RJ Writing Ink

Amphibia Season 3,Episode 13A/B Review

We are now in the endgame of Amphibia, people, and from what we’ve seen, it’s going to be a finale to remember. Anne and the Plantar’s have joined the rebellion against King Andrias, starting what’s essentially an “anime war arc.” However, they still lack a plan to defeat Andrias or his unholy master…until now. After skirting around the truth for so long, Anne and the others get a big piece to the puzzle. This week, they finally meet the Mother of Olms!

Mother of Olms

Picking up immediately following the last episode, Anne, Sasha, and the Plantar’s travel beneath Proteus to meet with their leader, the Mother of Olms. According to the vase Anne found on Earth, she can tell them what their destiny is in defeating Andrias. However, the Mother of Olms, voiced brilliantly by Whoopi Goldberg, isn’t quite what they expected. While she’s still very wise and sage-like, old age hampers her from being a full-on Yoda figure. So, the group has to head inside her head (literally) to help jog her old brain. It’s pretty gross, too; Sasha can’t help but complain the entire time!

The only one who doesn’t go in is Hop Pop, who feels he’s too old to be of any help.

Growing old is a scary thing for a lot of people. Our minds can deteriorate along with our bodies, and make us feel useless. But there are pay-offs, as well, such as wisdom and experience. Case in point, it’s Hop Pop’s years of agricultural experience that ends up saving the group from death by…nose goop. Furthermore, so long as you know how to manage things, old age doesn’t have to inhibit you, as the Mother of Olms remembers she wrote the prophecy down on the walls above her cave.

Eager fans already translated a line of text from King Andrias’ book a while back, but the Mother of Olms confirms that it is the prophecy surrounding the Calamity Box and the human trio. In fact, everything the Mother of Olms tells the group merely confirms what the fans already knew. That the Calamity Gems gave the girls incredible powers, and that they are meant to vanquish the Core, or, as the Olms call it, the Night. However, the heroes remain in the dark about what the Night is, or how Marcy’s being used as its unwanted host. At least now they have a lead on what to do, though.

Grime’s Pupil

Now knowing that the Calamity Box is the key to defeating Andrias thanks to the Mother of Olms, Anne and Sasha plan their next steps. They don’t have the numbers to fight Andrias’ army yet, though, so they can’t really do anything. However, Sasha remembers how Grime’s sister, Beatrix, has kept her army safe from Andrias, and brings her over to recruit her. Unfortunately, Sprig runs his mouth off about beating Grime, and Grime challenges his sister to a duel. Beatrix against Sprig; loser joins the winner’s army.

Yeah, Sasha and Anne are not happy about that, and punish them by forcing them to train together. Sprig and Grime aren’t happy about that, either. Sprig holds a big grudge against Grime for extorting Wartwood for years and then trying to kill Hop Pop. Grime can’t see Sprig as anything more than a wimpy frog. It’s not until they have to work together to fight off hyenabees that they see each other’s strengths.

A not-so-subtle recurring theme throughout the show has been the prejudice the different species of Amphibians have against one another. It’s part of why the world’s so sharply divided. But those differences need to be forgotten in order to defeat Andrias and save the multiverse. Once Sprig and Grime do that, the former combines the latter’s tactics with his own speed, allowing him to deal a knockout blow against Beatrix. Boom! The Wartwood Resistance now has a Toad Army to back them up.

The Pieces are Starting to Fall Into Place

Going into this week’s episode, I had been hoping that the Mother of Olms would the one to explain everything about the Calamity Box to us. The thing is, most of what we learned this week was information that we already knew, or had guessed. However, that’s not as much of a problem as you would think. Fans for shows like this can be pretty dedicated to guessing how things turn out. Getting to see whether you’re right or not is part of the fun of watching. This time, the fans were spot-on with their predictions. That didn’t really make the whole episode less enjoyable, though.

The fact is, there’s still a month left of episodes to watch before the big finale, plenty of time for us to learn the truth behind the Calamity Box or why it was brought to Earth. In addition, it looks like Disney’s letting Matt go all-out for the finale:

Disney is giving Amphibia the finale that it deserves, moving it to 8 pm on May 7 and May 14th, with the series finale taking up an entire hour. In other words, they’re turning it into the biggest thing since the end to Gravity Falls. I, for one, cannot wait to see what happens. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so hyped for a series finale for a show!

I Give “Mother of Olms” and “Grime’s Pupil” a 3.9/5 and 4/5

Stray Observations

• Look at Sprig’s Face!

• Sasha in a cheerleader outfit made my day!

Click here to see my other animation stuff

Amphibia Season 3, Episode 12A/B

As Amphibia approaches its endgame, the show is not holding anything back. What started out as a Western Isekai/slice of life has evolved into a deadly war for survival. Or, as deadly as Disney will allow things to get. Regardless, Matt and his team have made sure not to leave any thread untouched and giving everything it’s share of importance. This extends not just to the return of one-time characters, but also giving the recurring ones their time to shine. That’s the hallmark of a good show, in my own opinion. This week, several Wartwood residents get a chance to show what they’re made of, and then Anne and Sasha follow up on a clue regarding how to stop Andrias…and what their purpose might be in Amphibia.

Sasha’s Angels

It’s still hard to believe how much the residents of Wartwood changed while Anne and the Plantar’s were on Earth. They’ve always been pretty tough and resourceful, but fighting a rebellion against King Andrias has turned them into full-blown badasses. Everyone, that is, except Toadie, who remains as soft as ever.

Toadie is one of my favorite residents of Wartwood, due to his helpful nature. The fact that he’s also voiced by Jack McBrayer, who played Wander in Wander Over Yonder, also helps. But the poor little guy’s too scared to think for himself and step outside his comfort zone, even when necessary. Case in point, when a group of bandits led by Barry (the guy who cursed Anne and Sprig) steals supplies for the rebellion, Sasha and Anne lead a team to get them back.

That team promptly gets captured, and Sasha and Anne…don’t do anything. Sasha tells them to wait.

Anne obviously takes issue with this, as she thinks that Sasha’s just using them like she used to. It’s nice to see that the writers don’t skimp on the fact they’ve still got issues to work through, but this time, it’s different. Sasha’s developed strong bonds with the people of Wartwood while Anne was away, so she has faith in them to get through this.

That faith pays off, as after being pushed too far, Toadie snaps and goes all Mad Max on the Marauders. Everyone gets away, and Barry gets what he deserves.

Olm Town Road

In the second half of the episode, the show returns to focus on the overarching plot to the series. In the first half of the season, Anne and the Plantar’s found a vase with Amphibian writing on it. When decoded, it said, “Seek the Mother of Olms. She will guide you to your destiny.” As many fans speculated, this connected back to the Olms that Sprig and Polly met in “Quarreler’s Pass“, leading Sasha, Anne, and the Plantar’s to head back to that site. Turns out, there was an entire city of Olms underneath the mountain range.

One great thing about animation is that it requires a lot of artwork, and the results are fairly breathtaking. But the background art that goes into Amphibia ascends to a new level with the reveal of the underground city of Proteus, home of the Olms. It’s like discovering a hidden city of elves in a fantasy world, and that’s essentially what the Olms are, cool traits and all. The problem is that they refuse to even listen to what Sasha and Anne’s group has to say, and shun Lysil and Angwin for a mistake they made that almost destroyed the city.

It’s clear that Sasha sees a lot of herself in Lysil and Angwin. She made a lot of mistakes that almost destroyed her friendship with Anne, and she is desperate to atone for them. As such, she’s the most vocal about giving the twin Olms a second chance. And when the leader of Proteus refuses to do so, even after Lysil and Angwin risk their lives to save the city from King Andrias’ army, she snaps, and it is glorious.

Fortunately, the Olm leader’s actually impressed with Sasha’s guts, enough to make her reconsider things. As a result, they get to meet the Mother of Olms.

The Truth About The Prophecy

From the show’s inception, indeed, from the images in the opening credits, it’s been hinted at that there’s more to why Anne, Sasha, and Marcy got sent to Amphibia. I previously speculated that the girls were sent to Amphibia for a reason. Then, we heard Andrias mention a prophecy that fans were quick to decipher. Essentially, the prophecy is about three beings from afar who will come with the power to vanquish this great evil. The fans figured out that much, but the heroes don’t know about of this stuff…yet. However, that’s all about to change in the next episode, which is all but confirmed to shed a lot of light on the overarching story to Amphibia.

In addition, I found this image on social media, showing the door that Anne and Sasha step through at the end of the episode. Some fans cleaned it up, and this is what we got.

That looks just like Anne, Sasha, and Marcy. In other words, the three girls are meant to be the ones to save Amphibia, and by extension, the multiverse. Way to call it, diehard fans

Next week’s episode is likely to be among the most important of the entire series, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

I Give “Sasha’s Angels” a 4/5 and “Olm Town Road” a 4.5/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff