The Dragon

## Episode guide

**"The Dragon"** is the fourth episode of the first season of *Nate Is Late*.

## Synopsis

Nate and Malika notice some burnt bushes in the park, leading them to… a baby dragon!

## Plot

At his home, Nate begs his father to get a pet, but he refuses due to Nate being too clumsy to take care of one (including fish). Heading off, he meets with Malika who agree with his father that Nate isn't responsible for a pet. Just as Nate rebuffs that claim, a cat jumps into his arms. A man comes up claiming it to be his and that he runs the nearby animal shelter called "Animal Tenderness", Nate returns the cat which the man tries to sell him to, but Nate refuses as he knows his father won't allow it. The man understands and tells him to come by the shelter if he ever changes his mind. The duo makes their way through the park where they come across Violet and Dwanye who are putting out small fires. They tell the two that a pyromaniac is on the loose and to be on the lookout for them.

The duo continues on but Nate notices some burnt grass on the ground, following the trail it leads them to a cave where Nate finds the cause of the fire, a baby dragon, to Malika's shock. Nate instantly takes a liking to it and declares it as his pet, but Malika isn't so sure worrying that it's mother may be looking for it and how it keeps randomly breathing fire on things. Especially when they go outside and see Dwayne still putting out more fires that it caused before they found it. Nate manages to initially convince her to let him keep it with the caveat he keeps it secret.

However, upon seeing Maurice, Nate can't help but show off the dragon to him, which ends with the baby dragon setting Maurice's hair aflame that Malika puts out with her water bottle before he runs off. Seeing that the dragon could be dangerous, Nate agrees to take it to "Animal Tenderness" and give it to the caretaker there.

They go to the animal shelter where the caretaker is more than ecstatic upon seeing the dragon and instantly takes it, promising to take good care of it before slamming the door in the duo's faces. Nate become suspicious that the caretaker wasn't surprised to see they had a dragon, but Malika assures him that he's a professional. They continue on to school but see a girl putting up missing posters for her cat, the same cat that the duo came across before the caretaker took him, leading Nate to believe the cat may have been kidnapped. The duo head back to "Animal Tenderness" but the caretaker doesn't answer the door when they ring.

Malika directs Nate to the nearby alley and window leading to a basement room where the caretaker comes down and reveals he has imprisoned the baby dragon's mother and plans to sell the both of them off and become rich. The duo realize they need to rescue the two dragons, along with the rest of the imprisoned animals. They sneak in, with Nate managing to grab the keys while the caretaker is distracted trying to put a muzzle on the baby dragon. But he accidently drops them while trying to free the mother dragon, alerting the caretaker to his presence.

As he confronts Nate, Malika gets the keys and frees the other animals who attack the caretaker. At least until he manages to get his hands on a cattle prod. Nate jumps in to defend the animals with a broom while Malika works to free the mother dragon, managing to do so just as the caretaker disarms Nate. The mother dragon flames the caretaker's butt, causing him to run off with the other animals in pursuit (the cat being reunited with his owner in the process).

The dragons are reunited, and the duo realize they were right about each other claims, Malika noting that Nate can take care of pets, but Nate citing that dragons are wild animals and should be free to roam on the own with their families. Malika realizes they're going to be late for school, but the dragons motion they're willing to help them with the mother dragon giving the duo a lift through the air.

     As they fly on, the caretaker tries to put out his fire by jumping into a bush only for it to spread over him. He's saved by Dwayne doses him with a fire extinguisher, who believes him to be the pyromaniac and dismisses his claims of dragons as he arrests him. At the school, principal Prudence is waiting at the front expecting the duo to to be late. She doesn't see the dragon land behind her and let the duo off before flying away, only surprised that they managed to sneak past her. They try to tell her about the dragon, but she cuts them off and ushers them into the building to go about their school day.

## Characters

### Recurring Characters

* Nate
* Malika
* Principal Prudence

### Major Characters

* Maxime Dermy (debut)
* Baby Dragon (debut)

### Supporting Characters

* Policeman Dwayne
* Mother Dragon (debut)

### Minor Characters

* Nate's Father
* Felix (debut)
* Violet
* Maurice
* Bucktoothed Girl (debut)
* Foreman (does not speak)

## Trivia

* The is the first episode to feature one of Nate's parents. In this case, his father.
* This is the first episode to introduce Maxime Dermy who would become a recurring antagonist in the series. Though he isn't named in this episode.

## Gallery

Click the image to view the gallery for this episode.

## Transcript

Click here to view the transcript for this episode.

## Names in other languages

* **Basque:** Dragoia
* **French:** Le dragon
* **German:** Der Drache
* **Mandarin (China):** 小飞龙
* **Spanish (Spain):** El dragón

 Season 2 | 1. "The Lady of the Lake" • 2. "The Thunderbird" • 3. "The Crocodile Man" • 4. "The Golem" • 5. "The Hairdresser" • 6. "The Mood Enhancer" • 7. "The Chess Game" • 8. "The Drone" • 9. "The Astronaut" • 10. "The Gorgon" • 11. "The Dimensional Rift" • 12. "The Reptilians" • 13. "The Enchanted Bracelet" • 14. "The Ink Thief" • 15. "The Tiki" • 16. "The Puppet" • 17. "The Mandrake" • 18. "The Vampires" • 19. "The Sphinx" • 20. "The Pendulum" • 21. "The Giant Fish" • 22. "The Wedding Dress" • 23. "The Home Spirit" • 24. "The Great Pili-Pala" • 25. "The Endless Recess" • 26. "The Chicken Cop" • 27. "The Kitsune" • 28. "The Collector" • 29. "The Kappa" • 30. "The Beanstalk" • 31. "The Demigod's Test" • 32. "The Glitch" • 33. "The Tiny Tops" • 34. "The Magician's Top Hat" • 35. "The Chromapix" • 36. "The Gingerbread Family" • 37. "The Alphabet Agency" • 38. "The Wild Beasts" • 39. "The Return of the Cuddly Toys" • 40. "The Race Car" • 41. "Inside Professor Toybos" • 42. "The Asteroid" • 43. "The Time Travellers" • 44. "The Nebulons" • 45. "The Witches' Convention" • 46. "The Kobolds" • 47. "The Superstars" • 48. "The Goblin's Cousin" • 49. "The Golden Crown" • 50. "The Scarecrow" • 51. "The Banana Peel Part I" • 52. "The Banana Peel Part II"