Recap / The Lion Guard S 3 E 1 Battle For The Pride Lands

To defeat Scar and his army once and for all, Kion must recruit every ally possible and find out the true way to defeat his great-uncle’s evil, and the ensuing fight will leave both sides forever changed.

---

This episode contains examples of:

• An Aesop: Don't try to fight fire with fire in the most serious of conflicts.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Janja's been resisting the temptation to join Jasiri for apparently a year, but when his clan is in trouble and he has no one else to turn to, he doesn't hesitate to run to her for help.
• Avengers Assemble: Kion assembles not just any Pridelander willing to fight, but also his allies from outside the Pride Lands like Shujaa, as well as the hyenas of the Outlands.
• Beyond Redemption: Double Subverted. Everyone, including Scar himself, knows that he's irredeemable and the only way to stop him is to destroy his fiery spirit. But Scar knows that Kion cannot misuse the Roar of the Elders for hateful purpose and thus goads his great-nephew to give into his hate and try to destroy him. However, his plan fails when Kion remembers the lesson from Mufasa to not fight fire with fire and does the unthinkable by forgiving Scar. But this action summons the Lions of the Past to bring proper judgement upon Scar with gentle rain. Instead of being redeemed, Scar is destroyed for good because his spirit is now completely made out of fire and hate.
• Big "NO!": Scar screams, "No! NOOOO!" when the kings of the past unleash a rainstorm which destroys him. Nala says one when she is told there is no cure for Kion in the Pride Lands.
• Big "WHAT?!": Scar cries out, "You WHAT?!" when Kion tells him he forgives him, just before he vanquishes him for good.
• Bittersweet Ending: Scar is finally defeated, the war is over, and many animals in his Legion of Doom have surrendered and decided to pull a Heel–Face Turn, but the outcome came at the cost of Kion receiving a scar that is affecting his mind and Ono becoming visually impaired, forcing the Lion Guard and Makini to leave the Pride Lands on a journey to heal them, a journey that the Guard does not return from in time for Kiara's first hunt. Furthermore, this war may have ended, but the audience knows another war is coming up.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Kion is clearly shown bleeding when Ushari bites him. The blood is visible until it dries when he visits Rafiki.
• Borrowed Catch Phrase: Conspicuously, Janja borrows the Catchphrase Goigoi uses when addressing his mate ("Whatever you say, dear") — "Whatever you say, Jasiri!"
• The Bus Came Back:
  • Shujaa and Hodari make their second appearance taking part in the battle against the Outlanders.
  • After a lengthy absence ever since their parents joined Scar, Dogo, Kijana, and the other jackal pups are shown participating in the final battle, causing rockslides against the Pridelanders.
• Call-Back:
  • This is the second time Scar has invoked If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!. During the climax of the first film, he used to try to stop the hero from killing him; here, he wants the hero to try to kill him. Father and son respond the same way.
    Simba: No, Scar — I'm not like you.
    Kion: I'll never be like you, Scar!
  • Scar showing a willingness to attempt to avoid a hyena rebellion against him, along with him deliberately invoking a Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal, refers to his original death in the first film.
  • Similarly, Simba bringing up that fires have happened at Pride Rock before refers to the final battle in the first film.
  • For the second time in the series, Ono has his eyesight damaged. However, this time, it's more severe as not only are both of Ono's eyes affected, unlike the last time where just one eye was affected, Rafiki explains that he cannot fix Ono's sight this time due to volcanic ash getting in them, as opposed to simple dirt.
  • We learn from Scar's song that a rogue lion living in the Outlands encountered the then-leader of the Lion Guard, attempted to influence this leader, before escalating into more forceful measures that ultimately ended the whole endeavor in failure on his part. Which is almost exactly what happened in the Season 1 episode "Lions of the Outlands." Zira, a rogue lion living in the Outlands, encounters Kion, the new leader of the now-returned Lion Guard. Zira attempts to influence Kion before escalating into force when things don't pan out. This ultimately ends the whole endeavor in her failure. Both events even take place around the exact same den in the Outlands. The biggest difference is that Zira and her clan don't end up dead due to the altercation like the rogue lion and his cobra ally do.
• Call-Forward:
  • As Kion leaves on his quest for the Tree of Life, Nala expresses hope that he'll return in time to see Kiara's first hunt, which is a plot point in The Lion King 2.
  • Also in The Lion King 2, Simba explains to Kovu that Scar wouldn't let go of his hate, and it destroyed him in the end. Not only does that happen to Scar the second time, but Ushari is led to his own death because he couldn't let go of his hate for the Lion Guard.
• Career-Ending Injury: Ono receives a large amount of damage to his vision due to flying through smoke, ending his role of the Keenest of Sight. He later becomes the Smartest.
• Cessation of Existence: Scar states that Kion has the power to destroy his fiery spirit, which will cause him to cease to exist. This is what happens in the climax, albeit in a different fashion from what he claimed. He originally lied to Janja that Kion using his most powerful roar within his volcano would cause the flames of the ensuing eruption to consume and destroy his spirit. However, in the climax Kion calls upon rains from the Great Kings of the Past to pass judgement on Scar, which put out his fire and destroy his spirit.
• Continuity Nod:
  • In Scar’s song, we see abbreviated retellings of the stampede in which he killed Mufasa, and of Simba’s own defeat of him at the Battle of Pride Rock.
  • Simba recalls the climax of the original film, noting that Pride Rock has survived fires before.
• The Corruption: Scar's scar was inflicted by a cobra bite, and it's stated the cobra's venom was what corrupted his mind and turned him evil. He arranges for Kion to be bitten and receive a similar scar from Ushari in order to corrupt him as well. However, it evidently takes quite a long time for the venom to get that bad, as Kion is only shown to get more temperamental, and still can make independent decisions, indicating that this takes a long time for the mind to go insane, and it is also implied that this corruption only removes morals and that it brings out someone's darker instincts, rather than turning them evil, as Scar showed multiple times in the show and in the original film that he was still in control of his actions, rather than being compelled to do it by a sickness.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Ushari gets the honor of being the first Disney Junior villain to explicitly die onscreen by burning to death covered by a Gory Discretion Shot.
• Dark Reprise: Sisi ni sawa is brought back, and Scar sings part of the lyrics to insult and mock Kion, but replacing "water and rain" with "fire and flame". Said song is what causes Kion to remember Mufasa's words and realize how to defeat Scar.
• Darker and Edgier: This episode has Ushari die by burning to death, Kion is shown explicitly bleeding, gets poisoned and gets a scar on his eye, and Ono almost loses his eyesight. And given the Guard does not return for Simba's Pride, it only gets worse from there.
• Deader than Dead: The lions of the past wash away Scar's fiery spirit, forever destroying him.
• A Death in the Limelight: The same episode that Scar is defeated in is the same one which actually reveals most of his backstory.
• Defecting for Love: Janja is once again considering defecting because he’s catching feelings for Jasiri, but he’s not sure what to make of it.
• Democracy Is Bad: It's just a short gag, but when Jasiri is appointed as the new Queen of the Outlands, Mzingo proposes that they should hold a democratic election instead, but shuts up when Cheezi and Chungu growl at him.
• Didn't See That Coming: Scar (and the rest of the Lion Guard) are clearly caught off guard when Kion says he forgives Scar.
• Disney Villain Death: Sure enough, Ushari dies by falling into boiling lava.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Scar not receiving a hero's welcome leads to him beginning to scheme to get Mufasa off the throne.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Cheezi and Chungu have very valid reasons for why they're tired of having to fight the Lion Guard all the time: The Guard always wins, they’re older and bigger now, Kion's roar has grown stronger. And now the Guard has all the Pride Land animals and Jasiri's clan on their side.
• The Eleven O'Clock Number: "On the Last Night", sung by Kion and the Guard on the night before their invasion of the Outlands leading to the final battle against Scar.
• Ethereal Choir: When Kion summons the kings of the past to eliminate Scar's essence for good, this plays in the background.z
• "Eureka!" Moment: When Kion is weakened by Ushari's bite, Scar sings "We're the Same" mockingly, but substitutes the line "water and rain" with "fire and flame". This causes Kion to remember Mufasa's words to him and defeat Scar.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Janja is horrified when he escapes the fire but his clan doesn't.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite Janja's Clan being known enemies of the Pride Lands, even Kion doesn't want to see them burn to death inside the Lion Guard's lair, and so devises a plan to get them all out of there after Scar ets it on fire.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Scar has been used to hatred and resentment for so long that he couldn't fathom how Kion, whom he compares himself to, could possibly forgive him after all he has done, especially after giving his great nephew a scar that would turn him evil just like himself.
• Evil Is Petty: Scar decided to commit regicide against Mufasa over a belittlement that evidently happened years ago, and it is made pretty clear that Mufasa's remark was likely just a joke rather than deliberate meanness.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: The unnamed lion attempted to blackmail Scar into serving him. Scar winds up killing him.
• Exact Words: Scar tells Janja all he needs to do is to distract the Lion Guard and keep them in their den. Simple enough for Janja to do, but he was still wondering as to what the other half of the plan was. Goigoi, who was spotted carrying branches and has a tendency to botch things up with his mouth, spoils that it's for the fire and that "Things are going to get real hot for Simba and the Royal Family". From that Janja figures out that Scar is planning to set fire to Pride Rock, to which Goigoi says is correct, and Janja asks no further questions. From that Janja got the general plan figured out—Distract the Lion Guard so that the Royal Family would perish in flames. No one ever said to him where on Pride Rock or when the fire was going to happen.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: After he manages to get out of the fire at the Lion Guard's lair, with his fellow hyenas still trapped inside, Janja is at first confused since Scar told the hyenas to enter the Lion Guard's lair, before quickly realising that they've been tricked.
• Eye Scream: Kion receives a scar identical to his great uncle from Ushari and Ono loses much of his vision saving Bunga.
• Fade Around the Eyes: During "How I Got My Scar", when Scar explains how he came to be known as Scar, the shot fades to black around a young Scar's eyes and newly-obtained scar.
• Failed a Spot Check: Given that Rafiki had to be alive, and the fact he immediately tells Kion to get a cure, neither he nor Mufasa seemed to realize or tell Scar to get a cure for his injury, especially given how quick Rafiki is to explain what is wrong with Kion. On the other hand, it is possible that Scar simply refused to get himself cured.
• Foreshadowing: Nala hoping Kion doesn't miss Kiara's first hunt while on his quest for the Tree of Life implies Kion's quest will cause him to miss the events of The Lion King 2, explaining his absence in said film. For people who have seen the film, this also doubles as Foregone Conclusion.
  • The night prior to the Pridelander's invasion of the Outlands, when Kion chooses to side with Jasiri regarding vouching for hearing Janja out, Simba remarks proudly to Kion that his willingness to forgive his enemies is a noble trait that makes Kion who he is. Come the climax, he follows through with staying true to his nature and forgives Scar, which leads to Scar's permanent defeat.
• Forgiveness: Realizing that hatred and violence cannot stop Scar, Kion stays true to himself and forgives his great uncle instead. By doing so, he is able to summon the lions of past to wash away Scar's fiery spirit for good.
• Given Name Reveal: Thurston's name is finally said by one of the characters, after several jokes in season 2 implying nobody knew it.
  Kion: Thanks, Thurston.
  Thurston: I told you he knew my name!
• Go Back to the Source: Scar is fought for the final time at the same volcano where he was summoned.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: The Mark of Evil scar over the eye is implied to have literally turned Scar evil and is infecting Kion the same way. It is explained to be mostly because it was placed by a cobra bite; the venom is seeping into the target's mind and corrupting their rational thought, though they still have enough ability to maintain control of their actions.
• Gory Discretion Shot: The steam from the volcano prevents the viewer from seeing Ushari burning to death. All we do get is the sound of lava splashing.
• Got Volunteered: When Hadithi and Anga decide to get the royal family away from Pride Rock, with Simba and Nala uncertain if they will be able to do it without dropping them, Simba volunteers Nala to go first for the flight. Nala is not happy.
• Greater-Scope Villain: As it turns out, a rogue lion was the one who first put the idea of regicide in Scar’s head, and led to Scar deciding that he should be king instead of Mufasa, making him the Greater-Scope Villain of the entire franchise since Scar’s betrayal of his brother is what sets the rest of the mythos in motion.
• Heel–Face Turn:
  • Janja is finally convinced that he’s on the wrong side, and he and his clan defect to help the Pridelanders defeat Scar.
  • After Scar's defeat, his Legion of Doom agrees to disband and follow the rule of Jasiri.
• Heel Realization: Janja sings about experiencing this in "A New Way To Go", before fully seeing so when Scar leaves his pack to burn with the Lion Guard in the fire of Pride Rock.
• "I Am Becoming" Song: "New Way To Go," where Janja tries to make sense of how he's changed.
• Impairment Shot: After Ono loses his sight and Anga checks on him, we get a rather blurry shot of her from his point of view.
• Innocently Insensitive: Mufasa's new nickname for his brother was meant to be playful rather than outright insulting, but Scar assumed it was the latter due to his ego.
• It's All About Me: Scar's attitude after he killed the rogue lion and his cobra friend reeks of this, as that was part of his job in the first place.
• Killed Off for Real: After Scar is destroyed, Ushari falls into the volcano after Bunga foils his attempt to kill Kion and is burned to death.
• Meaningful Echo: Kion echoes his father ("No, Scar, I'm not like you") when he tells Scar, "I'll never be like you!"
• Misplaced Retribution: Scar tries to kill Janja's entire clan because he found out that Janja (only Janja) was considering maybe betraying him.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Scar invokes this on purpose when he hears Janja's loyalty is in question. He feeds Janja misinformation about how Kion can destroy him and sends him on a mission to attack the Lion Guard's Lair that he then has the other Outlanders set fire to. If Janja survives and defects, he'll tell Kion what Scar told him, which is actually a lie that will destroy the Pride Lands instead of Scar.
• More than Mind Control: Though Scar claims the cobra bite that gave him his scar infected his mind and turned him evil, it's implied the cobra venom merely removed his morals and brought out his darker impulses, since it's shown that even before being scarred, Scar was an arrogant warrior who thought himself the most powerful lion (Scar openly notes he took most Lion Guard patrols on his own) and was tempted by the idea of overthrowing Mufasa via the rogue lion's influence before said lion's cobra ally bit him.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: While Kion has made it rain with the roar before, he does something entirely different here; instead, he blows into the sky to summon the lions of the past and they conjure rain to pass judgment on Scar.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Scar double-crossing Janja causes the latter to defect to the Pridelanders' side. This, in turn, allows him to provide the rest of the Pridelanders with the information that Scar gave him, allowing the Lion Guard to formulate a plan to defect Scar. Subverted, as Scar had giving Janja false information in order to make Kion destroy the Pride Lands, and later subverted again when Kion uses the roar of the elders to make it rain, defeating Scar once and for all.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Ono rescues Bunga from falling into the volcano, but it comes with the cost of losing his keen eyesight from flying through the smoke.
• Nothing Is the Same Anymore: Scar is defeated, but the Guard and Makini go on a journey that they do not return from until after Simba's Pride.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Scar attempts to deliberately invoke this between him and Kion, hoping to turn him into another version of himself.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
  • Scar tries to trick Kion into triggering a volcanic eruption by giving him false instructions through Janja about how to destroy him. It's only because the Lion Guard believe they now know how to defeat Scar for good that they go to the caldera, which leads to Scar's defeat. Had he not set that trap, it's likely they never would have considered they could destroy him, so they wouldn't have gone to confront him directly, and he'd still be around, able to try some new scheme.
  • More appropriately, Scar's mocking rendition of "Sisi Ni Sawa" after Kion gets bit by Ushari is what causes Kion to remember Mufasa's advice to not fight fire with fire, and in turn forgives Scar for what he did and banishes his spirit for good.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Even Makuu isn't keen on challenging Scar, after witnessing him burn Pride Rock.
• Passing the Torch: Ono to Anga, when a loss of sight has him give his position as the keenest of sight to her, while he becomes the smartest.
• Prophet Eyes: Seen on Ono after he loses his sight from flying into the volcano to rescue Bunga. Anga even points it out.
• The Reveal: This episode clarifies how Scar got his scar and desire to overthrow Mufasa. It turns out that Scar was being convinced by a rogue lion to help him take over the Pride Lands, but when the rogue had his snake companion attack Scar and try to hold the cure for the snake’s venom above Scar’s head, Scar had none of it and killed them with the Roar. However, when he reported back to Mufasa, his older brother merely patted him on the head and playfully gave him the nickname “Scar”; and Mufasa’s perceived indifference convinced Scar that he shouldn’t be king.
• Revive Kills Zombie: The Great Kings of the Past bring judgement upon Scar with gentle rain. Normally, rain brings life and heals harsh wounds left by fire, and Kion makes it clear he forgives Scar despite his great uncle's evil actions, meaning that Scar's spirit could have survived judgement... if he wasn't completely made of fire and hatred.
• Sanity Slippage:
  • Ushari's venom threatens to send Kion insane unless he is cured quickly, kicking off the events of the season.
  • Ushari himself loses every bit of his sanity when his plans are ruined by Scar being destroyed for good, attempting to murder Kion in cold blood (no pun intended).
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: When Scar learns Janja is considering joining Jasiri, he tries to kill him and all his followers in a fire. Janja doesn't have the courage to switch sides, though, until after he narrowly escapes Scar's trap — had Scar not tried to take him out before he could defect, it's likely he never would have defected at all.
• Ship Tease: Janja's motivation to defect is fueled entirely by his feelings for Jasiri. In the end, he appoints Jasiri in charge of the Outlands and vows to enforce her rule by her side.
• Shown Their Work: When Scar refers to Kion's most powerful roar being capable of destroying the Pride Lands, he uses the term caldera. This is the scientific term referring to an exit point of a volcano.
• Snakes Are Sinister: Not only is Ushari at his most evil in this episode, but Scar received his scar from a black cobra and the snake's venom was responsible for bringing out his darker instincts. Apparently, cobras are the physical source of immorality in the Lion King verse.
• Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: Scar tempts Kion to use the Roar of the Elders to destroy him in a violent fashion, knowing that the snake venom is making it easier for his great-nephew to give in. He hopes that Kion will become just as evil as him, and inadvertently cause a volcanic eruption that would destroy the Pride Lands rather than Scar himself. He fails at the last minute when Kion calms himself and forgives Scar instead.
• Suicide Mission: Scar orders the tiny skinks to stop the Lion Guard from reaching the volcano. He knows the skinks can't possibly stop the Guard, but he wants the Guard to think he's trying to stop them.
• This Cannot Be!: Scar when Kion summons the Elders to bring clouds that rain on the volcano. Followed by Ushari when said rain destroys Scar.
  Scar: No! NOOOO!!
  Ushari: What? Scar's plan failed?
• Time Skip: A small one that ages up the Lion Guard slightly.
• Trailers Always Spoil: The climax of the episode was given away by cable descriptions.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Mufasa's decision to playfully call his brother "Scar", while merely a harmless comment, led to Scar to believe he shouldn't be king, resulting in his own death and the events of the franchise.
• Villain Ball: Scar prepares a trap for Kion where a bite from Ushari will make him lose control of the Roar and ultimately have the volcano erupt. Given that Ushari succeeded in biting Kion, things would have ended better for him and Ushari if the bite had been used to kill Kion outright rather than leave him injured but alive and able to work out the way to truly defeat Scar.
• Villain Love Song: "New Way To Go" is all about Janja trying to figure out his feelings for Jasiri, wrestling with how she's changed him and gotten inside his head, and resisting the urge to "say yes instead of no" to her. His expressions and body language throughout the Disney Acid Sequence demonstrate how badly he wants to get closer to her but keeps holding himself back, and the Jasiri in his fantasy looks and acts flirtatious to downright seductive as she tries (and fails) to get him to join her.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Scar completely loses his cool when he is destroyed by rain brought by the Elders.
    Scar: The roar is a curse, Kion! You'll see! SISI NI SAWAAAA!!!!!
  • And then it is Ushari's turn to flip out, making a maddened attempt to kill Kion only to be foiled by Bunga.
    Ushari: Sssstop! You can't destroy him!
• Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: Scar expected to receive praise "near and far" for killing the rogue lion and his cobra companion, only to be furious when Mufasa just playfully ruffled his mane and nicknamed him "Scar". This is despite the fact that protecting the Pride Lands from such threats was part of Scar's job in the first place.
• Wham Episode: And how. Janja and his clan have pulled a Heel–Face Turn, Kion receives a scar from Ushari with the cobra's venom affecting his mind, Scar is finally defeated, Ushari is Killed Off for Real, Scar's Legion of Doom disbands, the Pridelands-Outlands War is finally over (so it seems), Jasiri becomes the Big Good of the Outlands, Ono becomes visually impaired and is now the Lion Guard's Smartest, Anga takes Ono's place as the Lion Guard's Keenest of Sight, and the Lion Guard and Makini leave on a journey for the Tree of Life so Kion and Ono can both be healed, a journey that they will not return from in time for Kiara's first hunt.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The skinks are never seen again after the Lion Guard plows their way through them while heading into Scar's volcano.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: "Why do I feel this way inside?" "New Way To Go" is all about how Janja truly can't understand the nature of his feelings for Jasiri.
• Xanatos Gambit: Scar pulls one on Janja with his instructions to allow him to win. If Janja burns to death in the fire, well, he gets rid of a potential traitor, along with the Guard and the rest of the royal family. If Janja survives to defect and tell the Pridelanders the false information Scar gave him, Kion destroys the Pride Lands with an Plinian eruption. What he did not expect was Kion taking a third option.
• Younger Than They Look: Scar claims that he was not much older than Kion when he received his scar. However, during his flashback, he is shown to be near the height of a full-grown lion, indicating that Scar was approaching full adulthood.

---