Elena of Avalor S3 E27

## Plot

It's the day before Elena's coronation. Naomi, Mateo, and Gabe are giving her gifts, since it's also her birthday tomorrow. They play What If? The rules are that if they fumble the olaball, they have to answer a "What if?" question. Gabe asks Elena what she'd do if she weren't about to become queen. Basically, what kind of job or life would she have if she wasn't a princess? She can't answer, because she's never thought about it before. As the first born child of a king, she was just always going to be queen. She can't sleep that night, and heads to her parents' altar. She asks her father if he ever wondered if ruling the kingdom was the right path for him. Anyone else feeling the parallels to the series premiere, since Elena couldn't sleep the night before she thought she was becoming queen in that episode either, albeit for entirely different reasons? Zuzo shows up to wish her luck tomorrow. She keeps wondering if there's something else out there for her besides being queen, something she never got to try. The only thing she's allowed to be is queen. If she had the choice, is this what she really wants? Zuzo casts a spell on her, and she falls asleep. It either makes her have a dream or creates an alternate reality where she never existed, a la *It's a Wonderful Life*. I really love her dress though. They finally make a reference to Sofia, but it's in a dream or an alternate universe, so I'm not counting it. No one recognizes Elena, all of the men have Esteban's hairstyle, all of the women have copies of Doña Paloma's hat and fan, and Avalor's flags are the wrong colors. They assume that Elena has never been to Avalor before. She sees Naomi at the harbor, but she doesn't recognize her either. She does know who Gabe is though, and she agrees to take Elena to him. Armando works at his family's dairy farm in this reality. He tried to get a job at the palace, but the king ordered him to stay in his family's business. Gabe runs his father's bakery now, and is only allowed to make the king's favorite, tres leches cake. He doesn't recognize Elena either. They have to do whatever job is assigned to them by the king, unless they're lucky enough to win the King's Challenge, but there are only two winners every year. Just then, the king and queen stop by to remind everyone that the King's Challenge is the next day. It's finally revealed that Esteban is king of Avalor in this reality, and Hortensia Paloma is his queen/wife. They're still not huge fans of each other though. Elena tells them that they can't keep people from following their own dreams, and the only thing that saves her from being thrown in the dungeon is Naomi profusely apologizing for her on her behalf and praising Esteban, which is as out of character as Naomi gets. Elena tries to talk to Zuzo, but he doesn't show up, and she sees that Mateo is the king's jester in this reality. She doesn't know if any of this is even real or if she's stuck here forever, but if she is, then there's no way she's going to watch her friends toil away at jobs they don't like. I hate to be the one to break it to you Elena, but that's how capitalism/the real world works. Practicality and efficiency above all else. Unless your dream is also practical or you're crazy lucky or already rich, you're basically screwed. Naomi still wants to sail the seventeen seas, but there's nothing she could do to convince the king to give her a boat. Gabe wants to be a royal guard, and Mateo wants to be a wizard, so Elena will train them so they can enter and win the King's Challenge. Just like when she coached Gabe in olaball, and when he taught her fencing and Mateo practiced magic with her, and in less time too. Only two other people entered: Lady Yolanda and Countess Dolores. They want to be musicians, but their music is terrible. Gabe is able to defeat the captain of the royal guard, Higgins, and Mateo is able to defeat the royal wizard, the Great Bronzino. However, Esteban and Hortensia declare that Yolanda and Dolores have won. This is why the others have never entered the King's Challenge before. In Avalor, there's no point in following your dreams. It never works out. Elena decides to talk to Esteban, and she sees Yolanda and Dolores give him money. They bribed him so they would win. Esteban has the guards throw Elena in the dungeon when she yells at him. She still can't contact Zuzo. Naomi, Gabe, and Mateo break her out, and decide to hide her somewhere or get her a job. However, she tells them that they have to change the whole kingdom so everyone can follow their dreams. She leads a mini-rebellion through song, and we see even more alternate reality cameos, like Carmen, Julio, and Antonia. Elena has realized now that she *wants* to be queen. She confronts Esteban and Doña Paloma, and tells them that Avalorans should be free to choose for themselves what to do with their lives. The "royals" only do what's best for themselves. If they won't put their people's happiness above their own, then they don't deserve to lead them. Elena demands what's best for her people, and that's for her to be their queen. She grabs the Scepter of Light and declares herself to be Queen Elena of Avalor. This breaks the spell, and she wakes up in the real world as the sun is rising. Zuzo returns, and she thanks him for showing her that being queen is the only job she could ever want. He wishes her a happy 20th birthday, and she heads back to the palace for her coronation, leading into the series finale.