Sofia the First S4 E22

## Plot

At Royal Prep, everyone is attending the Royal School Fair, where they'll decide what school to go to after graduating from RPA. Sofia, Amber, and James see Clio and Vivian warming up their voices to check out the Performing Arts Academy. Zandar is at the Institute for Science and Alchemy tent. Hugo is at the Corinthian Sports School ice rink. Amber, Clio, Vivian, and James show Sofia the Wall of Next Steps. They write their school of choice on a tablet, and then take it to the royal chiseler, who carves their choice of school in stone. After that, their tablet is magically placed on the wall, and at noon, they're unveiled to the entire student body. Amber takes Sofia to the Ever Realm Academy tent. James learns that Desmond wants to become a knight at Chivalry Hall like him, and they go into the tent together. Desmond tries to throw a javelin into a target, but it doesn't even make it there. Oh, it's like watching me at archery. Amber really wants Sofia to go to Ever Realm Academy with her. It's a school for future rulers and their advisors. Grand Mum and Roland went there. Kari and Jin are also there. They start creating a magical coat of arms for their kingdom. They have to choose three things to represent their kingdom. Sofia says it's tough to pick just three things. She tells Amber that she's having fun, but she can see herself at other schools too. She leaves to check out the Performing Arts tent. Hildegard is there to pick up Clio and bring her to "their" school of choice: The School of Royal Fashions. Her character development will never stick, will it? Clio barely pays any attention to her though. Sofia has fun at this tent too. Clio and Vivian decide to go to the school. Sofia asks Jun how she's doing. She's already decided to go to the Science and Alchemy school. Sofia isn't sure what to choose. She's having trouble making such a big decision. She sees Hugo at the ice rink, Baileywick at the royal fashions tent, and Zooey at the School for Adventure. She joins James and Desmond at Chivalry Hall. She's really good at jousting. Desmond tries, but he drops the lance, and it falls out of the tent and into the alchemy one. It spills a bunch of potions, and brings a suit of armor to life. Desmond is upset that all the other kids seem better at being knightly, even kids who have never tried it before. He decides to stick with science and alchemy. Amber tells Sofia that the wall unveiling is going to start soon, and she has to make a choice, or she may not have a school to go to. Sofia thinks it's unfair to make them decide in one day, and is under a lot of pressure from everyone, especially Amber. Also, it is totally unfair to make them decide what they're going to do for the rest of their lives in one day. It feels so permanent. It's also unfair for college textbooks to be so outrageously expensive, and then you have online stuff on top of that. I always knew college was expensive, but geez! How does Denmark do it? They've learned a lot since *Hamlet*. Sofia gets frustrated and runs off, dropping her tablet. Fauna tells the other students that the unveiling of the wall is going to begin. Amber picks up Sofia's tablet, and decides to make her choice for her. She knows it's wrong, but rationalizes it to herself. Zandar and Desmond are cleaning up the mess in the alchemy tent. James tells Desmond not to give up on his dreams. Amber reveals to Sofia that she made her choice for her, and she's going to school with her. James, Desmond, and Zandar see the animated armor wrecking other tents. Sofia bumps into it, and it attacks her. She and James try to hold it off with swords. Desmond and Zandar stop it with a potion. James and Sir Finnegan tell Desmond that he doesn't have to be a knight to be a hero. He could be a hero alchemist. There's a long tradition of alchemists and knights working together to save kingdoms. The wall is unveiled, and Sofia is too late to stop it. Khalid is going to the School for Royal Fashions. Hildegard and Clio are a little sad that they're going to different schools, but they're happy for each other. Sofia picks up a chisel and a mallet, and destroys her stone tablet. She tells everyone that she likes all the schools, and doesn't want to pick just one. It's not a simple question, and that's the problem. The other kids reveal that they don't know what they want to do either, and just put something down so they wouldn't miss out. The headmistresses tell the kids that at some point in their lives, they have to make a choice. That doesn't mean their choice has to last forever though. After all, nothing does. They change the tablets into chalkboards. This way, the kids can erase their choice if they ever change their minds. Amber apologizes to Sofia for what she did. They're all going off in different directions, but she didn't want that for the two of them. Sofia decides that for now, she'll pick Ever Realm Academy. Everyone celebrates, and the episode ends.

## Review

I liked this episode too, but like the last one, it's bittersweet. Everything familiar is coming to a close for these characters, and everyone in and out of universe knows it. As someone who was having trouble with college when this episode originally aired, and someone going through their first week of college when I originally wrote this review, I related to this episode *so much*. I am totally Sofia. Amber would be the rest of my family trying to get me or my sister to become a dental hygienist, because they get paid a lot and only need two years of "higher education". Despite the fact that we've never had any interest in dentistry, and no one should ever pursue a career just because it pays well. As you've probably guessed from reading this page, and maybe a few others, I really want to be a writer. I've been thinking about majoring in English, but I've heard people like my dad say that it's a useless degree, like communication. I love my dad, but he can be a you know what sometimes. He's a real cynic. I feel like if I wasn't related to my family and obligated to love them and be grateful to them, then I'd… dislike them as real people, you know? My aunt is a nosy hyper control freak who tries too hard to be cool and usually isn't, she invades my privacy and thinks she knows me better than everyone else when she really doesn't; my brother has brain damage, my mom is a neurotic, worrisome weirdo; and my dad can be unintentionally harsh and hurtful, usually just emotionally, but sometimes physically too. I have no idea what kind of person my little brother will turn out to be, but he really likes sports. As for my sister, this should go without saying, but we're so close, we know each other as well as we know ourselves. Hating her would be like hating myself. As for the rest of the family, they're either just okay, a little overbearing, condoning and enabling the behavior of the rest of the family, or acting like we don't exist, and rarely interacting with us. Are we sure every family isn't a little bit dysfunctional? Sorry, I got really off topic there. Basically, you can't make life changing decisions overnight. Take the proper time to think them through. Get advice, support, whatever you need. You shouldn't make mountains out of molehills, but the reverse also applies. Above all, listen to your heart. I know, it's sappy, but it's true. And don't ever be afraid to change your mind. If something's not right for you, just speak up and tell someone, whenever you're ready to be heard. My sister ended up getting a B.A. in communications, and I ended up getting a B.A. in writing. I might go back to school at some point for a master's degree in fine arts, but I'd like to take at least a year or two to see what the real world has in store for me first.