Elena of Avalor S1 E25

## Plot

Doña Paloma is busy preparing her store for a feast that night. Her assistant is working for her again, and we find out that his name is Carlos. She's informed that Esteban is sick and won't be able to attend the event. She's thrilled at the news, since this means that she'll be the only representative from Avalor at the feast. This means that when she works out a new trade agreement with the ambassadors from the other kingdoms, she'll finally get the respect that she believes she deserves. A man named Pablo Agama stops by to sell her some masks for the party. He claims that they're magical, but Doña doesn't believe him. Also, Agama? Any relation to Antonio Agama? Also, we learn from him that Doña Paloma's first name is Hortensia. Her voice actress is Constance Marie, who played Regina Vasquez on *Switched at Birth*. Also known as the mother of Daphne *Paloma* Vasquez. Oh, I really hope that that's not just a coincidence! It most likely is, but still. Anyways, Doña Paloma buys the masks and has them hung up inside the store. Meanwhile, Elena is trying to give Esteban his medicine. He tells her about the feast and the trade deal, and how important it is for Avalor. Elena decides to go in his place. Esteban warns her that the leaders don't always get along, but she assures him that she won't let him down, and that she remembers how her father made deals with his trade partners. Also, she's wearing a beautiful new dress. Doña wants Elena to leave and not upstage her and claims that she has everything covered. She wants to keep things fancy and formal. However, Elena wants to treat their allies like family, and throw a festive party, which is the kind of thing her father would do. Eventually, the two agree to split the store to throw their own kind of party. Doña hangs up a curtain on Elena's side though, blocking it from view. She resents her because she was born with a throne, whereas Doña had to earn hers through years of hard work. However, people admire and respect Elena because she's nice to them. They only pretended to like Shuriki around guests because she threatened them, and they feared her. And Elena did have to work hard to overthrow her, and she didn't do it alone. She's also extremely worried about failing and letting everyone down. Anyways, the three ambassadors are Shoji, King Toshi's brother and advisor from Satu who was also in the second episode. There's also a new character named Nathaniel from Norberg, who is delighted to finally meet Princess Elena, who mentions that her friend Naomi is from there. And last but not least, Prince Alonso from Cordoba. Although he's still a tad rude and vain, it appears that he really has learned a lesson in responsibility from episode 6. It also probably means that that bridge is finally done. The three ambassadors don't get along with each other at all. Doña wants to get right down to business, but Elena shows them her side of the room and gets them to have some fun first. Doña, not wanting to be upstaged by Elena, tells the ambassadors to put on the masks she bought and turn it into a masquerade party. However, the masks really are magical, and bring out the worst of their personalities, as well as giving them animal abilities and attributes. Shoji is an angry bull, Nathaniel is a snappy crocodile, and Alonso is a flighty bird. They start trying to attack each other. Doña Paloma and Elena have to stop them. However, that would mean they'd have to work together, even though they have very different approaches. It turns out that Doña keeps a cage on hand in case of exotic animals. She also knows how to lasso. She tries to take care of Nathaniel and Shoji while Elena tries to get the bird mask off Alonso. The chaos spills outside though, and they all get loose. So where exactly are the guards, the musicians, and Carlos during all of this? Did they just peace out when the transformation first happened? The cage is knocked around and lands on Elena and Doña, trapping them. It's on its side, and it's too heavy for them to lift. If the ambassadors break down the gate and get out of the plaza, Doña Paloma's reputation will be ruined, and she'll lose everything… again. She tells Elena that as a little girl, she lived on a cattle ranch with her family in a small village, and she was happy. However, a flood destroyed their home and their livelihood. They had no house or money. So she came to the city and worked her way up, but it was never enough for her. Wow. I mean, I always knew that Constance Marie could act, but… wow. They actually managed to make Doña sympathetic. Not bad. Seriously, that scene with the two of them in the cage brought me so close to tears the first few times I watched it. Elena tells her about how she lost everything once too, from her kingdom to her freedom to her parents. She wants to be a good ruler. She *has* to be a good ruler. Neither one of them can afford to lose it all again. They're not as different as they first thought. They're able to get the horses to pull the cage up by attaching it to the carriage. They decide to use objects in the emporium to lure the ambassadors to them and get the masks off. They distract Alonso with his own reflection, Nathaniel with food, and they get Shoji to slip on flan. The three men apologize to each other, and are glad they had the experience. It will allow them to be better allies from now on. In fact, they're now genuine friends. Everyone heads back to Doña's emporium to celebrate and sign the trade agreement.