Crash Course

"**Crash Course**" is the seventieth episode of the Disney Channel animated series, *Elena of Avalor*. It premiered on April 3, 2020 and is the twenty-first episode in the third season.

## Summary

Gabe snubs Mateo and recruits a flashier wizard to teach his guards magic, but learns that there are no shortcuts to success.

## Plot

At Avalor Palace, Gabe is training the Royal Guard as hard as he can. Elena comes by and asks Gabe if he thinks he's working them too hard. Gabe replies that the last time they had Ash Delgado and Esteban in their custody and behind bars, they escaped. He then resumes training the Guard. Suddenly, Rico is sent flying. Luckily, he gets saved by a wizard. Mateo comes over and introduces the wizard as Bronzino. Bronzino adds he's "the great Bronzino". Bronzino tells Elena and the Guard that he's visiting from the Kingdom of Hectoria. Mateo adds he invited Bronzino to exchange magic with him. Armando comes over and tells Elena it's time for the Grand Council meeting. Elena explains the situation with Ash's group and leaves for the meeting. Bronzino wows the Guard with his magic to the point where Rico states "I wish I knew magic." This gives Gabe an idea.

In the Grand Council Chamber, Doña Paloma enters to ask Elena about who will replace Esteban as Chancellor after she stripped him of the title and disowned him after finding out about his original alliance with Shuriki during her original takeover. Naomi also comes in to get her belongings that she left behind. Gabe and Mateo suddenly come in to tell Elena about Gabe's idea. Gabe thinks the reason magical villains always outmaneuver the Royal Guard is because they aren't magical. Because of this, Gabe wants Mateo to teach the Royal Guard magic. Mateo thinks it's a terrible idea as there isn't a quick and easy way to learn magic. Elena agrees but suggests that Mateo train only the best Guards. Mateo agrees on the condition that he train them his way. Gabe agrees, voicing how he can't wait to hold a tamborita. Mateo reveals that he doesn't have any spare tamboritas: They were all destroyed when the Kupi-Kupi got loose in the Palace. To make more, he needs Chispas which are only found in La Cuna de Fuego, a hidden valley near Mesa Roja. Elena, Doña Paloma, and Naomi head out to get it.

Gabe assembles Antonia, Felipe, Miguel, and Rico outside for magic lessons. Mateo teaches them drills for pronouncing the spells and hitting their tamboritas. The guards all find this boring. Gabe protests this to his annoyance and frustration, but Mateo reminds them he agreed to do this his way. When Mateo leaves to go get something, Gabe asks Bronzino to take over. When Mateo gets back, Gabe tells him what he did and tells him the reason why is because he wants a quick and easy way for the Guard to learn magic. A hurt Mateo storms off in disgust at Gabe's impatience with the training and not doing it properly under his tutelage.

Meanwhile, thanks to Naomi's guidance, Elena, Naomi, and Doña Paloma have found La Cuna de Fuego. They quickly find the Chispa Bush. Doña Paloma runs off to grab the bush. Naomi tries to warn her not to do that, but Doña Paloma ignores her and pulls out the whole bush. This proves to have been a mistake: A storm is unleashed from the spot where the bush was. Doña Paloma blames Naomi for this by asking why she didn't tell her that would happen. Naomi reminds her that she tried to explain that you could only pull out one branch at a time but she didn't listen and Elena agrees with her. Shamed, Doña Paloma admits she wanted to be named the new Chancellor to replace Esteban. The trio replants the bush and the storm stops. Naomi then pulls out one branch. They then head back to Avalor Palace.

Back at Avalor Palace, the Royal Guard is having fun with magic from Bronzino. Suddenly, a disaster happens: Rico casts a spell incorrectly in a way that makes Avalor Palace vanish. The Guardsmen try to bring it back, but they only succeed in bringing it back as a Gingerbread Palace with everyone inside also as gingerbread. Gabe tells Bronzino to fix everything, to which he admits he doesn't know how. When this makes the Guard confront him about his earlier boasting, he runs off out of fear and intimidation. Mateo comes over and demands an explanation. Gabe tells Mateo what happened and apologizes for what he did earlier with being impatient over the training. Mateo forgives him before he then teaches the Guardsmen the right spell to reverse their mistake. The Palace is returned to normal just as Elena, Naomi, and Doña Paloma get back.

## Cast

* Aimee Carrero as Princess Elena
* Jorge Diaz as Gabe
* Joseph Haro as Mateo
* James Monroe Iglehart as Bronzino
* Jillian Rose Reed as Naomi
* Constance Marie as Doña Paloma
* Arturo Castro as Felipe
* Melissa Fumero as Antonia
* Arturo del Pietro as Rico
* Josh Keaton as Miguel
* Joe Nunez as Armando

## Trivia

* **Moral**: There are no shortcuts to achieve your goal.
* Mateo mentions that all of his spare tamberitas are destroyed from the Chupi-Chupi from "Movin' On Up"
* Bronzino's voice actor, James Monroe Iglehart previously worked on *Tangled: The Series* as Lance Strongbow. Coincidentally, this episode aired just over a month after that show's finale.
	+ James Monroe Iglehart is also the second cast member of *Tangled: The Series* to guest star in *Elena of Avalor*, first was Eden Espinosa (Cassandra) as Orizaba in "The Scepter of Light".
	+ Like Lance from Tangled: The Series, Bronzino also resembles his actor, James Monroe Iglehart.
* Elena's arm is still broken from the events of "Giant Steps".
* The lions Bronzino summoned resemble Mufasa or Simba.