The Secret Library: Tale of the Eternal Torch

"The Secret Library: Tale of the Eternal Torch" is the eighty-third episode of the Disney Junior animated series, Sofia the First. It premiered on May 5, 2017 and is the second episode in the fourth season.

Plot
At Enchancia Castle, Prince James is taking his Junior Knight test in the courtyard under Sir Finnegan's supervision and his family is watching. At first, James does an outstanding job. But when he gets to the wall that the finishing line is behind, he meets his downfall: Instead of climbing over the wall with a ladder, he polevaults over it with a staff. This proves to be a mistake for once he is over the wall he lands in a mud puddle that slows him down to the point where he fails to cross the finish line in time. When Sir Finnegan informs him that he failed the test, James protests that he was not expecting to get caught in the mud. Sir Finnegan tells him that he should never just jump over a wall without knowing what is on the other side and that he needs to learn to look before he leaps which he backs up by telling him the ladder would have been wiser. Roland tells James that he knows he is disappointed but he did well for his first time and he can always try again. Sir Finnegan agrees telling James to practice not just on the course but in the real world as well by going on an adventure. Sofia feels sorry for James but Roland tells her that this failure will be a teaching moment for him. Suddenly, Sofia's Amulet glows blue, alerting her that it is time to go to the Secret Library.

After Sofia arrives, the Library selects a book called The Tale of the Eternal Torch. The book goes inside the pendulum and the narrator proceeds to tell her latest story: ''To the dragons who live on the Blazing Palisades, their island home is a fiery paradise. Inside the tallest peak, the Eternal Torch burns with a magical flame that lights all the island's fires. But the Eternal Torch is in danger: The sea monsters who live in the ocean that surrounds the Palisades believe the Palisades should belong to them and have obtained the Forever Fountain whose magical waters could drown out the island's fires and chase the dragons away. If they are not stopped, the Blazing Palisades will belong to the sea monsters forevermore.'' Hearing this, Sofia resolves to go to the Blazing Palisades and give this story a happy ending. Sofia hitches one of the flying horses up to the same coach she drove in the last time she went to the Blazing Palisades. However, James overhears her talking to the horse about her plans and, while she is getting the horse a snack, climbs inside the trunk on the carriage. Unaware of this, Sofia gives the horse his snack and takes off for the Blazing Palisades.

Sofia arrives at the Blazing Palisades and lands. During the landing, she hears a lot of grunts and groans from the trunk. Sure enough, when she finishes landing the trunk pops open and inside she finds James, to her chagrin. When Sofia asks him what he is doing here, James tells her that Sir Finnegan told him to practice his knight skills on an adventure and, because of this, he chose to accompany her. Sofia is as far away from being pleased as possible that her big brother stowed away but James assures his little sister that he will be a big help. James is wowed by the Blazing Palisades calling it perfect for dragons. When he sees some lizards in the distance, Sofia identifies them as the sea monsters and reluctantly agrees to let James help, to his delight. The sea monsters climb onto the island and their leader orders them to begin looking for the trail that leads to the Eternal Torch, which at the very top of the island. Sofia decides they have to go warn Everburn the Elder Dragon and wants to sneak up the trail since she knows where both Everburn's cave which is where the Eternal Torch is. However, James runs out onto the trail and unwittingly shows the sea monsters where the trail they are looking for is. James tries to stop them by ordering them to stop forcing Sofia to save him and let them pass. Flembeau and his group come out and greet them. Sofia tells them why she is here and Flembeau identifies the sea monsters as sea serpents and their leader as Aqualina, an old enemy of Everburn and tells Sofia and James they can take the tunnel that leads to a bridge that is on the way to where they need to go and that, once there, they can stop them by burning down the bridge. James agrees to the bridge burning idea but refuses to take the tunnel and wants to fly there on Smokely instead. James and Smokely take off to stop the bridge. Flembeau tells Sofia that Smokely gets so caught up in the heat of the moment that he forgets to think things through to which Sofia notes her brother has the same problem. Nitelite tells Sofia that flying over sea monsters is a bad idea. Nitelite's warning proves true as the sea monsters have the ability to shoot water out of their mouths which they use to shoot James and Smokely down. When Sofia and the others catch up, they reveal that the pair's recklessness cost them the chance to stop them at the bridge. James protests that he did not know about their ability to shoot water to which Flembeau sternly states that they rushed off before he could get the facts. Nitelite tells them they still have time to warn Everburn if they use the tunnels this time. After they do so, Sofia wakes Everburn up and tells him what is happening. Everburn and the other dragons prepare for battle. James wants to help but Everburn tells him to stand aside and he and the other dragons engage in a singing battle with the sea monsters.

When this only causes a stalemate, the Dragons decide to block them off forever by building a wall on the trail. James is fuming about being left out of the action. When he sees a big rock he decides to add it to the wall and, despite Sofia's protests, sends it rolling. This proves to be a mistake: Instead of strengthening the wall, the rolling rock destroys the wall and sends the dragons flying. With nothing in their way, Aqualina and the sea serpents replace the Eternal Torch with the Forever Fountain, which unleashes an array of torrents which floods the Palisades and washes the dragons out. James wants to fix everything but Sofia reminds him of what Sir Finnegan said and tells him they need a plan. James agrees and together with the dragons come up with a plan to restore the Watery Palisades to the Blazing Palisades. The dragons distract the sea serpents by breathing fire. This time James listens to Sofia when she tells him to wait. This enables the plan to work in a way that enables James and Sofia to enter the cave. James and Sofia put the Eternal Torch back on it's pedisal in a way that merges the Torch's magic with the Fountain's magic. This merger creates a new island that is half-Blazing Palisades at the top and half-Watery Palisades at the bottom. This convinces Sofia and James to leave things as it is and convince the dragons and sea serpents to make peace. The dragons and sea serpents agree and the Palisades becomes the Misty Palisades.

Sofia and James go home. Once there, Sofia goes back to the Secret Library to review the story she just finished. After she has done so, she goes to watch James retake his Junior Knight test. This time, the finish line is behind a door. James checks the door instead of busting it down. This proves to be a wise move for, like before, there is a mud puddle on the other side. Using a plank, James safely crosses the puddle in time to cross the finish line and pass the test. Sir Finnegan congratulates him and promotes him to Junior Knight.

Cast

 * Ariel Winter as Sofia
 * Nicolas Cantu as Prince James
 * Sara Ramirez as Queen Miranda
 * Travis Willingham as King Roland II
 * Hugh Bonneville as The Narrator
 * Oliver Platt as Everburn
 * Mick Wingert as Nightlite
 * John Michael Higgins as Flambeau
 * Carmen Carter as Aqualina
 * Pat Musick as Dolphina
 * Candi Milo as Dorsal
 * Cathy Cavadini as Coral
 * Robin Atkin Downes as Sir Finnegan

Song

 * This Island Belongs To Us

Trivia

 * This is the fifth installment of the Secret Library story arc, preceded by "The Secret Library", "Olaf and the Tale of Miss Nettle", "The Tale of the Noble Knight" and Elena and the Secret of Avalor.
 * The Dragons of Enchancia make their second appearance in this episode, following their debut in The Curse of Princess Ivy except Flambeau who makes his third appearance in this episode.
 * James is the second member of the Royal Family of Enchancia to go with Sofia on her mission so the first one was her Aunt Tilly in "The Secret Library".
 * During the opening, the episode's title is split into two parts when the title card is presented.
 * Moral: Always think before you act.
 * This is Sir Finnegan's second appearance since "The Silent Knight".
 * James is promoted from Squire to Junior Knight.
 * The Blazing Palisades becomes the Misty Palisades.