Episode 12: The Taming of the Mew

The Taming of the Mew is the twelfth episode of the English dub, Mew Mew Power. It is preceded by Episode 11: Hollywood Mew Mew and followed by Episode 13: Slime and Slime Again.

Episode Summary
Corina is devastated at Renee's rejection, reduced to a shell of her former self. Zoey, Kikki and Bridget are all dismayed at their friend's behaviour, and in an attempt to cheer her up, Zoey tells Corina that it's time for her afternoon tea. Corina unenthusiastically agrees and drinks the water from the plant on the table in front of her, professing that she "loves herbal". The girls go to Elliot and Wesley for help on snapping Corina out of it, but Elliot does not seem to take them seriously. Zoey, enraged, demands to know why he didn't tell them that the fifth Mew Mew was going to be a "lone wolf, drama queen diva like Renee". Elliot and Wesley tells the girls that they need to convince Renee that she needs to join the Mew Mews, claiming that it will take the team to a whole new level.

The girls go to a music store, where Renee is signing copies of her new CD. Zoey reaches Renee first, saying that she just needs to talk to her, but Renee's bodyguard, noticing that she doesn't even have a CD for Renee to sign, carries her out of the store, claiming that she is an agitator. They then go on top of a bridge, where Kikki and Zoey use binoculars to pick Renee's car out of a traffic jam. When Kikki spots her, Zoey tries to jump off the bridge to get to her, but her dress gets snagged on the handrail and she becomes stuck.

Disheartened, the girls go to a playground, where Kikki suggests that two of them jump Renee while the others tie her up. Bridget tells her that it wouldn't be a very good idea, implying that they're fighting for a losing cause. Zoey, however, tells the girls that she knows Renee will eventually join them, and Corina, snapping out of her stupor, demands to know how she knows that. Zoey says she can see it in her eyes, something that she saw in all the other Mews, and claims that they can see it too. Their resolve reignited, the girls run off to the studio where Renee will be staring on a TV programme, the Wild World of the Wilderness.

Renee, meanwhile, is doing a photoshoot, but is then seen to be slightly depressed when it ends, while her agent fawns over her. She sits alone in her dressing room, staring out the window, and then Dren comes in, crooning that "it's lonely at the top". Renee demands to know how he got in her dressing room, and then scoffs that he probably thinks she's still joining the Cyniclons. Dren says he hoped she was planning on reconsidering, and tells her that contrary to popular belief, the Cyniclons aren't evil.

Zoey, Kikki, Bridget and Corina, meanwhile, have arrived at the studio, and split up so that they can look for Renee. Corina, Kikki and Bridget find Renee first, and the girls are stunned to see that she is with Dren. Corina demands to know why Renee is with Dren, who is evil. Dren then traps Corina, Kikki and Bridget in a circle of sand, and Zoey comes in just in time to see Dren make them disappear, leaving only Bridget's glasses behind. Zoey is horrified, and demands he brings them back, and Dren says he'll only do so if Zoey and Renee fight. Both refuse, and Dren disappears. Renee tries to pick up Bridget's glasses, but Zoey stops her, telling her that if it wasn't for her foolishness, her friends would still be here.

At Cafe Mew Mew, Wesley tells Zoey and Elliot that Bridget, Kikki and Corina are all still alive, but are trapped in some sort of rapidly shrinking alternate dimension. Elliot does not seem to take their predicament seriously, and Wesley merely notes its graveness. Zoey demands that they help her, and Wesley says that the only way she can save her teammates is to enlist Renee's help; he says that Renee's Mew Mew instincts will kick in if she sees Zoey in danger and that, like a sister, she would rather fight than see her hurt. Zoey runs off to find Renee, while Wesley and Elliot remark that if she fails, the Mew Mew experiment will have been a colossal failure.

Meanwhile, Bridget, Kikki and Corina are trapped in the Dark Dimension, with none of them able to access their powers and Bridget unable to see because of her missing glasses. Corina proclaims that she thinks the dimension is shrinking.

Zoey goes to the film lot where the shooting of The Wild World of the Wilderness show will take place, claiming that she is Renee's pedicurist, but Renee dismisses her skeptical agent, Annie, saying that it's all right. Zoey pleads for her help in saving her friends, and Renee seems reluctant, saying that the last time she fought Dren, she almost got trapped in the same dimension the other Mews are in, lamenting that Dren is stronger now than he was before and finishing off by musing that Zoey may just be trying to trick her to get her to join the Mew Mews. Zoey assures her of her honesty, but before Renee can answer, she is called to go on set.

While Renee meets a snake that an animal trainer has brought on for the show, Dren confronts her agent, Annie, and steals her spirit. Zoey stumbles upon them, and Dren pins her onto the ground, taunting her that "it's over". Zoey kicks him off and transforms.

Meanwhile, the Predasite that was created from Annie's spirit, a giant snake dubbed Annie Conda, trashes the film set and tries to attack Renee, but Mew Zoey shields her, allowing herself to be captured while Renee looks on in horror. Zoey tells her to run, but Renee doesn't move, and Annie Conda squeezes Zoey very tightly, causing Dren to gasp and demand she let her go. The snake does so, and Zoey looks around to see what happened to Renee, but Dren says she ran away.

In the Dark Dimension, Corina, Kikki and Bridget begin to get sucked into a mass of sand, and Elliot and Wesley, who are monitoring their situation, say that the dimension is about to implode and that Zoey needs to hurry.

Zoey, meanwhile, is alone, exhausted, and up against Dren and Annie Conda. She believes that there's nothing more she can do for her friends, and that she failed. Dren says that she has one last chance to join him, but she refuses, retorting that his "slimy little friend would get jealous".

Corina, Kikki and Bridget are about to be pulled into the center of the liquid when Renee appears; Bridget, who was unable to see up until that point, has her glasses returned and Renee uses her weapon to slingshot the four of them out of the dimension. They return just in time to shield Zoey from Annie Conda's attack, and Corina, Kikki and Bridget all attack the Predasite, but to no results. The Mews are all dismayed, but then their weapons all react to being near the Strawberry Bell; there is a flash of light, and Zoey is able to destroy the Predasite.

Dren retreats, and the Mews thank Renee for her help, asking if she would be willing to join up with them. Renee tells them that she doesn't work with losers, but then says she'd be happy to join the Mews. The team embraces, but then a spotlight appears upon them, and they see that the battle had been caught on camera and shown on the Wild World of the Wilderness. Zoey finds herself assaulted with questions from the reporters who work on the show, and nearly spills the beans on the Mew Mews by saying that they only fight when Predasites are around and that they are all usually just waitresses at the Cafe, but Corina stops her. When the reporters continue to press her, Zoey cracks and can't help herself from saying, "Mew Mew Style, Mew Mew Grace! Mew Mew Power in your face!"

Elliot, Wesley and Mark all catch the end of the show, with the latter looking slightly confused and the leaders of Project Mew Mew unimpressed.

Trivia

 * This episode marks the full assemblance of Team Mew Mew: Mew Zoey, Mew Corina, Mew Bridget, Mew Kikki and Mew Renee.
 * The episode title is a pun of the title "The Taming of the Shrew", a play written by William Shakespeare.