It’s the beginning of the end folks. We’re now at the season two finale and it’s the last decent tentpole episode of the series. That however doesn’t mean that it’s without flaws.
Summary: Rapunzel and the group have reached the end of their journey and have arrived on the outskirts of the Dark Kingdom. However, Eugene remains worried about Lord Demanitus’ prophecy that someone will turn against Rapunzel, who is doubtful of the premonition. As the group continue onward, they are attacked by an masked figure, King Edmund, who reveals himself as Eugene's father.
So Why Didn’t Quirin Take Eugene?
He’s right there and clearly disapproves with baby Eugene being sent away with no one else but the nursemaid according to this scene. So why didn’t he adopt Eugene himself, or at the very least volunteer to guard the baby and the nursemaid if he didn’t want to raise him. Though knowing Quirin there’s no real reason why he wouldn’t take care of his nephew. This feels really out of character and contrived.
This is a Lie
Spoiler alert, but Rapunzel does not grab the moonstone at the end of this episode. You know what the black rocks do? Nothing. Just like how they’ve done nothing since Secret of the Sun Drop. Once they finally do become active, it’s because they’re under Cassandra’s control , which they wouldn’t be if everyone had left the dang opal alone to begin with.
If you want to have an external conflict to drive your internal conflicts then you need to put in the effort of the making the threat evident to the viewers. Making the rocks completely inactive after Rapunzel touched them a second time is perhaps the dumbest mistake in the show, even more so than writing out Varian in season two.
Lance Is Right There!
I understand what “With You By My Side’ is trying to achieve. It’s trying to be a book end to “Next Stop Anywhere” while setting up Cassandra’s betrayal, but it doesn’t work for three big reasons.
For starters Lance doesn’t sing in it despite standing only a few feet away. True Lance didn’t sing in “Next Stop Anywhere” either, which isn’t great, but at least he had some dialogue. Here he’s just shoved to the side. Highlighting all the other times this season he’s been shoved to the side. The writers wanted to use this moment to show how close the mains are, but all I can think of is what shitty friends they are to Lance and how the group doesn’t feel like a group and never has.
Secondly It fails in the foreshadowing department. Since Cass is the only viable candidate to be the traitor and the song has to spend it’s time trying to make her not look like the traitor while hinting that she is totally the traitor. ‘wink, wink’. Only it fails at both. Cassandra is the only possible person who could fit the traitor prophecy and a song doesn’t change that. Yet the prophecy comes out of nowhere and the series fails to back it up with anything. So Cassandra’s betrayal is both too obvious and too rushed. In short it’s confused and so the song is confused.
Speaking of confused, it’s also really out of character for Cassandra to start the cheery upbeat song. Cassandra is many things, but a master manipulator isn’t one of them. One of the few things about Cassandra that is consistent is that she’s ruled by her emotions. She’s a hot head, she’s very forward and speaks her mind a lot, she’s quick to pick fights, and when she’s upset she sulks and growls. She’s not capable of pretending to be happy when she’s isn’t. That’s kind of the whole point behind her and Rapunzel’s argument in Rapunzel: Day One. So either she’s being genuine here, which would contradict what we find out in season three, or she’s not Cassandra any more, which once again would contradict season three.
Look Who Doesn’t Have ‘Faith’ Now?
I told you last episode that Rapunzel didn’t have ‘faith’. As soon as Demantius gave her a prediction that she didn’t like , she just flat out ignores it. Meanwhile Eugene, who through out season two was bullied and mocked for not believing in Vigor/Demantius, and for valid reasons, is suddenly being shot down for taking Demantius’s warnings into consideration.
Basically we’re starting to see the double standard which will come to define New Dream all through season three.
This Plot Point Doesn’t Work Without Varian or Adira Around
The writers are trying to pull a double fake out during this episode by having Cassandra be suspected of being the traitor to then have someone else prove themselves the ‘traitor’ only for Cassandra to actually be the for real taitor all along. But that set up doesn’t work without a red herring to throw suspicion off of her.
Some fans suspected Adira when this first aired but that’s less to do with good writing and more to do with the audience doing the work for the writers by filling in the blanks themselves. Adira isn’t and never was a part of the group. She’s not even considered a friend by most of the cast. Also,she’s not only missing for most of the season, but she’s also missing whenever the subject about the traitor comes up so the characters, and by consequence the story, never treats her like a possible candidate.
You know who could have been a good red herring? Varian. We know he was written out of the season two at the last minute. Not just because of Chris’s comment about the note, but also because there is a giant Varian shaped hole in the plot. It’s pretty clear he was originally meant to be the catalyst for several plot points this season, including being the fake out ‘taitor’ for Cass’s actual reveal. Pulling him out of the story hinders all of the characters’ arcs; not just his own.
This Joke Falls Flat
Usually comedy is Tangled’s strong suit. Now one can argue that there is too much comedy or that the humor is dated, but generally speaking, from a pure structural standpoint, the jokes more or less land. Yet this is one of the few times the joke doesn’t stick so I felt the need to point it out.
‘Never more’ is a reference to The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. Lance is using it in place of the phrase ‘never mind’. Only it doesn’t work because ‘never more’ and ‘never mind’ have two completely different meanings and aren’t interchangeable. What Lance is saying here is just random nonsense in context.
Then there is the issue with timing. The scene is too busy and there is too long of a pause between the set up and the punchline. Furthermore, the set up is muddled by the other sounds and action competing for focus over the dialogue.
The Hand Doesn’t Mean Anything, Stop Bringing It Up!
Technically Rapunzel would be the most agile. She’s a life long aerial acrobatic who uses her hair instead of silk. Cass could claim to be the strongest or the toughest if she wanted to, but trying to make her seem more suited for swinging across great heights than Rapunzel herself is borderline ridiculous.
But that’s because this whole plot point is forced. It’s the writers to trying to dig themselves out of a hole by having Cass go out of her way to be helpful so that she seems less suspicious, rather than just providing the audience with an actual red herring.
What’s also forced suddenly acting like her injured hand is some big deal when she’s been shown using it perfectly fine for half a season now. Not to mention it won't ever be brought up again after this episode, so what was the point?
Pointing Out the Stupidity of Something Doesn’t Make It Any Less Stupid
Look, if you have the self awareness to have your characters point out your own plot holes, then you should be smart enough just to write out the plot holes. Comedy shouldn’t used as spackling to cover the cracks in your writing, and it can’t hide bad characterization. I don’t know why season two suddenly decided that meta humor could replace decent plotting but it’s lazy.
That’s Actually a Good Plan, Why Not Use It?
Keep in mind that according to season three, Cassandra is very much planning on stealing the moonstone right now. She’s been planning it since the shell house. Why would she come back for the others? She doesn’t need Rapunzel to get close to the moonstone herself as far as she is aware at the moment.
That’s the other problem with not having any real red herrings. In order to force these moments of helpfulness you need the antagonist to undermine themselves and their goals for no given reason. That’s bad writing.
So What’s Up With This Expression?
If Cass is planning to take the moonstone at this point and time, and we take into account season three’s reasons for doing so, then why would Cassandra smile at Rapunzel hugging her? Especially since Rapunzel can’t see the smile. Cass should be mad at Raps right now.
Logically this should have been the point where the audience should have noticed something wrong, but this is the writers/animators intentionally having the characters actual out of character in order to fool the audience which makes for poor plot twist.
A good twist doesn’t just surprise the audience it also makes the sense within the story and gives past events more context. The Cassandra’s betrayal fails at all those points. It’s not surprising because she’s the only suspect, it doesn’t make sense because it’s not properly built up to, and it only makes past events like this even more confusing.
This Hans from Frozen levels of bad twist villains.
Destiny Is Not a Goal!!!
Have many times have I used this gif?
‘Destiny’ isn’t a goal in of itself. It’s a point of conflict. It either interferes with the protagonist’s main goal or involves stopping the antagonist from achieving their goal. Either way it must be something specific and the goals it includes must be laid out. Vague allusions to ‘destiny’ doesn’t tell the audience what Cassandra wants.
What does she want? What’s her goal? Why does she want it? How does taking the moonstone helps her achieve it? These are things the audience needs to know in order for Cassandra’s future actions to make any sense, but the story never answers these basic questions.
So If the Sword Is Made of the Black Rocks Then Why Doesn’t It Break Edmund’s Axe?
It broke on Rapunzel’s hair moments before.
Part of the reason why rules for magic systems exist in stories is for consistency, and consistency is important because it helps to keep the characters decisions rational. Edmund wants to use Adira’s sword to destroy the moonstone because it can cut through the black rocks. But why would he believe it can do such a thing if it couldn’t even break his plain old axe?
So Why ‘Father’ and Not ‘Mother’?
So there’s several people who dislike this episode because they hate the plot points that were introduced. Which is fair enough. You have every right to dislike Eugene as the Dark Prince or Cassandra being turned into a villian. But disliking the concept isn’t a critique in of itself. That’s just a personal preference.
A critique is judging the execution of an idea fairly despite whatever personal feelings you have towards the idea itself. You can’t review ‘what might have been’ only ‘what is’.
Well what we do have here is a rehash of the bad overprotective father trope for the fourth time in the show. At this point it’s gone past parallel to being lazy. If you had replaced Edmund with Eugene’s mother instead then nothing about the story would have changed. The plot points, characterizations, and interpersonal conflicts could have all remained the same but it would have given more female representation.
The only reason for making Eugene’s long lost relative his father is just misogyny. Because Chris just does not want to write for any woman that isn’t Cassandra, and the reason for that is because she's his dream girl/plaything that he can do whatever he wants to, not because he actually cares about her as character.
Sure Would be Nice to Know What’s Going Through Adira’s Mind Right Now...
So lets recap here; Adira has just been attacked by her brother, who is also her king, whom she thought dead up till now. She’s now just over heard said brother tell the guy that’s she’s been traveling with for a year now, that he is really her nephew and long lost prince. This brother also has stolen her magical sword and is planning on using it to destroy the magical artifact that she’s been planning on nullifying by sacrificing her now nephew’s girlfriend to it. Even though, both her and said brother know that trying to destroy said magical artifact is what led to their already crippled kingdom’s destruction and their family being separated.
Got it?
Well you better because the show won't spell that out for you. In fact we don't even find out that Edmund us Adira’s brother until the last episode of the series and there it’s just used as a cheap plot twist and not a point of development for her nor her siblings.
This is what I meant by misogynist writing. The third most plot important female character in the show is treated as plot device and not as an actual person with thoughts and feelings of her own.
So This Pretty Much Proves That Adira Isn’t A Suspect and Never Was
She’s not even used as a plot device effectively. Here she’s proven to be on the up and up and always has been, removing her as a potential red herring. Instead she’s just used as an exposition fairy the same as Xavier. Worse this revelation only serves to make the other two women in the show look bad, because now Cass is an unreasonable jerk and Rapunzel is an idiot for not asking sooner.
Yup, you sure know how to write ‘strong’ female characters don’t ya show?
Gee This is Interesting Lore, Shame It’s Never Explored
So I have like a million and one questions here...
- How did the kingdom survive for centuries being this close to the black rocks, which have been presumably active this whole time?
- The land is shown to be barren because of the rocks, so what did they live off of?
- Was there trade with other kingdoms to supplement their lack of resources, despite trying to keep the moonstone hidden, and if so then what was their export?
- What was the culture here? What was lost when the kingdom disbanded?
- How does the Brotherhood work? Are they recruited at young ages and become siblings that way or is it a possible career choice anyone can work towards?
- Is the king/ruler always a part of the Brotherhood, or did the Dark Queen marry one of her knights?
- Did one of the previous rulers or brotherhood members try to use the opal as a weapon for conquest before now? If not then how do they know its powers can be used as such and therefore needs to be guarded?
- What is even the Dark Kingdom’s real name? Why would its own citizenry call it that and not by an actual name?
Reaching the Dark Kingdom is the whole reason for the quest in season two. It’s the beginning point of the whole plot. It’s where the black rocks originate from and it’s houses the series plot macguffin. Several of our main characters have connections to this place. It’s the most important location in the show next to Corona itself. We need these questions answered because it’s important worldbuilding. It’s adds depth and nuance to the series, and explains important plot points better.
But nope! We’re in the Dark Kingdom for less episodes than the bleeding Shell House, Tirapai Island, or even the completely useless Vardaros. It’s piss poor time management and lazy worldbuilding to reduce everything about this place to an info dump inside one tentpole episode.
So What Was The Plan Here?
So what was the original plan for baby Eugene? Was Edmund always going to dump him in an orphanage and if so, then why would that be his first option? Was the nursemaid shown here meant to adopt him and something happened to her? Then why didn’t Edmund send a guard with them to protect them? Why didn’t he send one of the Brotherhood after his child when it became evident that he was stuck in an orphanage? Heck, why didn’t he ask one of his siblings *cough* Quirin *cough* to raise their nephew?
If you’re going to retcon a previously established character’s past like this, then you need to have it make sense. This plot point has too many holes and leaps of logic in it to work properly.
So Wait Did the Brotherhood Know Edmund Was Alive This Whole Time? Then Why Did Hector Act Like He Was Dead?
Look, they can all clearly see him running around, post losing an arm, ordering people off. Why did Hector and Adira act like he was dead back in the Great Tree? Did they just assume he killed himself after this, or died of starvation since there’s no resources in the Dark Kingdom? How did he manage to live on his own for so long in such an inhospitable environment? Why didn’t anyone go to check up on him? Why didn’t they write letters to one another? What is up with the poor communication in this show?
So How Did Quirin Get This Particular Scroll Piece If Adira Had It?
This probably is just an animation hiccup or continuity error, but the scroll piece Adira is holding here is the wrong one. Each of the three Brotherhood members who left had one scroll piece and the one Adira is holding now is the one Quirin had in the graphtyc. Adria’s piece that she gave to Rapunzel was this one, with the Dark Kingdom on it.
So either she and Quirin switched pieces at some point, or the writers and artists didn’t bother to keep things consistent.
So Adira Saw an Entire Kingdom Attacking Her Nephew and Did Nothing
So this confirms what we’ve suspected all along. Adria was there during the battle of the Secret of the Sun Drop, perhaps even longer, and she did nothing to help her nephew or brother. Despite her main goal being to save her home; which one would presume would include reuniting her family.
This not only makes her look like a heartless bitch who doesn’t give a damn about anybody, but it directly contradicts her motives. And don't think I didn't notice Varian conveniently being off screen during this flashback. Writing Varian out of the show harms literally everyone’s character.
So This Plot Point Goes Nowhere
Well not only did we fail to actually explain why Adira kept disappearing; but we’ve set up this idea that Cassandra wants to protect Rapunzel from the moonstone. Only this doesn’t go anywhere. Cassandra’s motives have nothing to do with protecting Rapunzel and come middle of season three she’ll be seeking to kill Rapunzel instead with little given reason. Also the very concept that the combining the moonstone and sundrop together will destroy Rapunzel is utter bollocks to begin with and no such thing happens when she does indeed touch both. They build this plot point up over the course of a full season then hand wave it away with zero explanation.
If You Knew Where Your Son Was the Whole Time Then Why Didn’t You Take Better Care of Him?
I’m going to complain about this a lot, but Edmund knowing that his son was in an orphanage and then later a thief in a gang but not doing anything about it isn’t heartwarming it’s sickening. Actually watching out for him would be writing to him, sending him money and resources, arranging for him to be adopted, bailing him out of jail, ect. and so on. This bullshit is what makes Edmund the second worst father in the series right behind Frederic.
Eugene Is Right and I’m Angry That the Show Doesn’t Acknowledge It
Look, Edmund does have legitimate reasons for not keeping Eugene. One can even argue that he had a point in keeping his distance from his son, given his mental state. However, once you make that decision there’s no going back. If you choose to cut yourself completely out of your child's life then you forfeit the right to be their parent. You don’t get to call them your child, they don't have to call you their parent, and they’re the ones who get to set the parameters of your relationship or if there even is to be a relationship at all.
There’s not enough words to explain how offensive Edmund and Eugene’s arc is in this show. It’s insulting to people who had deadbeat parents, grew up in foster homes, or were adopted. Eugene is constantly pressured by everyone around him to accept this jerk as his ‘father’ and make nice to him. Like no. You have the right to cut whoever you want to out of your life and that especially includes parents that have hurt you.
The Dark Prince Plot Goes Nowhere
I don’t don’t mind the Dark Prince Eugene plot in theory but is sorely fails in execution. Instead of actually tying into the plot and giving Eugene the same amount of importance to the story as Rapunzel; it’s only used to further the gross ‘forgive your dads for everything because they’re dads’ propaganda that the show pushes.
After this episode Eugene, being a born prince and related to the most plot important place in the show, will serve no other function other then to give Edmund screen time. That’s it.
What a waste! We could have had Moon Eugene, Destined Soulmates, Misread Prophecies, Actual Twists That Mattered!!! But Nope! If it doesn’t involve hyping up Cassandra then we can’t have anything actually cool.
The Stone Being Possessive Is a Plot Point That Gets Dropped After This Episode
So the original plot was that Cassandra was going to be possessed by the moonstone itself.
Not the greatest of plots since it involves stealing her agency, but it would have made a hell of a lot more sense than what we wound up getting instead.
Yes it’s true that MoonCass was always the plan, since the beginning even, but how it actually played out on screen was slap-dashed together at the last minute because they changed up the means of how she became MoonCass during the middle of production.
You don't make changes like that during the middle of production. You figure this shit out during pre-production. It takes years of planning for an animated tv show to hit the screen. According to the above link they’ve had since 2014 at the least before hitting the screen. That’s three years worth of writing that was chucked out the window and rewritten last minute during season two’s airing. Which is why things don't line up, why Cassandra’s motivations don’t match her actions, why she doesn’t even have a goal come season three.
And it’s all because the headcreator couldn’t stand Varian getting all of the attention, so he shot himself in the foot and sabotaged everyone else’s efforts. That’s why he no longer works for Disney. Because shit like this is a major waste of money. Because time is money. You have got to utilize your resources well.
So Did She Die Before Or After You Touched the Stone?
A better question would be what motivated Edmund to try and destroy the stone in the first place? We know that the stone isn’t actually capable of controlling or tainting your thoughts because of season three. Also Edmund blamed the opal for running lives, so who’s life was ruined and how, and why would that have such a profound effect upon Edmund’s mind? One would assume that the rocks killed someone, and if so then they must have killed several people over the years. So why now? Why at that particular moment decide to get rid of it? What was Edmund’s tipping point?
Eugene’s mother dying would logically be the most obvious answer. The rocks killed her causing Edmund to want to stop the rocks, but here Edmund is acting like touching the stone itself is what killed her even though she was nowhere near the blast. So what gives?
Also Why Does Eugene’s Mother Look Like Stalyan?
It’s kind of disturbing that Eugene became engaged to woman who looks just like his dead mother and he didn’t even know it. It's also just lazy character design and I honestly expected better from the crew. Just make her look more like Eugene. It’s not that hard.
So Why Not Explain To Her Your Reasons?
Just talk you idiots! You can still have them disagree even after communicating. The conflict is such that it can’t just be easily resolved with one convo. This however is just pure stupidity. They treat this like some sort of break up through communication when that’s not what this is. The tension isn’t whether or not Eugene and Rapunzel will remain a couple; the tension is will Rapunzel die if she goes after the moonstone? That doesn’t require extra melodrama.
Conclusion
So once again this took three days to complete because Tumblr is being a bitch. I don’t know what to do anymore. It’s looking like I’m going to have to spend a full week on this things. *sigh* Come back one Wednesday of next week, hopefully for the second half of the episode.
