Summary: When Simba leaves Kiara in charge of Pride Rock for the first time, Kion reluctantly agrees to obey her which proves difficult when Janja tries to take advantage of Kiara's inexperience and hatches a plot to take over the Pride Lands. Meanwhile, Simba struggles to practice saying a language he can't understand for a funeral.
This episode contains examples of:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Kiara lets her status as acting queen go to her head, prompting her to not take others' advice - however, this is not due to her own actions as much as it is a result of Tiifu and Zuri's advice, combined with the fact she was correct about the bees. Plus, Kiara genuinely thought she was doing the right thing for the Pride Lands by accepting Janja's "peace offer". Kion also does take a brief level into Jerk territory, though it could be interpreted that unlike Kiara, who was under circumstances she couldn't really control, his brief dive into this territory is his own fault.
- Action Girl: Subverted. Kiara looked like she was actually going to fight, and then the rest of the Guard stopped it. Nevertheless it shows she was willing to actually fight Janja and his mooks.
- Actually Pretty Funny: When Simba accidentally says (in elephantese) that Aminifu had poop on him, the elephants, instead of being offended like one might expect, start laughing and admitting that he did indeed have poop on him.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Kiara and Simba.
- All There in the Script: Aminifu's daughter, Ma Tembo, was not named in the episode itself.
- An Aesop: Always, give your support to others, even though they were wrong at first.
- Anti-Climax: What looks like a buildup to climactic battle between the Lion Guard and the hyenas ends with the latter fleeing like Dirty Cowards.
- Big "WHAT?!": Uttered by Simba after he accidentally insults his old friend at the funeral.
- Bullying a Dragon: Kion decides to try to move the bees away from their hives. It turns into a nightmare, as the bees predictably are pretty angry when Kion tries to force them out of their home. This is Truth in Television as pretty much anybody who isn't a beekeeper and has tried to move a beehive to either get the honey or get it off their property will happily testify as to what Kion goes through.
- Damsel in Distress: Kiara gets Lured into a Trap by the hyenas. Leads to the Lion Guard's Big Damn Heroes moment.
- Darker and Edgier: Although the series is Lighter and Softer when you look at the films, this episode is the darkest. The body of an elephant who passed away is shown (although the imagery isn't graphic), and Janja's attempted kidnapping of Kiara is very intense, along with showing the extremely strong emotional trauma a sibling can have from losing someone.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: From the position Janja pins Kiara into his downright lecherous facial expressions and dialogue, it's not hard to imagine that, when Janja says. "Or else!", he has... other things in mind than roughing her up.
- Fantastic Racism: Averted with Simba, having seemingly moved on from insisting the Guard should be made up of solely lions. His reluctance to recite a particular phrase in Elephantese at the funeral comes from his struggle to speak the language rather than any prejudice towards elephants, and when he does mess it up, the elephants don't take it amiss at all.
- Foreshadowing: Janja's offer to Kiara is that he wants peace. He later reforms for real in the Season 3 opener.
- Gilligan Cut: When Kion decides that it would be a better idea to move the bees out of their hives as opposed to diverting the path of the eland herd, Bunga asks "What could go wrong?" Cut to the entire Guard trying to escape from the bees, except for Bunga, who is enjoying them as snacks.
- Hope Spot: The scene where Kion and Kiara reconcile. It definitely lets you know their relationship, previously strained, is implied to be improving.
- Idiot Ball:
- Kiara decides to go meet Janja alone, although she is suspicious of his intentions. Despite being secondary characters, Tiifu and Zuri don't go to back up Kiara and just lay around. Kion even calls them out on this before going to save his sister.
- Simba also drops, as what type of monarch decides to let a kid have the job of ruling while he is away? It would have been smarter for Nala, or at least Rafiki, to be put in charge rather than a kid.
- I'm Okay!: Zazu says this word-per-word after he is roared into the bushes by a frustrated Simba.
- Jerkass Ball: Tiifu and Zuri, with fans more shocked with Tiifu given that she is supposed to be more friendly than Zuri. They are in the mindset that Kiara is always right and when Kion returns covered in bee stings, they noticeably chastise him for not listening to Kiara, not caring about the fact he is covered in bee stings, and even give themselves titles. Kiara calls them out on both, judging by her "What?" and the look she gives them. The fact they let Kiara go alone to meet Janja really infuriated the fans, and when Kion calls them out, they wonder what his issue is.
- Language Barrier: For his funeral speech, Simba has to say a phrase in Elephantese, a language he completely has zero knowledge of.
- List Song: "Duties of the King" lists off several duties Simba has.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Kion, has this when he realizes that he left his sister alone when she needed support, along with acknowledging that Kiara was right about the bees, and that he shouldn't have abandoned her.
- Later Played for Laughs when Simba accidentally insults his old friend by messing up his Elephantese.
- My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: Because Simba can't say "he had good on him" in Elephantese at the funeral, he ends up accidentally saying, "He had poop on him." The elephants acknowledge that this was often true, and they don't take offense to Simba's accidental eulogy.
- Pep-Talk Song: Zazu has "Duties of the King" to cheer Simba up when he is shaken over speaking in a foreign language he cannot understand before Aminifu's funeral.
- Poor Communication Kills: Kiara is extremely suspicious about the peace offering, but when Kion tries to convince Kiara not to go, he doesn't tell her directly why and when Kiara insists that she will go, Kion resorts to yelling at her, which only got Kiara upset and not in the best mood. This makes Kiara's decision to go partially Kion's fault.
- Posthumous Character: Simba mentions that the leader of the elephants who had died had helped restore the Pridelands after Scar's reign.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: "Considers crocodiles' complaints" is listed as one of Simba's many royal duties, and it's the only one we don't see him follow through on. He turns away mid-complaint and pointedly ignores said crocodile, much to its displeasure.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: Everyone except Bunga, who happily chows down on honey without being stung. Definitely Truth in Television for a honey badger.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Janja and the hyenas when the Lion Guard shows up to save Kiara.Janja: Six on six ... FORGET IT!
- Sibling Rivalry: Kiara and Kion seem to have this, as they are fighting over a tree earlier and the episode and argue a bit after the bee fiasco and about meeting Janja. They seemed to get better at the end, but time will tell. It is implied however though by her tone that Kiara was concerned to see Kion injured by the bee stings, and Kion was most definitely afraid for Kiara when she went to the Outlands alone.
- Short-Lived Leadership: Kiara becomes acting queen while Simba and Nala attend a funeral.
- Shown Their Work:
- The elephants having a funeral. This is Truth in Television; when a member of the herd dies, the rest of the elephants crowd around it and pay their tributes.
- Bunga being unaffected by bee stings. Honey badgers have very thick skin which protects them from bees' stingers as well as sharp teeth and porcupine quills.
- Suddenly Shouting:
- Simba during his Elephantese lesson with Zazu.Simba: I can't say it in Elephantese, and do you know why? BECAUSE I AM NOT AN ELEPHANT! (roars)
- Later on at the funeral, Simba asks Zazu if he said the right thing. Zazu rather softly tells Simba what he really said, causing him to scream a horrified Big "WHAT?!".
- Simba during his Elephantese lesson with Zazu.
- Tempting Fate: This happens twice before and during the bee incident. The first one is where Bunga wonders "What could go wrong?" -cue a Gilligan Cut, where the whole Guard aside from him is running from the bees. And again when, Kion says, "Don't worry about the elands," he runs straight into them about two seconds later.
- Toilet Humor: At the funeral, Simba screws up his phrase in Elephantese and ends up saying "He had poop on him." Nevertheless, the elephants accept.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The two plots are Kiara adjusting to her role as temporary queen and Simba trying to speak a foreign language for Aminifu's funeral.
- Watch Where You're Going!: The Lion Guard (sans Bunga), fleeing from the bees, crash into the eland herd coming the other way. And then the bees catch up.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Mufasa gives a minor one to Kion calmly for leaving Kiara on her own, simply due to the fact she was right about the bees. Kion later gives one to Kiara's "advisors" for letting her go alone to the meeting with Janja despite the fact that it's clearly suspicious and will put her in danger.
