"Linky In Love"



"Linky In Love" is the fifth episode of the first season of Spylights as well as the fifth episode overall. It aired on March 15th, 2020. When Link's crush from kindergarten, Rose Princeton starts showing more interest in him, sparking weird feelings and reactions in Navi, resulting in her creating an ideal scenario for them to get together. But like with many things involving Navi Callisto, chances are, that it's going to have the opposite effect.

Synopsis
Link’s longtime crush, Rose has started talking to him more. This prompts Navi to play matchmaker and she hatches a plan to bring the two closer together...but she might‘ve actually made them grow farther apart on accident. Literally and physically because nothing with Navi Callisto can ever be simple...especially not love.

Plot
The episode starts off on a typical school day. Link, as usual, is captivated by Rose Princeton, a pretty and popular girl who he has loved from afar since the two of them were small children. Miss Lynch calls on him to answer a question, catching Link off-guard and embarrassing him in front of the entire class. Navi, noticing Link's smitten state, encourages him to talk to Rose, an idea that Link immediately shoots down. After classes end for the day, Link waits patiently by Rose's locker to say goodbye to her. The interaction goes about as well as Link expects, with the two of them exchanging pleasantries. Feeling more confident than ever that his conversations with Rose are getting longer, Link departs school feeling lovestruck.

On the way out, Link talks with Navi about his future with Rose. Navi, who is starting to grow tired of Link's constant talk of her, tries to divert his attention away from Rose and onto their schoolwork. Link continues to ignore her until Navi angrily tosses her papers and books everywhere and snaps at Link. She storms off, leaving a very bewildered Link behind. Back at home, Navi spies on Link in his room as he texts Rose. Navi expresses to Celeste her discomfort at the situation. Celeste teases her briefly, asking if the real reason she's bothered by Rose and Link is because she's secretly jealous. Navi denies this, explaining that she just doesn't trust Rose, noting her spontaneous decision to start paying more attention to Link. Looking fondly in at her best friend, Navi expresses her desire to see Link happy with somebody "who's worth it".

Unconvinced but willing to let it slide, Celeste suggests that Navi can remedy the situation by playing matchmaker. Navi is hesitant at first, asking Celeste how that will help her feel better. But Celeste assures her that if she truly does care about Link, seeing him happy will be satisfactory, providing Navi with a suggestion in order to get them together. The next day, Navi hatches a plan to matchmake Link and Rose. On the way to a field trip to the Natural History Museum, Navi gets Link on board with her plan by bribing him with the possibility of winning Rose's heart. Upon the group's arrival to the museum, Navi convinces Miss Lynch to let her take the class to one of the last planets in the universe where dinosaurs roam. As she gets the class riled up for the trip, Link pulls her to the side, expressing his concern for the idea with Navi. Navi reassures him that she has everything under control, a notion that Link doubts immediately. But as Navi earnestly tells him to trust her, Link cannot help but agree.

Mere seconds later, Rose approaches Link and speaks with him about Navi, complimenting her ambitious nature. Link, startled by this, agrees instantly, fondly looking at Navi as she walks away. Rose makes a passing comment about how she'd like to "get to know Navi better", a comment that leaves Link flustered. Rose reminds Link that this is the main reason she wanted to talk to him more; to get to Navi, leaving Link heartbroken. As the class explores the exciting new terrain of the dinosaur planet, Navi acts as a tour guide, instructing everyone on the proper way to behave on planets with fragile ecosystems. Humiliated and lonely, Link approaches Navi, requesting to talk with her in private. Navi eagerly tells him of her plans to lure a Tyrannosaurus Rex into the area so that Link can fight it, impressing everybody in their class. Link is understandably horrified by this and tries once more to explain to Navi what's happened with him and Rose. He's interrupted by the arrival of the T-Rex however and Navi flees the scene, leaving Link alone. Upon seeing the living fossil up close, Link dives behind the same boulder Navi is hiding behind as the T-Rex angrily stampedes the area. Confused, Navi pushes him to go back out and fight it, a suggestion that Link refuses. Link, fed up with his situation, finally tells Navi that Rose was just using him to get to her and build a friendship with her, fully expecting her not to understand. But Navi, seeing the pain in Link's eyes, comforts him, reassuring him that one day, he'll meet the girl who's worth it, the one who will realize how lucky she is to have him. Navi's sincerity towards Link's vulnerability, eases Link's pain immensely. Together with Navi by his side, Link goes to face the dinosaur. Working in sync with one another, Link and Navi quickly take down the T-Rex by tying a rope to Link's lightsaber and tossing it to one another, effectively tying the dino's legs together, causing it to trip. In a rather uncharacteristic gesture, Link removes one of the dinosaur's teeth to keep as a souvenir of sorts. Navi, still feeling guilty about the entire situation, apologizes to Link for failing to matchmake him and Rose. Link brushes this aside, telling Navi instead, that she's the coolest girl he knows, earning a hug from the super spy. A rather flustered looking Miss Lynch then requests that Navi bring them back to Earth, a request Navi fulfills instantly. As the class departs the planet, Rose pulls Link aside once more, complimenting him on his performance. Much to Link's surprise, Rose asks him to attend a movie with her so they can talk more, an invitation Link politely declines, opting to go get ice cream with Navi instead, prompting an unreadable reaction from Rose. As she leaves the planet however, she looks back with a sad expression as Link and Navi talk.

Having observed the conversation with Rose from afar, Navi goes up to Link and asks if he's okay. Link pauses for a moment before giving Navi a warm smile, confirming that he feels fine. At that moment, the T-Rex roars once more, shaking the planet. In response, Link suggests an alert Navi that they should leave before anything else happens.

Cast
Amy McDonald as Navi Callisto and Rose Princeton

Quinn Dzieginski as Link Cornell

Mo Augello as Celeste

Deleted Scene
On June 1st of 2020, a deleted scene from episode 5 was released, showcasing Link and Navi's ice cream date from the end of the episode. The scene was cut due to time constraints and was released as an animatic instead. The scene shows Link and Navi talking at the ice cream parlor after their adventure on the dino planet. As Link listens to Navi talk, he gets a text from Rose. She apologizes for her insensitivity and offers to make up for it by spending some time with just Link. The apology instills in Link a wave of confidence and he happily responds. Feeling sure of himself once again, he smiles, which catches Navi's attention. She asks Link if he's feeling alright given the goofy grin on his face.

Link blushes and without a word, reaches across the table to take Navi's hand, unable to contain his excitement and the butterflies in his stomach. Navi laughs, calling him a dork as Link grins. At the last second, when Link's not looking, Navi's face falls.

It is unclear at the moment whether or not the scene is meant to be canon though it has been heavily hinted at since that the scene is integral to the story. Given that Rose makes an appearance later on in the series, it can be inferred that Link's forgiving Rose as depicted in the scene is canon. Amy McDonald has stated before when asked about the relationship between Link and Rose and where it currently stands as "complicated." She explains that for teenagers, it's hard to simply get over your feelings for somebody, even if they mess up badly, especially if you've admired them for a long time. In addition, she's stated that it also would not be out of haracter for Link to forgive her since he's such a caring person.

Trivia

 * This episode is currently the only episode to have a deleted scene.
 * The episode's plot is loosely based around relationship experiences from the cast and crew.
 * Episode 5 is the first episode to utilize new editing and animation techniques, showcasing the development and refinement of the artwork from episode 1.