Elena of Avalor S3 E18

## Plot

The episode starts with Elena reading Naomi's latest letter to Mateo. She sends one to Elena every week. She's heading to Satu next. Armando tells Elena that Julio accepted her offer to replace Naomi on the grand council. It's obvious that she still misses her. It was even more clear in the original animatic version, where she asked Mateo when he thought Naomi would be coming back, and he didn't answer before they were interrupted, and Elena seemed even less enthusiastic in that version about Julio replacing her best friend. Anyway, Armando also tells her that she has a visitor. Princess Chloe is in Avalor for her birthday, which is in a few days. She wanted to surprise Elena, even though she doesn't care for surprises herself. She also wants Elena to plan it, because she's her only friend. But they didn't interact with each other at all the last time Chloe appeared. Elena sings a song that basically tells her that in order to make friends, she has to be less selfish and overbearing, more caring and willing to compromise, and listen more. She realizes how selfish it was to force Elena to throw her a party, and says she doesn't have to, but Elena tells her that it's okay. She decides to do something small with herself, Val, Rebeca, and Mateo so Chloe can become friends with them. However, they're going on an all day cruise, and Chloe gets seasick easily, but she claims that she's fine and puts up with it because she thinks she should do what the others want if she wants to be friends with them. They try playing one of Val's favorite party games, but they can't use their hands to hit the ball, and Chloe isn't very athletic. She likes to dance and decides to learn a traditional Galonian dance from Rebeca, but it involves her being hoisted into the air while sitting in a chair, and she doesn't like heights. She finally freaks out and runs away crying when Mateo performs magic in front of her. She tells Elena that when she was eight, a wizard messed up a spell at her birthday party and accidentally turned her and all of her other guests into cupcakes, and ever since then she's been scared of magic. Elena asks her why she didn't tell them, because they would've stopped if they knew it made her uncomfortable. She wants to do whatever the others want, like they talked about. Just like Isabel did in season 1, she misinterpreted what Elena was trying to teach her through song. She doesn't think it matters whether or not she has a good time if she finally makes some friends. Before they can talk about it more, they see a magical green fog up ahead. Chloe remembers an old Norberg legend about a cursed sea nymph named Maliga, but she ignores it and tells the others that they can go through the fog. A magical storm suddenly arrives. Before they can turn the ship around, Mateo's tamborita is broken by a moving sail. They crash on an island. According to the map though, there's not supposed to be an island anywhere near here. They need to check the ship's hull to make sure it isn't damaged. Chloe wants to stay on the ship and leave, but they can't do that until the storm passes, and the others want to explore. Chloe agrees and claims that she loves surprises, which tips Elena off that she's still doing things she doesn't want to do in order to please other people. The hull is intact. They meet Maliga, who can control water. Chloe tells them the legend about her. The other sea nymphs banished her to the foglands to live forever for being so cruel, selfish, and terrible. Chloe thought the magical fog might be the foglands, but she didn't tell the others because she didn't know the legend was real, everyone else wanted to see it, and she didn't want to ruin the party. Again, they should really know better by now and just assume that every legend and so called mythical creature is at least based in truth. Maliga wants them to throw her a party, since she's not letting any of them ever leave the island. Elena reaches for her scepter, but for once this season, she didn't bring it, and when they run back to their ship, Maliga uses her power to control water to stop them from leaving. Mateo, Rebeca, and Val do what she says while Chloe and Elena look for something that they can use to escape. Elena apologizes to Chloe for how her birthday turned out. However, Chloe points out that she's the one who kept doing things she didn't like, and she didn't speak up about the foglands so everyone would like her. Elena tells her that it's good to be less selfish, but she still has to be herself. They use the earlier party activities to trick Maliga and tie her up. They're able to leave the island, but Maliga follows them and sends their boat high into the air. However, a magical barrier prevents her from leaving the island. Chloe hears her crying and saying that all she wanted was a friend. But how was she able to hear her at all, let alone so clearly, while they were so far away and high up in the air due to rushing water? Anyway, Chloe dives into the water and tells Maliga that she'll stay on the island with her forever, but only if she lets the others go. Maliga doesn't understand why she'd do that. Chloe tells her that it's her fault they're out here to begin with, and she knows what it feels like to be alone. Maliga lowers the boat and finally learns Chloe's name. She tells her that she's a good friend to do this for them, and for her. She lets Chloe go as well, and hopes to learn how to be a good friend someday, just like her. Two other sea nymphs show up, and tell Maliga that because she finally learned how to be kind, her curse is broken and she can come back home. They leave, and Chloe says goodbye to her. She finally tells the others the truth about what she doesn't like, and they still want to be friends with her, especially after what she did and was willing to do for them. She teaches them all her favorite Norberg dance as the episode ends. It's never brought up, but the last birthday Elena (and Mateo) spent out at sea was Esteban's. One of the chests also has his sailing hat in it. Even when he's not seen or being alluded to, his absence is still felt. So, as of late August/early September 2021, I was pulled into the *Psychonauts* fandom, so if I accidentally say Maligula instead of Maliga, that's why. Given the typical production cycle for both television and certain video games (it can take up to a year, maybe even more, to write, record, storyboard, and animate something), I doubt either one took inspiration from the other, meaning they were either both inspired by the same source, or it's just a crazy coincidence that they both created an old but doesn't look like it, initially antagonistic, female character that has an impossible skin color and hydrokinesis that is technically redeemed by the end. Maligula is presumably a mash up of a word like malice or malevolent and amygdala, which is the part of our brain that is considered the key to how we process strong emotions like fear or pleasure. It feels like certain characters in this show would benefit from therapy. Then again, let's be honest, literally everyone in the world could probably benefit from therapy.