Get ready for an epic recap post covering three whole episodes of Young Indy! These three episodes mark the beginning of the show's transition to the terrors of World War I, which it does surprisingly well for a show from the early 90s. Indy experiences trench warfare, German imprisonment, the world of spies, and a bunch of old soldiers in Northern Africa.

Trenches of Hell, France and Germany, 1916
The first World War I episode in this show does not shy away from showing how horrific war is. This episode reminded me of Saving Private Ryan without as much graphic violence, but all the same graphic terror. I remember appreciating these episodes less when I was young and first watching the show, but as an adult now, I found this episode by far the most engaging and fascinating story so far. As a "Belgian," Indy experiences a lot of discrimination from the French and gets sent to do jobs no one else wants, including trying to capture a highly defensible location controlled by the Germans. He also watches most of his company die in the assault before being captured at the end of the assault. The story is dark and definitely reminiscent of George Lucas' anti-war tendencies. Once captured Indy is imprisoned in a German fortress and meets Charles De Gaulle. He and De Gaulle hatch several escape attempts with one finally succeeding, but the message of hope in dire circumstances shines through after a very dark first half. Fun fact: While on a short leave from the trenches, Indy meets the author Robert Graves who wrote one of my favorite novels, I, Claudius.

Demons of Deception, Verdun and Paris, 1916
The two episodes combined to make this movie have minimal connective tissue, but there are a few thematic connecting threads. First, Indy is growing more and more disillusioned with the war effort based on his experiences. Second, Indy encounters lies and manipulation from both his superior officers and those he thinks he loves. I enjoyed the first half of the episode far more than the second half as the French commanding officers are sitting in posh residences giving orders while the grunts are being led to slaughter in the trenches. Indy develops a unique perspective on this contrast by running as a courier between the commanding officers and the front lines. Ultimately, he makes a dangerous decision to stage an accident on his motorcycle in order for some attack orders to never reach the front.
In the second half of the episode Indy's dad has a connection in Paris who pulls some strings for Indy and Remy to have some leave time in the city. In a fun little cameo, Ian McDiarmid (aka Emperor Palpatine) plays the Parisian professor who offers to house Indy for a week. Of course, you cannot keep teenage Indy away from adventure, and he happens to meet and fall in love with the infamous spy Mata Hari. Their love affair was full of lies, mistrust, and a surprising amount of sexual content for an ABC show in the early 90s. The plotline was fine but not nearly as engaging as the war plot, and Indy comes across as an annoying, whiny teenager, which I suppose he still is. Also, the last 10-15 minutes of the episode had some strange flash cuts of Mata Hari in front of a firing squad, which would be very confusing if you did not know anything about her story. They were still confusing and a strange editorial choice even knowing a little of her story...​

The Phantom Train of Doom, North Africa, 1916
The final episode for today had perhaps the most "Indiana Jones" vibe to it. Indy joins up with some trope-filled old fart soldiers stationed in Africa, including Captain Selous, played by Paul Freeman (actor who played Belloq in Raiders of the Lost Ark), whom Indy had met way back when he was 9-years-old on his adventure with Teddy Roosevelt. The episode includes Germans, a hidden train mystery, a daring kidnapping and escape attempt, and lots of classic Indy blunders. Along the way Indy learns about trusting the wisdom of age (a theme I think might rear its head in the final Indy movie) and about how to be a better soldier, from a German colonel no less. This episode was a lot of fun and one of the few that seemed like it was originally meant as a two-parter. I also love that Indy's experiences in World War I take him to all the different areas of conflict in the war, however unrealistic that narrative conceit is.

Next up, Indy's adventures take him further into Africa and then back to France!
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We begin the journey into Young Indy's teenage and young adult life with the final two episodes of Volume I of the DVD set, and the first two episodes of teenage Indy's life.

Young Indy is now played by Sean Patrick Flanery, who is excellent throughout the whole series. There is enough close resemblance to the young River Phoenix in Last Crusade to make it a reasonable jump from young teen River Phoenix to older teen Sean Patrick Flanery.

The two episodes covered here are Spring Break Adventure and Love's Sweet Song and include some very pivotal moments in Young Indy's life. Let's jump into the action!

Spring Break Adventure, 1916
The adventure starts in Princeton, NJ with Indy and his girlfriend planning to go to Prom. Of course, Indy's girlfriend is Nancy Stratemeyer, who was the inspiration for the Nancy Drew character. Because of the Nancy Drew connection, this episode was primarily a mystery involving one of Thomas Edison's assistants and stolen plans for an electric car. The mystery was entertaining, and the Germans even made their first appearance in the Indiana Jones timeline as potential villains. There was also a great moment where Indy found a bullwhip and used it to escape a situation, and it was clear he had used it before (a nice callback to the prologue of Last Crusade). You also cannot go wrong with the first appearance of the classic fedora!

Following this adventure Indy heads to New Mexico to visit his cousin where they take a trip across the border to visit a brothel (somewhat surprising choice for a show on in the 90s). While there Indy gets caught by Pancho Villa and his army and meets one of the most underrated sidekicks in all Indiana Jones storytelling, Remy Baudouin. Remy is a Belgian who ended up in Mexico and was allured by the idealism of the revolution. He and Indy bond quickly. I liked how this part of the episode tackled some of the difficult questions about revolutions and how they affect everyday citizens. You saw both the romanticism of joining a revolution but also the toll it takes on the people it is supposed to help. In a surprising move, Indy decides to join the Belgian army with his new friend Remy and leave his home and high school career behind. Thus begins the core of the Young Indiana Jones series, World War I.

Love's Sweet Song, 1916
Indy's first adventure on his way to join the Belgian army and ultimately the war takes place in Ireland, followed by England. Both parts of this episode relate Indy's experience with young love. In Ireland he meets a girl whose brother is connected with the revolutionaries fighting for Irish independence, and in England he has a more serious relationship with a suffragette who gives him firsthand experience with the challenges of the fight for women's rights. Indy's relationships with women are a common theme throughout the show, but the story in England stands out for its genuine sweetness and feeling of true love. The impending war also casts a gloomy pall over Indy's story and functions as a stand-in for all the relationships that were, and still are, affected by war.

We can be thankful for the sweet tone of this episode, however, because the next episode, Trenches of Hell, takes the series in a very dark direction.

In today's set of episodes Young Indy discovers a variety of religions and gets deathly ill in the Chinese countryside, and I fall asleep while watching.

India, 1910
Young Indy travels to Benares, India (also called Varanasi) and meets a very young Krishnamurti, who takes him on a tour around all of the sacred sites in the city, representing all of the major world religions. In addition, a B plotline explores the Theosophical society through the lens of Indy's tutor, Miss Seymour. I actually found the B plot far more interesting in this part of the episode and actually fell asleep during Indy's grand tour of religions. I suppose the episode was a success in the sense that it got me to do some research on what exactly the Theosophical Society was.

China, 1910
In the second half of the episode Indy, his mother, and his tutor explore the Chinese countryside with a local guide, and Indy comes down with a really terrible case of typhoid. There were a few interesting bits about Western and Chinese medicine, but otherwise this episode was fairly bland. My only real memory of this episode was something to do with collecting trading cards or promotional material, and I either had a bunch of the China episode cards or needed one to finish my collection. 

I cannot say that I am sad to move on from the stories with the youngest version of Indy. There were a couple episodes that I really connected with and found entertaining, but I think the creators of the show had the right idea to alternate young and younger Indy episodes throughout its TV run. The upcoming six year time jump is where the show really starts hitting its stride, and I did not plan it, but the time jump came just in time for the end of the school year and more time in the summer for watching Indiana Jones! Since I have the time to watch more TV during the summer break now, I will be covering more episodes in each post.

Next up: We meet Sean Patrick Flanery as 17-year-old Indy in Spring Break Adventure!