Elena gives Victor and Carla a chance to redeem themselves by helping her free Ixlan, an ancient Maruvian princess.
Tropes:
- 11th-Hour Ranger: Ixlan joins Elena and her friends as she's needed for the battle ahead.
- An Aesop: You don't know if someone is trustworthy if you don't try.
- The Atoner: What makes Victor and Carla's trial go differently than Esteban's is Victor owning up for their past actions instead of making excuses and wanting to help fix things.Victor: I may never receive your forgiveness, but I would like to try and earn it.
- Big "NO!": Victor's intended word towards Ash when she cast the spell were this, but the spell was completed before he could say anything.
- Brought Down to Badass: At the end, as a part of their Heel–Face Turn, Victor and Carla let Mateo undo what made them malvagos and therefore their dark magic in favor of learning good magic. They can potentially become powerful again, but they have to learn magic the hard way.
- The Bus Came Back: Victor and Carla finally return after being absent since the beginning of the season at the end of "The Magic Within".
- Call-Back:
- Victor and Carla casting aside their evil ways only to be betrayed by Ash and arrested by Elena at the end of "The Magic Within" is finally followed up on.
- Carla helps her dad cook, calling back to when she did the same with her parents in "Not Without My Magic".
- Elena's arm heals up by the end of the episode.
- Like in "A Spy in the Palace", Victor and Carla have another duet.
- Like Esteban, Victor and Carla are put on trial. Though almost sentenced to Soledad and not forgiven immediately, they own up for their past actions and instead offer their help against Team Ash, which is accepted.
- Cassandra Truth: When Victor spots the Moyacu, Elena thinks he's lying to trick her into returning his tamborita.
- Character Development: Despite her correct misgivings about "Rita" back in Season 2, Naomi is the one to encourage Elena to trust Victor and Carla, presumably because of her personal experience with coming to forgive and trust the Sirenas.
- Character Title: Ixlan is the titular Lightning Warrior.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Elena's broken arm (which is her dominant arm) means that she can't cook or use her scepter properly, leading to her having a bonding moment with Victor and Carla in the kitchen and needing to trust them in forcing the Moyacu to open its mouth when she can't do it herself.
- Elena sneezing because Victor put too much pepper in the moqueqa becomes handy when Victor uses the pepper shaker to make the Moyacu sneeze, forcing him out through its blowhole.
- Childhood Friends: It is finally addressed that Elena also used to play with Victor and Esteban.
- Continuity Nod:
- In the ending sequence, Gabe shows off some magic, showing that Mateo's lessons from "Crash Course" are sticking.
- Elena and co. use Naomi's ship that was gifted to her at the end of "The Last Laugh" to travel to Ixlan's island.
- Easily Forgiven: Averted, and Victor and Elena both know it. Victor doesn't want forgiveness, just the chance to earn it, and he has his own reasons for wanting to go against Esteban and Ash. Elena feels Victor and Carla sufficiently regret their actions to be allowed to stay. For now.
- Enemy Mine: Elena needs a malvago to release Ixlan, a Maruvian warrior from a prison sealed by dark magic, and Victor and Carla are the only ones available to do it. Elena can only trust them as far as she can throw them, and is still hurt because Victor also betrayed her years prior, and she barely wants anything to do with them apart from them casting the release spell. After the deed is done, Victor asks for Elena to let them stay to fight against Ash and Esteban, reasoning that they're the ones responsible for the threat and Victor in particular hates them more than Elena does. Elena agrees to let them stay and learn good magic until Ashe and Esteban are defeated.
- The Exile: When Elena asks for Victor and Carla's help, she offers to reward them by having them exiled to Soledad Island for their past crimes instead of their current punishment.
- Fatal Flaw: For Elena, pride. After everything Victor did to her family for the past 44-45 years (3-4 years in Carla’s case), Elena continued to hold on to it. When it was clear she can’t cook with her left hand, her pride prevented her from letting them do it when they’re the only ones who can. Then, Elena started remembering all the great memories she had with Victor and Esteban, but her pride also prevented her from giving him a chance even after they left the island.
- Flashback: During "Way Back When", we're treated to flashbacks of Victor raising a young Carla.
- Forgiveness: Elena comes to at least partially forgive Victor and Carla when they prove they've reformed, in addition to Victor apologizing for what he had done to Elena and her family from all those years back.
- Godzilla Threshold: Quita Moz never leaves Vallestrella unless it's absolutely serious.
- Heel–Face Turn: Victor and Carla solidify their turn to the good side by helping Elena free Ixlan without issue, with Victor apologizing to Elena for his actions in hurting her family and saying that they both want to stay to help fight Team Ash. Additionally, Victor makes amends with Elena, with him and Carla helping to cook when she can't as well as him and Elena reminiscing over the times they played together with Esteban.
- Human Popsicle: Apparently, those who are turned to stone won't sense any gap in time if they're reverted back. Once Mateo undoes the spell, we find out Victor's intended reaction to Ash turning him to stone was: "Ash, NO!!"
- Instantly Proven Wrong: While she's out of practice with her left arm, Elena initially refuses Victor and Carla's help in the ship's kitchen, claiming to be a great cook. Black smoke comes out of her meal right after she says that.
- Irony: Victor and Esteban are now in reverse position to the way they were for most of the series, courtesy of their new choices. Whereas Esteban is now a wanted fugitive allying with other villains, Victor is now a trusted ally of Team Avalor, genuinely wanting to help defeat Ash and her comrades. In a weird way, Esteban is the reason Victor wants to join Elena and Co. Esteban was automatically given the option of being sent to Soledad Island instead of the dungeons because Elena couldn't bear to see him imprisoned but rejected it in favor of being on the run with Ash while Victor and Carla had to earn that option and, after upholding the terms of the deal, offer to stay and help Elena fight Ash and Esteban.
- Living MacGuffin: Ixlan was sealed away by dark magic and can only be freed by dark magic, forcing Elena to turn to Victor and Carla for help.
- Not Quite Dead: Quita Moz believed Ixlan disappeared into the Spirit World along with the rest of the Maruvians, but a recent vision revealed to him that she was merely sealed away.
- Pepper Sneeze: Victor attempts this to get the Moyacu to sneeze them out, but she sneezes through her blowhole and only Victor makes it out.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Elena was willing to consider Victor and Carla's offer to help them defeat Esteban and Ash, and her only concern was more that they're betraying a family member, which might give them second thoughts. Carla makes it clear to Elena that no, they have no second thoughts.
- Recruiting the Criminal: Because the titular Lightning Warrior cannot be released by anyone other than malvagos, Elena recruits Victor and Carla and, in exchange for their help, offers to transfer them from the castle's dungeons to Soledad Island.
- Sand In My Eyes: Victor notices Carla is crying, to which she claims Onion Tears, but Victor points out they didn’t even cut the onions yet, which means something really is troubling her.
- Sea Monster: Team Avalor is attacked by the Moyacu, a giant whale guarding Ixlan's island.
- Sole Survivor: Ixlan is the last living Maruvian, with the rest of the Maruvians having been banished to the Spirit World.
- Swallowed Whole: Elena, Naomi, Ixlan, Victor and Carla are swallowed by the Moyacu, but with themselves and the boat intact. Naomi points out it could've been worse than that.
- Team Shot: The final scene is of Elena, Naomi, Mateo, Gabe, Ixlan, Victor, and Carla showing off and posing for the camera.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Sandwich: Naomi’s lunch was delayed because Elena tried to do all the cooking with her left hand, and then had to let Victor and Carla cook when she’s unable to. By the time they reach the island, Elena tells them to drop the stew and disembark. Subverted when Carla quietly gives the stew to Naomi.
- Was Too Hard on Him: Elena eventually has this realization about her dealing of Victor and Carla, to the point of being reluctant to handcuff them a second time and acknowledging that Carla was right when the latter scolds her for not giving her and Victor even half a chance.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Carla chews Elena out for not listening to her papa, and for not giving them half a chance as the reason they're in the mess they're in with the Moyacu. Naomi is about give Carla an "ahem" moment as if to remind her to watch her tone as Carla is in the Crown Princess' custody. But, Elena decides Carla is right—She was too proud to even give them a chance.
- We Used to Be Friends: Elena and Victor reminisce about being childhood friends along with Esteban, but those days were "way back when"... seemingly. Considering Elena was conscious in the amulet all those years, she can dimly remember a time when they were friends.
