Red (episode)

"Red" is the eleventh episode of The Little Mermaid TV series, originally aired on November 14, 1992.
==Synopsis==
A magic spell turns King Triton into a merboy, and Ariel has to play mother to him.
==Plot==
Ariel is hosting a party with Sebastian as the main musical act. When Pearl, another teen mermaid who Ariel looks up too as "cool", arrives Ariel is delighted especially when Pearl compliments the party. Pearl says the only thing that is holding the party back is the apparent quietness of the music. Ariel asks Sebastian the pump the sound up despite Flounder reminding her that King Triton only allowed Ariel to have a party on the condition she keep the noise down, to which Ariel tells Flounder to stop being such "a worry whale".
Meanwhile in the palace nearby Triton has employed a new royal treasurer, Glow Fish. Triton has concerns as some of the royal jewels are missing, but he leaves Glow Fish to attend to the inventory of the treasure whilst he goes to chastise Ariel for the loudness of her party which he can overhear. Glow Fish mutters as Triton leave that he covets the royal jewels and would never leave them unattended if he were king. 
Triton arrives at the party and Ariel agrees to turn the music back down, Triton is in a relatively good mood and Ariel asks him to dance. Unfortunately Triton throws out his back during the dance calling the party to a halt as Ariel decides to prioritise looking after her father. Triton apologies as Pearl and the other mer-teens swim off to other parties. Glow Fish suggests he knows someone who can provide a remedy to make Triton feel younger that he will go and collect.
This someone is actually an ominous sorceress trapped in a cave who appears to be a disembodied head and arms, she says she has been stuck there for centuries. She provides Glow Fish with youth crystal and a magical activation flute in return for Glow Fish using the opportunity the spell presents to steal Triton's trident which she needs to escape her cave. Glow Fish presents the stone to Ariel and tells her to give it to Triton to make him feel more youthful and then sneaks behind a coral column in the palace to play the magical flute. 
The flute and youth stone cast a de-aging spell turning Triton into a merboy who calls himself "Red". Red refuses to answer to Ariel when she calls him Daddy and is even more mischievous than Ariel is, Ariel worries that Triton will hurt himself with the trident and tries to convince Red to give it to her. Red refuses this on the grounds that he's the king so he can do what he wants. He then gets into several scrapes including being nearly captured in a fishing net when wanting to take a look up on the surface. Red also accidentally fires a lightening bolt at Sebastian but still demonstrates the ability to summon the Trident with some skill. Red also goes out of his way to save a fish who is being chased by a shark as he wants to protect his subjects still. 
Ariel realises what a handful Red can be and also that their usual roles have been reversed with Ariel becoming a disciplinarian as she worries constantly about Red getting hurt. Red thinks Ariel is nice but a "worry Whale" and a "fuddy-duddy", but eventually realises she only spoils his fun out of concern for him. Eventually Ariel and Sebastian return to the Palace with Red and they find Glow Fish on the throne wearing some of the jewels from the royal treasure as Glow Fish had ignored the sorceress' commands about getting the trident and instead decided to "count shiny things". Ariel, Sebastian, and Red trap Glow Fish and demand to be taken who the person who gave him the magical items he used. 
Glow Fish insists he had no idea that the flute and stone would transform Triton, and that he thought it would just make him feel better but none of the others are convinced. When they get to the cave and see the sorceress Red gets a sense of familiarity about the situation but can't quiet recall exactly what. Ariel wonders why the sorceress is so worried about getting the trident quickly if she's been stuck in the cave for centuries and realises the spell on Triton is time limited and about to run out. The sorceress demands Glow Fish get the trident for her but he flees. She then creates an undertow and uses it to drag the trident to herself, around the same time the youth spell wears off and Red re-ages back into Triton. 
Triton recalls that she is an evil sorceress he banished to the caves as a young adult so he wouldn't be able to remember who she was exactly as as a child. The evil sorceress laughs saying she has the trident which she can use to escape her cave but then realises she cannot figure out how to use it and King Triton resummons it to her dismay. King Triton then dismisses Glow Fish, Glow Fish sheepishly leaves but tries to swim out wearing some of the royal treasure including the jewels that were missing until Triton points out he is still wearing them. Glow Fish attempts to feign this was an innocent mistake but Triton sees through this and zaps Glow Fish with the trident as he leaves. 
The episode closes with Ariel admitting that being a parent is hard, and Triton admitting that being a kid can be even harder than being a parent sometimes. 
==Cast==
*Jodi Benson as Ariel
*Edan Gross as Flounder
*Samuel E. Wright as Sebastian
*Kenneth Mars as King Triton
*Whit Hertford as Young King Triton
==Songs==
*This is the Life - Sebastian
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
* The dynamic between Ariel and young Triton is a reversal of that of her and her father; Triton-overprotective parent-becomes an adventurous child, and Ariel-adventurous child-becomes an overprotective mother figure.
pt-br:O Jovem Tritão
Category:The Little Mermaid episodes