The River of Patience

The River Patience is the sixty-seventh episode of The Lion Guard and the thirteenth episode of Season 3.

Synopsis
While Kion heals at the Tree of Life, villains attack; Kion is eager to defend the Tree but must learn to focus and find patience in order to heal fully.

Summary
The Lion Guard is seen arriving at the Tree of Life, where they briefly marvel at its size before being led inside by Rani. At the underground chamber inside the Tree, Rani  presents them all to Queen Janna, her grandmother and Guardian of the Tree of Life. After bowing to the Queen, Kion tells Janna that he and Ono have come to be healed. Seeing they have the Mark of the Guard, Janna realizes they are from the Pride Lands, thus confirming that Roar has returned to the Tree of Life. After revealing Rafiki sent them, Kion explains to the Queen that Ono's eyes are hurt and he can't control the Roar.

Janna has Nirmala, their healings expert, take a look at Kion and Ono, who then reports her findings to the Queen. Janna explains that while healing Ono will be simple, with his remedy being ready in a few days, Kion's ailments will take both time and patience. Wanting to start right away, Kion is led away by Nirmala to begin his healing. In the meantime, Janna asks Rani to give the rest of the Guard a tour of the Tree of Life. When Rani begins to protest, Janna tells her that Surak and Baliyo will cover the Night Pride for her, telling Rani she must also take on duties that Janna herself can't perform.

As Rani leads the rest of the Guard outside, Janna asks Makini to stay. Surprised that the Queen recognized her, Makini begins talking about her last visit to the Tree of Life. Remembering the Tree as the place where Rafiki started training her to become a Royal Mjuzi, Janna tells Makini they would like to continue her training here, honoring her. Outside, Nirmala presents Kion to Dirisha, the River of Patience, calling it one of many steps that Kion has to take on his journey to healing. When Kion asks how long his healing will take, Nirmala says it all depends on him, reminding him to be patient.

Nirmala gives Kion the task of bringing her a bright orange flower at the top of a cliff on the other side of the river. However, she tells Kion he has to follow her instructions,  which consist of hopping on a passing log and riding it to a sandy bank, afterwards taking the winding path to the top of the ridge. When Kion ask if it wouldn't be easier to just swim across the river and climb the ridge to the flower, Nirmala tells him the fast  way isn't always the best way. As his scar begins paining him, Kion tries to listen to Nirmala and wait for the logs, though he quickly becomes impatient when none appear.

Meanwhile, Rani is giving the rest of the Guard a tour of the Tree of Life, explaining that the Tree of Life is special because it's home to every kind of habitat, allowing a wide variety of animals to live in it. Though they don't have many rules, Rani says all animals are welcome at the Tree so long as they respect the Circle of Life. At that point, Makucha's Army is seen approaching the mountain pass, having followed the Guard by. Before entering, though, they start arguing as Chuluun and Ora are unwilling to take orders from Makucha, who insists that they follow him since he is leader of the group.

Hearing them, Ullu quietly sneaks away to the Tree of Life, finding Rani and warning her about the trio. Declaring the tour to be over, Rani follows Ullu to gather the Night Pride, leaving the Guard suspicious. At the River of Patience, Kion is pacing around  impatiently, claiming he could have waited for logs at the Pride Lands. Nirmala points that Rafiki sent him here to be healed, likely beacuse Askari first discovered the Roar of the Elders at the nearby Cikha Escarpment, surprising Kion. At that point, a log shows up in the river, and Kion eagerly jumps on it, only to end up falling off of it.

As Kion resigns himself to waiting again, Rani appears asking for Nirmala. When Kion tries to offer his help, Nirmala only tells him to focus on his task and try again. Soon after, Makucha's Army is making its way through the pass, eventually engaging the Night Pride in combat. Meanwhile, the rest of the Guard find Kion and tell him about Ullu fetching Rani. Realizing there might be trouble, Kion abandons his task and takes  the Guard to the pass to help. By this point, though, the Night Pride has already beaten Makucha and the others, telling them to leave and never return.

As Rani congratulates her team, the Lion Guard arrives at the pass in a rush and, unable to stop, collides with the Night Pride. Furious, Rani informs them the villains have been defeated already, pointing they're good at protecting the Tree of Life. Rani tells Kion they don't need his help, coldly telling him to stay out of their way, get healed and go home. When the Night Pride begins describing the invaders, the Lion Guard recognizes them as Makucha's Army, quickly realizing they must have followed them all the way to the Tree of Life. Kion tries to apologize, though the revelation angers Rani greatly.

Inside the Tree of Life, Janna shows Makini a painting depicting Askari discovering the Roar of the Elders for the first time. Remarking its been a while since she's had a Royal Mjuzi with her, Janna gifts Makini with the Bakora staff of her former Mjuzi. At that point, Kion and Rani show up in the chamber arguing. Rani angrily accuses Kion of leading an army of predators to the Tree of Life, believing they should never have  allowed him to enter it. Remorseful, Kion apologizes for the trouble he has caused as the Queen notes the predators won't leave now that they've found the Tree of Life.

When Kion offers to let the Guard help, Rani loses her temper, yelling that they can handle it. Janna firmly reprimands Rani, who immediately calms down and apologizes. While Janna appreciates Kion's offer, she agrees with Rani that it's the job of the Night Pride to deal with threats to the Tree of Life, telling Kion he must help himself before he can help others. She advises him to continue his healing, pointing its the reason he came in the first place. Back at the River of Patience, Kion gets frustrated waiting for the log, telling Nirmala he'd finish quicker doing things his way as his scar pains him.

Nirmala tells Kion to trust her like Janna advised him to. At that moment, another log shows up and, Kion falls off the log and into the water. Having had enough, Kion tries  to do things his way and swim across the river as Nirmala watches him. While Nirmala  calmly jumps into a log and lets it carry her to the bank, Kion fights against the river's strong currents and plants before reaching the bank. Though Nirmala advises him to follow her up the winding path, Kion tries climbing up the slope, thinking it to be the faster route, though he starts falling on the slippery surface of the rocks.

Nirmala approaches Kion after reaching the top, lightly teasing him on the way. Kion soon falls the bottom of the slope, where Nirmala catches up with him. Frustrated, Kion asks why she didn't grab the flower when she was up there, causing Nirmala to remind him that getting the flower is his task, not hers. Seeing its almost night, Nirmala  advises Kion to get some rest while she goes on patrol, telling Kion tomorrow is an important day... because he will get to try all over again. Later on, Kion complains to the rest of the Guard, not really seeing how falling in a river will heal him and his scar.

Touched by his friend's faith in him, Kion agrees to try again tomorrow. Nirmala is then seen joining the Night Pride at the pass, where Rani quickly asks her if Kion is healed. Noting Rani sounds like Kion, Nirmala reminds her it will take time, much to Rani's frustration, who believes Kion and the Guard are nothing but trouble. They soon spot  Makucha's Army and kick them out again. Outside the pass, Makucha mocks Chuluun  on her plan to attack the Night  Pride at night. Fed up with both of them, Ora suggests doing things the dragon way: going in fast and biting everything they see.

At sunrise, an exhausted Niramala is surprised to find Kion waiting by the River, ready to try again. Seeing a log approaching, Kion patiently waits for it come before jumping  on it, this time managing to land. Although he ends up falling into the water, Kion  refuses to give up, climbing back into the log and using it to reach the bank, earning Nirmala's praise. At that point, Ullu arrives, saying Rani needs Nirmala because the predators are back. Hearing this, Kion insists on helping, though Nirmala tells him to stay focused and finish his task before leaving. Listening to Nirmala, Kion stays behind.

Back at the pass, Makucha's army engages the Night Pride again. When Ora orders the others to follow his plan, Makucha disobeys him, taking an alternate path into the Tree of Life through a forest. Soon after, the predators run into a dead end and are cornered by the Night Pride. During the fight that follows, the predators spread apart, with each member using their own strategy against the Night Pride. As a result, Makcuha fights Rani and Nirmala directly, Chuluun sneaks up on Surak, and Ora tries to bite Baliyo. Ora soon paralyzes Baliyo with his venom, leaving three members on each group.

Meanwhile, Kion finally makes it to the top of the ridge. Before he reaches the flower, though, Kion hears Rani screaming and, rushing over, sees the Night Pride surrounded by Makucha's Army. As he starts to head over, though, Kion recalls Nirmala's order to  finish his task no matter what, prompting him to grab the flower. Having finished the task and now able to help, Kion ruhes over as he holds the flower with his teeth, arriving just in time to save Baliyo from Chuluun. Kion's presence rattles the predators, with Ora quickly turning and running away in fear of getting hit with the Roar again.

Noting that Kion came down the hill, Chuluun figures the Tree of Life must be on the other side of it. Realizing this, the predators abandon the attack and start heading for the hill, leaving Kion with the Night Pride. Thinking fast, Rani orders Surak to follow Ora to make sure he doesn't return while Nirmala gets Baliyo to safety, telling Kion he is coming with her to stop the leopards from over going the hill. Leaving the flower on the ground, Kion is about to follow Rani when Nirmala tells him to follow the path. Kion spots a nearby rocky winding path and, trusting Nirmala to guide him, follows it.

Kion reaches the top of the hill moments before Makucha does, surprising the leopard and knocking him over the hill while Rani does the same with Chuluun. Kion and Rani quickly compliment each other before turning back to the predators. At this point, the rest of the Guard is seen arriving at the forest, with Bunga in particular hoping to not have missed out on the fight again. Coming across the leopards, Bunga quickly sprays them with his stink, sending them running away as Bunga yells at them to not come back. Coming across the scene, Rani tells  Kion that they both make a good team.

Both teams gather to check on Baliyo, with Nirmala confirming the venom will eventually wear off, much to Rani's relief. Kion spots his flower on the ground and, seeing it got trampled during the fight, begins to tell Nirmala of his failure. However, she tells Kion that getting the flower wasn't really the point of the task, noting he still managed to finish it. Bunga and Rani assume this means this Kion has been healed, though Kion doesn't feel too sure, guessing there's still more for him to do. Nirmala agrees with Kion, confirming he has taken the first step and still has a long way to go.

Kion pauses to instinctively paw at his scar for a moment before stopping himself,  realizing he doesn't feel pain, and agrees he just needs patience. Outside the mountain pass, the Army begins arguing amongst themselves again, feeling they could have won had Kion not shown up. Feeling the Lion Guard is nothing but trouble, they all agree they need to get rid of them. At this point, Mama Binturong reveals herself to the predators, clearly interested in getting her revenge on Bunga. When Makucha asks her who she is, Mama Binturong present herself, declaring she is their new leader.