![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameS is for Self (Jon Weisman): Let me say this to start: We are at a trilogy of episodes I love. And when I love something, I get particularly long-winded about it. For that reason, I apologize if I talk so long that you want to beat my skull concave.
We open with Hay Lin, Yan Lin, Eric, and his gramps (whose name is Zacharias) eating at the Silver Dragon. The Lins are in an eating contest with mu shu, and when Yan Lin wins, Zacharias expresses pride in his "girlfriend." But suddenly, everything stops, and Nerissa appears. She tells Yan Lin that she's not Yan Lin at all. Yan Lin wakes up, but Nerissa is there in her room to confirm that she is, in fact, an altermere. And next to the arc welding of Caleb, Trill, and Mage, this is the best damn welding job you will ever see in this show. When the original Yan Lin refused to give into Nerissa's temptations last episode, Nerissa trapped her with Elyon in the Seal, then created an altermere in her place—very similar to what was planned to happen to Will in H. Hay Lin and the others rescuing the altermere Yan Lin was all part of the plan. And Nerissa threatens to absorb her back into the Seal should she tell anyone what she really is.
At school the next day, they discover that K-SHIP is hosting a Battle of the Bands, where a talent scout will be in the audience. To be honest, I have a feeling that this was part of a plan for a season 3. In the comics, Matt eventually left Heatherfield to perform with a famous singer, and it makes sense that this would happen afterward—have Wreck-55 hit it big. Anyway, Bess and Courtney Grumper sign up with Alchemy as her band, and when Uriah learns that it means the Grumpers get to skip work, he signs up himself and Crabbe and Goyle as the Dunnsters. Yes, the "dumpsters" joke was made. It just writes itself, really. Uriah claims to be a "genius" at guitar while "Kurt started playing the drums when he was six." No, you're not going to hear the end of this. To add some actual talent to his band, Uriah recruits Eric, a talented saxophone player, who agrees because he just wants a chance to play. Which is...a terrible motivation, to be honest. I know, I'm reaching a little, but Hay Lin warns him that these guys are trouble, and he doesn't listen and participates in a battle of the bands just because he wants to play the sax. Why not enter yourself as a solo act? I mean, you keep trying and failing to get the band together to practice. Isn't this a huge red flag? Nigel signs up Wreck-55, which prompts Taranee to point out what a horrible idea this is to Irma. Shagon is posing as Wreck's lead vocalist, which puts him in the perfect position to entrance the audience, just like what happened with the Horn of Hypnos. But Will points out that Shagon needs to stay undercover and wouldn't risk doing something so incredibly stupid to reveal his identity.
Even so, she and Taranee sit in during practice as Wreck plays "The Demon in Me" (lyrics by Jon Weisman). If you want the full lyrics, you can find them here, which also lists the other two band members: drummer Joel (who doesn't appear to be the same drummer as last season), and keyboardist Pedro. Unfortunately for Shagon, he's murdering the song. Thoroughly. Will and Taranee feel almost-pity toward him, and even Nigel is getting suspicious when "Matt" can't sing or remember the lyrics to a song he wrote. So Will decides it's her turn to troll and suggests that "Matt" sing the song he wrote for her, "The Will to Love." As he glares, a battle goes on in his mind, and we finally see what happened to Matt after L.
Let me derail this for a moment to talk about Kamen Rider OOO. It's a brief derailment, I promise. In the first episode of OOO, Detective Shingo Izumi is wounded to near-death during an attack, and a creature named Ankh possesses his body, slowly healing it but taking total control, easily accessing Shingo's memories. We find out later that Shingo is still present in there and watching everything that Ankh does, but he has no power over his own body, and he must take a backseat the entire time while Ankh keeps him alive.
It's a similar case with Matt and Shagon, except that Shagon is part of Matt's mind to begin with. The two personas share a mind and body, but each wants control over their self. And as someone who majored in psychology, I frickin' LOVE this. Admittedly, I'm not crazy about dissociative identity disorder or multiple personalities, but what I like about this is how Matt tries to work on Shagon's terms. He might mock Shagon, he might be snarky, but he doesn't hate him. Which makes perfect sense, since hatred feeds Shagon. Matt's too smart to fall into that trap. Furthermore, Shagon is his hatred. He's a part of Matt's mind—always has been and always will be. Matt accepts that and accepts him, tries to remind him that they are sharing that body and soul, that the two of them are a single being. He's fighting, yes, but fighting smart. He has to accept his darkness if he ever stands a chance of defeating it. He tries to play by Shagon's rules, reminding him that he can't blow his cover, so he should give Matt a little more control in order to get through practice. Shagon attacks him in response, but he knows Matt wins this one, and Matt forms a guitar in order to play. Matt takes over and performs beautifully, using the song as a weapon against Shagon, the demon in him. The lyrics are ridiculously appropriate, and it's just so damn convenient Matt had written this prior to being possessed by the embodiment of his darker emotions. But Matt's not the only one with demons; during the song, we see what's going on with Yan Lin—she tries to warn Hay Lin what's going on during lunch, but Shagon's there as a veiled threat, and when she stargazes with Zacharias on the roof of the observatory where he works, she's troubled by how perfect everything is.
At school the next day, Will mocks Shagon for finding his voice, but he taunts back that she hasn't found Matt yet. She swears she will, and that somehow, Shagon's going to help her whether he likes it or not, but he suddenly lets slip, "Count on it," before hastily amending it into a threat. Within their mind, Matt celebrates about getting his voice through to the outside, and Shagon realizes that he'll never have full control as long as Will is still alive and giving Matt hope. Matt tries to fight him, but he's easily defeated.
Just before the Battle of the Bands begins, Nigel is worried when "Matt" goes missing—Shagon stops Will after school and tells her he's done with Nerissa and just wants his freedom. In exchange, he'll bring her to Matt, whom he re-kidnapped and stowed somewhere safe. Will, not being a total idiot, says she's going to bring the other Guardians into this, but Shagon preys on her habit of thinking with her heart first and warns her that the other KoD are searching for Matt, and there's no time to waste.
Honestly, Alchemy and the Grumpers are the only ones doing fine; Eric finally drags Uriah and the rest of the Dunnsters together, arguing that he needs to practice with them in order to keep up. That's when we find out how criminally stupid they are—Uriah only plays air guitar, and Kurt quit the drums after a year. The only song Uriah knows how to play is "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," but more than that? He knows how to sabotage the Battle so they don't make fools of themselves. Above Hay Lin's protests, Eric joins him to make a smelly concoction to toss in a wind machine. But when Uriah and the gang try to ruin things while Alchemy's band plays, Eric betrays them and turns the wind machine on them, coating the three in the stink. When it's their turn at last to play, Uriah is forced to play "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider." Everyone laughs, but then Eric completely owns it on the sax, and Uriah finds the courage to ad-lib more lyrics (the additional lyrics by Greg Weisman) and embrace the performance.
Taranee and Cornelia get suspicious when Shagon and Will are both MIA, and Shagon leads Will to the roof of the gym. Matt just barely takes control, but he's unable to warn her it's a trap. When he tries to fight Shagon with his guitar, Shagon destroys it and forces him back again. Will finds the KoD waiting for her, and Shagon transforms and attacks. But Cornelia and Taranee followed them and help fight, protecting her long enough to transform and fight back harder. Unfortunately, Will's rage continues to feed Shagon and kill Matt.
That night, Yan Lin bribes Nerissa with food to keep from being destroyed, reminding her that she's the last one with those recipes, and they'll be gone if Nerissa absorbs her into oblivion, with the original Yan Lin forever trapped in the Seal. Nerissa asks her if she's decided on oblivion or existence on her terms. Yan Lin has to admit that she's a flawed copy, without the strength of will of the original. She loves Hay Lin as her own granddaughter, and she might even be falling in love with Zacharias, and because of that, she can't give up this self she's gained. And so Nerissa takes her....to Mt. Doom, with the rest of the old Guardians. She plans to use the KoD to restore their powers, but since they're in the middle of a fight, she decides to let them have fun one last time.
Matt finally realizes what he needs to fight Shagon—not his fists, but his heart. He re-forms his guitar, blasting him away with a couple of notes. This gives him enough control to get a message out to Will—the chorus of "The Will to Love": "wingèd angel from above, help me find the will, the will to love." Will realizes that this is his voice, and Matt has been trapped within Shagon the entire time, and her hatred finally dissipates. With his will to love powering him, Matt plays another chord that shatters Shagon forever.
Using Shagon's powers, Matt turns on Ember and attacks, before thanking Will for saving him from himself. He reveals that Khor was Huggles, and sics him on Tridart. Nerissa decides that it's enough, and she declares, "Guardians, unite!" Ember and Tridart are obliterated, but the process frees Matt and Huggles. Will grabs Matt in a relieved kiss as they both fight back tears.
Matt finally joins the band in time for their performance, but he announces a change in plans. Now, they're performing "The Will to Love" (lyrics by Greg Weisman, though it's severely abbreviated. Hilariously, however, the rest of the lyrics are included in the Gargoyles comic Bad Guys, where Wreck-55 apparently hit it big and made it to radio, though Greg himself admits that Gargoyles and W.I.T.C.H. differ too much in rules to share a universe). Nigel's worried because they never rehearsed it, but Matt promises they'll be fine. And they do, indeed, nail it, with the talent scout loving every second of it. More importantly, Will knows the song is meant for her. Irma remarks to Martin that this time, it looks like the good guys won the battle. But among her rejuvenated Guardians, a youthful Nerissa promises the war isn't over...
T is for Trauma (Samuel Bernstein): An Egyptian-themed mall is getting finishing touches before opening day, but Nerissa has enthralled some men into carrying her in on a litter. The manager is furious, until he gets a good look at the old hag. Like the other guys, he's soon blinded by false love and will do anything to make her happy.
At school, Yan Lin is still handling lunch—we'll get to the aftermath of the previous episode soon enough. Matt, now back to normal, is sitting at the girls' table with Nigel, where they learn that Hay Lin's just gotten braces (which, I'm happy to say, are an artistic change that sticks for the rest of the season). Suddenly, Martin announces to everybody in the cafeteria the arrival of a sexy new transfer student, Obviously Nerissa. Almost all of the guys in the cafeteria suddenly go gaga for her, with the various girlfriends suddenly annoyed. This includes Martin and Andrew, to Irma's vexation, and Nigel, to Taranee's intense desire to set something on fire. Matt, however, finds his phone much more interesting than the new girl. Will, sweetie, I think Matt's not telling you something. I knew his moments with Caleb in D were a little suspect! Some induced mayhem and a subtle bit of quintessence results in the team covered in food, at which point Eric walks in. Hay Lin is all excited to show him her braces, but he ignores her and goes right to Obviously Nerissa. Hay Lin assumes he was just revolted by her braces, but Yan Lin tells her to focus. As the six clean up in the kitchen, Yan Lin tells them that this is probably a glamoured Nerissa. Nicely, Will argues that she's already learned over and over not to jump to conclusions about people she doesn't like, but when Yan Lin says she heard her use quintessence, Will is quick to shout, "I knew it!" Yan Lin suggests that this is Nerissa's attempt to spy on them, since Matt's free now and can't give her intel. Furthermore, the love spell on the men isn't affecting Matt because...something about defeating Shagon took care of his inner-jerkness? I don't know, I think I like my theory better. So Yan Lin suggests that if Nerissa doesn't know they're onto her, they can follow her and take the Seal.
Nerissa has the security guard let her into the mall, but the spell is weak—once she's out of his sight, she's out of mind. Irma manages to convince him to let them in, but the manager finds them and thinks they're the temps for opening day. They end up dressed in costumes: Hay Lin as a pharaoh, Irma in a headdress, Taranee as the most pathetic scarab you'll ever see, and Will as a mummy. Cornelia is pissed that she's dressed as a camel, but Matt tells her to stop complaining, since his sphinx costume has ridiculously obtrusive, stiff wings that even end up poking her in the butt. Nerissa ends up in a department store, having gotten the men to let her snack and watch TV...and I'm not gonna lie, if I were a supervillain, I'd probably do the same on my free time. Hay Lin goes invisible to steal the unguarded Seal and throw it to Will. But of course, because Nerissa's not freely giving the Seal up, this plan fails. Seriously, guys, this plotline is getting OLD fast. You have your rules and you know how to follow them. If you need to keep up suspense by having "take the Heart" continue to be a viable option, DON'T INCLUDE THE LIMITATION. Nerissa drops the old hag glamour, revealing her Guardian form. She also drops the glamour on some of the mannequins, revealing them as the old Guardians, including Yan Lin. Nerissa orders her Guardians to fight element-on-element, and the old Guardians are much more powerful than the new. Before Will has the chance to transform her team, Nerissa attacks her, temporarily concussing her or something. Hay Lin is shocked to see her grandmother on the dark side, and she begs Yan Lin to stop, to no avail. Yan Lin reverses the airflow of the ceiling fan, sucking Hay Lin toward the blades. Only Matt, his conveniently stiff and oversized wings, and his flight experience as Shagon are able to save her life. This buys Will enough time to fold them out, with Matt leading Hay Lin the whole way. They take refuge in Kandrakar, shocked by their sound defeat. Meanwhile, a traumatized Hay Lin cries over her grandmother's apparent betrayal. They try to comfort her and remind her that Yan Lin is out of control and in her true heart of hearts, she still loves her. Matt adds his own experience, telling her that Yan Lin is definitely fighting it, but she needs the strength of Hay Lin's love to help her through it. Still, Hay Lin can't get past the fact that she has to fight her beloved grandmother.
Nerissa adds to Hay Lin's pain by flaunting the boyfriends in front of the Guardians, taking special joy in using Eric against Hay Lin, who has to watch another person she loves be under Nerissa's control. On opening day of the mall, Nerissa sends Eric and Yan Lin to go over to her, ripping at her insecurities over love and her appearance. Will rescues her, sending her to Irma for a hug and a reminder not to listen to them. Nerissa confronts Will, pointing out how badly Hay Lin is breaking. To end her torment, Will must swear on the Heart of Kandrakar to a decisive battle, without them folding or teleporting away. Knowing they inevitably have to fight and that the longer this goes on, the worse it will be for Hay Lin, Will agrees to fight that night at the mall. Matt joins them, and during the girls' transformation, the stock footage is changed to allow for a silent, depressed Hay Lin. Nerissa plays up the theatricality of the battle, dropping balloons before everyone but Hay Lin attacks, and lighting up a model of the sun to blind Will. Element vs. element puts W.I.T.C.H. at a disadvantage, and Hay Lin ignores Matt's insistence that she has to fight or she won't survive. Since Hay Lin can't fight her grandmother, Will attacks, offering to swap opponents before realizing that this means setting the traumatized Hay Lin against queen of evil Nerissa.
But Nerissa had that planned from the start, and she reveals that she has Eric as a hostage, tied to the rapidly heating sun. As Nerissa mocks her, Hay Lin suddenly realizes how Nerissa survived her own trauma—not through optimism, but necessity. Instead of trusting that everything will be all right, Hay Lin remembers that too much is riding on her for her to break down. She rescues Eric and entrusts him to Matt for the rest of the battle. Matt congratulates her on coming back to them, but she knows that the trauma is more pervasive than that—and as a writer and someone who graduated with a degree in psychology, I like that acknowledgement. You can be resilient without being over the pain. Yan Lin tries to attack her while her back is turned, but Will blasts her away easily again, leading her to realize that the old Guardians are dependent on constant instructions to fight effectively—something easier when they're fighting opponents with the same element, but much tougher to keep up with when they're not. Going off-mode would allow them to fight creatively, but they'd never follow Nerissa's orders. Nerissa is forced to admit her miscalculation and defeat, and she orders a retreat. Will calls her out on that, but Nerissa points out that she never made any promise like Will did, so legally, she can do that. Do we need a lawyer here or something?
Hay Lin admits she's okay—while it still hurts, she can handle the trauma because it's what she has to do as a Guardian. The others, in turn, promise that she doesn't have to face it alone. Eric wakes up, unable to remember what happened, why he's in a wrecked mall, or why he's so tanned. But when he sees Hay Lin's braces, he's completely in love with them and can't see how she'd ever think of herself as ugly. That's all she needs to hear, and she tackles him with a kiss.
U is for Undivided (Cary Bates): Cornelia is stuck babysitting Lillian and Napoleon while her parents are out one night. Cornelia tries to ignore her sister, so Lillian just says she wishes Napoleon could talk so she'd have some conversation going on here. This aggravates Cornelia enough to order her to bed. But as soon as Lillian's out of the living room, Napoleon hops onto Cornelia's lap and tells her they need to talk. Yes. The cat. The cat talks. And, well, Cornelia freaks out. I don't blame her; when your cute little kitten sounds like the old man from Up, you've got a problem.
Cornelia calls over the rest of Team W.I.T.C.H. Earth Division, but they don't believe her until they hear him themselves. Huggles gets agitated by the cat talking, and Napoleon decides he doesn't like the dormouse much either. Matt tries to defend his pet's honor before realizing he's arguing with a cat and this is ridiculous. Napoleon claims to be Lillian's familiar...which is pretty damn convenient. Matt, just where is your grandpa getting these sentient, magical creatures? First Huggles, who was surprisingly magic-savvy, and now a magic cat? Now there's a plot for season 3! Napoleon explains that Lillian has magical powers and wished for him to talk, so he can talk. But he thinks her powers have awakened too early—eight-year-olds should not be allowed to control cosmic, mystical forces. This isn't Cardcaptor Sakura anymore—your best-case scenario is the rampant property destruction of Nanoha or the soul-crushing despair of Madoka. Will decides that they need to get answers in Kandrakar, so Matt volunteers to take over babysitting in the meantime. But just after they leave, Lillian finds Matt in the living room and realizes (after he fails to come up with an excuse for Cornelia's absence) that her sister ditched her for her friends. Seeing how disappointed she is, Matt insists she's still got him, Huggles, and Napoleon, which cheers her up some.
The Guardians consult Luba, who theorizes that Lillian might be the Heart of Earth, which she thinks would explain why the Oracle would choose Cornelia to be a Guardian. The others interrupt, saying they thought Yan Lin was the one who chose them, and to be honest, I don't really understand the explanation. It was something along the lines of Yan Lin or Oracle choosing Hay Lin for "continuity of spirit" or something, and the others would find out why they were picked if the show got additional seasons. Basically, I walked away from the explanation just as confused as when I watched Digimon Frontier and got its explanations about destiny. Luba warns that Nerissa could target Lillian next and trick her into giving up her power like she did to Elyon and Kadma—a warning that awakens Cornelia's protective instincts and prompts her to tell Will to send her home now.
Matt tucks Lillian in and starts telling her a story, but Cornelia interrupts and warns him that they need to watch out for Nerissa. She wants him to meet up with the others at the Dragon to cook up a plan while she takes over guarding her sister. Huggles is agitated around her, but Matt takes him and leaves. Lillian is put-out since she really preferred Matt as a babysitter and he was just starting a story, but Cornelia, surprised to hear what Lillian thinks of her, promises to be a nicer, better sister. She moves Napoleon off the bed and nudges/kicks him out of her way so she can hold Lillian's hand, trying to convince her that the two of them need to be undivided. Huggles bursts into the room suddenly, with Matt trying and failing to catch him. Huggles ends up chasing Napoleon out, and Matt has to grab Cornelia as backup. Once they're out of the room, Cornelia asks what the deal is and reminds him they can't leave Lillian in there alone. Matt doesn't answer as a fold opens, and the others come through, with the real Cornelia. He reveals he noticed Huggles's odd behavior and realized it was Nerissa, so without any powers, he had to improvise to get her away from Lillian and stall for time. Might I point out that is incredibly badass. No powers. Most powerful sorceress in two worlds. Improvise. Nerissa leaves but promises to be back. Cornelia notes that she won't give up, and Lillian overhears and asks who she's talking about. Cornelia snaps at her, and Lillian gets upset, thinking she lied about trying to change. Matt coaxes her inside for the rest of the story, and Napoleon criticizes an ashamed Cornelia. As a fellow older sister, Irma encourages her to win back Lillian's trust, and Cornelia goes inside.
Inside, Matt forces Cornelia to continue the story, so she tells how the evil sorceress Nerissa tried to drain Princess Lillian's powers, but she was protected by four good fairies—only four because the idea of Cornelia trying to protect her broke Lillian's willing suspension of disbelief. But Lillian wishes the story were true, and so the entire apartment complex transforms into a castle, and the Guardians find themselves transformed and tiny. Will flies in and gets Matt's attention, and he grabs Napoleon and heads out of the room for answers. Also, Matt is a court jester. Thought I should point this out. It's all because of Lillian's wish—it's created a "glamour zone" around the building that looks normal from a distance until you enter it. So the yuppie couple from Gargoyles don't notice anything until they reach the "castle," at which point their memories and perception change to match. But it doesn't affect the team's memories or anything that happens inside the bedroom, as long as you're not part of the story. Lillian, unfortunately, is getting bored with how perfect life in that story is, so Cornelia has to write in Nerissa attacking with her four evil fairies—which is probably the best excuse for a fight ever. Matt tries to stop the story and warn Cornelia, but she can't figure out what he's talking about. So he desperately tries to derail things to help the others out, by throwing in "super growth power." Unfortunately for the good guys, this is vetoed because you can't change the rules and genre mid-story. Which is actually good storytelling advice. Kudos. Cornelia lectures him on what a good fairytale should have, and he tries and fails to prevent them from adding a twenty-foot tall, fire-breathing dragon. Fortunately, Taranee gets shit done and telepathically tells Cornelia what's going on. Realizing that things have gotten really out of hand (as a writer, I can so sympathize), Cornelia has to bring the story to a decisive and happy end, otherwise risk their little reality warper having nightmares. Princess Lillian must lend her powers to her knights, Matt, Huggles, and Napoleon, who will become her regents and wield her power until she's old enough to handle the responsibilities that come with it. Lillian isn't sure she should give up phenomenal cosmic powers, but Matt tells her she has to decide fast. Lillian looks to Cornelia, who's surprised and touched her sister actually does think enough of her to ask for advice, and she tells her it's a good idea. Lillian takes a toy wand and makes the three her Regents of Earth, but as the power transfers, Matt turns away, his voice deepening to Shagon's as he insists he must do as his "mistress" orders.
The dragon and the glamour zone disappear, cluing Nerissa in that the Heart of Earth's powers have been siphoned by something. Shagon makes his reappearance, flanked by Khor and a beast-man Napoleon. Nerissa tries to flirt with him again and woo him back to her side, but he has his ultimate troll moment and blasts her away, revealing he's 100% Matt. The Regents answer to Lillian, and they join forces with the Guardians to kick some C.H.Y.K.N. butt. Will, naturally, calls out Matt for scaring her with his trolling, and he admits that his body is preprogrammed to transform into Shagon, but he's the only mind in control, and he no longer feeds on hatred. Will likens him to a Guardian, and he just geeks out over how perfect they are for each other. With two Hearts, the Guardians and Regents force Nerissa to retreat, where she hopes to seize more worlds' Hearts. They return to Lillian's room in time for Cornelia to conclude the story as she tucks her into bed: Princess Lillian's sacrifice will keep Nerissa from stealing her power, and the Regents will protect her and her power until she's old enough to protect the Earth herself. And as Lillian falls asleep, Cornelia whispers that she'll always be there for her so nothing can divide them again. When her parents come home, Cornelia just tells them nothing interesting happened as she pets a content Napoleon.
We open with Hay Lin, Yan Lin, Eric, and his gramps (whose name is Zacharias) eating at the Silver Dragon. The Lins are in an eating contest with mu shu, and when Yan Lin wins, Zacharias expresses pride in his "girlfriend." But suddenly, everything stops, and Nerissa appears. She tells Yan Lin that she's not Yan Lin at all. Yan Lin wakes up, but Nerissa is there in her room to confirm that she is, in fact, an altermere. And next to the arc welding of Caleb, Trill, and Mage, this is the best damn welding job you will ever see in this show. When the original Yan Lin refused to give into Nerissa's temptations last episode, Nerissa trapped her with Elyon in the Seal, then created an altermere in her place—very similar to what was planned to happen to Will in H. Hay Lin and the others rescuing the altermere Yan Lin was all part of the plan. And Nerissa threatens to absorb her back into the Seal should she tell anyone what she really is.
At school the next day, they discover that K-SHIP is hosting a Battle of the Bands, where a talent scout will be in the audience. To be honest, I have a feeling that this was part of a plan for a season 3. In the comics, Matt eventually left Heatherfield to perform with a famous singer, and it makes sense that this would happen afterward—have Wreck-55 hit it big. Anyway, Bess and Courtney Grumper sign up with Alchemy as her band, and when Uriah learns that it means the Grumpers get to skip work, he signs up himself and Crabbe and Goyle as the Dunnsters. Yes, the "dumpsters" joke was made. It just writes itself, really. Uriah claims to be a "genius" at guitar while "Kurt started playing the drums when he was six." No, you're not going to hear the end of this. To add some actual talent to his band, Uriah recruits Eric, a talented saxophone player, who agrees because he just wants a chance to play. Which is...a terrible motivation, to be honest. I know, I'm reaching a little, but Hay Lin warns him that these guys are trouble, and he doesn't listen and participates in a battle of the bands just because he wants to play the sax. Why not enter yourself as a solo act? I mean, you keep trying and failing to get the band together to practice. Isn't this a huge red flag? Nigel signs up Wreck-55, which prompts Taranee to point out what a horrible idea this is to Irma. Shagon is posing as Wreck's lead vocalist, which puts him in the perfect position to entrance the audience, just like what happened with the Horn of Hypnos. But Will points out that Shagon needs to stay undercover and wouldn't risk doing something so incredibly stupid to reveal his identity.
Even so, she and Taranee sit in during practice as Wreck plays "The Demon in Me" (lyrics by Jon Weisman). If you want the full lyrics, you can find them here, which also lists the other two band members: drummer Joel (who doesn't appear to be the same drummer as last season), and keyboardist Pedro. Unfortunately for Shagon, he's murdering the song. Thoroughly. Will and Taranee feel almost-pity toward him, and even Nigel is getting suspicious when "Matt" can't sing or remember the lyrics to a song he wrote. So Will decides it's her turn to troll and suggests that "Matt" sing the song he wrote for her, "The Will to Love." As he glares, a battle goes on in his mind, and we finally see what happened to Matt after L.
Let me derail this for a moment to talk about Kamen Rider OOO. It's a brief derailment, I promise. In the first episode of OOO, Detective Shingo Izumi is wounded to near-death during an attack, and a creature named Ankh possesses his body, slowly healing it but taking total control, easily accessing Shingo's memories. We find out later that Shingo is still present in there and watching everything that Ankh does, but he has no power over his own body, and he must take a backseat the entire time while Ankh keeps him alive.
It's a similar case with Matt and Shagon, except that Shagon is part of Matt's mind to begin with. The two personas share a mind and body, but each wants control over their self. And as someone who majored in psychology, I frickin' LOVE this. Admittedly, I'm not crazy about dissociative identity disorder or multiple personalities, but what I like about this is how Matt tries to work on Shagon's terms. He might mock Shagon, he might be snarky, but he doesn't hate him. Which makes perfect sense, since hatred feeds Shagon. Matt's too smart to fall into that trap. Furthermore, Shagon is his hatred. He's a part of Matt's mind—always has been and always will be. Matt accepts that and accepts him, tries to remind him that they are sharing that body and soul, that the two of them are a single being. He's fighting, yes, but fighting smart. He has to accept his darkness if he ever stands a chance of defeating it. He tries to play by Shagon's rules, reminding him that he can't blow his cover, so he should give Matt a little more control in order to get through practice. Shagon attacks him in response, but he knows Matt wins this one, and Matt forms a guitar in order to play. Matt takes over and performs beautifully, using the song as a weapon against Shagon, the demon in him. The lyrics are ridiculously appropriate, and it's just so damn convenient Matt had written this prior to being possessed by the embodiment of his darker emotions. But Matt's not the only one with demons; during the song, we see what's going on with Yan Lin—she tries to warn Hay Lin what's going on during lunch, but Shagon's there as a veiled threat, and when she stargazes with Zacharias on the roof of the observatory where he works, she's troubled by how perfect everything is.
At school the next day, Will mocks Shagon for finding his voice, but he taunts back that she hasn't found Matt yet. She swears she will, and that somehow, Shagon's going to help her whether he likes it or not, but he suddenly lets slip, "Count on it," before hastily amending it into a threat. Within their mind, Matt celebrates about getting his voice through to the outside, and Shagon realizes that he'll never have full control as long as Will is still alive and giving Matt hope. Matt tries to fight him, but he's easily defeated.
Just before the Battle of the Bands begins, Nigel is worried when "Matt" goes missing—Shagon stops Will after school and tells her he's done with Nerissa and just wants his freedom. In exchange, he'll bring her to Matt, whom he re-kidnapped and stowed somewhere safe. Will, not being a total idiot, says she's going to bring the other Guardians into this, but Shagon preys on her habit of thinking with her heart first and warns her that the other KoD are searching for Matt, and there's no time to waste.
Honestly, Alchemy and the Grumpers are the only ones doing fine; Eric finally drags Uriah and the rest of the Dunnsters together, arguing that he needs to practice with them in order to keep up. That's when we find out how criminally stupid they are—Uriah only plays air guitar, and Kurt quit the drums after a year. The only song Uriah knows how to play is "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," but more than that? He knows how to sabotage the Battle so they don't make fools of themselves. Above Hay Lin's protests, Eric joins him to make a smelly concoction to toss in a wind machine. But when Uriah and the gang try to ruin things while Alchemy's band plays, Eric betrays them and turns the wind machine on them, coating the three in the stink. When it's their turn at last to play, Uriah is forced to play "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider." Everyone laughs, but then Eric completely owns it on the sax, and Uriah finds the courage to ad-lib more lyrics (the additional lyrics by Greg Weisman) and embrace the performance.
Taranee and Cornelia get suspicious when Shagon and Will are both MIA, and Shagon leads Will to the roof of the gym. Matt just barely takes control, but he's unable to warn her it's a trap. When he tries to fight Shagon with his guitar, Shagon destroys it and forces him back again. Will finds the KoD waiting for her, and Shagon transforms and attacks. But Cornelia and Taranee followed them and help fight, protecting her long enough to transform and fight back harder. Unfortunately, Will's rage continues to feed Shagon and kill Matt.
That night, Yan Lin bribes Nerissa with food to keep from being destroyed, reminding her that she's the last one with those recipes, and they'll be gone if Nerissa absorbs her into oblivion, with the original Yan Lin forever trapped in the Seal. Nerissa asks her if she's decided on oblivion or existence on her terms. Yan Lin has to admit that she's a flawed copy, without the strength of will of the original. She loves Hay Lin as her own granddaughter, and she might even be falling in love with Zacharias, and because of that, she can't give up this self she's gained. And so Nerissa takes her....to Mt. Doom, with the rest of the old Guardians. She plans to use the KoD to restore their powers, but since they're in the middle of a fight, she decides to let them have fun one last time.
Matt finally realizes what he needs to fight Shagon—not his fists, but his heart. He re-forms his guitar, blasting him away with a couple of notes. This gives him enough control to get a message out to Will—the chorus of "The Will to Love": "wingèd angel from above, help me find the will, the will to love." Will realizes that this is his voice, and Matt has been trapped within Shagon the entire time, and her hatred finally dissipates. With his will to love powering him, Matt plays another chord that shatters Shagon forever.
Using Shagon's powers, Matt turns on Ember and attacks, before thanking Will for saving him from himself. He reveals that Khor was Huggles, and sics him on Tridart. Nerissa decides that it's enough, and she declares, "Guardians, unite!" Ember and Tridart are obliterated, but the process frees Matt and Huggles. Will grabs Matt in a relieved kiss as they both fight back tears.
Matt finally joins the band in time for their performance, but he announces a change in plans. Now, they're performing "The Will to Love" (lyrics by Greg Weisman, though it's severely abbreviated. Hilariously, however, the rest of the lyrics are included in the Gargoyles comic Bad Guys, where Wreck-55 apparently hit it big and made it to radio, though Greg himself admits that Gargoyles and W.I.T.C.H. differ too much in rules to share a universe). Nigel's worried because they never rehearsed it, but Matt promises they'll be fine. And they do, indeed, nail it, with the talent scout loving every second of it. More importantly, Will knows the song is meant for her. Irma remarks to Martin that this time, it looks like the good guys won the battle. But among her rejuvenated Guardians, a youthful Nerissa promises the war isn't over...
T is for Trauma (Samuel Bernstein): An Egyptian-themed mall is getting finishing touches before opening day, but Nerissa has enthralled some men into carrying her in on a litter. The manager is furious, until he gets a good look at the old hag. Like the other guys, he's soon blinded by false love and will do anything to make her happy.
At school, Yan Lin is still handling lunch—we'll get to the aftermath of the previous episode soon enough. Matt, now back to normal, is sitting at the girls' table with Nigel, where they learn that Hay Lin's just gotten braces (which, I'm happy to say, are an artistic change that sticks for the rest of the season). Suddenly, Martin announces to everybody in the cafeteria the arrival of a sexy new transfer student, Obviously Nerissa. Almost all of the guys in the cafeteria suddenly go gaga for her, with the various girlfriends suddenly annoyed. This includes Martin and Andrew, to Irma's vexation, and Nigel, to Taranee's intense desire to set something on fire. Matt, however, finds his phone much more interesting than the new girl. Will, sweetie, I think Matt's not telling you something. I knew his moments with Caleb in D were a little suspect! Some induced mayhem and a subtle bit of quintessence results in the team covered in food, at which point Eric walks in. Hay Lin is all excited to show him her braces, but he ignores her and goes right to Obviously Nerissa. Hay Lin assumes he was just revolted by her braces, but Yan Lin tells her to focus. As the six clean up in the kitchen, Yan Lin tells them that this is probably a glamoured Nerissa. Nicely, Will argues that she's already learned over and over not to jump to conclusions about people she doesn't like, but when Yan Lin says she heard her use quintessence, Will is quick to shout, "I knew it!" Yan Lin suggests that this is Nerissa's attempt to spy on them, since Matt's free now and can't give her intel. Furthermore, the love spell on the men isn't affecting Matt because...something about defeating Shagon took care of his inner-jerkness? I don't know, I think I like my theory better. So Yan Lin suggests that if Nerissa doesn't know they're onto her, they can follow her and take the Seal.
Nerissa has the security guard let her into the mall, but the spell is weak—once she's out of his sight, she's out of mind. Irma manages to convince him to let them in, but the manager finds them and thinks they're the temps for opening day. They end up dressed in costumes: Hay Lin as a pharaoh, Irma in a headdress, Taranee as the most pathetic scarab you'll ever see, and Will as a mummy. Cornelia is pissed that she's dressed as a camel, but Matt tells her to stop complaining, since his sphinx costume has ridiculously obtrusive, stiff wings that even end up poking her in the butt. Nerissa ends up in a department store, having gotten the men to let her snack and watch TV...and I'm not gonna lie, if I were a supervillain, I'd probably do the same on my free time. Hay Lin goes invisible to steal the unguarded Seal and throw it to Will. But of course, because Nerissa's not freely giving the Seal up, this plan fails. Seriously, guys, this plotline is getting OLD fast. You have your rules and you know how to follow them. If you need to keep up suspense by having "take the Heart" continue to be a viable option, DON'T INCLUDE THE LIMITATION. Nerissa drops the old hag glamour, revealing her Guardian form. She also drops the glamour on some of the mannequins, revealing them as the old Guardians, including Yan Lin. Nerissa orders her Guardians to fight element-on-element, and the old Guardians are much more powerful than the new. Before Will has the chance to transform her team, Nerissa attacks her, temporarily concussing her or something. Hay Lin is shocked to see her grandmother on the dark side, and she begs Yan Lin to stop, to no avail. Yan Lin reverses the airflow of the ceiling fan, sucking Hay Lin toward the blades. Only Matt, his conveniently stiff and oversized wings, and his flight experience as Shagon are able to save her life. This buys Will enough time to fold them out, with Matt leading Hay Lin the whole way. They take refuge in Kandrakar, shocked by their sound defeat. Meanwhile, a traumatized Hay Lin cries over her grandmother's apparent betrayal. They try to comfort her and remind her that Yan Lin is out of control and in her true heart of hearts, she still loves her. Matt adds his own experience, telling her that Yan Lin is definitely fighting it, but she needs the strength of Hay Lin's love to help her through it. Still, Hay Lin can't get past the fact that she has to fight her beloved grandmother.
Nerissa adds to Hay Lin's pain by flaunting the boyfriends in front of the Guardians, taking special joy in using Eric against Hay Lin, who has to watch another person she loves be under Nerissa's control. On opening day of the mall, Nerissa sends Eric and Yan Lin to go over to her, ripping at her insecurities over love and her appearance. Will rescues her, sending her to Irma for a hug and a reminder not to listen to them. Nerissa confronts Will, pointing out how badly Hay Lin is breaking. To end her torment, Will must swear on the Heart of Kandrakar to a decisive battle, without them folding or teleporting away. Knowing they inevitably have to fight and that the longer this goes on, the worse it will be for Hay Lin, Will agrees to fight that night at the mall. Matt joins them, and during the girls' transformation, the stock footage is changed to allow for a silent, depressed Hay Lin. Nerissa plays up the theatricality of the battle, dropping balloons before everyone but Hay Lin attacks, and lighting up a model of the sun to blind Will. Element vs. element puts W.I.T.C.H. at a disadvantage, and Hay Lin ignores Matt's insistence that she has to fight or she won't survive. Since Hay Lin can't fight her grandmother, Will attacks, offering to swap opponents before realizing that this means setting the traumatized Hay Lin against queen of evil Nerissa.
But Nerissa had that planned from the start, and she reveals that she has Eric as a hostage, tied to the rapidly heating sun. As Nerissa mocks her, Hay Lin suddenly realizes how Nerissa survived her own trauma—not through optimism, but necessity. Instead of trusting that everything will be all right, Hay Lin remembers that too much is riding on her for her to break down. She rescues Eric and entrusts him to Matt for the rest of the battle. Matt congratulates her on coming back to them, but she knows that the trauma is more pervasive than that—and as a writer and someone who graduated with a degree in psychology, I like that acknowledgement. You can be resilient without being over the pain. Yan Lin tries to attack her while her back is turned, but Will blasts her away easily again, leading her to realize that the old Guardians are dependent on constant instructions to fight effectively—something easier when they're fighting opponents with the same element, but much tougher to keep up with when they're not. Going off-mode would allow them to fight creatively, but they'd never follow Nerissa's orders. Nerissa is forced to admit her miscalculation and defeat, and she orders a retreat. Will calls her out on that, but Nerissa points out that she never made any promise like Will did, so legally, she can do that. Do we need a lawyer here or something?
Hay Lin admits she's okay—while it still hurts, she can handle the trauma because it's what she has to do as a Guardian. The others, in turn, promise that she doesn't have to face it alone. Eric wakes up, unable to remember what happened, why he's in a wrecked mall, or why he's so tanned. But when he sees Hay Lin's braces, he's completely in love with them and can't see how she'd ever think of herself as ugly. That's all she needs to hear, and she tackles him with a kiss.
U is for Undivided (Cary Bates): Cornelia is stuck babysitting Lillian and Napoleon while her parents are out one night. Cornelia tries to ignore her sister, so Lillian just says she wishes Napoleon could talk so she'd have some conversation going on here. This aggravates Cornelia enough to order her to bed. But as soon as Lillian's out of the living room, Napoleon hops onto Cornelia's lap and tells her they need to talk. Yes. The cat. The cat talks. And, well, Cornelia freaks out. I don't blame her; when your cute little kitten sounds like the old man from Up, you've got a problem.
Cornelia calls over the rest of Team W.I.T.C.H. Earth Division, but they don't believe her until they hear him themselves. Huggles gets agitated by the cat talking, and Napoleon decides he doesn't like the dormouse much either. Matt tries to defend his pet's honor before realizing he's arguing with a cat and this is ridiculous. Napoleon claims to be Lillian's familiar...which is pretty damn convenient. Matt, just where is your grandpa getting these sentient, magical creatures? First Huggles, who was surprisingly magic-savvy, and now a magic cat? Now there's a plot for season 3! Napoleon explains that Lillian has magical powers and wished for him to talk, so he can talk. But he thinks her powers have awakened too early—eight-year-olds should not be allowed to control cosmic, mystical forces. This isn't Cardcaptor Sakura anymore—your best-case scenario is the rampant property destruction of Nanoha or the soul-crushing despair of Madoka. Will decides that they need to get answers in Kandrakar, so Matt volunteers to take over babysitting in the meantime. But just after they leave, Lillian finds Matt in the living room and realizes (after he fails to come up with an excuse for Cornelia's absence) that her sister ditched her for her friends. Seeing how disappointed she is, Matt insists she's still got him, Huggles, and Napoleon, which cheers her up some.
The Guardians consult Luba, who theorizes that Lillian might be the Heart of Earth, which she thinks would explain why the Oracle would choose Cornelia to be a Guardian. The others interrupt, saying they thought Yan Lin was the one who chose them, and to be honest, I don't really understand the explanation. It was something along the lines of Yan Lin or Oracle choosing Hay Lin for "continuity of spirit" or something, and the others would find out why they were picked if the show got additional seasons. Basically, I walked away from the explanation just as confused as when I watched Digimon Frontier and got its explanations about destiny. Luba warns that Nerissa could target Lillian next and trick her into giving up her power like she did to Elyon and Kadma—a warning that awakens Cornelia's protective instincts and prompts her to tell Will to send her home now.
Matt tucks Lillian in and starts telling her a story, but Cornelia interrupts and warns him that they need to watch out for Nerissa. She wants him to meet up with the others at the Dragon to cook up a plan while she takes over guarding her sister. Huggles is agitated around her, but Matt takes him and leaves. Lillian is put-out since she really preferred Matt as a babysitter and he was just starting a story, but Cornelia, surprised to hear what Lillian thinks of her, promises to be a nicer, better sister. She moves Napoleon off the bed and nudges/kicks him out of her way so she can hold Lillian's hand, trying to convince her that the two of them need to be undivided. Huggles bursts into the room suddenly, with Matt trying and failing to catch him. Huggles ends up chasing Napoleon out, and Matt has to grab Cornelia as backup. Once they're out of the room, Cornelia asks what the deal is and reminds him they can't leave Lillian in there alone. Matt doesn't answer as a fold opens, and the others come through, with the real Cornelia. He reveals he noticed Huggles's odd behavior and realized it was Nerissa, so without any powers, he had to improvise to get her away from Lillian and stall for time. Might I point out that is incredibly badass. No powers. Most powerful sorceress in two worlds. Improvise. Nerissa leaves but promises to be back. Cornelia notes that she won't give up, and Lillian overhears and asks who she's talking about. Cornelia snaps at her, and Lillian gets upset, thinking she lied about trying to change. Matt coaxes her inside for the rest of the story, and Napoleon criticizes an ashamed Cornelia. As a fellow older sister, Irma encourages her to win back Lillian's trust, and Cornelia goes inside.
Inside, Matt forces Cornelia to continue the story, so she tells how the evil sorceress Nerissa tried to drain Princess Lillian's powers, but she was protected by four good fairies—only four because the idea of Cornelia trying to protect her broke Lillian's willing suspension of disbelief. But Lillian wishes the story were true, and so the entire apartment complex transforms into a castle, and the Guardians find themselves transformed and tiny. Will flies in and gets Matt's attention, and he grabs Napoleon and heads out of the room for answers. Also, Matt is a court jester. Thought I should point this out. It's all because of Lillian's wish—it's created a "glamour zone" around the building that looks normal from a distance until you enter it. So the yuppie couple from Gargoyles don't notice anything until they reach the "castle," at which point their memories and perception change to match. But it doesn't affect the team's memories or anything that happens inside the bedroom, as long as you're not part of the story. Lillian, unfortunately, is getting bored with how perfect life in that story is, so Cornelia has to write in Nerissa attacking with her four evil fairies—which is probably the best excuse for a fight ever. Matt tries to stop the story and warn Cornelia, but she can't figure out what he's talking about. So he desperately tries to derail things to help the others out, by throwing in "super growth power." Unfortunately for the good guys, this is vetoed because you can't change the rules and genre mid-story. Which is actually good storytelling advice. Kudos. Cornelia lectures him on what a good fairytale should have, and he tries and fails to prevent them from adding a twenty-foot tall, fire-breathing dragon. Fortunately, Taranee gets shit done and telepathically tells Cornelia what's going on. Realizing that things have gotten really out of hand (as a writer, I can so sympathize), Cornelia has to bring the story to a decisive and happy end, otherwise risk their little reality warper having nightmares. Princess Lillian must lend her powers to her knights, Matt, Huggles, and Napoleon, who will become her regents and wield her power until she's old enough to handle the responsibilities that come with it. Lillian isn't sure she should give up phenomenal cosmic powers, but Matt tells her she has to decide fast. Lillian looks to Cornelia, who's surprised and touched her sister actually does think enough of her to ask for advice, and she tells her it's a good idea. Lillian takes a toy wand and makes the three her Regents of Earth, but as the power transfers, Matt turns away, his voice deepening to Shagon's as he insists he must do as his "mistress" orders.
The dragon and the glamour zone disappear, cluing Nerissa in that the Heart of Earth's powers have been siphoned by something. Shagon makes his reappearance, flanked by Khor and a beast-man Napoleon. Nerissa tries to flirt with him again and woo him back to her side, but he has his ultimate troll moment and blasts her away, revealing he's 100% Matt. The Regents answer to Lillian, and they join forces with the Guardians to kick some C.H.Y.K.N. butt. Will, naturally, calls out Matt for scaring her with his trolling, and he admits that his body is preprogrammed to transform into Shagon, but he's the only mind in control, and he no longer feeds on hatred. Will likens him to a Guardian, and he just geeks out over how perfect they are for each other. With two Hearts, the Guardians and Regents force Nerissa to retreat, where she hopes to seize more worlds' Hearts. They return to Lillian's room in time for Cornelia to conclude the story as she tucks her into bed: Princess Lillian's sacrifice will keep Nerissa from stealing her power, and the Regents will protect her and her power until she's old enough to protect the Earth herself. And as Lillian falls asleep, Cornelia whispers that she'll always be there for her so nothing can divide them again. When her parents come home, Cornelia just tells them nothing interesting happened as she pets a content Napoleon.