Chapter 12: The Replacement

The Replacement is the twelfth episode of the second season, and the twenty fifth episode of the Hilda TV series, was released on December 14th, 2020 on Netflix.

Synopsis
Desperate times call for desperate measures as Alfur faces questions from the Elf Kingdom over his exciting reports from Trolberg.

Plot
Another day is over. Hilda and Alfur retire for the night. But when Alfur wakes up the next day, he finds that both he and his furniture have been moved out of his house overnight, while Hilda finds a strange elf in her bedroom. His name is Alvin, and he has been sent to replace Alfur as the Trolberg Correspondent. A special delegation will arrive that day to bring Alfur back to the Northern Counties. Alvin has already confiscated Alfur’s house. When questioned why, Alvin states that Alfur’s reports, while very popular, are believed to be nothing but made-up tall tales due to the many unbelievable events he describes in them, like meeting a baby troll and visiting the lindworm.

Hilda won’t stand for this. She told Alfur that he was her friend and family to her, and caused Alfur to be rather emotional, and then she comes up with a plan to trick the delegation into leaving Trolberg without Alfur. They ask the Lost Clan if one of them can take Alfur’s place, but they end up selecting Agnes for the job (she volunteered, and nobody dares to say no to her). When the delegation arrives, Agnes quickly blows her cover when she goes berserk after being presented with the paperwork needed to take “Alfur”. To prevent the situation from escalating, Alfur reveals himself. When the Delegation orders him to surrender his passport, Alfur can’t bring himself to it and makes a run for it.

Chased by the Delegation (who in turn are chased by the Lost Clan), Alfur flees to the Farmers Market. There, he tries to escape his pursuers by hiding in various stands. The humans on the market can’t see the Elves, but do hear them and see the damage they cause. They mistake them for spirits and chaos ensues. Alfur eventually flees into a light house decoration, followed by Alvin, the delegation, Bartell and Agnes. Alfur and Alvin jump off the lighthouse again and are caught by Hilda, but before the others can escape, deputy Gerda Gustav shows up and takes the light house to put an end to the chaos of these spirits.

Gerda takes the lighthouse back to Safety Patrol HQ, followed by Hilda, Alfur and Alvin. She locks the light house (and thus the Elves) in a glass box, and tries to interrogate the spirits. A book about the subject advises her to submerge the spirits in water, which will no doubt drown the elves. Alfur quickly improvises; he calls out to Gerda and identifies himself as a member of the Spirit Safety Patrol. He claims to have come to apprehend these rogue spirits, and asks Gerda to sign the paperwork to transfer them to his custody. Gerda falls for it, and after signing the papers she releases the Elves.

They return to the harbor. Despite everything, Alfur still has to come with the Delegation. That is until Alvin arrives and reveals he has decided not to replace Alfur. He has filled out an eyewitness confirmation form to proof Alfur’s reports are correct. Alvin leaves with the delegation, while Alfur settles back into his house.

Humans

 * Hilda
 * Johanna (mentioned)
 * Frida (flashback)
 * Gerda Gustav
 * Farmer
 * Tontu's old house's owner

Creatures

 * Lindworm (flashback)

Trolls

 * Baby troll (flashback)

Elves

 * Alfur
 * Alvin
 * Bragga Family
 * Bartell Bragga
 * Agnes Bragga
 * Delegation for the Return of Wayward Elves
 * Aloysius
 * Adeline
 * Rupert
 * Gertrude
 * Ulrik

Nittens

 * Peppercorn

Deer-foxes

 * Twig

Trivia

 * The events of "Chapter 5: The Troll Rock", "Chapter 7: The Lost Clan", and "Chapter 8: The Tide Mice" are mentioned.
 * The Elf Prime Minister is mentioned but does not appear. The Great Raven and David can be seen on drawings, but make no physical appearance.
 * While the tip of Adeline's pen could be identified as resembling a Vittra, it also bears a resemblance to Tulip's Onion pencil eraser tip from Infinity Train in the episode The Corgi Car
 * The scene where Alfur was flying with a lettuce leaf was similar to the scene where Kevin McCallister was riding on a clothspin to get away from the bandits in 1990's Home Alone.