Zorro the Chronicles episode 8 Zorro’s true face

We present Zorro the Chronicles episode 8 Zorro’s true face — 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 8 plot summary

Zorro the Chronicles episode 8 Zorro’s true face is another attempt to unmask Zorro. This time the captain almost succeeds. The episode starts quite innocently. There is a fiesta in the pueblo to celebrate the king’s birthday. The musicians are playing, the couples are dancing in the square, and the vendors are offering their goods. No signs of a disaster yet to come.

Lovestruck Antonio Malapensa comes with don Rodrigo to Los Angeles and immediately spots in the crowd the girl he fancies – Ines de la Vega. She politely responds to the compliment but continues walking, and both fathers don’t seem to be thrilled. The senorita’s mood improves when she meets a friend. Carmen asks about Diego who is still in bed.

The party is interrupted by Garcia. He demands that the inhabitants pay respects to the king represented by the captain dressed in a dress uniform. Nobody is eager to do it and the musicians have not even stopped playing. Only after Monasterio bursts out with anger, they do it. Instead of cheering, however, the commandant hears laughter coming from the garrison gate. It turns out that Zorro also decided to celebrate the king’s birthday and left the commander a note nailed to the gate. However, this is not the end of surprises. Instead of the Crown flag, a flag with the letter “z” flutters proudly on the roof of the barracks. Needless to say, an entire humorous scene is devoted to the rivalry between Garcia and Gonzalez, who try to take it down.

Malpensa discovers Zorro’s identity

Meanwhile, the musicians resume playing and the townspeople go back to having fun. Antonio half-jokingly comments on the renegade exploit, which provokes his father to think. Don Rodrigo looks around the crowd, Diego’s absence catches his attention. He leaves his son with the horses and searches the market himself. Suddenly, he notices the young de la Vega, who runs out of the nearby street with unnatural verve, adjusts his clothes and enters the square with ordinary nonchalance. It definitely raises a red flag for Malapensa who starts putting the facts together.

During this time, Antonio boasts about his qualities to Inez and Bernardo: wealth, good looks, strength. The girl does not take his bragging seriously. They approach the Villalongas and don Alejandro. Diego explains to the family that he overslept because of the rooster, which is met with his father’s resignation. Carmen saves her friend and kidnaps him to dance. Older caballeros look at the swirling pair, hoping to join the clans. Their hopes are crashed when the senorita abruptly stops dancing and leaves. The young de la Vega, instead of marvelling at Zorro’s exploit, wants to change the subject. He tries to stop Carmen, but to no avail. Eventually, he straightens up proudly and brings a cheeky little smile to his face. He doesn’t know he’s being watched.

Malapensa does not hesitate to visit the garrison. He immediately informs Monasterio that he knows who hides behind the mask. However, he wants to receive the traitor’s fortune at a lower price in return. He build up the suspense so much that the captain nearly begs him to reveal Zorro’s identity. However, when he hears that it would be clumsy Diego, he bursts out laughing. Don Rodrigo convinces him to test his theory and try the youth’s fencing skills.

Diego and Antonio duel

They go out to the square and Malapensa walks over to de la Vega. An apparently pleasant conversation quickly turns into accusations of staining don Rodrigo’s honour. The music stops and everyone is watching. Diego tries to rectify the situation but is forced to duel with Antonio, instigated by his father, who defends the family’s good name. He clumsily deflects blows, loudly complains about the weight of the weapon borrowed from the soldier and the intensity of the fight. Garcia tries to help him but retreats after taking a closer look at the blade of the attacking caballero. Nobody believes in Diego, Carmen asks his father to intervene, and don Alejandro asks the captain. Meanwhile, Carlos takes bets. Only Bernardo puts a large sum on his friend.

De la Vega falls over and sticks the end of his sword into the pillar of the tavern porch. But even that doesn’t stop Antonio from executing more thrusts. Everyone holds their breath, terrified, and Carmen  protests loudly. Diego assesses his surroundings out of the corner of his eye. As Antonio swings, Diego pulls out his blade and he inadvertently raises the arm of the rival who lets the weapon fall from his hand. After that, de la Vega leans aside and pushes Malapensa who hits the pillar. Diego himself lands in the arms of the approaching Carmen, who saves him from falling.

Antonio gets knocked out, Bernardo earns 30 pesos and Monasterio is convinced that the whole incident only confirms that the young man cannot be Zorro. Diego immediately throws down his sword and rubs his wrist, and his beloved is delighted with the result of the duel. Don Alejandro, in turn, complains about the wasted money he has invested in fencing lessons.

The captain doesn’t give up – Diego is Zorro!

The only person who doesn’t believe in the luck of the local loser is don Rodrigo. He convinces the captain to prepare another trap for Zorro. The de la Vegas return to the hacienda and tell Maria about the events. The cook’s tirade is interrupted by the arrival of an army unit. Monasterio orders Diego to try on a copy of Zorro’s outfit. The young man attempts to talk him out of this idea. Finally, an impatient Alejandro takes the initiative, who orders his son to comply with the captain’s wishes. All for the sake of peace and throwing the army out of the house.

After a while, Diego returns dressed like Zorro, although he still acts like a dandy, paying attention mainly to fashion. However, the resemblance convinces the captain of his true identity. Soldiers search the hacienda for a hideout and Tornado. This, in turn, leads to a scene between Gonzalez, Garcia and armed with a broom Maria, which lightens up the mood. The three conspirators sense trouble, so Bernardo sneaks out unnoticed.

The search lasts all afternoon. Eventually, Diego sits down in the library and loudly complains of boredom and hunger. Soldiers drop random books off the shelves. When one of them reaches for the volume that opens the secret passage, Ines interrupted. She almost kicks the intruders out of the room.

Zorro’s appearance

Meanwhile, Garcia decides to search … (why isn’t anyone surprised? :)) … the kitchen. He makes friends with a freshly baked fruit pie, and consequently also a saucepan held by the chef. He meets with the latter more than once, although Gonzalez will also be hit accidentally. With his back to the window, the sergeant says someone was cutting a “Z” on his back, and raises the alarm. Everyone runs to the kitchen, but the captain returns to the library, absolutely convinced that Diego will not be there. How surprised is he when the caballero is still sitting in the armchair with an open book. His theory falls apart, but Monasterio still has the sentries guard the door outside the library.

The entire squad, apart from the guards, is chasing Zorro. Bernardo in disguise drags them into the woods. Unfortunately, at some point his horse stumbles and he lands in the middle of the road. He manages to hide in the bushes, but the soldiers have seen the fall and are searching the area. Their loud cries of premature joy (after all, they only “caught” the hat) reach the hacienda. Diego decides to help his friend and goes down to the basement. He welcomes his own disguise with relief.

The captain, who arrived at the scene a moment later, has a better perception than his subordinates and hears the crackle of a twig accidentally broken by Bernardo. He’s already almost reaching the bush where the mute is hiding, when the real Zorro cuts his “z” on the protruding bottom. The completely confused captain turns around, giving Bernardo the opportunity to escape.

Zorro, Zorro and … Zorro, or how to be in 3 places at once

The squad is in pursuit, but the black duo of man and Tornado do what they want with the soldiers. They smoothly jump over the fence of the enclosure for the cows. Cavalry horses (or riders :)) are unable to repeat this and stop abruptly, sending Garcia and Gonzales face down into the dirty grass. The horned cows are not thrilled with their new company. So instead of chasing anyone, the two lancers have to run away. The furious Monasterio unknowingly stabs the side of his horse, which the animal absolutely does not appreciate. The captain is thrown up high and lands in the outstretched arms of the sergeant. Now all he can think about is urging Garcia to run faster. Cows throw intruders over the fence.

Now it’s a race against time – who will be first in the hacienda? Diego still has to change into the copy of the outfit. Maria unknowingly helps him by making an argument with the soldiers about bringing the mud to the house. The captain bursts into the library, and there a bored caballero asks about the result of the fight. Monasterio is devastated because it is the ultimate proof of Diego’s innocence. He still cannot believe it when don Alejandro decisively asks him to leave the hacienda. As a goodbye, the soldiers are chased by the angry cook with a broom.

Zorro the Chronicles episode 8 Zorro’s true face — review

This is one of those episodes during which the viewer has every reason to be afraid for Zorro. Or rather for Diego and the fact that his double life is about to come out. Don Rodrigo, whom we met in the previous episode, turns out to be an opponent that’s not only interesting, but above all competent. He watches the surroundings carefully enough to notice how Diego bursts into the square, looks around carefully and … starts playing someone else. Full of suspicions, he keeps his eye on the young de la Vega. The scene which the boy plays in front of Carmen only helps him come to the right conclusion. Malapensa informs Monasterio that he knows the identity of Zorro.

Such episodes are much needed. Firstly, because they evoke a lot of emotion. The viewer watches in  suspense, genuinely worrying about the fate of his favourite hero. The second reason is to remind everyone that Zorro is, after all, only human. This effect is best achieved with letting the characters make mistakes. Diego that always succeeds would quickly become quite boring. Showing that he can err sometimes also makes it easier to identify with the protagonist.

Zorro the Chronicles episode 8 – A pinch of realism

Not only Diego shows his human side. The same happens with Bernardo. Rushing to the rescue of his friend and disguising himself as Zorro, he falls off his horse. And the viewers are holding their breaths! The scene when Monasterio almost comes to the door of the library where Diego should be locked up is also great. Meanwhile, the young de la Vega is rushing up the stairs up from Zorro’s hideout, trying to return on time. The captain is overall disarmingly cute and, well, human when he admits with great regret and disappointment that Diego cannot be Zorro. I almost felt sorry for him! The sergeant also evokes some sympathy while being completely undeservedly struck with Maria’s broom. He was only defending her dishes from a corporal, after all!

A surprise for Disney fans

The creators wink very meaningfully at the Disney series fans, referring to the tenth, twelfth and thirteenth episode. There, Diego was also forced to fight a duel which he won by pretending to be a very clumsy swordsman. In the series, the commandant Monastario became suspicious of him. Here, his role is taken over by Malapensa. But there, too, de la Vega was ordered to wear Zorro’s costume and it was Bernardo’s intervention that saved him. And the Zorro flag flying proudly in the garrison! Do you remember how much trouble it caused for the soldiers and peons in the Disney series?

New and old characters

This episode also introduces a new character. It’s don Rodrigo’s son, Antonio Malapensa. I cannot say that I was particularly interested in him. All we learn about the man is that he has a crush on Ines and he’s a cocky narcissist. But I can see a very nice development of Carmen’s character. Senorita rolls her eyes at the fact that Diego has overslept and is angry with him criticising Zorro. But she is worried about him during the duel so much that she tries to intervene. This is a girl who can love both Zorro and Diego. And she starts doing it.

What is worth paying attention to

Among the scenes that deserve special attention, it is obligatory to mention the humorous shot at the end when Garcia is carrying the commander in his arms. We also once again have the opportunity to admire Monasterio’s dress uniform. Really, I will never get tired of this outfit! We also learn the captain’s name – Eduardo. If we think of other versions of Zorro’s adventures, we can notice that the creators liked giving the Evil Officer names on E. There was Esteban Pasquale, Esteban Montenegro, Enrique Sanchez Monastario … I wonder why they like E so much 😉

Zorro the Chronicles episode 8 Zorro’s true face — Youtube

World premiere: 29.11.2015

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,