Night of the Stranger

"Night of the Stranger" is the eighth episode of the second season of Ewoks. Written by Paul Dini and directed by Dale Schott, the episode originally aired on ABC on October 11, 1986.
==Plot summary==
===The comet===
The episode opens with a mother munyip and her young resting in their tree nest. In the night sky above Endor, two other moons align and shine brightly. A comet emerges from space and rockets towards Endor. The two moons separate.
At Bright Tree Village, Wicket and Teebo are learning from master Logray about the powers of the Sunstar when the old Ewok recounts a story of the Wizard of the Night Spirit. Teebo asks if the servants of the Night Spirit will return. Logray is not sure but says that they were vanquished by the Sunstar, which he stores in his cupboard. Wicket is curious but Logray warns that the Sunstar can unleash the most powerful magic in the universe for both good and evil.
Sensing the evil tonight, Logray stores the object in a cupboard and resolves to find the source. Wicket and Teebo are keen to accompany Logray but the shaman believes they are too young. He tells them to stay here and watch the skies and to warn Chief Chirpa if they see something unusual. The two younger Ewoks grumble about being left behind.
Through a telescope, a jealous Wicket watches several older Ewoks being awarded their belts of honor. Wicket wants to join them but Teebo points out he has not completed his belt yet. Teebo then spots a comet flashing through the sky. Peering through the telescope, Wicket spots the comet. While they race out to warn Chief Chirpa, the Sunstar glows in Logray's cupboard.
===The ghostly Stranger===
Elsewhere, Kneesaa grumbles about being left out of the ceremony while Latara grumbles about having to babysit the woklings. Just then, Teebo and Wicket arrive but accidentally trip on the bordok Baga. The frightened bordok disrupts the ceremony, overturning a crate of fruits. Wicket tells Chief Chirpa about the comet. The Chief checks the comet but instead spots a lantern bird, which he assumes was a mistaken sighting. Shodu warns Teebo and Wicket not to disrupt the ceremony again and sends them off.
Wicket is determined to prove the comet is real in order to get a trophy for his belt of honor. Teebo agrees to come along. Kneesaa and Latara decide to follow the boys. After a brief search, Teebo falls into a trench where the comet has landed. The two discover a mysterious object that appears to have contained something. Unknown to the Ewoks, they are being watched by a ghostly figure known as the Stranger. The two sense something is around but ambush Kneesaa and Latara by accident. At Wicket's urging, the four Ewoks decide to bring back the broken object.
At the Dulok Swamp, King Gorneesh and his tribe are having a party when they are visited by the ghostly Stranger. King Gorneesh warns the stranger that the swamp is Dulok property. However, the ghostly Stranger releases laser vision that shoots Gorneesh into the air, causing him to land in the swamp. Gorneesh submits to the Stranger, saying that our swamp is his swamp. The stranger orders the Duloks to follow him to the Ewok village. The Duloks are terrified but Gorneesh orders them to comply. Gorneesh deduces that the stranger is after the Ewok's Sunstar.
Meanwhile, the four Ewoks attempt to bring the mysterious object back to Bright Tree Village by traveling through the Soul Trees. However, a strong wind lifts Teebo onto the trees and drops him on the other Ewoks. Kneesaa asks Teebo what the soul trees are saying. Teebo replies that the tree is upset. Following the windstorm, the object spins and vaporizes, leaving no proof of its existence. Teebo believes that something awful is going to happen and that they must warn Master Logray.
Elsewhere, Master Logray ventures into the Thorn forest, the former domain of the Night Spirit. However, several pillars with vines rise out of the ground, trapping Logray under rock. Logray is separated from his staff and realizes that he must get back to the village.
===The Dulok raid===
Back at Bright Tree Village, the Stranger and his Dulok followers attack the village so that the Stranger can steal the Sunstar. A pair of Duloks invade Shodu's home but she drives them out. Chief Chirpa and the other male Ewoks fight the invaders. The Stranger rises to Master Logray's treehouse where he senses the Sunstar. Wicket and his friends arrive in the midst of the Dulok invasion. Kneesaa spots the Stranger with the Sunstar. The Stranger uses the Sunstar to trap them on a wooden bridge between two fires.
Wicket and his friends call for help, prompting Chief Chirpa and the warriors to come to their aid. Latara almost falls down a loose plank. Meanwhile, Gorneesh and Umwak meet with the Stranger, hoping to strike a partnership. However, the ghostly figure replies that the Dulaks have served their purpose and orders them to go. He drives the two Duloks away with the Sunstar. Back at Bright Tree Village, the Ewoks work together to put out the wife, allowing the four young Ewoks to jump to safety. Wicket is reunited with his mother Shodu while Latara is splashed by Barga.
Chief Chirpa and the adult Ewoks soon learn that the Sunstar is missing. Believing the Duloks have stolen the Sunstar, Chirpa musters a force and sends the young Ewoks to their huts. Wicket and Kneesaa try to warn Chirpa that the Stranger stole the Sunstar but Chirpa ignores them. Wicket convinces his friends to pursue the Stranger. Teebo questions a munyip who tells them that the Stranger when to the thorn forest. Latara grumbles about having to travel through the Glop pits.
Meanwhile, Logray manages to retrieve his staff and lift the rocks trapping him. However, he is soon confronted by the Stranger, whom he describes as an "evil" wizard serving the Night Spirit. The Stranger uses the Sunstar to destroy Logray's staff and imprison him in a magical forcefield. The Stranger uses the Sunstar a vision of a barren Endor under his peoples' rule but is troubled by another vision of Wicket and his friends pursuing him.
===Wizards of the Night Spirit===
The Stranger uses his magic to transform a vine into a giant serpentine creature to destroy Wicket and his friends. Meanwhile, Wicket falls into the Glop pits but is trapped in a bubble, which falls into the swamp. After reuniting with his friends, Latara is kidnapped by the giant serpentine creature. While Teebo searches for a potion, Wicket tells Latara to try and stall the monster. She attempts to charm the creature but it has no effect. Teebo retrieves itching dust which causes the serpent to writhe in irritation. Wicket retrieves a scale from the serpent for his Belt of Honor, much to Latara's annoyance.
Back at the Thorn Forest, the Stranger reveals his plans to use the dark side of the Sunstar to open a doorway to his world and let the rest of his people through. The Sunstar's powers causes two other moons to align. Wicket and his friends reach the others as the ritual is taking place. Wicket and Kneesaa jump at the Stranger but the spectral figure is able to dodge them and transform into a monstrous creature with large jaws. The Sunstar opens a portal which brings a swarm of Wizards of the Night Spirit. The Stranger vows that they will be the first to suffer, causing Latara to cry.
Chief Chirpa soon arrives with his tribe's warriors. The Stranger sends the other Wizards after them. The Ewoks manage to trap one with a lasoo but it drags Wicket and Kneesaa away. Teebo hurls spells which transform the Wizards into various harmless objects as well as shrinking one. Wicket and Kneesaa are thrown into the path of the Stranger, knocking him over. Logray tells Wicket and Kneesaa that they must spin the Sunstar the other way in order to reverse the spell. While Wicket struggles with the Stranger, Kneesaa uses her grapping line to spin the Sunstar. The Wizards are sucked back into a portal.
The Stranger attempts to drag Wicket with him into the portal but Kneesaa uses his Belt of Honor to restrain the spectral being, saving Wicket. The Stranger is sucked back into the portal, expelling him from the Forest Moon. As the last of the Wizards is forced into space, the Ewoks breathe a sigh of relief, confident that the Wizards will be unable to return. Wicket is upset that his Belt of Honor is gone. Latara tells him that Kneesaa saved his life. Wicket believes that he is ruined. However, the wind blows back his feather, giving him some comfort.
===Beads of bravery===
The following day, Chief Chirpa thanks Wicket, Kneesaa, Teebo and Latara for their courage and actions. Wicket asks if he can join the warrior's circle. Chirpa thinks that he is too young and tells Shodu to bring them their rewards, which turn out to be "beads of bravery." The young Ewoks are disappointed and ask Chirpa and Shodu if they can be bigger or more colorful.
==Continuity==
This episode shows a ceremony where Chief Chirpa promotes Chukhra-Trok, Weechee Warrick and Asha to the position of Ewok warriors. The three adult Ewoks had completed their Belts of Honor, a condition to be promoted to the circle of warriors. Wicket would complete his Belt of Honor only after the events of the second season of Ewoks.
==Credits==
==Appearances==
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
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