Friends to the End

Friends to the End is the sixty-fifth episode of The Lion Guard and the eleventh episode of Season 3.

Synopsis
Ever closer to the Tree of Life, Kion's scar bothers him more than ever, causing Bunga to think that the venom in Kion's body is turning him evil.

Summary
The Lion Guard is seen running in a hurry as Kion urges them on, which Ono notes is due to the group now being close to the Tree of Life. While Fuli relishes the chance to run, Bunga challenges Kion to a race, who agrees while also warning Bunga to not get in his way. Soon after, Bunga trips on a branch and crashes into Kion, with both stopping near a pond. Though Kion briefly glares at Bunga, he lets the matter go in good humor. The rest of the guard arrive at the pond and, in awe of its beauty, decide to take a break on it. Kion denies them a break believing they can rest at the Tree of Life.

Seeing Kion's scar acting up, Makini gives Kion some Tuliza to calm him. Despite eating it, Kion's mood notably doesn't change and he irritably orders the others to keep moving, ending the break. Moving on through the forest, Makini reveals to Fuli that the Tuliza hasn't been working lately. Hearing this, Bunga tells them his belief that the venom in Kion's body is turning him evil just like Scar. Unamused, Fuli tells Bunga that Kion won't turn evil. While walking through a canyon, Beshte and Makini talk about all of the animals at the Tree of Life, with Beshte excited about making new friends.

Anga then spots a baby goose above, where they all witness in horror as it falls from its nest. The Guard rushes over to save it, though Kion stays behind, annoyed at what he sees as a delay to the Tree of Life. After catching the baby goose, Besthe convinces a reluctant Kion to let Anga return it to its nest. Before the Guard can move on, though, another baby goose falls off the nest, though it is soon caught by Bunga. At that point, the Mother Goose arrives and asks what is going on. When Besthe explains what they did, the Mother Goose surprisingly gets angry at the Guard, much to their confusion.

Ono then realizes that the babies were actually leaving the nest for the first time and thus didn't require saving. The Mother Goose leaves in a huff despite Beshte's apology, annoyed that she now has to get her son to fall from the nest all over again. Angered by the false alarm, Kion orders the Guard to not waste their time stopping to help animals who don't need their help. Staying behind, a worried Bunga talks to Besthe about Kion's order, believing it a sign that he is changing. While Beshte admits that Kion is acting weird, he chalks it up to wanting to get to the Tree of Life as soon as possible.

Soon after, the group comes across a group of peafowls marching in formation, which Ono recognizes as their traditional display dance. When the peacocks refuse to stop, Kion forces the others to make their way through, refusing to wait any longer. In his rush to get across, Kion roughly pushes a peacock in front of him who calls him out for being rude. Kion, in turn, accuses the peacock of doing the same before roaring at him, shocking the birds to a halt. Noticing everyone staring at him, Kion angrily defends himself, claiming it was the fault of the peacocks for thinking they own the place.

The others worry about how Kion willingly pushed the peacock, with Bunga telling Ono and Anga his theory about Kion turning evil. Once again, Fuli refuses to believe Bunga before moving on, leaving the peacocks to resume their dance. Out of the canyon, Kion complains to Fuli about how they'll never get to the Tree of Life if they keep getting delayed. Besthe and the rest of the Guard soon meet a clouded leopard named Yun Mibu and, amazed by his hanging abilities, stop to talk to him in a clearing. Kion finds out the others stayed behind and quickly turns back in anger, worrying Fuli.

When Beshte tries to present Kion to Yun Mibu, Kion reminds him they don't have time for new friends. When Yun Mibu tries to defend the others, Kion angrily snaps that he wasn't talking to him before growling, scaring the clouded leopard away. Kion then turns towards Beshte, berating him for stopping to make friends before yelling at him to stop being nice. This confuses Beshte greatly since, being naturally friendly, he doesn't know how to act any other way. Worried, Makini tries to give Kion Tuliza again, only for Kion to angrily bat the gourd from her hands, yelling that it isn't working anymore.

Fuli finally confronts Kion, claiming he is out of control, while Kion argues that he only wants to get to the Tree of Life and feels the others are just slowing him down. Fuli tries reasoning with Kion, pointing that with the pain in his scar, he isn't thinking straight and is being mean, though Kion refuses to believe her. After Kion glowers at Bunga for agreeing with Fuli, she suggests taking over for Kion until he feels better. A now deranged Kion refuses to stand down, stating he is leader of the Lion Guard, instead challenging Fuli to a fight, shocking everyone as Fuli begins bracing herself.

Having had enough, Bunga comes between Kion and Fuli, saying Rafiki's prediction is coming true. Confused, Kion listens to Bunga as he points out that the venom from his scar has been affecting Kion and making him mean. The others remind Kion of his acts from earlier as Bunga says it all points to Kion being evil. Shocked, Kion asks the others if they all think he is evil: when most hesitate to answer, Bunga insists they all think so, and Fuli's attempt to tell Kion otherwise fails when Bunga interrupts her. Feeling betrayed, Kion loses his temper and yells that he is not evil, growling at his friends as his scar furthers his rage.

Luckily, Kion comes to his senses and, horrified with himself, wonders if he really is evil after all? Ashamed, guilt-ridden, and heartbroken, Kion runs away from the group. Fuli assures Beshte that Kion will be back while Bunga jokingly wonders if he will return evil or not. When Fuli calls Bunga out, he defends himself by pointing how they all saw the way Kion was acting, claiming someone had to say it. Furious, Fuli yells that nobody had to say it because Kion is not evil, though Bunga remains skeptical. The others stand by Fuli, saying Kion will never turn evil and they'll be there for him because they are his friends to the end.

At this point, Ono worriedly asks if they are still going to the Tree of Life, reminding the others he also needs to heal his eyes as well. Fuli reassures Ono they will continue as soon as Kion comes back. Meanwhile, Kion is seen walking in a ledge above the canyon, wondering if he is turning evil. Coming across a small puddle, Kion considers talking to Mufasa to ease his doubts. However, he decides against it upon seeing his reflection, not wanting Mufasa to see him when he looks like Scar. Suddenly, Kion hallucinates a vision of Scar in the puddle that tells him to accept his destiny.

Kion refuses to accept this, saying he will never be like Scar even if he looks like him, striking the puddle in anger. However, he soon doubts himself upon remembering the way he acted before. Kion begins making his way back to apologize to his friends, though he falls down a cliff, leaving him hanging from a tree branch. At the clearing, the rest of the Guard wait for Kion to return. Worried something might have happened, Fuli sends Anga to search. Suspicious, Bunga holds Anga's wing to remind her to look for signs of evil roars, only to be debunked by Ono who points out that if Kion had roared they would've heard it, forcing Bunga to let Anga go. Finding Kion in the tree branch, both try to reach for the other, though their plan fails since there isn't enough space for Anga ​​to grab Kion.

Anga goes back for the others and brings them to the cliff to help. Still suspicious, Bunga pulls Fuli aside, believing Kion could be setting a trap, though Fuli rebukes him. With Anga and Ono unable to fly up and help Kion, Bunga tries to hang from the cliff in order to reach him, though this also fails. After making a quick check to see if Kion was evil, Bunga apologizes for having doubted him, telling Kion he will still be his best friend even if he does turn evil, cheering up Kion. Returning to the others, Bunga asks Fuli for their plan. Realizing they need a strong climber, Beshte suggests Yun Mibu.

However, the clouded leopard begins to balk on seeing he has to save the "scary guy". Bunga and Makini manage to convince Yun Mibu to help, insisting Kion is a nice guy, and that he wasn't himself earlier. Yun Mibu approaches Kion, who tries apologizing for earlier, though Yun Mibu settles for Kion promising to not growl at him. When Kion wonders if the plan will work, Ono assures him that clouded leopards are excellent climbers, something Yun Mibyu proves by hanging from a stump by his tail. When the tree branch starts to break, Kion is forced to jump to Yun Mibu's paws, allowing Anga to fly them both to safety.

After Yun Mibu bids them farewell, Kion apologizes to the others for earlier, with Beshte quickly forgiving him. Makini offers Kion some Tuliza, noting it wouldn't hurt even if it isn't working like it used to. Afterwards, Kion, thinking it was his fault for losing a lot of time, begins to turn his mind to the Tree of Life, only for Fuli to stop  him. Reminding him she is still in charge, she insists that he rest after what he has been  through with the others agreeing. When Kion tries to protest, Makini calms Kion down with Shwari, saying he will be himself after a quick rest. Knowing his friends support him, Kion goes to a nearby rock to take a nap.