The River of Patience

"The River of Patience" is the twelfth episode of Season 3 of The Lion Guard, and the sixty-seventh episode of the series overall. It premiered on October 12, 2019.
==Official synopsis==
"While Kion heals at the Tree of Life, Makucha, Chuluun, and Ora attack. Kion is eager to defend the Tree, but must learn to focus and find patience in order to heal fully." Accessed 12 November 2019.
==Plot summary==
The Lion Guard arrives at the Tree of Life, where they meet its matriarch, Queen Janna. Kion explains that he and his friend, Ono, have come for healing. Nirmala, a gifted healer, examines them and comes to the conclusion that Kion's injuries will be far more difficult to heal than Ono's. Janna orders her granddaughter, Rani, to give the Lion Guard a tour of the kingdom while Kion begins his healing journey with Nirmala. Janna then offers to complete Makini's Royal Mjuzi training, to which Makini delightfully accepts.
Nirmala leads Kion to Dirisha, also called the River of Patience, and gives him specific instructions to fetch her a flower on the opposite bank. First, he must wait for a log to float down the river. Then, he must ride it to a sandy bank. Finally, he must climb a winding trail up the side of the cliff until he reaches the flower. Kion worries that it will take a long time for a log to appear, but Nirmala assures him that they will wait as long as necessary, even days.
Meanwhile, Rani gives the Lion Guard a tour of the territory, which includes a variety of habitats ("Welcome to the Tree of Life"). Unbeknownst to Rani, Makucha and his allies, Chuluun and Ora, are sneaking into the territory. Makucha attempts to take charge, but Chuluun and Ora rebel against him, each wanting to formulate the plan. Ullu the owl overhears their activities and leaves to inform Rani.
Across the savanna, Kion attempts to jump on a log, but his impatience causes the log to tip. Just then, Nirmala is called away to join the rest of the Night Pride, leaving Kion alone to worry over the team's fate.
The Night Pride takes on Makucha and his allies, defeating them easily, as they do not work well together. At the same time, the rest of the Lion Guard joins Kion and relates how Rani had been called away to face down a threat to the Tree of Life. Kion frets that the Night Pride could be in danger, and the Lion Guard heads off to help defeat the unknown foe.
The Lion Guard arrives at the scene of the fight, only to find that the Night Pride has defeated Makucha and his allies. Baliyo mentions Makucha by name, and Kion apologetically admits that Makucha and his allies had followed the Lion Guard to the Tree of Life. This infuriates Rani.
Back at the Tree of Life, Janna teaches Makini that Askari, the first leader of the Lion Guard, had discovered the Roar of the Elders at the Tree of Life. She then gifts Makini with a new bakora staff, the one that had belonged to Janna's last Royal Mjuzi.
Just then, the Lion Guard and the Night Pride arrive, and Rani accuses Kion of letting in an army of predators. Kion apologizes and offers his services in defeating Makucha's army, but Janna advises Kion to heal before he helps the Night Pride.
Nirmala and Kion return to Dirisha, where Kion paces restlessly, waiting for a log to approach. Once more, a log rolls down the river, but Kion is too impatient to properly land on it. This time, after falling in the river, he stubbornly decides to fetch the flower his way. He struggles against the current and attempts to climb the cliff face, but Nirmala uses her own path to beat him to the flower.
That night, Chuluun leads Makucha's army in another attack, but the Night Pride fends them off. Ora then resolves to take over and attack the pride head-on by the light of day.
The next morning, Kion uses patience to properly land on a log, jump to the sandy shore, and climb the cliff trail. However, in the middle of the lesson, Nirmala is called away to deal with Makucha's army. The Night Pride battles against Makucha and his allies, but Baliyo gets bitten by Ora, which paralyzes him. Kion spots the disastrous battle, but chooses to finish his task first.
Once Kion grabs the flower, he rushes to help the Night Pride. Afraid of the Roar, Ora flees, but Makucha and Chuluun attempt to climb the cliff to reach the Tree of Life. Kion uses the cliff trail to cut them off and, with Rani's help, defeats them. The rest of the Lion Guard arrives in time to chase Makucha's army away.
After the fight, Kion apologizes to Nirmala, since his flower had gotten trampled in the fight. She explains that it had been the task that was important, not the flower. She then encourages him by telling him that he has completed his first step in the path toward healing.
Meanwhile, Mama Binturong arrives and declares herself the new leader of Makucha's army.
==Voice cast==
===Starring===
* Max Charles as Kion
* Joshua Rush as Bunga
* Diamond White as Fuli
* Atticus Shaffer as Ono
* Dusan Brown as Beshte
* Bryana Salaz as Anga
* Landry Bender as Makini
===Guest starring===
* Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Rani
* Shohreh Aghdashloo as Janna
* Lou Diamond Phillips as Surak
* Hudson Yang as Baliyo
* Miki Yamashita as Nirmala
* Steve Blum as Makucha
* Andrew Kishino as Ora
* Kimiko Glenn as Chuluun
* Rachel House as Mama Binturong
* Vyvan Pham as Ullu
==Appearances==
==Trivia==
* The episode was released early on September 2, 2019, on DisneyNOW.
* This episode is the first to feature a slightly different intro than the previous episodes of Season 3.
==References==
Category:Episodes
Category:The Lion Guard Episodes
Category:The Lion Guard: Season 3
Category:Real world