"Opposites Detract" is the thirty-second episode of Aladdin originally aired on October 12, 1994. It is the twenty-eighth episode to air in syndication.
Plot[]
At a canyon, a Chinese man named Zin Lao gets surrounded by snarling wolves. Aladdin and the others rescue him. After getting rid of the wolves, Zin tells Aladdin that there is a dragon and runs, with Aladdin confused. When Zin runs into Genie, he passes out. Aladdin and the others are riding camels in a desert taking Zin back to his home: Pei Ling. While they're on their way, Iago loses his temper. Genie turns into a rocket, with Iago with him, and they see Pei Ling. When they get there, the city looks abandoned.
Zin wakes up and sees that he's at his home and says that he must get away because Pei Ling is the city of the dragon. A woman shows up and tells everyone that the dragon is gone and the people are celebrating its disappearance. A parade comes towards them with two men holding a paper dragon. Aladdin and his friends see the paper dragon and tell Zin that he has nothing to worry about, but Zin runs away, telling them that they don't understand. He hides in an alley and runs into a man who looks similar to him: Zang.
Zang grabs Zin's arm and they are surrounded by a magic glow. When Aladdin is looking for Zin, everyone sees a red dragon fly towards them. Aladdin realizes that Zin was right about Pei Ling all along and tries to stop the dragon, but fails. Genie traps the dragon in a crate. The mayor of Pei Ling comes to the gang and tells them that the dragon used to be the protector of their city, but now it has become a force of chaos. For Aladdin and the others capturing the dragon, the mayor rewards them by showing them a cartload of silk cloth. After Iago shouts at Abu, Aladdin makes Iago have a bet to see if the parrot can control his temper until they leave, thus he can keep the silk. When Genie picks up the crate, he notices that it's light. He looks inside and sees that the dragon is gone.
That night, the gang goes to a government warehouse to search for the dragon. When Abu sees a paper dragon, he gets scared and drops a lantern he was holding. It then reveals that the crates in the warehouse are filled with fireworks. The flame from Abu's lantern goes to the crate of fireworks and the gang runs out and hides behind barrels before the building explodes. They then run into Zin, who was hiding behind one of the barrels. Zin tells them that he's hiding from his evil twin Zang and says that the dragon will not attack as long as he's with them.
Aladdin suggests that they split into groups of three to find the dragon: he, Abu, and Zin will go on the south side while Genie, Iago, and Carpet go on the north. Genie, Iago, and Carpet go to a building on the north side of Pei Ling, but can't find the dragon. They then run into Zang, who they mistake for Zin. Genie tells him that he's supposed to be at the south side with Aladdin and Abu. Meanwhile at the south side, Aladdin climbs a stack of crates while Zin watches him. Zin then runs into Zang and they run. They climb up a tree and the branch Zin is on breaks and Zang catches him. The twins then get surrounded by swirling light in the shape of a yin-yang and the dragon appears.
The gang sees the dragon and fly away from it, with it chasing them. Aladdin suggests that they "take the dragon for a ride" and the dragon chases them around the city, destroying buildings. When they get to a low bridge, the dragon gets stuck. When Genie builds a brick prison around the dragon, a red light is shining out of it and Zin climbs out of the roof. The gang sees Zang and realize what's going on. Zin tells them that when he's together with Zang, they become the dragon. He also tells them that his twin has become so much stronger than him.
Zang starts to attack Zin again and the two begin to wrestle, with Iago telling them to turn into the dragon again. When Zin shouts at Iago, telling him to be quiet, Aladdin tells him to do the same for Zang. Zin pushes Zang off the roof and Carpet catches him. When he gets back, he starts to attack Aladdin. When Zin tells him to leave him alone, Zang tries attacking him. While they are fighting, they get surrounded by a glowing white light, showing that Zin is getting stronger and he is now controlling Zang. The men then fall off the roof and then turn into a white dragon. It flies over the destroyed buildings, which get rebuilt.
The next day, the mayor is talking with Aladdin while Genie, Abu, and Iago fight over a piece of silk, with Iago telling them that he saved the day by freaking out over Zin, causing him to freak out over Zang. After Genie tells Iago that he lost the bet, the parrot really loses his temper.
Trivia[]
- The episode's title is a pun on Paula Abdul's 1989 song "Opposites Attract".
- When Abu wraps himself around Aladdin's head it is a reference to when they escaped the Cave of Wonders in the film.
Gallery[]
