"The Glow Crystals" is the thirtieth episode of the Disney Jr. animated series Ariel. It premiered on August 22, 2025, and is the final episode in the first season.
Plot[]
Sebastian is getting everything ready for the Grand Duchess of Mariana and recaps the activities he, King Triton, and Ursula will do with her. Ariel tells Flounder that they are wearing fancy outfits for the occasion. Triton tells Ariel to wear something special - a glow crystal. Ariel goes to show her friends and when she hears the royal trumpets, the whole family will be going to greet her. Ursula has been trying to do magic with her crystal ball, but it keeps doing strange things. As Ursula figures it out, Ariel catches up with Lucia and Fernie and shows them the tiara while hyping their meeting with the Duchess. Ursula finishes fixing the crystal ball, but she, Sebastian, and Triton end up somewhere else.
The Duchess then arrives, and Ariel meets up with Alanna and Ayanna when she notices Triton missing. As Alanna and Ayanna go to find Triton, Ariel greets the Duchess and claims that he is finishing getting ready for her visit. Ariel introduces her friends and they show the Duchess the palace. Flounder wonders where Ursula and Sebastian are, and Ariel states that it is important that the visitors feel happy and welcomed. Ariel enlists help from her friends to make sure the Duchess is happy. Flounder sees the clipboard left behind, and Ariel sees that the first thing planned was a royal show-and-tell. Fernie decides to show and tell sea facts for the Duchess, and Lucia helps him look for creatures.
Meanwhile, Ursula is still figuring out what is wrong with her crystal ball. Sebastian is worried about the visit from the Duchess. Lucia and Fernie return with a catfish and a dogfish, and the animals play with each other with the others giving chase. The next thing on the list was Sebastian planning to serve a fancy bubble souffle. Flounder decides to make one, but he makes it too bubbly and it splatters all over. Flounder decides to make kelp noodles for the Duchess. She complains about no bubble souffle, and Ariel reminds her of the change of plans. Ursula was supposed to do a magic show with her crystal ball, so Lucia decides to do the magic. Meanwhile, Ursula thinks he fixed her crystal ball, but it's still not back to normal.
Lucia shows the Razzle Dazzle trick, but the wand turns the Duchess into a seagoat. Later, Lucia reveals to have turned the Duchess back to her regular self. Ariel is sad because nothing went right for the Duchess, who claims that it went rather well and she had the best royal visit she ever attended. The Duchess thanks Ariel and her friends for showing her a nice time before heading home. Ursula and Triton are still working on fixing the crystal ball, but it still doesn't work properly.
As Flounder prepares to serve snacks, he gets teleported away and to Triton, Ursula, and Sebastian. Ariel is not sure what she should do when Alanna and Ayanna arrive, having had no luck in finding Triton, Ursula, and Sebastian. They decide to check all the nearby currents and parks next. Ariel takes Triton's advice of not giving up until he figured out what's going on. Fernie notices the crystal spoon glitching out, causing Flounder to disappear. Lucia recaps that that's what happened to her wand when she turned the Duchess into a seagoat. Ariel realizes that the seashell in her tiara is made of glow crystal and it started to glitch next to Ursula's crystal ball.
Ariel, Lucia, and Fernie go to get a spellbook given to Lucia by Ursula, which says something about glow crystals or her crystal ball. Flounder mentions what he was doing when he disappeared. Ursula decides to stop using the crystal ball when Flounder sees a passageway. Flounder, Sebastian, Triton, and Ursula follow the path while Flounder tells Sebastian about the Duchess loving being turned into a seagoat. Ariel spots a finding spell in the spellbook, which can help find Triton, Ursula, and Sebastian. The spell requires trench sand, rainbow bubbles, and a glowberry flower. Ariel, Lucia, and Fernie swim through the jellyfish down a trench and Lucia lights it up, allowing Fernie to gather enough sand.
For rainbow bubbles, Ariel, Lucia, and Fernie had back to the Rainbow Sea Caves. They get covered by the rainbows in the process but manage to avoid being tickled by the parrotfish. After the sea sponges wash off the rainbow color off them, Ariel, Lucia, and Fernie go to get glowberry flowers in a cave. Fernie calls out the seahorse unicorns, with one showing up. He shows the way to the glowberry flowers with Ariel, Lucia, and Fernie following. They retrieve one before heading back.
Meanwhile, Triton, Ursula, Flounder, and Sebastian arrive at a dead end and wonder where they are. The crystal ball glows again. Meanwhile, Lucia recites the find spell, but she, Ariel, and Fernie end up back where they started; the Wall of Crystals. Ariel sees a crack, and Triton hears her. They are delighted to see each other, and only Ariel can free Triton, Ursula, Flounder and Sebastian. Also, the crystal ball is still not working. The crack then grows, and Ariel realizes that it is being caused by Nana Xola's glow crystal glitching out. Ariel decides for her, Lucia, and Fernie to add more glow crystals to the wall so that it can be cracked open.
Working together, they put the glow crystals in different locations, but it still doesn't work. Ariel tries different ways to break open the wall while wondering what the missing piece is so she can bring her family home. Ariel soon realizes that the missing piece is her tiara, made of glow crystal. With all of the pieces fitted, the crystal ball breaks open the wall, reuniting the family. Later, Flounder tells Ariel, Lucia, and Fernie the activities he did with Ursula, Triton, and Sebastian. Ariel and her friends decide to join the activities by fitting the glow crystals to open the wall while stating that they are ready for a new adventure.
Cast[]
- Mykal-Michelle Harris as Ariel
- Elizabeth Phoenix Caro as Lucia
- Cruz Flateau as Fernie
- Gracen Newton as Flounder
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Sebastian
- Taye Diggs as King Triton
- Amber Riley as Ursula
- Jessica Mikayla as Alanna
- Dana Heath as Ayanna
- Kimberly Harris as Duchess of Mariana
Song[]
- "What is the Missing Piece?"
Trivia[]
- Events from the episodes "Rainbow Sea Caves" and "Fernie's New Discovery" are mentioned.
- This is the first half-hour episode in the series.
