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 Armando believes it is true, Elena and Isabel dismiss it as just a fairy tale with a roar of laughter.

Later, Elena is getting ready for the Eclipse Festival. 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 happened, 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 "blaze". 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, regardless 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 as 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. She has returned 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 must return to the Spirit World. Isabel notes that that gives her about ten minutes to search and Elena agrees with Gabe that they need to stall her 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 the specter's magic, despite Zuzo's warning.

Meanwhile, Orizaba arrives at the ruins of a temple where inside are numerous chambers. The Eye of Midnight 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. 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. Elena comes and blasts Orizaba with the scepter but she only burns off a piece of Orizaba's wings and accidentally reveals the Eye of Midnight'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 the Royal Guards' effort to stop her, returns to the Sun Stone and places the Eye of Midnight 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 helping Orizaba by using the Scepter against Zuzo's warning but Mateo is more concerned about what happened to her since using the scepter has made her feeling weak for some unknown reason. Looking up the scepter in the Maru Codex, he discovers that it is the Scepter of Light which can harness the powers of light by using a single thought put into a single word. After Mateo summons Zuzo, they 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 and, because of her, Orizaba has succeeded in freezing the eclipse. After looking back on what happened at the temple and seeing it send a piece of the moth fairy's wing back to the Spirit World, the three of them come to the conclusion that the Scepter of Light is the only thing that can end the eternal night and send Orizaba back to the Spirit World. Despite the dangers to herself, 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 magic light to overpower Orizaba, forcing her to retreat. So far it looks like that Elena has the upper hand, but bad timing from Gabe and Isabel, who went after them, blocks the Scepter's light giving Orizaba the shading she needs to regain her strength and escape. By the time Elena catches up, Orizaba has regained enough of her strength for her powers to return while Elena is starting to wear down from overuse of the Scepter. However when Orizaba attacks Isabel, the Crown Princess pushes her powers to the limit to stop her and, with one last burst of the Scepter's magic, Elena 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 so exhausted that she passes out in Isabel's arms.

After being unconscious for two days, Elena wakes up in bed fully recovered, 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 the 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.
 * Elena's hair is seen loose for the first time.