One Piece (Netflix) – Season 1 Episode 3 “Tell No Tales” Recap & Review

Tell No Tales

Episode 3 of One Piece starts with another flashback, this time in Syrup Village 7 years back. Alarm bells ring as a young boy called Usopp charges down from the battlements declaring that pirates are coming. The streets are cleared and villagers scramble inside. However, no pirates show.

This charade goes on for years, and after a while Usopp is ignored by everyone else in town. Elsewhere, Luffy excitedly chirps to Nami that he’s finished creating his masterpiece, a brand new pirate flag. Neither Zoro nor Nami are happy with the outcome though.

They’re distracted by something leaking in the back, which in turn destroys Nami’s comms device. The group decide to head out to the Gecko Islands and try to get a new boat, but once there Zoro is not happy when he notices there’s a big bounty on Buggy’s head. 15 million Berry to be precise. Zoro is down heartened but Luffy believes it’s all the more reason for getting a fresh start in the Grand Line.

Meanwhile, Buggy manages to get his limbs back together again, but he’s interrupted by a new visitor, a goon that works for a guy called Arlong. Buggy tries to fight his way out of this but one stiff punch knocks him clean out.

Back on the island, the group contemplates their next move re. getting a ship. Nami suggests they steal one and bust out quickly, but Luffy refuses. He wants to find the perfect ship for their needs and acquire it the right way. Luffy is immediately taken with a beautiful ship in the shipyard.

Usopp, the kid from the start of the episode, pops up and explains that this ship is the fastest in the East Blue but it also doesn’t belong to him. In fact, it belongs to his friend, who also happens to own the entire shipyard. He’s convinced they can strike up some sort of deal.

When Luffy and his friends arrive at Kaya’s, they don’t exactly get a warm welcome from the hired help. Kaya is a little more warm toward him, but her husband, Klahadore, is not. He tells Usopp he needs to stop showing up unannounced like this. Kaya invites them all for dinner, given it’s her birthday, and Klahadore begrudgingly agrees. However, the crew need to bathe and change before dinner.

Usopp sneaks into Kaya’s chamber and hands over a present for her birthday. It’s a giant pearl, which Usopp spins into a fantastical tale of swashbuckling heroism. Kaya’s laughs turn to coughing as she points out that she’s sick and has been for a while.

Elsewhere, Luffy, Zoro and Nami get dressed up ready for the big dinner. While eating, Nami tries to learn more about Kaya’s financial situation, although it becomes clear what’s going on during an earlier chat between Kaya and Klahadore. Kaya’s parents are dead and it seems Klahadore has weaselled his way into the family in an effort to inherit the fortune for himself.

During dinner, Luffy upstages the entire birthday, talking to Kaya about his plans for commandeering the ship out in the yard he’s taken to. He goes on to reveal how passionate he is about his dream to become King of the Pirates, and pleads with her to allow this to happen. However, Kaya starts coughing and Klahadore gets involved, berating the pirates for making her sick. Kaya manages to speak up and allows them to stay the night.

In the middle of the night, Klahadore approaches the butler, Merry, who points out how he’s concerned over Klahadore intending to turn the estate and finances over to him. Unfortunately, it now becomes clear that Klahadore is not who he seems, and he kills the butler outright, revealing several blades that he’s been keeping concealed.

Elsewhere, Buggy is tied up and finds himself face to face with Arlong. He points out that he runs things in the East Blue and he needs to remember his position in the grand scheme of things. Buggy tries to talk himself out of this and points out that Luffy is the one he wants to go and take out. Arlong is intrigued.

Meanwhile, Koby hops aboard the marine ship with Garp, and the pair grow closer together. They both play a game of Go together, with Koby actually coming out on top. Koby is shocked and this proves to be a valuable lesson for him to learn how to be decisive and take out any foes (see: pirates) that come their way.

During one of their Go games, the group head to Gecko Island, with Koby put to the test by being tasked with capturing Luffy and his crew, whose flag has washed up nearby.

Back at Kaya’s place, Usopp contemplates over Luffy’s story and wishes he could go too. However, he’s loyal to Kaya and needs to stay for her sake. Usopp points out that she’s his best friend and wants to be there for her. As for Kaya, she feels the same way about Usopp.

Zoro heads down to the basement with Usopp to find more wine, given there’s not much in the kitchen. In doing so, they stumble over the butler and Zoro notices five blade marks from his chest. Klahadore shows up, and Zoro points out that this guy’s name is Kuro, and he’s captain of the Black Cat Pirates.

Zoro is blindsided from behind and knocked out, while Usopp slips out the window. Kuro is not bothered by Usopp, believing he’s not going to be believed by anyone and he’s not much of a threat. Naturally, Usopp rings the bells and nobody comes running, with the townsfolk telling him to stop.

Nami is unaware of all this, and she gives some words of advice to Kaya in her bedroom, telling her not to let anyone boss her about and that Kaya is stronger than she thinks. When Nami leaves, she drops off the pillowcase full of gear she intended to steal back on the mantlepiece.

Zoro and Merry are thrown down the well and disposed of, while Usopp collapses on the ground in town. “Why won’t anyone believe me?” He bemoans. And just like that, Koby comes up with the other marines, admitting that he believes him and he’s here to help.

The Episode Review

This episode finally gives us a bit more banter and comradeship between our main characters, with more banter and chats between Nami, Luffy and Zoro very welcome.

On that same note though, we never get a feel for who Zoro and Nami are, given how quickly they’ve joined the crew without their backstories being fully fleshed out. However, there’s still time for the show to dive into this by peppering in flashbacks across the rest of the episodes.

The ending hints that we’re about to move into much more dramatic waters here, and it’ll be interesting to see what direction this one takes next.