The Lion Guard S3 E7

## Plot

The Guard reaches the next moja kwa moja stone. The river looks different in the painting though. It has a lot less water now. Ono says that the next landmark is a pool with rocks all around it. At this point, they're about three-quarters of the way through all of the landmarks. Makini remembers coming here with her parents on her first trip to the Tree of Life. They were going there to meet Rafiki, and they had a lot of fun on the way. We see a flashback, and baby Makini is so cute and adorable! Her father's name is Kitendo and her mother's name is Fikiri. They're voiced by Christopher Jackson and Heather Headley, who played Simba and Nala in *The Lion King* musical on Broadway. However, Heather started out as Nala, and Christopher started as an ensemble member who took over the role of Simba after several years. Jackson also provided the singing voice for Chief Tui in *Moana*, and he also played George Washington in *Hamilton*. Anga found the next landmark, but the pool is dry, and the boulders are small. Before they go there, Makini convinces them to take a small detour to a waterfall she saw with her parents when she was little. However, the waterfall has dried up since then. She finds another one of Rafiki's paintings, but it's not a moja kwa moja stone, because it doesn't show the Tree of Life. As the others leave, she heads towards a large rock with a hole in it, but the hole isn't there, and she wonders if it's really the same rock. They keep moving, but don't see that the sand was covering the hole. Makini points out a mountain that looks like a monkey's face, but the others don't see it. Kion suggests that she might be remembering a different mountain, and everyone leaves. It turns out that it only looks like a face when the sun shines on it. They reach the next landmark, but there's no water, and Makini says the rocks look smaller, but the others remind her that she's just bigger now. Ono says that the next landmark is four white flowers in the shape of a diamond, in a field of smaller flowers. Makini doesn't remember seeing any flowers. Kion, Fuli, and Ono refuse to see any more of her detours. Beshte at least tells her that her detours are really fun. She has a flashback to the time when her parents first told her that she might be a Royal Mjuzi. They tell her that if she's chosen to be one, it's because she's wise, curious, fun, and most importantly, she's herself. No matter what happens, she'll always be their Makini, and they'll always be with her, until she's ready to go out on her own. Anga didn't find any white flowers, or any place where flowers could grow. There's just a whole lot of desert. Makini says they have to cross it and head towards the cliffs, but Anga says she didn't see any cliffs, and Ono says there aren't any cliffs in Rafiki's painting either, just the field of flowers. He speculates that it's possible that there used to be flowers here when there was water. Makini still doesn't remember flowers, but she remembers the desert. Fuli tells Kion that Makini's memories haven't been reliable so far, but Beshte points out that she's the only one of them who's been to the Tree of Life before, which is why Rafiki let her come with them. The desert is harsh though, and Beshte starts getting sunburnt. Anga flies over him so her shadow gives him some shade. After a sandstorm, Ono tells everyone that they're on a booming sand dune. They make noise when you walk on them. Makini remembers this too, and tells everyone that her family had so much fun here. When she accidentally gets sand in Kion's face, he accuses her of bringing them on another detour. Fuli and Beshte defend her and ask Kion if he's okay, and he admits that he shouldn't have yelled. Suddenly, a jerboa yells at them for stomping on his sand dune and waking him up. Desert creatures sleep during the day. No one travels around the dunes in the sun. He accidentally kicks sand in Kion's face, and runs away when he growls at him. Kion decides to follow their footprints back to the last stone and start over. Another sandstorm comes and sweeps away their footprints though, as well as their scent, and the dunes shifted in the winds. Kion gets angry and frustrated and growls again. Makini tries to give him some Tuliza, but he won't eat something that's covered in sand. Ono says they can do what desert animals do: Shelter during the day and come out at night. Bunga and Kion make a burrow for everyone to get out of the sun. Makini knows that she was here with her parents, and wishes she could ask for their help. She knows that her mom would probably say "As you move forward, don't forget to look back." And her dad would probably say, "It's more fun to step forward than it is to sit still." She remembers her trip with them and meeting Rafiki for the first time at the Tree of Life, with a very unique lioness. She tells Beshte about it, and says when she does look back, she's not remembering things right. She feels like she's letting Kion down. Beshte tells her that his dad says, "The water is always cleaner at the front of the hippo." It means that Makini has to leave those mistakes behind her. They all know she's doing her best. The last time she was here, she was really little. A lot of things have changed since then, including herself. Kion says it's not her fault everything's dry here now. It's nighttime, but they still don't know which way to go. Makini quotes her father and picks a random direction, but then they hear and feel the booming sand dune again. Except no one moved. It turns out to be the jerboa again. Kion apologizes for scaring him, and formally introduces himself and the rest of the Lion Guard. His name is Tupp, and he apologizes for being rude that morning and leads them to water. He shows them a plant that has leaves that can collect water. They drink it, and Makini uses some water to wash the sand off of the Tuliza, and Kion eats it. Anga didn't see the plant before because it was covered with sand, and asks Tupp how he found it, since there aren't any landmarks in the desert, and the dunes keep moving. He says that in the desert, creatures don't look down at the ground to find their way. They look up at the stars in the sky. Makini says it looks like a field of flowers, which makes her and Ono realize that Rafiki's painting was actually four bright stars in the shape of a diamond. Tupp says those stars are always in the same place in the sky, spinning around in a circle. They always lead across the desert to the tall cliffs. Anga can finally see them, and finds the next moja kwa moja stone at the top. Kion apologizes to Makini on behalf of everyone for not believing her. She says it's okay, and suggests taking another detour on their way back to the Pridelands and meeting her parents. Okay, I'm not gonna lie, I thought Makini was okay in season 2, and I thought I'd like her as a main character in season 3, but I hated her in the marsh episode because I thought she was ditzy and annoying. I just thought she was really naive and overly enthusiastic about everything. No one in the real world is that happy or acts anything like that in the face of similar situations. Now I know how Emerald felt in volume 3 of RWBY. Not to mention that unlike her mentor, her fighting ability is nonexistent, so every time something action related happens, she has to either run, hide, stay behind, or have someone else save her, which got old very quickly. But this episode really warmed me up to her. She's just so cute and positive! She kind of reminds me of my older sister when we were little. And I guess it does make sense for a child to be so happy and carefree compared to an adult or a teenager, who often face more stress and real world concerns than kids do. Which reminds me, how come Makini doesn't look like she aged up like the Guard? Come to think of it, aside from the Guard, Kiara, and her friends, none of the other characters look like they aged at all. That's understandable with the adult characters, but what about the baby elephant Mtoto? Why is he still the same size? Whatever, I really liked this episode and it made me start to like Makini's character. But I bet that will disappear within the next episode or two though.