The Beginning Of The End Thoughts

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.

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.

Amphibia Series Thoughts (So Far)

The fact that it has taken me this long to write about Amphibia is a crime. This is a criminally underrated show that deserves more than being in the Owl House’s shadow (no shade to the Owl House. It’s an amazing show. I just think Amphibia deserves just as much praise). 

Amphibia has just about everything I could ask for in a fantasy epic cartoon. It has amazing and memorable characters, a fun world with fascinating lore, huge twists, and a lot more. With season 3B underway I thought it was about time I talked about the episodes currently released for Amphibia. Buckle up, I have a lot of thoughts. 

I genuinely love Amphibia so I would like to get my more mixed thoughts out of the way first and then get onto what I love about it so it can end on a high note. Amphibia can be very episodic at points which can be great for a first season that is setting the tone, establishing the themes, and introducing characters before everything becomes serious in a serialized show like this. But the problems arise when it gets later on in the show and the more pressing matters get put onto the backburner for problem of the week type episodes. 

This is especially prevalent in season 3A which, while very entertaining and I love Anne’s parents, suffers from massive mood whiplash with the show going from everything that happens in True Colors to frogs in LA shenanigans and the fact that a lot of plot and character development in Amphibia has to happen off-screen. (If you want to skip the mixed thoughts go down to season 1)

I think the show does a better job of explaining why Anne doesn’t mention Marcy and Sasha or Andrias than a lot of others online seem to because it actually spends quite a bit showing Anne’s avoidance and trust issues. 

Episodes like The New Normal, Fight at the Museum, and Anne-sterminator spend a large chunk of their runtime showing these effects on Anne and how she isn’t coping as well as she would like to portray. That being said I wish there could have been one or two more episodes that take place in Amphibia rather than the human realm.

Episodes like Spider-Sprig and Hollywood Hop Pop are episodes that easily could have been removed and replaced with Amphibia content to keep the plot moving forward. These two episodes specifically retread character growth that has already happened making their place in the story less important and are the only two episodes of 3A that don’t contain plot progression/lore expansion. 

We have so many interesting things happening in Amphibia with the frog/toad rebellion and Marcy’s new role as the Core’s host that practically beg for expansion that I wish there was a bit more time spent with it. (As a huge spider-man nerd I loved all the homages in the spider-sprig episode but I still think this could have been replaced)

Another option could have been to have Anne and the Plantars return to Amphibia in the 3A finale so that 3B could focus entirely on Anne and Sasha discovering the mother of Olms, hearing about the prophecy, saving Marcy, and stopping Andrias and the core. This would have given the show 2 more episodes (11-minute runtime) to cover all this plot in the latter half of the final season. 

As it is everything has to move at a breakneck speed. This is especially prevalent with the girls’ friendship. They have to mend their friendship in the wake of massive betrayals in the span of half a season which can get tricky. (I like what they are doing with Anne and Sasha so far so this may be unfounded but my main concern is Marcy because it’s looking more and more like she won’t be saved from the core’s control until the finale.)

Another issue I have with the series as a whole is the fact that it doesn’t want to deviate from Anne as often as I think it could and probably should. This show is the story of Anne, Sasha, and Marcy and while Anne is the main character her friends have massive arcs to undergo that I think could have benefitted from more solo episodes for them. 

Sasha is arguably the character who is forced to change the most. All the episodes she’s in are great and they don’t waste a moment they are given but it’s a bit disappointing how much of her development is forced to take place off screen. She is a very complex character with so much going on that some huge points in her arc such as her decision in Reunion could have benefitted from more screen time or expansion on her home life/past. (I’ll come back to Sasha later because there is a lot to be said about her.)

Marcy is also worthy of more screen time. But doesn’t suffer as much as Sasha does because she was part of the main cast from episode 6 of season 2 until the finale (mostly. She did miss a few episodes). While it would have been interesting to see Marcy in Newtopia before Anne and the Plantars get there, we get enough insight into her place there and the character dynamics that it wouldn’t be as necessary. I would have appreciated it though. The main concern is 3B because there are a lot of things left hanging with Marcy’s arc that she can’t actively work towards now that she is under the control of the core. Only time will tell when it comes to this and I will hold out hope that her arc gets wrapped up in a satisfying way. 

As it stands the core reason that Marcy’s arc and characterization suffers is how little she is mentioned by characters when she isn’t around and the fact that outside of Olivia & Yunan she doesn’t have a perspective episode. 

Marcy is a character that looms over the story in season 1. Just like Sasha even when she isn’t there you can feel the effect her friendship has had on Anne. This isn’t the case with season 3A. The effect she has had on Anne from her betrayal and near death aren’t felt nearly as much which you would think would be the opposite. 

This can be compared to Sasha after the season 1 finale. Sasha was mentioned on multiple occasions by Anne, Marcy, and Sprig and her presence could be felt even when she wasn’t on screen which hasn’t been the case with Marcy. I also wish she would have had more one on one interaction with Sasha because we really don’t know what their dynamic is. I think it could be really interesting.

So with that out of the way let’s get into the things I love and my more expanded thoughts on the seasons, characters, and twists.

First season

Amphibia’s first season was what I think would qualify as a slow burn with most of the episodes being slice of life getting the audience acquainted with Anne, the Plantars, and Wartwood. But even with the majority of the season focusing on more problem of the week type stories it manages to sprinkle in enough hints to the overarching mystery that the show never felt aimless. 

Anne also goes through amazing development in this season and watching her grow into the responsible and caring character she is in season 2 and 3 is amazing. She is allowed to be flawed, selfish, and entitled at the start of the series and the first season’s decision to focus on her growth is part of why I like the more episodic formula they used for it. 

It has some great episodes with my favorites obviously being Toad Tax, Prison Break, and Reunion (no shockers there). The obvious connection these episodes have is that all of them were built up to and have lasting consequences as the show moves forward. 

In Toad Tax Anne finally gains the town’s respect when she decides she would rather do the right thing regardless of how the town has treated her than revel in the power granted to her by the toads. This moment felt earned because every episode leading up to it had dealt with how Anne has been treated by the town and how she struggles with her self perception in regard to this. It feels like a huge payoff for all the growth and self reflection Anne had been forced to go through in the series so far. It also ripples throughout the season because due to the events of this episode word of Anne gets back to toad tower.

In Prison Break we finally get to see what Sasha is really like and how things have been different for her. Anne’s friends Sasha and Marcy had only been teased up until this moment with the ominous lightning flash over the photo stuck in a branch in the rain during the opening being the biggest hint that things with Anne’s friends back home were not as sunshine and rainbows as it could initially seem. 

There are also hints that Anne’s twisted views of friendship, which are gradually unlearned because of her friendship with Sprig, came from her friends back home and this episode makes it clear that Sasha was a big part of that warped perception. 

It also sets up an interesting inversion between Sasha and Anne. Where Anne is forced to confront her flaws and mistakes during her time spent with the Plantars, Sasha’s worst traits are encouraged by the toads. Anne becomes better while Sasha becomes worse. This plays into the show’s main theme of change. Anne is willing to adapt to the change and grow while Sasha (and later Marcy) pushes back against change which leads to disaster.

I love this episode because it introduces the character I find the most interesting of the cast of characters, Sasha. There’s just so much to go into with her character such as her need for control clashing with her genuine care for her friends that makes her fascinating. But that’s a topic for later when I get to her character as a whole.

Reunion is easily the best episode of this season though and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who disagreed. There’s the long awaited reunion between Sasha and Anne which ends just as poorly as you’d expect based on everything leading up to it. The moment I want to talk about though is when Sasha looks at Anne and says “Maybe you’re better off without me” and lets go, falling to what would have been her death if Grime hadn’t saved her. 

This is one of the darkest moments of the show and is heavily analyzed, for good reason. It’s so well done too. Sasha sees Anne and the Plantars, people she had just tried to kill, working to save her while her weight literally pulls them down. She has a moment of reflection where she is forced to realize what a bad friend she’s been to Anne and chooses to fall to her death instead of continue to drag Anne and the Plantars down. 

This is such a dark moment that I wasn’t expecting on my first watchthrough. This is where I realized that Amphibia was something special.

Now I think is the best time to talk about Anne. I absolutely love Anne. She is such a great protagonist. I mentioned above about how much she’s grown from her first introduction and that is part of why I love her so much. She’s allowed to be flawed and learn from her mistakes. 

One of my favorite things is how well the pilot sets up Anne’s character and arc. In the pilot episode Sprig gets stuck in Anne’s trap when a Mantis attacks and Anne initially runs away to save herself before she runs back and saves Sprig. This shows that while Anne can be selfish she will always try to make the right choice. 

Anne is such a great protagonist and I love how the show works in her Thai culture and heritage. It makes sure you understand how important it is to her and who she is. From her parent’s restaurant Thai Go to Anne teaching Polly (or trying to teach Polly) Muay Thai and all the smaller things in between. 

The show makes sure that you know this is a part of Anne’s life that is irreplaceable. I hope more cartoons will be willing to do this because I really appreciate it within Amphibia. You could just see how much this meant to Matt Braly.

The Plantars are almost all fantastic as well. The standout of the three, to my initial surprise, was Hop Pop. I’m a sucker for the older mentor with secrets and a soft spot for their kids archetype that Disney has made a mainstay of their cartoons since Gravity Falls. 

Hop Pop is funny, heartfelt, and has very real fears of loneliness and loss that can only be explored in the way they are through his older, more jaded perspective. The generational divide that is experienced by him and everyone else in the family is a source of conflict but it is done in a way that doesn’t totally discount one way over the other and works perfectly with the show’s themes.

All that praise being said the first season does run into the problem of losing its sense of urgency when it comes to Anne finding her way home on a few occasions but this is easily rectified in season 2. 

Season 2

I’d say season 2 took every question and the few issues I had with season 1, which there weren’t a ton mind you, and managed to address each one. Lacking a sense of urgency around Anne, Sasha, and Marcy getting home? Lets heavily expand on the lore of the calamity box and directly address Anne’s homesickness in a way that will emotionally devastate everyone watching. Not enough focus on the girls outside of Anne and no word on Marcy? Marcy joins the main cast for a good chunk of season 2 and Sasha gets more than one solo episode so we better understand what’s going on with her. What happened to Sprig and Polly’s parents? Let's emotionally gut punch you with Hop Pop revealing how he feels responsible and have Sprig address missing his mom despite not knowing her.

Season 2 also isn’t afraid to deal with the lasting consequences of character’s actions and trauma. Anne has a hard time discussing Sasha at the beginning of the season and tries to make up for all the danger she feels she has put the Plantars in since she got to Wartwood. This is where we first see her avoidant approach to her trauma which causes things to boil over on more than one occasion throughout the season. 

This season so far is the one that best deals with the lasting effects of what has happened to the characters throughout the show the most and shows Anne’s developing trust issues in an organic way. 

Anne isn’t the only one where we get this from either. Sasha is another good example. This seems like as good of a segue as any to talk about Sasha’s character as a whole. Even with the limited screen time Sasha has huge development throughout the series. 

Sasha is fascinating in part because of her complex relationship to control and power and how it directly conflicts with her care for others. It’s made very clear at multiple points in the series that Sasha does genuinely care for other people. 

She cares for Grime and won’t abandon him in Toadcatcher even when facing down Yunan, she cares for Anne and her decision to let go to prevent dragging Anne and the Plantars down with her in Reunion shows that, she cares about Percy and Braddock and shows conflict over losing them in Barrel’s Warhammer, she cares for Anne and Marcy in True Colors when she tries to hold off Andrias so that they could make it home.  

The episodes focusing on Sasha are usually really good because of this complexity. She is always torn between doing to right thing/her genuine care for others and what will give her more control. Sasha was the character that was obviously being set up for a redemption arc (every animated show needs at least one) but she had to get worse before she could start to get better. And this is what her arc in season 2 is.

When we first see Sasha again in Toadcatcher she is grappling with the fallout of Reunion and Grime points out that she is training to avoid the reality that her friendship with Anne has irrevocably changed, things can never go back to the way they were. She’s not upset that she lost the fight but that she lost a friend.

Sasha is struggling with this and can’t accept the change or Anne’s independence from her. She wants to regain control over her friendships and force things back to the way they were. She hasn’t learned that those lines of thinking are faulty, instead she doubles down on them.

She next appears in Barrel’s Warhammer where she and Grime go to get the rest of the toads onboard with their coup on Newtopia but to be the leaders of this coup they need to go on a suicide quest for Barrel’s Warhammer (it is literally stated in the show to be a suicide mission). Sasha is more determined than ever to get the warhammer and gain power once she hears that Anne and Marcy are working together to get home without her. 

She puts her life and the lives of her comrades at risk to prove that she doesn’t need Anne and Marcy and continue her quest for power. In her own words “I am not gonna fail. Not while Anne and Marcy are getting by without me.” She is upset because she believes that Anne and Marcy are doing fine without her, that they don’t need her like she wanted to believe. 

I think that this outlook on need is important. She wants them to need her. If they need her they can’t leave her. And if they don’t need her then she can’t need them. Sasha can’t show this need. It’s vulnerable. It’s weakness in her mind. She has to be fine on her own.

She pushes her team too far in her mission to reassert control and loses Percy and Braddock because of this. She seems genuinely effected by it. She’s starting to realize her actions have consequences. That she can’t force her wants and desires onto other people and expect them not to push back or leave when it hurts them. Grime’s speech about some people not being willing to pay the necessary price for success rationalizes her actions and prevents her from fully coming to this realization.

The true cracks in her resolve to follow through with her plans don’t start showing until the Third Temple. She has a moment of doubt about betraying Anne and Marcy after all the faith they showed in her. She starts to question if power is what she really wants if it comes at the cost of her friendship with the two like it did with Percy and Braddock. 

There’s the implication that Sasha isn’t faking as much as she would like to believe she is during this reunion and it continues on for the next handful of episodes leading up to True Colors. 

Sasha can be a tricky character to pin down because it can be hard to tell when she is being genuine or not and even trickier to tell when she is lying to herself or truly believes what she is saying. Sasha is just as good, maybe even better, at lying to herself as she is at lying to others. 

Interestingly enough Battle of the Bands is the episode that sums up her arc as a whole in season 2. She wants Marcy and Anne to succeed and with her in control she thinks she could ensure that would happen. She thinks she knows what’s best for them and tries to force it onto them but Anne has learned to stand her ground and push back when needed.

When Anne won’t let her be in control she decides to take her own path where she has all the power over what happens. She gets into a situation where she has all the control only to learn how empty that is without those she cares about and that having someone who will do everything you say without question isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

She later comes to learn through Toadie that sometimes supporting her friends in their own endeavors can be just as meaningful even if they don’t come out on top. We see her give up that control she so desperately clings to and support her friends and comes to realize that it is more fulfilling than going it alone to try and win on her terms.

This is the lesson that Sasha needs to learn. In a way this was showing her what she could have if she could let go of having total control, compromise, and accept change. It makes what happens in True Colors and the consequences of her actions hit her all the harder.

In her mission to force things back to the way they were and resist change she loses everything she could have gained when True Colors comes around. She gets what she thinks she wants at the cost of everything that actually matters and she is hit with the realization of how empty it is. 

She is finally forced to confront her own terrible choices and their consequences when Anne finally severs their friendship. To make matters worse she comes to the realization that her coup was unintentionally a good thing when it’s revealed what Andrias plans to do with the music box. 

When she tries to warn Anne she is understandably ignored. Everything bad that happens in True Colors is in part her own fault. She is forced to confront the lies she keeps telling herself and finally realize the lasting consequences of her actions and the folly of her insistence on resisting change.

I really liked how the culmination of her arc this season is her promising to have Anne’s back in the fight against Andrias and hold him off so Anne and Marcy can get back home. She finally gives up control to someone else by deciding to have their back and tries to take responsibility for her actions and set things right. (it only took until it was almost too late)

This arc is complex and layered. I stand by my opinion that Sasha should have had more episodes dedicated to her but the writers don’t waste a second of her screen time and manage to get all the conflict of her character across in the limited episodes they have been given. There’s still a lot of development that happens off screen (mostly in season 1 and 3a) but once again season 2 finds a pretty good medium that hits all the points it needs to in her journey.

I love how this leads into season 3 with her Turning Point and becoming the leader of the rebellion against Andrias. She is finally using her strengths in a positive way for the benefit of others. One of my favorite things about Amphibia (and good writing in general) is that every character’s biggest weakness/flaw is born of their greatest strength. 

Everything that makes her a great leader, when taken to the extreme, makes her toxic to those around her and the antagonist. Sasha doesn’t give up which is what inspires Anne and Marcy and what made them friends in the first place but it also causes her to continue on with a path even when it puts herself and others in danger. 

Her control freak tendencies when in moderation make her a “tactical wizard” because she is able to take into consideration all the strength and weaknesses with her allies and enemies as well as all the minute details and break them down to formulate a great strategy for victory. But it also caused her to force things onto those around her to fit what she thought was best rather than what was actually best for everyone. 

Her charisma makes it so that she can get people to follow her and lift them up but it also makes way for her effective manipulation. 

Side note: I love Sasha’s new character design.

This is also the case with Marcy. Marcy’s greatest strengths feed into her greatest flaws. Anne says it herself, that Marcy would always get so enraptured in her own little world that she would neglect to see the bigger picture around her. 

That hyperfocus and lust for knowledge make her excel in Newtopia but they also blind her to the consequences to her actions on others, in this case Sasha and Anne. Unlike Sasha though, a lot of Marcy’s betrayal and self destruction comes from a place of naïveté rather than conscious choice which makes them interesting foils (and is another reason why I wish they interacted one on one more).

Marcy has great chemistry with just about every character she interacts with. She is one of the most fun characters to watch while on screen and it is easy to see why she became so popular. My favorite pairing with her is surprisingly Hop Pop. I never would have guessed that I needed them to be friends so much. I love how she is just as excited by things that most people would consider mundane as Hop Pop is like seeds, farming, and taxes (or in her case probably just the math of it).

Her twist in the True Colors finale was built into her character from the beginning. In her introduction she refers to everything happening as tropes and describes how she played what is essentially a dnd character to work her way to the top of Newtopia. It explains her entire view of life and how she managed to take escapism to the extreme by trapping herself, Anne, and Sasha in Amphibia and lied about trying to get back home to get Andrias the music box and continue their adventures. 

Her struggles making friends, which is touched upon in the episode Scavenger Hunt and is implied with her lack of close connections in Newtopia, unlike Anne with the Plantars and Sasha with Grime, comes around in a big way because it is the driving factor in her running away at the news of her moving for her father’s job and taking a chance on the music box in the first place.

Every piece is there for the audience to put together and understand this twist.

It’s interesting because looking back at the season 2 opening the twist was right there in the moment replacing the photo in the rain. Sasha and Anne are fighting while Marcy looms over them facing away and holding the music box. The ominous lightning strikes once again which very clearly hints at Marcy’s truth that Sasha and Anne are unaware of and that all three of them have conflicting end goals for their journey in Amphibia. 

So much of this show's future plot points are hidden right in front of you, be it the opening or episodes that are seemingly filler (like Wally and Anne and how the moss men came back in Newtopia).

To put my thoughts on Marcy into perspective I caught up with Amphibia the spring before season 2 started airing and I remember the immense amount of discourse and theories surrounding Marcy. 

Matt Braly stated that Sprig was the first non-toxic friend that Anne had ever had in a Q and A on Reddit and it led to so many people trying to guess what it was about Marcy that made this the case. 

It’s actually really funny looking back on it because so many people were completely shocked by Marcy’s introduction and she so easily lulled them (and me) into a sense of security that, although we were warned by Matt Braly, caused massive shockwaves in the fan community after the reveal that Marcy wanted to get the three stuck in Amphibia and never wanted to leave. 

I think that being in the fandom around this time and seeing the speculation and adoration for Marcy in real time really heightened my experience with her character and arc throughout season 2.

Another thing I adore with Marcy is her heavy neurodivergent coding. As someone who is neurodivergent myself I see a lot of myself in Marcy’s mannerisms and characteristics. She has the same hyper focus that I can find myself experiencing, deep knowledge of tropes, media, and games, certain mannerisms in her movements and habits that I have, and trouble with eye contact and making connections. It’s always nice to see this in a character and I appreciate that Matt Braly is so supportive of this reading although it wasn’t the initial intention of the writers. 

I relate to all of the girls in different ways but Marcy is the girl I am probably most like (as I mentioned above). And I really love that there is something to connect to with each of the girls and that each of them is a complex individual. It's one of my favorite things about Amphibia.

Now to talk about True Colors. Wow. Where to start. This is easily the most ambitious episode the Amphibia crew have put out to date. One thing I love about the two season finales that Amphibia currently has is that they aren’t afraid to irrevocably change the characters, relationships, and status quo. This episode came and promised that nothing will ever be the same again, shaking the very foundations of the show. 

Marcy had been stabbed, Anne’s powers manifested, Sasha was trapped in Amphibia, Anne and the Plantars were sent back to LA in Marcy’s final act, Andrias’ plan and his sheer amount of power and resources were revealed, and the endgame was finally upon us. It was insane. Watching this episode and knowing that we would have to wait months for season 3 made me feel like I was going to explode from anticipation. This was the perfect finale to this season.

True colors does a fantastic job of giving you a grasp of the scope of this show and the ramifications of what happened. Every character has a moment to shine and no one seems inconsequential. That being said it obviously heavily focused on the relationship between the 3 girls and for very good reason. Season 1 returned to the day that Anne, Sasha, and Marcy were sent to Amphibia and gave us a new perspective on everything through Sasha and so True Colors did the same thing with Marcy. 

Everything about Marcy and what Matt Braly said snaps into place in the most heartbreaking way. 

She didn't know where the box would send them or if it would even work but she didn't give any of her friends a heads up or anything. She went behind their backs to do this and intentionally didn't reveal this to them at any point during their travels. Andrias was the one who let it slip. She was even planning on bringing them on more adventures rather than returning them home. What Marcy did was wrong. I don't want to downplay that but I also think the why behind her actions is just as important to reading her character. 

This episode really puts the mirror up to Sasha and Marcy and shows the flaws in their desire to reject change. Everything comes crashing down for the both of them and they are forced to realize the selfishness in their actions.

Marcy is forced to realize that her decision was self-centered rather than selfless as she tried to make it out initially. Her line "But look at how much fun we've had. Look at how much you've both grown. Look at Sprig. I gave you this, I gave you everything! I just didn't want to be alone." Marcy is still lying to herself that she did this for all of them until she can't anymore and she breaks down and admits that she did it so that she wouldn't have to be alone. She did it for herself.

Just like Sasha she also starts to work to be better in this episode. She saves Sprig, goes against Andrias, sends Anne home, and tries to do something else with the music box before she is stabbed.

Yep now to talk about that moment.

To make matters worse, in one of the darkest moments in the show, she gets stabbed and spends her last moments of consciousness apologizing for her mistakes. She almost dies thinking that she has irreparably destroyed her friendships and the person she trusted most in Newtopia literally stabs her in the back, causing her (almost) death. 

Amphibia likes it’s parallels and Andrias is likely meant to be a father/mentor figure to her (it’s paralleled with Sasha and Grime and Anne and Hop Pop). This makes the betrayal all the more painful. Her naivete and belief in this grand new world that helped her escape from her problems is what ultimately lead to this moment. She wasn’t malicious or evil just scared and lonely. 

I’m interested in the parallels this episode draws between Andrias and Sasha though because it is heavily implied that his friends left him because of his pursuit of power and control but instead of realizing his mistakes he doubles down on them and continues on his path for power and domination which is what Sasha herself has been doing this season. 

It could be gearing up to have Andrias and his past friends be a dark parallel of what Sasha, Marcy, and Anne could become if they don’t reflect and work to better themselves (now I’m even more interested in seeing the episode “The King and the Core”). 

You can’t really talk about True Colors without talking about how Disney pulled it from its originally scheduled release date less than 24 hours before it was supposed to air, forgot to tell iTunes so the whole episode ended up getting leaked, and ended up airing it 3 weeks later. 

Matt and the whole Amphibia team were done a disservice and it’s really unfortunate that this happened. The whole crew took to twitter urging people to wait and watch it when it aired and to keep from leaking what happens in it. It’s clear that this came completely out of nowhere for them. 

It’s disappointing to see how poorly Disney has treated two of its best shows (cutting the Owl House short without telling Dana Terrace and what it did to True Colors). They’ve done such a great job on these phenomenal shows and deserve better treatment from Disney.

Season 3

Now onto season 3A. I’ve already mentioned my few issues with 3A so far which can mostly be rectified with the latter half of season so I don’t want to dwell on them and would much rather talk about what I loved. Starting with Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy. They are the best. Anne’s parents are so wholesome and I love being reminded of just how far Anne has come as a character by seeing the change through their eyes. 

They mention in her first appearance back home that she was the poster child for hating responsibility, punctuated through Anne’s drawing that literally says “I hate responsibility”. They have to acclimate to Anne’s newfound maturity and the reality that she can’t stay with them no matter how much they would love her to and supporting her decision in every way they can. They are just so supportive and loving that it’s a breath of fresh air. Way too often main characters are given terrible home lives or basically non-existent parents so having the Boonchuys be the opposite of that was satisfying.

I also really love all the developments on the Amphibia side of things. Sasha becoming the leader of the rebellion and Marcy being possessed by the core really heighten the stakes and play into their development over the seasons. It also draws yet another inversion between the two as well as their respective relationships with Grime and Andrias. 

Sasha came to Amphibia and lied and manipulated her way to the top of the toads heirarchy but developed a genuine bond with Grime that eventually leads to the two of them bettering themselves whereas Marcy is lied and manipulated by Andrias which brings her to the top of his regime. 

They both had to face the aftermath of their own betrayals which led to them rising to the ranks they find themselves in going into the endgame. I like the parallels that can be drawn between the two especially since they couldn’t be more different personality wise. They are two polar opposite sides when it comes to how much control they have in their respective stories. 

Season 3B hasn’t aired a ton of episodes as of yet with only the episodes up to “Mother of Olms/Grime’s Pupil” having aired at the time of me writing this but I am really enjoying them so far. I hope it kicks the plot into high gear soon considering this is the last batch of episodes we will ever get and it looks like that will be the case seeing as  “The Root of Evil/The Core and the King” are the next slated episodes which I’m really excited for. 

The character moments are good and I’m enjoying Anne and Sasha getting the chance to reconcile and be shown as actual friends now that Sasha has changed for the better. I also really liked the unconventional pairing of Sprig and Grime in the most recent episode. I’m having a lot of fun.

Extra thoughts

I have so many thoughts on Amphibia and a lot are scattered right now so I’m just going to list them off in bullet point format.

I love Sasha and Grime’s relationship. They’ve changed each other so much and I love all of their solo episodes.

The music in this show is amazing. The amphibia soundtrack is very underrated. My favorite musical moments are when Anne’s powers activate in True Colors and Marcy’s truth from the same episode and the Calamity trio's themes.

The animation in True Colors when Anne’s powers activate and she fights off Andrias is amazing. It’s so fluid and the change in fluidity and style really sells just how powerful this new form is.

"Wait, so Marcy and I get cool anime powers too?" - I just love this line and how self aware it is.

The color palate used in this show is really visually appealing. The colors are softer and tend to avoid jarring contrast which I really love.

I really like how the girls earth passions and extracurriculars play into how they excel at combat. Sasha and Anne’s athleticism that comes from tennis and cheerleading and Marcy’s smarts and D&D knowledge. It’s fun.

The Owl House - Top 5 Episodes of Season 2A

With the owl house returning in a month I decided to re-watch all the episodes currently released and I want to rank what I think are the 5 best episodes of season 2A for fun. This is just my opinion and I’d like to hear everyone else’s. Also almost all the episodes in this season are incredibly strong so this was really hard to do and none of these episodes are anywhere close to bad.

1. Eda’s requiem

This episode is amazing and my favorite episode of the series. It has one of the most beautiful sequences in the whole show with Eda’s requiem which is just as emotionally resonant as it is stunning. Eda’s fear of abandonment and decision to almost commit suicide to stop the emperor was arguably the most emotionally heavy the show has ever gotten. And I know it hit me like a train the first time I watched it. Not to mention it managed to create a poignant, tragic romance between Raine and Eda in the span of 22 minutes.

I really love that the show has doubled down on the found family trope that Eda, King, and Luz have become. Eda’s fear that she’ll be left behind once King and Luz have their real families paired with when Raine asks Eda “You have kids?” and Eda responds “They’re not mine. Mine.” and tries to push on with her sacrifice makes it so you are hit full force with just how replaceable Eda believes she is. Which makes the ending reveal that King made himself legally Eda’s child all the more heartwarming.  It can be hard to acknowledge just how important you are in other people’s lives and seeing this struggle displayed so honestly was powerful.

2. Knock, knock, knockin on Hooty’s door

This episode was an amazing follow up to Eda’s requiem. It has the structure of an anthology except everything comes together in the end. While I love the Lumity of this episode and that they got together without a long “will they, won’t they” period I have to say my favorite part of the episode was Eda’s portion. I appreciate that they have decided to do a deep dive on the consequences of Eda’s curse and her isolation that stems from it. In the first season it was ever present but because they wanted to keep the focus on the mystery of who cursed Eda we didn’t get to deep dive into how the curse effects her outside of the physical transformation. Seeing all the people she’s lost due to it makes the effect Luz has had on Eda all the more powerful. Also Harpy Eda is awesome.

I enjoyed all the other parts of the episode as well. The fact that Lilith and Hooty are actually pen pals was oddly heartwarming. Their friendship was something I didn’t know I needed. Hooty wanting to help everyone and doing it in a unique and kind of creepy way is really in character. I’d have to say King’s part of the episode was probably weakest which is mainly because it’s the payoff that had the least amount of build up towards it. Lumity becoming canon and Eda reconciling with the owl beast are both things that we began the journey towards in season 1.

3. Hunting palismen 

This episode was a fantastic introduction to who Hunter really is. We got glimpses of the golden guard before this point but we finally got to know the boy behind the mask. This episode makes a compelling character out of Hunter, establishing his goals and motivations as well as his grievances and shortcomings. He has an easy chemistry with Luz that makes you wish they were on the same side which worked really well if all the older brother Hunter fanart is to go by. He’s the character I’m most excited to see the trajectory for the rest of the season. He has so much potential to effect the story moving forward.

4. Eclipse lake

The character moments in this episode really made this one for me. I had been wanting to see how Amity and Hunter would interact since Hunting Palismen and this episode delivered. The similarities between the two were right in front of us and I’m happy the show decided to head right for the heart of it instead of beat around the bush and have the characters recognize it as well. 

Hunter himself seems to be an amalgamation of what I thought Lilith and Amity would be. Just like Lilith he’s dedicated his life to the emperor and the coven and fears being replaced and failing. He’s willing to do whatever necessary to make sure he isn’t useless until he finds worth outside of this. And just like Amity he has the conflict of what is planned for his future and the pressures to be perfect clash with the fact that he has found some camaraderie with people who oppose this planned future. I will admit that in season 1 I was disappointed they didn’t take Amity or Lilith in these directions but with how the show has handled them and Hunter in season 2 I am completely on board.

5. Through the looking glass ruins

I just had a lot of fun with the A and B stories of this episode. There wasn’t a ton of plot progression but that doesn’t matter because I loved the character and relationship development. On one end we finally got some more Gus development which was sorely needed and on the other we got some pretty massive Lumity development and some plot progression with finding Philip Wittebane’s journal (an echo mouse ate it but still). I almost put Yesterday’s Lie in this spot but this one beat it out just based on pure enjoyment on my end. The plot progression and drama of yesterday’s lie are phenomenal but I sometimes need an episode I can sit back and watch without having my heart torn out.

Feel free to disagree. This list is just my list and I’m sure everyone has vastly different opinions. If anyone would like to share I’d love to hear in the comments, tags, or an addition to my post. All of that is welcome.

Amphibia Season 3B Thoughts (Part 2)

Since Amphibia is entering its endgame with this week’s episodes “The Three Armies/The Beginning of the End” I have decided to write out my thoughts on Amphibia season 3B so far. Because of Tumblr’s image limit I decided to split it into 2 parts. This part covers the episodes “The Core and The King” up to “Fight or Flight” (Here’s part 1 and my series thoughts so far) Without further ado lets jump right in.

The Core and The King

I enjoyed “the Root of Evil” and knew when they introduced the mind control collars in “Commander Anne” that they were going to reintroduce the spores from season 1 and Jeremy. But it should come as no surprise to anyone that the episode I came away loving more was “The Core and the King”. I think this was my favorite episode of season 3B so far. It finally let us see Darcy again and gave us insight into Andrias’ past, something that had been mentioned and hinted at with the torn painting but never seen, and it didn’t disappoint. I think it would have benefitted from being a 22 minute special episode, especially with selling us on Barrel and Leif’s characters, but not a second of the 11 minute runtime was wasted.

First thing’s first. We finally got to spend time with Darcy and get to know them. Getting confirmation that Marcy is still in there, just not the dominant personality, and seeing just how her quirks and passions have seeped through was fascinating but also deeply creepy. (It’s like a constant reminder that this isn’t really Marcy but a bunch of old, undying minds who have started the world's most morbid sock puppet routine.)

The core loving red velvet cupcakes with ube frosting and naming themselves Darcy because of Marcy’s favorite video game were nice touches that lay the groundwork for Sasha and Anne being able to get through to Marcy when they finally come face to face. Marcy may be locked in a room inside the core but she clearly isn’t entirely restrained.

“So is Marcy in there or…” this line said a lot. Andrias sounded hopeful, but trying to play it off as casual, that marcy would still be there. He really does care about her and reinforces the parallels that can be found in his relationship with Marcy with Grime and Sasha as well as Anne and Hop Pop. It also further sets up his possible betrayal of the core for Marcy’s sake. I think it is a possibility that he does one good thing with his life that turns the tides of the final battle. (or he could allow himself to be possessed once Marcy breaks free in one last desperate bid to gain his father’s approval. I’m leaning towards the former but this is a possibility)

Andrias’ backstory was finally revealed in this episode and we get to see how distorted his version in True Colors was. Barrel didn’t betray him. He sent Barrel away and started the caste system seen in Amphibia in the present day. It’s like I had already theorized. He was betrayed by Leif which caused him to double down and commit to toxic mindsets that his father enforced. He is in a way a dark parallel to Anne. 

I originally thought he would be made a parallel to Sasha because I believed his friends would betray him because he would double down on his lust for power and colonization but that wasn’t the case which was an interesting twist on my expectations. 

This episode heavily implies that Leif is a Plantar when she does the Plantar family dance for Barrel and Andrias in the garden. This has basically been confirmed as of Newts in Tights with Sasha and Hop Pop finding Leif’s room in the Plantar family basement that contains a red paper note that her and Andrias would use to communicate. (This will definitely play an important role in Andrias’ final decision in the last few episodes.)

I like the decision to have Leif change her mind about using the box because she sees that Amphibia is in danger if they keep using it. Often in media there is a character that just knows what they have been raised to believe is wrong and that is why they do the right thing rather than having to learn through experience and grow out of their mindset. I like that they decided against that route and instead went in the direction of her seeing that this will lead to the destruction of Amphibia rather than the prosperity they hoped. It makes for a more natural clash between childhood friends in my opinion. 

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Andrias is a good person deep down but that he seems to want to do what is best for Amphibia. His father’s manipulations coupled with Leif stealing the box out of desperation make it so he has a warped perception of what the right thing to do is. 

He clearly has doubts about whether this really is for the best with everything in the last scene portraying this conflict. His memory of Leif’s words “We have your back. Together, we can use that power for good.”, the burning of the painting, and his line of “Ready? After a thousand years, I've thought of..nothing else.” all sound more like he is trying to convince himself of this fact than reassure Darcy. 

The show is clearly setting Andrias up for a big decision sometime in the finale where he will be forced to choose between Leif’s words (especially now that they have a letter from her that he is definitely going to see at some point) and making his father “proud”.

The voice cast was stellar this episode from William Houston as King Aldrich to Jason Ritter as Barrel to Cassandra Lee Morris as Leif but I want to shout out Zeno Robinson in particular. He’s really become a powerhouse in Disney Animation voice acting with his performances of Remy on Big City Greens, Hunter on The Owl House, and now Young King Andrias on Amphibia. 

I loved the way he would make his voice deeper whenever he would turn towards his father’s ideals and away from his friends. The start of this transition could be heard when he has the outburst at Leif when she says they can do good with the box and he does his best Keith David impression at the end when he banishes Barrel and commits to “redeeming” himself.

This Episode also surprisingly explained why there was a single free moss man way back in the season 1 episode “Wally and Anne”.

Newts in Tights/Fight or Flight

I like how these episodes once again brought back a season one plot point. Nothing is really redundant in this show. So much “filler” within amphibia contains important character moments, plot points, or little details that are important down the line to the story. Tritonio and Domino II are characters I initially thought would be one offs when I first watched season 1 and I’m glad I was wrong.

“Newts in Tights” was a funny episode that managed to keep sight of its heart. I thought the humor and allusions to Robin Hood were all fun and Anne’s reactions to it all were the best part. With these episodes being in Matt Braly’s own words the last fun episodes of Amphibia it was fitting.

The decision to return to Anne and Sprig adventures for these last two fun episodes was a smart one. It’s a good reminder of how important Anne and Sprig’s friendship is to the series. Their friendship was the catalyst for Anne’s change and represents the core messages of Amphibia: change, growth, and becoming your best self.

This episode really emphasizes that there is strength in connections and that you have control of how you respond to things. Tritonio’s continued insistence on the rules of the streets is a learned behavior that he must make the active decision to work against. This has been a recurring theme in the show but especially this season. Sasha and Grime are prime examples.

Grime and Sasha chose to change. Tritonio chose to change. Their connections were catalysts that pushed them in that direction but the choice was ultimately their own. Just like their past bad actions were their own.

The closing scene was probably the most important part of the episode by far. They find Leif’s room in the Plantar basement and Sprig opens her “blank” note. This message is definitely going to play a very important role in Andrias’ actions in the finale. That note is one of the ones that Andrias and Leif created that only he can read with his special glasses. I’m going to guess that these are Leif’s final words to Andrias before she left for earth.

This really gives an air of fate and inevitability to what the girls have gone through in the series even more than the prophecy. It’s a fascinating case of the cyclical nature of life but also of how you can break the pattern. Sasha, Anne, and Marcy aren’t going to fall into the same trappings of Andrias and his friends and I think that can make this ending even more powerful.

Domino II being the alpha was foreshadowed! I was not expecting this rant from Anne to have any significance at all, but it came around in a really big way. This is just further proof of how well planned out this series is. Everything is coming back around and I am onboard with it.

I mostly have scattered thoughts about this episode (This has become a lot longer than I initially intended). Domino II’s babies are all adorable. I 100% understand how everyone fell in love with them so quickly. I love Sprig having Anne’s back through everything. I called Sasha being a dog person and I think it’s so funny that her and Grime adopt the hairless cat. Wally Jr. and his tiny hat have my heart.

Anne has always been a character that follows her heart and seeing how that pays off in such a big way this episode is nice especially considering things are definitely going to go south next week. Anne’s big heart has always been her biggest strength and a large part of why I love her as a main character so much. She always tries to do the right thing even when things don’t work out and I’ve loved watching her journey the past 2 years.

Thoughts and predictions for the finale

I’m not the best with predictions so I don’t usually make them but I thought “why not?” this show is ending and I have some ideas for where it can go. None of these are concrete and I won’t be upset if they don’t end up happening.

Marcy will end up going home and moving. Marcy’s flaws lead to her running from this situation and to have it come full circle I think she would have to return and accept this.

If anyone stays in Amphibia it will be Sasha. I think all 3 will end up going home but if one of them has to stay Sasha is who I think it will be.

Someone will end up sacrificing themself. In particular I think it will be one (or all) of the Amphibians that have been most deeply affected by the girls and become mentor/parental figures to them (Grime, Hop Pop, and Andrias).

Earth will be part of the final fight. I hope that we finally get to see the Wus and Waybrights. I think we’ll get confirmation that Sasha is estranged from at least one of her parents (probably her father since Grime has filled a father role of sorts for her).

“The Hardest Thing” will deal with the aftermath of the fight against the core and Andrias with the hardest thing being saying goodbye to their found families and friendships.

Anne will have a big sacrifice play in the finale. She won’t die but there is a pattern. Reunion had Sasha almost sacrifice herself, True Colors had Marcy almost sacrifice herself, and it stands that this season will have Anne almost sacrifice herself.

Favorite Episodes of Animation from 2021

Animation has been treated very poorly this year (2022) so I want to be positive and talk about things I love about animation. Cartoons have been amazing these past few years and, while they haven’t been given the praise and recognition they deserve, they have been what I have looked forward to most. That being said I would like to gush about my favorite animated episodes that were released in 2021 and why I think they are so amazing. 

I made it a rule that I could only talk about one episode per series because I’d be stuck making posts for this year of animation forever.

I’m going to comment on this post every new episode I post about and once I finish I think I’ll rank them. This is just a fun little post for myself so that I can have an excuse to talk about individual episodes or shows I haven’t had the chance to praise yet on my blog and to get myself back into the rhythm of posting semi-regularly.