Battle for the Pride Lands

"Battle for the Pride Lands" is the first episode of Season 3 of The Lion Guard, and the fifty-sixth episode of the series overall. It premiered on August 3, 2019.
==Official synopsis==
"After Kion and Ono are injured in an attempt to defeat Scar in the battle for the Pride Lands, the Lion Guard must embark on a journey to the Tree of Life to help them regain their strength.
*Returning guest stars include David Oyelowo (“Selma”) as Scar, Christian Slater (“Mr. Robot”) as Ushari, Blair Underwood (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) as Makuu, Maia Mitchell (“The Fosters”) as Jasiri, Ana Gasteyer (“The Goldbergs”) as Reirei, John O’Hurley (“Seinfeld”) as Hadithi and Common (“Selma”) as Kiburi."
==Plot summary==
For several months, Kion leads the Pride Landers in an epic struggle against Scar and his army as they attempt to overtake the Pride Lands. Over time, Kion and his friends grow older, with Kion's Roar becoming especially powerful ("We Will Defend").
Eventually, Simba informs Kion that they must take the fight to Scar in the Outlands. Kion agrees, as does Jasiri and her clan. Together, the Lion Guard gathers the other Pride Landers at Pride Rock to prepare for an assault on Scar's volcano. Unbeknownst to the Pride Landers, Scar's skinks overhear their plans to assault the Outlands.
Meanwhile, Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu guards the remnants of Kilio Valley for Scar. He begins to doubt his conviction, as he recounts what Jasiri had taught him about the Circle of Life ("A New Way to Go"). Scar's skinks overhear Janja's potential betrayal and leave to inform Scar.
In the Outlands, Scar summons Janja and informs him that the only way for Kion to defeat him is to use his most powerful Roar in the volcano's inner chamber, which would consume Scar in the flames and destroy him. He then orders Janja and his clan to distract the Lion Guard while Scar executes his plan against the Pride Landers. Ushari doubts Scar's plan, but Scar reassures him that he is always two steps ahead.
Across the savanna, the Pride Landers continue to train together. Kion doubts his abilities but resolves to fight against Scar with his team ("On the Last Night").
That night, Janja and his clan bait the Lion Guard into following them into the Lair of the Lion Guard. At the same time, Kiburi, Goigoi, and their allies set fire to Pride Rock, trapping the Lion Guard and Janja's clan in the Lair. Janja manages to escape the fire and realizes that he has been double-crossed by Scar. With no other options, he appeals to Jasiri for help, and she accepts.
In the meantime, the Lion Guard uses an underground pool to escape the Lair, along with Janja's clan. Anga and Hadithi rescue Simba, Nala, and Kiara from atop Pride Rock by carrying them in their talons.
No sooner has the Lion Guard escaped when Scar appears in the flames of Pride Rock and tells the Pride Landers to abandon their home. Simba refuses to surrender, and Scar mocks him for not having the power to defeat him. As the flames die down, so does Scar, with a final menacing laugh.
After the fight, Jasiri arrives with Janja and implores the Pride Landers to trust him. Janja explains what Scar had told him about Kion's ability to defeat Scar once and for all. The Pride Landers then resolve to assault the Outlands and use Kion's Roar to take out Scar.
Back in the Outlands, Scar informs Ushari that he had lied to Janja, for if Kion uses the Roar in the volcano, he will start a massive eruption that will destroy the Pride Lands. He then explains that he had gotten his scar from a snake who'd been in cahoots with a strange lion. The two had tried to hold the cure over Scar's head so that he would obey them, but in his rage, Scar had destroyed them with the Roar instead. He returned to Pride Rock expecting to be praised by Mufasa for destroying the lion and snake, only for Mufasa to give him the nickname Scar. Since then, he has resented Mufasa and the royal family ("When I Led the Guard"). He tells Ushari that it is now Kion's turn to obtain a scar and go down the path of evil.
Not long afterward, the Pride Landers assault the Outlands, and the Lion Guard breaks into the volcano's inner chamber. Ushari sneaks up on Kion and slashes his eye, giving him a scar and injecting him with venom. Scar taunts Kion, asserting that Kion is now marked by evil and has the same destiny as Scar himself. Suddenly, Kion remembers Mufasa's advice from before to not fight fire with fire; instead of giving in to his anger, Kion summons the Great Lions of the Past, who judge Scar by sending down rain that melts him away. Ushari tries to avenge Scar, but Bunga knocks them both into the lava pit. Ono saves Bunga from falling to his death, while Ushari meets his death in the flames below.
After the fight, the Pride Landers celebrate their victory. Jasiri becomes the leader of the Outlanders, with help from Janja and his clan. However, Ono mourns the loss of his sight due to too much exposure to smoke and volcanic fumes. The Lion Guard decides to bring both Kion and Ono before Rafiki for healing.
Along the way, Kion's scar causes him so much pain that he accidentally uses the Roar on Bunga. He tells Rafiki how much he has been suffering, and Rafiki tells the Lion Guard that they must travel to the Tree of Life for healing. In Ono's stead, Anga becomes the Keenest of Sight, while Kion reappoints Ono to be the Smartest.
The group leaves the Pride Lands shortly after, along with Makini, to find the Tree of Life.
==Voice cast==
===Starring===
*Max Charles as Kion
*Joshua Rush as Bunga
*Diamond White as Fuli
*Atticus Shaffer as Ono
*Dusan Brown as Beshte
*Rob Lowe as Simba
*Gabrielle Union as Nala
*Khary Payton as Rafiki
*Andrew Kishino as Janja
*Gary Anthony Williams as Mufasa
*Kevin Schon as Chungu
*Vargus Mason as Cheezi
*Greg Ellis as Mzingo
*Eden Riegel as Kiara
*Jeff Bennett as Zazu
===Guest starring===
*Christopher Jackson as Shujaa
*Maia Mitchell as Jasiri
*David Oyelowo as Scar
*Common as Kiburi
*Christian Slater as Ushari
*Ana Gasteyer as Reirei
*Bryana Salaz as Anga
*Michael Dorn as Bupu
*Landry Bender as Makini
*John O'Hurley as Hadithi
*Blair Underwood as Makuu
*Meghan Strange as Shupavu
*Lynette Dupree as Ma Tembo
*Phil LaMarr as Goigoi
*Nolan North as Tamka
*Dee Bradley Baker as Baby baboon
==Appearances==
==Trivia==
*The episode reveals how Scar acquired his namesake. The episode asserts that a strange cobra inflicted the scar under the orders of a strange lion in order to force Scar to serve them. However, there are other The Lion King works that explain it differently:
** In The Lion King: Six New Adventures, a book series inspired by the original film, a cape buffalo gave the young Scar (then named Taka) his scar, leading Taka to request to be referred as Scar from then on.
** In 2017, The Lion King director Rob Minkoff stated that 'Scar' was a 'really mean nickname' and that Mufasa was possibly the one who gave him his scar back when they were cubs.
** In the 2019 live-action remake, it is heavily implied that Mufasa gave Scar his scar when Scar challenged Mufasa's kingship.
* The episode marks the first time an antagonist of the show gets viscerally killed, this being Ushari when Bunga knocks him into the lava pit in Janja's den. Thus, the episode marks the first time, not only in The Lion Guard, but in a Disney Junior show, that a character explicitly dies.
* This episode explains Kion's absence in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. He, along with the rest of the Guard, had left the Pride Lands prior to Kiara's first hunt to travel to the Tree of Life.
* This is the first episode in which a character mentions Thurston's name. Kion says it as he thanks him for his help.
* This is the final episode to have an individualized title card. Beginning with the next episode, title cards have been discontinued, but their titles are still spoken.
** This has become a practice with all Disney Junior shows as of mid-2018.
==Media==
The Lion Guard Premiere Season 3 Official Promo|The Lion Guard Season 3 promo
==References==
Category:Episodes
Category:The Lion Guard Episodes
Category:The Lion Guard: Season 3
Category:Real world