Zorro the Chronicles episode 3 The trap
We present Zorro the Chronicles episode 3 The trap — plot summary, our subjective review, the episode itself and the list of creators. Don’t forget about the next episode! You’ll find a link to it at the bottom of the page.
Zorro the Chronicles episode 3 plot summary
Zorro the Chronicles episode 3 “The trap” begins with Captain Monasterio receiving another letter about Zorro’s exploits. Furious (and without shoes :)), he has an idea how to catch the elusive bandit. He shares it with Sergeant Garcia. He intends to wrongly arrest several Indians and pretend to be taking the garrison’s troop on a long journey. When Zorro comes to free the prisoners, he is to meet with the entire squad of soldiers who will return from the planned expedition on the same day. Well-placed lancers will catch the Fox in a trap.
The game begins
An army’s parade precedes the troop’s excursion and is a huge fiesta with guests and music. The humour of the inhabitants, especially Ines, adored by Monasterio, is spoilt by the “climax” of the party. Soldiers arrest several Indians under the pretext of avoiding forced labour. The captain announces that he is going to Monterey for 10 days with almost the entire squad. Garcia and a few guards are to stay at the garrison.
Diego and Bernardo have a race combined with wrestling at the hacienda. An agitated Inez notifies them of the situation in the pueblo, but friends ignore her. Only the mention that Monasterio knows the identity of Zorro attracts their attention. The young de la Vega spies to assess his chances. He counts the garrison’s strength and encourages the sergeant with flattery to speak. However, the perspective of cleaning the stables for the rest of his life keeps Garcia from revealing the plan.
At the same time, Bernardo discreetly follows a squad of nearly 100 soldiers. At one point, he returns to the hacienda to convey information to Diego. If, however, he had followed the lancers further, he would have been able to overhear the captain’s order to return to the pueblo during the evening halt.
The trap closes
Zorro suspects some conspiracy and proceeds with care. He sneaks up on sleeping Garcia and takes the keys to the jail. He plugs the trumpet of the signalman who is dozing off on duty. Then he walks carefully the streets of Los Angeles with Indians, but the captain’s troops are strategically positioned in the ambush. A random fly wakes a sentry who raises the alarm. The trap closes, Zorro is surrounded, but the Chumashes manage to escape.
The spectacular fight with the use of whip swinging, acrobatics, chase and duel on the roofs, and a small corrida, ends as usual with defeating and disgracing the soldiers. However, there are too many of them, and Tornado is thrashing in an attempt to escape. Eventually, Zorro hides him in the inn’s stables and jumps into one of the guest rooms. Garcia, Gonzales and their colleagues are searching Carlos’s tavern. All they find, though, is an innocent-looking Diego playing the guitar in a bath, sincerely surprised that the squad is back from Monterey so quickly. A suspicious Monasterio searches the room. Disappointed, he offers a reward for capturing the renegade, to which the heir de la Vega eagerly adds a large sum of money. The captain leaves the room, closing the door with… Zorro’s outfit hanging on the inner side of the door. 🙂
Zorro the Chronicles episode 3 The trap — review
The episode opens with a fantastic, humorous scene with Captain Monasterio who’s been upset by, obviously, Zorro. The unfortunate commander is thrashing around the garrison in torn socks (someone here is clearly underpaid…). He comes up with a brilliant (well, in his opinion) plan to catch the bandit. Sergeant Garcia probably doesn’t fully understand his superior, but then shows surprising competence by not revealing any details to Diego despite de La Vega’s clever inquiries. Let’s save this moment in our memory as a competent Garcia is a rare treat and competent soldiers are endangered species in this cartoon.
Inept soldiers
Garcia’s competence ends at night. He sleeps instead of guarding the imprisoned Indians. And he’s not the only one! Everyone in this garrison is asleep, which makes freeing the prisoners a piece of cake for Zorro. Even when Monasterio arrives with, let us recall, 97 soldiers (!), the Fox laughs and has fun. He jumps on buildings, walks on the wall like some Spiderman, and duels on a sloping roof with two lancers at once. The bandit’s escape from the troop happens in a spectacular style. He arranges a corrida for the captain and two of his men (in which the soldiers stand for a bull, of course). And although the whole fight scene is impressive thanks to the acrobatics and creativity of the creators, let’s be honest: defeating a squad of soldiers by Zorro is pure fantasy here.
Logic and realism? Who needs it anyway?
Another strange element is the captain’s horse’s timidity. The steed seems to be afraid of the soldier’s salutes and panics at the sound of the trumpet. You might even believe it if it weren’t a military animal, for goodness sake. I understand the need for humour, but you don’t have to ignore the logic in order to achieve it. I was also very surprised by the size of the unit that Monasterio took with him. This little scout camp looked nothing like 97 lancers. Also, I don’t know if anyone in the pueblo would believe that the captain was taking almost the entire garrison with him to Monterey. I mean, what for? To walk them?
Finally, when the furious commander searches the room occupied by Diego at the inn, there is no way he cannot see Zorro’s coat and hat hanging on the door. For crying out loud, he was looking right there! If he only turned his head a little bit… Ah, but no, he didn’t, obviously. And now I’m tempted to make a facepalm not only for his lack of perceptiveness, but also for the lazy thinking of the creators.
It’s not a bad episode, you know
Just written with the usage of lazy solutions. But the very idea of the trap is great. And very much in Monasterio’s style. The captain is the star of this episode in general. He plots, grits his teeth at the soldiers and makes eyes at Ines. He is theatrically cruel when he boasts about the Indians’ arrest, and speaks openly about his need for authoritarian rule. Oh, and let us admire that dress uniform again!
Diego and Bernardo’s friendly fights also make a lovely scene. I like how The Chronicles consistently show Diego’s playful, mischievous side. We see that this is just a boy who, apart from helping people, likes to have some fun! He is a character who is easy to like and with whom children can identify.
Zorro the Chronicles episode 3 The trap — Youtube
World premiere: 25.10.2015
Production: Cyber Group Studios
Directed by Olivier Lelardoux, Pierre Sissman
Animation: Nicolas Davoust, Yann Martinat
Voices:
Don Diego/Zorro: Johnny Yong Bosch, Valéry Schatz
Ines: Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Sandra Lou
Monasterio: Jamieson Price, Paul Borne
Demetrio Garcia: Kirk Thornton
Ignacio Gonzalez: Fabrice Fara
Other voices: R. Martin Klein, Kyle McCarley, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Joe Ochman, Alan Shearman, Keith Silverstein, Anne Yatco. Michel Bedetti, Martin Billany, Bernard Bollet, Lucien Dodge, Richard Epcar, Pascal Casanova. Melora Harte, Vincent de Bouard, Marie-Christine Darah, Jean-Christophe Dollé, Bubba Kuchow, Patrice Dozier. Joey Latsko, Dave Mallow, Karine Foviau, Stéphanie Hédin, Tony Joudrier, Juan Llorca, Patrick Messe, Michel Voletti,
