30YW AND THUNDERCATS LIZARDS

I MEAN, THE LIZARDS IN "NEW ALLIANCES" ARE A RARE DECONSTRUCTION OF THE FICTIONAL ARMY OF MOOKS, GIVING THEM LIVES AWAY FROM WAR... MORE LIKE A REAL-LIFE EARLY MODERN ARMY (THIRD EARTH IS AS DARK AND EDGY AS WESTEROS)...
IT'S WHAT I CALL THE "SELLSWORDS' PLIGHT" IN MY ESSAYS. AND GIVING IT TO A FICTIONAL ARMY LED BY THE BIG BAD OF THE SAGA... IS AS IF THE TYPICAL "EVIL ARMY OF MOOKS" BECAME A REAL-LIFE SELLSWORD OR CONSCRIPT EARLY MODERN ARMY UNDER PRESSURE DURING A LOSING STREAK. IT REMINDS ME OF THE SELLSWORDS OF WESTEROS OR THE SNOILSKY POEM "HERR JOHAN'S FUNERAL" ABOUT THE COLLAPSE OF THE SWEDISH ARMY AFTER THE DEATH OF JOHAN BANÉR. A NICE CONTRAST BETWEEN SELLSWORDS WHO "FIGHT FOR TREASURE" VS. IDEALISTS LOYAL TO A ROLE MODEL (BANÉR) AND AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT (THE SWEDISH NATION).
THESE ARE NOT YOUR USUAL FACELESS MOOKS: THESE ARE CONSCRIPTS OR SELLSWORDS WITH THEIR (WASTELAND) HOMELAND, THEIR (ESTRANGED) FAMILIES, AND THE FACT THAT THEIR LEADER "FIGHTS FOR TREASURE", "THIS ISN'T THEIR WAR", AND THAT "THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY'RE FIGHTING FOR". SO MORE REMINISCENT OF THE 30YW AND OF OTHER EARLY MODERN CONFLICTS.


Also, it's pretty easy to get a huge army together by promising them the loot of their enemies. Once said enemies are defeated and the loot is taken? Not so easy when the Lizards explicitly state that they have families and children to return back to!

• In "New Alliances" it appears that much of the Lizard army are conscripts. 
• In New Alliances, some of Slithe's Lizard soldiers have been deserting after being defeated by the ThunderCats. This causes Mumm-Ra to have Slithe prosecute any Lizards that he catches in the act.
• the lizards a choice: return to the battlefield or to their families. After a brief discussion, the lizards choose the latter and leave the ravine, leaving their weapons behind.
• there have been mass desertions in the lizard army. 
• SSSlithe comments that the cowards are worse than the cats for abandoning their post
•  a return to their homes or a return to the cruel control 
• So with The Lizard army abandoning their posts Mumm-Ra tells Slythe he is doing a bad job etc., to which Slythe says the Lizards have no reinforcement as to why they are fighting, no meaning, no benefits. Mumm-Ra states something to the affect they need none, and tells Slythe to recruit new generals
• go back to the battlefield or home to their families. The lizards decide to go back to their families;. Not surprising really, since there were mass desertions after the Cats won the spirit stone.
• The mass desertions have gone unpunished, and this cannot stand.
• fighting this war reluctantly.
•  The lizards, in the end, clearly weren’t interested in fighting the Thundercats.
•  The episode also added some good character development moments, especially to the lizards who will eventually have to choose which side is worth fighting for.
• there were mass-desertions in the lizard army. this is Mumm-Ra's war, not the lizards and thinks they're wise to it as well.
• "I'm not asking for loyalty. I want warriors who fight not for treasure but for blood." - Mumm-Ra 
• I agree, but the lizards they freed earlier in the episode were immediately captured by the army again. Are they just supposed to constantly follow the lizards they have freed to make sure they get to safety? Getting the lizards on their side is going to take a larger scale show of goodwill than freeing half a dozen lizard squads.
• In "New Alliances," some of the Lizards working for Slithe have been deserting, making him prosecute any others that may want to leave.
• Still, the choice is yours-- return to the battlefield, or return to your families.
  [Indistinct talking and hissing] Let's go home.
• You saw what happened after we won the Spirit Stone-- mass desertions in the lizard army.
  This isn't their war.
  They don't even know what they're fighting for.
•  A general is only as strong as his army, Slithe, and yours is an embarrassment.
  Entire battalions fleeing at the mere sight of the cats! What do they have to be loyal to, lord Mumm-Ra? You've made it clear they are nothing more than minions to you.
  I'm not asking for loyalty.
  I want warriors who fight not for treasure, but for blood.
  Warriors like these.
  Who are they? Wretched souls, motivated only by base emotions and currently incarcerated for crimes vile even to me.
  They are to be my new generals, Slithe.
• Those are the same lizards we convinced to desert earlier.
  Must have been captured by their own army.
  Tough break.
• It's about their army being on the verge of collapse and not letting up the pressure.
• Villain Decay: The Lizards have certainly taken a big hit from "overwhelmingly terrifying badasses" to "typical redshirt fodder." Unusually, losing their motivating racial pathos (whatever happened to the Merciful Minion?) is a contributing factor.
  • Lampshaded in the season 2 opener, where Slithe tells Mumm-Ra that his minions are under strict (and correct) impressions that he thinks of them as expendable drones.
• There will be a Villain Episode focusing on the Lizards and/or the Quirky Miniboss Squadintroduced in Episode 4
  This will give a Perspective Flip on the ThunderCats' enemies, showing that not all of them are Always Chaotic Evil and injecting yet more Grey into the conflict between the Cats and the Lizards. Expect a lot of quirky shenanigans and perhaps a few Ensemble Darkhorses in the making!
  • With Slithe as the lead character and Kanar and Addicus as his teammates.