I got the wind in my hair and a fire within
'Cause there's something beginning
I got a mystery to solve and excitement to spare
The beautiful breeze blowing through
I'm ready to follow it who knows where
And I'll get there, I swear...
With the wind in my hair!
'Cause there's something beginning
I got a mystery to solve and excitement to spare
The beautiful breeze blowing through
I'm ready to follow it who knows where
And I'll get there, I swear...
With the wind in my hair!
— Opening Theme
Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, known as Tangled: The Series for its first season, is an American animated series created for Disney Channel and executive produced by Shane Prigmore and Chris Sonnenburg. The series is based on the animated film of the same name, making it the first animated series based on a Disney movie in over a decade (following The Emperor's New School in 2006), and the first based on a Disney Princess-affiliated property since Aladdin: The Series in 1994.
Set between the events of the film and the short film Tangled Ever After, the show follows Rapunzel's efforts to learn about the world and reacquaint herself with her long-lost parents. However, during an outing before an important royal event, she ventures outside the castle walls and comes across a strange black tablet. When she touches it, not only does her hair transform back to its 70-feet long, blonde state (now indestructible), but strange stones start cropping up across the kingdom. Now alongside Eugene, Pascal, Maximus, the Pub Thugs, and her new handmaiden/confidante Cassandra, Rapunzel must adapt to life outside the tower while figuring out the mystery behind the black stones.
Season 2 shifted its focus to outside Corona as Rapunzel leaves her kingdom with Eugene and Cassandra in tow to follow the black rocks to a place called the Dark Kingdom, so she can unlock her one true destiny. In the third and final season, Rapunzel is back in Corona, and both she and Cassandra struggle to fulfill their destinies.
The series premiered on March 10, 2017 with a one-hour Pilot Movie entitled Tangled: Before Ever After. The final episode aired March 1, 2020.
Now has a episode guide.
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This show provides examples of:
#-M
- Action Girl: Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Adira are all kickass fighters, as are several minor female characters.
- Adaptational Expansion:
- We are told that Eugene proposed to Rapunzel several times before she said yes, throughout this series we actually see Eugene try to propose to her several times and we see the reasons why she turned him down before finally saying yes.
- The Series adds more details on the magical flower, now properly named as the Sundrop. The mythos they created around the flower's legend drives the main plot of the entire show.
- Adopting the Abused: Gothel was as bad a parent to Cassandra as she was to Rapunzel, ordering her around and emotionally abusing her. Ultimately, she chose to abandon four-year-old Cassandra in favor of raising the kidnapped Rapunzel. This action shocks and traumatizes Cassandra. The captain of the guard, who watched the scene, promises Cassandra he'll look after her, and takes her in as his own.
- Aerith and Bob: More so than the film. Just amongst the major characters, the names Eugene, Cassandra and Lance are all fairly normal, while Rapunzel, Varian and Zhan Tiri are a tad more exotic.
- Affectionate Nickname: Rapunzel calls Cassandra "Cass," Cassandra calls Rapunzel "Raps," and, just like in the movie, Eugene calls Rapunzel "Blondie", as well as "Sunshine". Rapunzel tries to come up with one for Eugene in the series finale, but it winds up as something close to an Aborted Arc, if one can exist within the confines of a single triple-length episode.
- Alchemy Is Magic: Varian is often assumed to be a wizard, but he insists it's only alchemy. In fact, his very first lines have him immediately state that he does not work with magic.
- All There in the Manual:
- The book Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon fleshes out some of Cassandra's personality due to her being a POV character. Turns out she never learned how to swim until Rapunzel taught her. She also has an interest in cartography and has gone on several trips outside the city so she could map it herself.
- Throughout the book, Cass displays some of the desperate need for validation, paranoia, and self-absorbed/self-hating nature that will one day lead to her turning against the heroes. It is honestly not surprising that the Cassandra whose inner monologue we read in the book would go on to show such a lack of regard for the people of Corona as a villain. The book also confirms her Friendless Background and that Rapunzel is her First Friend.
- The book centers on the beginning of her and Rapunzel's friendship and how she actually ended up becoming her Lady-In-Waiting, something not shown or touched on in the series proper.
- More details revealed in the book are that Friedborg is Queen Arianna's Lady-in-Waiting (hence her outfit) and is not actually stupid, just mute, and Rapunzel is skilled enough at reading people's facial expressions to understand what she's thinking.
- In the comics, Shorty is shown to be at least capable enough to run a newspaper, if only for one edition.
- The "Guardian's day" story shows that Cassandra is terrible at picking out gifts. Among some of the gifts she's tried to give people in the past was a shoe for Rapunzel (who Prefers Going Barefoot) and a sword for a baby shower.
- Always Save the Girl: It's revealed that when Frederic used the Sundrop to save a pregnant Arianna that he was warned it would have devastating consequences for the kingdom. Frederic ordered his men to uproot the Sundrop anyway.
- Ambiguously Bi
- While Rapunzel is in a relationship with Eugene, there's quite a bit of subtext between Rapunzel and Cassandra, at times getting too close for comfort. In fact, when Rapunzel lost her memory, Cassandra decides to show Rapunzel the world like Eugene did in the movie, and there are hints she would’ve fallen in love with Cassandra if it were her instead of Eugene,
- Varian had a crush on Cassandra in the first season, but "Be Very Afraid" shows that he's got a Flynn Rider wanted poster right next to his bed. Although this might be a case of downplayed Hero Worship.
- Ambiguously Sapphic: There are several moments of
Les Yay between Rapunzel and Cassandra here and there, with some saying Cassandra pines for the princess. Rapunzel is more of a case of Ambiguously Bi, since she's an Official Couple with Eugene. - Animesque: Heavily borrows a few elements of anime, such as large eyes and speed lines.
- Arc Hero:
- Season 1 had Varian, who was essential in helping Rapunzel make breakthroughs in the mystery surrounding the black rocks and her new hair, but it becomes subverted when Rapunzel is unable to help him free his father during Zhan Tiri's storm, and turns into the Arc Villain.
- Season 2 has Adira, a warrior from the Dark Kingdom who goes against King Edmund's wishes to help Rapunzel make her way there, believing that the Sundrop is the only thing that can neutralize the threat of the Moonstone, the source of the Black Rocks.
- Season 3 has Varian again, this time for real as he gets more character focus out of all the secondary recurring characters.
- Arc Villain:
- Season 1: Varian
- Season 2: The Order of the Dark Kingdom.
- Season 3: Cassandra, but it turns out that she's just The Dragon for Zhan Tiri.
- Ascended Extra:
- Rapunzel's biological parents and Pascal were bit characters in the film but are being expanded upon. Notably, the King and Queen were The Voiceless during the film, but have speaking roles in the series.
- Shorty even moves up from the role of cameo character to comic relief.
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: In "King Pascal", the Lorbs, a tribe of miniature talking leaves, say such ersatz German- or Dutch-sounding words as "kloopenhogen" to refer to their king, "freinfloofer" for servants, and "schmoovenvizens" for cheeks.
- Art-Shifted Sequel: Rather than CGI as in the film and its epilogue, the series is 2D animated.
- Bait-and-Switch: The "Unicorn-y" short is a pastiche of noir crime stories. At one point, Rapunzel has to interrogate Big Nose and Cass hands her a knife, implying Cold-Blooded Torture will ensue... only for Raps to use it to cut a slice of cake and hand it to him, which does the job just as well.
- Big Bad Slippage: Initially, Varian is an ally of Rapunzel, but his obsession to impress his father ends up leading him to unintentionally freeze his father in amber during an argument. Since Rapunzel is unable to help him due to Zhan Tiri's blizzard curse on Corona, Varian is unfairly ejected and returns home, blaming those who turned their backs on him when it was really his own fault which he refuses to believe. Come the last few episodes of season 1, he's become a full-fledged bad guy and won't let anything stand in his way, even going all out to abduct Arianna as revenge.
- Bittersweet Ending: The series ends on this note. Zhan Tiri is beaten, the kingdom saved and Rapunzel and Cassandra finally patch things up and come to an understanding about their respective pasts with Gothel. But Cassandra feels she needs to go on a journey to discover herself and leaves the kingdom, though parts on good terms. Rapunzel accepts Eugene's proposal and they eventually wed as seen in Tangled Ever After.
- Bloodless Carnage: The series shows a considerable amount of action and not a single drop of blood (save for Varian getting hit by a magnifying glass).
- Book Ends:
- The season 1 premiere involves a villain trying to kidnap the King. The season 1 finale involves a villain succeeding in kidnapping the Queen.
- The mysterious black rocks in the "What the Hair?" premiere episode that made Rapunzel's hair magically grow extra long, start sprouting up again in Old Corona and play a crucial part of the episodes "Queen For a Day", "The Quest for Varian", "The Alchemist Returns", and "Secret of the Sun Drop". The reason why they made Rapunzel's hair grow was not brought up until "Beginnings" in the final season.
- The first season finale has Rapunzel used as an attempt to free Quirin, but fails; in the final season opener, she tries again with the power granted by the black rocks, and is successful.
- The first song of the series is "Life After Happily Ever After". The last song is a reprise of it.
- Bonding over Missing Parents: In the episode Cassandra v. Eugene of the first season, Rapunzel tries to get Eugene and Cassandra to bond by locking them in a cell together for a day. Eventually, the two get into a discussion about Cassandra's father, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and Cassandra reveals that he is her adoptive father and she has never met her real parents. Eugene also reveals that he was an orphan as well, having never met his parents either. Then Eugene tries to invoke this trope to bond with Cassandra, asking her what she did fantasize her parents were, but Cassandra tells him she doesn't want to discuss this with Eugene. Eugene feels very offended and accuses Cassandra of defying this trope, but the audience will discover in the third season that Cassandra did this not to deny Eugene of bonding, but because she is repressing the painful memory of being abandoned by Mother Gothel the day she kidnapped a baby Rapunzel.
- Both Sides Have a Point:
- As to whether or not Rapunzel should have the freedom to do as she pleases. From Rapunzel's point of view, she understands why her parents are worried, but she's been locked away for eighteen years with an abusive woman that stole her. She just wants a bit more freedom to explore and live. Meanwhile, Frederic is worried that with his daughter restored, she's a walking target for criminals and she has to learn to act like royalty so that she can be queen when they are gone. Arianna tries to provide a buffer between the two, but Rapunzel feels stifled with the endless lessons and guard retinue, while Frederic gets more frantic.
- At the end of the pilot movie, Rapunzel's freedom is still in question. Frederic is less than thrilled to find out his daughter sneaked out at night, past the wall, without his permission. He points out that not only did she disobey him, but her actions led to her long golden hair, the thing that led to Gothel stealing her, returning. Thus, while she can move as she likes within the Corona walls, she can only leave the kingdom with his permission. Rapunzel before running off in tears points out that she's just proven she can protect herself by stopping Lady Caine, and that her father is underestimating her.
- Initially, as to whether or not Eugene should know how Rapunzel's hair has grown back. Rapunzel thinks that she trusts Eugene with her life, and they've saved each other. Cassandra has pointed out that she doesn't trust Eugene because she doesn't know him, her job could be in peril, and Eugene Cannot Keep a Secret. Eugene eventually does find out, but he promises to keep his mouth shut for Rapunzel's sake.
- Regarding the black rocks, how they should have been handled and if it was worth saving the queen and her baby. Frederic knew that uprooting the Sundrop Flower to save Arianna and baby Rapunzel would bring about debilitating consequences, as he was strictly warned by Quirin about it. He even said himself that he tried to suppress the reality of these black rocks threatening the kingdom. Varian takes offense with this when he finds out, because people's lives are getting threatened, including his father's. One could also make the case that Frederic did all of this to save his wife, and that it was Varian's doing, despite good intentions, that caused his father to become trapped.
- In "You're Kidding Me!", when Cass, Lance and Shorty are turned into younger versions of themselves, Rapunzel believes there's nothing wrong with indulging children once in a while, and that they should be allowed to speak about their feelings and takes a sensitive "kids will be kids" approach where each voice matters, while Eugene believes in a bit of firm assertiveness by setting boundaries. Later, when time is running short, Eugene takes a more sensitive approach when dealing with young Lance and decides to take time to listen lest he should lose his cool; meanwhile, after young Cass says that Rapunzel sucks at being a parent because she lacks assertiveness, Rapunzel puts her foot down and firmly orders young Cass to leave the kennel. At the end, after Lance, Cass and Shorty are restored to their natural ages, Rapunzel and Eugene have admiration for each other's personality styles and resolve to take a more emotionally balanced approach if and when they should ever become parents, with the right blend of assertiveness, compassion, and love.
- The Bus Came Back: Rapunzel and company run into Hookhand on his tour in "The Hook Brothers".
- Calling the Old Man Out:
- Subverted; Rapunzel is annoyed and sad about being protected and watched constantly, but keeps quiet about it. She almost does it after returning to the castle in "The Wrath of Ruthless Ruth", but her father's overjoyed reaction to her returning and blatant showing of how much he fears losing her again makes her decide against it. Then she hits her Rage Breaking Point after her father sends mercenaries to fetch an important item from her, and the ensuing struggle destroys her old home and nearly kills her friends. His lack of an answer or argument implies he didn't put much thought into the whole problem and is literally unable to explain what he is trying to hide from her even if he wanted to.
- Varian, after his father Quirin lied to King Frederic about the state of his village, thought that his father was avoiding responsibility when he had promised the Old Corona residents that he would tell the King of their predicament.
- Eugene does this himself to Rapunzel's dad after he locks her in her room to keep her safe, pointing out that he's doing exactly the same thing to Rapunzel that Gothel did.
- The Cameo: At Rapunzel's coronation, one of the attendees wears the uniform of a Weselton ambassador. Considering Rapunzel's and Eugene's previous cameo in Frozen, this further hints of a Shared Universe.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Eugene is terrible at keeping secrets, which is just one more reason why Cassandra doesn't want Rapunzel to share the details of how her hair grew back. Rapunzel ends up telling him, and he promises not to reveal it. And to his credit, he keeps that promise; the king only finds out when he snoops in Rapunzel's journal.
- Canon Foreigner: The most prominent ones are Cassandra, Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting and the daughter of the captain of the guards, and Varian, an alchemist from Old Corona who becomes a recurring ally of Rapunzel. Others include Eugene's former partner-in-crime Lance Strongbow, Xavier the blacksmith, Monty the sweet shoppe owner, Feldspar the cobbler, Varian's father Quirin, Old Lady Crowley and Hook Hand's brother, Hook Foot, as well as Eugune's biological father, King Edmund of the Dark Kingdom.
- Cassandra Truth: A prophecy that one of Rapunzel's companions will betray her is not taken very seriously by Rapunzel until it happens. In this case it literally applies to a person named Cassandra.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The series starts out as a "slice-of-life" work, but starting with "Queen for a Day" halfway through Season 1 and Varian's Face–Heel Turn, the series gets much darker than it was before. Season 2 then even gets more serious, with the main characters leaving Corona to solve the mystery of the black rocks. And in Season 3, they explicitly acknowledge that the fate of the world is at stake.
- Chekhov's Skill: Midway into Season 2, the Moonstone's Decay Incantation turns out to be the power in Rapunzel's hair that is needed to free Varian's father from the amber, which Rapunzel unleashes in the end of the S3 premiere.
- Compressed Hair: Rapunzel's hair gets compressed to be manageable.
- After her hair reverts back, Rapunzel tries to hide it under a giant wig and has difficulty balancing because of it.
- As in the film, Rapunzel eventually goes for the massive braid to keep her hair manageable, which still reaches down to her heels.
- In "Rapunzel's Enemy," she somehow manages to hide her hair in a small brunette wig, though it's implied from the hoop dress she's wearing that she's stuffed most of it below her waist.
- Continuity Nod: As a sequel series to Tangled, the cartoon contains more than a few references to the movie:
- Eugene continues the Running Gag of opening the narration by claiming that this is the story of how he died.
- The opening song of "Life After Happily Ever After" is thematically similar to "When Will My Life Begin?", a song that has a catchy and upbeat tune but with lyrics that reveal Rapunzel isn't as happy as she claims she is. The last verse in both songs is slowed down and takes a more contemplative and melancholy tone.
- During both openings, Pascal indicates his desire to go beyond the boundaries of their home.Rapunzel in Tangled: Yeah, I don't think so. I like it in here, and so do you.
Rapunzel in Tangled: Before Ever After: I know, Pascal. We'll get out there soon. - During both opening (song)s, Pascal gets covered with a dusty substance: in the movie, with dust Rapunzel is sweeping from the floor; in the series, with make-up (presumably powder foundation) that court ladies are applying on Rapunzel.
- Rapunzel and Eugene end up together on a boat, discussing whether their dreams lived up the reality after all.
- Rapunzel pausing at the Corona Wall, taking a glance back at her home and then jumping down is reminiscent of her glancing back before steeling her resolve to leave the tower for the first time.
- Rapunzel's weapon of choice, when not using her long hair, is a frying pan.
- The series also has a lot of continuity nods to itself. For example in the "Wrath of Ruthless Ruth," the plot is kicked off by King Frederic flipping through some of Rapunzel's illustrations of adventures she had in past episodes.
- In the Season 3 episode "No Time Like the Past," Rapunzel references ''When will my life begin", saying "I'm used to getting a lot done by 7:15".
- Later in the same episode, Lance finds Cassandra's shooting target with Eugene's face on it and remarks, "For once they even got your nose right."
- No one getting Eugene's nose right is brought up across the entire series, both in his wanted posters and any other image of himself. Near the end of Season 3, he actually winds up confronting the artist responsible for the posters, only to find a kindly old man with cracked glasses, so now we know why the posters were so off. Eugene immediately excuses himself, citing that the man is clearly busy and trying his best.
- "Rapunzel: Day One" and "Flynnposter" are chock full of movie nods. Specifically to what Rapunzel and Eugene, respectively, were like before they met.
- In "You're Kidding Me!", Shorty finds a wooden toy duck, a reference to the Snuggly Duckling Pub, where he hung out with the other thugs.
- In the movie, the villain was defeated when Eugene cut Rapunzel's hair. In the series finale, Rapunzel defeats Zhan Tiri by cutting her hair, and to the same length Eugene had cut it to boot.
- Cool Horse: Rapunzel and Cassandra often ride Fidella, a horse on whom Maximus (himself a badass horse) is shown to have a crush. Fidella is a loyal ally to Rapunzel.
- There's Axel, though it turns out he's evil.
- Connected All Along: "Rapunzel's Return" reveals Cassandra is Mother Gothel's daughter, which makes Rapunzel and Cassandra (adoptive) sisters.
- Create Your Own Villain: The reason why Varian turned against Rapunzel in the first season was simply because she refused to come to his aide during Zhan Tiri's blizzard.
- Dark Reprise: The Moonstone's "Decay Incantation" is the complete reverse of the Sundrop's "Healing Incantation", which destroys anything in its path. Also it's a reverse of the effects of Rapunzel's hair; instead of glowing yellow from the root to the tips, it turns black from the tips to the root.
- Death Is Gray: The decay incantation is incantation of death and destruction. And it is represented by anything it touches going gray, for example when Zhan Tiri casts the decay incantation to murder all of Corona, the town as well as the citizen's slow death, is represented by them getting grayer.
- Decapitated Army: Averted. Even when the Baron was taken out, the next episode shows that his men still remain a threat to the town of Varderos, with his Dragon Weasel taking charge.
- Designated Girl Fight: Lady Caine with fans versus Cassandra with a candleholder. Caine manages to disarm Cassandra at one point, but Cassandra still wins the fight.
- Discard and Draw: The healing properties of Rapunzel's hair don't seem to have reappeared with it, but it's now Nigh-Invulnerable, with nothing so far being able to even come close to cutting it.
- A Dog Named "Dog": To Rapunzel's surprise, Cassandra's owl is named "Owl".
- Driving Question: In Season 1, what caused those indestructible black rocks to form, and why did they make Rapunzel's hair grow back? Who's the figure that's taken an interest in them? The mystery deepens.
- Early-Bird Cameo:
- Eugene's comb, the first thing he ever stole, appears in "Eugene vs. Cassandra" before being properly introduced as a plot point in "Big Brothers of Corona."
- Zhan Tiri reveals in the final season the deadly blizzard ignited in "Queen For a Day" was an alternate form of herself, thus making that episode her first appearance.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In his first appearance, being hit by a magnifying glass on the head causes Varian to bleed. Later appearances, particularly from the third season, tend to have him Made of Iron, coming out entirely unharmed from being hit multiple times on a chest by multiple dull edged black rocks, being imprisoned in a cage in mid-air, nearly falling to his death, jumping from a high height, or standing next to the explosion of an invention that was felt throughout all of Corona. The only instance where he's shown going through physical pain is when Zhan Tiri is using the Decay Incantation on Corona.
- Either "World Domination", or Something About Bananas: Played straight as a line in season 3 episode The Lost Treasure of Herz der Sonne when Feldspar translates the inscription of the treasure map.Feldspar: "All who claim the treasure shall be made to banana."Rapunzel: Made to banana?Feldspar: Oh, what am I thinking? "Zarothay" is banana. "Zarotho" means [Beat] "suffer an eternity of doom".
- Endless Winter: What sets up the problem for "Queen For a Day". Zhan Tiri casts an endless blizzard on Corona which destroys anything in its path, but Lord Demanitus built the Demanitus Device which blew the blizzard out to sea and imprisoned Zhan Tiri within. But the curse still lives on and will strike again once Corona is at its weakest, and will last until the whole kingdom is destroyed.
- Evil Overlooker: This Season 3 poster
has Cassandra overlooking Rapunzel, Eugene, and Maximus. - Extra Digits: Robin the 11th, a past Corona king, had 11 fingers.
- Extra-Long Episode: Each season had three: one for the premiere, one marking the midseason, and one for the finale.
- Season 1 has "Before Ever After" (the movie-length premiere), "Queen for a Day", and "Secret of the Sun Drop".
- Season 2 has "Beyond the Corona Walls," "Rapunzel and the Great Tree," and "Destinies Collide."
- Season 3 has "Rapunzel's Return," "Cassandra's Revenge," and "Plus Est en Vous."
- Face–Heel Turn:
- In "Queen for a Day", Varian, after being turned away by Rapunzel in his time of need, vows revenge against Rapunzel and the Kingdom of Corona.
- In the Season 2 finale, Cassandra grabs the Moonstone for herself, turning against Rapunzel and Eugene. The Season 3 premiere reveals she did this because her mother, Gothel, abandoned her in favor of Rapunzel and was always in her shadow, thus she claimed Rapunzel's destiny as her own.
- Fantasy Gun Control: It's the 18th century, and yet, they all only use swords (or frying pans). Near the end of Season 3, only Varian has a gun he just invented, although it is more Steampunk shooting gas than bullets.
- Fauxshadow: Mother Gothel's appearance in Rapunzel's nightmares seem to imply she holds some kind of relevance, but her single appearance was but a Red Herring. In all subsequent nightmares, it is Varian who haunts them, providing a grim warning that Varian will betray her, but the audience already knew that.
- Possibly subverted, as we learn in Season Three that Gothel is Cassandra's biological mother.
- Foil: Rapunzel struggles with her new obligations as princess and as part of a Gilded Cage. She wants her freedom, and a chance to live. Eugene in contrast goes with the flow of royal life and enjoys the perks, while promising to respect Rapunzel's wants and needs.
- Foregone Conclusion: Tangled Ever After in Real Life was released before this series, but In-Universe takes place after it. Given the state of things in Tangled Ever After, the following things are bound to turn out a certain way whatever happens in the series:
- By the end of the series (or sometime after), Rapunzel's hair will be cut and lose its magic again, since it's non-magical, short and brown by the time of Tangled Ever After. This is indeed explained in the series finale.
- No matter what relationship troubles Rapunzel and Eugene might go through, at a certain point he will propose marriage to her and she will say yes (as their voice-overs at the end of Tangled reveal).
- Rapunzel, her parents, Eugene, Maximus and Pascal cannot die since they're all alive and well in Tangled Ever After. Pascal in particular has a few near-death encounters throughout the series (e.g. in "Queen For a Day" when he seemingly sacrifices his life for Rapunzel), but he won't die.
- Foreshadowing:
- The black rocks sprout from the ground wherever Rapunzel goes, and whenever she is near them, her hair glows. This is a clue that the rocks are not dangerous and they're telling Rapunzel to follow her destiny with them.
- There are several hints toward Cassandra's betrayal:
- In "Challenge of the Brave", Cass participates in the event to prove she's more than just a sweet face, and is jealous when Rapunzel joins in.
- In "Secret of the Sundrop" during the "Ready As I'll Ever Be" sequence, Cassandra says, "Prove they can trust me."
- Her song, "Waiting in the Wings" from "Rapunzel and the Great Tree", is about her always being shunted in the background and wants to be noticed. It turns out that she's jealous of Rapunzel overshadowing her.
- At the very end of "Lost and Found" when Eugene receives a warning that one of Rapunzel's party will turn against her, he spots Cassandra, who looks at Rapunzel with a Slasher Smile on her face.
- The song "With You by My Side" includes this line from Cassandra (after she had already made her decision):Cassandra: ♪♫ Maybe tomorrow, we'll find to our sorrow, our story has come to an ending. ♫♪
- Gilded Cage: Rapunzel is feeling a little stifled at the palace. Her father's protectiveness is a significant part of this. She lampshades this at the end of the movie.
- Gilligan Cut: In "Beyond the Corona Walls", when Rapunzel, Cass and Eugene enter Vardaros, Eugene tells them the last thing Rapunzel wants to do is be recognized. As soon as he says this, one of the thieves recognizes him and spreads the word around to the others that Flynn Rider has returned.
- Godzilla Threshold: In the pilot, Cassandra actually using her fighting skills and revealing herself to be a secret warrior was seen as an absolute last resort, as this double life of hers is a threat to her position as a lady-in-waiting.
- Good Costume Switch: After Varian sides back with Rapunzel, he trades in his ragged dull-colored alchemy gear for a new bright-colored steampunk appearance.
- Gray-and-Grey Morality:
- The conflict with Varian during his time as Season 1's Arc Villain. While Varian's crimes against Rapunzel, the royal family, and the rest of Corona were terrible and out of line, they were as a result of Rapunzel breaking a promise to him and never checking on him after Zhan Tiri's blizzard was over, King Frederic allowing a cruel rumor about him to spread and sending grey masked men after him simply because he had the Demanitus Scroll, his father Quirin hiding things from him, Eugene and Cassandra not encouraging Rapunzel to make sure he's okay, and all of Corona rejecting his pleas for help. While Varian expresses Never My Fault behavior in regards to the whole situation he's in (which could’ve been avoided if he had just listened to his father and not touched the rocks, as doing so trapped him in the first place), it admittedly can't be denied that there were bigger factors that lead him to villainy, which is not helped by the fact that he is a young teenager who had just lost the only family he's ever known.
- The conflict in Season 3 is also set up like this; Cassandra betrays Rapunzel and her friends. What she does to them after is horrible, but for understandable reasons, such as feeling like she’s in Rapunzel’s shadow, and has legitimate grievances about how Rapunzel took their friendship for granted and didn’t do enough to reciprocate the sacrifices Cassandra made for their friendship, and how her adoptive father kept the truth of her parentage from her. Most of what happened is due to a lack of honest and open communication on both sides. The gray morality is lampshaded in “Once a Handmaiden...”, when Uncle Monty asks who the bad guy is of the story, with Rapunzel and a disguised Cassandra replying it’s complicated. However, due to a misunderstanding created by Zhan Tiri, Cassandra fully comes to acknowledge herself as the bad guy.
- Hair Reboot: Rapunzel's hair is once again of enormous length despite getting a haircut during the climax of Tangled, and her new hair, instead of its magnificent healing, is indestructible. Some sort of indestructible black spikes have sprouted where the flower once grew, and touching them restores her hair and gives it the same properties as the spikes. This was because of some of the Moonstone's powers from the rocks entering her hair upon contact, so she can be protected on her journey to the Dark Kingdom.
- Hated Item Makeover: In the episode "Rapunzel's Enemy", one of the things Rapunzel tries to win over candymaker Uncle Monty, who seems to like everyone in the kingdom except for her, is repainting his store sign with a more elaborate design. It just makes him hate her more because the original sign was painted by his great-grandfather when he first built the shop.
- Headbutting Heroes: This is the existing dynamic between Cassandra and Eugene. Cass, being the daughter of the captain of the guard, justifiably has some suspicions regarding a former rogue, especially one so close to the princess and a notorious criminal record. Eugene of course has left that life behind and is trying to prove he doesn't care about riches anymore as long as he has Rapunzel.
- Hiccup Hijinks: One of the shorts, Hiccup Fever , has Rapunzel getting hiccups when she tries painting Eugene. All kinds of cures are tried but to no avail. She's cured when Eugene accidentally falls into a bucket of water and makes her laugh.
- Home Sweet Home: Even though she mostly Jumped at the Call and always wanted to explore the world, Rapunzel misses her new-found home and parents while she is away from them in Season 2. "Happiness Is..." focuses on it.
- Interquel: Takes place between Tangled and Tangled Ever After, as the name of the pilot movie indicates.
- Inverse Law of Sharpness and Accuracy: Everyone has swords, but no one is ever slashed or stabbed. One of the fights has a disarmed Cass get thrown a sword by Rapunzel - and then she punches her opponent instead.
- Irony:
- The fact that Uncle Monty and Princess Rapunzel, the two most universally beloved people in Corona, don't like each other.
- What sets off the cause of Varian's Face–Heel Turn. He puts the blame on Rapunzel because she couldn't come help him during the blizzard and broke her promise to him in return, when really, it was his own actions that led up to his father being imprisoned in amber. Even by the season's end, he still refuses to admit it.
- It's Always Spring: Most notable during "Queen For A Day". While Rapunzel mentions she had never been outside while it had snowed, all the snow is gone the day after the storm is completed. It never snows again in the series.
- It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Parodied, though also downplayed in the "Unicorn-y" webisode, which starts with Rapunzel doing her best Humphrey Bogart impression and saying "It was a rainy night in Corona".
- "I Want" Song:
- Rapunzel has a new one called "Wind in My Hair," all about her desire to explore the world and its wonders, just as she's wanted her whole life. It serves as the opening theme.
- Varian gets a pretty epic one in "Let Me Make You Proud," which is about his desire to have his dad see him for the intelligent, capable person he is, rather than the immature, accident-prone troublemaker he believes his dad sees.
- Cassandra gets one of her own in "Waiting in the Wings" about her desire to be seen as a hero which serves as a prelude to her own Face–Heel Turn.
- Karmic Jackpot: And Eugene knows that he's earned it. After nearly dying to save the Lost Princess from Gothel and restoring her to the throne, he's been pardoned and is considered part of the royal family now. For him, though, the best part is having Rapunzel by his side.
- Kick the Dog: Stalyan calls her ex by his former alias just to insult him for what he did to her, is complicit in poisoning his best friend in order to force him into marriage, tells him that he and Rapunzel would never work out together, and insists she "always knows what's best for him", similarly to how Gothel claimed so for Rapunzel.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Clementine has a Saporian Wand of Oblivium, which can erase people's memories.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: Promos refer to Flynn by his secret birth name, Eugene and that Rapunzel had initially lost her long hair after the movie. The series proper uses the name Eugene more often than his Flynn Rider moniker, but those he's met before Rapunzel will refer to him as Flynn Rider. The Captain of the guard disdainfully refers to him as Rider, because he doesn't believe he's changed.
- Leitmotif: Varian’s "I Want" Song “Let Me Make You Proud” shows up repeatedly in Season 3 after his redemption..... It’s given a sweetly triumphant orchestral treatment when Quirin is rescued, which shows up again whenever they have a heartfelt moment together. It also gets a short music box variation when we see toddler Varian in her time travel episode.
- Life Drain: As the power of the sun drop was to give life, the power of the moonstone is to take it. When Rapunzel learns the moonstone incantation, her hair can drain the life from everything around her.
- Limited Wardrobe: Downplayed. The main trio of Rapunzel, Eugene and Cassandra have each gotten new outfits each season, plus an island makeover, while everyone else had the same outfits as usual.
- The Load: Shorty in season 2. He very seldom provides anything useful to Rapunzel's quest, and when he does it's usually by accident.
- Lost Technology: Coronans of days past had machinery that was way ahead of their time. Even Varian was fascinated at the sight of automatons, a technology that is primitive, yet highly more advanced than what present day Coronans are capable of. Sure enough, Varian masters the technology within a matter of days.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: In "Rapunzeltopia", Rapunzel wakes up in an Alternate Universe where she never encountered the black rocks and her life is perfect; in reality, she is under a deep, hypnotic sleep by Matthews, who is influencing her dreams, which can only be broken if she touches the black rocks.
- Love at First Punch: During Eugene's proposal to Rapunzel, he mentions he fell in love with her after she hit him with a frying pan.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: In "Destinies Collide", King Edmund is revealed to be Eugene's father.
- Magic Feather: In "Curses!", just before Rapunzel's wagon is about to cross the desert on a Rope Bridge made of rock towers, Eugene gives her a "lucky moose's tooth" which is listed in the superstitious book as a counter-curse charm, warding off evil and inviting positive forces. She accepts it as she crosses the canyon, only to discover that it really belonged to Shorty, who named it Edna. After Eugene's lie unravels, he reminds her that bad things happened when she believed she was cursed and good luck happened when she believed in the counter-curse, with Rapunzel recalling that the best way to predict the future is to create their own.
- Magic Must Defeat Magic: Varian adamantly believes in Clarke's Third Law and refuses to consider the possibility that magic exists. When indestructible, black rocks start sprouting all over his town due to the Moonstone, he tries creating a compound to destroy them. Unfortunately, his experiments cause the rocks to turn into an amber-like substance and trap his father in an unbreakable crystal, with all of Varian's attempts to save him with alchemy failing. What finally frees Quirin is Rapunzel using the reverse incantation to magically melt the amber.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Rapunzel implies she's been having visions and nightmares about Mother Gothel for a while since that night with the spikes. It's not explained why, but it's either a consequence of her touching the spikes or a likely sign that she has PTSD from being kidnapped as a baby.
- Misplaced Wildlife:
- It is shown Corona has a "gopher grab" as part of the Goodwill festival. You would not find gophers of any species in Europe.
- Raccoons pop up quite a bit, and Varian has a raccoon for a pet, but there were no raccoons in Europe during the time period this series takes place.
- Mood Lighting: When we first meet Varian, he is usually out in the sun or lit brightly. After his Face–Heel Turn, he is mostly seen in the dark or lit by a dull shade of light. Then, when he becomes furious when he's unable to free his father while Rapunzel is able to reunite with both of her parents, the inside of the giant automaton he controls is tinted a fiery red.
- Mood Whiplash: Whenever an episode ends darkly and with a Twist Ending, it then immediately cuts to the upbeat ending tune. The sole exceptions are "Queen For a Day", "Destinies Collide", "Cassandra's Revenge", and "Once a Handmaiden...", all of which feature slow, ominous themes instead.
- Mundane Made Awesome: The "Prison Bake" short has Attila breaking his friends out of prison and dueling his rival Ludwig... with pastries.
- Myth Arc:
- Much of Season 1 consists of a broad arc where Rapunzel has to solve the mystery of the strange rock spires and the regrowth of her long blonde hair.
- The entire series is basically one for the Sundrop, the Moonstone, and the demon Zhan Tiri and her followers who crave their powers.
N-Z
- The Napoleon: The Griffin of Pittsford, who has a short temper to match his height.
- Never My Fault: Varian repeatedly after his Face–Heel Turn. He blames Rapunzel (and by extension, the whole kingdom) because she couldn't come to his aid because of the blizzard getting worse and her parents are missing, when really, it was his own actions that caused his predicament. Even in his final moments when he fails to free his father, he still claims that this isn't his fault and that Rapunzel and the royal family should suffer. However, after spending a year in prison and calming down, he realizes everything that happened is all his fault and just wants a second chance to make things up.
- Never Say "Die":
- Downplayed. Though the Enchanted Girl (Zhan Tiri) tries to get Cassandra to "destroy" Rapunzel, the tone in her voice while giving off this command, and her clearly malicious intentions, still manages to make it sound ominous.
- Varian invents a new weapon to "destroy" Cassandra, with the implication that it's designed to kill her which is reinforced by Eugene making Varian sugarcoat his description of it to Rapunzel.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: Throughout the series, Rapunzel gains several new superpowers that conveniently respond to the dangers she faces.
- At the beginning, Rapunzel's hair grows back; this time, instead of its magnificent healing, it's indestructible and right in the first episode, it saves her and Eugene when they are nearly crushed by falling rubble.
- In the last episode of Season 1, she gains control of the black rocks, which comes in handy to defeat Varian in his giant mech suit. Season 3 reveals that it was a one-time thing and that this power is derived from a fragment of the moonstone's power in her.
- In Season 2, as Rapunzel's party passes through the Great Tree, she learns the reverse incantation that makes things rot. She unwittingly stops a Man-Eating Plant that was about to eat Eugene and Lance, then uses the incantation to destroy the Great Tree itself.
- Near the end of Season 3, a fourth incantation is discovered. It allows Rapunzel to tap into the power of the Sundrop in a new way: instead of healing, it lets her fight against the Moonstone's power.
- New Season, New Name: The show's original name was Tangled: The Series but it got renamed to Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure for the show's second season.
- Never Trust a Trailer: More like "Never Trust a Title Sequence" with a dash of Daydream Surprise. The revised Season 2 title sequence features a scene that appears to be Eugene proposing to Rapunzel. Except it's not. In the Season 2 premiere from which the scene is lifted, it's actually a fantasy sequence that accompanies a song Rapunzel sings about things she fears she'll miss out on in life. In the actual plot of the episode, Eugene never actually proposes. First he panics when Rapunzel stumbles in on his practice proposal and quickly tries to play it off as something completely different. Then by episode's end he decides not to propose for fear that marriage would be just another way to tie her down and prevent her from exploring the world, just like when she was imprisoned in the tower for the first eighteen years of her life. Further, the storybook page in the title sequence that accompanies this scene implies that Rapunzel has cold feet about marriage, when in the episode she's hoping for a proposal at the conclusion and is noticeably saddened by the fact that Eugene chooses not to ask her then and there.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: What sets up the major conflict of "Queen For a Day". Rapunzel is asked to be acting queen while her parents are away, but she has no knowledge of being a ruler and her suggestions only result in bigger problems. Said disability is what soon causes Corona to fall to its weakest state, leaving it vulnerable enough for Zhan Tiri's blizzard to engulf the kingdom and destroy it gradually.
- Nigh-Invulnerable: A year before the series started, unbreakable black rock spikes came out of the ground where the Sundrop flower was. When Rapunzel touched them, more shot up, and her hair regrew with the same property.
- Night and Day Duo: Rapunzel as the Sundrop and Cassandra, as of the Season 2 finale as the Moonstone.
- Noir Episode: The "Unicorn-y" short appears to be an invoked variant, judging by the characters' reactions at the end. Eugene even starts talking in a weird Brooklyn accent during the episode, until Rapunzel tells him to cut it out.
- No Power, No Color: After Zhan Tiri takes away Cassandra's Moonstone, her outfit takes on a dull grey color, compared to the imposing jet black it was before.
- Only the Chosen May Wield: According to Demanitus' prophecy, only the Sundrop can join with the Moonstone to use for good. If in the wrong hands, it’ll cause evil and mass destruction. This is proven when Cassandra snatches the moonstone right before Rapunzel can touch it, and becomes corrupted as a result.
- Only the Leads Get a Happy Ending: "Queen For a Day": The Demanitus Device manages to end the blizzard, Pascal survives upon un-jamming it, Eugene and the thugs come out alive, Rapunzel is reunited with her parents, and Eugene promises he'll be with her when it's time for her to rule. However, Varian's is the only problem that was not solved, with Quirin encased in crystal, and he vows payback on everyone who turned their backs on him, even Rapunzel.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- When Rapunzel is fretting over Uncle Monty booing her, Eugene tells her to let it go and points out that if Cassandra is actually agreeing with him, then it must be worth listening to.
- During "Painter's Block", Eugene rightly freaks out when Rapunzel willingly wears shoes, indicating how much she had changed after the events during "Queen for a Day".
- Permafusion: During the climax of season 2, Cassandra ends up fusing with The Moonstone before Rapunzel can retrieve the item. From that point forward, Cassandra and the Moonstone are joined by the hip, with the latter even causing a significant change to the former as a signal that the two are now one and the same. This fusion eventually ends up being undone near the series finale, where Zhan Tiri takes the Moonstone away from Cassandra in order to regain her full power.
- Pet the Dog: At the end of "The Eye of Pincosta", Stalyan uses some of the money she steals from Rapunzel's group to buy a new frying pan for Rapunzel after her previous one had gotten broken, while also leaving behind a letter thanking Rapunzel for making her reconsider her life and admitting that Rapunzel and Eugene belong together since Rapunzel actually saw him as a person and not just a thief.
- The Power of Hate: The Moonstone is powered by negative emotions such as hatred and anger.
- Precision-Guided Boomerang: Rapunzel gives Eugene a frying pan, which he uses a shield against one very large thug's sword. When two more thugs show up to surround him, he throws it Captain America style, somehow bouncing it off their heads to knock all three thugs out.
- Prefers Going Barefoot: Rapunzel still doesn't wear any shoes, and it gets a lot more lampshading here than it did in the movie. She's forced to wear them sometimes, much to her displeasure, and she willingly wore them when she was trying to disguise herself, but that's it.
- Princess Protagonist: The show once again centers around Rapunzel as it expands on the events and lore of the film, including showing her struggle to adjust to royal life as a princess.
- Reassigned to Antarctica:
- When Eugene was recruited into the Royal Guard, he was given the worst duty of all—dungeon duty.
- When the King learns Cassandra took Rapunzel beyond the walls and triggered the black rocks, she was first reassigned to work in the stables, then was to be sent to a convent the next day. She didn't make it all the way there, though.
- Rejected Marriage Proposal: The series elaborates upon the film's gag about Eugene attempting to propose to Rapunzel several times; it forms a minor subplot although it's played for a bit more drama here. Most noticeably, in the pilot Eugene attempts to propose to Rapunzel before her coronation in front of the whole court, but she rejects him. She establishes that, while she loves him, she isn't ready for marriage and wants to enjoy her life first after being trapped for 18 years. He agrees to wait until she's ready.
- The series also shows Eugene and Rapunzel both giving various failed proposals to each other several times. Rapunzel lampshades this, joking in season 3 that they're due for a flubbed marriage proposal.
- Eugene gives a total of three marriage proposals (technically four since he had one planned proposal get interrupted before he could do it). Rapunzel herself attempts to propose twice to Eugene (the first he gently rejected since he realized she wasn't ready yet and her second attempt was interrupted). Ironically, during their last flubbed proposal, Rapunzel and Eugene are finally in a place where they want to get married, but mutually agree to put a hold on marriage until the war with Cassandra is over. Finally, the series finishes with the war finally over and Eugene and Rapunzel are in a much better place to get married. Eugene proposes to her, to which she happily accepts.
- Replacement Goldfish: Implied by the group shot of "Plus Est en Vous" that shows Stalyan standing next to Brock Thunderstruck, the new Flynn Ryder.
- Revenge:
- Lady Caine's father was a petty thief locked up after Frederic went to town on the kingdom's criminal element, and her attack in the opening movie is based off of revenge for that.
- Varian insists that his actions in the latter half of Season 1 are out of a sense of duty, but it's clear that he's mainly doing it because he's angry and desperate.
- The Reveal:
- "Beginnings" reveals why Rapunzel's hair grew back indestructible when she touched the black rocks: part of the powers of the Moonstone were transferred to her hair so she can be protected during her trip to the Dark Kingdom. This is also why her hair no longer possesses the Sundrop's healing powers and instead possesses the destruction powers of the Moonstone.
- "Cassandra's Revenge" reveals the enchanted girl that followed Cassandra around is really Zhan Tiri in another form.
- Revenge Ballad: Varian gets one after kidnapping Queen Arianna.
- Rewatch Bonus:
- In Season 1, once you learn the black rocks are telling Rapunzel to use them to follow her destiny, it sets their appearance in a new light.
- The fact that Cassandra was Gothel's daughter and was abandoned in favor of Rapunzel becomes more poignant in early episodes since the audience now knows her true feelings and history from the start.
- Given that Zhan Tiri herself was the blizzard in "Queen for a Day", her interest in Varian in "Cassandra's Revenge" is instantly put in a new light.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Turns out Varian was actually right at Rapunzel's hair being the key to freeing Auirin from the amber, just not the right powers. He assumed the Sundrop's power would do such, but because Rapunzel doesn't possess that power, it has no effect. On the second try, she uses the Moonstone power, which was the one she got when she touched the black rocks, and that was the power which melts the Amber and frees Quirin.
- Riddle for the Ages: Season 3 sees Rapunzel and friends inundated with mysterious magical objects with no clear origin: a magical hourglass that found itself into Cassandra's belongings, a magic seashell Angry and Red don't remember stealing in their sack of loot, a dragon egg from a regular shipment that wasn't on the list of goods. The most obvious answer is the Enchanted Girl was planting them, but she was miles away with Cassandra at the time, and anyway how could she have planted anything with no physical body? The main characters don't notice this, and eventually the magic items just stop appearing.
- Rope Bridge: In "Curses!", Rapunzel must get the wagon across the canyon on a bridge made of ropes and rock towers by leaping from one rock to the next, using the domino effect for momentum.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Rapunzel's no less of an Action Girl since becoming a princess, and it's also revealed that her mother Arianna undertook some dangerous adventures in her youth.
- Save the Villain: Maximus briefly stops his pursuit of Axel to save Lady Caine.
- Scooby-Dooby Doors: In "You're Kidding Me!", when Rapunzel and company try to find their way out of Matthews' house, they try several doors with one door leading to another part of the hallway a few steps ahead.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Once his men are defeated, the Weasel quickly skedaddles with his tail between his legs.
- Sequel Goes Foreign: The first season is set in Corona; the second takes Rapunzel, Eugene and crew to the places outside Corona to follow the trail of black rocks to her destiny.
- Series Goal: Rapunzel's is to figure out the mystery of the black rocks which caused her Hair Reboot, and to unlock her true destiny.
- Ship Tease: Varian has a crush on Cassandra. He seems to have dropped it by Season 3, if not way back in Season 1 after his Face–Heel Turn. The two of them have a duet with zero romantic overtones. Cassandra does wear the necklace he made her in Season 1 when she leaves at the end of the series, but that's equally likely to be seen as a token of simple friendship at that point.
- As Season 2 progresses, Lance develops a crush on Adira.
- Short-Lived Leadership: The Season 1 special "Queen For a Day" revolves around Rapunzel taking on the role of acting queen as her parents leave Corona for their anniversary. Unfortunately, the princess has no knowledge of ruling and her suggestions result in the kingdom's problems going From Bad to Worse, and is eventually faced with Zhan Tiri's blizzard curse which she is forced to make gut-wrenching decisions.
- Shout-Out:
- One of the episode titles, "One Angry Princess", is an allusion to 12 Angry Men.
- The episode "Great Expotations" is one to the novel Great Expectations, where a Nice Guy becomes a Dogged Nice Guy to an Aloof Dark-Haired Girl who due to have been raised by an Abusive Parent has become an Emotionless Girl.
- The dress that Freidborg holds up during "Secret of the Sundrop" strongly resembles Belle's dress from the ballroom scene.
- Varian's chemical balls are similar to Honey Lemon's.
- In "Painter's Block", Miss Sugarbee says "Life is full of tough choices, isn't it?" - which is what Ursula from The Little Mermaid (1989) says to Ariel.
- In "Freebird", Rapunzel and Cassandra fall into a hole and have tea with weird people.
- After a flock of King Edmund's Creepy Crows bombards Lance, he mutters, "Nevermore."
- In "Destinies Collide", the two giant statues resemble the Argonath, the way Rapunzel walks the glowing bridge that forms right under her feet is similar to Kida walking on water, and Cassandra's Painful Transformation resembles that of Rourke from the same movie.
- Mr. Matthews looks like a white-haired and French version of Chancellor Esteban.
- Slipknot Ponytail: Despite her hair being kept in an elaborate braid that still reaches her heels tied up, she is usually able to shake it all free in a single gesture, then just as easily tie it up again when it'd be a nuisance.
- Spoiler Cover: This Season 3 poster has Cassandra as an Evil Overlooker. This is a Late-Arrival Spoiler as well, as she pulls her Face–Heel Turn at the very end of Season 2.
- The Stinger:
- The pilot film ends with a first-person shot of someone going to the rock the sun flower that empowered Rapunzel originally grew from.
- Season 1's "Secret of the Sun Drop" ends with a mysterious woman with drawing a black metal sword that can slice the black rocks and a tattoo on her right hand similar to the one on Quirin's left hand.
- Story Arc: Season 1 focused on the black rocks and the mystery of Rapunzel's Hair Reboot. Season 2 had the journey outside of Corona to the Dark Kingdom so Rapunzel can follow her destiny. Season 3 focused on Cassandra's rise to power, leading to the awakening of Zhan Tiri.
- Suddenly Speaking: The King and Queen of Corona were completely silent during the movie, but speak during the series. At least partly due to the difficulty in them remaining silent while having to be major characters every week.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- Hook Hand went on tour before the series started, so his little brother Hook Foot takes his place.
- A villain whose Freudian Excuse involves them losing their respective fathers at least partially due to the actions of King Frederic, is incredibly cunning, places all the blame on Rapunzel for their misfortune, is physically attractive despite being evil, overpowers a group of people with an army of sorts, and abducts a member of Corona's royal family. Lady Caine, or Varian?
- A former protagonist who sought validation and the idea of making their respective fathers proud, used to be Rapunzel's friend before turning against her and coming to hate her, served as the Arc Villain of a season, were manipulated by a greater evil who pretended to be their ally, and wound up redeeming themselves and making amends with Rapunzel. Varian, or Cassandra?
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: When the royal family is in trouble, Cassandra and Eugene will team up without hesitation despite their mutual dislike of the other.
- There Are No Therapists: These characters have issues that would require therapy. However, this trope is justified by the fact that this series takes place during a time when therapy is still in its infancy, if not earlier:
- The fact that King Fredric has PTSD from losing his daughter and his approach to dealing with having his daughter back clearly shows he'd need professional help in having a good relationship with her. Hugs, kisses, and words from his wife are no substitute for actually learning how to deal with grief constructively.
- Then there's the fact that Varian had his father encased in living amber, followed by people basically abandoning him and Rapunzel not even so much as checking up on him when the whole thing is over, so months later, he goes right into a fit of vindictiveness against the Royal Family. Rapunzel may have pleaded her father to get help for him, but if he didn't have any access to professional help himself, it's unlikely he'd be able to do so for Varian. This eventually proves true in the Season 3 premiere, where Varian got worse from being the dungeon that whole time, and sunk deeper into depression until Rapunzel came.
- After "Queen For A Day", Rapunzel was still reeling from the events of that special, and the closest she ever got to therapy was an art class, which is a known form of therapy. However, the instructor turned out to be a servant of an ancient evil demon.
- Cassandra is particularly bad at this; Cassandra's issues are basically just left to fester and develop into full subscriptions until she goes screaming off the deep end betraying Rapunzel and taking the moonstone.
- Apart from Varian, Rapunzel probably needs therapy more than any other character (and would probably respond the best), after being kept in isolation for 18 years and then learning that her "mother" was using her for her entire life. While her bright personality makes her seem well-adjusted, viewers and he friends can see that she has an unhealthy habit of pretending everything is fine and hiding all negative feelings under a facade of sunshine and rainbows. This is probably because Gothel found any negativity from her annoying, so she learned to repress it. Eugene finally calls her out on it after the most egregious example of this behavior, when Rapunzel pretends to be happy and chipper after Cassandra betrays her and tells her she hates her. Luckily, at the end of the episode, she does open up to Eugene about it.
- Eugene needs some too after meeting his father, King Edmund. Sending him away from the kingdom could be understandable, but why was he put in an orphanage? Why was he not placed with one of his subjects, like the Brotherhood? And then there's the mind screw of him not realizing that he was a year older than he thought he was. Eugene does make peace with the whole thing in the end, and in a much less dramatic and destructive fashion than a lot of the other characters to boot.
- Tomboy Princess: A large portion of the plot revolves around Rapunzel's boisterous, carefree attitude driving her on adventures. Though this is somewhat subverted as she is more of a girly girl albeit with an adventurous streak.
- Too Clever by Half:
- The King establishes a guard duty around Rapunzel before and during her coronation, expecting that she will attract unwanted criminal attention. It never occurs to him that he could be the target.
- Varian's villainous arc shows that he was always a step ahead of Rapunzel and the King and always managed to escape, right up until his plan to use Rapunzel's hair to free his father fails.
- Toxic Friend Influence:
- Lance begins this way, as he spends his first appearance persuading Eugene to carry out one last robbery. However, he develops as a character and by the end of the first season, has become a loyal member of Rapunzel's team.
- Zhan Tiri becomes one for Cassandra in Season 3.
- Training from Hell: All recruits to the Royal Guard are given this type of training, but the Captain of the Guard really has it out for Eugene, making it even harder for him in hopes that he'll wash out at basic training.
- Traitor Shot: In the final scene of "Lost and Found", Eugene reads a warning from Demanitus that one of Rapunzel's friends will betray her once she finishes her journey to the Dark Kingdom. He sees Cassandra after reading, who glances at Rapunzel with a Slasher Smile on her face.
- Trash the Set: In "The Quest for Varian", Rapunzel's tower is destroyed by the black rocks.
- Trojan Horse: In "Secret of the Sun Drop", as Rapunzel is celebrating her 19th birthday, she finds a music box-like cylinder among her presents. Turns out it was a timing cylinder. As it turned, it caused the disassembled pieces hidden in present boxes to form into an automaton. It was planted there by Varian as part of his revenge plan on Corona.
- Triumphant Reprise: Following a bittersweet Dark Reprise of "Life After Happily Ever After," Rapunzel sings a determined reprise of "Wind in My Hair" at the ending of the pilot.
- Turn the Other Cheek:
- In "Rapunzel's Return", Varian performs a Heel–Face Turn upon realizing the Saporians intend to kill everyone in Corona and risks his own life to save the people of Corona, even though they turned their backs on him when he begged for help freeing his father.
- In the series finale, despite all the cruelty she's shown them and the amount of times she's tried to murder them, Rapunzel and Eugene readily forgive Cassandra.
- Unexpectedly Dark Episode: "Queen For a Day" was advertised as a fun winter special, but ended up being the episode where Cerebus Syndrome kicked in. "Painter's Block", "The Quest for Varian" and "The Alchemist Returns" followed suit.
- Unmanly Secret: Inverted with Cassandra, who tries to hide her all-too-manly hobbies from the rest of the kingdom, save for Rapunzel and her friends, due to having to be a proper lady-in-waiting.
- Unnamed Parent: Subverted with Rapunzel's parents, who are finally given names: Frederic and Arianna.
- The Unreveal: Back in "Queen for a Day", Varian's father wrote a note to his son before getting encased in the crystal, trapping the note with it. Later, in season three, he gets freed but the actual contents of the letter is never revealed or even hinted at.
- Unstoppable Force Meets Immovable Object: Attempted by Varian in the season finale, using Rapunzel's hair as the tip of a drill to try and break the amber trapping Quirin, the logic being that both are unbreakable so one will have to give. However, he didn't think it through, as it's really two immovable objects meeting, and while it strains Rapunzel neither her hair nor the amber give way.
- Later, when Adira makes her first proper appearance, she attempts to cut Rapunzel's hair with her sword, which has already proven capable of slicing through the otherwise-indestructible black rocks. Both women are surprised by the outcome.
Adira: It didn't cut.
Rapunzel: It didn't break. - Villainous Valor: Caine allows Cassandra to pick up the candleholder she's using as a weapon in their fight.
- Villain Ball: Lady Caine shouldn't have left Rapunzel behind while trying to cart off King Frederic. This gives Rapunzel, Eugene and Cassandra time to go on the offense.
- Villain Team-Up: "Peril on the High Seas" has villains from across the series break out of the prison barge they're captured on and organize into a gang. They include Lady Caine, Axel, Pocket, Otter, Anthony the weasel, and the Stabbingtons. Even the fake The Giovanni from episode 3 is among them with his real name being revealed as Dale.
- Visual Pun:
- In "Be Very Afraid", those who see their worst fears from the red rocks will become petrified by them — as in literally turned into rocky statues of themselves.
- "Cassandra's Revenge" has two of them:
- Varian and Cass say "You can't stop the turning of the screws" as the camera rotates around them.
- When Rapunzel is reciting the Hope Incantation, she opens her glowing gold eyes when she says "Restore our fading sight."
- The Voiceless: Freidborg, the plain-looking castle maid who is often mistaken for Cassandra since they wear similar gowns, has yet to be heard from, although she reportedly has a beautiful voice...
- We Can Rule Together: In "Destinies Collide", King Edmund introduces Eugene to his ancestors who were sworn to guard the Moonstone from anyone who would use it for their own purposes, and expresses disapproval at Eugene, who begins to question who he really is, until Pascal arrives and reminds him of Rapunzel. When Edmund is about to criticize Eugene for failing to uphold his ancestors' legacy, Eugene tells Edmund that Rapunzel didn't come to bring destruction, but to rescue Edmund from the curse. Lance figures out that by destroying the statues using Adira's sword, the ghosts are vanquished.
- We Used to Be Friends: Rapunzel and Varian at the end of season one, and Rapunzel and Cassandra during season three. The former example is reversed come "Rapunzel's Return" thanks to Varian pulling a Heel–Face Turn.
- Wham Episode:
- "Queen for a Day" marks the point Season 1 turns Darker and Edgier, and is the darkest episode of the season (only second to "The Quest For Varian" and "Secret of the Sundrop"). Rapunzel is forced to make the toughest of decisions, the kingdom is almost destroyed by a deadly blizzard, the king, queen and Pascal nearly die, and most shockingly, it ends with previously adorable Varian making a Face–Heel Turn and swearing vengeance on Corona's royal family.
- "The Alchemist Returns" ends with Varian realizing the magical flower no longer has its magic, and that it exists inside Rapunzel, leading to the events of "Secret of the Sundrop".
- "Rapunzel and the Great Tree". Rapunzel unlocks an incredibly dangerous and destructive power from the Moon writings, Adira is heavily implied to have a far darker reason for helping the heroes, Cass and Rapunzel's friendship is severely damaged due to Rapunzel interpreting Cass breaking her out of her moon trance as her not trusting her, and Cass' right arm is crippled.
- "Destinies Collide". Eugene and Rapunzel are already on edge when the former reveals to the latter that someone in their group will turn on them. After Eugene briefly sides with his father by refusing to let Rapunzel near the Moonstone, we assume that the traitor is Eugene in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Eugene's suspicions were proven to be true when Cassandra steals the Moonstone for herself and bonds with its power
- "Rapunzel's Return". Gothel is revealed to be Cassandra's biological mother, and she was abandoned in favor of Rapunzel and thus became jealous of always being in her shadow. On the good side, Varian makes a Heel–Face Turn and Quirin is finally freed from the amber.
- "Cassandra's Revenge": The Enchanted Girl is revealed to be Zhan Tiri in a new form, and is released once Rapunzel unleashes the full power of the Sundrop against the Moonstone.
- "Once a Handmaiden..." Cassandra now assumes full control of Corona, leading in to the Grand Finale.
- Wham Line:
- Varian's last line in "Queen for a Day," cementing his Face–Heel Turn.Varian: And I swear right now, that no matter what comes of me, anybody that stands or has stood in my path, they're going to pay! They. Will. Pay.
- And earlier, Rapunzel realizes she's facing Zhan Tiri's blizzard curse and how to destroy it:Rapunzel: If [Dad] were here, he would tell me to...follow my heart.
- From the last scene of "The Alchemist Returns", when Varian makes a huge, shocking discovery about the flower...Varian: The Sundrop isn't the flower anymore...it's Rapunzel!
- From "Lost and Found":Lord Demanitus' note: At the end of Rapunzel's journey, one of her party shall turn against her.
- From "Destinies Collide":King Edmund: (to Eugene) You are my son.
- From the very last seconds of "Destinies Collide":Cassandra: I tried to warn you, Rapunzel. You have to be careful who you trust.
- In "Rapunzel's Return":
- When Varian reveals his motivations for joining Andrew.
Rapunzel: None of these people did anything to you.
Varian: It's not what they did to me! It's what I did to them.- From the same scene, after Andrew and the Sapporians reveal their intention to destroy Corona:
Varian: Wait no! No! We agreed that no one would be harmed!
Andrew: Relax, Varian. You don't want to end up on the wrong side of history. You understand, buddy?
[Beat]
Varian: You're right. So I'm going to have to ask you... to step inside that cell.
- Varian's last line in "Queen for a Day," cementing his Face–Heel Turn.
- Wham Shot: "Lost and Found" has this towards the very end, when Eugene reads a message from Vigor the Visionary (who was revealed to be Lord Demantius, creator of the scroll they've been following) saying that one person from Rapunzel's party will betray her once they reach the Dark Kingdom. As Eugene looks at the group, he notices Cassandra giving the most devious of smiles, causing him to believe that the traitor is her. It comes true in the next episode.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: This is Rapunzel's reaction upon learning that the Baron's "prize stallion" that Eugene stole was actually the Baron's daughter Stalyan, who Eugene left at the altar. At least part of it is jealousy.Rapunzel: Who names their kid Stalyan anyway? What's her sister's name? Bronco?
- World-Healing Wave: In the climax of "Queen For a Day", when the Demanitus Device is activated, it generates an electric wave of clouds and smoke which wipes out all traces of the blizzard, until there is no falling snow in sight.
- World of Technicolor Hair: Subverted. Oddly for a fantasy setting, almost no one naturally has biologically impossible hair colors, with even Rapunzel being a brunette without her powers. Of course, Varian's blue streak appears to be something he was born with and is left unexplained.
- The Worf Effect:
- Is a tough new character being introduced? It's a safe bet that the writers will demonstrate that toughness by having Cassandra attack them and fail miserably.
- In "Destinies Collide", Adira is curb-stomped by King Edmund.
- Xenafication: Rapunzel suddenly becoming a fearless athlete capable of keeping up with the kingdom's most deadly warriors who have fought and trained for years, when in the movie it was established she is afraid when people attack her, and while capable of defending herself, she's far more likely to run away.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: At the end of "Queen For a Day," as Rapunzel is shaken from the most difficult day of her life and is unsure if she wants to be queen, Eugene cheers her by saying that it's long time from now, and when the time comes, no matter what happens, he'll be right with her.
- Your Favourite: When Rapunzel is feeling depressed from the aftermath of the coronation and her father's edict not to leave Corona, Eugene brings her a cupcake to help cheer her up. Notably she responds to this far better than any of Gothel's offers of hazelnut soup.Eugene: I believe somebody ordered room service? (holds up the cupcake)
Rapunzel: (smiles) Eugene... how did you know?
Now I got my eyes openin' wider
My heart burnin' like fire
Feels like I'm so alive
I'm never going back
Whatever I want now, I'm gonna chase it
Who I am, I can't contain it
I'm not gonna hold it in
'Cause there's more of me to give
There's more of me to give
My heart burnin' like fire
Feels like I'm so alive
I'm never going back
Whatever I want now, I'm gonna chase it
Who I am, I can't contain it
I'm not gonna hold it in
'Cause there's more of me to give
There's more of me to give
— Ending Theme
