The Villains of Valley View Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Dojo Mojo

On The Villains of Valley View Season 2 Episode 4, “Dojo Mojo,” Jake struggles to find respect among his peers. He feels the need to regain their approval by any means necessary.

Just a short time ago, Jake was feared and respected by the people of Centropolis because of his super strength and villain status. No one mocked him, and people crossed the street to avoid him. This isn’t something I’d want in my own life, but to each their own.

Now that Jake is putting his past behind him, he grapples to find the line between being a good samaritan and a punching bag. Students don’t see him for anything but a super nice guy who they can push around. This discourages his positive momentum. 

Ouch, the struggle is real!

I can’t count how many times I’ve demanded respect and got laughed at because of it. The unfortunate truth is the world often mistakes kindness for weakness. 

Jake turns to Amy and Hartley for help in regaining some of what he lost. I’ll be honest, I don’t see how Hartley’s advice of joining an extracurricular activity will help him, but for argument’s sake, we’ll go with it. Of course, Jake settles on the most obvious of choices, joining a karate class.

Now it strikes me as odd that Jake doesn’t know any amount of karate. Being a former supervillain, one would believe his training would have circled back to a lunge punch or a crescent kick. After all, taking out a superhero can be tricky, and the more moves you know, the more likely you’ll win. 

Nonetheless, Jake walks into the dojo uneducated but extremely cocky. How hard could this karate thing be anyway? 

It turns out that karate is a lot tougher than he expected. Karate involves restraint and momentum — two things villains often lack. They strike first and oftentimes in anger. 

Amy’s friend, Milo, is quick to show him the error of his ways.

With Jake knocked to the ground, Amy and the rest of the class get a good laugh at Jake’s expense. This is the exact opposite of what he wants. 

When our plans go awry, we scramble to pick up whatever leftover pieces are in the near vicinity. More often than not that’s a mistake. We end up with a shell of what we wanted to achieve. 

Jake plans to reverse the situation by making Milo look weak and himself the hero. 

Jake: Everyone is treating me like a doormat. 

Milo is an odd character. He tries to put on a tough exterior but fails miserably at it. By mastering karate, he gets a little bit of the attention he desires. 

Deep down he longs for exactly what Jake longs for — respect. 

Instead of seeing eye-to-eye, Jake and Milo see each other as competitors. They both want the same thing, yet feel as though only one can get it. 

This is far from the truth, especially when it comes down to respect.

The best way to gain respect is to give it. 

If I treat you as an equal, we can more easily be in accord with each other. 

Jake doesn’t understand this until it is too late, and he knocks Milo through a wall. One would believe this action could end the feud, but celebratory cheers go straight to his head. 

It appears he’s gotten what he wanted, but this kind of respect is fleeting. There will always be somebody better and more educated just sitting around the corner waiting to knock you off your pedestal. 

For Jake, that person is his sister, Amy. 

While I expect this sparring to be a onesided slobber knocker, brother and sister seem more evenly matched. Without fear of playing dirty, they result to hairpulling and the sorts. It takes Milo’s voice of reason to separate the two. 

He doesn’t want to end it like this. Milo hates to see Amy and Jake at each other’s throats because of him. He agrees to bow out and let Jake have the title.

This is quite an honorable move. Milo gives up what he wants and has earned to sever the chain of ego. He would rather take a lower status than be the cause of harm. 

Plain and simple — this is an act of love. 

With Milo’s parting words, the scales fall from Jake’s eyes revealing how alike the two actually are. 

I feel this episode is a good pairing with Season 2 Episode 3. Both episodes give us an overview of power and how it can be mishandled. 

Together, they give us a picture of sacrifice. Sometimes by giving something up, we gain so much more. 

On the more comedic side of the episode, Colby and Hartley attempt to get their hand on the newest and coolest sneakers to hit the market. They end up empty-handed due to Vic and Eva’s evil schemes. 

Vic and Eva are unknowingly at war with each other, stealing profits from one another, and being downright dastardly. It’s a fun way to release some of the seriousness that Jake, Milo, and Amy go through. 

Relying on most of the humor to fall on the alternate storyline is a wise move — helping the moral of the story to firmly connect with the audience.

If Milo, Jake, and Amy were left to make a joke every few minutes, I feel the episode would lose its focus and fun. 

Luckily we get a well-balanced episode, allowing us to laugh and learn a lesson. We don’t feel preached at but leave feeling emotionally informed. 

This is when Disney is at its best. 

What did you think of this episode of The Villains of Valley View? When will Shadow show her face again? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Villains of Valley View airs Thursday at 8/7 on Disney Channel.

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