S02E24 - Clean Slate
"Clean Slate" is the twenty-fourth and final episode of Season 2 of We Can Fix Pawbert.
Synopsis
Pawbert says goodbye to the pack and voluntarily returns to Zootopia Correctional Facility to serve his remaining year. The episode follows his re-entry into the prison system while the pack separates to their respective homes.
Plot
Pawbert stands alone in the empty safehouse kitchen one last time. The space where he learned to cook for people who wanted his food has been stripped bare. The cast iron pans are gone from their hooks. The cutting board remains, but it was never his. Luther appears in the doorway with news that the transport has arrived. Pawbert tells him that going back does not feel like courage. Luther responds that it never does.
Outside Site Two, the pack gathers for their farewell. Nick and Judy share a group embrace with Pawbert, promising their Wednesday visits will continue. Nick notes that one year is manageable, that Pawbert has survived harder things. Luther and Pawbert kiss in front of everyone, no longer hiding. Pawbert climbs into the ZSI vehicle carrying only his bag with the STAY notebook. His property travels separately in a box behind him—the green sweater, the Lillian album, the corkboard items, the heist trophy. He watches the pack through the window until they disappear around a corner, then faces forward.
The transport proceeds without restraints or muzzle—a cooperating witness returning voluntarily. Pawbert thinks about his first terrified journey to prison after sentencing and recognizes how different this feels. Not because prison has changed, but because he has. The vehicle rolls through the gates of Zootopia Correctional Facility.
At intake, the hippo officer recognizes Pawbert from the weather wall broadcast and warns him not to let the recognition go to his head. At property, the gazelle officer catalogs each item methodically—the sweater with Judy's careful mending visible at the shoulder, the album, the recipe cards, the corkboard items, the trophy. The STAY notebook and laminated photo are flagged as therapeutic materials and returned to Pawbert. Everything else goes to storage.
Officer Kett finds Pawbert in the corridor and quietly notes that Warden Hartwell would have been glad about the commutation. The mention of Hartwell, who died covering their extraction, lands heavily. Kett escorts him to Cell 3C-17—the same cell where he spent his first year. Pawbert walks in without flinching. He places the STAY notebook on the shelf, the laminated photo beside it. Two anchors.
Dr. Venn resumes their therapy sessions that afternoon. Pawbert tells her this return is different because he chose it—the alternative of running and hiding would have meant becoming something he is no longer. She reflects his words back: he chose the option that let him stay who he has become. That is growth.
Luther returns to his empty apartment and finds it foreign after months at the safehouse. He opens the one box he kept for himself: Pawbert's soup pot. He places it on the stove and resolves to practice the recipes until Pawbert comes home. Across the city, Nick and Judy crash into their apartment, finally alone after weeks of holding everything together. They find release in each other, the tension of the siege and the hospital and the goodbyes finally breaking.
That night, Pawbert lies on the thin mattress in his cell. He reaches for the STAY notebook and opens it to the first blank page after Luther's inscription. He writes his first entry: Day 1/365. STAY. The countdown has begun. Down the protective custody corridor, a figure moves in the shadows. A hushed voice asks a question that hooks into Season 3.
Key Moments
- Pawbert stands alone in the empty safehouse kitchen, acknowledging the space that became home
- Luther reassures Pawbert that courage never feels like courage
- The pack shares a group embrace on the sidewalk outside Site Two
- Luther and Pawbert kiss in public without hiding
- Pawbert watches the pack through the transport window until they disappear
- Transport proceeds without restraints, contrasting his first terrified journey
- The intake officer recognizes Pawbert from the weather wall broadcast
- Officer Kett honors Warden Hartwell's memory
- Dr. Venn resumes therapy, affirming Pawbert's growth
- Luther keeps Pawbert's soup pot and resolves to practice
- Nick and Judy find release after weeks of holding everything together
- Pawbert writes his first notebook entry: Day 1/365
- A mystery voice in the corridor sets up Season 3
Key Lines
| Line | Speaker | Context |
|---|---|---|
| "I'm ready." | Pawbert | Cold open; not resigned, but ready |
| "It doesn't feel like courage." / "It never does." | Pawbert / Luther | Before departure |
| "That's not goodbye." / "No. It's not." | Luther / Pawbert | Transport departure; promise continues |
| "Heard about what you did. The weather wall thing. Don't let it go to your head." | Intake Officer | Recognition at re-entry |
| "Hartwell would've been glad." | Officer Kett | Memorial callback |
| "Fear is information. It is not instruction." | Dr. Venn | Therapy; recurring touchstone |
| "So you chose the option that let you stay who you've become." | Dr. Venn | Core realization |
| "Let's make it count." | Dr. Venn | Echo of Nikki's line from S01 |
| "He's going to be okay." / "We're going to be okay." | Nick / Judy | Final exchange |
| "Day 1/365. STAY." | Pawbert | First notebook entry; season closing |
| "So what's the plan?" | Mystery Voice | S03 hook |
Locations
- Site Two -- kitchen (empty), street exterior
- Transport vehicle (ZSI)
- Zootopia Correctional Facility -- intake, property, corridor, Cell 3C-17, psych services
- Luther's apartment
- Nick and Judy's apartment
- ZCF -- protective custody corridor (tag)
Items
- STAY notebook -- Approved as therapeutic material; first entry written: "Day 1/365. STAY."
- Laminated photo -- In cell as therapeutic material under prior court order
- Green sweater -- Logged to ZCF property storage; mending visible at the bullet-wound shoulder
- Lillian album -- Logged to ZCF property storage
- Corkboard items -- Charles's napkin, Maddie's card, squad Polaroid; all in property storage
- Heist trophy -- Logged to ZCF property storage
- Recipe cards -- Logged to ZCF property storage
- Soup pot -- Kept by Luther at his apartment; the one thing he took from the safehouse
End Credit Song
"Seasons of Love" (From 'RENT'), Original Broadway Cast
"Seasons of Love" from RENT opens with its famous question about measuring a year, asking whether it should be counted in moments, in love, in the connections that give time meaning. This is precisely what Pawbert faces as he voluntarily returns to prison with one year remaining on his sentence. The episode is structured around countdowns and measurements: Day 1/365 in the notebook, the list of items logged into property storage, the promise of Wednesday visits. Yet the song reminds us that the true measure is not the days themselves but how they are filled. Across three separate locations, the pack marks the beginning of this final year, measured not in minutes but in the love that will carry them through.
Notes
- The season ends with Pawbert having one year remaining on his sentence.