Naomi returns to Avalor to warn Elena about a growing magical threat to the kingdom.
- Achilles' Heel: Kizin's thick skin deflects all magic, except for an exposed spot on the bottom of his left foot akin to the original Achilles.
- Actor Allusion: The ship chandler tells Naomi about the Villain Team-Up. She's voiced by Susanne Blakeslee, the voice of various Disney villains in various Disney media, including Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil, and Lady Tremaine.
- An Aesop: Three to count.
- It's okay to change your mind about what path you want to take and to go back to a choice you made in the past.
- Your responsibilities are more important than your own wants, especially if other people are counting on you.
- There is nothing more fulfilling than having friends or companions.
- Bait-and-Switch: Mateo walks in on Elena obviously trying to use her farsight power to see what Naomi's up to. Instead of scolding her, he joins in.
- Bittersweet Ending: Elena has broken her arm and will be in a cast for the next few episodes, but when Naomi sees that she's needed to defend Avalor, she decides to stay.
- Book Ends: To Naomi's self-discovery arc that started in "The Last Laugh". Both episodes have her realizing that her current lifestyle isn't what she wants, one of Chatana's monsters getting loose, her placing her own desires over her responsibilities, said mistake resulting in a failed attempt at stopping the monster, fixing her mistake by catching the monster, and ending with her having a talk with Elena about what she intends to do next. This time, she voices her intent to stay and tend to her duties rather than leaving to pursue her "dreams".
- Butt-Monkey: Tziloco keeps bumping into Esteban, much to the latter's chagrin.
- Call-Back:
- Elena recognizes Chatana from the picture of her she was shown back in "Not Without My Magic".
- To free Kizin, Ash uses the same spell ("Nahua cencama momaqua") that was used to free Chatana and Pili back in "The Last Laugh".
- Elena and Naomi have been writing letters to each other, which was made known to us in the previous episode.
- Likewise, we also learned in the previous episode that Elena has replaced Naomi on the Grand Council with Julio.
- Additionally, Naomi reluctantly trades away her anchor necklace that she stored along with her letter to her future self in her and Veronica's time capsule.
- Casting Gag: At one point, Chatana conjures up aranaguilitas, baby spider eagles. Gina Torres is known for playing Airachnid, a spider-themed Decepticon is who is an expy of the Transformers: Animated incarnation of Blackarachnia... who originated from Beast Wars, in which that incarnation of Blackarachnia was lovers with Silverbolt, a wolf-eagle Maximal — his Beast Mode looking not unlike a jaquin, should we mention?
- Chekhov's Gun: Naomi uses her magic bag to catch Kizin.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Kizin was mentioned back in "Realm of the Jaquins" as a monster imprisoned in Vallestrella and was accidentally set free by visiting humans, which caused the jaquins to ban outsiders from entering their realm.
- Foreshadowing: At the end of the episode, Ash reveals she plans to recruit villains from the other side of Avalor...
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Naomi is tasked with holding a rope for Kizin to trip on, but when she sees Tziloco, she remembers the bounty on his head and decides to go after him before Kizin comes. She catches Tziloco, but is too late to set off the trap, resulting in Kizin kidnapping Mateo and Gabe as well as Elena's arm getting broken. Later, she redeems herself by letting Tziloco go so that she can use the bag to capture Kizin. Then, she realizes that she'd rather be with her friends than out at sea alone like she decided three episodes ago.
- Giant Spider: The aranaguilitas are hand-sized baby spider hybrids, but Esteban asks why didn't she just make them adult spider hybrids.
- Inspired by…: Kizin and Tziloco are loosely based on Kisin and Camazotz, a Mayan death god and another Mayan death bat god described in the Popol Vuh.
- Kick the Dog: When they realize two jaquin cubs saw them enter Vallestrella, Esteban suggests to the rest of Team Ash that they go after them before they can warn the other jaquins.
- Magic Tool: Naomi is given a magic bag by the ship chandler, which can't be broken, can expand to any size, and can hold giant objects/people. It turns into a Chekhov's Gun when she uses it to catch Kizin.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: To distract Team Avalor, Chatana conjures up aranaguilitas, baby spider-eagles. For clarification... they're baby eagles with spider fangs, spider legs, make spider silk, and weirdly enough, have antennae.
- Noodle Incident: At some point, Team Ash recruited Tziloco, and apparently, they've been up to some antics outside of Avalor (likely in the seas) that have gotten them wanted posters in international waters. The woman at the mailing post states that Tziloco is known for harassing sailors and that Team Ash was seen with them recently, so presumably their escapades was something relating to that.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: Esteban uses his bootlicking skills to try to appeal to the babyish Kizin, and Ash and Chatana join in. It doesn't work.
- Red Herring: Kizin is not defeated via his Achilles' Heel, but by Naomi trapping him in her magic bag.
- Rule of Symbolism: The ship chandler offers the magic bag for Naomi's necklace, soon representing that Naomi will ultimately give up her dream to help Elena protect Avalor.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When recruiting Kizin fails, Esteban bails Team Ash out, except for Tziloco, who flies away before he can be teleported with them.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Kizin was sealed away in stone in Vallestrella, and he mentions that Chatana's other monsters that were sealed away in Vallestrella were sealed away by Quita Moz.
- Subtext: When Elena calls Naomi out on ditching the trap to catch Tziloco, she ends it saying that she left when Avalor needed her most. Obviously, Elena is also referring to Naomi forgoing her responsibilities to the council and her usefulness in Team Avalor, especially when Team Ash is a threat, to pursue her own dreams.
- True Companions: Naomi realizes that in the end, her rightful place is with her friends, and nothing can replace that.
- "Wanted!" Poster: Tziloco has one in the mailing outpost, and the bottom unfurls to reveal that Ash, Chatana, Pili, and Esteban are also wanted.
- Wham Episode: Naomi realizes that traveling the world isn't really what she wants and that she's currently needed more in Avalor even though she is no longer a part of the Grand Council, and though recruiting Kizin fails, Team Ash already has Tziloco added to their ranks and they intend on traveling to the other side of Avalor to find more recruits. However, Team Avalor now knows that Team Ash is trying to build their numbers.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Elena asks Naomi why she chose to go after Tziloco instead of setting off the trap. Embarrassed, Naomi answers that she needed the money, to which Elena points out that she could have just asked her (but Naomi was worried that she would be asking for too much after Elena had already given her a boat and that she needed to be independent) and that there are greater things at stake than her own wants.
- Would Hurt a Child: When they realize two jaquin cubs saw them, Esteban suggests that they go after them before they warn Verago. Ash decides to let them go.
