Tangled: The Series S3 E19-21

## Plot

Eugene narrates and briefly recaps the major events of the end of season 2 and season 3. Rapunzel is out by where the flower that started all of this used to be, and where the black rocks first sprouted up. Arianna tells her about the biggest fight she and her sister Willow ever had when they were teenagers. She literally put up a brick wall to separate their bedroom. Arianna tried talking to her through the wall and slipping notes between its cracks, but Willow refused to talk to her. At least, until Arianna got a hammer and knocked the wall down, which showed her sister just how badly she wanted to work things out. She tells Rapunzel that she's the only one who can get through to Cass. The ride back to the pub deliberately calls back to the "Wind in My Hair" sequence through the music and imagery. The others have pretty much given up and don't have any ideas, until Rapunzel sings a song to inspire them to take their home back. When Eugene tosses Quirin a pitchfork though, he notices the emblem of the Dark Kingdom on his hand. Varian tells him and Rapunzel that when he was researching the scroll, he found out that Demanitus banished Zhan Tiri to some sort of nether-realm with a portal. He could build another one if he had the blueprints, but Demanitus took them to his tomb. Rapunzel knows where it is though, because she got to learn Corona's secrets when she was acting queen. She, Eugene, Varian, Lance, Kiera, Catalina, Max, and Pascal head to the tomb. Eugene tells Varian about his suspicions regarding Quirin, and Varian gets mad and tells him that his dad is fine. They're able to find the blueprints, as well as the machine Demanitus used to switch his mind with Vigor the monkey's. Building the portal will be easy, but they have to set it up at the castle. Zhan Tiri once again tells Demanitus that she's going to lay waste to his beloved Corona, and all who inhabit it. Owl and Pascal scout the castle, and report to the others that Cass has Adira, Hector, and Hector's animals standing guard. They'll have to take them out to get inside. While they do that, Rapunzel will track Cass down. One way or another, she's going to get the moonstone. Edmund says she's going to make an excellent daughter-in-law someday. She and Eugene note that this is around the time one of them would stumble through an awkward proposal to the other. They assure each other that everything will work out today, and no matter what happens, they'll always be each other's dream. Aw! Quirin puts on his old armor to fight, and Varian gives him his old helmet, which he polished. He tells Varian that he's proud to have him fighting alongside him. Aw! The great thing about this series finale being three episodes in one is that it does have quite a bit of time for quiet character moments. Although it also means that the comic relief scenes can overstay their welcome. Everyone marches towards the castle. It's pretty anticlimactic though when there's no one there. They decide to get the portal built before they get back. But Varian is riding a giant Rudiger! And Kiera is riding a giant werewolf Catalina! #lettheDisneykidskickass While looking for Cass, Rapunzel runs into Zhan Tiri, who tells her that the eclipse is here. It turns out that she's been talking about a literal solar eclipse this whole time. When I watched the final episodes for the first time, I thought it was just a metaphor. Oops. Anyways, the eclipse weakens Rapunzel. Quirin tries to activate the portal to send them all to the netherworld, but before he can, he's electrocuted and knocked out. Varian reveals that he considered what Eugene said, so he rigged his helmet with a temporary stun mechanism. The emblem of Corona on Rapunzel's dress transforms into the physical sundrop. The blast it creates shakes the whole castle, and Zhan Tiri runs away. Eugene and Edmund leave, but then a crow accidentally activates the portal, sending everyone except Quirin to limbo. Eugene and Edmund head back just in time to see the portal close. Zhan Tiri tells Cass to take the sundrop. Before she does, she traps Zhan Tiri in black rocks in Rapunzel's room because she doesn't trust her. We flashback thousands of years ago and see Demanitus use the portal to trap Zhan Tiri in limbo… and her form then is basically an old version of her form now. Given what we learn about limbo later though, this could've been her original form until she was changed in the lost realm. Besides, she's associated with goats, Demanitus is associated with monkeys, Rapunzel is the sun, Cass is the moon, Varian and Eugene are arguably somewhere in between with their relationship to past bad deeds and the Dark Kingdom and the Brotherhood, etc. Like dawn or dusk, or the night sky, or the stars or something. It turns out that the lost realm is more zany and weird than an awful prison. Seriously though, why does this place have so many names? Also, almost everyone being trapped (twice!) while everything important was happening was basically Lance, Kiera, Catalina, and Max's situation in the mid-season finale times ten. This could've been another opportunity to dive deeper into everyone's fears and actually tie it into their characters. For example, maybe Catalina is scared of losing control and hurting someone in her werewolf form, and Kiera and Lance calm her down. Maybe Lance is already thinking about becoming a father, but he's scared of their reactions? Basically, all of the Lost Realm segments were missed opportunities for character development and world building. Before Eugene and Edmund can activate the portal again and get the others back, they're attacked by Hector and Quirin. Cass tells Rapunzel that when she looks at her, she sees a girl who was used for her gifts and lied to her entire life. So if there's anyone who should know what it feels like to be taken for granted and cast aside for something better, it'd be her. Rapunzel points out that she never said she *didn't* feel that way. She once again tells Cass that she's not going to give up on her, and asks her to trust her. Cass says the last time she heard those words, she was imprisoned in amber. Rapunzel tells her that she knows that wasn't her plan. Cass yells that no one gets to tell her who she is. Rapunzel asks her if she's really decided that she's the bad guy. Is this what she really wants? Rapunzel thinks that Zhan Tiri has filled her head with so much rage and hatred that she doesn't even know what she wants anymore. She claims that she wants Rapunzel to know what it feels like to come up short despite her best efforts. She wants her and the rest of the world to know that she comes second to no one. Edmund reveals the he trained the Brotherhood. He and Eugene leave and ride to Cass's fortress to get the Mind Trap so they can get the Brotherhood back on their side. Cass and Rapunzel fight, and they've accepted that they can't talk this out. Zhan Tiri escapes by using a chemical solution to destroy the floor underneath her, allowing her to free herself from Cass's black rock trap with ease. Speaking of which, it looks like Cass wins the fight by trapping Rapunzel's hair and arms in black rocks, reminding her that the number one rule of combat is to turn your enemy's strength into a weakness. She takes her to the balcony leading to her room, because she wants everyone to see her take the sundrop. But there's no one there right now, because most of them are stuck in the Lost Realm. Rapunzel asks Cass what she'll do once she wins. What will she do then? What will be left for her? *Who* will be left for her? She claims that she doesn't need anyone, but Rapunzel knows she doesn't believe that. She yells that she doesn't get to tell her what she believes and encases her in black rocks, but Rapunzel is able to break out with her power. Cass is blasted back into her bedroom. I love how she doesn't even notice that Zhan Tiri has escaped. God, you're stupid. Eugene and Edmund find the Mind Trap, but Adira is guarding it, and she's a formidable fighter even without her shadow sword. And then Hector and his binturongs show up. And then Edmund reveals that he's been under mind control this whole time as well. He's also secretly a member of the Brotherhood. And now I bet Eugene knows how Varian felt when they talked about Quirin. Rapunzel finally destroys the shadow sword. Once again, something that has been around since the end of season 1 is casually destroyed. Eugene refuses to back down, even if he can't win. The moon completely eclipses the sun, which gets rid of Rapunzel's power and boosts Cassandra's. Eugene loses his sword, and he's beaten to a pulp. Max sees the sword land in the ground and heads up the tower. He's able to give the Brotherhood a run for their money; until they trap him in a net. Eugene takes the Mind Trap from Edmund, but before he can destroy it, Edmund sends him and the stone outside. Before he can strike his son down, Eugene tells him that when they first met, he resented him for sending him away, but now he finally realizes that he was just trying to protect him. He understands the sacrifice he was forced to make, and forgives him. Aw! Edmund raises his axe… and is able to fight the mind control enough to slightly alter his aim… which is enough to destroy the stone and free them all completely. Back at the castle, Quirin opens the portal and brings everyone back, and he and Varian hug. Aw! Cass takes the sundrop out of Rapunzel, which turns her hair brown. Before she can claim it though, Zhan Tiri attacks and takes the moonstone out of her, turning her back to normal. Maybe next time make sure your unbreakable armor covers your power source too, yeah? Just a suggestion. Zhan Tiri puts the cosmic powers on her hands and transforms into her goat head squid bottom form, now voiced by Tara Fitzgerald instead of Jennifer Veal. The others rebuild the portal, but it's destroyed by rubble, and they're forced to leave the castle. Eugene and the others get back, and everyone sees Zhan Tiri. She easily swats Rapunzel aside, and tells Cass that she lost before she even began; just like her mother: felled by her own ego. She throws her to the floor and traps them both in yellow rocks. Eugene wants everyone else to leave while he goes after Rapunzel, but they refuse and help him fight Zhan Tiri. It doesn't go very well. So… Cass. Hi there. How ya been? Do anything evil recently? "I tried really hard to murder a bunch of people I personally know and cared about without even a hint of remorse." Good, good. Why were you so whiny? And why were you so quick to trust a random ghost instead of your friends? And why did you never seriously question her about anything she said? And why were you such a vindictive little bitch? And why did this season only have 17 episodes instead of 36? "I don't know." Rapunzel is trying to figure out a way to escape, and tells Cass to snap out of it. She says it's already too late, and she failed. I know. She can't do anything. I know that too. She asks Rapunzel why she won't just give up on her. Believe me, I want her to, so badly. Should I make a deal with Marvel's Mephisto or something? This is all her fault. She's done terrible things. Please stop telling me things that I already know. This whole time, she tried so hard to prove that she was more than everyone thought, but they were right. They were, one hundred percent. She apologizes to Rapunzel, and they hug. Still better than Naomi, Kion, or Bunga's so called "apologies", if only because Cass was correctly portrayed as being in the wrong the whole time AND actually used the words "I'm sorry." The two reminisce about when they first met. It was nearly three weeks before Rapunzel heard Cass laugh for the first time. There isn't a lot to smile about when you're put in charge of a free spirited flower child who paints on all of your shit. But that first laugh was so remarkable, because Rapunzel knew that Cass meant it. It was like seeing the real her for the first time, and that's the Cass she became best friends with. Even when she looks at her now, after all that's happened, no matter what they've done to each other, she still sees that look in her eyes. She's still her best friend, and she'll *never* give up on her. I'd argue that the story would be better if you did. Subverting and/or deconstructing tropes can make for a more memorable story, at least in my opinion. Okay, so Mandy Moore's performance throughout the movie and the series has always been good, but she's phenomenal during the more emotional moments, especially when she has appropriately epic music backing her delivery, like in Painter's Block. Zhan Tiri stops everyone, even with all of their unique skills and abilities, like Catalina being a werewolf, Hector having a rhino, and Varian's prowess with alchemy. Seriously though, those two should've had a one on one scene together, either talking about Demanitus or fighting. It would've been nice foreshadowing and setup for *Varian and the Seven Kingdoms*. Zhan Tiri finally ends it by trapping almost everyone in yellow rocks and reciting the hurt incantation, which turns everything grey and lifeless. And yet it doesn't affect Cass, Rapunzel, or Pascal at all, and it doesn't seem to affect Eugene nearly as much as everyone else, although that might be because he's not trapped in a confined space like everyone else, so he can actually move. Rapunzel tells Cass that when she grabbed the moonstone first, there's a pretty good chance that she saved her life. She reminds her of what Adira told them about the sundrop and moonstone being united. Even Zhan Tiri seems to be scared of that kind of power, since she's keeping them separated, but not by much. Pascal gives Rapunzel her journal, which is miraculously unscathed. She sees the note from Arianna in the beginning of it, and tells Cass that there is more in her. They see that Zhan Tiri didn't take all of the moonstone's power. Cass still has the sliver that was cut when she and Rapunzel fought for the first time at the tower. She gives it to Rapunzel, telling her that this is her destiny. It's able to restore her powers, but it flickers, and it won't last very long. Still, it's able to finally break the yellow rocks. Rapunzel fights Zhan Tiri, and Cass is able to briefly take her by surprise with a frying pan. They try to push her hands together, but she's too strong. The number one rule of combat is to turn your enemy's strength into a weakness. They use Rapunzel's hair to tie her arms behind her. Cass kicks a yellow rock to Rapunzel, who uses it to cut her hair, which brings the sundrop and moonstone together. It results in some sort of giant explosion or something that finally destroys Zhan Tiri. All of the black rocks disintegrate, and the eclipse ends. Once again, things that have been around since the start are gone, but because of this, everyone can finally move on, without fighting for their power, kind of like the end of *Moss: Book II*. Unfortunately, Cass isn't breathing… which doesn't make any sense because both she and Rapunzel were the same distance away from the explosion, and Raps is fine. Whatever, her super lame, stupid, and narmy "death" devastates Rapunzel, and the tear thing doesn't seem to cut it this time (not that she gave it any time to work, but whatever), so she decides to use the combined powers of the sundrop and the moonstone to bring her back. Eugene tries to tell her that the power is too much for anyone to use, but she says that they didn't fight so hard to bring their friend back, only to lose her now. What are you even talking about? You guys barely tried at all, mostly because Cass kept cutting you off and tried to kill you, and you were never the ones to initiate anything. You knew where her base was! Be sensible and attack it! No. Let her die. Seriously though, am I a bad person for thinking that Cass should've stayed dead? Ultimate bittersweet ending. Rapunzel recites the OG healing incantation to bring Cass back to life, and then to heal everyone who was incapacitated by the hurt/reverse incantation. Then she shoots the united sundrop and moonstone back into space so no one can ever use them again, for good or evil, kind of like *Amphibia*. Um, okay. The ending of that show bugged me a little too. Amphibia was basically a world full of dangers and death and had been pillaged of nearly all of its natural resources, so I thought the moon was actually going to successfully destroy the planet, but the girls would use the gems to get all of the inhabitants to safety on Earth, or another planet, and they'd use the box to visit occasionally, maybe to see if the remains of the planet had recovered, or to use some resources from other worlds to fight climate change or something. They would "embrace the fall", just like the prophecy said. Rapunzel is still alive, and Eugene hugs her and tells her that she did it, but she says that *they* did it. Cass is watching them, and Eugene pulls her into the hug to parallel the movie yet again. Later on, Cass has a new outfit, complete with the necklace Varian gave her all the way back in season 1. She's leaving Corona to explore the world and find her own destiny. This whole time, Rapunzel thought her place was here with her, but as much as she hates to let her go, she knows that Cass is right. They say how much they love each other and hug. Cass leaves and hugs her dad. Before she does though, she finds Rapunzel's tiara and gives it back to her. It's also miraculously unscathed. I'm kind of upset that we never got to learn the captain's name. Also, he shaved at some point after he got back from the Lorb island, and yet, despite retiring only two episodes ago, he's already grown the beard back again. Also squared, while he may be retired now, what exactly was he doing during this whole mess? Was he even in the kingdom? And what about the other kingdoms? Couldn't they show up and at least try to help? That also would've been great foreshadowing and setup for Vat7K. Rapunzel sings another reprise of the very first song in the first special. This is the real happily ever after, for everyone. She became the queen she was destined to become. Captain Eugene led the tightest ship Corona had ever seen, with help from Max. Varian became the most trusted royal engineer, and with help from his dad, Corona became the first of the seven kingdoms to have hot running water. Lance officially adopted Kiera and Catalina. I wouldn't be surprised if he, an ex-thief raising two other ex-thieves, learned what *not* to do from the kings, the captain of the guards, and a badass ex-warrior and farmer. Mainly, don't lie to your kids or keep secrets from them. Just be honest. Seriously, aside from Gothel and Zhan Tiri, the terrible decisions that Frederic, Quirin, Edmund, and the captain make are what caused literally almost all of the conflict and plot to happen the way it did, in the movie, the special, and the series. Back to the epilogue… Edmund, Adira, and Hector returned to the Dark Kingdom to rebuild it, and Eugene and his dad never lost touch again. In a way, everyone found exactly where they were meant to be. The journal finally closes, but Eugene says there's just a little bit more. He and Rapunzel are out on a boat to watch the lanterns again. A lot has happened since the first time they were out here. I'm pretty sure it's been three years, which would make Rapunzel 21 and Eugene 26. Before Ever After: Six month time skip from the movie. Season 1: Six months. Season 2: One year. Season 3: Presumably one year, even though for once no one mentions that any specific amount of time has passed since a previous event, which they did earlier in season 1 and 2 episodes. The point is, a lot has changed, but one thing hasn't: The love they feel for each other. Eugene finally proposes to Rapunzel in a way that's romantic instead of awkward, and she finally accepts and kisses him. The End. Once again, the final line is from someone other than the lead character, but they end it with the title/lead character's name, just like in Sofia the First. I love this show. I would gladly watch it over and over again, for many reasons: The more serious and serialized plot, the animation, the music, the many interesting side characters, the realistic portrayal of trauma and betrayal, the big name stars, etc. Yes, at the end of the day, I even like Cass, because I feel like her and Varian's stories in particular end in a rather open ended way. I've realized that one of the reasons why I hate Cass in this season is because she kind of reminds me of Bloom from Winx Club, with being obsessed with her origins and her birth parent(s) and not the adoptive one(s) that loved her and raised her, especially in season 3 and the first movie. At least Bloom's biological family actually loved her, but Gothel clearly didn't care about Cass at all. Wouldn't Cass turning "evil" be more understandable if everyone in Corona except her knew that it was her biological mother that kidnapped their beloved lost princess, and they assumed that the apple wouldn't fall far from the tree despite the captain raising her, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy? If the world only sees you one way, and you think you can't change their opinion of you, no matter what you do, then why not at least lean into the status they're giving you? Nick Wilde in *Zootopia* actually said something like that. "If the world's only gonna see a fox as shifty and untrustworthy, there's no point in trying to be anything else." The titular characters from *The Bad Guys* book series and movie, who are all predators, also believed in something similar. Mr. Wolf/Moe: "Do I wish people didn't see us as monsters? Sure I do. But these are the cards we've been dealt, so we might as well play 'em." There's also Mera during the museum arc of *Epithet Erased*. "All I can do is steal from others! So when I heard about this amulet? I figured why not lean into it?" Nimona from the Netflix movie of the same name: "Because once everyone sees you as a villain, that's what you are. They only see you one way, no matter how hard you try." I wonder if Swiper from *Dora the Explorer* ever felt the same way, or pressured by his peers or family to follow in their footsteps of stealing, even if he didn't want to, like Lucinda from *Sofia the First* wanting to be a good witch, but being scared to tell her mother, or Ember from the Pixar movie *Elemental* realizing that she doesn't want to run her family's shop. Basically, it all boils down to a person's ascribed status vs. their achieved status. The biggest difference is that season 3 Cass was given chance, after chance, after chance, by literally almost everyone, to realize that her actions were wrong and evil and would get her nowhere, but she. Never. Listened. God, it's like watching Regina, or especially Rumple, regress back into lying, scheming villains in *Once Upon a Time*, only to be forgiven again, and again, **and again**. And then Rumple in particular keeps doing shady shit, gets caught, Belle forgives him, and the cycle keeps repeating. That actually does explain a lot. People will get tired if the same character keeps backsliding and regressing, shedding their character development like old snake skin, over and over. At least Cass just sinks deeper and deeper, like a cinder block. Which is also what her brain is made of! And her heart, assuming she ever had one. I think her ascribed status is a child who was abused and can't cope with the trauma in a healthy way, leading to her achieved status of a supervillain. What if no one ever cared about Cass, even her adoptive father, and they only cared about her possibly giving them a clue as to where Gothel took Rapunzel, so they questioned her all her life? That is incredibly dark, immoral, unethical, and it should be illegal, and it would never happen here, because Disney's main target audience is still children, so let's just move on to the review. I bet Pixar could pull it off though. So, in an Elena of Avalor review, I mentioned that my dislike of Naomi's arc during season 3 was because I was seeing and judging her as I would a real person, due to the show reminding me of real life. Because of this, I'd argue that my suspension of disbelief didn't fully kick in, or I was less willing to forgive characters for certain things, like Cass. You realize that she was so focused on Rapunzel that she didn't even notice that Zhan Tiri had escaped? Disney has had obvious villains, twist villains, no villains except for serious problems spanning multiple generations (also known as generational trauma), and conflicted but ultimately reformed antagonists. It's only natural that even they wouldn't hit them all out of the ballpark (statistically speaking, it was bound to happen at some point), but still, I feel like there were so many better ways to do this. I would've gone with the simplest (and therefore, possibly the most cliché and overdone, but at this point, I'm done caring) and least base breaking route: Just have this not be the real Cass. What if, when she went inside that door in the House of Yesterday's Tomorrows, Zhan Tiri replaced her a la the mirror episode, and the others never discovered it until over a year later when Varian and the other side characters built the portal to the Lost Realm and inadvertently found and freed her, which would also give them an actual goal, a purpose, and agency during the story? You're welcome. I'm available for story consultation 24/7, except when I'm not. As for why Zhan Tiri would do that and keep up the charade for so long… Meh, she's evil and was probably super bored after being trapped in the Lost Realm for what, 1,000 years or something? To quote Megabyte from the series finale of *Reboot*: "It amused me." I don't know, sometimes it feels like certain characters in their cartoons (Rapunzel, Elena, Lloyd, etc.) react unrealistically to massive trauma and the betrayal of someone they considered family or a good friend, and I feel the need to get angry, hurt, upset, confused, etc., for them, if that makes any sense, which I know it probably doesn't. I just feel like I've always had more of a connection to animation than live-action. Seriously, why can I forgive Esteban, Varian, Zuko, Razer, Ryuga, and so on, but I can't forgive Cass or Harumi? It can't be solely because the others are all guys, right? Or that they're women? I'm bisexual, so whether or not I consider the characters attractive arguably shouldn't matter as much to me (Although Razer, Zuko, and Varian are my favorites. Their designs and voices are amazing). Speaking of which…

## Review

This show was amazing, obviously. I loved it. I especially like the characters Varian and Cass, for their voice actors, the fact that they get the best songs (most likely because their voice actors were on Broadway), and how they're written in the show. Seriously, I need a spin-off of at least one of them. Varian and the Seven Kingdoms! Actually, if you think about it, he and Cass are the only ones in the entire show that really go through a significant amount of character development throughout multiple seasons, even if I don't consider Cass's arc in season 3 to be very good. I like Rapunzel, but the problem with a character like her, or Flora from *Winx Club*, Sofia from her own show, etc., is that they're all unrealistically kind, forgiving, and "pure", so it can be hard to write them during a serious personal conflict where they feel betrayed, or both sides are supposed to have a point, or where they're supposed to be wrong, without making them seem out of character. Plus, Flora and Sofia in particular don't really have a lot of, or any, flaws to work through, move past, grow beyond, etc. At least Sofia learns lessons and is occasionally in the wrong. Perfect, flawless Mary Sue-esque characters that don't grow or change are boring to watch after awhile, not to mention that they're unrealistic. Sure, Rapunzel in particular goes through a lot over the course of the series… But, say it with me now: Trauma. And. Angst. Does. Not. Equal. Character. Development! I may love said trauma and angst, but it should never replace any actual development of the story, the characters, or their relationships with each other. Trauma + Angst ≠ Development. I know it's late July. Okay, technically it's like a half hour into August 1st, 2020, but whatever. Congratulations to the cast and crew for winning *three* Daytime Emmy awards! That's amazing! When it comes to Cass and Harumi, I feel like how Katara felt about her mother's killer from *Avatar: The Last Airbender*. She couldn't bring herself to kill him, but she also never forgave him for what he did either, and the show (and hopefully the supplementary material) never portrayed her as in the wrong for feeling that way, because forgiveness is subjective. In fact, the whole show has themes of forgiveness, betrayal, abuse, and destiny, much like this show. Let's be honest here, *Avatar* pulled it off much better. Then again, I am comparing arguably the greatest cartoon ever made (at least in the early 21st century) to a 2017-2020 spinoff/sequel series of a movie from 2010. The destiny and what's best vs, what's right bits also remind me of later volumes of RWBY as well.