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akinoameP is for Protector (Cary Bates): On Zamballa, a world of walking trees, there is a forest fire, and the native ents are trying to escape. The arsonist is apparently Taranee and the other Guardians. But at that time, Taranee and Nigel are at a sushi restaurant. Taranee is determined to keep seeing her boyfriend, but Nigel is still more worried about her getting in trouble for him. In the middle of lunch, a couple of robbers bust in. Despite them being total, unprofessional idiots, the owner faints. Taranee calls the police, but they spot her. Nigel immediately stands up to defend her, but she discreetly sets off the sprinklers, making Robber 1 slip. Robber 2 tries to open the cash register, and Taranee appears to cooperate...only to unmask the crook and get into a fight, knocking over some fish. The other robber is distracted, so Nigel jumps on him and unmasks him. The police arrive and are surprisingly chill about the situation, so the robbers try to pin it on Taranee and Nigel, who are stupidly holding the evidence. All four are taken into custody to sort things out. Naturally, Judge Cook throws a fit, assuming it's all on Nigel for corrupting her little girl into a life of crime. But mid-panic attack, one of the officers tells her that there are no charges against the kids, since the owner woke up and explained they were innocent bystanders trying to help. Sheepish, Judge Cook tries to apologize to Taranee, since she's only trying to protect her, and she apologizes to Nigel for assuming the worst. However, understandably upset, Taranee's not taking "sorry" as an excuse. She's absolutely furious that her mother could believe she'd ever do something like that, and she storms off.
Taranee joins the others at the Dragon, where Caleb explains that he realizes that Nerissa must be out to control all the former Guardians...which leaves only Yan Lin and Kadma. Kadma, the former Guardian of earth, now lives on Zamballa, the "purple planet." Many years after the Nerissa/Cassidy incident, the remaining three Guardians saved the jungle world from Phobos. So the old Guardians were apparently active for a long time. Kadma was team leader, and the locals were grateful enough to offer her the Heart of Zamballa, a large purple crystal sphere within a wooden staff. She became the Queen of Zamballa and had to stay there when the Council raised the Veil. Now, the new Guardians must head to this new world to save her.
The fake Guardians are still terrorizing the Zamballan ents, who fight back. Fake Taranee surrounds a young Zamballan, Bowbreaker, with fire. He's forced to "hibernate," summoning a thick armor around himself, resembling a closed pine cone, protecting him from the flames as he sleeps. Fake Will tries to attack, but his mother, Ironwood, explains that nothing can harm him as long as he's within that armor. Though the armor of sleep protects the Zamballans from harm, they are at risk of dehydration and death, so it's a last resort defense. Kadma arrives, and Fake Will calls a retreat. Kadma is heartbroken to see the tragedy and swears vengeance, but Halinor appears, agreeing, explaining to her confused friend that Yan Lin too was corrupted by the Heart of Kandrakar and gathered Guardians to carry out her plans. Using the royal "we," Kadma swears to protect her subjects and bring Yan Lin and the others to justice. I bring up the royal "we" because when she heard about Yan Lin going nuts, Kadma's reaction was "Our Yan Lin?!" Yep. Just questionable enough, considering Nerissa and Cassidy. Just saying.
The real Guardians, Yan Lin, Blunk, and Caleb arrive at a Central American-styled pyramid that acts as Kadma's palace. The planet's foliage is various shades of purple, and I have to say I really love that from a worldbuilding point of view. Whenever the biology, chemistry, or physics of another planet/world are different, it's great to see. It makes the overall world seem bigger. Anyway, the natives recognize the Guardians and threaten to attack, which surprises Yan Lin, since she remembers them as extremely hospitable. She warns Taranee not to fight, and they escape. But more Zamballans find them and enter hibernation, lamenting that they can't escape them. Knowing this behavior is out-of-character for them, Yan Lin realizes something is horribly wrong. While everyone else is wondering what's going on, Will realizes that they have doppelgangers attacking the jungle. And Taranee is furious at being framed again. The real and fake Guardians meet, and the Heart of Kandrakar reveals that they're really Nerissa and the KoD. Nerissa's team splits up, and Taranee goes after her double against orders. Will has to order the rest of them to pair off against their evil twins, which, of course, leaves Blunk behind.
Kadma uses the Heart to communicate with nature to find the Guardians. Will and Irma are the first, and she refuses to listen when Will tries to explain. She makes the ground swallow Will up, and Will refuses to fight back. Irma, however, tries to save her and attacks, which only looks suspicious to Kadma, who imprisons them in an energy field. Kadma and Cornelia wind up throwing fruit at each other. Caleb tries to attack from behind, but again, Kadma only thinks the worst, and imprisons the both of them. Yan Lin tries logic, but the Killer Queen is ready for someone guaranteed to blow her mind (my apologies to the ghost of Freddie Mercury) and says Halinor told her she'd try to lie to her. Yan Lin tries to explain that Halinor is Nerissa's puppet, but Hay Lin runs out of patience and attacks. They too are imprisoned. But Taranee remains, and because she appears to have done the worst of the attacks, Kadma will make her suffer.
But when Kadma teleports to the fire, she sees Taranee fighting her double, a glamoured Ember. So Taranee's meatheaded approach might have been for the best after all. As Kadma wonders wtf is going on, the other fake Guardians surround her, shocking her because she just put those guys in boxes, what the hell. Luckily, Blunk has tracked Taranee down by her fish-stink from the earlier fight in the restaurant, and though he can't tell who's who by sight, smell is another story. As Kadma is attacked before she can get the infodump she desperately needs, Taranee realizes that her attacks are only feeding Ember, who is made of fire. So she cuts off her food source by absorbing all the heat to herself. Ember collapses, and Blunk tackles her, keeping her from catching herself. Unconscious, she breaks the glamour, and Taranee puts Blunk in charge of finding the others. Kadma is helpless as Nerissa orders Khor to kill her so she can persuade the Zamballans to give her the Heart. But Taranee heats up the rock he's holding, burning his hands. She then melts the ice around Kadma's hand, allowing her to use the Heart. Kadma is still confused, but Taranee explains, "Duh. They're bad, we're good." and her mood is not improved by Kadma being slow to catch on that these are fake Guardians, led by Nerissa. Or when Kadma admits she captured everybody. Kadma insists she doesn't need help to fight the KoD and promptly gets her ass kicked. Is an overblown ego a pre-req for earth Guardians? So, angry, Taranee fights, feeding Khor. She realizes this and forces herself to zen out, pretending to lose consciousness to escape him and fight back. Nerissa sets the jungle on fire, ransoming it for the Heart. But Blunk managed to piss off Ironwood and her husband, luring them to the battle. And Kadma is quick to point out who the real bad guys are, and they are more than happy to kick some ass. Kadma entraps Nerissa and brags, unaware that Ember has recovered and is right behind her. Ember attacks Ironwood (who I guess protected her? Or was the real target? It was kind of unclear), forcing her to hibernate before the bad guys escape.
The freed Guardians decide to help the Zamballans by waking them out of their sleep, providing cool air and rain. Kadma doesn't believe it'll work, but Taranee outsasses her easily and tells her to work with Cornelia to heal the jungle. Ironwood remains in hibernation, but Taranee tells Kadma to hold Cornelia's hand and combine their power. Kadma is too proud at first, but Ironwood's husband (whose name I never caught) pleads with her. Kadma joins hands with Cornelia at last and teaches her to listen for Ironwood's weak voice. Her life force is faint, so Will adds quintessence to the mix, and Ironwood is able to emerge. Let me just stop this for a minute so we can examine the implications. At thirteen/fourteen, Will is powerful enough to save people from dying, with her power alone. Wow. Taranee is miffed that Kadma doesn't even thank them, but Yan Lin explains that Kadma's always had a hard time admitting her mistakes—which makes Taranee realize her own flaws and those of her mother.
Taranee returns home and apologizes to her mother for not being open about her relationship with Nigel. In return, her mother admits that she shouldn't act like a judge sentencing criminals when she's dealing with her daughter, who's definitely one of the good guys. But as a mom, she's still going to be protective. She lets Taranee see Nigel, but on the condition that their next date is at home, where the whole family can meet him. And that Taranee showers to get rid of that fish-stink.
Q is for Quarry (Jon Weisman): The KoD attack Kadma again, but she withstands it well because she isn't giving off any negative emotions to feed them. Even Shagon notices that she's having fun kicking their asses. He calls Nerissa for backup, and when she appears, Kadma asks if her old friend is finally ready to fight her herself. But Nerissa opts to teleport the KoD out to a rock...oh god, I refuse to bold it even though they drew attention to it in the show. It's just too stupid to bold. It's a quarry. A rock quarry. Like the BBC one used in Doctor Who all the time. Like whatever one in Japan that Toei uses for Sentai and Kamen Rider and all its over tokusatsu shows. Shagon grumbles about the loss and that Kadma must be feeling proud of herself, and in response, Nerissa drops the most dangerous words any Weisman villain can say: "according to plan."
On Earth, Will is swimming laps with her father in his apartment's pool. Tony says that he hasn't forgotten her dream of being an Olympic swimmer...which came out of nowhere. Look, I don't know if this is in the comic or not, but if a character has a dream, this is something that should be introduced as early as possible. Anyway, she's just happy to spend time with her dad. And then a woman walks in, and Tony realizes he lost track of time. Ladies and gentlemen, meet your conflict. How do you maintain the spirit of the comic's conflict between Will and her father without resorting to ugliness? Introduce his new girlfriend. Tony apologizes for springing this on Will, since he'd hoped he'd have more time to ease her into it, but he has to introduce her to Serina Sanchez, his fiancée. Will takes this well, swimming over to her stuff to pack. Tony tries to apologize for blindsiding her, but she says it's okay and makes up an excuse to leave. Tony asks if they can all get together, and Serina notices the Heart in her bag and compliments it. Will makes up a boring story about how she got it, but Serina admits that even if it didn't have a glamorous origin, it's at least precious to her—something that raises Will's suspicions somewhat.
But when she meets up with the others at the Dragon, she just vents about her dad getting engaged without her ever meeting his girlfriend. Unfortunately, Cornelia brings up how similar this is to what happened to Julian and asks if it's possible Nerissa is pulling the same thing with Will's father. Taranee warns her not to get Will started on another insane conspiracy theory about her parents' romantic interests, after the debacle that was episode 5 of season 1. But it's too late, and the seed is planted. Even so, Will transforms everyone and folds to Zamballa to join Caleb, Yan Lin, and Kadma. Kadma insists that Nerissa is no match for her, but she admits that Nerissa won't stop until she has both of the former Guardians. For this reason, she insists that they need to make Nerissa their quarry instead of them being hers. Will agrees, liking the idea of trapping Nerissa and "taking control." With two Hearts—Kandrakar and Zamballa—to Nerissa's one—Meridian—they have the advantage and can save Elyon. The others are quick to agree, except for Hay Lin, who is hesitant to leave her grandmother until Ironwood vows that she and her fellow warriors will protect Yan Lin. Blunk volunteers for guard duty, but Will has a secret mission for him. She has quarry of her own—Serina—and she wants him to follow her and find out how (not even considering if) she's connected to Nerissa. So Blunk decides to become a hardboiled detective, fedora, monologue, and all. For this reason, I am obligated to link the opening theme to Kamen Rider W. Though, to be honest, there's not a whole lot to cover regarding Blunk, PI. It's more of a running gag. I'll only briefly summarize when Will thinks it's relevant.
Kadma calls Cornelia forward to teach her "green-speaking"—communicating with nature. While Cornelia initially clashes egos with her, Kadma lectures her to concentrate, since every plant on the planet will help them. This humbles her, and she follows along. She succeeds and learns that Nerissa and the others have just arrived in the Swamps of Shenea (I'm doing the best I can with the names here). This coincides with Blunk's observation that she's left the health club he trailed her to. Kadma teleports the team to the swamp as Nerissa and the KoD are making their move. Nerissa appears to be shocked they found her so fast, and the team beat them all easily—all according to plan—and Nerissa teleports out. Kadma insists it's only a matter of time before they "claim" Nerissa's heart—a word that puts Cornelia and Caleb on edge. Will is all on-board until Taranee clues her in that Kadma means to absorb the Heart of Meridian. Kadma reasons that since Elyon lost the Heart once, it makes her vulnerable, so she should have a "regent" she can trust to hold it for her, i.e., Will. Huh. A young, vulnerable person with the Heart of a world needing to temporarily entrust it to someone else until they're old enough to handle it. That'd be useful. Irma sarcastically asks if Will's the perfect one for the job. Will argues no, and nicely, Caleb glances at Cornelia, who doesn't volunteer—she just shares his worried look. For one, they're talking about her best friend's power, and no one's suggested she should take it. Furthermore, Cornelia just went through this thing, being the regent of all the powers of the Heart of Kandrakar. She knows better than anyone—except for maybe Caleb, who's watching all of this happen with his mom—how bad it is to have all that power. Will decides why not, but Taranee admits that it's troubling to have the power of two Hearts in one person's hands. Will insists she can be trusted and won't destroy people's lives like Nerissa, but Hay Lin just points out that Will of all people understands the burden of great power. Will argues back because she's the only one who understands that responsibility, she's the only one who can control it, and she'll prove it to them.
She rushes them home, despite wanting to finish things with Nerissa. She doesn't explain why she's in a hurry, leading to them grumbling behind her back, and she overhears them worry that she'll be as power-hungry as Nerissa. Still, she's on a mission, and she meets up with Blunk, who's still spying on Serina. He admits that he lost her around the same time Nerissa appeared on Zamballa, and she believes this confirms her suspicions. Note for any hypothetical third seasons: Always give Will someone sane to debunk her conspiracy theories. The next day at school, Serina "ambushes" Will with a ride to the gym, joking that she's going to be her wicked stepmother soon. At the pool, Serina is impressed with Will's swimming, just like Tony had told her. Will asks what else he told her, and she just admits she knows about Will's likes, her friends, her quirks, and her crush, promising to keep her secrets. Will tells "Nerissa" that she's the last person she wants knowing her secrets, but Serina just corrects her name in confusion.
After twenty-four hours of green-speaking, Kadma can't find Nerissa, so Will asks if there's any place the jungle doesn't reach. Which, to be honest, should be the first place you look because Nerissa's not dumb enough to stay where she has a disadvantage, but I understand why nobody thought of it before now. We're dealing with Kadma here. She can't past her own ego. This one place is the...ugh. The quarry. So they plan an ambush. Kadma is still intent on getting Will the Heart of Meridian, but now Will is unsure. The team attacks, and Will forces Nerissa to flee into a mine shaft. Kadma follows, and Shagon seals them in. Cassidy surprises Cornelia, preventing her from clearing the rubble and distracting her from Halinor behind her, who traps her in a bubble of fire that consumes the air within until she passes out. Caleb refuses to leave her side, leaving the other three to fight the KoD on their own.
Nerissa is apparently cornered within the mine, and Kadma has the stone itself hold her, then tells Will to attack her with quintessence to knock her out. Will is told to absorb the Heart of Meridian into the Heart of Kandrakar, and I have to again complain that they made a huge deal about how Hearts can't be taken by force, but they've included a hell of a lot of loopholes. Absorbing one heart into another is still taking it by force. Will starts, but then stops herself, admitting the others are right and it's too much power for one person. Kadma, however, decides to do it anyway, transforming the Heart of Zamballa into a more regal metal staff surrounded by the wood of the original, with the purple gem being shaped like a teardrop, like Weira's jewel. Nerissa compliments Kadma on her pride and takes it back. Yes, by force. Like Kadma said she could take it. Oy. Loopholes. Kadma's pride is just the character flaw that Nerissa needs to control her. After taking control of her, Nerissa attacks Will with the new Seal of Nerissa, but Irma floods the tunnels and swims to rescue Will. They make it back, where Taranee and Hay Lin are shielding the entrance and Caleb is holding Cornelia, who is beginning to wake up. Nerissa and Kadma arrive inside the barrier, so Will desperately uses her first teleport to get them to the palace. Ironwood takes over as regent in their Queen's absence, and banishes everyone from Zamballa so Nerissa isn't tempted to return to the defenseless world.
Will returns to Earth to meet up with her beat-up detective, who reports that, contrary to her suspicions, Serina has been home with Tony the entire time. So Will swallows her pride and goes over to apologize to Serina, admitting that she's been acting this way because she got blindsided, but she's ready now to welcome her to the family. Tony insists that this is all for the better, since Serina provides and extra heart to care for Will, and Will realizes the advantage really is hers.
R is for Relentless (Kevin Hopps): Hay Lin heads to Shell Beach, joined quickly by the other Guardians. But she stops them and asks who's protecting Yan Lin, who is hiding in the cave. They try to calm her down, but she runs to the cave, where there's smoke. But the smoke is only from Yan Lin cooking lunch for Caleb and Blunk, who had guard duty the whole time. Just as they begin to relax, Shagon pops in with the other KoD to troll. They do battle, in which Tridart suddenly shows the ability to make copies of himself after feeding on Hay Lin's desperation. Look, I can see that she's more desperate than ever, with her grandmother in danger, but seriously. If you have the ability to make copies of yourself to aid you in battle, spam it like Kamen Rider Knight did. Yan Lin calms her granddaughter down in time to save Taranee. Shagon and the others fold out, warning that they will succeed in getting Yan Lin. With the danger passed, Blunk starts licking up the remains of the soup, noting that it's better than the Sheffield lunch...and dumpster. Which makes Will realize they have a perfect place to protect Yan Lin.
They get permission from Knickerbocker to set up Yan Lin as a volunteer "guest chef" in the cafeteria, since even the principal couldn't stand the food. This allows them to keep an eye on her during school. Even so, Hay Lin can't help but feel danger all around, especially when she sees "Matt" talking to Eric. What's interesting is that Shagon looks happy and normal, and he doesn't appear to be talking to him for any reason other than just to talk, like any teenager. Will admits that she wishes it really was Matt, but Hay Lin reminds her that Shagon's the enemy, and they pull him aside. Hay Lin tries to threaten him to stay away from Yan Lin, but he reminds her that revealing his identity requires them to reveal theirs. In short, all either side can do right now is watch each other. After Shagon leaves, Eric goes over to talk to Hay Lin, offering her a fortune cookie and asking if she's okay. Without revealing too much, she just admits she's worried about her grandmother. Eric can sympathize, since he lives with just his grandfather and worries about him all the time. Imitating his grandfather's Scottish accent, he repeats the old man's advice not to worry about the future, urging her in his real voice to check the cookie. But it's empty, making him look like a fool in front of her. Much as I'm critical of him, I do like this moment. It's something they have in common, and the idea of the love interest being the derp instead of the hero is a nice change.
During chemistry, Hay Lin spots Shagon cutting class to stalk Yan Lin. Hay Lin sneaks out under invisibility and reappears to tell him off before going invisible again to get Knickerbocker's attention to land him in detention. You know, I get the feeling that Matt's family must be going through the exact same aggravation Taranee's mom went through the whole season. Hay Lin's overprotectiveness causes a disaster in the kitchen when she surprises Yan Lin into dropping food, leading to Will slipping, the others picking up on her surprise and running in paranoid, only for them to end in a tangle of mess. They're forced to stay late to clean up, where Caleb meets them. Since it's after hours, they have to sneak Yan Lin out, but Shagon meets them, having gotten out of detention not long before. They try to escape him, but he turns up everywhere, finally cornering them in the gym. It turns out that the other KoD had all glamoured as Matt, so a little thing like detention wouldn't stop him. Shagon attacks Will right away so she can't transform anyone or fold out, so Hay Lin has Blunk fold her and Yan Lin away. Not interested in the others, Nerissa folds the KoD after them. Will recovers, but she doesn't know which dimension their friends ran to.
When they get to Kandrakar, Yan Lin calls Hay Lin out for abandoning her friends. Hay Lin argues that Nerissa's after Yan Lin, not them, but her grandmother warns her that she made her decision through fear, and she must control that fear. The KoD show up, and Hay Lin apologetically sends the forcefield full of Council members rolling toward them to slow them down while Blunk folds away. On Earth, Irma took the team to Blunk's hideout from G (also written by Hopps, nicely), having thought he'd head back there. Caleb tells Will instead that they should focus on finding Nerissa instead of Blunk, and they leave...seconds before Blunk arrives with the Lins. Nerissa finds them in record time, and they escape fast. Blunk tries Zamballa next, and Hay Lin pleads with Ironwood for help. But Nerissa arrives there too, zapping the tonga tooth out of Blunk's hands. She doesn't attack, instead opting to taunt Hay Lin with the revelation that during the weeks she'd had the tooth in her possession back in K, she'd put a spell on it that allowed her to track every single one of Blunk's folds. The Lins go invisible to elude the KoD while Blunk grabs the tooth off Ironwood. But Yan Lin can't keep it up for long, since using her powers drains her life force. Ironwood intervenes, surprisingly, and rescues Yan Lin, setting her by Blunk. She admits she doesn't want trouble, but she can't let Nerissa attack innocent people. With that, Hay Lin grabs her grandma, and Blunk folds them out.
Meanwhile, Caleb's idea was to fold to Mt. Thanos, since if Nerissa caught Yan Lin, she'd surely stick to her usual pattern and bring her there. It's freezing, and they can barely stand the cold, and Taranee has a thought. Based on her own experience hiking and getting lost, she suggests that they fold someone back to Sheffield to wait for Hay Lin in case she returns.
Sure enough, Blunk's party returns to Sheffield, where Hay Lin remains in stealth mode to keep an advantage over the relentless Nerissa. Taranee arrives via fold, and they're relieved to see her, until she asks where Hay Lin is. Hay Lin tackles her, knowing that the real Taranee would have sensed her with telepathy. Nerissa breaks her glamour and fights back with electricity. The commotion summons Knickerbocker, who is shocked to see an old woman throwing lightning around and a goblin pulling Yan Lin away. Hay Lin drops the invisibility and yells at the principal to get her grandmother out of there, and Knickerbocker agrees. But once she's gotten Yan Lin away from Blunk, she dispels her glamour to reveal Halinor. Hay Lin is forced to put aside her fear. Now that what she's feared has happened, she has all the courage she needs to act.
Back at Mt. Thanos, the whole team is fighting the KoD—Taranee never had a chance to head back, since the others needed her there. Also, props to Caleb for punching and kicking Khor for all he was worth before Khor easily kicked his ass. Can't say the boy doesn't try. Nerissa teleports Yan Lin into the cell, then greets her with the rest of the old team. The exhausted Yan Lin continues to defy Nerissa, refusing to listen to her offers to give her the power to effortlessly use magic again. Instead, she quips that the only thing she wants is for Nerissa to be in the cell and herself outside gloating. Nerissa tries appealing to her vanity, momentarily restoring Yan Lin's young Guardian form, but Yan Lin prefers aging gracefully than clinging to the past. Even threatening Hay Lin doesn't work because Yan Lin has absolute faith in the new generation of Guardians. Nerissa can't find a flaw to corrupt, and she's running out of time.
Hay Lin joins the battle and reveals that Nerissa has her grandmother. Caleb figures they must be in the cave, so he, Cornelia, and Irma run for it, only to be blocked by Shagon and Tridart. Will and Blunk herd Ember and Khor over toward them, and Cornelia buries them in snow. Irma soaks the snow, and Hay Lin freezes it solid, buying them enough time to enter the cave, where they encounter an unusually aggravated Nerissa, who can't believe that Hay Lin is just as relentless as she is. They manage to break through her defenses and Hay Lin breaks Yan Lin out of the cell. Will joins them and opens a fold to Heatherfield within Blunk's fold to Meridian. This allows them to escape without being traced, and Nerissa lets out an uncharacteristic scream of frustration.
Once they're home at the Dragon, Yan Lin reveals that even if Nerissa finds her, she can't corrupt her. Hay Lin's smile is back, and she also discovers that Blunk's the one who took the fortunes out of her cookies earlier, thinking they were a choking hazard. Her long-awaited fortune is "The future is in your hands." She heads upstairs to find Eric and his grandfather getting takeout. Eric takes her hands and asks how her grandmother is. Hearing that she's doing better, he awkwardly asks if Hay Lin and her grandma would be interested in hanging out with him and his grandpa sometime. Yan Lin, a little relentless herself, says she's up for a double date right now and is quick to hit on the old man.
Taranee joins the others at the Dragon, where Caleb explains that he realizes that Nerissa must be out to control all the former Guardians...which leaves only Yan Lin and Kadma. Kadma, the former Guardian of earth, now lives on Zamballa, the "purple planet." Many years after the Nerissa/Cassidy incident, the remaining three Guardians saved the jungle world from Phobos. So the old Guardians were apparently active for a long time. Kadma was team leader, and the locals were grateful enough to offer her the Heart of Zamballa, a large purple crystal sphere within a wooden staff. She became the Queen of Zamballa and had to stay there when the Council raised the Veil. Now, the new Guardians must head to this new world to save her.
The fake Guardians are still terrorizing the Zamballan ents, who fight back. Fake Taranee surrounds a young Zamballan, Bowbreaker, with fire. He's forced to "hibernate," summoning a thick armor around himself, resembling a closed pine cone, protecting him from the flames as he sleeps. Fake Will tries to attack, but his mother, Ironwood, explains that nothing can harm him as long as he's within that armor. Though the armor of sleep protects the Zamballans from harm, they are at risk of dehydration and death, so it's a last resort defense. Kadma arrives, and Fake Will calls a retreat. Kadma is heartbroken to see the tragedy and swears vengeance, but Halinor appears, agreeing, explaining to her confused friend that Yan Lin too was corrupted by the Heart of Kandrakar and gathered Guardians to carry out her plans. Using the royal "we," Kadma swears to protect her subjects and bring Yan Lin and the others to justice. I bring up the royal "we" because when she heard about Yan Lin going nuts, Kadma's reaction was "Our Yan Lin?!" Yep. Just questionable enough, considering Nerissa and Cassidy. Just saying.
The real Guardians, Yan Lin, Blunk, and Caleb arrive at a Central American-styled pyramid that acts as Kadma's palace. The planet's foliage is various shades of purple, and I have to say I really love that from a worldbuilding point of view. Whenever the biology, chemistry, or physics of another planet/world are different, it's great to see. It makes the overall world seem bigger. Anyway, the natives recognize the Guardians and threaten to attack, which surprises Yan Lin, since she remembers them as extremely hospitable. She warns Taranee not to fight, and they escape. But more Zamballans find them and enter hibernation, lamenting that they can't escape them. Knowing this behavior is out-of-character for them, Yan Lin realizes something is horribly wrong. While everyone else is wondering what's going on, Will realizes that they have doppelgangers attacking the jungle. And Taranee is furious at being framed again. The real and fake Guardians meet, and the Heart of Kandrakar reveals that they're really Nerissa and the KoD. Nerissa's team splits up, and Taranee goes after her double against orders. Will has to order the rest of them to pair off against their evil twins, which, of course, leaves Blunk behind.
Kadma uses the Heart to communicate with nature to find the Guardians. Will and Irma are the first, and she refuses to listen when Will tries to explain. She makes the ground swallow Will up, and Will refuses to fight back. Irma, however, tries to save her and attacks, which only looks suspicious to Kadma, who imprisons them in an energy field. Kadma and Cornelia wind up throwing fruit at each other. Caleb tries to attack from behind, but again, Kadma only thinks the worst, and imprisons the both of them. Yan Lin tries logic, but the Killer Queen is ready for someone guaranteed to blow her mind (my apologies to the ghost of Freddie Mercury) and says Halinor told her she'd try to lie to her. Yan Lin tries to explain that Halinor is Nerissa's puppet, but Hay Lin runs out of patience and attacks. They too are imprisoned. But Taranee remains, and because she appears to have done the worst of the attacks, Kadma will make her suffer.
But when Kadma teleports to the fire, she sees Taranee fighting her double, a glamoured Ember. So Taranee's meatheaded approach might have been for the best after all. As Kadma wonders wtf is going on, the other fake Guardians surround her, shocking her because she just put those guys in boxes, what the hell. Luckily, Blunk has tracked Taranee down by her fish-stink from the earlier fight in the restaurant, and though he can't tell who's who by sight, smell is another story. As Kadma is attacked before she can get the infodump she desperately needs, Taranee realizes that her attacks are only feeding Ember, who is made of fire. So she cuts off her food source by absorbing all the heat to herself. Ember collapses, and Blunk tackles her, keeping her from catching herself. Unconscious, she breaks the glamour, and Taranee puts Blunk in charge of finding the others. Kadma is helpless as Nerissa orders Khor to kill her so she can persuade the Zamballans to give her the Heart. But Taranee heats up the rock he's holding, burning his hands. She then melts the ice around Kadma's hand, allowing her to use the Heart. Kadma is still confused, but Taranee explains, "Duh. They're bad, we're good." and her mood is not improved by Kadma being slow to catch on that these are fake Guardians, led by Nerissa. Or when Kadma admits she captured everybody. Kadma insists she doesn't need help to fight the KoD and promptly gets her ass kicked. Is an overblown ego a pre-req for earth Guardians? So, angry, Taranee fights, feeding Khor. She realizes this and forces herself to zen out, pretending to lose consciousness to escape him and fight back. Nerissa sets the jungle on fire, ransoming it for the Heart. But Blunk managed to piss off Ironwood and her husband, luring them to the battle. And Kadma is quick to point out who the real bad guys are, and they are more than happy to kick some ass. Kadma entraps Nerissa and brags, unaware that Ember has recovered and is right behind her. Ember attacks Ironwood (who I guess protected her? Or was the real target? It was kind of unclear), forcing her to hibernate before the bad guys escape.
The freed Guardians decide to help the Zamballans by waking them out of their sleep, providing cool air and rain. Kadma doesn't believe it'll work, but Taranee outsasses her easily and tells her to work with Cornelia to heal the jungle. Ironwood remains in hibernation, but Taranee tells Kadma to hold Cornelia's hand and combine their power. Kadma is too proud at first, but Ironwood's husband (whose name I never caught) pleads with her. Kadma joins hands with Cornelia at last and teaches her to listen for Ironwood's weak voice. Her life force is faint, so Will adds quintessence to the mix, and Ironwood is able to emerge. Let me just stop this for a minute so we can examine the implications. At thirteen/fourteen, Will is powerful enough to save people from dying, with her power alone. Wow. Taranee is miffed that Kadma doesn't even thank them, but Yan Lin explains that Kadma's always had a hard time admitting her mistakes—which makes Taranee realize her own flaws and those of her mother.
Taranee returns home and apologizes to her mother for not being open about her relationship with Nigel. In return, her mother admits that she shouldn't act like a judge sentencing criminals when she's dealing with her daughter, who's definitely one of the good guys. But as a mom, she's still going to be protective. She lets Taranee see Nigel, but on the condition that their next date is at home, where the whole family can meet him. And that Taranee showers to get rid of that fish-stink.
Q is for Quarry (Jon Weisman): The KoD attack Kadma again, but she withstands it well because she isn't giving off any negative emotions to feed them. Even Shagon notices that she's having fun kicking their asses. He calls Nerissa for backup, and when she appears, Kadma asks if her old friend is finally ready to fight her herself. But Nerissa opts to teleport the KoD out to a rock...oh god, I refuse to bold it even though they drew attention to it in the show. It's just too stupid to bold. It's a quarry. A rock quarry. Like the BBC one used in Doctor Who all the time. Like whatever one in Japan that Toei uses for Sentai and Kamen Rider and all its over tokusatsu shows. Shagon grumbles about the loss and that Kadma must be feeling proud of herself, and in response, Nerissa drops the most dangerous words any Weisman villain can say: "according to plan."
On Earth, Will is swimming laps with her father in his apartment's pool. Tony says that he hasn't forgotten her dream of being an Olympic swimmer...which came out of nowhere. Look, I don't know if this is in the comic or not, but if a character has a dream, this is something that should be introduced as early as possible. Anyway, she's just happy to spend time with her dad. And then a woman walks in, and Tony realizes he lost track of time. Ladies and gentlemen, meet your conflict. How do you maintain the spirit of the comic's conflict between Will and her father without resorting to ugliness? Introduce his new girlfriend. Tony apologizes for springing this on Will, since he'd hoped he'd have more time to ease her into it, but he has to introduce her to Serina Sanchez, his fiancée. Will takes this well, swimming over to her stuff to pack. Tony tries to apologize for blindsiding her, but she says it's okay and makes up an excuse to leave. Tony asks if they can all get together, and Serina notices the Heart in her bag and compliments it. Will makes up a boring story about how she got it, but Serina admits that even if it didn't have a glamorous origin, it's at least precious to her—something that raises Will's suspicions somewhat.
But when she meets up with the others at the Dragon, she just vents about her dad getting engaged without her ever meeting his girlfriend. Unfortunately, Cornelia brings up how similar this is to what happened to Julian and asks if it's possible Nerissa is pulling the same thing with Will's father. Taranee warns her not to get Will started on another insane conspiracy theory about her parents' romantic interests, after the debacle that was episode 5 of season 1. But it's too late, and the seed is planted. Even so, Will transforms everyone and folds to Zamballa to join Caleb, Yan Lin, and Kadma. Kadma insists that Nerissa is no match for her, but she admits that Nerissa won't stop until she has both of the former Guardians. For this reason, she insists that they need to make Nerissa their quarry instead of them being hers. Will agrees, liking the idea of trapping Nerissa and "taking control." With two Hearts—Kandrakar and Zamballa—to Nerissa's one—Meridian—they have the advantage and can save Elyon. The others are quick to agree, except for Hay Lin, who is hesitant to leave her grandmother until Ironwood vows that she and her fellow warriors will protect Yan Lin. Blunk volunteers for guard duty, but Will has a secret mission for him. She has quarry of her own—Serina—and she wants him to follow her and find out how (not even considering if) she's connected to Nerissa. So Blunk decides to become a hardboiled detective, fedora, monologue, and all. For this reason, I am obligated to link the opening theme to Kamen Rider W. Though, to be honest, there's not a whole lot to cover regarding Blunk, PI. It's more of a running gag. I'll only briefly summarize when Will thinks it's relevant.
Kadma calls Cornelia forward to teach her "green-speaking"—communicating with nature. While Cornelia initially clashes egos with her, Kadma lectures her to concentrate, since every plant on the planet will help them. This humbles her, and she follows along. She succeeds and learns that Nerissa and the others have just arrived in the Swamps of Shenea (I'm doing the best I can with the names here). This coincides with Blunk's observation that she's left the health club he trailed her to. Kadma teleports the team to the swamp as Nerissa and the KoD are making their move. Nerissa appears to be shocked they found her so fast, and the team beat them all easily—all according to plan—and Nerissa teleports out. Kadma insists it's only a matter of time before they "claim" Nerissa's heart—a word that puts Cornelia and Caleb on edge. Will is all on-board until Taranee clues her in that Kadma means to absorb the Heart of Meridian. Kadma reasons that since Elyon lost the Heart once, it makes her vulnerable, so she should have a "regent" she can trust to hold it for her, i.e., Will. Huh. A young, vulnerable person with the Heart of a world needing to temporarily entrust it to someone else until they're old enough to handle it. That'd be useful. Irma sarcastically asks if Will's the perfect one for the job. Will argues no, and nicely, Caleb glances at Cornelia, who doesn't volunteer—she just shares his worried look. For one, they're talking about her best friend's power, and no one's suggested she should take it. Furthermore, Cornelia just went through this thing, being the regent of all the powers of the Heart of Kandrakar. She knows better than anyone—except for maybe Caleb, who's watching all of this happen with his mom—how bad it is to have all that power. Will decides why not, but Taranee admits that it's troubling to have the power of two Hearts in one person's hands. Will insists she can be trusted and won't destroy people's lives like Nerissa, but Hay Lin just points out that Will of all people understands the burden of great power. Will argues back because she's the only one who understands that responsibility, she's the only one who can control it, and she'll prove it to them.
She rushes them home, despite wanting to finish things with Nerissa. She doesn't explain why she's in a hurry, leading to them grumbling behind her back, and she overhears them worry that she'll be as power-hungry as Nerissa. Still, she's on a mission, and she meets up with Blunk, who's still spying on Serina. He admits that he lost her around the same time Nerissa appeared on Zamballa, and she believes this confirms her suspicions. Note for any hypothetical third seasons: Always give Will someone sane to debunk her conspiracy theories. The next day at school, Serina "ambushes" Will with a ride to the gym, joking that she's going to be her wicked stepmother soon. At the pool, Serina is impressed with Will's swimming, just like Tony had told her. Will asks what else he told her, and she just admits she knows about Will's likes, her friends, her quirks, and her crush, promising to keep her secrets. Will tells "Nerissa" that she's the last person she wants knowing her secrets, but Serina just corrects her name in confusion.
After twenty-four hours of green-speaking, Kadma can't find Nerissa, so Will asks if there's any place the jungle doesn't reach. Which, to be honest, should be the first place you look because Nerissa's not dumb enough to stay where she has a disadvantage, but I understand why nobody thought of it before now. We're dealing with Kadma here. She can't past her own ego. This one place is the...ugh. The quarry. So they plan an ambush. Kadma is still intent on getting Will the Heart of Meridian, but now Will is unsure. The team attacks, and Will forces Nerissa to flee into a mine shaft. Kadma follows, and Shagon seals them in. Cassidy surprises Cornelia, preventing her from clearing the rubble and distracting her from Halinor behind her, who traps her in a bubble of fire that consumes the air within until she passes out. Caleb refuses to leave her side, leaving the other three to fight the KoD on their own.
Nerissa is apparently cornered within the mine, and Kadma has the stone itself hold her, then tells Will to attack her with quintessence to knock her out. Will is told to absorb the Heart of Meridian into the Heart of Kandrakar, and I have to again complain that they made a huge deal about how Hearts can't be taken by force, but they've included a hell of a lot of loopholes. Absorbing one heart into another is still taking it by force. Will starts, but then stops herself, admitting the others are right and it's too much power for one person. Kadma, however, decides to do it anyway, transforming the Heart of Zamballa into a more regal metal staff surrounded by the wood of the original, with the purple gem being shaped like a teardrop, like Weira's jewel. Nerissa compliments Kadma on her pride and takes it back. Yes, by force. Like Kadma said she could take it. Oy. Loopholes. Kadma's pride is just the character flaw that Nerissa needs to control her. After taking control of her, Nerissa attacks Will with the new Seal of Nerissa, but Irma floods the tunnels and swims to rescue Will. They make it back, where Taranee and Hay Lin are shielding the entrance and Caleb is holding Cornelia, who is beginning to wake up. Nerissa and Kadma arrive inside the barrier, so Will desperately uses her first teleport to get them to the palace. Ironwood takes over as regent in their Queen's absence, and banishes everyone from Zamballa so Nerissa isn't tempted to return to the defenseless world.
Will returns to Earth to meet up with her beat-up detective, who reports that, contrary to her suspicions, Serina has been home with Tony the entire time. So Will swallows her pride and goes over to apologize to Serina, admitting that she's been acting this way because she got blindsided, but she's ready now to welcome her to the family. Tony insists that this is all for the better, since Serina provides and extra heart to care for Will, and Will realizes the advantage really is hers.
R is for Relentless (Kevin Hopps): Hay Lin heads to Shell Beach, joined quickly by the other Guardians. But she stops them and asks who's protecting Yan Lin, who is hiding in the cave. They try to calm her down, but she runs to the cave, where there's smoke. But the smoke is only from Yan Lin cooking lunch for Caleb and Blunk, who had guard duty the whole time. Just as they begin to relax, Shagon pops in with the other KoD to troll. They do battle, in which Tridart suddenly shows the ability to make copies of himself after feeding on Hay Lin's desperation. Look, I can see that she's more desperate than ever, with her grandmother in danger, but seriously. If you have the ability to make copies of yourself to aid you in battle, spam it like Kamen Rider Knight did. Yan Lin calms her granddaughter down in time to save Taranee. Shagon and the others fold out, warning that they will succeed in getting Yan Lin. With the danger passed, Blunk starts licking up the remains of the soup, noting that it's better than the Sheffield lunch...and dumpster. Which makes Will realize they have a perfect place to protect Yan Lin.
They get permission from Knickerbocker to set up Yan Lin as a volunteer "guest chef" in the cafeteria, since even the principal couldn't stand the food. This allows them to keep an eye on her during school. Even so, Hay Lin can't help but feel danger all around, especially when she sees "Matt" talking to Eric. What's interesting is that Shagon looks happy and normal, and he doesn't appear to be talking to him for any reason other than just to talk, like any teenager. Will admits that she wishes it really was Matt, but Hay Lin reminds her that Shagon's the enemy, and they pull him aside. Hay Lin tries to threaten him to stay away from Yan Lin, but he reminds her that revealing his identity requires them to reveal theirs. In short, all either side can do right now is watch each other. After Shagon leaves, Eric goes over to talk to Hay Lin, offering her a fortune cookie and asking if she's okay. Without revealing too much, she just admits she's worried about her grandmother. Eric can sympathize, since he lives with just his grandfather and worries about him all the time. Imitating his grandfather's Scottish accent, he repeats the old man's advice not to worry about the future, urging her in his real voice to check the cookie. But it's empty, making him look like a fool in front of her. Much as I'm critical of him, I do like this moment. It's something they have in common, and the idea of the love interest being the derp instead of the hero is a nice change.
During chemistry, Hay Lin spots Shagon cutting class to stalk Yan Lin. Hay Lin sneaks out under invisibility and reappears to tell him off before going invisible again to get Knickerbocker's attention to land him in detention. You know, I get the feeling that Matt's family must be going through the exact same aggravation Taranee's mom went through the whole season. Hay Lin's overprotectiveness causes a disaster in the kitchen when she surprises Yan Lin into dropping food, leading to Will slipping, the others picking up on her surprise and running in paranoid, only for them to end in a tangle of mess. They're forced to stay late to clean up, where Caleb meets them. Since it's after hours, they have to sneak Yan Lin out, but Shagon meets them, having gotten out of detention not long before. They try to escape him, but he turns up everywhere, finally cornering them in the gym. It turns out that the other KoD had all glamoured as Matt, so a little thing like detention wouldn't stop him. Shagon attacks Will right away so she can't transform anyone or fold out, so Hay Lin has Blunk fold her and Yan Lin away. Not interested in the others, Nerissa folds the KoD after them. Will recovers, but she doesn't know which dimension their friends ran to.
When they get to Kandrakar, Yan Lin calls Hay Lin out for abandoning her friends. Hay Lin argues that Nerissa's after Yan Lin, not them, but her grandmother warns her that she made her decision through fear, and she must control that fear. The KoD show up, and Hay Lin apologetically sends the forcefield full of Council members rolling toward them to slow them down while Blunk folds away. On Earth, Irma took the team to Blunk's hideout from G (also written by Hopps, nicely), having thought he'd head back there. Caleb tells Will instead that they should focus on finding Nerissa instead of Blunk, and they leave...seconds before Blunk arrives with the Lins. Nerissa finds them in record time, and they escape fast. Blunk tries Zamballa next, and Hay Lin pleads with Ironwood for help. But Nerissa arrives there too, zapping the tonga tooth out of Blunk's hands. She doesn't attack, instead opting to taunt Hay Lin with the revelation that during the weeks she'd had the tooth in her possession back in K, she'd put a spell on it that allowed her to track every single one of Blunk's folds. The Lins go invisible to elude the KoD while Blunk grabs the tooth off Ironwood. But Yan Lin can't keep it up for long, since using her powers drains her life force. Ironwood intervenes, surprisingly, and rescues Yan Lin, setting her by Blunk. She admits she doesn't want trouble, but she can't let Nerissa attack innocent people. With that, Hay Lin grabs her grandma, and Blunk folds them out.
Meanwhile, Caleb's idea was to fold to Mt. Thanos, since if Nerissa caught Yan Lin, she'd surely stick to her usual pattern and bring her there. It's freezing, and they can barely stand the cold, and Taranee has a thought. Based on her own experience hiking and getting lost, she suggests that they fold someone back to Sheffield to wait for Hay Lin in case she returns.
Sure enough, Blunk's party returns to Sheffield, where Hay Lin remains in stealth mode to keep an advantage over the relentless Nerissa. Taranee arrives via fold, and they're relieved to see her, until she asks where Hay Lin is. Hay Lin tackles her, knowing that the real Taranee would have sensed her with telepathy. Nerissa breaks her glamour and fights back with electricity. The commotion summons Knickerbocker, who is shocked to see an old woman throwing lightning around and a goblin pulling Yan Lin away. Hay Lin drops the invisibility and yells at the principal to get her grandmother out of there, and Knickerbocker agrees. But once she's gotten Yan Lin away from Blunk, she dispels her glamour to reveal Halinor. Hay Lin is forced to put aside her fear. Now that what she's feared has happened, she has all the courage she needs to act.
Back at Mt. Thanos, the whole team is fighting the KoD—Taranee never had a chance to head back, since the others needed her there. Also, props to Caleb for punching and kicking Khor for all he was worth before Khor easily kicked his ass. Can't say the boy doesn't try. Nerissa teleports Yan Lin into the cell, then greets her with the rest of the old team. The exhausted Yan Lin continues to defy Nerissa, refusing to listen to her offers to give her the power to effortlessly use magic again. Instead, she quips that the only thing she wants is for Nerissa to be in the cell and herself outside gloating. Nerissa tries appealing to her vanity, momentarily restoring Yan Lin's young Guardian form, but Yan Lin prefers aging gracefully than clinging to the past. Even threatening Hay Lin doesn't work because Yan Lin has absolute faith in the new generation of Guardians. Nerissa can't find a flaw to corrupt, and she's running out of time.
Hay Lin joins the battle and reveals that Nerissa has her grandmother. Caleb figures they must be in the cave, so he, Cornelia, and Irma run for it, only to be blocked by Shagon and Tridart. Will and Blunk herd Ember and Khor over toward them, and Cornelia buries them in snow. Irma soaks the snow, and Hay Lin freezes it solid, buying them enough time to enter the cave, where they encounter an unusually aggravated Nerissa, who can't believe that Hay Lin is just as relentless as she is. They manage to break through her defenses and Hay Lin breaks Yan Lin out of the cell. Will joins them and opens a fold to Heatherfield within Blunk's fold to Meridian. This allows them to escape without being traced, and Nerissa lets out an uncharacteristic scream of frustration.
Once they're home at the Dragon, Yan Lin reveals that even if Nerissa finds her, she can't corrupt her. Hay Lin's smile is back, and she also discovers that Blunk's the one who took the fortunes out of her cookies earlier, thinking they were a choking hazard. Her long-awaited fortune is "The future is in your hands." She heads upstairs to find Eric and his grandfather getting takeout. Eric takes her hands and asks how her grandmother is. Hearing that she's doing better, he awkwardly asks if Hay Lin and her grandma would be interested in hanging out with him and his grandpa sometime. Yan Lin, a little relentless herself, says she's up for a double date right now and is quick to hit on the old man.