Elena of Avalor S2 E8

## Plot

It looks like security at the palace has been increased tenfold since the events of the previous episode. Elena in particular is annoyed at Gabe and other guards surrounding her at all times. This makes her late for the grand council meeting. She doesn't know what to do, but she plans to personally scour every inch of the kingdom until she finds Shuriki. Esteban and Francisco tell her that the royal guards and Chief Zephyr's jaquin scouts are out looking for Shuriki. She doesn't want to just sit around and do nothing though. She feels like she owes it to her kingdom and her family to catch Shuriki. Esteban points out that she should stay here and rule, and not put herself in danger. The rest of the grand council reluctantly vote against Elena, who is now confined to the palace until Shuriki is caught. Now she's mad at all of them. Migs and his kids talk to her. Zoom isn't as articulate as the others, and Mingo is clumsy. They invite her to Luna's birthday party at Mooncliff Mountain, but she tells them that she can't go. Migs assures her that Zephyr has scouts searching day and night for Shuriki. Even the kids say that they'll keep an eye out for her. Elena says that they're brave, and are like her future guardian protectors. They salute each other, but Mingo messes it up. They laugh it off and decide to make that their guardian salute. Elena visits Mateo in his workshop, and asks him if he's figured out what was on those pages of the Codex that Fiero stole. He tells her that the ripped pages were blank, unaware of the hidden writing on them. He shows her a shapeshifting potion he just made. It lets him shapeshift into a jaquin. Elena realizes that she can use it to sneak out of the palace without anyone knowing. She'll go to Mooncliff Mountain and convince Chief Zephyr to let her join the search for Shuriki. Mateo knows he can't change her mind and understands her reasons, so he decides to go with her. Before they can leave, Gabe finds them. He doesn't realize it's them until Mateo pours the potion on Elena again, turning her back to normal. She tells him about wanting to go to Luna's birthday party, and naturally, he doesn't want her to go. She points out that even if Shuriki did see her, she wouldn't know it was her. Gabe reluctantly agrees to come along to keep her safe. What Elena didn't tell him was her plan to look for Shuriki. While flying there, she tells Mateo to distract Gabe when they get there, so she can talk to Chief Zephyr alone. Also, I found out that his name means soft, gentle breeze. Ironic, given how his behavior and actions in this episode are anything but soft and gentle. They're about to fly into a boat. Mateo tells Elena to go sideways, but she doesn't know how to, and crashes into the sail. A jaquin named Cruz helps her up, and stops Mateo and Gabe from crashing into each other. You may remember Cruz as being the jaquin that Chief Zephyr is training to be his successor. Elena says that she's Luisa, Gabe is Francisco, and Mateo is Esteban. They claim that their parents are big fans of the royal family. Cruz takes them to Mooncliff Mountain. On another side note, Cruz is voiced by Mario Lopez, whose daughter, Gia Lopez, voices Estrella. He even helps her record her lines in the booth. Aw! That's so cute! They arrive at the mountain. Luna has an obvious crush on Cruz. Migs introduces his kids to Cruz. The jaquins play skyball, and Mateo has Gabe play to keep him distracted. Elena talks to Chief Zephyr about looking for Shuriki. However, he says that only his scouts are trained for that kind of mission, and leaves. He talks to Cruz, who hasn't seen him in awhile. That's because Cruz hasn't been showing up for training, and Zephyr tells him to come with him. Elena and Mateo see them leave when another pair of scouts arrive. They assume that they're going to look for Shuriki, and follow them. They fly through a narrow path in a mountain. Elena says that it's too narrow. Mateo tells her to just tilt sideways, but she can't do it, and they fly above it. They spot the two again in the jungle, by a large rock. They listen to their conversation. Zephyr explains that this is Commanders Rock. It's the most important link to their jaquin history. The royal wizard Alacazar built it decades ago, and put a spell on it to protect the priceless knowledge inside. Zephyr puts his paw on a stone with a jaquin print on it, and says a spell that opens the rock up, and reveals hidden writing. Elena leaves when she realizes that they're not looking for Shuriki after all. Mateo wants to stay to check out the hidden knowledge, but leaves with her. Inside Commanders Rock, Zephyr shows Cruz the walls of past leaders. They show good decisions they made that led to victory, and bad decisions that led to defeat. To be a successful leader, one must learn from past leaders. Cruz isn't interested in any of this though. He only cares about his future as leader. Zephyr says that only a fool thinks he has nothing to learn from those who came before him. He chose Cruz to succeed him because he saw great potential in him, but he doesn't listen. He has no interest in learning. He's worse than a fool: He's a disappointment. Cruz says that some say he'd make a better chief. Zephyr tells him that he's no longer next in line, and he'll never lead the Avalor jaquins. Cruz attacks him and locks him inside Commanders Rock. Elena and Mateo see another shift heading out, and try to follow them, but they're intercepted by Gabe, who asks them where they were. Before they can answer, Skylar calls everyone over to give gifts to Luna. Chief Zephyr always hands out the first one, but no one has seen him. Elena asks Cruz if he knows where he is. She tells him that she and Mateo saw him talking to him in the jungle, by Commanders Rock. Cruz tells everyone that Zephyr is missing, and last he saw him, he was flying off with Elena, Mateo, and Gabe, who are strangers to them. Elena says that he's lying, but they say that Cruz is their friend, and he'd never lie to them. Plus, they've never seen any of them before. Elena tells them who she really is, but they don't believe her. Cruz has them locked up until they tell them where Chief Zephyr is. Now they're trapped, Zephyr is missing, and Shuriki is still on the loose. Elena admits to Gabe that the real reason she came was to join the scouts looking for Shuriki. She owes it to her family and her kingdom. Gabe says that she was under orders from the grand council, and he never should've let her out of the palace. She apologizes, and says that she had to try. Mateo says that they can talk things out later. Estrella, Zoom, and Mingo are guarding them. Elena tells them who she really is. They don't believe her at first, but then she does their guardian salute. They believe her and let them out. The other jaquins notice that they're gone, and the kids reluctantly tell them which way they went. They're being chased by Cruz, Migs, Luna, and Skylar. Gabe tries to stall Cruz. Elena puts her paw on the stone, and says the literal magic words right as Cruz tackles her. The door opens, and Chief Zephyr leaps out. Migs, Luna, Skylar, and Gabe see him. They also see him announce to everyone that Cruz is a traitor, and they fight. Cruz flies off, and Elena and Mateo go after him. Mateo gets tangled in some vines, and tells Elena to get Cruz. She could cut him off by going through a narrow passage. This time she's able to do it, and tackles Cruz out of the sky. Before he can take off again, Chief Zephyr pounces on him, and the others arrive. They lock him up. He says that he won't be in there for long though, especially once *his sister* finds out. Whoa! That came out of nowhere! Who's his sister? Elena thanks the kids for believing in her. Chief Zephyr is grateful to her for capturing Cruz, but he thinks that it's best if she left the jaquin duties to the jaquins from now on. Back at the palace, they turn themselves back to normal. Gabe is upset that Elena lied to him and disobeyed the council. Next time, he *will* tell them. Elena knows that he's right, and promises not to do it again. She wonders how she's supposed to stop Shuriki if she's stuck in the palace though. She picks up the scepter, and sees the back of the Codex glow. She realizes that the pages in the back of it weren't blank. There's another chapter, but the Maruvians made the writing invisible, like at Commanders Rock. Elena uses the illuminate power on it. Mateo reads about the Scepter of Night. It's as powerful as the Scepter of Light, and channels the darkest magic of… that's where the page was ripped out. Fiero stole the pages to learn about the Scepter of Night, and where to find it. It turns out that the workshop is also covered in invisible writing. It's a message from Alacazar. He discovered the secret chapter in the Codex, but wanted to make sure that the scepter didn't fall into the wrong hands. He solved the riddle in the Codex that led to the scepter, and broke it into three pieces, then moved the other two. When you find one piece, a riddle leads to the next, like with the keys to the workshop, which hid the Codex. The writing fades, since Elena used the scepter for too long. Shuriki, Fiero, and the Delgados are heading for the first piece. Now they'll know where to find them, once they solve the first riddle.

## Review

I loved this episode! I totally called Cruz being a traitor! I loved it whenever the jaquins snarled, growled, or fought with each other. It made them feel more like real animals. I got Simba vs. Scar vibes when I saw Chief Zephyr and Cruz fight each other. I thought I would hate the rap battle song, but it was actually pretty good. I think rap is a very love it or hate it genre of music. I used to be in the hate section, and while it's still far from my favorite genre, things like this song, as well as the amazing-ness that is *In the Heights* and *Hamilton*, have helped open my mind.