Rapunzel, Eugene, and an old friend, Calliope, race to the Spire in an attempt to stop Cassandra from acquiring a deadly weapon.
Tropes in this episode:
- The Bad Guy Wins: Cassandra and Zhan Tiri succeed in obtaining the weapon needed to control the Brotherhood, courtesy of using Blackmail on Rapunzel and Eugene.
- Battle Boomerang: This is Zhan Tiri's weapon in this episode.
- The Bus Came Back: Calliope returns for the first time since "Keeper of the Spire."
- The Comically Serious: While Zhan Tiri is extremely threatening, you have to appreciate her using a boomerang and a hoop as weapons, being attacked by badgers, and tripping over candies.
- Contrived Coincidence: Just the fact there is a talisman that mind controls people who swore their allegiance to the Brotherhood and can be activated by anyone who holds the Moonstone exists.
- Exposed to the Elements: Previously, Rapunzel was shown to actually put on some boots when there was snow outside, but this isn't the case here. Granted, she wasn't planning on landing in the frozen wasteland area and thus didn't bring any warm clothes, but she still walks around there in bare feet without showing any discomfort other than just generally being cold.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Calliope wonders where the Shroud is only for her master to tell her to ignore it while acting very suspicious, making it clear he was a fake.
- Hero Ball: Rapunzel decides to look for Calliope as she is obviously in trouble. Fair enough. But to bring along the key, she knows Cass must be after, apparently deeming it safe enough as long as it is on her person, really wasn't her brightest idea. Doubly so, as she has experienced first hand how much more powerful and ruthless Cass has become, and how genre-savvy she had previously shown to be regarding Zhan Tiri's set-up.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Even after Enchanted Girl/Zhan Tiri revealed in the previous episode that she set up for a fight between Cassandra and Rapunzel to happen so that she could be free from her prison, meaning she manipulated Cassandra into trying to destroy Rapunzel for her own purposes, Cassandra still trusts her and follows her orders, only caring that Rapunzel loses.
- Imposter Forgot One Detail: Along with suspicious timing, this is what allows Rapunzel to determine that Calliope is being impersonated, as she didn't correct Rapunzel's pronunciation of the word "spire" and even failed to pronounce it "correctly" herself.
- Indy Ploy: Eugene pulls one on Cassandra. Knowing they don't match her in power, he points out they are still in a room full of unlabeled magical artefacts, he has no idea what any of them do, and tries them out at random. Had it not been for an ill-placed lamp, it would have worked.
- Jerkass Has a Point: When waving goodbye to Rapunzel and Eugene, Calliope says that they goofed up and it wasn't her fault. Which, while tactless as usual, is true - even if Calliope's message was incomplete and said "keep this" instead of "keep this away," it was still pretty dumb to bring the key to the same place as the person seeking the key. "Keep this" doesn't even have to mean "keep this on you" - "keep this somewhere safe" would have been a valid interpretation.
- Properly Paranoid: Varian warns Rapunzel about the dangers in the path to the Spire at Kresten Loch. Turns out his concern was justified.
- Rain of Something Unusual: One of the artifacts in the spire makes it rain badgers.Eugene: Why is this even a thing?!
Calliope: That was to end the great badger scarcity of 1312. - Rewatch Bonus: Given that Zhan Tiri is the blizzard from "Queen for a Day", her interest in Varian, seen in "Cassandra's Revenge", is put in a completely different light...
- Save the Villain: Rapunzel saves a few Fish Creatures that just moments ago tried to kill them. They awkwardly wave back as thanks after she did.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Varian and Eugene. The former tricks Eugene into thinking him touching a part of the air balloon will cause it to explode, and Eugene gets him back by glueing his boots on the floor. This is happening while Varian is being extremely helpful towards Rapunzel and Eugene, with the latter warmly thanking him.
- Wham Episode:
- Though it's already revealed in a Freeze-Frame Bonus in the previous episode, this one has the Enchanted Girl state that she is Zhan Tiri, and she's plotting war and genocide against Corona.
- Cassandra has used mind control on the members of the Brotherhood, including Hector, Adira, and (apparently) Quirin.
