New episode - "The Trail to Udugu"

[Simba_Lion]

[quote="SimbasGuard"]That is a very plausible theory, because I could not see Mufasa and Scar passing this test.[/quote]
Me neither. But it still can be a tradition, right?

[Aelwen]

[quote]That is a very plausible theory, because I could not see Mufasa and Scar passing this test.[/quote]
Actually... why not? Maybe Scar and Mufasa got along well while being kids, Scar could start envy Mufasa after growing up.

[Elton John]

Yeah. In my headcanon Scar was regular cub who adored his brother, but a mistake mufasa made got scar's betrothed killed, eventually drove scar mad and made him think he'd be a better king, to the point of plotting murder.

[SimbasGuard]

[quote="Simba_Lion"][quote="SimbasGuard"]That is a very plausible theory, because I could not see Mufasa and Scar passing this test.[/quote]
Me neither. But it still can be a tradition, right?[/quote]

Definitely, It could very well be an actual tradition. Especially considering how far back the tradition of The Lion Guard goes.

[quote="Aelwen"]Actually... why not? Maybe Scar and Mufasa got along well while being kids, Scar could start envy Mufasa after growing up.[/quote]

That is also very possible, we know that Scar began leading his Lion Guard when Mufasa was Kion's age. Rafiki's painting depict Scar as an adult when he destroyed his Lion Guard, so it could be that as cubs Mufasa and Scar did indeed have loving brotherly relationship.

[Simba_Lion]

[quote="Aelwen"]Maybe Scar and Mufasa got along well while being kids, Scar could start envy Mufasa after growing up.[/quote]
As cubs, maybe yes. But their relationship already were deteriorated when they were teenagers as we can read it in 'A tale of two brothers'.

[TTB-Kun]

[quote="Simba_Lion"][quote="Aelwen"]Maybe Scar and Mufasa got along well while being kids, Scar could start envy Mufasa after growing up.[/quote]
As cubs, maybe yes. But their relationship already were deteriorated when they were teenagers as we can read it in 'A tale of two brothers'.[/quote]
but 6na are not canon

[Simba_Lion]

[quote="TTB-Kun"]but 6na are not canon[/quote]
To me, it is.

[Aelwen]

I really liked Kiara in this episode too. We've already seen more serious side, she can be a thoughtful lioness, capable of solving problems on her own. Here we could see her more playful and childlike attitude (she's still a kid).

[Kallo]

Well, it wasn't any epic two-parter finale like I was hoping for. Actually, the total opposite. A very simple episode. But I wasn't keeping my hopes too high anyway, so I'm not that disappointed. xD I thought the episode was alright, though I do have some mixed feelings about it.

The moral wasn't bad, but very typical and with not much of its own twist. I felt like the episode beat the viewers a bit too hard over the head with it. I could've seen that moral coming at age 3, and still would've thought it was overdone to the point of being cheesy. The song was another completely forgettable one apart from a few funny scenes (Simba taking a bubble bath and accidentally knocking Rafiki off the cliff ) that really didn't need to be there. Could've saved some time for other, more interesting stuff in the episode if it was just skipped. I've said it many times, but I still think not every episode needs a song. It feels forced. Emphasizing that less is sometimes more. Furthermore, I wasn't a fan of how Simba was portrayed in the episode. Nala is believable as queen and they've done a good job with her, but Simba seems pretty incompetent as a king, especially after this episode. I was hoping he'd have rused The Lion Guard into learning their lesson, but in the end it seemed more like they taught Simba a lesson, which just felt... off. And he just seemed way too goofy when trying to lead the Guard, too. I must also say that I really still don't like Simba's VA very much. Brings no life to the character imo. Way below all the other VAs. :-/

I did like the chemistry between the characters though. Nice to see some more rare pairings. Kion and Kiara were especially fun to watch. And Nala interacting more with them, too. The rest of the Guard was handled in their usual good way too. And it was nice to see a sort of different episode from the typical plot/topic that the series has done so far (villains causing trouble and Kion Roaring them away. These slice of life episodes are usually far better), even if the moral wasn't anything unique. While it might not've been as dark/serious as some other episodes, I did feel a more serious tone in this one. I felt there was kind of a lack of much comedy. The only really funny part to me was Rafiki's fall and Ono stopping the herd in the end. Finally, I really love the background music in this series! And it keeps getting better and better!

And now it's another near 2-month wait until the next episode; the season finale. Sigh. In fact, anyone else think the ending to this episode felt unusually epic somehow? I almost got a feeling this episode was meant to be the end of the season, judging by that ending. The next episode's title doesn't seem like anything special really, so I'm wondering if they're just gonna use 'Udugu' as their "season finale" and technically use the next episode as the start to the second season. Judging by all these small hiatuses, I doubt there's gonna be any big break between the two seasons.

[Aelwen]

[quote] Furthermore, I wasn't a fan of how Simba was portrayed in the episode. [/quote]

he's never been portrayed as a good king actually. He's either too serious and overprotective or too goofy and..careless.
Well, he isn't the worst king as his "subjects' respect him and life is pretty good in the Pridelands.