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| Written by: | Arturo Ambriz Roy Ambriz |
| Release date: | October 29, 2021 |
| Running time: | 15 minutes |
| Rating: | TV-Y7 |
| Available on: | Max |
"You Can Transform Yourself" is the second episode of the first season of Frankelda's Book of Spooks.
It premiered on October 29, 2021 on HBO Max along with the rest of the season.
Synopsis[]
Frankelda tells the story of Magali, a girl who accepts a deal with three mysterious women, looking to change in order to fit in.
Plot[]
The episode begins in the office of the Mansion. Herneval secretly addresses the camera and asks the viewers to leave, never to return, under the pretext that Frankelda has decided not to tell any more stories. Frankelda, who is standing right behind, surprises him and scolds him as a liar. Embarrassed, Herneval tries to justify himself. Frankelda is very happy that her spectators have returned to hear another story, but Herneval reminds her that last time it was too risky, and suggests that she change her behaviour to a calmer and more prudent one. Frankelda vehemently objects: she will not stop being herself to become someone else. She then begins to narrate a story called "You can transform yourself".
The story begins in the school hallway, where a group of girls are talking about the costumes they will wear for the Halloween party. Magali, a shy girl desperate for friends, watches them from the cleaning cupboard. Magali practices how to introduce herself and says she's going as a bat, but on the way out she slips up and says "Hi, I'm a bat. I'm going as...". The girls ignore her and retreat to their classes, leaving her sad and alone in the corridor.
Later, in her kitchen, Magali looks on her mobile phone at advertisements for various costumes. She wants to have the best one at the party to impress her classmates and finally belong. However, the price is too high. She decides to make pan de muerto and sell it from a small stall. Hours go by and no one buys from her. Disappointed, Magali wonders why she is the way she is, and laments that she has no friends.
Three mysterious women watch her from the shadows. They approach her and buy three loaves of bread from her; they are enraptured by their taste. They praise Magali for her cooking talent and offer her enough money to buy the costume. Magali is surprised, as she has not told them what she wants the money for, but she is so excited that she accepts without question. The women hand her a basket of black eggs and tell her that, by the light of the full moon, she must bake thirteen loaves of bread, which she then takes to an address.
At night, a heavy storm hits and the electricity goes out. Magali, a little frightened, lights a candle and sets to work. With the loaves of bread fresh from the oven, she rides her bicycle at full speed until she reaches the indicated address, where she finds an old, gloomy house. He knocks on the door, and immediately the three women come out to take his order. They pay him, but not the amount they had agreed on. Magali is annoyed and, determined not to keep quiet this time, enters the house to claim what is hers.
She walks down a terrifying corridor and down the stairs to the basement, where she sees the women cooking in a cauldron. They add the essence of three different animals to the contents. They celebrate that they can finally transform themselves into scares, and that they will live as long as mankind is afraid of them. Magali, shocked, comes out of hiding and exclaims that, just as she suspected, they are witches. She begs them to accept her as their apprentice: she wants to cast a spell for the best disguise or, even better, a spell for friends. The witches reply that it depends on how well she has made the loaves; according to the recipe, they must be prepared by an innocent girl willing to lose her essence.
The witches dip three of them into the liquid in the cauldron and, after devouring them, they are transformed into animal-shaped scares: hen, hare and toad. They are ecstatic at having achieved their goal. Magali asks them again if they will accept her as their apprentice. She does not notice that, all around her, the caged animals are trying to warn her. The witches approach her with a threatening air and hand her a loaf of bread. Magali bites into it, thinking she will receive the best disguise, but instead she is transformed into a small bat. Frightened, she flies from one side to the other, but is locked in a cage by the witches. They mock her for being so naive, and talk about how they will use her in their future potions. In desperation, Magali rattles the cage until it falls, so that the door opens and she manages to escape.
Later, at the Halloween party, the children dance and show off their costumes, while alone on the roof, Magali wraps herself in her wings and weeps with regret. Too late she has discovered that, by changing to fit in, she has become someone she doesn't want to be.
At the end of the story, Herneval apologises to Frankelda for wanting to change the way she was. Although tragic endings are her speciality, what she seeks for both of them is a happy ending. She exclaims that they will not be prisoners forever, and then the Mansion begins to tremble. A little nervous, Frankelda says goodbye to the viewers. The camera zooms out and the episode ends.