Zorro the Chronicles episode 9 Zorro and his double

We present Zorro the Chronicles episode 9 Zorro and his double — 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 9 plot summary

Zorro the Chronicles episode 9 Zorro and his double is a combination of fighting and acting skills as well as clever use of fear of the unknown. Ines visits her grandmother Tainah who teaches her to use the magical yellow powder which can create impenetrable fog and explosions. Senorita practises tricks with it on fascinated kids from the village. The shaman is satisfied with her granddaughter’s progress. She has no idea how fast this new knowledge will turn out to be useful. A nice visit is interrupted by the soldiers who take all men to forced labour. Tainah protests and the sergeant, backing away from her anger, sits on a campfire. Searching for a bucket of water amuses only the lancers. The Indians have nothing to laugh at. When Ines protests, corporal Gonzalez advises her to go home.

Superstitious governor and talking about fashion

Later on the same day, Monasterio and the inhabitants of the pueblo are expecting at the plaza the governor’s arrival. The captain is already puffing his chest out proudly when the carriage disappoints him and stops in front of Diego and Bernardo. The young man starts a conversation with don Parasol about fashion and clothes imported from Spain.

An Indian shaman pushes through the crowd, singing a song in a local language which scares the governor to death. The captain escorts him to the garrison and when the official turns around, the Indian is gone as if he disappeared into thin air. He’s quickly forgotten, though, when the commander mentions future fortune that is coming to the colonial budget. Don Parasol complains about the necessary expenses connected to his position, such as elegant clothes and fancy parties. Not only does it show his vanity and selfishness, but also gives Bernardo an opportunity to learn more about Monasterio’s new project.

The young servant delivers the address of Diego’s tailor from Sevilla. It serves him as an excuse to witness the conversation about the silver mine and to see the map spread on the table. No-one pays him any attention as he’s still considered to be deaf. While coming back to the hacienda he shows his friend the location of the mine. They weigh up options, but the military troop is too numerous for Zorro. Ines catches up with them (in a sidesaddle for women! 🙂 ) and shares the news from the Chumash village. The girl thinks they must do something, but her brother stops her. Even if they manage to cast the soldiers out, they will come back in greater number. They try to come up with a permanent solution.

Maria’s remedy

The animated discussion is interrupted by a worried Maria. She thinks the siblings’ quarrel, so Diego fakes a migraine caused by his sister’s new perfumes. Ines immediately gets back at him and suggests applying a concoction from condor bile. Young men have no other choice but to follow the cook. Maria sits Diego in the kitchen and doesn’t even want to listen to his excuses. After swallowing a spoonful of awful medicine, de la Vega “suddenly” gets better. Bernardo laughs at him, so the cook gives him a portion as well. Now Diego has the reason to laugh.

Meanwhile, Ines goes down to the cave and convinces Tornado that she’s right. The girl changes into Zorro’s clothes and rides to banish the soldiers. When the rest of the golden trio discovers what she’s done, they go to find her which isn’t that difficult. It’s enough to follow the loud screams of the army men. The pursuit ends by the river, with well-hidden Bernardo and Diego watching the whole scene.

Ines isn’t the best Zorro

Ines modulates her voice, makes excellent use of the whip, and no-one recognizes her. She plays with Garcia like the real Zorro, but from losing the duel with Ramirez only an accident and an overzealous corporal save her. To make matters worse, she loses her brother’s favourite whip and a sword. The situation becomes serious when Monasterio stops playing around and comes closer with an aimed pistol. Diego whistles an agreed signal and Tornado kicks, throwing the captain from his horse. The commander lands in the river, splashing the water everywhere and on everyone. Ines comes back to the cave and changes into her own clothes. She has to dry her hair, though.

Diego i Bernardo has had their own confrontation with Maria on that day. It seems the senorita cannot escape hers as well. The cook grills her about wet hair and Ines makes up a story of a disobedient horse and falling into the river, stuttering a lot. At this moment the young men come back. Diego notices that his sister’s dress is dry, though. They tease the girl and Ines realises that they must have seen her failure. She admits it wasn’t the best of her ideas. They come up with a plan together. Now everyone has a role to play which suits his or her abilities best.

Warning against the mountain ghosts and Zorro’s suicide

The Indians work hard in the mine while the soldiers watch them idly. The governor and the captain dream about fortune and a promotion to the lieutenant colonel. Gonzalez rushes the workers. When they hear Zorro’s voice, they all look up to the mountain only to be told that the Chumash’s mountains don’t forgive. The renegade warns everyone against the wrath of the mountain ghosts if they keep digging the silver. Monasterio remains unimpressed while for don Parasol the eternal curse is slightly too much. The soldiers start pursuing Zorro and the Indians, watched by nobody, run away.

The pursuit itself is fun to watch. At the very beginning, Gonzalez gets paid back for his sarcastic remarks with a branch hitting him straight in his face. Next, Zorro pretends that he fell asleep while waiting for his opponents. Finally, Garcia, being slightly late, sees his companions tied in a knot. Whistling, he makes a strategic withdrawal, giving the impression “I saw and heard nothing, I wasn’t even there”. Yet after Zorro’s promise that it wouldn’t hurt… too much, he attacks. When the renegade makes him fall from the saddle, the soldier thinks he’s dying. Turns out he’s just got a uniform to fix.

The soldiers who follow the renegade on foot find themselves at a dead end. Zorro jumps into the chasm and Tornado rides away. The lancers believe their opponent to be dead. His cape flowing down among the rocks confirms their suspicions. They turn back and only the sergeant expresses his regret. Despite usually being the first to try capturing Zorro, he’s now sad because of the young man’s tragic death. His attitude gets appreciated by the “deceased” himself, who’s hidden on a rock ledge below the road Everything goes according to the plan.

Zorro’s ghost

Gonzalez proudly reports the results of the pursuit, although Garcia still has the long face. Monasterio is absolutely happy with removing the main obstacle. He orders to reopen the mine, paying no attention to the shaken governor. The captain refuses to believe in any curses even when the yellow smoke starts emerging from the shaft. There’s more and more smoke, though, and before the entrance, a blurred silhoutette dressed in black appears. It makes the “Z” sign in the air and Garcia is sure that this is Zorro’s ghost.

The fog covers the entire valley, the soldiers can hardly see anything. They fall into each other while Zorro moves swiftly, frightening them even more. The number of uniforms for future fixing grows larger. At last, the captain locates the enemy. A duel begins. Clashing blades only add to the lancers’ and, most importantly, don Parasol’s fear. What’re more, swords falling from the sky surely don’t make the governor feel safer, either.

The curse of the mountain ghosts

Eventually, Monasterio pulls out a pistol, but Zorro disappears in flames. Instead, two figures show up. One is a man painted dark brown, wearing a buffalo’s head and a breastplate of an Indian warrior. Another is a female shaman with an impressive warbonnet and antlers, and mysterious symbols on her face. They curse the intruders, promising them eternal darkness. The captain freezes while the governor is frightened to death. They all mount their horses in a great hurry, running as far as they can from the terrifying ghosts of the mountains. The yellow fog is following them. Don Parasol falls into the cactuses. Taina encourages the last lancers to run faster with throwing the magical powder after them.

The fog clears away in the valley. We can Ines and Bernardo, both dressed up, very human-like and not so frightening without the headwears. They join Zorro who’s standing on top of the mountain and watch the Indians celebrating the victory. They tease each other who should get the most credit for the adventure. However, the most important thing in the end is that nobody will ever come up with an idea to exploit the mountain.

Zorro the Chronicles episode 9 — review

During this episode, I had this feeling that I had already seen it somewhere. And it hadn’t been in another adaptation of the adventures of the Fox, but… right here, in the Chronicles! The mine that is supposed to make Monasterio rich and where the Indians work hard, with Zorro faking his own death while trying to stop it. Sounds familiar? Well, sounds like a plot summary for the episode 2 entitled “The Mine”.

Creative burnout?

One could suspect that the creators are getting short of plot ideas. Fortunately, the mine thread is so full of attractions that the episode being practically a remake of another doesn’t prevent the audience from having fun. We have an opportunity to watch spectacular Indian magic that frightens the soldiers and the governor so much. Furthermore, Zorro gains additional helpers since in scaring the lancers away he’s supported not only by Ines and Bernardo, but also the Chumash led by Tainah. And, most importantly, he has his double.

Zorro number two

Ines de la Vega has doubts regarding her brother. She doesn’t like that Diego takes his time with helping the Indians who were forced to work, and decides to take matters into her own hands. Her decision is as far-fetched as it is pointless. Ines has never been written as a stupid character before. Moreover, she should know her brother well enough so far to be able to trust him. The creators failed to provide us with a believable reason why she actually dressed up as Zorro. It’s never good when the plot requires the characters to do things that in no way suit them.

One thing that defends this idea is the fact that Ines is incredibly cute and charming while dressed as Zorro. She is amazing when mocking sergeant Garcia and knows how to use a whip well. Obviously, she isn’t as effective as her brother. Diego must come to her aid when Monasterio points the pistol at the girl. Ines quite foolishly let the captain trapped her, though. Why didn’t she ride away after Gonzalez interrupted Ramirez in beating her by coming too close and winning the award for the biggest idiot of the episode?

The characters at their best

Despite the dubious reasons for the whole masquerade and most unfortunate escape, Ines is wonderful as a rebellious, willful sister. She gets a lot of credit from me for the fact that she can admit to being wrong. Her banter with Diego is also enjoyable to watch.

It’s hard not to smile at the good old Garcia who believes in Zorro’s death and sincerely regrets that it happened. Monasterio is at his best as well. It means he’s cruel, courageous and confident about his intrigue. This is the captain we know and adore! The soldiers present a collective inability to think, of course. They start pursuing Zorro and nobody even tries to guard the Indians, who, what a surprise! escape. Well, there was time to get used to that.

A feast for the eye

Visual effects of this episode cannot possibly go unmentioned. The Indian magic looks, well, magical and impressive. The scene with soldiers wandering in the yellow fog is great! Ines’s and Bernardo’s costumes of Indian deities are wonderful. And last but not least, thrown into the river and completely wet Monasterio is one of the cutest and most attractive versions of the handsome captain. 😉

Zorro the Chronicles episode 9 — Youtube

World premiere: 06.12.2015

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.