The Scepter of Light

"The Scepter of Light" is the tenth episode of the Disney Channel animated series, Elena of Avalor. It premiered on November 4, 2016.

Plot
It is an exciting day in the Kingdom of Avalor because a solar eclipse is going to take place, which happens over Avalor once every two or three hundred years. For the occasion, Isabel has invented a telescope that can project an image of the sun on a wall, allowing everyone to watch the eclipse safely since looking directly at the sun can hurt people's eyes. She calls it a Solar Projector. While everyone else is excited, Armando is not because he fears the evil moth fairy Orizaba will appear during the eclipse. Long ago Orizaba tried to bring total darkness to Avalor until a Maruvian wizard stopped her and sent her to the spirit world. But it is said that Orizaba found a way to return to Avalor every solar eclipse so she can fulfill her dark plans. While everyone believes it is just a fairy tale, Armando believes it is true.

Later, Elena is getting ready for the eclipse festival, and when she picks up her scepter it glows bright as it always does every time she holds it. So deep in thought about why it keeps glowing for her, Elena trips over a footstool and hurts her foot. She cries in pain "blazes" which suddenly causes the scepter to fire a powerful beam of light that blasts the footstool. Startled by what just happen, she calls upon Zuzo who instantly appears before her. Elena tells him about what just happened, and when she gets to the part where she cried "blazes" the scepter fires another beam of light at one of her pillows. Zuzo tells Elena to put the scepter down and avoid saying "blazes". He takes a closer look at the scepter and after running it through with a few friends from the spirit world Zuzo deduces that her scepter is magical due to its Maruvian origins. Zuzo also notes that the scepter is possibly channeling the magic Elena got from the Amulet of Avalor. He cannot be certain how it works yet, but it is clear that Elena has the power to destroy things with a single word. Zuzo promises to make further investigation, and for the time being instructs Elena to leave the scepter be, despite that she needs it for the eclipse festival.

Later, everyone is gathered for the eclipse festival and Isabel has the Solar Projector in place. With everything set, it is time for Elena to give her speech but not before Armando shows up with her scepter. She reluctantly takes it and proceeds with her speech, as well trying her best to avoid saying any words that will make the scepter blast things. But as the guards light the torches, the evil moth fairy, Orizaba, appears before them as Armando predicted. Returning to fulfill her goal in bringing Avalor into total darkness. In order to do so she needs to find a magical jewel known as the Eye of Midnight. However, the Maruvians long ago hid it from her in one of their temples. During her last visit she could not find the jewel, but is determined to find it this time and place it at the top of the Sun Stone, unleashing her darkness throughout the Kingdom.

Soon after Orizaba flies away to carry out her plan, everyone panics as Elena tries to calm everyone down. She learns from Armando that if Orizaba cannot find the jewel before the eclipse ends she will return to the spirit world. That gives her about ten minutes to search, and Elena agrees with Gabe that they need to stall her in that in that time. She tasks Mateo to deal with Orizaba and he rides off after her. Soon after he leaves, Armando brings up the fact that Orizaba is very powerful and Mateo may not be a match for her. This leaves Elena worried, and after looking at her scepter with thought she decides to go and help Mateo by using specter's magic, despite the risks and Zuzo's warning.

Meanwhile, Orizaba arrives at the ruins a temple where inside are numerous chambers. The jewel could be in either one of them, and Orizaba wastes no time looking. Pretty soon, Mateo arrives at the temple to face Orizaba. As he ventures deep into the temple he starts to get scared. Then he suddenly gets jumped by a sound from behind him and accidentally freezes Elena, mistaking her for Orizaba. After Mateo unfreezes Elena, and the two of them hide inside the last chamber that Orizaba has yet to search. Mateo surprises her and tries to use his freeze spell but misses. Orizaba seals Mateo's mouth so he cannot cast anymore spells. Then Elena comes out of hiding and blasts Orizaba with the scepter's magic. She only burns of a piece of Orizaba's wings and accidentally reveals the jewel's hiding place. Orizaba takes the jewel and flies back to the sun stone, leaving Elena feeling so weak that she passes out in Mateo's arms.

Orizaba, despite Gabe and the guards' effort to stop her, returns to the sun stone and places the jewel at the top. With the Eye of Midnight in place, the eclipse becomes permanent leaving Avalor in eternal darkness. Mateo and Elena meanwhile make it back to the castle. Elena feels very ashamed for using the Scepter against Zuzo's warning, but Mateo is more concerned about what happened to her. Using the scepter has made her feel weak for some unknown reason. Looking up on the scepter's history in one of his books, he discovers that it is the Scepter of Light which has the power to harness the Powers of Light by using a single thought put into words. Summoning Zuzo, they also learn from him that if the bearer overuses the scepter's magic it will sap the bearer's energy, leaving him or her feeling very weak. Elena admits to Zuzo that she went against his warning of using the scepter. She then brings up Orizaba and how she froze the eclipse. For a moment nobody is so sure how to stop her, but after looking back on what happened at the temple the three of them come to the conclusion that the Scepter of Light may have the power to end the eternal night and send Orizaba back to the spirit world. Despite the dangers to her life, Elena is willing to take the risk for the sake of her Kingdom.

Elena and Mateo return to the Sun Stone, where Orizaba has made herself a throne with the help of some animals who love the night. Elena uses the scepter's magical light to burn away the moth fairy's wings, forcing her to retreat. So far it looks like that Elena has the upper hand, but bad timing from Gabe and Isabel allows Orizaba to regain her strength as Elena again weakens. However the Crown Princess pushes her powers to the limit to stop Orizaba from hurting Isabel and ends the eclipse. She successful banishes the moth fairy back to the Spirit World and destroys the Eye of Midnight in the process. The eclipse is unfrozen and sunlight returns to the Kingdom. However, overuse of the Scepter's magic leaves Elena completely exhausted and passes out.

After two days of sleep, Elena recovers much to the relief of her family and friends. With everyone full of curiosity over how she was able to use the scepter the way she did, Elena reveals to her family about the magic she gained during her imprisonment inside the Amulet of Avalor and how the scepter can channel that magic. Her grandparents are surprised to hear their granddaughter is now magical. Francisco asks if she has any other powers, but Elena prefers to get some more rest than to talk about it some more. So everyone, except Mateo on her request, leave Elena to rest. She thanks him for all he did for her during the eclipse just as Zuzu appears. The three of them agree to work together IN finding out more about the Scepter's magic and how Elena can use it without passing out.

Cast

 * Aimee Carrero as Princess Elena
 * Jenna Ortega as Princess Isabel
 * Keith Ferguson as Zuzo
 * Julia Vera as Luisa
 * Emiliano Díez as Francisco
 * Jorge Diaz as Gabe
 * Joseph Haro as Mateo
 * Joe Nunez as Armando
 * Eden Espinosa as Orizaba

Songs

 * The Gift of Night

Trivia

 * Elena uses the Scepter of Light's magic for the first time in this episode.
 * Isabel's invention in this episode is a Solar Projector, a telescope that can project an image of the sun on a wall.
 * The episode is titled after a magic artifact similar to the Sofia the First episode "The Amulet of Avalor".
 * Elena's family learns that Elena gained magical abilities during her imprisonment.