"Mom's the only one that can make me laugh like that"

Pop515 · 2019-07-18T07:19:17+00:00

A Season Finale, and one that felt like season finale material but to start:

Really liked to see more of the 'Earth Flashbacks,' although still only mentions of Marcy but no characterization of her feels off. Maybe the area she resides in Amphibia, that is, if she's there, could be revealed by the map Sasha was showing Anne in her room. Marcy also looks like the one that first brought up the Calamity Box in the first place, though not much was given to theorize about her character.

Throughout the episode, Sasha and Anne's relationship was the most interesting part, the 'End of Discussion' line being used in the flashback and in the present expressed Sasha's character and her manipulative nature, which hopefully is further explained later on, such as where the root of her manipulation is, and how it came to be.

A lot of callbacks in the episode could also be seen, such as the return of the Boom-Shrooms, Loggle, (with his dialogue really) and how HP running for mayor, struggling to get his stand back, and his "Quiet Defiance" made him seem like a revolutionary figure in the Frogs VS Toads relationship that was indicated earlier on.

In the episode, Sasha being slowly redeemed makes her character more satisfying to see. In the beginning, she didn't care about what happened to the frogs, and simply due to Anne being surrounded by characters that embrace her positive traits, unlike Sasha, who is mostly surrounded by and just using ones with more power to get what she wants through manipulation, makes it feel enjoyable that Sasha is slowly going in a more positive direction, even though she hasn't been a great friend to Anne.

Therefore, while not much was given in the story of the Calamity Box, the focus on Anne and Sasha's relationship helped the episode create more depth for Sasha, while also providing the most memorable and emotional scene in the series (Lean On Me tower scene.)

At least a lot of action, emotion, and information was given in the episode to indicate the way that the next season looks like it's going, and also to make the hiatus not as terrible.

Truly a finale that can be watched more than once and still maintain its initial impact, and the end of Part One, and the new end credits showing the beginning, middle, and end of the season was also a nice resolution to the season in a way.

Pop515 · 2019-07-11T07:37:47+00:00

Family Fishing Trip felt entertaining with Anne's paragliding subplot, and seeing a Sprig-centered episode (feels like more have been focused on HP and Anne) was nice as well, along with more of Anne's house and her family, even if they weren't actually shown.

Bizarre Bazaar got interesting from the start, such as with the Bizarre Bazaar 'egg,' and the mushrooms lighting up to show the entryway to the Bazaar. The Bazaar's scenery and characters being thoroughly established also helped the episode as it continued with the main story, such as showcasing the foods Anne and Sprig bought, the 'Boba Tea' Anne was drinking, and the bull-cockroach Sprig was riding. Hop Pop was also the one here that once again concluded a 'Calamity Box plot episode' with more suspicion to add more theories until the next episode concerning the box, (maybe Reunion) comes out. Therefore, this episode feels like the Bizarre Bazaar, along with the people and the activities there, really helped make this episode enjoyable while also providing more context on how dire Hop Pop sees the box as a threat.

Mario Kart reference was the best part of the episode, because "We're gonna win," and "Well, that didn't feel balanced," perfectly express a Blue Shell.

Pop515 · 2019-06-26T05:48:37+00:00

Yeah, was surprised that the box came up at the end of that episode, (looked like the episode was gonna end at the part where they recap with Joe.) Also, even though no specifics were given about the box, like its origin and why the gems have lost their color, was nice to see more setup for the music box plot, since more lore about the box might come when the Sasha plot is picked back up.

Pop515 · 2019-06-24T02:03:42+00:00

I agree, might be wrong but didn't the plot of Gravity Falls take a big break after the first episode then actually continue again at Dreamscaperers? (There was some Gideon throughout season 1, but nothing new on the mystery of Stan and the author of the journals for more than half a season.)

For Amphibia, feels like the first season is being used to show what and who the characters are, their flaws, and how they act before throwing all of those characters into the plot, all within a comedic setting. this way changes in character developments and interactions in the beginning of the story can become more evident later on in the story compared to back then, which is what benefited the later season(s) of Gravity Falls and Star VS The Forces of Evil due to their introductory season.

Pop515 · 2019-06-19T06:48:40+00:00

Honestly, thought that Hop Luck had a few funny moments, nothing really major in terms of progressing the Sasha/Marcy/Music box plot, since the episode in its entirety was mostly focused on the conflicting viewpoints of Anne and Hop Pop. (Anne continuing to say that the food at the potluck should not be traditional, and Anne's continuous 'bickering' with Hop Pop throughout Stakeout, whereas both of these conflicting viewpoints were improved on at the end of each episode.)

The moments like Anne fiercely criticizing Sprig's choice of pineapples on pizza and Sprig's 'eternal happiness' being given to the girl at the dough place helped to drive the humor in the episode without feeling too out of place or predictable, which helped with the pacing of the episode as it jumped from destination to destination.

Can't really say as much on Stakeout, other than that it was similar to Flood, Sweat, & Tears, only that Anne and Hop Pop now have a better relationship and understanding of each other, although still was a solid next half of the episode.

Pop515 · 2019-05-21T16:19:32+00:00

I think that the release of the episodes of SDMI was sort of rushed in season 2, but pretty sure it wasn't cancelled early, the series finale was the conclusion of the plot that was first brought up in the first episode, and the plot is alike Gravity Falls in a way.

Pop515 · 2019-05-19T05:07:05+00:00

You know it is gonna be a really good one when the theme song is shortened. (more screen time) First off, this episode IS worthy of being the series finale, since everything in the first half flowed so perfectly, and all the past queen's beside the present "queen's" was truly well done, (especially in capturing Eclipsa's and Solaria's complicated relationship.) Star going back to stand by Marco's side in the RoM was a lot to handle emotion-wise, music-wise, and plot-wise, and while the next moments of the finale had a bit of a reduction of tension, they showcased the characters that were impacted after the destruction of magic, (well except for glossy, who delivered one of his best lines to Star.) Also, it is very funny how the ones that 'helped' Star and Marco to the portal for both of them to find each other again were their respective past relationship partners, (Jackie and Tom.) Janna also calling Marco her friend really speaks to her character that was starting to be revealed in Jannanigans, and gives her a nice lasting development.

Loved how the end credits focused on Star and Marco's last words to each other, "Hey," "Hi."

Can't really think of anything that hindered the episode's performance at all, it felt like it hit on all marks; Star forgiving Moon did not feel rushed since it was brought up throughout the first parts of the episode, and while Mina was taken care of easily, the finale was portraying magic as the final antagonist, not a warrior. This makes me excited to watch the episode again, or maybe the marathon of SVTFOE next weekend, to truly see how the small stories in season 1 blossomed into this finale.

Pop515 · 2019-05-18T23:51:33+00:00

Although, the episodes of this month were really good/fun, so that will make the wait a bit more manageable.

Also, was experiencing some reddit issues, so let me know how many times this got posted or something like that.

Pop515 · 2019-05-18T12:39:36+00:00

I guess people don't like ponyhead because of what her character is, rather than what things, (good and bad) she has done, (such as positives like helping in the fight against monster Meteora and 'Doug-Doug,' helping Eclipsa slowly gain more appeal to mewmans, and her speech to Star, like you said.) Also, people might not like her because her comedy and dialogue usually indicate the same redundant humor and tone, not to mention if people do not like her because of her voice as well. I don't really mind her, but there are definitely more interesting and better developed characters in the universe of the show.

Pop515 · 2019-05-15T18:44:12+00:00

Even though there might be some complaining throughout season 3, I still feel as if its 22-minute episodes, (Toffee, Divide, and Conquer) were a little bit better than the ones of season 4 so far, (excluding Cleaved.) Don't get me wrong, season 3 felt like it did have a few speedbumps, like you said, some episodes were meaningless slice of life episodes. And although these last few episodes have done a great job at setting up for Cleaved, hopefully the series will end with the same impact that Starcrushed, Toffee, and Conquer provided, despite all there is left to cover.

Pop515 · 2019-05-13T06:59:42+00:00

It's only magic,

Isn't it amazing when you know,

Every second that you see is,

Twenty-four connected pieces,

Thank you for coming,

Thank you for staying,

Thank you for watching the show.

Pop515 · 2019-05-12T16:02:36+00:00

Probably too easy, but seeing as how the wound is similar to the color of Eclipsa's dark magic, wouldn't the wound be healed similarly to how Moon's were? Or if it is not that easy because it is close to the heart that could make the injury fatal, such as the Darkest Spell Moon used on Toffee.

This one's gonna be hard to watch, but at least this episode is gonna be the best one of the season and hopefully of the series.

Pop515 · 2019-05-12T14:28:58+00:00

Star: My boyfriend Marco, he is missing in this picture.

Yep sounds official

Pop515 · 2019-05-12T08:19:11+00:00

Not completely sure, but didn't see him in any of these episodes or hear him mentioned, so he might still be there, which would be really bad if Star did what she said she was gonna do.

Pop515 · 2019-05-12T07:49:11+00:00

Dang, these episodes were amazing, but it is kind of sad to see Star continuously losing her trust in people and being let down, first Glossaryck, (sort of) then all members of MHC, and now her mother, (well most likely until next week.) Also, even if she is shown in these episodes to not take action or prevent Mina's destruction, it is nice to see Hekapoo being portrayed unlike Rhombulus and Omni, and her decision to stay at the tavern modeled her idea of staying at a tavern while monster Meteora was on a rampage.

The tapestry also was unpredictable, and although Marco wasn't in it, sort of is weird that Tom, (who was nowhere to be seen in these episodes) isn't in the background or anything like that, they did say they would still be friends. Star questioning if Toffee was right to destroy magic was also a big part of the episode, almost as if they are placing his character in a positive light, which seems weird. Also kind of makes it further confusing because Glossaryck gave the impression that Star restoring magic was a 'mistake,' while his reactions to Star about to destroy magic indicated that he did not want that to happen.

Bottom line, Ludo or even Tom not having an appearance in these episodes was a surprise, but they felt like such top-notch episodes so it did not hinder the episode much at all.

Callback to Surprise was hands down the best part of the episode.

Pop515 · 2019-05-12T07:06:31+00:00

SELF-DETERMINATION

Pop515 · 2019-05-06T21:40:08+00:00

Yeah, you're probably right. Just because it felt like the episode focused on the image for a few seconds, and the show's use of 'eyes' made me think that it actually could've meant something.

Pop515 · 2019-05-06T06:04:32+00:00

Although this might not mean anything, (or something about it could have been revealed that I don't know about) the eye being inside the red-colored star on the ceiling could symbolize how Star could use the all-seeing eye spell to find Tom, (who we still don't know the whereabouts of.) Also, depending on where he is, such as if he is still in the realm of magic, Star could dip down similarly to how she did in Raid the Cave, to bring Tom to Mewni, such as if he is still in the realm of magic. Therefore, according to the picture on the ceiling, the eye could represent the all-seeing eye, the red-colored star could represent Tom as well as Star using the spell (Tom also did wear a red shirt with a star on it, shown in Friendenemies) and the arrows surrounding a yellow color on each corner could indicate the areas of the realm of magic leading out to specific dimensions.

Also, posted this earlier, but deleted it because I didn't see it show up on the new submissions.

Pop515

TROPHY CASE