The princesses at Royal Prep have taken up Enchanted Ice-Dancing while the princes are on the ice hockey team. When Prince Hugo proves to be a great ice-dancer, he decides to join the class and help Sofia. But the other boys think ice dancing is for girls, and since hockey practice and ice dancing class meet at the same time, Hugo fakes sick to keep them from knowing. But it won't be easy keeping this a secret from his father, who's decided that the time has come to spend more time with his son and is doing all he can to do just that...including being the assistant hockey coach.
Tropes
- An Aesop:
- Don't give up something you love just because of what others may think.
- Lying won't solve a problem no matter what reason you have.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Just as Derek is about to make fun of Hugo, James defends him, saying that boys can ice-dance if they like it, followed by these two questions from Sofia. Since the other boys don't know, they realize they should be okay with Hugo liking the sport.Sofia: Who says we can't all just play whatever we like? What's the big deal?
- Bad "Bad Acting": Hugo is so bad at faking sick that it's surprising how his friends fell for his little white lie. You'd probably wonder how he fooled his father with this trick offscreen without getting caught.
- Bait-and-Switch: After Hugo and Sofia's performance at the recital, Garrick goes up to them, making Hugo think he's in for a scolding. Just as Garrick looks like he's about to scold his son, he admits that the performance was outstanding.
- Bear Hug: Garrick does this with Hugo after the recital.
- Big "WHAT?!": Hugo lets this out when Garrick says he's going to put on his son's skates.
- Bridal Carry: Hugo catches Sofia in his arms in an attempt to save her when she almost falls from doing a fireball flip.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Downplayed. Garrick says that Hugo should've told him about his ice dancing from the start, and Hugo calmly tells him that he never did because his father said that this sport was for girls.
- Captain Oblivious: Derek, Khalid, and James fail to notice how fake Hugo's cough is.
- Chekhov's Gunman:
- King Garrick made a minor appearance in "The Flying Crown", not having much to do in it.
- In previous episodes, Prince Derek was only a background character.
- Continuity Nod: This episode is a reversed version of "Just One of the Princes", where Sofia is told that flying derby is a princely thing.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Hugo probably wouldn't have felt like he had to lie to hide his secret, let alone dart between classes, if the ice-dancing class didn't meet at the exact same time as hockey practice.
- Death Glare: Hugo gives a brief one to Derek when the latter scolds Sofia as she slides into the hockey team's side of the rink.
- Didn't Think This Through: Hugo is okay with taking the ice-dancing class as long as his friends don't know about it, but he doesn't think about how to keep them from knowing until Sofia points out that they're going to because it meets at the same time as hockey practice. He fakes sick to keep them knowing about his participation in the ice-dancing class and get out of hockey practice, and it works...until his father reveals that he's the new assistant hockey coach.
- Foreshadowing: When Hugo says that he doesn't know any boys who ice dance, Amber says it's because it's too hard for boys. At the end of the episode, the other princes have more trouble with the sport than Sofia did.
- "Gender-Normative Parent" Plot: Hugo loves ice dancing, but his father hates it because he thinks it's for girls.
- Hidden Depths: Hugo is revealed to know a lot about ice-dancing and how to handle the flips and spins.
- Karma Houdini: Hugo didn't get in trouble for faking sick and ditching hockey practice.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Subverted. Hugo desperately tries to avoid being made fun of for his passion for ice-dancing, something he did to Sofia and James in "Just One of the Princes". If James hadn't stopped Derek from trying to make fun of Hugo, then the latter's actions would've come back on him.
- Noodle Incident: Garrick's desperate desire to be more active in Hugo's life implies that they didn't spend much time together prior to this episode.
- Oh, Crap!: Hugo has this moment throughout the episode whenever his secret is in danger of being exposed.
- Parental Obliviousness: Hugo is less than pleased that his father keeps interfering with his plans, yet Garrick fails to notice this.
- Playing Sick: Hugo does this to get out of hockey practice to keep his friends from knowing that he joined the ice dancing class. He's not very good at pretending to be sick, but he managed to easily fool his friends anyway.
- So Proud of You: Garrick says this to Hugo as they share a Bear Hug after the recital.
- Tempting Fate: As Hugo tries ice-dancing for the first time, Sofia tells him to try a flip, and Amber tells her that he won't be able to do that because he's just starting only to turn and see him do a triple fireball flip.
- This Is Going to Suck: Hugo's reaction to his father putting on his enchanted skates to show off his hockey skills. He also has this moment when Garrick comes up to him after his and Sofia's performance at the recital, thinking he's in for a scolding.
- Took a Level in Kindness: While Hugo hasn't lost his competitive edge, he shows that he's much kinder than he was in his debut episode.
- Two-Timer Date: Thanks to his father being assistant hockey coach and the classes meeting at the exact same time, Hugo switches between hockey practice and ice dancing class. It works until the hockey team catches him in the act.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Hugo is seriously desperate for his father's approval, which is why he thinks about giving up ice-dancing, which his father believes is for girls.
