Episode 21: The Eye of the Eagle
After François didn’t feed Djali, she goes to the library for a snack. After assessing the damage, Dennis discovers a scroll of an old design for the facade of Notre Dame which depicts the likeliness of his awesome parents on the edifice. This leads to Quasimodo to find the stone depictions of his parents as well as hidden scroll behind them which is made of the highest quality paper ever because this takes forever to rip in half. This is because Frollo sends his Gargoyle, Dragon to steal the scroll tears in half. So Quasimodo has half and Frollo has the other half.
However the scroll pieces are blank which leads everyone to reach the same conclusion, invisible ink! Which leads both the gang of pals and Frollo to Esmeralda’s friend who is an expert on invisible ink, how very convenient for everyone. Anyway the message turns out to be a map. Quasimodo hopes it leads him to his parent’s location and Frollo hopes it will lead him to the Philosopher’s stone.
In the end it leads them to an old inn where his parents used to rent a secret room. Quasimodo finds a chest full of gold and because doesn’t need money, and he really doesn’t, he gives to the innkeeper who uses the money to renovate the inn.
The idea of this episode was fun; a competing scavenger hunt which highlights the characters’ wants as well as their differing approach to deductive reasoning.
The pay off though is a waste because we already know Quasimodo has awesome parents and he proven himself to be unselfish and we don’t really learn any new and there doesn’t seem to be a lesson or a moral. Also if I recall his parents might have gotten on a boat to England in an earlier episode, which was episode 12 “The Choice.” So the scroll which was left 15 years before would have had old information anyway about their location. It’s good that there is a narrative through-line in this show which is the quest for Quasimodo’s family, but the show seems to forget it or retread a lot or in this episode’s case pads it out. Then again other “more adult shows” do this too so it’s not really a big deal. Just pointing it out. Truthfully it’s less annoying than most shows with more ambitious, “grown-up,” and/or matures plots.
Frollo did have a humorous line “From Tiny Minds Come Tiny Answers” Inspiring. To be fair he was trying to read tiny text so he shrunk himself down to read it, which did work. Also Frollo falls down a lot in this episode because humor.
Other positives, Djali, always going to be Djali and François was less annoying because he wasn’t focused on too much. Plus Tortoise cameo and there was a cat. That’s something.
Also Also the whole map is the de Bernassac crest which is an eagle which is also a map of Paris so it’s a sort-of reference to the chapter “A Bird’s-Eye View of Paris,” a chapter that is very skippable. I still appreciate it though.
Episode 22: The Oracle
This episode starts with the Gang of Pals getting a message from Angelica who has been recovering from a cold in the Alps with Dennis’ cousin Maurice. However the message says that Maurice has been arrested and the village is in the gripes of some kind of danger. So the Gang of pals is off in their covered wagon to the rescue. On the way they stop by a spring that has some weird green substance it it, hmmm could this be part of the plot? You bet!
Arriving in the village they see that the villagers have spots on their faces and the leader is now The Oracle. Who predicts lightening will hit the village and it does! Hmmm, very curious …. he foretold it would happen and then it did!
The gang of pals soon learn that The Oracle put something in the water and that he is going to charge the villagers for the cure. Angelica tells Quasimodo that The Oracle is storing potions in a cave near the Spring. Oh Good just when I thought there wasn’t going to be a cave or spooky tunnels we get a cave for the Cave Quota.
In the cave Quasimodo learns the tricks of The Oracle like the lightening was made with tar and gun powder. Quasimodo uses similar tricks to undo The Oracle’s hold on the Villagers as well as giving everyone the universal cure-all that cures them. Thank goodness! And today’s lesson is education is the best cure for ignorance and superstition and to not believe everything you hear. How true, most of the time. Brainwashing and indocination is a thing but Children’s show, so it’s simplicifed.
The Oracle is a charlatan who poisoned a town as well as committed arson and he got off really light. I mean the villagers apologize for being duped which is what brings up moral about education being great which is a great moral but it was tacked on in the last second. Basically everyone finds out that The Oracle was a scammer and they escort him off in the background. Blink and you miss it, because I did and I had to rewatch that part to notice it. Also what are they going to do with him? Quasimodo collapsed the jail when they were busting out. So who knows what happen to him maybe he didn’t get off light.
Anyway doesn’t matter what does matter is this episode forced me to recall my time on the Oregon Trail, those poor oxen who drown, the Diphtheria, the failure of it all and I of course mean the computer game I was terrible at it, abysmal even. Also Quasimodo failed a little in this episode brought down by his own hubris. He failed to get the carrier pigeon with Angelica’s message and François is the one who gets it. Woo to Quasimodo. François later is paralyzed by some powder and complains about being thirsty, which is really Quasimodo’s thing. But in the end François is still the butt of many of a joke and Quasimodo is still the best, so again doesn’t matter.
So positives, Djali, always going to be Djali and there is a pigeon. But this episode is pretty good. I did like Quasimodo playing Sorcerer and that whole plan to discredit The Oracle. Though this show has already established magic as an actual practice independent and in conjunction with alchemy so it’s a little muddy that there is a scammer using potions to create skin spots, causing paralysis and growing hair and that science and knowledge is the fix to discrediting his wrong doing.
I’m overthinking this but what is The Oracle’s backstory because clearly he is smart and has great alchemist knowledge and this is best he can manage for himself? Poisoning the water supply to cause skin pigmentation with no other side effects and then charging for the cure? Which is a universal cure-all for all his potions. Who is this guy? But that is not the story and the lesson of the episode is knowledge is good and gullibility is bad. Still good lessons especially in today landscape.
Side Note – This episode was the second appearance of The Oracle. He first appears in the fourth episode “The Star Master” and is pal of Frollo’s. Didn’t remember him but good job show using an old character.
