Tough Luck

Tough Luck is the 30th episode of Season 2 in Jackie Chan Adventures.

Plot Summary

Finding a cursed stone, Jackie discovers that bad luck isn't always silly superstition as he travels to Ireland to return the Emerald of Kilarney to break the bad-luck curse. Also, Finn has plans to start his own crime syndicate! Now, if only he can figure out a good name...

Recap

The episode began at a rock concert in Cleveland, Ohio as the announcer said, "Please welcome...the DARK HAND!!!!" Chow was playing the drums, Ratso the guitar, Valmont the cowbell, Shadowkhan the guitar, and Shendu was a stage prop. Finn swooped on stage as the leader. He won over the crowd. All of a sudden Jackie jumped down from a Section 13 helicopter and punched him in the face for no reason besides, "You are off key!!". Finn woke up screaming and panting. He decided this has gone too far and planned to quit the Dark Hand to survive. He left his house, wanting to tell Valmont he quits, but decided to wait until it's morning.

At Uncle's Rare Finds, ex-Dark Hand goon Tohru had just failed at selling a vase to a customer and was being trained by Jackie and Uncle while Jade was in charge of the store.

Meanwhile, a Irish looking guy hurriedly bought a lamp and sold Jade the Emerald of Kilarny which Finn wants to have for his own!! Uncle recognized the emerald, and afterwards Jade had a string of bad luck until Jackie took it for her. Almost at the moment he got the emerald, Jackie got bad luck and the bad luck stopped for Jade. Meanwhile, Finn was having auditions for his new crime syndicate in an old theater. The first guy who tried out looked like Marshall Law from the Tekken video games. He unfortunately hit himself in the head with a nunnchuck, so the next guy came out. He looked like Jaws (the human villian with metal teeth from the "James Bond Junior" cartoon), and failed at chewing through the log. The third guy came out (he looked like the actor from the movie that inspired "Star Wars"), and though he cut up the haystacks, the guy ran off after he saw a mouse!!

Finn was horribly disappionted about the turnout. but luckily, Chow and Ratso showed up, explaining that they quit after Finn. He told them about the Emerald of Kilarney while they walked to a dressing room with the Irish guy, who Jade obtained the emerald from, tied up inside. Jackie, meanwhile, had been locked in Uncle's closet. Jade and Tohru showed up with twenty three books on Irish legends. Uncle read about how the curse can only be broken by returning the emerald to the tomb in Ireland that it was stolen from. Jackie tried to make it to a cab, but lost Uncle's good luck charms, and nearly got run over by a truck, nine cars and a motorcycle before he got to the cab. However, seconds later, Finn and the others showed up in a car and as the unlucky Irish guy told them about the curse, Finn brushed it off saying, "I'm Irish and every Irish dude knows that that curse is a bunch of blarney!!!!" (another hint about his past, possibly). At the airport, Jackie ended up in the baggage check machine, and on the plane, he got squashed by the reclining fat, bald guy in front of him.

When he arrives in Ireland, Jade is waiting for him and he starts to get pinched throughout the episode. Jackie tries to get a hat so he doesn't get pinched, but Finn and the others show up, demanding the emerald, and as he tries to escape them, his pants get caught on a uneven fence. Finn tries to grab the emerald, but Jackie retrieves his pants, sending Finn sprawling off the fence which Ratso smashes down, and then Jackie runs across the rooftops swinging onto a clothes line, grabbing a pink-polka dot bathrobe on his way down. On the street, he nearly gets beat up by two Shemuses, but is grabbed by Ratso as Finn grabs the emerald and Jackie is thrown into the dumpster. Jade returns his pants to him just as Uncle calls Jackie telling him that if the emerald is stolen the curse will remain on Jackie forever, and promptly the garbage pipe's contents spew out on his head. But luckily, Jade gets some information from a bunch of locals down at a pub on where Finn's gang is by disguising herself as a leprechaun, and they tell her that Finn and his gang are at the old potato factory. But then, as Jade is about to leave, one of the patrons speaks up and says that if they catch the leprechaun, they'll get the pot of gold.

The Chans arrive at the potato factory; Jackie goes inside and sees Finn talking to someone over the phone to sell the emerald! Jackie reached out for the emerald, but accidentally started the machine! Chow and Ratso held Jackie up and he gave the emerald to Finn! That meant now Finn was cursed, so Jackie finally fought back and kicked some major butt!

Meanwhile, Jade was chased by the pub patrons and she lead them to her "pot of gold". Jackie told Finn to give him back the emerald and the curse if Finn, Chow and Ratso will leave Jackie alone! Jade and the pub patrons came in as Finn gave the emerald to Jackie! The patrons asked Finn about the whereabouts of the pot of gold and Finn says Jackie has it. However, the patron says he didn't mean the emerald, and a fellow patron explains what Finn had already found out the hard way -- "Every Irishman knows that rock carries a curse".

Then, Finn, Chow and Ratso made a run for it with the pub patrons behind them! Ratso and Chow told Finn that they quit, but Finn said that he found the perfect gang name!

Meanwhile, Jackie and Jade finally return the Emerald of Kilarney to its tomb, and the curse was lifted off Jackie for good! He and Jade walked happily through Ireland, until a black cat came across Jackie's path, he broke a mirror and then walked under a ladder! Jade surmised that all that was "eighty years' bad luck". Jackie wondered if that was all superstition, but it wasn't when someone dumped rubbish on him. Ah well, Uncle will have a good luck spell ready for Jackie when he comes home.

Trivia

• Possible names for Finn's new gang: "The Finn Experience", "Finn And The Revolution", Finn, Wind, and Fire", "The Rolling Finns", "Finnhalen".