Directed by: Ben Juwono
Written by: Candie Kelty Langdale
Puss in Boots has recovered the Crown of Souls, the one weapon that can defeat the Bloodwolf, only problem is it's incomplete; a gem is missing, but Dulcinea remembers something about this from the book, and reads the excerpt aloud;
Good King Borvald long ago, possessed a mighty crown
He feared its strength in evil hands could tear the whole world down.
And so, he broke the gem that fueled the crown into three parts
And gave them to three witches, masters of the darkest arts
The Eldritch Sisters, they were called, and they fought with each other
So Good King Borvald knew the gem could not be brought together.
Thus the pieces of the gem could never reunite
And so the world was safe from this dread crown's enchanted might.
He feared its strength in evil hands could tear the whole world down.
And so, he broke the gem that fueled the crown into three parts
And gave them to three witches, masters of the darkest arts
The Eldritch Sisters, they were called, and they fought with each other
So Good King Borvald knew the gem could not be brought together.
Thus the pieces of the gem could never reunite
And so the world was safe from this dread crown's enchanted might.
With that Puss, Dulcinea, Artephius and the Duchess set out to the castle where the Eldritch Sisters live, and meet the first witch: Malviola, a witch obsessed with matching the traditional image of the Wicked Witch. Needing a familiar, she agrees to give them her piece if one of either Dulcinea or Puss in Boots agree to become her familiar and serve by her side for all time.
Tropes:
- All Witches Have Cats: In an effort to be as traditionally witchy as possible, the Witch decides she's going to give the group the piece of the gem in exchange for one of Puss in Boots or Dulcinea becoming her cat familiar. Averted at the end when she claims she's going to get a dog for a familiar.
- Batman Gambit: According to the story, King Borvald did this by giving one piece of the gem to each powerful witch sister. While ordinarily giving powerful magical artifacts to witches would be considered a really bad idea, he knew that the gem would only work if whole, and the witches would never work together and would constantly fight. Thus, the gem would remain separated.
- Call-Back: When Dulcinea as Puss in Boots gets into a fight with the real thing, she uses her capo fero technique, which Puss points out he taught to her.
- Contrived Coincidence: The Wee Compendium of Factes and Funne is generally full of short rhyming morals, and yet also happens to have a detailed poem on the history of the Gem of the Crown of Souls.
- Didn't See That Coming: Puss plans to expose Dulcinea's Puss disguise by showing no imposter could be as good a swordsman as he is and attacks her, only for Dulcinea to disarm him almost immediately.Puss: Wow. That is actually really good.
- Dismantled MacGuffin: As the Crown of Souls was deemed to be too powerful to let fall into the wrong hands, its core stone was divided into three pieces and given to a trio of witches.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Duchess tries to explain all the ways Puss is more qualified than Dulcinea to be a witch's familiar, but starts going off topic describing how attractive he is instead.Duchess: He's so theatrical, and he's orange which is practically red like blood. Plus, he's got those black leather boots and that adorable accent and he's so handsome and charming... uh, where were we?
Dulcinea: You were making me uncomfortable? - Double-Meaning Title: The title refers to both the main plot of becoming a Witch's Familiar, as well as a strange feeling that The Duchess has that she's been to the Witches Tower before.
- Foreshadowing:
- The Witches' castle fills the Duchess with a familiar feeling that she can't quite explain, and instead of a castle built with three spires as illustrated in the book, the Witches' castle is shaped like it is supposed to have four spires, but is missing one.
- The Crown of Souls itself is said to be an Artifact of Doom, capable of bringing the end of the world if it were used for evil.
- Furry Reminder: Puss is seen playing with a ball of yarn to pass the time while Artephius studies the crown.
- HaveIMentionedIAmEvilToday: The witch is trying very, very hard to convince everyone she's a witch.
- Meaningful Name: "Malviola" roughly translates into "Bad Flower," which hints that though she's evil, she likes nice things, which includes flowers.
- Oblivious to His Own Description: Puss finds Dulcinea's impersonation of him to be very annoying.Puss: Why are you being so arrogant? I do not act like that! ...Do I act like that?
Duchess: That's you exactly!
Artephius: You sure do! - Ship Tease: A lot of the conflict in this episode comes from both Dulcinea and Puss in Boots feeling so strongly about each other, they both want to protect the other at their own expense.
- Shout-Out: Malviola's design is almost exactly that of the Wicked Witch Of The West, down to the green skin.
- Stealth Insult: Puss initially refuses to let Dulcinea come on the voyage, claiming that it is too dangerous for a lady. He then immediately invites the Duchess on the quest instead.
- The Weird Sisters: A group of three Witch sisters, each entrusted with a piece of the Gem of the Crown of Souls.
- Wicked Witch: Malviola is obsessed with fitting this image, even going as far as painting her skin green.
