S02E02 - Protective Custody

"Protective Custody" is the second episode of Season 2 of We Can Fix Pawbert.

Synopsis

The attacks against Pawbert escalate as unknown forces probe ZCF for weaknesses. ZSI analysis reveals the attackers are testing response times and mapping guard rotations rather than attempting a straightforward assassination. A devastating shower block assault leaves Pawbert and Luther exposed to five attackers--including a polar bear--when a compromised guard is summoned away. Outside the prison, Judy Hopps identifies the chilling pattern: they are not trying to kill Pawbert yet, but learning how hard it would be to kill him.

Plot

Attacks escalate as unknown forces probe ZCF for weaknesses. In the kitchen, a honey badger approaches Pawbert with a prison shiv, demanding his work station. Rook intervenes instantly, bending the badger's wrist at an impossible angle before slamming his face into the prep counter. Guards arrive to find the honey badger unconscious and Rook offering his standard explanation—the mammal slipped. Warden Hartwell confronts the deteriorating situation: seven guards suspended for bribery, yet four new incidents have occurred. Every time he cuts off one head, two more grow back.

Dr. Venn meets with Pawbert in therapy, noting he has faced two incidents in two days. Pawbert observes he is present during the attacks now—not dissociating, not watching from outside himself—and calls survival a practice rather than a goal. When Venn asks if he is in danger, Pawbert answers honestly: yes, more danger than standard protective custody. At ZPD Precinct 1, Chief Bogo shares ZSI's analysis with Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps: the attackers are testing response times and mapping guard rotations. Judy crystallizes the insight—they are not trying to kill Pawbert yet, but learning how hard it would be. ZSI believes a coordinated assault is coming, but extraction requires forty-eight to seventy-two hours to prepare.

The shower block assault comes when a compromised guard is summoned away, leaving Pawbert and Luther exposed to five attackers—two hyenas, a ram, a cougar, and a polar bear. The fight is brutal and extended: the cougar's claws rake three parallel gashes across Luther's ribs as he intercepts a strike meant for Pawbert's throat. Pawbert throws himself forward to alter the cougar's trajectory, then takes down a hyena on his own. The polar bear—massive, feral, reminiscent of Reacher but without the discipline—takes both of them working together to bring down. Luther applies a chokehold while Pawbert pins the bear's arms until he goes unconscious. When guards finally flood in, the shower block is destroyed: burst pipes, shattered porcelain, five attackers on the ground.

In the medical bay, a capybara medic stitches Luther's wounds while Pawbert watches, ears flattening with every flinch. Luther makes his position absolute—he will always put himself between Pawbert and the blade, and that is not negotiable. Pawbert refuses to accept it, insisting they survive together or not at all. Officer Kett traces the security breach to Guard Station 7, where personally vetted Officer Drummond entered the access code that opened the cell block doors. Hartwell demands forty-eight hours for extraction instead of seventy-two and threatens to lock down the entire facility if ZSI cannot deliver.

That evening in their cell, Pawbert tends Luther's wounds and recognizes the attack tactics as Lynxley training methods—multiple waves, testing first then overwhelming—but Milton is in maximum security. Someone else learned from the same source, or someone trained Milton in the first place. During a three-minute camera blind spot that Pawbert has been timing, he climbs into Luther's bunk. They exchange declarations of love for the first time inside the prison walls. Luther confesses he has loved Pawbert since he chose to stay—since he refused Mawl's offer of a new identity and chose accountability instead. The tag reveals the Jaguar's staging area in a Canyonlands warehouse, where tactical teams prepare for a coordinated assault on kitchen, showers, and yard simultaneously. A delivery truck enters ZCF's main gate with twelve mammals in tactical gear inside, ready to execute.

Key Moments

• Rook neutralizes a honey badger with a shiv in the kitchen, maintaining his cover story about the mammal having slipped
• Judy identifies the pattern: the attackers are testing response times, learning how hard it would be to kill Pawbert rather than actually trying to kill him yet
• Five attackers assault Pawbert and Luther in the shower block when a compromised guard is summoned away
• Luther takes three claw gashes across the ribs protecting Pawbert; the cougar was going for his throat
• Pawbert and Luther fight back-to-back, naked and surrounded; Pawbert takes down a hyena on his own using wet floor tactics
• Luther makes his protection absolute and non-negotiable; Pawbert insists they survive together or not at all
• Officer Kett traces the door malfunction to Guard Station 7, revealing Officer Drummond was compromised
• Pawbert recognizes Lynxley training methods in the attack tactics, raising the question of who trained Milton
• Pawbert times the camera blind spot and climbs into Luther's bunk; they exchange declarations of love for the first time in prison
• Luther reveals he has loved Pawbert since he chose to stay rather than accepting Mawl's offer of a new identity
• The Jaguar's tactical board shows four Lynxley photos, three marked INACCESSIBLE, with only Pawbert remaining unmarked
• A delivery truck enters ZCF with twelve mammals in tactical gear, signaling the coordinated assault is imminent

Key Lines

Locations

• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Kitchen
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Warden's Office
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Therapy Room
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Shower Block
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Medical Bay
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Cell 3C-22
• Zootopia Correctional Facility -- Main Gate
• ZPD Precinct 1 -- Bullpen
• ZPD Precinct 1 -- Bogo's Office
• ZPD Precinct 1 -- Break Room
• Rooftop overlooking the prison
• Canyonlands -- Dry River Road warehouse (Jaguar's staging area)

Items

• Prison shiv -- Sharpened metal carried by the honey badger; confiscated by Rook
• Fresh bandages -- Medical supplies provided to Luther and Pawbert after the shower attack
• Tactical board -- In the Jaguar's warehouse; photos of four Lynxleys with three marked INACCESSIBLE
• Tactical radio -- Used by the Jaguar to coordinate assault teams
• Delivery truck -- Enters ZCF main gate with twelve mammals in tactical gear; the coordinated assault is about to begin