She-ra Season 5 Re-watch Thoughts

She-ra Season 5 Re-watch Thoughts

This season the animation and art design is easily at its most beautiful. The actions are more fluid, the use of color is phenomenal, and the character’s faces and bodies are at their most expressive yet. I really loved the She-ra redesign and prefer it over the original design they had by quite a lot. I loved the scenes where softer colors were used. This is especially prevalent in the final episode after Adora defeats Horde Prime. The colors were breathtaking and it’s clear the time and effort that went into making the final shots be ingrained in your memory. I know it will be ingrained in mine. I thought the animation bumps between seasons 2 and 3 and seasons 3 and 4 were impressive but this is on a different level. It’s like everything was taken up to 11.

She-ra never lost sight of its characters and always managed to keep the focus on them and their struggles despite the larger than life stakes that were happening around them. This season paid off the character arcs of Adora, Catra, and Entrapta really well. My favorite episodes were the ones that were intensely character focused (corridors, save the cat, failsafe, heart). The show knows what its strength is and holds to it.

I came into this series not sure what to expect. I wasn’t familiar with she-ra (I had seen he-man) or the characters and hadn’t read Noelle’s work. So when I watched the first season and saw how nuanced and complicated the characters and their relationships were I was enthralled. I woke up every night that a new season dropped at 2 or 3 in the morning (based on which time zone I was in) to binge the season. I was so impressed with the character work of the show. There aren’t many shows that manage to blow me away with its characters. A large part of that is the fact that I could connect with a lot of the characters and understand them. This show managed to help me in ways I didn’t know I needed at the time and helped me distance myself from a toxic family situation. My thoughts on the show are biased because of this but that’s the case with everyone when it comes to media. There are going to be certain things that connect more with some people than others.

There’s a good and bad way of a show knowing what it is. This show takes knowing what it is in a good direction. It knows it’s a character drama that has the relationships and individual character arcs front and center and it uses the war setting as a vehicle for these things. Not everyone will like this because this makes it so the show focuses on consequences for personal actions more frequently than for war related actions. It isn't a war story. This worked for me, but won't for everyone.

In this season it uses Horde Prime and his “cult” as a metaphor for organized religion which is used to complete Catra, Adora, and Hordak’s arcs of self actualization and coming to terms with what you want and that you have a choice. This I think is done well because of how it matches with it's themes of working through programming and unlearning toxic behavior ingrained by your upbringing. I can easily say that She-ra has produced some of my favorite characters and I loved the conclusions to their arcs.

My one real issue with this season is that I think the tonal issues were jarring. To break it down it went from the premiere “Horde Prime” which was pretty dark showing the hopeless position of the rebellion and Adora’s struggle with her identity now that she-ra is gone and her suicidal drive to push herself to be useful to “Launch” which has a lot of things that are played for laughs and just felt like an odd shift especially considering that it is followed by “Corridors” which is an intense character study of Catra and her pain and loneliness and deals with her coming to terms with the fact that a lot of her anger and pain was misdirected at Adora all these years and that Adora has truly cared about her.

Then “Corridors” is followed by “Stranded” which is much more lighthearted and while it does deal with Adora coming to the decision to go back for Catra and her conflict over doing what she wants over what would be best for Etheria while Glimmer and Bow reconcile (or start to) a lot of the episode is used for levity. Catra is in a life threatening situation so while the reasoning for the main characters making this stop make sense the shift and lack of urgency at times doesn't work well in the context of the season.

Then that episode is followed by “Save the Cat” which is one of the most emotionally charged episodes of the show which has Adora refusing to make the same mistake she made in the pilot and refuses to leave horde prime’s ship without Catra even if it is the death of her. Adora places Catra above everything else. This episode is heartbreaking and calls back to all their misunderstandings, pain, history, and disconnects. This episode is followed by “Taking Control” which I think does a much better job of keeping the tone of “Save the Cat” and moving the plot and character arcs along. But then it’s followed by “Perils of Peekablue” which, while it’s a fun episode, it is very jarring to be pulled out of the very dramatic and dark episodes that came previously. Scorpia's sacrifice at the end worked really well as a precursor to what is waiting for our heroes when they get back to Etheria though so this episode had a better transition to the next than the ones that came before.

I am usually pretty good at being able to switch tones with a show and I think the balance between dark and light has been done very well in this show before in “Princess Prom”, “Roll with It”, “Mer-Mysteries”, “Pulse”, and “Princess Scorpia” to name a few. These episodes however didn’t mesh as well for me. I still enjoy watching them, but I think watching season 5 as a whole makes it clear that these episodes break up the tension too much. I will admit I am a bigger fan of drama than I am of comedy so I gravitated towards the much more serious episodes within the show like "Hero", "Promise", "Remember", "Failsafe", "Light Spinner", etc. I understand why there’s comedy, but I think that instead of having entire episodes dedicated to comedy they should have mixed it in like they do with the ones I named above. I’ve gone on a bit of a tangent because, while She-ra does almost everything else I want from a show, I think this is easily its biggest problem.

I think this season is my favorite season. (It’s a very close race between this season, season 4, and season 3) This season managed to pay off just about everything that was set up in the previous seasons and that is a near insurmountable task for any show. I haven’t felt this satisfied by a series finale in a very long time. The final episode tandem heart parts 1 and 2 left me speechless and I immediately started re-watching the series. I don’t know exactly what it was and how to put it into words, but that finale really hit me. It really felt like what the show was always building towards.

The fact that this big grand war ended not with a big battle, but with Adora and Catra finally coming to an understanding of both themselves and each other felt true to the show. Catra and Adora’s love-hate relationship has been the heart of the show since the beginning and it was their falling out due to their disconnect that kicked the show off in “The Sword” so it’s fitting that it’s them fully reconnecting and understanding each other that ends the series. The emphasis and climax of the show isn’t the big epic battle above, but the love confession happening below. The fact that the show manages to stay so personal and focused despite the stakes being the fate of the universe is a testament to how well written this season is in my opinion. The show comes full circle and I couldn’t have been happier with the result.

I saw this tweet:

And can I just say that it’s amazing how everything from episode 3 comes back around in episode 9. Vander inadvertently dies because of Powder’s actions and in episode 9 Silco dies because of Jinx’s actions. Vi is restrained and helplessly watches her family “die” in both episodes. She witnesses Vander, Mylo, and Claggor’s deaths while trapped under rubble in episode 3 while she is tied to a chair and has to watch Jinx fire her rocket at the Piltover council effectively killing whatever was left of Powder in episode 9. The whole “we will show them. We will show them all.” Line coming back around and being a large factor in Jinx’s final decision. The hopefulness in piltover being juxtaposed with the hopelessness in a Zaun. And so much more.

All the foreshadowing and mirroring within these two episodes alone is incredible. This show really is a masterpiece. I just had to gush about it for what is probably the millionth time. This show really hit me hard.

The Beginning of the End Thoughts

Wow. Just wow. I knew the Amphibia series finale was going to emotionally destroy me but what I wasn’t prepared for was the fact that it had me tearing up within the first minute of The Beginning of the End. Marcy was already an incredibly relatable character but that opening scene hit me in a way I wasn’t expecting (it hit too close to home. I am way too much like Marcy) and really made you understand why Marcy did what she did. 

Marcy is a character who is incredibly lonely. Anne said it herself in this episode that she and Sasha never gave any of Marcy’s interests a chance or paid attention when she would ramble on about them. That opening scene of Marcy being so excited about this movie that she loves, quoting it and info dumping about it to the two, wearing a blanket as a cape, and trying to hide her disappointment when they don’t share any of her enthusiasm touched upon her isolation in such a poignant way in such a short amount of time. 

Many people can probably relate to Marcy. I know that I have experienced that same thing multiple times in my life. Marcy has always been heavily neurodivergent coded but this just encapsulated that experience in less than one minute. She went through life not being able to connect with others very easily and found connection and understanding in media. All of her attempts to share that experience were met with halfhearted or nonexistent reactions. She wants to share this connection and experience with people she cares about. But she is left alone watching the movie every time while Sasha and Anne sleep. That disconnect is something that makes everything so clear and painful.

For Marcy it wasn’t a matter of if the friendship fell apart after she left but a matter of when. I can’t blame Marcy for this. Was her decision rash? Yes. Was it selfish? Yes. Was it the wrong choice? Yes. But do I understand it? Yes. 

She was a scared and lonely thirteen year old child who didn’t want to lose the few people who did hang out with her.

I will admit that I was a little scared about how the show would handle Marcy in these last few episodes because she is the only one of the three that hasn’t completed her personal arc but this episode wiped those worries away completely. If they could craft such an emotional and relatable minute of animation that could make everything about Marcy’s decision, character, and friendships snap into place then I knew they could do her character justice in the final two episodes.

This is why I could never get behind people saying that the trio was best splitting ways after Amphibia because of all the betrayals. Sasha, Anne, and Marcy were going to fall apart as a friend group before they went to Amphibia and they spent the majority of their time in Amphibia apart. They are the definition of sometimes you have to grow apart before you can come back together. They had to fall apart as friends and grow as people separate from each other before they could come back together as true friends. Just like Anne said.

Anne points out that Sasha herself is proof of this. Sasha did genuinely care for Marcy and Anne but she wasn’t a good friend (that line where she tells Marcy she didn’t care about the spoiler hurt so much) and the core also calls her out on it too. But Sasha grew during her time in Amphibia to where she is kinder, more understanding, and legitimately supportive with the entirety of “The Three Armies” serving to hit this point home. And if Sasha can change, the girl most set in her ways, then so can Marcy. And if Anne and Sasha’s friendship could be salvaged then so could their relationship to Marcy.

This goes into one of my favorite parts of the episodes (outside of it making me somehow love Marcy even more) getting to see Sasha and Anne as true friends. I really like their dynamic now that they have patched things up and both grown significantly as people. Sasha supports Anne at every turn and tries to help even when she very obviously has doubts about Anne’s plan of action. But you also get to see little pieces of the good parts of their old friendship and how it is enhanced by their new dynamic such as when they used their old dance to become so in sync that they could beat Olivia and Yunan. 

Now onto Anne and Sasha finally coming face to face with Darcy. This scene was everything I wanted. The core taunting Anne and Sasha with the personal information they know about them and knowing what will hurt them the most. Sasha’s genuine hurt and anger over Darcy implying that Sasha and Marcy were never really friends to begin with. Anne managing to outwit the core and buy herself some time. The tragedy of the three friends’ situation. 

The core being revealed to the girls has been a long time coming and I wasn’t disappointed. They knew exactly what buttons to press and how ruthless to be. It’s still so creepy because of the mannerisms and memories that it has from Marcy. It really hammers home how morbid this sock puppet routine of theirs is. I can’t wait to see even more of them in the next episode.

I just hope that Sasha doesn’t actually get mind controlled because she needs to be there with Anne to free Marcy. They both need to play an active role in that moment for their friendship to come together. I’m sure that will be the case but that made me a bit nervous. I’m sure I’m worrying about nothing because Amphibia nails its finales.

While the decision fills me with way too much anticipation I believe ending on Andrias and the Core invading earth was the perfect place to stop. This is really the final chapter and I can’t wait to see how it ends. All In is 48 minutes and all these episodes did was prove that I’m not ready. I thought I was prepared but then this episode made me tear up within the first minute and I realized I was doomed.

Amphibia also knows exactly when and how to change its end credits and these ones hurt so much. The soft piano rendition of Marcy’s theme over the scene of her watching her favorite movie alone while Anne and Sasha sleep was a gut punch. This really emphasized the tragedy of Marcy’s story, her isolation, her escapism tendencies, and how her naivete and loneliness led her to this point.

There’s also the fact that I don’t think their dynamic was 100% one sided. It’s true that they didn’t show the care and appreciation they should have towards Marcy’s interests and this was shown many times throughout the series before this point but Sasha and Anne bring up things Marcy has said or interests of hers up when she isn’t there at multiple points. They took their friendship with Marcy for granted and should have shown more active interest in what she would tell them about. I just want to point out that they did care just not in the way Marcy needed but now they are at a point where they can both recognize this and rectify it because of how much they have grown.

That episode may be one of my top five of the series. It does such an amazing job with Marcy and has such great music that I can’t help but be blown away. I didn’t think I could relate any more to Marcy but here we are. It also sets up so much going into the final two episodes that I can’t wait to explore. 

Scattered thoughts

I love Grime in these episodes.

Sasha and Grime have a few wholesome moments. I have missed their dynamic recently.

I liked that The Three Armies came to the conclusion that Anne can’t solve hundreds of years of systemic and class issues between the toads, newts, and frogs. The three factions can’t solve them right away either but they can start.

I loved Anne being named mediator of the year at her school.

Amphibia - The Shifting Symbolism of the Polaroid

I love how the photo of the three girls is important even now and how it means something completely different to each of them. It’s outgrown the meaning it once had. The first time the audience sees that photo is in the opening where it’s stuck in a branch in the rain while lightning strikes. It’s the first hint that we get that Anne’s friendships back home weren’t as sunshine and rainbows as it initially seemed. The dynamic of the people in that photo wasn’t the healthiest despite the genuine care they clearly had for each other. That first sighting and these last ones show their respective growth.

When Sasha sees the photo in this episode she deflates. Looking at it reminds her of the old her and she’s not proud of who she was. It also reminds her of the doubt she has that she’s actually changed. It’s no longer the tether for her that it was at the beginning. She doesn’t carry it around like she used to because she is no longer dead set on returning to the way things were. She knows that can’t happen and doesn’t want it to. She wants to be better, different.

For Anne this photo is a reminder of how far they have all come. That who they were isn’t what matters but who they are now and that is punctuated by her leaving the photo inside her locker. It is always where she can find it just like the memories that they have made but they have all outgrown that old dynamic and left it behind.

For Marcy that photo is a tether. A light in the dark. She now knows that she can’t keep holding onto the past and Sasha and Anne but that doesn’t mean that what they had can’t help her through the dark times. She may leave them behind to move when she goes back to reality but those memories will always be with her. That love and care will never leave.

Amphibia - The Hardest Thing Thoughts

(art credit to @kayseix)

Ever since last Saturday I’ve been trying to write out my thoughts on The Hardest Thing and after four drafts and almost 10,000 words written and deleted I think I’ve finally figured out how to organize everything I have to say about this finale.

Series finales are the hardest thing to stick the landing on and in many ways they can make or break a series for many people. This episode managed to hit all its emotional beats home just like Amphibia has always done. I have a few issues but nothing that will keep me from revisiting this series in years to come. 

I know I’m not the first nor will I be the last to say this but The Hardest Thing is saying goodbye. The girls have to say goodbye to the friends and family they made in Amphibia and in a way all these goodbyes encapsulate and close out their individual arcs and the show’s themes.

Marcy’s goodbyes were bittersweet in a way that was different from Anne and Sasha’s goodbyes. Unlike theirs hers was sad because of what could have been. She didn’t get to know Olivia and Yunan as well as she could have and now she won’t be able to. She befriended them but because of her outlook when she came to Amphibia she didn’t get to find a new family in them like Anne with the Plantars or Sasha with Grime. And her goodbye with Andrias was short and full of pain because if it weren’t for the core they could have been family but they can’t turn back the clock. 

Andrias has broken free of the core but he can’t undo his betrayal of her. He can’t stop himself from stabbing her or letting the core possess her. He cared about her but when the moment of truth came he chose the core and his mission over her. 

Marcy has insight into how the core treated and manipulated Andrias which gives her new understanding of him but it doesn’t negate his actions. It also doesn’t negate the impact he had on her life. It is a weird mess of emotions and complicated feelings because she did care for him and vice versa but so much has happened that they can never have that bond that the others have. But they will both forever carry the impact they had on each other. 

Their story is tragic.

Marcy’s goodbyes are a new beginning. Her big moment in All In was the equivalent of Anne’s big moment in Reunion where she stands up to Sasha or Sasha’s big moment in Turning Point where she decides to do the right thing. These were beginnings where the girls made the decision to be better, become who they were meant to be, and work to reach their full potential. And their subsequent actions in those episodes solidified this change. These goodbyes were the solidification of Marcy’s decision to change.

In a way this isn’t the end of her story and arc that Amphibia brought about but the beginning and I think that works perfectly for Marcy.

Sasha and Grime’s goodbye was about more than one thing but it was most importantly a close to their emotional arcs. Both Grime and Sasha build walls around their hearts and put up a tough exterior to hide their genuine care for each other and others. Throughout the series we’ve seen time and time again that they have chosen each other above themselves. Sasha stuck with Grime after Reunion and protected him in Toadcatcher, Grime returned for Sasha in Turning Point, Grime sacrificed his arm to save Sasha’s life in All In, etc. They have had each other’s backs at every turn no matter how dire the situation. They may not say it aloud but they have become family.

Sasha and Grime have developed a father/daughter sort of bond through their adventures and seeing them finally let their walls fall and break down crying at their goodbye was emotional. Neither would have dared to show this type of emotion around others before this point in the series. Sasha was determined to hide her sadness and hurt behind confidence and anger and Grime would never show anything other than ruthlessness before Sasha. They bettered each other and broke down each other’s walls.

But Sasha’s goodbyes also play into the idea that you won’t always get closure for everything. Sasha gets to have this heartfelt goodbye with Grime but she never did get to see Percy and Braddock again. She never got to make things right. And that’s an important part of her arc.

Sasha for so long struggled to see the consequences of her actions and it caused her to lose Percy and Braddock and it almost cost her her friendship with Anne. She luckily got a chance to reconcile with Anne and build a stronger bond than ever because of it. But this isn’t the case with Percy and Braddock.

This adds extra weight to Barrel’s Warhammer. Sasha’s actions in that episode made it so that she didn’t get to ever see them again. Her actions had lasting consequences that she will never get to undo. 

Even though that’s the case Sasha doesn’t stop trying to better herself and that’s important. She was very self destructive at the start and actively put her life in danger multiple times but now she wants to get better, to be better, for those around her but also herself.

Anne’s goodbyes come full circle as well. This goodbye really shows Anne and the Plantars’ personal growth. In season 2 during the episode A Day at the Aquarium they couldn’t bring themselves to say goodbye or even think of the fact that they would have to say goodbye but now they are faced with the reality that they will have to let go. They didn’t want to be reminded of their adventures because they thought it was too painful but after all this they surround themselves with mementos of each other and the time they spent together.

Anne and the Plantars are family they have been and always will be no matter what. This doesn’t change that. It can’t. They have irrevocably changed each other. Her goodbye with Sprig was understandably the one that was the biggest tearjerker out of all the Plantars. 

The friendship between Sprig and Anne is what started this series. It’s what got Anne to grow and what motivated Anne to stand up for herself. It’s what gave Anne perspective on what a healthy friendship looks like. It is, in a way, the catalyst for much of the growth and change in the show for the characters and the world. If Sprig hadn’t become Anne’s “first non-toxic friend” (in the words of Matt Braly) then none of the girls would have grown into who they were meant to be.

Spranne against the world was a catchphrase they used that grew into something much more than what it was that first time they shouted it in early season one. Since then they’ve faced down tyrants, toad rebellions, the FBI, an immortal collection of Amphibia’s greatest minds, and the literal moon and have always had each other's backs.

Spranne kicked this adventure off and it’s their goodbye that closes it out.

It’s simple and beautiful and heartbreaking all at once.

Now to come back to the space battle and the moon. Sasha and Marcy’s calamity forms have been teased since Anne first accessed hers back in True Colors and we finally got to see them in action.

Amphibia didn’t hold back and gave us the most fun and colorful fight sequence in the whole show. I love how all of their calamity powers have to do with their activities from home that helped them most in Amphibia. Anne’s tennis skills and natural athleticism helped her fight even before her lessons from Tritonio which is most notable in Toad Tax. Sasha’s cheerleading helped her stay alive from the heron attack in prison break and feeds into her fighting ability. Marcy’s passion for fantasy and DnD plays into how she is able to do so well in Newtopia as mentioned in Marcy at the Gates. I love that this keeps coming back around in the story.

I love this frame of the girls grabbing onto each other and laughing while they spin in space. It just makes me really happy about how far they have come individually and as friends. The fact that they all grew so much and were able to come back together always hits me. It brings me back to that photo Matt Braly shared on twitter of the sketch of the three girls on the coach leaning into each other so with the caption “it’s complicated”. Through everything they all cared deeply about one another and managed to grow so they could get to this point.

Most importantly this part closes out the arc of the calamity trio as a whole. Anne started out this series as a follower. She did what Marcy and Sasha wanted and took the easy path but that’s not who she is anymore. She asks for their permission to take the lead and they allow her to.

She accepts her fate and makes the hard choice. In a way this is the hardest thing as well. Sasha and Marcy have to take a step back and give Anne their stones and their trust. Anne has to make this decision knowing that she will be giving up everything.

Anne has grown to be a light for so many people. She’s grown to love herself and through that has learned when to take the lead. She’s what Sprig dubbed her in the very first episode, a hero.

Anne makes the ultimate sacrifice and dies. The Anne we know does in fact die. A copy was made of her right before she expired; she is “for all intents and purposes the same Anne Boonchuy”. It’s been a week and I still don’t know how to tackle this subject but I do believe that this is Anne. I am happy that at least a part of Anne does in fact get to live her life. (To be honest I still don’t know if I’ve fully processes this part of the finale)

And we come to one of those things I’m conflicted about which is the creator of the stones. I’ve sat on this for a while now and I think I agree with this take right here. It would work better if there were any indication of there being a god outside of the line of foreshadowing within the episode Adventures in Catsitting and the photo on Anne’s bedroom wall. 

No one before this point has been concerned about where the stones came from and there’s also the fact that someone/something we’ve never seen before in the series is what saves Anne from death. I don’t think either of these things fit the series as well as they should (The link explains this a lot better than I can).

That being said it works very well within the context of Anne’s arc and the themes of the show. Anne is given the chance to become a god and she turns it down. She isn’t perfect and she’s constantly growing, learning, and changing. Things aren’t set in stone. 

Amphibia is centered around the theme of change. That nothing is permanent. And how that isn’t a bad thing. Bonds grow and change and sometimes you have to let them go but that doesn’t make their impact less meaningful. People change. They can seem set in their ways like Anne thought Sasha and Marcy were but they can surprise you and grow. 

Nothing is perfect but with that comes beauty. The creator of the stones can’t grasp this. There is an inherent disconnect between an immortal being and a mortal one when it comes to this. They see Anne make this grand sacrifice and jump at the chance to make her their replacement. They claim she is perfect but she knows this isn’t the case. Anne understands this part of life now in a way she couldn’t before her journey.

Her understanding gives the god a new perspective and they allow her to go back and continue her life. Anne gets to continue her journey of growth and change. While she has an understanding and perspective beyond her thirteen years she still has so much life left to live and she deserves the chance to live it.

The epilogue shows a better world for Amphibia and shows just how much the world and its inhabitants have changed due to the trio. Sprig, Polly, and Ivy are going to go on more adventures and carry on in Anne’s memory by exploring a new continent. Grime, Olivia, and Yunan work together to facilitate peace and exploration. Hop Pop gets to grow his avocados. And Anne has a statue built in her honor.

Andrias roams helping fix the world he tore apart by planting seeds while carrying around the legacy and memory of Leif, Barrel, and Marcy through his keepsakes from each of them. He will never get the closure of his friends having seen him change and work to make up for past mistakes but he carries them with him and the lessons he’s learned from each. This ending fits perfectly with Amphibia’s themes. 

I talked in depth about the earth epilogue here but to sum my thoughts up I think the dialogue doesn’t fully get across the intention behind it very well. It doesn’t get across that the girls did in fact keep in contact and that Marcy did visit after Amphibia but drifted apart due to time and differing life paths. I was genuinely disappointed in how the dialogue made the trio’s relationship after Amphibia sound but I love the idea and themes that it tries to get across.

I love the message that people do grow apart and that they can come back together again. I love how the trio meets up on Anne’s birthday, brings her presents, catches up, and takes a new photo. I love the idea that things aren’t permanent and that sometimes you will grow apart but that doesn’t make your experiences together and the love you share pointless, it just takes on a new meaning. I love that all these years later they could come back together and reconnect.

The final frame of the entire show is of the trio having taken a new photo. It’s a beautiful bookend to their story. The polaroid was such an important thing for every girl throughout the story but it grew and changed in significance with each of the girls. This new one symbolizes their new change in dynamic and friendship perfectly.

The fact that our first sighting of the group was this polaroid stuck in a tree in the rain during the opening and that this is the last sighting of the group right before “Complete” appears in Thai bringing the series to a close is so poetic. This series was about the friendship of these three girls falling apart and forcing them to grow separately as individuals before coming back together as true friends.

Amphibia is first and foremost a story about friendship and how each one can change you. How some while you may be separated the impact of that friendship will always remain. That sometimes you can reconnect with these old friendships even after all the time, space, and new experiences have changed you all. 

Part of the journey is the end. This wasn’t a perfect goodbye to the series but it was a beautiful one that will be remembered. I know I will never forget it.

Extra thoughts

I want to give TJ Hill kudos once again. I love the upbeat rendition of no big deal that plays in the background of the trio’s space battle and the end credits music.

I have to say my favorite calamity form is Sasha’s. It’s just so extra with the flaming hair and abundance of spikes and it says more about who she is and what she represents than Anne or Marcy’s. (I still love their calamity forms too. Sasha’s just says the most about her in my opinion while Anne and Marcy’s have a lot of similarities to each other comparatively)

I absolutely love the moment where Andrias stands up to the core. They even hammer home the parallels between Anne and Andrias as well as Sasha and the core by having the scene where Andrias stands up to the core share the exact same dialogue as the scene where Anne does the same in Reunion. It even shares the red lighting and background.

I love how Grime kept Sasha’s sword. I love their bond so much.

My full expanded thoughts on the girls’ future careers is right here. I love all the career paths they took and feel like they were all extremely fitting and showed the effect Amphibia had on each of them.

Sasha is bi and I love it.

Olivia and Yunan are canon which I also love.

While it doesn’t hurt the finale for me I wish that we saw Sasha and Marcy’s parents. It just feels strange to have them teased in Froggy Little Christmas with the letters and All In during the phone call at the end only to never see them.

I also don’t think Anne will accept the god’s deal even after the next 78 years. Anne doesn’t want that kind of power and her response within the episode sums up how I think she will still feel after all that time. There is also an inherent tragedy to a mortal becoming an immortal, all-powerful being that I wouldn’t wish on Anne.

I also feel like the pacing of the first half of the episode was too fast. The calamity forms of the three girls is something that has been built up to for quite a while now and they come and go way too quickly. The pacing issue is very noticeable. I enjoyed what we got but it is jarring every time I’ve seen it.

I think series finales can be hard to talk about right after the fact. So many emotions, expectations, and hopes are built up going into it that it can cloud your perception of the finished product the first time you view it.

For some aspects of Amphibia this was partially the case for me. I can say that my thoughts on the finale have morphed since I first watched it. I want to say up front that overall I loved the finale and I love Amphibia and now that time has passed I think I can explain my revised thoughts on the earth epilogue.

I actually do agree with my write up here. But I want to set the record straight on a few things in my initial earth epilogue thoughts. There are some things I stand by. I don’t think the dialogue got across that the three girls stayed in contact after amphibia. Considering that the Beginning of the End and All In had a huge emphasis on the girls wanting to stay friends after all this and how much they wanted to make their friendship work despite the distance I felt this fumbled the ball in showing this. But I understand and will defend the choice to have them drift apart. 

This fits the themes of the show and it is a bittersweet and realistic moment. Amphibia is about change and it is also about the friendship of three girls that fell apart and they were forced to grow as individuals so that they could come together as true friends.

In a way that’s also what they did here (except their friendship naturally drifted apart instead of broke). They drifted apart and grew as individuals and went down different career paths and they were able to find each other again. And they still deeply care about each other. That ending reunion and the photo at the end show this.

The trio drifting apart doesn’t negate the feelings they share for one another. Their friendship still means so much to each of them and they still care deeply about each other. Nothing is permanent and that’s okay. It doesn’t make the memories or connections any less meaningful.

Do I wish the trio stayed close and never drifted apart? Yes. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the themes and ideas that this portrayed.

The argument that Amphibia isn’t realistic and thus the realistic ending doesn’t fit the show doesn’t hold much water in my opinion. Amphibia is a larger than life epic that has magical anime powers, an amalgamation of multiple minds that have conquered death, 1000 year old newt tyrants, and much more but it manages to be full of real, heartfelt moments that capture the experience of life.

And it's those smaller moments that speak to real experiences that make this show work as well as it does.

For example, The Beginning of the End was a spectacle that held the long awaited first confrontation between Anne, Sasha, and Darcy and the beginning of the battle against Andrias and the Core but the moment that everyone was talking about and empathizing with was the flashback.

The flashback was a snapshot of what the calamity trio's friendship was like back home that showed Anne and Sasha's indifference to Marcy's interests and passions. This flashback portrayed an experience a lot of people who watch the show can relate to and it is what made their reunion in this episode even more of a gut punch than it would have been before (more of my thoughts on this moment are here).

This show wouldn't be as special as it is without these moments.

The show has always been grounded in the characters and in its life lessons about change, friendship, and growth/growing apart. And I think it managed to get that across perfectly with this ending now that I’ve had time to sit with it.