Elena of Avalor S1 E12

## Plot

Everyone in Avalor is excited for the first peace festival since Shuriki was overthrown. They're especially excited for the olaball game between Avalor and Cariza. Olaball is sort of like soccer. You can use everything except your hands to score a goal, which you do by getting the ball through the opponent's hoop. This includes your fists, which I *know* soccer doesn't allow. Anyways, Gabe drops Elena and Naomi off at the stadium for olaball practice with Luisa, Armando, and their star player, Rico. I think Rico is a royal guard, since Gabe later says that he works with the team's striker. Luisa is the coach, and incredibly competitive. She really wants to win, since it's been ages since Avalor has won a game against Cariza. Gabe stops by his parents' bakery to see them. His father, Roberto, wants him to work at the bakery. Gabe is a royal guard though. It's what he likes to do and what he's good at. He is *not* good at baking. He also doesn't know anything about olaball, which is his father's other passion. Nothing he does seems to make his dad proud. His mother Blanca is more supportive of him though, and is already proud of him. At olaball practice, Rico hurts himself and winds up with a sprained ankle. Now they've lost their best player. They decide to have Gabe join the team, which he does to make his dad proud of him. The next day, the royal family of Avalor greets the royal family of Cariza. There's King Joaquín, from the episode Royal Retreat, his wife, Queen Teresa, and their daughter, Princess Caterina. Isabel becomes fast friends with Caterina, who likes to be called Cat, because they're around the same age and are both really smart. Gabe is terrible at olaball, and wants to quit. Once he tells Elena why he joined the team though, she decides to train him. And she only has a day to do it. Isabel and Cat come across some performers called the Voladores, which is Spanish for Flying Men. They jump from a tower and drop from a spinning wooden frame to get to the ground. The girls wonder how it works and think about asking the performers to take them up so they can get a closer look. Before they can though, King Joaquín calls them back for dinner. Elena is trying to train Gabe, who keeps trying to use his dad's moves. Elena suggests that he play his own way. He's good at being a royal guard, so he needs to think about olaball the same way he thinks about being a guard. The next day, the game begins. King Joaquín is a member of Cariza's team. Cat and Isabel are bored and sneak off. Cat convinces Isabel to go up the Voladores tower with her. However, it's a windy day, and everyone else is still at the game. To make matters worse, they can't get back down. The girls think that they broke it, but I think that they just didn't know how to work it. And yes, I know that goes against their characterization of being incredibly smart girls, especially since Isabel is an inventor. Either that, or it was designed in such a way that the only way to get down is the way the performers do it. Roberto wants Gabe to do his signature moves instead of his own. This makes Gabe play terribly again, and the team is down 3-0. Roberto leaves the stands, disappointed in his son. Elena talks to Gabe, and tells him to play his own way already. They're able to catch up and tie the game. Roberto comes back, and is excited to see them catch up and see Gabe play. They're running out of time though. Okay, so I guess there's no overtime in this game. Gabe is able to score the final goal. Avalor wins, 4-3. Roberto now wants Gabe to join a professional team. Gabe explains that he joined the team for him, he likes being a royal guard, and when he tried his dad's moves, he was terrible. Before they can discuss it more, everyone hears Isabel calling for help. Gabe leaps into action, and climbs the tower just like Mulan did in… *Mulan*. He ties a rope around his waist and holds onto Isabel and Cat, and they go down just like the Voladores performers. Roberto finally realizes that Gabe was meant to be a royal guard, and is proud of him.