The Alchemist Returns

"The Alchemist Returns" is the twentieth episode of Tangled: The Series. It premiered on December 16, 2017.

Plot
After learning the truth, Rapunzel returns to the castle and stomps into the throne room, where she confronts her father for lying to her about the Black Rocks. King Frederic explains that he was only trying to protect her and has the situation under control. But Rapunzel leaves the room in a huff when she learns her father doesn't think she is ready for the truth.

In Rapunzel's bedroom, Eugene tries to comfort her but Rapunzel decided that she needed some time alone. As Eugene leaves the room, however, they found Pete and Stan getting into a fight over Pete's comments about Stan. Rapunzel asks what's going on and Pete explained that he somehow can't help saying whatever he has in his mind. Stan shouted back at Pete and ran off. Eugene advises Rapunzel to get some rest while he takes care of the situation. Rapunzel went back in her room and drifted off to sleep. She dreams that she walks into the throne room, where a party was taking place, and dances with her father. King Frederic apologizes to Rapunzel about lying to her and wants to make it up to her. As Rapunzel expresses her relief, the Black Rocks suddenly spout out between them and then all over the place. She soon spotted Eugene and Cassandra and ran to them. Her hair got caught on one of the rocks and as soon as she got freed, the rocks trapped her friends in them. To her surprise, Varian appears and tells her to stop running and face her destiny. Rapunzel wakes up to find her hair glowing and floating, knocking a few things down and nearly squeeze Pascal. After things calmed down a bit, Rapunzel and Pascal left outside.

Rapunzel and Pascal were on a boat she and Eugene sometimes meet, wondering what to do, when they heard a sound. Rudiger and then Varian appears. Rapunzel was relieved to see Varian again and asks where has he been. He explained to her that he had to lay low since everyone thinks that he attacked her at the night of the storm. Rapunzel remembers seeing Quirin encased in the rocks and apologizes to Varian for not being there to help her. Varian apparently forgives her and asks for the scroll he sent her to get the previous episode. Rapunzel hands him the scroll and Varian explains that it said the rocks are a part of an ancient darkness and it can only be stopped by its counterpart; the Magical Golden Flower. Rapunzel was suprised to hear that the flower is still around, even though her father claimed that it's long gone, and was even more surprised when Varian suggests that instead of asking the king to hand the flower over, they're going to steal it.

Back at the castle, Eugene and Cassandra noticed that nearly everyone started telling the truth to each other and couldn't stop. Meanwhile, Rapunzel and Varian snuck in to take Herz Der Soone's journal in order to find their way around the underground tunnels to get pass the security of the royal vault. Rapunzel looked at a portrait of her father and starts to feel guilty about the plan, knowing that they're acts of treason. Varian convinced her to continue, saying it's Corona's only hope. As they left the room and ran down the hallway, they nearly bumped into Eugene. Rapunzel talks to him while Varian hid and holds the book. During the conversation, Eugene suspects that somethings wrong but Rapunzel assures him that nothing's wrong. Rapunzel then asks Eugene how far would he go to know the truth, to which he replies not very far because he thinks the truth isn't what it cracks up to be. When Eugene asks again if she's okay, Rapunzel assures him that she'll talk when she's ready. Eugene respects Rapunzel's decision and walks away. He turns around to say something else to her, but she's already gone.

Rapunzel and Varian found an entrance to the tunnels and, with the journal to guide them, begin their quest. Working together, they venture through the old tunnels beneath Corona, facing a number of traps and dangers. Meanwhile, things got out of control in the castle. Eugene and Cassandra deduced that the staff must've been affected by a truth serum and determines to find out how it got into the castle. Since Pete is the first person they noticed to be too honest, they interviewed him about his day, only to be bored by his story with unnecessary details. After 30 minutes of listening, Cassandra finally got fed up and grab him by the shirt. She yells at Pete for boring them useless information. Eugene suggests that Pete should just tell them if he notices anything out of the ordinary, to which Pete replies that he met a man in a bush, who give him purple cookies to eat. Cassandra realized that the cookies are laced with the truth serum. Eugene asks Pete about the man in the bush. Pete replies that the man's voice is squeaky and was asking about the sun drop flower when he was giving him cookies. Eugene and Cassandra soon realized the man was Varian and ran to the royal vault to stop him.

Back at the tunnels, Rapunzel and Varian had just escape another trap. Rapunzel asks Varian if the flower is worth all the dangers they've been through and if it's really Corona's only hope. He answered that it should and that he's really not that concern about Corona. Rapunzel was surprised by Varian's response, although he quickly said that he does care about Corona, even though he's more concern about how the flower's going to help his dad. This made Rapunzel suspicious of his true agenda. Soon, they made it right under the vault. Rapunzel figures out how to open the trap doors to it, unknowingly awakening an automaton, a giant robot-like machine, programed to attack the intruders. The automation attacks Rapunzel and Varian as soon as the trap door opens. Rapunzel manages to defeat it by got it to follow Varian between two pillers and used her hair to cause the pillers to fall on top of it. They climb on top of it and lower the ladder to the vault. They climb up the ladder, but not before Varian notices a drum attached to the automaton.

Back above, Eugene and Cassandra were stopped by the guards from entering the vault. After a while, Eugene convinces them to let them through by asking whose they rather face; the king's or Cassandra's. Rapunzel and Varian entered the vault and lit the lights. The magical flower is indeed there, although it has faded with age. However, as Rapunzel takes a good look at the flower, Varian grabs the whole flower and tries to leave. Rapunzel grabs Varian's bag to stop him but he pulls away, causing a bottle to fall out. Rapunzel recognizes it as the bottle that once contain Xavier's mood potion and tells Varian he shouldn't be messing with it. Varian explains that he replicated and modified the potion to create a truth serum and put them in the cookies he give to everyone so that they'll tell him about the flower's whereabouts. Rapunzel is shocked by Varian's treachery. Varian angrily explains that he begged her and the kingdom for help but they all turned their backs on him. Rapunzel tells Varian that she disobeyed her father because she trusted him and they just broke the law. Rapunzel tries to convince Varian to give back the flower and promises to help him figure out how to save his father and stop the black rocks. Varian seems to regret his actions and considers taking Rapunzel's offer when he heard the guards coming. He changes his mind and tells her that he knows firsthand how she keeps promises. Just then, Eugene, Cassandra, and the guards burst into the room and were about to grab Varian when he blinds them with a puff of purple fog. As the fog clears, Varian escapes.

Later that day, Eugene finds Rapunzel on the balcony and tries to assure her that everything's going to be okay. But Rapunzel was still upset at herself for breaking the law, committed treason, and let the flower fall into the hands of Varian. Rapunzel is also downhearted that Varian has betrayed her but knew that it won't be the last time they've seen him. At the alchemist lab, Varian pounded one of the flower's petals into liquid and spread it on a drill. He activated the drill, hoping it would break through the amber his father's trapped in. Unfortunately, his attempt ended in failure, much to his anger and frustration. Thinking back at his conversations about the flower and the rocks to Rapunzel, he realizes that the flower's magic no longer exists within the flower, but in Rapunzel.

Cast

 * Mandy Moore as Rapunzel
 * Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider
 * Eden Espinosa as Cassandra
 * Jeremy Jordan as Varian
 * Clancy Brown as King Frederic
 * Sean Hayes as Pete
 * Diedrich Bader as Stan
 * Paul F. Tompkins as Shorty
 * Peter MacNicol as Nigel

Trivia

 * The Magical Golden Flower was revealed to have still exist after Rapunzel's birth, but was later destroyed.
 * The melody of the song "Healing Incantation" is featured in the scene of the golden flower.
 * This is the third episode where Rapunzel has a nightmare. The first two were "What the Hair?!" and "The Quest for Varian".