The Mysterious Cities of Gold - S4E26 - End of the Adventure?

 

Yeah, they must have messed up the colouring of one of the yellows, but we know that King in Yellow, Queen in Red.

So, Esteban, Zia and Tao discuss the place they found with the cities, but Tao makes them promise that they won't go there until after the meteorite has been dealt with... which I feel is strange since if there is some people who would now anything about the meteor and the solar cannon it would the sages of the cities that seems to exist in this almost other dimension? Anyway, one night Nostradamus and Kokapetl observes the arrival of the meteorite in the sky... which is like Tintin and the mysterious star... it's even in the title!

The next day they begin firing up the cannon, but before they can fire it malfunctions, the cracks in the stone seems to divert the power so that it can't create the energy beam. Tao has only one option... going to Ambrosius in the dungeon... or maybe speak to sages? I mean, they built every city, wouldn't they know how to fix it? NO, we go to the bad guy, but of course he won't do it to save the world, he needs to be payed. We don't see what it is, but when the kids tells Mendoza he's furious of the demand and walks away from it. He's released for a short while and creates another black sun that Tao uses in the cannon that seems to fix the stone, but now there is a storm so Esteban, for the final time, uses his powers to summon the sun, powering the cannon. The cannon fires and obliterates the meteorite...

Wait, that's it? Where's the doom and gloom? The screaming public, both Thundersub and the Belvision Tintin captured the sense of dread from people at flying meteorites. Well, the king announces his decision to seize all the artefacts to protect it from Spain and England. The children protests until the adults go away and then they set their plan into action. Gaspard, Sancho and Pedro (that have awakened from his coma thanks to the Chinese alchemist Esteban's father brought) takes the artefacts to Zimbabwe while Leguerra and Mendoza frees Ambrosius and take him to the Olmecian Flying Machine while the kids deconstruct the 7th city and turn Chambord back into it's original and current form. They say good-bye to Ambrosius and then runs trough the gate of the elders and back in Zimbabwe they take out the medallions and lock the gate for the soldiers of Francis I.

So, at this moment our friends separate. Esteban and Zia decide to explore this other world which only they can enter with the medallions so they say good-bye to the others. Tao is given the golden condor and together with Mendoza, Leguerra and Gaspard are to travel to India to set out the Order of the Condor to protect the artefacts from Mu. Mendoza releases Sancho and Pedro from his service, Pedro now have the princess and Sancho... gets to hook up with the nurse that nursed him back after his coma... feels like time went short here. Sancho is a bit thrown under the bus here I feel, since my perception from the first season he was more important and loyal than Pedro and here is just given a girl with no name actually. Esteban and Zia unite their medallions, leaves the city and meets the other sages and as they walk down the stairs, Esteban and Zia runs after them, hand in hand... The End!

The documentary was a bit of summation of what they have been about from season 2-4. And that's it. Hopefully we get an official release on DVD/Blu Ray with actual translated subtitles or an english dub. I'm a bit miffed about the ending, the Chinese alchemist only purpose was curing Leguerra and Sancho and I expected a call to arms from all people we had seen. I don't think Ambrosius earned that ending either, he has killed people and almost doomed the world for his own greed and ambitions, yeah, he's right that you can't trust the kings, but he's no different. And probably more panic before they destroy the meteorite would have been advised. But overall, it's a workable ending and it's bitter sweet to see it after... well 30 years for me, but 40 years for the whole series. I might have two more posts after this, one personal reflection on the series overall and an unknown date of the video game based on the second season.

The Mysterious Cities of Gold - S4E25 - The 7th City of Gold

 

Apparently a solar cannon.

Great, yet another episode that actually manually translated by a human. Well, Mendoza has a concussion, and Leguerra is poisoned so they go back to Zimbabwe to get to Chambard in order to heal them, but Ambrosius beat them to it, take the orichalcium maxtrix, blows it all up and runs trough the portals, grabs the medallions and lock it. In the attack Sancho ends in a coma. Esteban and Zia arrives too late to prevent it, but Leguerra tells them that Ambrosius medallions lie where they fought and Mendoza tells them where it is, but can't follow due to his injuries. At the ravine they fall in and grab the medallions, but are attacked by snakes. They put in the medallions and are transported to... I don't know but it seems to be place where the cities of gold exists beside each other. They end up in a room with several gates and find the one that take them too Chambard and as they leave one of the sages appear in the flesh.

Meanwhile Ambrosius have overheard Francis I talking to Esteban's dad about taking over all the artefacts, renegading on his promise to Leonardo da Vinci in that the Order would be independent. Ambrosius catches Nostradamus that take him to Tao, he injures Kokapetl, steals all the treasure and uses Tao as hostage. Esteban arrives and opens the gate to Zimbabwe and looks for his father, but sees the hostage situation instead. He uses an experimental crown to grab the stone from Ambrosius. He hunts down Esteban that drops the stone and a crack appears on it, but Mendoza intervenes and gets slapped around until they end up outside where a trap was laid by Pedro and Gaspard who dropped several bars of Orichalcium over him.

The documentary was about snakes and the serum from their venom.

The Mysterious Cities of Gold - S4E24 - Revenge

Won't he ever die!

It's a smoke bomb, but they clear it by opening the glass and Mendoza is able to push Ambrosius out of the cockpit and land on the wing together. Leguerra is able to make him loose his footing so he crashes into the jungle below. And then it seems to be a time skip since everyones working and the kids are back in Chambord until a message to Esteban and Zia leads them to visit the village with the freed slaves. Zia has another vision showing Zares, but with the faces of Leguerra, Mendoza and Tao, implying that he's gonna kill them I think? So they head back to the others.

Mendoza, Leguerra and Gaspard is hunting and Gaspard is tricked so that Mendoza and Leguerra can be alone. Gaspared gets attacked by a lion and the next shot is off Leguerra standing up and putting her belt back on with Mendoza lying on his cape. If that isn't a euphemism for sex I don't know what is, it's basically Kiera Knightly putting on her boots in the end of Pirates 3. Well, Ambrosius push some rock on them knocking out Mendoza and tries to kill Leguerra, but she is able to grab his medallions and chuck them away and he flees when Gaspard, the lion and a couple of hunters arrive. One of the hunters arrive and ask if she is ok, but she coils back as she just been bitten by a snake.

Documentary was more about predators on the savanna.

The Mysterious Cities of Gold - S4E23 - The Last of the Atlanteans

 

*sniff* Why does this show make me so sad now?

Well, the Olmec friend survived the shot, for the moment. He tells them to overheat the generator and destroy the security mechanism, and as parting words ask them to tell tell Esteban that he is the last of the Atleanteans and is the only one that can undo all the evil the Atlanteans have done. As Mendoza and Leguerra runs away after following his commands, he brings back his hologram machine looking at his loved one, the princess that was one of the sages and buried in the tomb in the 4th city of gold. And then he dies. Gaspard is about to be killed by the last Olmec but to his indignity is saved by Mendoza yet again. They escape the building and the leader Olmec awakens in the generator room, is only able to figure out what they have done to it and then the whole place explodes. After that follows scenes as they get away from falling rocks, steps and lava.

Reenactment with Arnold

The kids oversee the construction and then Esteban and Zia heads to Zimbabwe and gets the condor to the cave to pick up Mendoza and gang. While waiting they talk and reveal their feelings for each other and kiss. Only took them 40 years. And Kokopetl discovers Ambrosius that is hiding and while Esteban checks it out he runs out of the cave and disappears, at this moment Mendoza and the others arrive, they board the condor and flies away. During flight they hear a strange sound, Mendoza opens the back door and a ball rolls out and are about to explode or gas them.

More stuff about Zimbabwe, bird that are on the flag and coins and also a bit about the acropolis above the city, especially interesting was the fact that some of the corridors was just 25 cm wide and no one knew the exact purpose. Some guessed that it had to do with leading cool air through the structure and other thought it was used by different classes. And that is classes in the marxist sense or something like that.

The Mysterious Cities of Gold - S4E22 - The Gate to Hell

Doesn't get more heavy metal than this!

Mendoza's group infiltrates the Olmec camp and tries to locate the stone. They are spotted and pinned down in the hangar. Gaspard uses one of the flying machine to distract the olmecs and the other escapes through a hatch leading to the generator. They are stopped by the Olmec Esteban saved. He seems to have his doubt and seems to mourn a woman from before he was frozen down 12 000 years ago. As they explain the danger he agrees to help so he shuts down the generator and gives them the stone. The leader Olmec shows up fires a shot at him and Mendoza lobs his sword, both olmecs appears dead.

The kids meanwhile starts construction of the city and uses Zimbabwe as the orichalcum furnace to create the parts they need. They also recalls the condor factory in the second city and that orichalcum supposedly hardens by sound so they use drummers to recreate the sound.

Now the documentaries are on the tribe of Zimbabwe and hunting during the court of Francis I.

The Mysterious Cities of Gold - S4E21 - Hand in Hand

I won't cry! *sniff*

The heroes tries to tell Gaspard and Leguerra that the world is ending if they don't assemble the artefacts from Ambrosius, but Gaspard won't listen. Leguerra proposes a duel between her and Mendoza for either taking the treasures and build the 7th city or take the treasures to Charles V. While the dual is going on Pedro and Sancho is looking for food and angers an ostrich that hunts them and Gaspard away. The duel ends with Leguerre winning, but accepting that their quest is more important.

They get the treasures, but learns that the stone is still with the olmecs, and through the paintings in the cave they learn that the story of the shaman being kidnapped by the olmecs where the truth and that the cave probably is the end point of his escape from the Olmecs. Leguerra and Mendoza checks it out and believe it might lead to the Olmec base, but fail to notice the shadow of Ambrosius lingering around. Mendoza, Leguerra and Gaspard tries to get to the Olmec base while the others head to Chompard to begin constructing the city. At the castle Esteban is reunited with his father again that seems to be cured from his radioactive poisoning. He has to leave and assemble people he can think of helping them construct the city. Hopefully they save Mayuka that was imprisoned back in season 2 episode 1. Also, Nostradamus appears and informs us that the cataclysm will happen during the summer solstice, 3 months from the present day.

More Maasai documentary and a bit of the creatures of the savanna like giraffes and ostriches.

The Mysterious Cities of Gold - S4E20 - The Sacrifice

 

It's time to DUEL!

The adults are reunited with Gaspard and Leguerra and are to be brought to a lake for the sacrifice to appease the demons that have cast the locusts upon the maasai village. The sacrifice is a duel between to people on top of a rickety bridge over this lake of poison that I think turns them to stone or something like that. Mendoza and Gaspard is first and fight each other to settle their differences from the first season and onward.

The kids was able to locate them and finding a kid that have been around they learn that the demons appears to be olmecs that kidnaps children like they did back in the first season, the shaman being one of them that returned. They arrive at the sacrifice and Zia uses the crown from the fire witch to summon the locusts that chase away the shaman. They are all freed and sets out together.

The documentary is more about the maasai village and the women's role in their society as well as a bit info on locusts swarms.