Carol of the Arrow

"Carol of the Arrow" is the fifty-first episode of the Disney Junior animated series, Sofia the First, which premiered on July 15, 2015.

Plot
At the castle, the Royal Family is going over reports of Carol of the Arrow and her Merry Band of Helping Hands' good deeds. Sofia is shown to be a huge fan of Carol and voices her dream to be part of her Merry Band. They soon set out to go grape picking in order to test Gwen's grape juice making invention, with Minimus coming along at Sofia's request. While picking grapes, Sofia notices some horses have gotten loose but Carol and the Helping Hands round them up. Sofia goes up to say hello but then hears Carol voice her dislike for the Royal Family because of an incident. So, after concealing Minimus's wings, Sofia takes off her tiara and hides her Amulet before introducing herself. Carol invites Sofia to come with her and tells her that if she can do one good deed by the end of the day, she can be one of her Helping Hands, which makes her second in command Jane jealous.

Through a song, Carol teaches Sofia that there are many ways to help people. Sofia comes up with great plans to help people but the jealous Jane sabotages her every time. Baileywick comes by but Sofia gives him her grape basket and sends him away before anyone can see him. Sofia hears someone calling for help and goes to look. Sofia finds a baby racoon in trouble and goes to get Carol, unaware that Jane had followed her. When Jane's attempt fails, Sofia ties the rope to Minimus's coller and tries to get him to pull the log the baby racoon's on to shore but, once again, Jane sabotages her, this time in a way that exposes Minimus as a flying horse. Jane pulls out Sofia's amulet and scornfully exposes her as Princess Sofia, to everyone's shock. Sofia admits that Jane is right and tells Carol and the Hands that she wanted to be a Hand but was scared they wouldn't let her in if they knew she was a Princess because of what Carol said earlier, which is why she hid her Royal status. She apologizes to everyone and flies back to the grape orchard with Minimus, heartbroken.

Sofia arrives back at the orchard where her family has finished making grape juice and sits sadly down on a log. Miranda instantly notices that Sofia is upset and asks what's wrong. At first, Sofia tries to deny it but after Miranda takes out her tiara, which Baileywick found in her basket, and asks why she took it off, Sofia tells her mother what Carol said and what she did because of that. Miranda tells her daughter she should always be proud of who she is no matter what anyone else thinks and should never want to be in a group she can't be herself in, especially since she's such a kind and helpful person. Just then, Carol shows up and asks if she can speak to Sofia. The Royal Family greet Carol with unconcealed coldness for hurting Sofia's feelings, which she apologizes for and asks Sofia to come back and retry the test, when they hear Jane screaming for help. The pair come back just in time to find Jane in trouble and rescue her. Afterwards, Jane apologizes to Sofia for her acts of sabotage and admits her jealousy. Sofia has passed the test and is now in the band.

Cast

 * Ariel Winter as Princess Sofia
 * Vivica A. Fox as Carol of the Arrow
 * Eric Stonestreet as Minimus
 * Darcy Rose Byrnes as Princess Amber
 * Tim Gunn as Baileywick
 * Tyler Merna as Prince James
 * Sara Ramirez as Queen Miranda
 * Travis Willingham as King Roland II
 * Lyons Luke Mathias as Baby Raccoon
 * Keith Ferguson as Woodsman
 * Miles Gerber as Twin Boys
 * Liliana Mumy as Jane

Song

 * Any Deed For Those In Need

Trivia

 * Carol and her Merry Band of Helping Hands are based off Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
 * This is the first time somebody other than Amber becomes jealous of Sofia.
 * This is the fourth time Sofia wears her flying derby helmet without her uniform.
 * This is the second episode where Gwen from "Gizmo Gwen" is mentioned, the first being "Ghostly Gala".
 * This is the sixth episode to have flashbacks and the fourth to have the flashback seen during a song.
 * Craig Gerber's son Miles debuts his role as the voice of the twin boys in this episode.
 * This is the seventh episode where Sofia establishes a strong bond with a negative character by helping them reform. The first time was in Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess, the second time was in "The Little Witch", the third time was in Sofia the First: The Floating Palace, the fourth time was in "The Flying Crown", the fifth time was in "Ghostly Gala", and the sixth time was in "The Princess Stays in the Picture".
 * Sofia mentions her Buttercup Troop in this episode.
 * Sofia's posing as a village girl to join Carol's Band is similar to how Mulan dressed up like a man when she took her father's place in the army. Sofia's reason for doing the formor is also similar to Mulan's reason for doing the latter.
 * Carol's vanishing act without being noticed is similar to what Batman does.
 * Jane also tells Sofia "She does that.", which is a line similar to what Commissioner Gordon says to Harvey Dent in the film The Dark Knight.