S04E01 - Release
"Release" is the first episode of Season 4 of We Can Fix Pawbert. Set approximately eight months after the Lionheart incident, it marks Pawbert's release from Zootopia Correctional Facility and the beginning of the season's slice-of-life arc.
Synopsis
After serving his full sentence at Zootopia Correctional Facility, Pawbert is released and reunited with the pack in the prison parking lot. Nikki Bramble delivers the news that all Lynxley family assets have been seized and Pawbert's old tent has been destroyed. Luther reveals his full surname---Pawthorne---for the first time and invites Pawbert to move into his family's estate in the Meadowlands, where Pawbert begins his three-year Post-Release Supervision.
Plot
On his last night at Zootopia Correctional Facility, Pawbert lies awake in Cell 3C-17 watching the clock count down the final hours of his sentence. He writes his last prison entry in the STAY notebook---Day 365---reflecting on not knowing how to exist outside these walls but knowing who waits for him. Across the city, Luther lies sleepless in his apartment, and Nick and Judy pretend to sleep in their bed, both couples aware that the two years of waiting finally end tomorrow.
Luther arrives at the ZCF parking lot forty-five minutes early, unable to contain his anticipation. Dr. Venn conducts Pawbert's final therapy session, reminding him that fear provides information rather than instruction and challenging him to make his freedom count. Officer Kett takes over escort duty for the final corridor, invoking the memory of Warden Hartwell---killed during the extraction two years earlier---who believed in second chances. The two exchange a farewell at the processing station, with Kett's parting words telling Pawbert not to return.
At processing, Pawbert receives all his stored belongings: his mother's green sweater, the wallet photo of Lillian, her recipe card, Maddie's card from the 118, Charles' napkin with the pancake recipe, the Squad Polaroid from Brooklyn, the early album found at Lynxley Manor, and the heist trophy won twice. He also receives two hundred dollars in gate money and a ZCF Release Card valid for one hundred twenty days---a stigma item that announces his criminal history to anyone he presents it to. He pulls on the green sweater as armor before stepping through the final door.
The pack reunion in the parking lot is overwhelming and emotional. Luther reaches Pawbert first, and they collide in an embrace neither wants to break. Nick, Judy, and Nikki Bramble join them. Nikki delivers difficult news: every Lynxley family asset has been seized as criminal proceeds, leaving Pawbert with nothing. When they drive to Sahara Square to check on Pawbert's old tent---the one place that was always his---they find it destroyed by years of desert weather, picked clean by scavengers. Standing in the ruins, Pawbert breaks down, and Luther asks him to come home with him instead.
The drive to the Meadowlands reveals Luther's secret. Behind iron gates and down a tree-lined private road sits Pawthorne Mansion---a three-story stone and timber estate that could comfortably house twenty mammals. Luther's surname is Pawthorne, and his family fortune was built on legitimate shipping, not crime. The revelation stuns the pack, particularly Nick, who processes the news with characteristic bluntness over the radio. Inside, portraits of stern Pawthorne ancestors line the halls, and Luther explains that he never wanted the name or the wealth to define who he was.
Pawbert meets Murray Burrows, a wombat assigned as his parole officer, at the Central Parole Office. Burrows explains the conditions of Post-Release Supervision: weekly check-ins for the first three months, residence verification, travel restrictions, and a prohibition against possessing firearms or contacting known felons. A home visit will occur within the week to verify Pawbert's living situation. When asked about his residence, Pawbert gives Luther's address, and Burrows notes the Pawthorne name without further comment.
That evening, Pawbert cooks his first meal as a free mammal in the mansion's commercial kitchen---soup, because cooking helps him think. Nick reflects on how much has changed since they first met, when he was terrified of the mammal who tried to kill his partner. Luther finds Pawbert alone and speaks directly to the damage the Lynxley family inflicted: they taught him that love has a price, but Luther is not charging him. He asks Pawbert to move in officially, not as a temporary arrangement, but as partners. In the bedroom later, their first intimate reunion in over a year is intense and cathartic, both of them relearning each other after so long apart.
In the final scene, Pawbert lies awake in Luther's bed, struggling with the silence and softness of a real mattress after two years of prison. He admits he keeps waiting for a bell or a count, some structure to tell him what comes next. Luther pulls him close and promises to keep watch, reminding him that he is not going anywhere---not tonight, not tomorrow, not ever. For the first time since his arrest, Pawbert falls asleep without fear.
Key Moments
- Pawbert writes his final prison journal entry on Day 365
- Luther, Nick, and Judy all lie awake across the city waiting for morning
- Dr. Venn conducts Pawbert's final therapy session
- Officer Kett invokes Warden Hartwell's memory during the final escort
- Pawbert retrieves all stored items and puts on his mother's green sweater before walking out
- The pack reunites emotionally in the ZCF parking lot
- Nikki reveals all Lynxley assets have been seized
- The group finds Pawbert's old tent destroyed in Sahara Square
- Luther's surname revealed as Pawthorne for the first time
- Pawthorne Mansion introduced as the pack's future home
- Pawbert meets parole officer Murray Burrows
- Luther addresses the Lynxley family's transactional love and offers unconditional partnership
- Pawbert cooks his first free meal in the mansion kitchen
- Nick reflects on how far they have come since first meeting Pawbert
- Luther and Pawbert's first intimate reunion in over a year
- Pawbert falls asleep without fear for the first time since his arrest
Key Lines
| Line | Speaker | Context |
|---|---|---|
| "Day 365. Last day. I made it." | Pawbert | Final notebook entry in prison |
| "Fear is information. It is not instruction." | Dr. Venn | Final therapy session callback |
| "Let's make it count." | Dr. Venn | Challenge at session's end |
| "Hartwell would've been glad." | Kett | Final escort, invoking Warden Hartwell |
| "Don't come back, Lynxley." / "Wasn't planning on it." | Kett / Pawbert | Farewell exchange |
| "The Lynxleys taught you love has a price. I'm not charging you." | Luther | Defining unconditional love |
| "Move in. Officially. Partners." | Luther | The ask |
| "I'm not trying to replace your father's power with mine. I'm trying to give you a place to stand while you find your own." | Luther | Addressing Pawbert's control concerns |
| "Three years ago, I couldn't stand looking at you. Now I'm sitting in a mansion watching you make soup." | Nick | Reflecting on growth |
| "Which hallway do the ghosts live in?" / "East wing. But they're friendly." | Nick / Luther | Mansion humor |
| "He was very SAD about it." / "I remember. I was there." | Nick / Pawbert | SAD callback from S03 |
| "I'll be here. Always." | Luther | Promise before sleep |
Characters Introduced
| Character | Species | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Murray Burrows | Wombat | Parole officer; assigned to Pawbert for 3-year PRS |
Locations
- Zootopia Correctional Facility --- Cell 3C-17, Psych Services, Processing
- ZPD Precinct 1 --- Bogo's office
- ZCF Parking Lot --- Pack reunion
- Sahara Square outskirts --- Pawbert's destroyed tent
- Pawthorne Mansion --- Luther's inherited family estate; stone and timber, three stories
- Zootopia Central Parole Office --- Pawbert meets Murray Burrows
Items
- The Green Sweater --- Retrieved from ZCF storage; worn out of prison
- STAY Notebook --- Final prison entry (Day 365)
- Laminated photo of Lillian --- Kept through entire sentence
- Gate money ($200) --- Issued at release
- ZCF Release Card --- Valid 120 days; stigma item
- Stored items returned --- Wallet photo of Lillian, recipe card, Maddie's card, Charles' napkin, Squad Polaroid, early album, heist trophy
- Keys to Luther's house --- Given to Pawbert
End Credit Song
"Journey to the Past" (From 'Anastasia'), Christy Altomare
"Journey to the Past" from Anastasia captures the essence of Pawbert's release day with uncanny precision. Like Anya searching for a home she barely remembers, Pawbert steps out of prison into a world he no longer recognizes, hoping that somewhere ahead lies the place he truly belongs. The song's central question of identity and belonging mirrors Pawbert's journey from institutionalized prisoner to free mammal finding his way home to Luther's house in the Meadowlands. This choice also creates a deliberate bookend with S01E24 "Last Morning," which used "Found/Tonight" as Pawbert entered prison with the promise of connection despite isolation. Now, "Journey to the Past" completes the arc: he is no longer searching for people who will find him through glass walls, but stepping forward to claim the home and family that waited for him.
Notes
- This episode reveals Luther's surname as "Pawthorne"---previously he was known only as "Luther" or "Officer Luther."
- The episode marks a significant tonal shift from the action-thriller of S03 to slice-of-life character development.
- All of Pawbert's stored items from previous seasons are returned, providing callbacks to Station 118, Precinct 99, and earlier seasons.
- The Pawthorne family fortune is legitimate (shipping money), contrasting with the Lynxley criminal dynasty.
- Luther lived alone in Pawthorne Mansion for seven years, using only "maybe four rooms."
- Pawbert is now 27 years old.
- The $200 gate money Pawbert receives at release is based on New York's DOCCS (Department of Corrections and Community Supervision), which provides $200 to individuals upon release from state prison.