The Fountain of Polaris (episode)

On Netflix, the episode is titled just "The Fountain".https://www.netflix.com/title/80156387
==Overview==
Unable to master even basic transformation magic, Akko is relegated to her room and must miss the welcome party for a VIP and his handsome son.
==Summary==
The episode begins with Samantha Badcock's class, where her students practice the basic form of Metamorphosis Magic, Transformation Spell. Whereas most students performed the spell with decent success, Diana stands out from others as the rat she bewitched turns into a beautiful horse. Contrarily, Akko is only able to give herself animal traits. Unimpressed to see Akko end up humiliating herself with her donkey ears and tail, Badcock forbids Akko to join the oncoming welcoming party for Earl of Hanbridge's as punishment.
Later that night, Luna Nova's preparation for Earl of Hanbridge's arrival was completed. The academy welcomed their guest, accompanied by his bodyguard, his son Andrew, and Andrew's classmate Frank. Whereas every one of the students starts fawning over Andrew's handsome look, only Diana reacts differently, as if she is dismayed by his presence. As Lotte and Sucy are enjoying their banquet, Ursula inquires the two about Akko's whereabouts, in which they tell their teacher about their roommate's predicament. Meanwhile, Akko attempted to practice her metamorphosis magic to no avail, only able to give herself rabbit ears and nose in the process.
Back at the party, Paul is unimpressed by the dullness of Luna Nova's ancient dance performed by the students but keeps it to himself to not offend the Headmistress. Frank tells Andrew that he caught an interest in Diana, whose beauty stands out from the rest, only to be dismayed by the young Hanbridge's indifference. Seeing his son grow weary from the dance, Paul suggested Holbrooke give Andrew a tour, prompting the headmistress to appoint Diana as the guide. It is then that Frank learns that Andrew and Diana are childhood acquaintances.
After another attempt to practice Metamorphosis Magic to no avail, even with Shiny Rod, Akko eventually gives up. Hopeless by this shortcoming, Akko wondered how she could use Shiny Rod twice and whether she really had magic potential. It is then she recalled the Fountain of Polaris, and browsing some info about it from one of her Chariot cards and her books, Akko learned that the fountain endows a witch with inner radiance, the powerful magic of stars, and where to find it. Confident that the fountain would solve her problem, Akko made haste for that place.
As Diana takes Andrew and Frank on a tour around Luna Nova, Frank expresses her surprise over his classmate and Diana's connections as acquaintances, though Diana denies them being actual friends. Andrew revealed that many kids distanced themselves from the Cavendish during her childhood due to being wary of her magical studies, in which Diana remarked that Andrew was too occupied by the girls around him to notice the importance of her said studies. The conversation reveals that the two have debated the importance of magic for a long time, with Andrew expressing his cynicism over magic's future, irritating Frank. In the middle of that tour, Andrew got left behind due to being distracted by the sight of Akko sneaking around the courtyard, leading to an awkward encounter where the Hanbridge grabbed her ears twice, hurting her. Irritated by Andrew's low opinion about magic, Akko tried to demonstrate her Metamorphosis Magic on a nearby squirrel only to unintentionally (or rather comically) give the young man donkey ears and tail. Eluding Frank and Diana, Andrew reluctantly tags along with Akko in her search for the Fountain of Polaris somewhere at the north building of the Academy so they can undo the spell once the Japanese get her hands on the star magic.
Meanwhile, Ursula, worried about Akko's progress, decided to check on her student's well-being in her dorm room. To her surprise, Akko has already left, but not without leaving an article about the Fountain of Polaris and a Chariot Card pertaining to the legendary location.
Entering the northern building, Akko and Andrew stumbled upon a large, worn-out wooden door with a written warning in Latin: "Waken not the sleeping Arcas. As the protector of Polaris, Arcas will attack all those who approach the Fountain." Reading it, Andrew suggested against carelessly entering the area further, only for Akko to bust the door open, much to his chagrin. As soon as she did, the Japanese unwittingly stopped right in front of said guardian, an angry polar bear-like creature with a yellow four-pointed star-like crest on its snout. Fleeing from the furious animal, Andrew sarcastically remarked how "fantastic" Luna Nova Academy was before the two stumbled upon a broken staircase with a ladder that Akko hastily climbed. Because Arcas smashed the ladder into pieces before he could do the same, Andrew is forced to improvise by jumping over the bear with Arcas' snout as a footing, displaying a remarkable acrobatic feat. The chase continues at the upper floors, where the floor underneath their feet collapses under their weight, resulting in the two hanging for their dear lives. Hilariously, whereas Andrew is hanging on the ledge of the building, Akko does the same on the hem of Andrew's pants instead, threatening to pull it off under her own weight. Realizing what happened, the embarrassed Akko cried out that she didn't mean to do that, which certainly doesn't help their situation as Andrew knows it — the angry Arcas lunges towards them in the middle of their argument, unwittingly causing three of them to plummet to the ground far below. Fortunately, Ursula appears and magically conjures magical bubbles around them to slow their descent. As this happens, Ursula reverts the color of her hair, allowing the giant bear to recognize her as a friend.
A while later, Akko, upon regaining her consciousness, was startled that she unintentionally sat on top of the awakened Andrew, like with Sucy at Arcturus Forest. Finding the Fountain's entrance (a large arch made of roots adorned with seven stars arranged in a formation resembling a big dipper), they walked through a staircase that led to a fountain in the middle of a space-like dimension. Recognizing the fountain as the Fountain of Polaris she sought, Akko begged for it to give her the power over stars. Instead of granting her wish, the fountain showed the Japanese about Chariot's past: Like her, Chariot once sought the power of the stars in the Fountain of Polaris out of frustration over her shortcomings in magic, but the Fountain disappeared before her eyes, as she was not yet worthy of its power. Unwilling to give up, Chariot takes her studies more seriously, leading her to become a talented witch and subsequently proving her worth for the magic of stars the Fountain possessed. The Fountain's montage about Chariot's past ends when she demonstrates her newfound power by transforming into a fiery giant bird before Akko and Andrew are unexpectedly teleported back to the section of the northern building at which they found the Fountain's entrance, except the archway rendered dormant and the rift leading to the Fountain had since closed.
Just then, Ursula appears and tells Akko what actually happened; the fountain did appear, but when an immature witch goes there looking for that magic but is still unworthy to wield it, the fountain disappears before her eyes. Dismayed, Akko confessed that deep inside, she already knows that hard-working is necessary to become an accomplished witch who is acknowledged by everyone, something that Ursula agreed on. The Japanese then tearfully steeled her resolve to become better than she is now, with Ursula returning the rod and advising her student to return to the fountain once she did. Revealing her knowledge of the two's predicament, Ursula nervously offered to undo the magic mishap that Akko inadvertently caused under the condition that Andrew must keep the mishap a secret between them, in which the young Hanbridge agreed.
The episode ends with Andrew and his father having a conversation over their visit, in which the latter sighed over their seemingly pointless visit other than to confirm that witches and magic indeed no longer have their place in the modern era. Andrew asked his father why they kept visiting Luna Nova regardless, to which Paul explained that they did so in order to maintain the debt between them and Luna Nova...
==Order of appearances==
==Trivia==
* As Ursula explains to Akko how she can't expect to become a great witch star without hard work, Chariot's leitmotif plays.
* Ursula's hair transformation is vastly different from the first short film, being more smooth and instant instead of turning flame-like.
* In Netflix worldwide release, the episode title was changed to The Fountainhttps://www.netflix.com/title/80156387.
*This episode takes place in June, along with "Night Fall" and "Luna Nova and the White Dragon", as stated in the chronicles book.Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 4, page 116
*Though likely a coincidence, some of Akko's expressions in this episode are drawn in the manner not unlike Neru from Makeruna! Aku no Gundan! on separate occasions.https://twitter.com/raispada/status/877921741217030147
==Errors/Goofs==
*Katya's eyes are curiously drawn normally instead of bead-like.
==External Links==
===Reviews===
*The Con Artists
**Rolling Review – Little Witch Academia (06) by CONARTISTSCOTT February 14, 2017
==Gallery==
==References==
==Navigation==
es:The Fountain of Polaris (episodio)
Category:TV Series
Category:Episodes
Category:Season 1A