough storyboards for the entire first episode of the series since he showed viewers a closer look into his sketchbook!
* On May 26, 2023, Tartakovsky took part in an AMA on Reddit using the Adult Swim Official account and revealed several caveats of information, such as:
	+ When asked what his favorite part of working on the show was, Tartakovsky stated that it was doing the stories and finally getting a chance to do the series because he's had it stored in his brain for such a long time. In particular, what comes to mind is the scene with Emma Fairfax becoming Melinda in the church on the series premiere. So getting to do it after 20 years was his favorite part.
	+ The original idea was much more focused on the fight between Magic and technology. However, it was through the development, that it organically became more about the characters and how they deal with their new awoken selves.
	+ His inspiration for his direction style comes from his love of 70's movies, *Pulp Fiction* and comic books.
	+ The character designs were inspired by Tezuka and Fleischer.

## Gallery

### Videos

🔴 LIVE- Genndy Tartakovsky- A Legacy in Animation - adult swimToonami - Unicorn Warriors Eternal Bumpers (May 6, 2023)FULL EPISODE - Unicorn- Warriors Eternal S1E1- The Awakening - adult swimGenndy Tartakovsky Answers Animation Questions From Twitter - Tech Support - WIRED
## References

1. ↑ Unicorn: Warriors Eternal episode guide (May 4, 2023).
2. ↑ Genndy Tartakovsky Answers Animation Questions From Twitter - YouTube
3. ↑ Adult Swim Official Account Posts History - Reddit
4. ↑ Tartakovsky AMA Part 1 - Reddit
5. ↑ Tartakovsky AMA Part 2 - Reddit
6. ↑ Tartakovsky AMA Part 3 - Reddit
7. ↑ Tartakovsky AMA Part 4 - Reddit