Tangled: the Series

This was a really good finale. And the whole show stands as one of Disney's very best. I hope reruns and merchandising will give it a wider following in the future.

I do feel like Cassandra's redemption would have been stronger if she'd seen the light BEFORE losing her power, though. Having it happen afterwards makes it kind of seem like she has redemption forced on her rather than choosing it freely. Still, the following scenes are pretty heart-melting.

Loosing it was what finally forced her to take responsibility. She realized there that her own selfishness had led her there. It's like how Terra only realized that Slade didn't care when he beat her to within an inch of her life for daring to run from a loosing battle

My only complaint is; what was with all the random magic objects that kept showing up out of nowhere in the first part of the third season? I thought there was going to be a revelation about them, but then it was forgotten about.

My biggest issue, and it's a minor one, with the finale is that Zhan Tiri's Final Boss form was way more intimidating before she actually transformed into it. For some reason, the un-silhouetted design and seeing it in constant motion neutered the scariness the whole show had been building up. I guess it's the Jaws effect in action - sometimes less is more and Nothing Is Scarier.

Edited by Isaac_Heller on Mar 2nd 2020 at 3:11:58 AM

Her specifically incorporating the sun and moonstone in a way that would easily annihilate her was kind of convenient.

She could have put both on either shoulder or something and been unbeatable.

Yeah, but I feel like being forced to take responsibility is what makes it weaker. She's come close to realizing that she's wrong on her own volition several times in the past episodes. Having her turn good again after she basically has nothing to gain from staying evil makes her repentance a bit weaker in my opinion.

Hey, some people have really lithe shoulders.

Edited by DrDougsh on Mar 2nd 2020 at 5:15:13 AM

One thing that did feel rushed was Zhan Tiri's demise. The poor Eldritch Abomination barely had time to get a big NOOOO! out before getting blown to atoms.

And earlier speculation was right; we did get more of Zhan Tiri's past. Turns out she was friends with Demanitus before she became obsessed with the Stones' power. Also, apparently she was a regular human before spending a few thousand years in another dimension.

She was definitely a demon before getting trapped. Otherwise, nobody would even have known she was a demon in the first place.

It seems like Zhan Tiri was originally human but gained shapeshifting magic at some point. Being sealed in the other dimension gave her a nasty case of Shapeshifter Mode Lock and Merlin Sickness.

You seem dead-on about everything except "regular human who gained shapeshifting capabilities". Remember that Demanitus himself in "Lost and Found" described Zhan Tiri as coming from another realm. Given her chalk-white skin, silver hair and purple eyes, she definitely was not a normal human, and she likely always had those shapeshifting capabilities.

The timeline is as such: Zhan Tiri finds her way to the realm the series is set in and befriends the young Demanitus, becoming his partner. But the things they research together inspire power-lust within Zhan Tiri and she betrays Demanitus, who is forced to incapacitate her in some way. Many years later, Zhan Tiri, from wherever she is imprisoned, manipulates three of Demanitus' pupils to betray him and release her, with her now in the form of a demon. As these turncoat pupils were researching the recently fallen Sundrop and Moondrop at the time, Zhan Tiri makes claiming them her second priority after destroying Corona as revenge on Demanitus.

Thus we have the "constant battle" waged between Demanitus and Zhan Tiri mentioned by Xavier in "Painter's Block", which is regarded as legend even many years later. Zhan Tiri's base for most of this was the Great Tree, until Demanitus shut it down and ejected her from it. Relocating to the mountains, Zhan Tiri attempted her blizzard curse on Corona. Demanitus reversed it, then went to the mountains and confronted Zhan Tiri, giving us the flashback we saw in the finale. Zhan Tiri is banished to the Lost Realm, but centuries later she is able to, once again from where she is imprisoned, manipulate someone into releasing her.

Edited by Isaac_Heller on Mar 3rd 2020 at 7:41:34 AM

That reminds me; did we ever find out who the third disciple was?

They never made a big reveal of it in the show itself, but it was Gothel. The silhouette seen in "Lost and Found" is clearly her, and Donna Murphy is credited as one of the chanting voices in that scene. They hinted at it even more strongly in "A Tale of Two Sisters", where she had a secret underground bunker with Demanitus' research notes on the Sundrop in it underneath her cottage.

Since the original movie said she was alive for "hundreds of years", it certainly makes sense.

Edited by Isaac_Heller on Mar 3rd 2020 at 12:14:41 PM

What do you feel are the best songs in the series as a whole? I think my top five would be the following:

1. Crossing the Line

2. Waiting in the Wings

3. Nothing Left to Lose

4. The View from Up Here

5. Let Me Make You Proud

Edited by DrDougsh on Mar 3rd 2020 at 1:52:03 AM

There is something to be said about Ready as I'll ever be for how popular it got, there is also the pure inebriated joy of the Buddy song from the same episode as Waiting in the Wings.

Crossing the Line is probably my fave.

I really like let me make you proud. The song is lovely and the visuals are great. The reprise was so unexpectedly dark.

For all the show's faults, the music was always amazing. I really like "Stronger Than Ever Before".

BTW does anyone have a link to all the incantations in text form?

Zhan Tiri's weakness made sense. IT's like the difference between Matter and Antimatter. When both collide you get an explosion. Since the sundrop and moonstone are polar opposites they have a similar reaction

I did like the finale for the most part, but to be honest, Cass's redemption felt completely unearned. It felt like she got off way too easy for what she did. I honestly would have liked some sort of consequence, like saying while Cassandra is leaving that she's been banished or something.

It also felt like it went against the message of the first movie, which was all about removing toxic influences from you life, while here it's keep giving your toxic friend chance after chance.

Finally finished. I over all liked the series. But I really get the impression they in no way intended to be done by Season 3 and there's a lot of back story and exposition they had to rush by the end. Particularly in how strangely paced Season 3 is; the first half is a lot of filler while the second half is racing to that finale.

I also kind of felt like Cassandra's redemption wasn't quite earned. I LIKED the moments as they happened but... I feel like there's a lot of damage she needed to undo that just doesn't get discussed.

Does anybody think that it should have been Owl that convinced Cass to change sides in the finale? After all, Owl is the only one of her friends that she never tried to harm. Just me?

That would have been a good idea.

Late reply but... It definitely seemed like they were planning on getting a fourth season, but then were told its ending at season 3, and had to condense two seasons worth of story into one. I'm guessing that Cassandra would have been the main villain for season 3, and Zhan Tiri(?) would have been the big one for the final season. Varian's redemption was rushed too, so that could have been fleshed out more.

It seems like they were really making an effort to build up how important Eugene is, making him secret royalty, and then a guard captain. Not necessarily a bad thing, but perhaps not needed? Also kind of weird how Adira was so important in season 2, and after that was an after thought. Kiera and Catalina's time as main characters was short lived, and probably could have used more development. Particularly the latter being a werewolf, which didn't seem to serve much purpose after the initial episode.

Overall a good show though, even if it didn't live up to its full potential. To put it another way, this show was better than many initially thought it would be, but not as great as it could have been. Would definitely recommend it if you like the movie though.

I doubt there would a have been a story arc after Cassandra's redemption. Just fighting a Dark Lord-type Evil Demon doesn't have the emotional weight of fighting with your best friend, so a Zhan Tiri-centric season would have been a step down from what came before.

Me, I think this show is probably the best animated series Disney has put out in recent years. I think its biggest flaw is that its plot takes too long to get going — there are way too many filler episodes early on, and while most of them are perfectly entertaining, their sheer amount gives the wrong impression of what the show becomes halfway into season one.