For most of its brief run, Zorro’s episodes were part of continuing story arcs, each about thirteen episodes long, which made it almost like a serial. The first of these chronicles the arrival of Zorro / Diego to California in 1820 and his battle with the greedy and cruel local Commandante, Captain Enrique Sánchez Monasterio. After Monasterio’s final defeat, in the second storyline, Zorro must uncover and counter the machinations of the evil Magistrado Carlos Galindo, who is part of a plot to rule California. The third story arc concerns the leader of that conspiracy, the shadowy figure of “The Eagle,” revealed as vain and insecure José Sebastián de Vargas. It’s revealed that the plot to gain control of California is so that he can turn it over to another country, implied to be Russia, for a huge profit. Season one concludes with Vargas’ death.
