Queen for a Day

"Queen for a Day" is a one-hour special of Tangled: The Series. It premiered on November 19, 2017, and is collectively the sixteenth and seventeenth episode in the series.
==Plot==
It's a beautiful morning as Quirin, the leader of Old Corona, tends to his garden. He notices some dark clouds closing in over the mountain but quickly turns his attention to a little girl reaching for a flower on a tree. A strong wind pushes the girl out of the tree, but Quirin catches her in time. The villagers begin to express their concerns over the black rocks, which have been popping out of the ground and destroying everything in their path, including houses and carts. Quirin's son, Varian, says that he can figure out the rock's vulnerability but Quirin tells him to leave the rocks alone. However, when Varian says that something needs to be done, Quirin explain that he is doing something, revealing he is going to visit the king to tell him about the situation. Varian likes the idea and asks to accompany him, to which Quirin agrees.
At Corona castle, Rapunzel and her parents are listening to Feldspar, the shoemaker's problem. King Frederic suggests that Feldspar start to make boots for the royal guards, even though the guards don't really need new boots anyway. Rapunzel is happy to learn how to rule the kingdom from her parents before they go away on their anniversary trip for two days. King Frederic, despite his confidence that Rapunzel can do a good job at ruling the kingdom for 48 hours, still worries about her a little. Meanwhile, in Eugene's room, Eugene and Lance, discuss since Rapunzel will become temporary queen, Eugene has decided to appoint himself as temporary king and reveals that he'll enjoy some luxuries at first and then make some proclamations. Lance finds Eugene's eagerness amusing.
Back in the throne room, Quirin enters to speak with the king while Varian remains in the hallway, listening to their conversation. To Varian's dismay, Quirin lies to the king saying that they were so prosperous with their crops that they needed more land to accommodate them. Even though there were no crop reports from Old Corona, King Frederic grants Quirin's request. Varian scolds his father for lying to the king but Quirin assures Varian that Old Corona will endure and that Varian should trust him. Rapunzel comes in and sees Varian, asking what's was wrong. Varian explains to her that the black rocks are destroying everything. Rapunzel promises Varian that they'll figure out the mystery of the black rocks together.
At the courtyard, Rapunzel and her friends say their goodbyes to the king and queen before they leave on their mountain retreat for their anniversary. King Frederic offers to stay and help Rapunzel, but is reassured that they'll have everything under control. Frederic then tells Rapunzel that when she becomes queen for real, there will be many voices demanding to be heard but when all is said and done, the voice in her heart is the one she should follow. With Maximus pulling the carriage, the king and queen begin their journey to the retreat. With optimism, Rapunzel starts her first day as queen. To her surprise, a really long line of subjects are waiting for her.
In Old Corona, Quirin announces to the townspeople that the king has given them his blessings, which give them comfort. Varian, still upset and unsure of his father's decision, decides to disobey his order on leaving the black rocks alone and works on solving the mystery, hoping to find a solution with alchemy. His attempts fail with setting a part of the rock in purple flames, which then explode. Back at the castle, Eugene works on renovating the grotto area while Rapunzel makes decisions at the throne room. She provides solutions she believes are right to the subjects' problems. However, every solution she suggested backfires and the subjects come back to her with more complaints. The distressed Rapunzel begins to have doubts about her capabilities as queen. That night, she expresses her stress to Eugene, who tells her that she can still make the best out of any situation by reminding her of the time she left her tower and all she has accomplished since. Just then, they notice some snowflakes falling. Although Eugene reveals his dislike towards snow, Rapunzel is excited as she has never been outside when it has snowed and comes up with an idea.
Meanwhile, on a mountain trail, King Frederic thinks about going back but Queen Arianna assures him that Rapunzel will be alright. Just then, a huge icicle gives way and lands in front of Maximus, frighting him to step backward. Unfortunately, the carriage slips on the ice trail and breaks free of Maximus' harness, causing the carriage to fall down the mountain with the king and queen inside.
At Old Corona, in Quirin's bedroom, he pulls out a chest, which he has kept hidden in a wall, and looks through the things inside it. Among them is a helmet, which bears the same symbol as the chest and a scratch. He then looks at black rocks outside and then the portrait of him, his wife, and Varian as a baby. At the basement, Varian tries another attempt on using alchemy on the rocks. Just as he was going to pour a yellow-green mixture on the rocks, Quirin comes in, surprising Varian and causes him to pour a large amount of the liquid, instead of a few drops of it on the rocks. Quirin scolds Varian for disobeying him while Varian argues that the rocks aren't going away and that running away from the problem isn't going to help. As they argue, the yellow-green liquid begins to grow into some kind of crystals. Quirin looks at one of his hands, revealing it has the same symbol subscribed to it and thinks that Varian isn't ready to know the truth about the rocks. Just then, he notices the growing crystals and pushes Varian away, getting himself trapped in the process. Varian tries to help but Quirin tells him to stay back. Varian then runs out to get help, despite Quirin warning him not to.
At Corona castle, Rapunzel declares the day to be snow day. Everyone, except Eugene, have a great time playing in the snow. Cassandra then tells Eugene that being a pretend king doesn't give him actual power but if it did, he should stop trying to exploit it and put it to good use. Later that day, the snow starts to become faster and stronger and Rapunzel asks if it always snowed as much as it did that day, to which is answered by Xavier. He tells the princess, Eugene, and their friends of a legend about an evil warlock named Zhan Tiri, who made a winter storm so big it destroyed everything in its path. Then, a sorcerer named Lord Demanitus used magic and science to create a subterranean machine that is powerful enough to change the course of the wind, defeating Zhan Tiri and blowing the blizzard out to sea, but reveals the curse is waiting for Corona to be at its weakest to strike again. When he finishes telling the legend, a strong wind blows. Rapunzel calls everyone to get inside the castle for safety. However, Maximus arrives back at the castle, worrying Rapunzel and the Captain of the Guard. Rapunzel notices her parents' absence and the Captain realizes that the king and queen are in grave danger.
As the snow continues to blow outside, Rapunzel tells Nigel that she must go find her parents. Nigel is against the idea, reminding Rapunzel she can't just leave her subjects and although it pains him to think of the worst, he only hopes that the king and queen had found shelter before the worst of storm arrived. Rapunzel still insists on finding her parents, but Nigel refuses, revealing entering that storm is practically a death sentence and therefore she cannot go because the storm could most likely kill her. Eugene agrees with Nigel and instead volunteers himself, Lance, and their thug friends to find and rescue the king and queen since they have all been given a second chance in going straight with their lives and this is their way of repaying King Frederic and Queen Arianna. Eugene urges Rapunzel to listen as there is no other option, assuring they are the only men for the job and remembering Cassandra's words before, wants to make himself useful. The Captain suggests the guards go to rescue the King and Queen, but Eugene advises against it; with the storm getting worse, Corona will need its guards to protect it as its last line of defence. The Captain ultimately leaves the decision to Rapunzel. Although Rapunzel fears she might lose Eugene in the storm, she agrees to let them go. Rapunzel and Eugene share a heartfelt embrace and say goodbye with Eugene promising their return.
Back at Old Corona, the crystals continue to conceal Quirin's body. Despite his attempts to free himself, Quirin's efforts are in vain. The crystals move a table with paper and pen close to him, allowing him to write a message to Varian. He holds the message as high as he can to keep the crystals from concealing as well. Meanwhile, Varian travels to Corona as he expresses his desire to make his father understand and proud of him. Just as he reaches Corona, Rapunzel and Cassandra learn that the worst of storm has yet to come. Nigel suggests that the only way to save the kingdom is to evacuate the island, get to shelter on the mainland and pray that the storm will pass. Rapunzel doesn't think that they'll get everyone to safety in time and wonders if Xavier could help them, remembering his story from earlier. Nigel is deeply against the idea and states they can't go chasing after fairy tales. Suddenly, Varian runs in and calls Rapunzel for help to save his father. However, Rapunzel can't leave Corona at a time of crisis and tells him she cannot help him now. Despite Varian's pleads and calling her out about her promise, Rapunzel stays as Varian is dragged out by the guards.
At the mountains, King Frederic and Queen Arianna, who have survived the crash, try to stay warm inside their carriage. King Frederic has broken his ankle from the accident and he is worried about what will become of the kingdom. Queen Arianna assures him that Rapunzel will make a great queen and the couple comfort one another in embrace. Meanwhile, Eugene, Maximus, Lance, and the thugs are not too far from where the carriage is and soon spot it. However, in order to reach it though, they must cross the ledge. Back at Corona, the storm grows worse and worse, breaking down one of the castle's towers. Nigel insists that they must act now. Rapunzel, seeing no other way, tells them to evacuate the island. As the guards get everyone in Corona ready for the evacuation, Varian returns to his home to help his father, but discovers he is too late, finding his father Quirin, with the message, is now trapped in the crystal, leaving Varian devastated.
Back at Corona, Rapunzel and Cassandra have began evacuating. Rapunzel expresses her concerns to Cassandra that she hopes she made the right decision. Cassandra assures Rapunzel that she made "the only decision." However, Rapunzel is still unsure that the evacuation is the right decision and realizes if her father were here, he would tell her to follow her heart. Realizing there's still hope, Rapunzel decides to try to find the device in Xavier's story and Cassandra, even though she doubts the legend, agrees to go with her. Xavier refuses to help at first because he didn't say the device was real but soon agrees to take them when Rapunzel recalls his saying that "every legend is born of truth."
Back at the mountains, Eugene and his friends are right above the carriage and he and Lance are lowered down with ropes. Eugene slipped but managed to get his footing back. Big Nose almost sneezes that would of start an avalanche only to be stopped by Hook Foot, who then sneezes instead causing an avalanche instead, burying Eugene and Lance in the snow. Meanwhile, Rapunzel, Pascal, Cassandra, and Xavier are in the underground tunnels. Xavier finds a secret passageway that will lead them straight to the machine. At the mountains, Eugene and Lance are dug out by Queen Arianna. Back at Corona, the people and guards push through the storm to try to cross the bridge. Unfortunately, the wind blew one of the carts lose and cause a barrel and a lantern to fall, causing an explosion that cut the bridge off, leaving everyone trapped.
Back underground, Rapunzel and the others found the Demanitus Device in a secret chamber at the end of the tunnels, revealing the legend was true along, and manage to activate it. The machine is working but the vibration of the machine causes some stones to fall and one of them stopped the gears. Meanwhile, the thugs pull up the queen and get ready to pull the king up as well. Eugene has tied a carriage wheel to the rope so the king can be pulled up without hurting his ankle further. However, as they are pulling the king up, the wind causes the rope to rock and break, sending King Frederic sliding down the snow and nearly fell off the cliff. Eugene manages to grab his hand and tries to pull him up, but is starting to lose his grip. Lance urges the thugs to help get down quickly to help. King Frederic tells Eugene to take care of Rapunzel but Eugene replies that they'll save him and Rapunzel doesn't need anyone to take care of her. Meanwhile, Rapunzel uses her hair to lower Pascal to the gears but it's not long enough to reach the stone. Rapunzel suggests to pull Pascal back up and figure out another way but Pascal, with tears and a smile, unties himself and jumps down. Rapunzel cries out to Pascal as he successfully pulls the stone out and the gears start to move again, but disappears into the gears in return, making it appear he sacrificed himself as Rapunzel mourns him with Cassandra. Back at the mountains, Eugene continues to hold onto King Frederic, but begins to loss his grip. Fortunately, Lance arrives in time and grabs the king's hand and helps to pull him back to safety. The machine succeeded in stopping the storm. Everyone was relieved, except for Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Xavier, who are mourning over the loss of Pascal. Fortunately, Pascal survived and climbs back up, wounded but well, much to everyone's relief, especially Rapunzel, thrilled to see Pascal alive.
Eventually, the snow begins to melt away and the citizens of Corona work on restoring the kingdom and their homes, and Rapunzel is happily reunited with Eugene and her parents. In her room, Rapunzel is writing and drawing in her journal about the recent events. Eugene comes in with a cupcake to celebrate their victory until he notices Rapunzel's sadness. Rapunzel explains that by turning her back on Varian, entrusting Eugene to face possible death, nearly losing Pascal, and trusting the fate of Corona to a "fairy tale" instead of her friends, she had the most difficult day of her life and reveals her uncertainty of wanting to become queen. Eugene comforts her by saying that her time to be queen is still a long time away and that no matter what she chooses when that day comes, he'll be right beside her. Rapunzel's spirits are uplifted and she and Eugene embrace with Rapunzel thanking Eugene for saving her parents.
In the last scene, a downtrodden Varian swears to solve the mystery of the black rocks and save his father. Varian, feeling betrayed by Rapunzel, says that those who stands or stood in his path are going to pay.
==Cast==
*Mandy Moore as Rapunzel
*Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider, Feldspar
*Eden Espinosa as Cassandra
*Jeremy Jordan as Varian
*Clancy Brown as King Frederic
*Julie Bowen as Queen Arianna
*James Monroe Iglehart as Lance Strongbow
*Peter MacNicol as Nigel
*Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Xavier
*Jonathan Banks as Quirin
*Jeff Ross as Hook Foot
*Jeffrey Tambor as Big Nose
*Steve Blum as Attila
*Charles Halford as Vladimir
*M. C. Gainey as Captain of the Guards
*Sean Hayes as Pete
=== Additional Voices ===
* Kari Wahlgren
* Matthew Mercer
* Laura Bailey
* Stephanie Sheh
* Vanessa Marshall
* Keith Silverstein
* Erin Fitzgerald
==Songs==
*"I've Got This"
*"Let Me Make You Proud"
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Morals:
**Being a leader means making difficult decisions, but it's worth it.
**The issues of someone else may be more important than your own.
*This episode was originally titled "Queen Rapunzel".
*This special was released on DVD on December 12, 2017 in the United States and on July 9, 2018 in the United Kingdom respectively.
*Cassandra and Varian sing for the first time in this episode.
*This episode reveals that despite Rapunzel having a sweet tooth, she admits that she dislikes lemonade.
*This episode does not feature the closing theme, "More of Me". Instead, an ominous theme plays in its place to reflect Varian vowing payback on those who turned their backs on him.
*In "Race to the Spire", Zhan Tiri reveals that the blizzard from this episode was actually a form she had taken, marking this episode as her first appearance.
*This episode was uploaded to the Disney Channel YouTube channel on August 16, 2021.
**It was later re-uploaded on August 22, 2022 along with the entirety of the first season, in honor of Disney Channel's "World Princess Week".
*Despite the title, Rapunzel is actually acting queen for about 2-3 days.
==Goofs==
*Quirin had removed his glove on his left hand, but when he pushes Varian out of the way and becomes trapped in the amber, his glove reappears on his encased hand.
*Cartoon Biology: It should be impossible for Pascal to survive out in the snow, as he's a reptile.
*Attila is the only Pub Thug not present among the group when rescuing King Frederic and Queen Arianna despite him volunteering and leaving with the others.
==International premieres==
*December 12, 2017 (Germany)
*March 18, 2018 (Brazil)
Category:Tangled episodes
Category:Television specials
Category:Multi-part episodes
Category:Anniversary productions