After the Rain, on Thursday

Varvara wanted her own child to become the heir to the throne. By swapping her son with the Tsar's infant, she ensured her bloodline would rule the kingdom. She sent the real prince and the foundling to a labor camp to eliminate them as threats to her plan.

The Tsar's decree that all three Ivans be raised together already created the opportunity for the swap, as all three babies were in the royal nursery.

They escaped on a magical flying carpet. After overhearing Varvara instructing her brother Yegory to kill them, the two Ivans seized the moment to flee, using the enchanted carpet to escape their captors and the scheme against them.

The flying carpet appears without prior introduction, suggesting the foundling may have acquired magical knowledge during their captivity.

The Tsar set the quest to delay crowning the false prince.Aware of Varvara's schemes and suspicious of the impostor, Avdei used the rescue mission as a test, only the true heir could complete such a perilous task, buying time while exposing the pretender's worthiness.

The Tsar had withheld approving the succession, showing his distrust of the false prince from the start.

The foundling persuaded the Firebird by showing empathy for its captivity. When sent by Koschei to retrieve the Firebird from the distant shah, the foundling witnessed the bird's suffering and convinced it that helping them would end its imprisonment, earning the Firebird's magical assistance.

The foundling's compassion was established early as a defining trait that set him apart from the false prince.

With Princess Milolika's help, the prince discovered that Koschei's death was hidden inside a crystal egg. This was the key to ending Koschei's immortality, his soul or life force was bound within the egg, which was hidden in his lair.

Koschei's fear of his death being discovered was evident in how carefully he guarded his prisoners and set impossible tasks.

Koschei destroyed the egg inadvertently during the final confrontation. When cornered by the two Ivans with the Firebird's aid, Koschei tried to use the egg as a weapon or defense but accidentally broke it, releasing the magic that undid his evil and ended his immortality.

Koschei's arrogance and recklessness in dealing with his prisoners set the stage for his self-destructive actions.

Varvara was banished from the palace. Once the Tsar learned of her deception and baby-swapping plot, he stripped her of her position and expelled her from the kingdom. Her son the false prince presumably lost his claim as well.

The Tsar's initial wariness toward the false prince预示了他最终会对瓦瓦拉采取行动.

By royal decree, all three boys born on that Thursday, the Tsar's son, Varvara's son, and the foundling, were named Ivan and raised together in the palace. This was meant to ensure unity among potential heirs, but it also gave Varvara the opportunity to carry out her swap undetected.

The decree directly enabled Varvara's scheme since she had access to all three infants in the nursery.

The foundling and the real prince grew up together as prisoners in the labor camp, forging a brotherly bond. Despite discovering the prince's true royal bloodline, the foundling remained devoted to helping him reclaim his rightful place, motivated by their shared suffering and friendship.

Their decision to escape together demonstrated their partnership from the earliest reintroduction to the audience.

The enchanted checkers were used by the false prince and Yegory in their attempt to rescue Milolika. They hoped to win her freedom or bargain for her exchange by playing the magical game against Koschei, though their approach differed from the real prince's direct confrontation.

The checkers represented the false prince's preferred method of trickery rather than honest heroism.

Baba Yaga assisted the two Ivans by providing guidance and magical knowledge. They encountered her during their journey and used their wit and courage to win her favor, which helped them navigate toward Koschei's lair and ultimately locate Milolika.

In fairy tales, Baba Yaga often tests heroes before granting aid; their courage in facing her proved their worthiness.

The Tsar showed mercy because the real prince was innocent, swapped at birth and raised in harsh conditions without any choice in the matter. Additionally, the prince had proven his worthiness through the dangerous quest to defeat Koschei, demonstrating his true royal character.

The Tsar's reluctance to crown the false prince showed he always sensed something was wrong with the succession.

Milolika was rescued during the final confrontation. After the prince located the crystal egg and the Firebird arrived to help, Koschei inadvertently destroyed his own death-egg. This broke his magical hold over prisoners, freeing Milolika and restoring all those who had been transformed.

Milolika's assistance in finding the egg demonstrated her own desire to be free from Koschei's captivity.