Recap / Kipo And The Age Of Wonderbeasts S 3 E 06 It's a Trap

Dr. Emilia and her army work through the death ivy while the alliance creates cunning traps. But can Kipo fight an unstoppable force like destiny?

---

Tropes:

• Anyone Can Die: A Death of Personality variant. Many Mutes we have seen throughout the series (Bad Billions, Brad, Camille, and Wheels) end up "cured" by Dr. Emilia's army.
• Brick Joke: Jamack is enthusiastic about making a trap that involves putting a bunch of leaves over a hole. When the humans get past the Death Ivy wall, one person does fall through this trap.
• Call-Back: Just like the first episode, a butterfly mute immediately dies when it touches Death Ivy.
  • Benson and Dave walk right into a trap set by Wolf that latches onto their feet and hangs both of them upside down. This is more than likely her payback for getting caught in a similar trap they made for her in “Explosion Berries”.
• Continuity Nod: When showing the Chevre Sisters around Timbercat Village, Dave also shows them the place where he hid Molly’s axes back in "Code Word Milkshake".
• Gale-Force Sound: Jaguar!Kipo’s enraged roar forces Emilia off her feet.
• Deer in the Headlights: Label is utterly transfixed when a person aims their crossbow at her. It is only Zane “accidentally” intervening that saves her from being cured.
• Do Not Go Gentle: Once the humans start shooting cure darts at mutes, Camille tries fighting back at the humans before getting hit.
• Downer Ending: The humans flee from Timbercat Village after an enraged Kipo attacks them, but there is a lot of damage already done. Bad Billions, Brad, Camille, and Wheels have been hit with cure darts and are now rendered regular animals forever robbed of the former identities. The Chevre Sisters‘ warned Kipo about her destiny, and she payed the price for trying to go against it. Filled with regret, a furious Kipo is determined to make things right.
• The Dreaded: The mere sight of Scarlemagne causes the human army to freak out.
• Heel–Face Turn: Asher and Dahlia's parents are among the humans who are beginning to doubt Emilia's ruthless methods, with their mother saying that the curing of the wolf kids didn't seem right to her. Once they see that the Mutes have been protecting their kids this whole time, they both drop their weapons and join H.M.U.F.A.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Hugo says this to Kipo to comfort her after she fights her own people off to protect her mute friends.
• The Immune: The 'cure' was made from Kipo's DNA, so it doesn't work on her.
• Mama Bear and Papa Wolf: The main reason Asher and Dahlia's parents came along for the attack is because they believe Asher and Dahlia are being held captive by the Mutes. Once they realize that Emilia lied to them, they leave her forces and join H.M.U.F.A., ashamed that they misjudged the Mutes so badly (especially Molly, who they fired at when she was trying to save the twins from falling Death Ivy).
• Mandatory Line: Ruffles, the stern-faced Siamese Timbercat, speaks for the first time since his debut all the way back in episode two. In this instance, he agrees with Billions and Loretta that the mutes should fight to keep the humans away.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Combined with No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. Kipo warns the human resistance that there’s a wall of death ivy to protect her people from danger. This lets Dr. Emilia hatch another way to break the wall without dying.
• Oh, Crap!: Dr. Emilia has one when she realizes the cure, being made from Kipo's own DNA, has no effect at all on Kipo.
• Prophecy Twist: Kipo thought that the Chevre Sisters' prediction meant she had to fight her people, which she would never do, but like classic prophecies the truth is tragically ironic; Kipo is immune to the cure as it was derived from her DNA, so all she had to do to defend the Mutes was shield them with her body, not harm her people.
• Pyrrhic Victory: While the humans end up being driven away from Timbercat Village, Good Billions laments on how hollow their victory was because mutes like his brother are now cured, non-sapient animals.
• Rage Breaking Point: After seeing all of her friends start 'being cured' around her, Kipo goes mega and looks ready to 'kill' Emilia. After calming down she says she won't make the same mistake of trying to just capture her the next time.
• Screw Destiny: Kipo believes she can avoid fighting her own people, and tries to find alternative ways to get the people to not fight the mutes. She doesn’t succeed.
• Shout-Out: The title is a reference of the infamous “It’s a trap!” line from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
• Stab the Scorpion: When Asher and Dahlia try to get their parents out of a cage, Molly Yarnchopper lunges towards the twins. At first, their parents think they are being attacked, but Molly pulls the kids out of the way of some falling death ivy. Realizing the mute saved their children, the parents contemplate their alliance to Emilia.
• Taking the Bullet: Bad Billions takes a Cure-Dart for Good Billions, turning into a regular wolf in the process.
• The Unsmile: When Kipo frees the humans trapped in the Timbercat Hall, she tries to show them that mutes are pretty friendly. When Puck, Jamack, and Cotton try to smile at the humans, they look unintentionally sinister.
• What Would X Do?: Ruffles the Timbercat believes Yumyan would have wanted to fight off the humans encroaching Timbercat Village if he were still a mute.
• Written-In Absence: Lio and Song are not in this episode, but they are mentioned getting some supplies for a vaccine outside of Timbercat Village.
• You Can't Fight Fate: The Chevre Sisters warn Kipo that she must face her people to save everyone, and there’s no way to prevent it. They’re right.