Benson and the Beast

**"Benson and the Beast"** is the 7th episode of season 2 of *Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts* and the 17th episode overall. It premiered on Netflix with the rest of the season on June 12, 2020.

## Synopsis

The Mega Jaguar rages out of control, but Benson has a knack for handling rowdy Mutes. Can the gang rely on Dr. Emilia — and Kipo herself? Kipo doubts herself after she hurts Benson and is too scared of hurting anyone else to transform back into the Mega Jaguar. However, when Dave is captured by bats, who wish to use his radio transmitter to contact aliens, Kipo is forced to trust in herself to rescue Benson by turning into the Mega Jaguar.

## Plot

In a flashback from one year ago, Benson drops into a bat cave to retrieve his cassette player. The bats Geli and Jibralta try to stop him because they need it to contact the aliens, but he pretends Dave is an alien so he can get away.

In present day, Kipo is in her jaguar form and running after Scarlemagne but Emilia intercepts. Benson gets Kipo to return to her human form and Emilia sees everything, whispering "Finally." She mutters to her friends to follow her lead.

Emilia, Zane, and Greta pretend to be friendly to Kipo. They explain that they're part of the human resistance to take down Scarlemagne. They offer to take the group back to their headquarters to rest and train.

“The new plan is to use her as a weapon and then destroy the weapon.”
— Emilia
In another flashback, Song opens the door to Emilia who accuses her of betraying their mission by creating half mutes. Song gets thrown off the side of the balcony and her instincts kick in, making her a mega monkey.

In present day, shows the group around headquarters and their sonic transmitter. She also captured one of Scarlemagne's human soldiers and Kipo recognizes him as Roberto, Troy's father. Roberto wakes up and Emilia's people demand that he tells them everything about the coronation.

The bats break into the headquarters after hearing the sonic transmitter, convinced it is an alien communicator. They recognize Benson and take him with them. Kipo transforms into her jaguar form to attack the bats. Benson helps her regain control with the photo. The bats let them leave, convinced they are both aliens/alien communicators.

Emilia tells Kipo that she is the only one who can take down the mega monkey and that is her job. Benson talks to Roberto, who gets the hint that he likes his son, Troy, and hints that they would have a lot in common.

Roberto leads Kipo to where Scarlemagne is keeping the mega monkey, aka Kipo's mom. Kipo talks to her and her mom recognizes here and tears well up in her eyes. Kipo plans to help her escape, but Scarlemagne catches her and shows Kipo that her dad is in his control.

## Credits

* **Written by**
	+ Taylor Chapulin Orci

* **Directed by**
	+ Michael Chang

* **Storyboards by**
	+ James P. Gibson
	+ Ben Li
	+ Sean Song

* **Cast**
	+ Karen Fukuhara as Kipo Oak
	+ Sydney Mikayla as Wolf
	+ Deon Cole as Dave
	+ Coy Stewart as Benson
	+ Dee Bradley Baker as Mandu, Mega Monkey
	+ Carlos Alazraqui as Zane
	+ Antonio Alvarez as Roberto
	+ Jee Young Han as Song Oak
	+ Amy Landecker as Dr. Emilia
	+ Kat Palardy as Geli
	+ Dan Stevens as Scarlemagne
	+ Anna Vocino as Greta
	+ Noel Wells as Jibralta

## Transcript

The transcript can be found here: Benson and the Beast/Transcript
## Episode notes

### Trivia

* This episode’s title is a reference to the story “Beauty and the Beast.”