The hard knocks road to redemption.
Anne, Sasha and the Plantars search for Proteus, the city of olms, in order to decipher the vase's coded message, but they must first convince some old rivals to help them get past the city's outsider-hating guard.Tropes:
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: One of the conjoined Olm twins promises to Sprig and Polly that this time he will eat them, and their friend would be next.
- The Bus Came Back: Lysil and Angwin, the conjoined Olm twins from "Quarreler's Pass", return in this episode.
- Continuity Nod: Anne brings up the urn's decoded message from "Temple Frogs".
- Door-Closes Ending: The last scene of the episode is the door to Mother Olm's lair closing behind Anne and the gang after Parasia leads them through. If one lightens the screen just before the credits, you can see a mural on the other side with some important information...
- Foreshadowing: The gang sees a giant drill when they first arrive in Quarreler's Pass. It turns out that Andrias is mining for the iron deposit that Proteus is built on top of so he can expand his mechanical army.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: At the very end of the episode, if one pauses just on the Door-Closes Ending and brightens the image, you can see the fail outline of a mural painted on the inside of the doors featuring some familiar figures...
◊ - Heroic Sacrifice: Lysil and Angwin rush to the outside facing serious sunburns and throw themselves into the drill to stop it from reaching Proteus. It breaks through the ceiling anyway, but at least it's not intact when it does so.
- Hidden Elf Village: The olms keep to themselves in their underground city, and consider the war on the surface to be "outsider business". They're forced to change their tune when they discover Andrias is trying to dig his way into Proteus with an enormous drill.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: As the gang approaches the computer that controls the drill, Sasha stabs a Frobot guard through the back…just like what happened to Marcy in "True Colors".
- I Reject Your Reality: The olms are frustratingly good at this. For example they claim that the earthquakes caused by the drill are natural, then accuse Sasha and her team of creating a False Flag Operation when the entire (inactive) drill is dropped into their home.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Lysil and Angwin initially threaten to eat everyone, but Sasha in turn threatens to cut her way out of their stomach, so they back down and play nice.
- Magic Countdown: The drill announces it will reach Proteus in ten seconds, then counts down to six. Cut to the heroes frantically trying everything they can think of to shut it down, which takes about twenty seconds. Cut back to the drill as it finally reaches five, then counts down to two. Cut to Lysil and Angwin deciding to finally intervene, which takes at least another thirty seconds before the (now-disabled) drill actually crashes through into Proteus.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Sasha clearly sees some similarities between herself and Lysil and Angwin, namely how they’ve both made mistakes they deeply regretted and are trying to atone for them.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Defied. Sprig suggests typing "1-2-3-4-5" to shut down the drill. It doesn't work.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title is a play on the Lil Nas X hit "Old Town Road".
- Rage Breaking Point: By the end of the episode, Sasha has had enough of Parasia's Jerkass attitude and stands up to her.
- Really 700 Years Old: Olms can apparently live for centuries with ease, with the Olm leader outright saying that she's thousands of years old. This is likely a reference to how real olms are one of the longest living amphibians in the world with a potential 100 year lifespan.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Sick of Parasia refusing to listen to the group's warnings and trying to banish Lysil and Angwin, Sasha calls her the biggest moron she's ever met and that listening to her will lead to Proteus' destruction and the olms with it. Parasia is so impressed Sasha stood up to her, she decides to hear them out.
- Saying Too Much: When Anne asks Lysil and Angwin about the Mother of Olms, they immediately ask who told her about the Mother, thus revealing that they do know what she's talking about. The pair lampshade their mistake.
- To Be Continued: The episode ends with Parasia leading Anne's troop through the tunnel to Mother Olm's domain. Cue the next episode...
- Weakened by the Light: Being a subterranean people, the Olms are highly sensitive to sunlight.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Lysil and Angwin are allowed entry into Proteus. To their dismay, they'll be kept under constant surveillance.
