S02E01 - Rook

"Rook" is the first episode of Season 2 of We Can Fix Pawbert. It takes place one year after the events of the Season 1 finale, Last Morning.

Synopsis

One year after Pawbert's incarceration, ZSI intercepts intelligence revealing coordinated threats against him inside Zootopia Correctional Facility. Luther is embedded into ZCF under the cover identity "Rook" to protect Pawbert from the inside, while Chief Bogo and ZSI observe that the resources being deployed against Pawbert far exceed what a simple assassination attempt would require.

Plot

One year after his incarceration, Pawbert wakes in Cell 3C-17 at Zootopia Correctional Facility. The year has transformed him—leaner, harder, disciplined in ways the safehouse never achieved. He runs through Dr. Fuzzby's grounding exercises automatically now, anchoring himself without needing to finish the full sequence. His cell has become a geography of small choices: the laminated photo of him and his mother on the shelf, Luther's and Nick's letters worn soft from handling, a notebook filled with his handwriting. He trains in the PT room under Officer Kett, striking the heavy bag with precision rather than wild swings. In therapy, Dr. Venn notes his progress but warns him about a new high-security transfer arriving—something in her tone suggesting she knows more than she's saying.

At the warden's office, Agent Corbin from ZSI presents Warden Hartwell with an uncomfortable reality: his prison is compromised. Guards are being bribed, security systems probed, and credible threats have been intercepted against Pawbert Lynxley. The pronghorn agent introduces his solution—a gray wolf named "Rook," a violent offender transferred from the Northern Territories whose prison-flat eyes give nothing away. Hartwell agrees to place Rook in Pawbert's cell, recognizing he can't protect the inmate through normal channels. The operation is set. Meanwhile at ZPD Precinct 1, Chief Bogo briefs Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps on the threat. Both immediately realize the inserted operative is Luther, though Bogo neither confirms nor denies. The level of resources being deployed against Pawbert far exceeds a simple assassination—someone is testing the prison's response times, mapping the entire facility, not just routes to Pawbert's cell.

During yard time, three inmates—a scarred boar, a twitchy coyote, and a dangerously compact badger—approach Pawbert while the guard towers conveniently look elsewhere. The attack is coordinated, professional. Pawbert fights back with skills honed over a year of training, but three on one overwhelms him. The badger's claws reach for his throat—and then Rook appears. In roughly fifteen seconds, all three attackers are on the ground: the coyote hurled sideways, the boar dropped with a precise temple strike, the badger's shoulder dislocated before a single blow puts him down. Guards finally arrive. Rook sinks to his knees in perfect compliance, but Pawbert has already recognized those eyes. Luther is here.

After medical treatment for bruised ribs, Pawbert meets with Warden Hartwell, who explains he's being moved to Cell 3C-22 with the wolf who saved his life. Hartwell's eyes suggest he knows more about Rook's true nature than he's admitting. That evening, Pawbert enters his new cell with everything he owns—photo, letters, notebook—and waits. When Rook arrives and the door locks behind them, the persona holds until Luther confirms the cell is clean of surveillance. Only then does the transformation occur: slouch straightening, eyes sharpening, the real person emerging beneath the mask. Pawbert whispers his name like a prayer. Luther explains someone is consolidating Lynxley infrastructure—shell companies, military hardware, weather wall access credentials—and Pawbert may be targeted because he's the only cooperative Lynxley who might help ZSI understand what they're facing.

At Nick and Judy's apartment, the weight of helplessness presses down. Nick stands at the stove attempting Pawbert's soup recipe, burning the onions and forgetting the salt. He confesses to Judy that he can't stop thinking about everything that could go wrong—one wolf against an entire conspiracy. Judy holds his paw and reminds him they keep showing up, keep visiting, keep writing letters. It's all they can do. Back at ZCF, as the prison settles into its nocturnal rhythm, Luther confirms he's swept the cell again. Clean. No devices. Then his paw reaches down from the top bunk. Pawbert's reaches up. They meet in the middle—their first real touch in a year. Neither speaks. They just hold on.

In the tag, a well-dressed jaguar observes the prison from a rooftop, speaking into a phone about the failed first wave. The attack was expected to fail—it was a probe, a test. When asked about escalation, the jaguar declines. They'll keep probing, keep learning, keep finding gaps. And when they're ready, they'll move to the next phase. He lowers his binoculars and murmurs to himself: Pawbert isn't even the main course.

Key Moments

• One-year time jump: Pawbert has transformed from a fragile victim into a disciplined survivor, running grounding exercises automatically and training in combat
• Luther infiltrates ZCF under the alias "Rook," a violent offender transferred from the Northern Territories with a fabricated seven-year criminal history
• Warden Hartwell discovers his guards are being bribed and agrees to place a ZSI operative in Pawbert's cell
• Three inmates attack Pawbert during yard time while guard towers conveniently look elsewhere; Rook intervenes and takes all three down in fifteen seconds
• Pawbert is moved to Cell 3C-22 with Rook; once the door closes, Pawbert recognizes Luther behind the mask
• Luther reveals someone is consolidating Lynxley infrastructure and probing weather wall access credentials—and the resources deployed exceed a simple assassination
• Nick struggles with helplessness at home, attempting to cook Pawbert's soup recipe and failing badly
• First touch in a year: Luther's paw reaches down from the top bunk and meets Pawbert's in the dark
• A well-dressed jaguar observes the prison from a rooftop, revealing the attack was merely a probe and Pawbert isn't the main objective

Key Lines

Characters Introduced

Locations

• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Cell 3C-17 (Pawbert's original cell)
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- PT Room
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Therapy Room
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Warden's Office
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Yard
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Medical
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Cell 3C-22 (shared cell)
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Mess Hall
• ZPD Precinct 1 -- Bogo's Office
• ZPD Precinct 1 -- Bullpen
• Nick and Judy's Apartment
• Rooftop overlooking the prison (Jaguar's observation post)

Items

• Laminated photo -- Photo of Pawbert and his mother, kept on his cell shelf for a year
• Luther's and Nick's letters -- Worn soft from handling; kept beside the photo in Cell 3C-17
• Pawbert's notebook -- Filled with his handwriting over the year; brought to new cell
• "Rook" cover identity -- Luther's undercover persona with a fabricated seven-year criminal history; some violent incidents in the file are real
• Prison tattoos (temporary) -- Part of Luther's Rook cover; washable ink, too clean to be real prison work

Notes

• This episode marks the beginning of the one-year time jump from Season 1.
• Luther's cover identity "Rook" is a chess piece reference, fitting the strategic nature of his infiltration.
• The Jaguar is not named until S02E09, where he is identified as Javier Croft.
• Dr. Venn, Pawbert's prison therapist introduced in Last Morning, returns to continue his treatment through the year.
• The episode establishes that Pawbert has been receiving regular visits from Nick, Judy, and Luther every Wednesday and Sunday for the entire year.
• Nick's failed attempt at Pawbert's soup recipe continues the cooking-as-character-expression motif from Season 1.
• Luther says "Always" as a promise to Pawbert, establishing the word as their shared touchstone for the season.