Recap / The Adventures Of Puss In Boots S 05 E 13 A Savage Place

The Blind King

Directed by: Dan Forgione

Written by: Doug Langdale

The Zephilim warriors have challenged Puss in Boots to prove his worth in the Zoon-Zaree, a series of the most difficult and terrifying trials known to their kind. These trials however, turn out to be extremely easy for Puss and in fact all seem to be geared to his talents. The Zephilim not only accept Puss into their clan, they believe him to be their Chosen One due to his high score. They explain to him that the Zephilim exist to protect both worlds from an ancient unspeakable evil that dwells beneath the Netherworld, which can summoned through the power of an evil dance.

Puss: K'fhoggnarh!
Zuva: What did I say? I just said it!
Puss: None must speak-
Zuva: None must speak her name!
Puss: Sorry.

Only the Tiny Queen, the true ruler of the Netherworld can hope to control K'foggnarh, and so Puss rallies the Zephilim into joining him in a blind assault on the Blind King in hopes to end his rule once and for all.

Meanwhile, the others attempt to put Hecate's plan into action, but it falls apart almost immediately. They try to salvage the plan as best as they can, but end up being utterly overwhelmed and are sent into retreat, but the evil Zephilim warriors soon catch up with them and they are taken prisoner, delivered to the Blind King himself.

Blind King: Hello there. Did you miss me?
Dulcinea: Evil Puss!

Evil Puss explains how going through the portal changed him; he lost his eyes but instead gained the ability to see through all of the many eyes that exist in the walls of the Netherworld. He was able to anticipate and thwart all of his enemies plans because he can see everything that goes on in the Netherworld. And now that he has Li'l Pequeña's intel, he is ready to launch an assault on San Lorenzo and take over the world.

At this point Puss steps in and challenges Evil Puss. Although he is able to free his captive friends, Evil Puss' forces still prove too much and everyone is defeated again, Puss included.

Evil Puss: So, Puss in Boots, now that you've lost, what will you do? Will you join me and rule the world? Or will you die?
Puss: I... I will... Dance!

To Evil Puss' confusion, Puss begins dancing. Not just any dance, but the Baile Tremebundo. Soon enough the hypnotic nature of the dance has caused everyone but Evil Puss to join in and the demon K'fhoggnarh appears. Evil Puss laughs at Puss' plan, as K'foggnarh only obeys the ruler of the Netherworld, who is him. But Puss notices that Li'l Pequeña is wearing a mind control bracelet and also has "delicate wings" and realizes she is actually the Tiny Queen, a deduction that is proven correct as soon as he removes her bracelet. The Tiny Queen wastes no time in commanding K'foggnarh to destroy Evil Puss, and it stomps on him. The Tiny Queen quickly frees all of the other Zephilim from their mind control and goes to check on Evil Puss' body, only to find nothing but some Mercuric Chalk instead.

Puss: So Evil Puss could have used this to go to his own world?
Artephius: Yes, or anywhere. There's no way to know.
Puss: Eh, I am still calling this a win.

The Tiny Queen expresses her gratitude to Puss and asks if there is anything she can do for him. He explains that they are looking for a way to seal off the Netherworld portal and she offers using K'foggnarh to block it. Everyone returns back through the portal to San Lorenzo, and upon confirming that K'foggnarh has indeed blocked the portal off and sealed it, Puss exclaims that all is finally well in San Lorenzo.

Dulcinea: Not really, Puss. You should see this! It looks like... Our graves.

Tropes:

• Anachronism Stew: When getting K'foggnarh to back up into the portal to San Lorenzo, the tiny queen mimics the sound of a truck backing up and remarks that's just the sound she thinks large objects should make when they move backward.
• Badass Normal: Puss manages to save the day, despite being the weakest being in all of the Netherworld.
• Black Eyes of Evil: When Puss removes Evil Puss' blindfold, his eyes are shown to be completely black.
• Call-Back: Back in "Too Many Cats", Evil Puss objected to being called evil because he doesn't cackle. Here as he reveals his plan to conquer San Lorenzo and the world, he starts cackling, realizes what he's doing and admits he gets why they call him evil now.
• The Chosen One: The good Zephilim believe that Puss passing their trials with flying colors indicates that he is their Chosen One. Puss is understandably apprehensive about this though, as he's already been faked out on being the Chosen One once before.
• Cliffhanger: Evil Puss is defeated, order is returned to the Netherworld and the portal is blocked off. But when Puss and crew emerge back in San Lorenzo, they see their own tombstones waiting for them.
• Creepy Good: Turns out Li'l Pequeña wasn't evil, but she was the benevolent ruler of the Netherworld after the Bloodwolf was defeated. What really happened was that she was mind-controlled.
• The Determinator: Puss points out that without any powers from the portal, this is all he has going for him and is all he, and anyone who follows him into battle needs.
• Easy Come, Easy Go: As the gang returns home, it is remarked that the portal will likely return everyone to normal when they exit.
  Toby: Are you going to miss being able to speak?
  Babieca: No. All the small talk is exhausting.
• Fastball Special: Zuva throws Puss atop the gate guards so that he can open the gates for them.
• Furry Reminder: Ihe trials that aren't easy for Puss because of his talents are easy for Puss because he's a cat; grooming and chasing yarn.
• Giant Foot of Stomping: Evil Puss is defeated when K'fhoggnarh steps on him. It's suggested that he managed to escape using the Mercuric Chalk.
• Indy Ploy: Unable to think of a new plan, Dulcinea laments that Puss could always come up with a plan, even if it was just "Rush in and do swordy stuff". And that's exactly the plan he comes up with.
  Zuva: So your plan is for you, the weakest thing in all of the Netherworld, to just... start fighting and hope for the best?
  Puss: I do this kind of thing all the time!
• Ironic Nickname: The Blind King is all-seeing.
• Mundane Utility: For helping free the Netherworld from the Blind King, the Tiny Queen helps seal off the portal to San Lorenzo, which she accomplishes by having K'fhoggnarh sit in it, essentially using an all powerful ancient demon as a glorified drain stopper.
• No-Sell: Evil Puss is completely unaffected by the hypnotic powers of the Baile Tremebundo. Presumably it has no effect on it because he is not observing it with his real eyes.
• Power Nullifier: The Blind King has the group imprisoned and bound by these as necessary.
• Put on a Bus: Although Evil Puss escapes in a way that suggests he could potentially return for revenge, he is not seen again for the rest of the series.
• The Reveal: The Blind King is Evil Puss and Li'l Pequeña is the Tiny Queen.
• Summon Bigger Fish: Cornered and overwhelmed, Puss resorts to using the Baile Tremebundo to summon the demon K'fhoggnarh, knowing that only the true ruler of the Netherworld can control it.
• Super-Empowering: Like everyone else, entering the Netherworld portal from reverse changed Evil Puss, blinding him, but allowing him to see through all of the eyes in the Netherworld.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Hecate's plan to assault the Blind King fails because the Blind King could see them planning it. Conversely, Puss's plan to rush in with no plan works a lot better because it is harder to anticipate.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Evil Puss used mercurial chalk to escape the Netherworld into the multiverse when he was about to be defeated, meaning things are far from over with him.