Elena of Avalor S3 E12

## Plot

After the last few heartbreaking and heavy episodes, it's no surprise that we're going back to lighter standalone ones now. At least, for two episodes, because the one after that has more main plot and tears to put us through. Elena meets Gabe on a ship at the harbor. Avalor has had a pirate problem lately. That's the third ship they've attacked this month. Gee, I wonder where Daniel, Scarlett, and Naomi are right now? Gabe needs more manpower to handle it, so he suggests an open call for more royal guards. He has fencing practice with Elena, but she says she can find another partner. Armando isn't very good at fencing though. A seamstress named Antonia lets her know that she mended her lucky fencing pants. Before she puts them inside, she tosses a sword to Elena with her foot. She admits that her father was a royal guard, and she fences a little, so she fills in for Armando. She's really good. She would secretly watch her father run drills with his troop. Her favorite part was the fencing. At the end of the day, she'd go back to her room and practice the same moves they worked on. Elena asks her if she's ever considered being a royal guard, and performs the Leaping Stag to finally get a point. She tells Antonia that Gabe taught it to her. She asks her why she hasn't tried to enlist. Antonia says that women aren't allowed to join the guard. Elena says that can't be true, and Antonia tells her that if that's the case, then why are there only men in every royal guard? Elena asks her grandparents, and they confirm that there isn't a rule barring women from joining the royal guard. However, Francisco believes that they shouldn't, because it's the men's job to protect the women. Elena and Luisa naturally chew him out for that sexist, old-fashioned nonsense. Elena tells Antonia that there's no official rule that women aren't allowed to serve in the guard, so she can enlist. Rocco and Nacho Villalobos, who are presumably related to Rico Villalobos, sign up with Gabe to become royal guards, along with three other recruits: Felipe, Santino, and Alejandro. They're all shocked that a woman is trying to join the royal guard. Gabe couldn't care less about her gender. He's interested in finding the best talent in Avalor, whoever they are. This makes sense, since he, the son of a baker, became the captain of the royal guard, and at an extremely young age. He knows what it's like when people don't think you have what it takes just because of something you can't control, whether that's your class or your sex. He's heard of Antonia's father, Rodrigo Bello. He was an excellent soldier. Rocco makes fun of her for being a seamstress. Her uniform doesn't fit her. Over the next three days, the recruits will have to face a nautical obstacle course, practice their swordsmanship, survive in the wild, and face a pirate attack simulation. Everyone makes it through the obstacle course except Antonia, who keeps falling into the water while trying to board the ship. She thinks she was a disaster, but Elena tells her that all she saw was a woman who refused to give up. Antonia says persistence doesn't get you across the obstacle course. You also need skill. Elena tells her that Rocco has been training alongside his family for years, and Alejandro's father built the obstacle course in their backyard. She tells Antonia that she's sure she has the skills, she just hasn't had the opportunity to hone them like the guys have. Instead of going home, they stay all night; Antonia to practice the course and Elena to support her. The guys find them sleeping in the carriage the next day, and Rocco makes fun of them. One of them is your ruler and will be queen soon, and if you become a royal guard, then one of her best friends will be your new boss. Shortsighted, idiotic dick. He and Antonia spar, to the point where everyone else stops and watches them in awe. Antonia absolutely trounces Rocco, which makes him mad, and earns her everyone else's admiration and respect. She even copies the Leaping Stag perfectly. For the next test, they'll be dropped in an unknown location in the wild. They'll have to use teamwork and survival skills to make it back to the palace before sundown. Whenever someone else runs into trouble, Antonia helps them out, although I question one's readiness to be a royal guard and handle pirates when he can't even swim. Everyone except Rocco really likes her. While she's gathering firewood, he tells the other guys that at their current pace, they can break the record time for completing the challenge, but they can't stop and rest. When they ask where Antonia is, he claims that she went ahead to scout for danger, and would only return if she ran into a problem. When they get back, Gabe congratulates them for breaking the record, but Elena asks where Antonia is. The guys repeat what Rocco told them, and he claims that he *thought* she was ahead of them. Because it was a challenge about teamwork, they all fail, and everyone heads out to look for her, but they can't find her. Um, Elena? I know the jungle is dense and probably doesn't have many landmarks, but couldn't you at least try to use Farsight? Before she, Gabe, and some actual royal guards can go back out to keep looking for her, she returns to the palace just after sundown, which means that she failed. Gabe tells her that it was her team that let her down. She says she understands, but she quits. She knows they left her behind on purpose. Technically, only Rocco did. It doesn't matter how hard she works or how qualified she is. If the group won't accept her as one of them, then there's no point. She doesn't show up for the pirate simulation the next day, which upsets the others. Elena keeps trying to convince her to re-enlist, and references her first Royal Retreat when mentioning that she's had to face her own share of sexism too. Antonia decides to give it one more shot. Meanwhile, the guys are attacked by the actual pirates during the simulation. Nacho is a coward and climbs up the mast, and Rocco is taken hostage by the captain. Gabe and the others drop their swords in surrender. Elena and Antonia see this from the sky, since they're riding on Skylar, who flies into the pirate picking up their swords, and they get them back. Antonia picks one up and gives another to Elena. She goes after the captain and Rocco, and wipes the floor with all of the other pirates in her way. Gabe and the other trainees also capture a lot of them in a net. Antonia is able to make it to the pirate ship. She fights and disarms the pirate captain. Elena frees Rocco, but when she tells him to stay away from the captain, he takes her hostage and shoves Rocco overboard. He tells Antonia to drop her sword, and she does, but she gives a look to Elena, who stomps on the captain's foot. Antonia kicks her sword and pins the captain to the rail, and Elena threatens him with his own sword. Cool. Felipe, Santino, and Alejandro are impressed that Antonia captured the captain. Gabe informs Rocco and Nacho that they're not becoming royal guards today. Sometime later, the others are given their royal guard swords by Elena. Antonia's uniform fits this time. I wouldn't be surprised if she made it herself. Francisco, Luisa, Isabel, and even Carmen can be seen in the crowd. Antonia thanks Elena for not letting her quit. A little girl comes up to her and says she wants to be a royal guard just like her someday. Antonia insists that inspiring people was a team effort between her and Elena. As the guards move out, she salutes some little kids, including a young boy. Aw! It's so cute! This episode was like a slightly more adult version of Sofia the First's premiere episode, which originally aired all the way back in January 2013. Obviously, I liked this episode because it's about feminism, and I also liked the more subtle parts, like Antonia's uniform not fitting, sort of like how NASA's first all female spacewalk had to be delayed *for six months* because the space station didn't have enough suits that fit. They finally did it on October 18, 2019, less than a week before this episode originally aired.