The Return of Quaid

So on its own this episode is decent but it highlights one of the recurring problems in the series. 

Summary:  Following the Baron's defeat, Rapunzel and the group are ready to depart Vardaros, but Rapunzel is unhappy to leave the city in a disastrous state and with a power vacuum, Anthony the Weasel decides take over Vardaros. Rapunzel and the group intervene, but Anthony promises to return in a few days to permanently take over the city. Rapunzel and the group stay to fight, but find the citizens unwilling to help. Vex advises the group to seek out Captain Quaid, the retired sheriff of Vardaros. Rapunzel and the group meet Quaid and convince him to come out of retirement.

Cool Concept, Poor Execution 

I love the ‘heroes aren’t done just because the bad guy was defeated’ concept. I also love the ‘heroes can’t solve things just by using force’ trope as well. Combined, these are some severely underused ideas in fantasy; ones that help ground the world in realism. The problem all stems down to the execution. The mains are too emotionally divorced from the narrative, they hold no personal stakes here, while the city of Vardaros has no lasting impact on the overall story.  

None of This Matters  

The core issue is that none of the characters that we stay with learn anything. It’s Quiad, Vex, and the Vardaros townspeople who need to learn a lesson and change their way of thinking instead, but they never come back after the third episode of season two; meaning we just wasted our time here. Rapunzel and the rest of the recurring cast learn nothing, which undermines the conceit that the is ‘Rapunzel’s show’ (the creators words, not mine) and that this is suppose to be a coming of age story. 

If this was for only one episode that wouldn’t be a big deal, but it’s a theme in several episodes throughout seasons 2 and 3 and it just drags the whole show down. 

Failed Set Up

This would have been the time to establish Lance’s stage fright if they wanted to him to have if for Be Very Afraid. Instead this episode undermines that later plot point as it tells us that Lance is a big ham who loves performing and being the center of attention. It’s poor set up and resolve. 

Not Enough Teenagers

In truth we don’t know Vex’s age but Eugene calls her ‘kid’ in this scene...

and she’s shorter than Rapunzel so most of the fandom assumes she’s a teen like Varian. But like, there’s only three characters in the entire show that you’re led to make that assumption about, Varian, Vex, and Faith. (yes there’s evidence to suggest that Faith is a teen even more so than Vex, stop arguing with me over it) That’s only three teenagers in both an entire country and an entire road trip’s worth of travel. Three teens in the whole world of this fictional place. That’s unrealistic, but moreover it shows a failure to understand who this show is for. 

None of these three characters interact with one another, only two of them are plot important, and only one of them is actually a main character.That’s such a wasted opportunity. You have a show targeted at pre-teens here but they don’t have anyone like themselves to relate too. It’s why Faith and Vex have become fan favorites despite not getting much screen time and not having much of anything to do with the plot. It’s also in part why Varian is the most popular character in the show alongside his story arc and unique combination of popular tropes. 

Conclusion

This episode is alright. It’s your standard typical Saturday morning cartoon for kids stuff. It’s not offensive or anything but it is frustrating that the show promises to be so much more than this but repeatedly falls back on such mundane storytelling.