Sand Trap

**"Sand Trap"** is the thirteenth episode of the first season of *Power Players*. It first premiered on December 27, 2019 on the official Cartoon Network website and it later premiered on January 19, 2020, on TV on Cartoon Network.

## Synopsis

Axel and the team take to the desert dunes of a playground sandbox as Madcap attempts to unearth an army of Spy Lizards from the same line as Galileo!

## Plot

The episode opens at the playground in the park where the Power Players are searching for Galileo in the sandbox. After they all nearly get caught by the nearby kids who're playing volleyball, Galileo finally shows up and tells his friends what he saw last night: during his nightly routine spy mission, he followed Madcap to a toy distribution warehouse where he ripped open the boxes of the "world's most popular toys" and turned them into his mindless minions. He also tells them that Madcap had also found the Copper Coupon, a randomly inserted prize map that boxes the location of the hidden deluxe figure from the same "incredibly popular toyline". Galileo ends his story by saying that he had followed Madcap to his sand hideout and texted his friends about the emergency for back-ups to stop the villain.

Action Axel asks Galileo what's the "most popular toyline" he's referring to, and Galileo arrogantly reveals that he's talking about the *Junior Genetic Spy Lizard*, a toyline where he originates from. The Power Players, however, are all unimpressed by it, and Bobbie Blobby harshly pointed out that Galileo's prototype never made it out of the production line. Action Axel scolds Bobbie for her blunt comment and tells Galileo that him never been release still makes him special in the toyline, which cheers him up.

Suddenly, the brainwashed *Junior Genetic Spy Lizard* toys arrived and ambushed the Power Players. Two of the lizards have capture Galileo and carries him away from the sandbox while the remaining of the army are attacking the team. Action Axel angrily asks Madcap, who has also shown up, where he kept Galileo, but Madcap blasts a tornado made out of sand which causes him and the lizards to all disappear while the Power Players have to deal with the sand blowing into their faces. Sarge Charge noticed the footprints the lizards made on the sand, and the Power Players, riding on Bearbarian's Monster Jeep, all follow the trail. While driving the Jeep, they all came across Madcap's sand hideout and crash through the walls.

With the exception of Bearbarian, who unfortunately has to stay home because of a laundry incident that causes his entire body to become pink, the remaining Power Players were all forced to sneak inside the sand hideout to rescue Galileo and fight with the brainwashed toy lizards. Wearing the clay masks that Bobbie Blobby created so the guys could blend in with the other lizards, the guys pretend that they're taking Bobbie, prisoner, for Madcap and sneak past the guards.

Meanwhile, the brainwashed toy lizards threw Galileo into a room where Madcap had found the giant limited-edition deluxe figure. Madcap tells Galileo that he needs him to control the deluxe figure like a mecha-suit since the more lizards he powered with Minergy, the weaker they would get. Galileo, knowing about Madcap's scheme, refuses to help his enemy, but Madcap manipulated him into offering him the chance to "reclaim the fame" he was denied and in return, Galileo must give him Axel's Power Bandz. Galileo still refuses the offer, but Madcap blasts Minergy at him and brainwashed him into forcibly joining his side.

The Power Players found the room where Galileo is kept prisoner and saw that their friend has been brainwashed into attacking them. As Action Axel tries to reason with Galileo about how they're all friends and he didn't need popularity to make him feel special, the remaining Power Players have to fight back the brainwashed lizard army. However, it turns out Galileo is acting the entire time and tricks Madcap into saying, "I didn't even need all these worthless lizard toys!" so he could record it from his voice-activated super-spy gear. He plays the recording to everyone in the room which causes all the brainwashed spy lizards to get angry about Madcap's confession and turn against their former master. Madcap gets blasted out of his sand hideout and a volleyball was thrown at him, sending him flying away from the park. The Power Players then celebrated their victory outside of the sand hideout with Galileo taking a selfie with his friends, ending the episode.

## Characters

### Major characters

* Axel Mulligan/Action Axel
* Galileo
* Madcap
* *Junior Genetic Spy Lizard* toys

### Minor characters

* Sarge Charge
* Bobbie Blobby
* Masko
* Bearbarian
* Craig (background)
* Civilians

## Trivia

* This episode revealed that Galileo serves as the spy of the Power Players team which fits his role in the *Junior Genetic Spy Lizard* toyline he's from.
* This is the third episode in which Slobot didn't appear after "All Trick No Treat" and "Iced Out".
* This is the first episode in which a member of Power Players tricks Madcap into joining his side.
* The Copper Coupon has a symbol that's very similar to the Power Players team. This indicates that when the Power Players were established, they used the logo from the *Junior Genetic Spy Lizard* toyline as their insignia.
* In this episode, Bearbarian didn't join his team to save the Junior Genetic Spy Lizards from Madcap's control because of an unfortunate laundry incident that causes him to turn pink.
* With the exception of his transformation sequence, Axel is seen in his civilian form for only twenty-two seconds in this episode.
* This episode revealed that Galileo's prototype model never made it out of the production line, but the Power Players have to keep that information a secret from him to avoid hurting his feelings.
* This is the first time since "Unboxing Part 2" that Axel is referred to as "Action Axel" whenever he's in his toy mode, thus confirming that "Action Axel" is officially his superhero alter ego name.
* The fourth wall was broken by Galileo at the beginning of the episode. When Action Axel interrupts Galileo by asking what's a Copper Coupon, the scene shows the flashback of Galileo but he's seen scolding at Action Axel for "interrupting his dramatic narration" despite Action Axel isn't there in the flashback.

### Errors

* It's logically impossible for both Bearbarian and his mask to turn pink after they were washed with a red sock in the laundry pile. The "red sock in the laundry" only works with white clothes, and Bearbarian is blue and his mask is gray.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/power-players/listings/
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/CNVideoUpdates/status/1210500888122535937
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/RegularTweetsUK/status/1207770045381824513
4. ↑ https://www.cartoonnetwork.com/video/power-players/sand-trap-episode.html

**Future episodes**
*Saving Madcap* • *Impactful!* • *A Noise in the Night* • *When It Itches...* • *Broken* • *What is Happening to Uncle Andrew?* • *Seek!* • *Triple Game* • *Sergeant Lacharge* • *The All-New All Beautiful Power Players* • *Night Operation* • *A Good Spirit* • *No Pot* • *Pyrant Park* • *The Load* • *The Kings of the Jungle* • *Bad Track* • *The Funniest* • *A Maxi Villain - Part 1* • *A Maxi Villain - Part 2*

**Future specials**
A Maxi Villain