With the pendant back in Dreamland, Zøg's dream seems imminent, but a startling discovery leads the gang out on a new journey. Zøg is pacing naked in the night, worried about Bean, with Oona sadly saying that he hasn't slept, ate, or thrown bricks at seagulls for days. He calls to Bean and is simply told to put on pants, which he does just before the Herald arrives with news of Bean and company's return. In the sky, Bean wakes on the Griffin's back wearing the pendant from last episode; she notes how happy she is to wake in this strange situation and remember everything. Luci points out that they're almost home, so Bean gushes about the pendant being like a get-out-of-jail-free card while Sorcerio enjoys the idea of finally being respected. The Herald announces their return, and when they land, Zøg ignores Sorcerio's explanation of men lost to ask for the pendant, then looks for Elfo. Sorcerio reads in the Omnicon that a single drop of elf's blood in the pendant will prevent death; they prick Elfo's finger and prepare the pendant, which starts glowing. Zøg excitedly proclaims that he feels power welling up, but merely burps as the pendant fizzles out. Sorcerio says they just need to test the king's immortality by having a volunteer kill him; Odval immediately jumps at the chance. Zøg says they should test it on someone else first, so Sorcerio points out the still-living Prince Guysbert, with the chair he impaled himself on still stuck in his head. When they again use the pendant, this time around Guysbert's neck, the dying prince suddenly rises from the muck and removes the sword; he proclaims that his headache is gone. His joy is short-lived, however, as the pendant again fizzles out and his brain oozes out. Sorcerio pokes him, determining he's dead as his body collapses and the sword finds a home in his chest. The knights soon arrive, bearing news of their failure and Bean's disappearance, only to stop upon seeing the princess; Zøg storms off with Sorcerio. The group performs tests on the pendant, but no matter how he interprets the instructions, Sorcerio can't seem to get it working. Odval theorizes that the pendant is fake, as it could be Middle Earth Zirconia or pleather, suggesting they find an expert, though Bean is sure the pendant is the real deal. Zøg calls for "Old Man Touchy;" he can identify anything he touches, and he's locked away because he's touched everything, apparently including his missing eyes. Touchy is honored to have been summoned, immediately identifying and unnerving the king by touching him all over. Zøg is annoyed when Touchy is interested in Elfo and demands that he examine the vial instead. Touchy obliges and claims the vial is real, but surprises everyone with his confusion about Elfo, who he says is simultaneously an elf and not an elf, which is why the pendant isn't working. Zøg is angered that Elfo lied, and though he and Bean point out he obviously wasn't lying, Sorcerio is suspicious as well, and the king, considering this a mortal crime, banishes Elfo from Dreamland. Bean protests, and once he's outside, she calls out, but Pendergast stops her as she says to stop somewhere, and Elfo leaves the castle. Enraged, Bean interrupts Zøg's angry staff-throwing to point out that Elfo risked his life to get the pendant, then rants that, even if Zøg becomes immortal, he's a terrible man and king, and no one would want to spend their life with him. Zøg has the guards take her away, but says they should find somewhere else to put her since she always escapes her room; Touchy comforts him as she's dragged away. To the surprise of Bean and Luci, who are in the High Security Meat Vault, Odval arrives and lets them go; he says it's so they'll be another kingdom's problem, but suspiciously tells the guards he's letting her go "for now." The duo struggles to find Elfo in the forest; he hides in a tree when he hears a noise, and ambushes his assailant, who turns out to be Luci. He's amazed they came for him, and doesn't stop punching the demon for a few seconds because he's afraid of what the latter will do in response. While the group drinks around a fire, Elfo realizes his discovery is why he never fit in with the other elves, and when Bean relates, he notes that he never even knew his mom. Bean points out the only solution is to return to Elfwood, and along with being scared to do so, Elfo says the entrance is a secret and elves can never bring outsiders; Luci reminds him again that he's "not an elf," and he agrees. Elfo leads them to the entrance, tracking the smell of cocoa, caramel, and conformity, and while making up a cover story, an elf inside says they can hear him. To Bean and Luci's confusion, Elfo responds to the invisible voice saying they're unsure if they can let in the outsiders; they relent when Bean calls them racist. Bean and Luci are amazed at what they see, and admit Elfo is tough compared to his kin; Bean accidentally injures a watchman multiple times trying to help him. The elves come to a halt as the trio enters, and become more horrified as Elfo tells the Elf King about his demon and human companions. The King says humans are nothing but trouble, but the elves gather around Bean when she produces her alcohol. Elfo is distracted when Kissy reveals her new boyfriend, whom he at first assumes is his son. Pops excitedly rushes out to greet his son, after he mentions Elfo's shared love of "tall dames" in reference to Bean, they leave to talk, leaving the others with the elves. Elfo asks about his parentage, and Pops dodges the question, while back with the elves Bean makes a toast for a treaty between elves and humans that is immediately broken when Pendergast and his knights ride in, demanding elves for Zøg. As Pops never wanted to have to tell Elfo about his mom, he hands over a needlepoint picture, but before he can say what he is besides half-elf, frightened elves knock the picture into the river. Bean is angered that the knights would attack such innocent creatures, and Elfo returns to show they're not completely innocent, knocking Pendergast from his horse with a rock. Elfo calls for the battle bells when Pendergast orders his men to capture the elves; they retrieve candy cane-sheathed swords, exploding candy, and licorice tripwires. One elf decapitates a knight with a razor-sharp lollipop, and Pendergast orders a retreat after being beaten in the mud and told of his other knight's downfall. The battle isn't over yet, however, and the series takes a seriously sad turn as the episode comes to a close. This episode was definitely an improvement on the previous one, where as a reminder, I felt was pretty disappointing and poorly focused.
While last episode had some jokes that didn't work, this one has numerous that hit the mark perfectly, starting for me with the reveal that Guysbert was still alive. This made me burst out laughing, especially since the impaled prince was still pretty positive about his situation, and his following death was pretty gross in a cartoony way. Touchy's introduction was also funny, while simultaneously morbid, as his strange desire to touch things leads to funny moments like his creeping out Zøg by groping him but also being odd for even viewers with how his eyes are gone. The following revelation about Elfo is also quite a surprise, but perfectly makes sense given how poorly he was fitting in at the start of the series. This also sets up one of Bean's breaking points when it comes to her father, since her immediately casts out Elfo for what he perceives to be a lie. While before she was obviously being spoiled at times, this is one of the moments that is completely justified as she's done dealing with the king's selfishness. When Elfo learns he's not a full elf, it puts him in the same boat as Bean, like she says, with how he is trying to figure out who he is. The others show true compassion in an example of their growing friendship, with even Luci angry after Zøg kicks Elfo out, though of course he also makes jokes as they journey. Taking a trip back to Elfwood is a great idea for the show, as much of the stories take place in Dreamland and the group's adventures often just took them to the woods or other areas. It had been implied that it would at least be a long time before Elfo could even attempt to get home since the elves tell him he can never come back, but it was inevitable that he would make a return at some point. We get to see a little more of Elfwood that shows what a sweet place it truly is, but we also get a look at the more brutal nature when the elves prepare for combat. When the suiting up sequence began, I had thought it would be a case of the elves simply having no way to fight since their weapons were shown to be candy as well. I was very happily surprised, however, much like with the Guysbert return, when it was revealed the candy canes were sheaths for swords and they had other candy based weapons. It was definitely funny how Pops tried to avoid telling Elfo about his mother, saying he'd been hoping to wait until he was dead so he'd never have to tell his son. At the same time, it was frustrating in a comical way with how the scene went, since he decides to tell Elfo by giving him a needlepoint, which is soon knocked away, and we never heard him say what Elfo's other half is. With this episode much better than the eighth, and a lot of hype in the past about the season finale, I'm sure there will be a lot for me to see.
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