Brief Synopsis: In the first regular episode of the series, Sofia is excited to try out for Royal Prep's flying derby team, but is disappointed to learn that riding is not viewed as a "princess thing."
Recap: Sofia and family are in the carriage, hurrying to see the opening of the flying derby season. They have been made late by Amber, who apparently had trouble finding her special Derby tiara to wear. For Amber, the best part about going is wearing this tiara. But Sofia is a big fan of the race. We see the flying coach in action for the first time, as the driver deploys the wings and takes "the high road."
While watching the race (which is essentially pegasi running an obstacle course), Sofia learns that her school has a derby team. She is invited by James to watch practice for the tryout race. Amber is going because she wants to ogle Prince Hugo, the school's best rider. James protests that he is just as good as Hugo, only to be reminded by his sister that he couldn't even qualify for the team last year. Sofia gets a faraway look in her eyes as she says she might come to practice.
After school the next day, Sofia does, indeed, head to the stables. But she isn't there to practice. To everyone's shock, she tells the derby coach, Sir Gilliam, that she wants to try out. Gilliam explains that princesses are technically allowed to, but Amber interrupts him to say that none ever do because it's not a princess thing to do. She, Hildegard, Clio, Hugo, James, Gilliam, and another boy then proceed to sing a great song about the differences between what princesses and princes do. (The highlight of the song is when Amber and her friends say that princesses "sing blissfully from windowsills.") Sofia has two verses in the song where she argues that princesses can do anything princes can do.
That night the animals ask Sofia about her day and she says that she was discouraged from joining the derby team. To Robin's surprise, Clover is emphatic that Sofia should try out anyway. Sofia agrees and at dinner with her family announces that she will be trying out. Amber is clearly annoyed. Roland is about to say something (almost certainly he was about to either discourage Sofia or say how surprised he was) when Miranda makes it clear she is strongly in favor. Roland agrees with his wife and then encourages James to help Sofia learn to ride. Amber teases James about what the other boys will think. James's last protest is that Sofia doesn't have a proper riding outfit, but Baileywick says one will be ready by morning.
Wearing a cute purple riding outfit (which is totally out of place if Enchancia exists in the equivalent of our world's late 18th century), Sofia tells Sir Gilliam that she is going to try out. A very unenthusiastic Gilliam then tells Sofia that there is only one horse left, a small, purple one named Minimis. Sofia loves him and, using her amulet power to talk to animals, tells Minimis he's perfect. Unfortunately, Sofia's riding skills are not. After being laughed at by Prince Hugo (who now becomes the real face of opposition to Sofia's participation), James gives Sofia a very lackluster lesson, which results in Sofia continually falling off Minimis as she tries to fly (my daughter absolutely loves this sequence, giggling uncontrollably every time we watch it). When Hugo becomes even meaner, James now takes his role as teacher more seriously. Sofia joins James on his horse and he shows her how to fly. Then she follows suit on Minimis. While she is now able to ride and fly, she is unable to complete the course. The end of the race involves flying to the top of a steeple and ringing the bell. Minimis and Sofia simply can't make it to the top. Despite her progress that day (which, frankly, is nothing short of miraculous), Sofia is depressed when she heads home.
At home, Amber approaches Sofia and encourages her to quit. The blonde princess watched Sofia nearly fall off Minimis while trying the steeple, and is very worried that Sofia will get hurt. (Amber seems sincerely worried about Sofia. She's come a long way since the pilot, although she will frequently revert to some of her earlier feelings about her sister.) When Sofia tells her animal friends, they encourage her to keep practicing.
And she does, getting up very early the next day. While singing the episode's second standout song, Sofia gradually gets better and better at the course, but she just can't get Minimis to the top of the steeple. Minimis urges Sofia to get a better horse, but she only wants to use him. Hugo again taunts Sofia for her inability to finish the race. (So he's gone from saying she can't do it at all to she can't do it perfectly . . . on her second day. Hugo is, frankly, a jerk.)
Because she can't finish the course, Sofia decides to quit. She tells her mom when she returns from practice. Queen Miranda doesn't agree. She says that Sofia can do it and that the whole family is coming to watch the race the next day. Sofia still isn't sure, but agrees to go.
An enormous crowd turns out the next day to see if a princess can make the team. They are overwhelmingly encouraging to Sofia (showing that the only people who don't want her on the team are Hugo and, maybe, Gilliam; this mirrors the pilot movie, where the only person who didn't want Sofia around at Royal Prep was Amber). Hugo taunts James and Sofia again before the race. There are five total riders and the top two will make the team (it's pretty easy to see where this is going). Amber and her friends are in the Royal Box to cheer on Hugo (she even, bizarrely, has a fan made with Hugo's face on it; I guess Miranda and Roland think it's okay for a nine-year old girl to be obsessed with a boy).
The race starts and Sofia struggles at first, while James and Hugo leap out to the lead. However, the crowd is thrilled as Sofia starts to make up ground, passing the two nameless princes to move into third. Hugo now decides to knock Sofia out of the race, and when the course leads them over a small cottage, he deliberately pulls up in front of Sofia, causing her to fall off Minimis and land on a pile of hay. Amber is furious and destroys her Hugo fan (she now roots for Sofia). James flies back and helps Sofia back on to Minimis to resume the race, much to the announcer's and crowd's delight.
Showing just how awful the other two riders are, Sofia and James quickly pass them, and even make up ground on Hugo (which isn't terribly realistic, but Hugo is shown briefly gawking at Sofia again, so maybe he wasn't trying his best). At the steeple, Sofia encourages Minimis and they make it over for the first time. Hugo is so surprised, he nearly flies into a tree, allowing Sofia and James to make it a dead heat for the finish. Hugo is not able to recover, and James and Sofia cross the finish line first, making the team (I think Sofia wins, but it's very hard to tell). Amber and company are thrilled and Sir Gilliam (and two nameless twin princes) award James and Sofia their team jerseys.
Everyone comes to congratulate Sofia and James. On the way, Amber deliberately snubs Hugo. James gives Sofia credit for their win, saying all the extra practice made him a better rider (tying back into Roland's point earlier that James didn't practice enough in the past). Amber says she is now Sofia's biggest fan and, disdainful of the derby jerseys, gives Sofia her special derby tiara. It's a pretty nice moment between the (still) new sisters. James protests that he won too, and Amber indifferently replies, "I know."
Biggest Is Best: Amber is shocked that Sofia wants to try out for the derby team and tries to push Sofia to stick to princess things (this is part of a series of episodes in the first season where Amber does her best to help Sofia fit in, only to learn that Sofia fits in best by being herself and following her own instincts). "Princess Things" is a very funny song, even if you aren't supposed to agree with its message, and Amber really shines in it. Amber's obsession with Hugo is a little creepy to the father of a three-year old (me), but by the end she seems completely cured of it. Viewers aren't supposed to sympathize with Amber when she tries to get Sofia to quit, but the show actually makes this moment a little deeper by having Amber be completely sincere in her concern about Sofia's safety.
Don't Play Ball in the Castle: James solidifies his place as Sofia's brother by helping her learn to ride and fly. He also learns a valuable lesson about the importance of applying yourself to meet your goals (this lesson is undercut by Sofia being instantly proficient at riding once she learns how; so the lesson is really be either supernaturally gifted or be prepared to work to get good at something). He does a good job standing up for Sofia in response to Hugo's bullying. The absolute best James moment of the episode occurs when Sofia is continually falling off Minimis. To this point, James has basically just been watching Sofia struggle, without really putting much effort into his teaching. When Sofia asks what she is doing wrong, a very blank-looking James shrugs and says, "I don't know. We can stop if you want." That's James in a nutshell. Only Hugo's repeated taunts toward Sofia push the prince to actually try to figure out how to properly teach Sofia. His first effort is pretty lazy.
A Little Bit of Food: Clover, Robin, and Mia encourage Sofia to keep trying and it's Clover's strong push that counteracts the message of "Princess Things." Clover is already far along the path of being Sofia's best friend in this first episode.
Jiggly Wiggly Pudding: Roland and Miranda are a little more involved in this episode than usual. Miranda's support for Sofia's tryout clearly changes Roland's mind and both parents do their part to help Sofia succeed. Roland pushes James to help his sister and Miranda gives Sofia the final pep talk she needs to show up at the race. Miranda also demonstrates a remarkable ability to sit down on the castle steps while wearing her usual enormous pink gown, something which almost qualifies as a super power.
Man of the Castle: Baileywick has only one scene in the episode, but it's a nice one. When James is trying to say that Sofia can't race because she doesn't have a riding outfit, the steward immediately pipes up that she will have clothes in time for practice. He reaches at least 100 years into the future to get Sofia's outfit, which is quite impressive.
I'll Do Whatever Hildy is Does: Hildegard and Clio are both introduced in this episode, but they aren't named. They are shown as part of Amber's clique, accompanying her to watch Hugo practice and then to the race itself. They support Amber's position that derby isn't a princess thing, with Hildegard disdainfully calling attention to Sofia's near fall while trying the steeple. Both of these characters (particularly Hildegard) will play a bigger role going forward, with Hildy becoming more and more of a presence when the show needs a snob as Amber is made more sympathetic.
Leaving Me With a Score to Settle: Prince Hugo passes as the villain in this episode. At first he is just part of a chorus of princes who encourage Sofia to stick to princess things, but he later becomes basically the only person who is strongly against her joining the team. He taunts James and Sofia, and then tries to sabotage her efforts. Hugo is supposedly the best rider at the school, but his focus on ruining Sofia's chances actually keeps him from making the team. It's not really clear why Hugo is so determined to keep Sofia from even trying and that kind of hurts the episode and simplifies its message.
Review: My daughter simply would not move on from this episode when we first started watching Sofia so I've seen it a lot. It's a solid start to the real first season (Once Upon a Princess was a movie pilot so this is our first regular-length show). It's not clear how long has passed since Sofia moved into the castle, but everyone seems quite comfortable as a family. Sofia is still learning basic things about her school and her role, but she is already starting to reset some of expectations for what it means to be a princess. It's definitely arguable that 2013 is a little late for a show's message to be "girls can do anything boys can do", but I'm not going to dwell on things like that. My only real problem with this entry is that Sofia makes progress as a rider far too quickly. She is basically proficient with everything after the first day, except the steeple. And during the race, she is shown to be a significantly faster rider than everyone (including James and Hugo). The only things that makes the race close are Hugo's attempt to cheat and Minimis's struggles to get to the top of the steeple. James had been working for at least two years to get on the team, and Sofia does it in a few days (I do like that the show attempts to explain some of this by saying James doesn't practice). A more sophisticated show would probably have had Sofia take pride in just finishing the race, while James qualifies after all of the practice he put in. I'm not a fan of shows where everything comes super easy for the characters (it's why I hope my daughter never gets into Olivia).
Overall, it's another four out of five star entry.
****
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