Elena of Avalor S2 E1

## Plot

Mateo and Zuzo are helping Elena practice magic again with the scepter. This time, Elena and Mateo work in perfect sync to defeat a series of previous magical enemies. However, Elena is zapped when she sees an image of Victor and Carla and freezes up. Instead of trying again, she heads back to her room. Mateo and Zuzo go after her and advise her to keep practicing. Sometime offscreen, Elena told them about what Quita Moz said, and they want to make sure that she's prepared. After all, if she doesn't pass her test, she won't become queen. However, Quita Moz never said what the test was or when it's coming. Plus, Victor and Carla are still on the loose, and it's all stressing Elena out. She's constantly worried all the time now. Everyone is preparing for Día de los Muertos tomorrow. Mateo wonders what tamborita was his grandfather's favorite so he could put it on his altar. Zuzo tells him that Elena can see ghosts on the Day of the Dead. She invites him to meet her at her parents' altar early tomorrow to help him. She never got a chance to talk to her parents last year, and wants their advice on her test. Mateo assures her that she can handle anything. Aw! Back in that old house, Victor and Carla give Shuriki a jewel so she can use it to make a new wand. However, there isn't enough magic in it, or any of the other jewels that they stole. They've searched all over Avalor. Shuriki tells them to get the powerful jewel of Maru in the old capital city of Maru, Tepet Muul. It surely has enough magic for a new wand, and then she'll make them malvagos. People say that the pyramid with the jewel is haunted. Skylar and Luna tell Elena and Mateo that one of their scouts spotted Victor and Carla heading there. Elena wants to talk to her parents, but catching Victor and Carla could be her test. Mateo points out that her test could be anything, and goes with her to help. They have to pick a path to take. Victor and Carla run into a dead end and are scared off by some masks. Elena hears them yelling, but can't tell where they are. She decides that they should split up to have a better chance of finding them. She comes to the same dead end, but isn't scared by the masks. She realizes that the dead end wall is an illusion, and a ghost is controlling the masks. Her name is Amaláy. She was the last royal wizard of Maru, and she made the Scepter of Light. Oh! Does that mean that she made the Amulet of Avalor too? Did she use the Codex to do it? I have to know! Amaláy explains that she keeps watch over the jewel of Maru, which is very powerful and dangerous. Many years ago, the Maruvians fought off an invasion of shadow creatures by using the jewel. However, it was so powerful that it also sent them all to the Spirit World. It could happen to Avalor if the jewel falls into the wrong hands. There's a spell to seal up the jewel, but only a living person who can use the scepter could do it. Luckily, Elena fits that description. She learns a new power from Amaláy. When she says illuminate, it reveals hidden things, and glows this purple-magenta color. The spell is on the wall, but it's in Maruvian, which Elena can't read, but she can repeat what Amaláy tells her. They start the incantation, but Elena stops and heads back when she hears and sees Mateo in trouble, despite Amaláy's insistence on finishing the spell. Mateo ran into the Delgados, and they took his tamborita. Elena goes after them. Mateo can't because he hurt his foot. Carla and Victor run into the same dead end hallway again. This time, they discover that it's an illusion. Amaláy attempts to use some of the jewel's power to stop them, but Carla succeeds in taking the jewel. Before they can get too far, they're stopped by Elena. She attempts to blast them, but it hits the jewel, which sends the blast back towards Elena and upwards. It destroys part of the ceiling, which collapses on Elena, and the Delgados leave. Elena can barely move and can't reach the scepter, which was knocked out of her hand. Her struggles only succeed in her losing her necklace, which opens to reveal a picture of herself and her parents inside. Elena believes that she's failed her test. Then her parents show up, voiced by Andrea Navedo and Nestor Carbonell. She tells them what happened, from Quita Moz telling her about the test, to letting the Delgados get the jewel. Lucia tells her that she doesn't know for sure that this was the test. Raul tells her that he had to face many problems as king, and he couldn't worry about which was more important. He just did what he thought was best for the kingdom. They tell Elena to never give up and that they love her, and they vanish. Elena's voice and tears really sell that moment. They also tell her to keep them close to her heart, and they'll never be far. She uses her necklace to get the scepter back and blasts away the rubble. Mateo arrives. They head outside and get on Skylar and Luna to go after Victor and Carla. Elena blasts a structure near them. This results in Victor losing Mateo's tamborita, which he goes after. Carla also lost the jewel, which is about to fall off a cliff. Elena decides to catch and seal up the jewel instead of going after the Delgados, since getting rid of it is what's best for the kingdom. She heads back to Amaláy and recites the spell. With her obligation fulfilled, Amaláy can finally cross over into the Spirit World and see her friends and family again. She thanks Elena for everything, and hopes to see her again someday. They do not, at least not onscreen during the course of the show. By the time Elena, Mateo, Skylar, and Luna get back, Día de los Muertos is over. Elena promises to see her parents again next year. She does not, at least not onscreen, but she sees them again in the season 3 Day of the Dead episode and the series finale.

## Review

I really love the emotion put into these episodes, especially the songs, which are always amazing. It's the perfect way to start the season, and it advanced the overarching plot that started in the special. The one thing I didn't like about it was that after only one season, it's already revealed to us what happened to the kingdom of Maru and its inhabitants, and it's in what amounts to a few throwaway lines. So much for that mystery, unless those shadow creatures come back into play later, which I'd personally love to see. That moment where Elena attempts to hold her father's hand but can't because he's a ghost and she's not… This episode was full of moments for both happy and sad tears, and I will proudly admit that, as a legal adult in the U.S., I totally cried while watching this. I loved the song this episode, which had the best lyrics imaginable and flashbacks to Elena's time with her parents, which was really sweet. Also, props to the animators for animating tears much better than in season 1, where they were blue, when real tears are clear. They also look more realistic and less cartoonish than the ones on Sofia the First.