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Amphibia Season 2, Episode 10A/10B Review

If there’s anyone out there who’s not watching Amphibia, then they are doing themselves a great disservice. It’s one of the best cartoons on TV right now, and last night’s midseason finale reaffirms that for the umpteenth time. Not only did it give us plenty of callbacks to past adventures, but the show gave us some of the biggest clues about the overarching mysteries to the show. The secrets behind the Music Box; the powers that the human trio seem to possess; and hints as to what King Andrias’ plans are. They all get touched upon, and I ate it up!

In fact, I’m dedicating part of this post to just going over all the hints and clues we got. Hop into the adventure, people, because this is going to be amazing!

The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers

Its the night before King Andrias tells Anne and the Plantars what he and Marcy managed to learn about the Music Box. So, Anne and Marcy decide to invite Sprig and Polly over for their first sleepover! The quartet vow to do whatever it takes to stay up all night, whether it’s by causing mischief around the Palace, or coming up with the scariest dare they can think of. So what do they do? They decide it would be a great idea to head into the basement that’s been locked off from the rest of the Palace! Nothing could go wrong with that, right?

Yeah. Spoiler alert: they wander into a crypt and get attacked by these ghosts whose mere touch can melt things like acid.

I won’t lie: I’ve seen the idea of the haunted crypt before, and it’s a good thing that it never gets old. What’s new is how these ghosts look: they remind me of these deformed, otherworldly jellyfish. It if weren’t for the fact that they melt things by touching them, they’d be cute. I also like the way that the gang managed to defeat the ghosts. They used a bunch of mirrors to make the ghosts solid and proceeded to wallop them all and lock them in the basement.

On a side note, I think that we should point out Anne and Marcy’s actions in this episode. When Anne first came to Amphibia, she had a skewed idea on the concept of friendship thanks to Sasha’s toxic influence. Season One more or less saw her overcome that, but we see that Anne and Marcy are still influenced by Sasha’s controlling behavior. Case in point, they remember not to do dumb things on a dare.

A Day at the Aquarium

Picking up right after their sleepover, Anne and the Plantars meet with King Andrias and he confirms what we already knew. The music box is magical, can take people to other worlds, and recharging it is the key to getting home. Thus, it’s clear that the next step is to return to Wartwood and get the box. There’s only one problem, though: Marcy thinks it best that Anne stays in Newtopia, meaning there’s a chance she may never see the Plantars again before she goes home.

None of the Plantar family takes this revelation well, and they try to spend what may be their last day together at the aquarium, trying not to think about the fact that it may be their last day together. Here’s how well it goes over.

This episode serves as a testament to just how close Anne and the Plantars have become. The Plantars are essentially her surrogate family, with Hop Pop even calling Anne her “adopted granddaughter” in an earlier episode. She’s practically a big sister to Sprig and Polly at this point. So, the separation anxiety is real. And it doesn’t help that everything they see at the aquarium reminds them of their adventures.

Which is another great thing about this segment: all the call backs to their adventures in Wartwood. There’s even groups of coral that resemble things from past escapades!

In the end, the Plantars get involved in their normal shenanigans and get thrown out of the Aquarium. As they go to leave, though, Marcy realizes just how attached Anne’s gotten with them, and ultimately lets her go back with them to Wartwood, leading to an emotional reunion that almost left me in tears. And that msuic

The Bigger Mysteries

Now that all that’s out of the way, let’s dive into what I really want to talk about: everything that we learned about the mysteries of Amphibia!

Who’s In the Painting?

While the bulk of what we learned came in the second half of the episode, there’s one moment in the first part that I think is worth mentioning. While the kids are running from the ghosts, they find this old, torn-up painting. As they run by it, the camera lingers on this one shot:

If I’m right about this, then that fragment of the painting shows a younger King Andrias. Or at least one of his ancestors. As for the other being there, are they a frog or a toad? My first thought is that it was a younger Captain Grime or something. I don’t know, but something tells me that this is going to be important later on.

The Calamity Box’s Secrets

As I said before, this episode confirmed what many already suspected: the Calamity Box was designed to transport people to other worlds. Andrias’ ancestors used it thousands of years ago to travel to different dimensions, only for it to somehow end up on Earth. And those gems on it? They’re the key to its power, and have to be recharged at three separate temples in Amphibia.

What was most interesting to me wasn’t the box, though, but the gemstones on it. Take a look at the symbols and writing underneath each Gem: “Mind”, “Heart”, and “Strength/Will”. Each one corresponds to one of the three girls: Marcy is the mind, Anne the heart, and Sasha the strength and will. As I stated in my review of the season premiere, it appeared that Anne got some sort of power from the blue gem on the box. That power manifested itself as blue eyes when Anne was in trouble. When we saw Marcy save Sprig, her eyes glowed green.

It all adds up: Anne, Marcy, and Sasha got magic powers from the Calamity Box. As to why, we don’t know.

Was the Box Abandoned for a Reason

We know that the Calamity Box allows for interdimensional travel, but there’s still something that we don’t know yet: Why did Hop Pop’s book say it was dangerous? And why was it left on Earth?

If you’ll look at the page in King Andrias’ book, you’ll see the diagram showing how the Box can transport someone to other worlds. Amphibia’s in the center, surrounded by five other worlds, including Earth. But while the other four connect to Amphibia, Earth isn’t. That can’t be a mistake.

My conclusion: the Calamity Box was deliberatley abandoned on Earth in order to cut it off from Amphibia. The only reason anyone would go to such drastic measures would be to prevent something sinister from happening. Now that the Box is back in Amphibia, though, whatever calamity someone was trying to prevent may already be in motion.

Then there’s King Andrias. On the surface, he seems like a jolly giant, but I don’t fully trust him. Marcy’s introduction episode showed us that he knows more than he’s letting on. He has some sort of big plan in place, and it involves the Human Trio and the Box. As to whether it’s for good or evil, I don’t know.

The Story’s About to Change

I don’t when Amphibia will return with new episodes (aside from a Halloween special), but I do know this. When it does, I’m expecting some serious stuff to go down in the process. There’s a storm coming to Amphibia, and Anne and her friends are going to be right in the center of it.

THAT IS AWESOME!!! This is the kind of mystery and world-building that only the best shows can pull off! I am so glad I got into this show, and I can’t wait to see what the writers do with it next.

I Give “The Sleepover to End all Sleepovers” and “A Day at the Aquarium” a 4/5 and 4.5/5 each.

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Amphibia Season 2, Episode 1A/1B Review

We’ve waited nearly a year for it to come back. And while it was touch and go for a bit thanks to COVID-19, I’m happy to say that Amphibia’s here with a new season. If you guys saw my post on the season two trailer, then you know just how hyped I’ve been for Season Two. The Plantar’s are traveling beyond the valley in the journey of a lifetime. There’s gonna be danger, mystery, and more to be found. So without further ado, let’s begin the review.

Handy Anne

With the Spring thaw making it safe to leave the valley, the Plantar’s prepare to set out to find a way to get Anne home. Their destination: Newtopia, home of the Newts, the wisest people in Amphibia. Firstly, though, they need to disaster proof the house. At least, Anne tries to do so…with predictable results.

I, for one, find Anne’s over-the-top attempts to protect the Plantar’s Farm indicative of how much she cares about them. It shows just how far she’s come in her time with the family. However, it’s a little disappointing to see that she still hasn’t learned to “look before you leap.” Pun intended. Her actions lead to a giant vegetable monster that looks like a reference to an anime that I actually don’t know!

Anne takes care of the monster single-handedly, but there’s something odd about her that I think everyone should notice! For a brief moment, Anne’s eyes glow blue.

In a breakdown of the Season Two trailer, Awestruck Vox from The Roundtable on YouTube speculated that Anne may have gained some sort of magical powers from the music box. I think that he may have ended up being right! Could Anne have gained some sort of power we have yet to see in the show? That would explain a little of why she’s such a badass fighter. And that maybe she was brought to Amphibia for a reason. Either way, I doubt that this is the last we’ve seen of the Blue. Which is what I’m calling it until further notice!

Fort in the Road

The Plantar family’s on the road to Newtopia, ready for the trip of a lifetime. Too bad Hop Pop’s gone rule crazy and refuses to let anyone have fun. I get that he doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, but come on! The guy doesn’t even let the group stop at a diner for ice cream! ICE CREAM!

Sorry, I just love ice cream.

Anyhow, you’d think after spending all this time with Anne around, Hop Pop would loosen up on the kids. A lot of grownups would emphasize with his desire to keep them safe, but as Sprig points out, this is the trip of a lifetime. If they don’t enjoy the sights, they’ll regret it forever.

Ultimately, Hop Pop’s strict rules lead to the kids rebelling, with Anne and Sprig running off into some abandoned ruins. Abandoned ruins that, shockingly, have access to modern technology! Turns out, they stumbled into some old factory that Sprig accidentally turns on. And poor Hop Pop comes close to dying on an assembly line. They get away, but the question remains: who built the factory?

According to Hop Pop, the factory ruins have existed since before recorded history. Could they be part of an advanced civilization that was lost to time? This is Gravity Falls level mystery here, people; we know Dipper would eat this stuff up! Something tells me that this won’t be the last we see of this old tech on the trip, though. Mainly, because we see a giant robot appear out of the rubble.

Hop Right In!

So, this season premiere seems like a bit of a slow burn, but that’s alright. We’ve got an entire season’s worth of exploration and lore to cover, and I for one cannot wait to see what happens next. But I’m looking forward to learning about the most is what sort of powers Anne may have.

Think about it. When she opened the music box, she, Sasha, and Marcy were brought to Amphibia. Was it an accident or was it supposed to happen. And then there’s Anne’s glowing blue eyes. That has to be the work of magic! And the giant robot and computer? Perfect world-building material.

I have no clue what’s going to happen this season, but it looks like Matt Braly’s building us up to something big! If you’re not already watching Amphibia, then you guys are missing out!

I Give “Handy Anne” a 4.5/5 and “The Fort in the Road” a 4/5

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Amphibia Episode 16 Review/Recap

We are sixteen episodes into Amphibia’s first season, with only a single week of episodes left. The show’s done a good job at building the relationships between characters so far. Regarding the overarching plot, though, Amphibia’s been slower, esepecially regarding the mysterious Calamity Box. We learn a little more about Anne’s music box, though, in this episode.

Family Fishing Trip

It’s time for the Plantar’s annual fishing trip, and Sprig’s looking forward to spending time with Hop Pop. His plans are derailed, though, when Sylvia’s coming with them this year. Since Anne’s busy trying to learn how to parasail, Sprig’s left all alone and upset at Sylvia ruining his plans.

Jealous, Sprig tricks Sylvia into going to get a flower from a nearby island. Only it’s not an island, it’s a giant crab. Feeling guilty, Sprig commandeers Anne’s hang-glider and rescues Sylvia. While upset at Sprig, Sylvia understands that he feels jealous. All she wants to do is be a part of their family. In the end, the entire Plantar family gets to go fishing together like Sprig wanted. Except for Polly, who takes Anne’s hang-glider.

Bizarre Bazaar

Sprig finds an egg ticket to the Bizarre Bazaar, a secret, traveling market that comes to WartWood once a year. Against Hop Pop’s advice orders, Anne and Sprig sneak out the bazaar. They hope to find someone who knows about Anne’s music box (AKA the Calamity Box). They see all sorts of strange and amazing sights, but right as they find someone who may recognize the Calamity Box, Anne’s backpack gets stolen!

The only way to get it back is in a race against the legendary “Wrecker”, which the pair almost win. Then The Wrecker pulls a Blue Shell from MarioKart and wins. Surprise, The Wrecker’s true identity is Hop Pop!

Hop Pop followed them to the Bazaar because he knew they’d show up and get in trouble. Anne ends up admitting that she was too impatient to get home and decides to trust Hop Pop’s connections, letting him have the box. Unbeknownst to Anne, Hop Pop secretly buries the Calamity Box on the Plantar farm grounds later that night.

Review

I’m going to ignore everything about the first half of the episode, because the Bazaar was more important. I did like seeing Sprig get jealous over the change to his family tradition, but I was more interested in watching Anne fail at parasailing. The cutaway was fun to look at, though. Mainly because Mrs. Boonchuy was voiced by the mother of Matt Braly, the show’s creator.

The Bizarre Bazaar didn’t reveal much in the way of the Calamity Box, but it left us with some important clues:

First, there are artifacts that have designs similar to the Calamity Box.

Second is the lizard woman. She seems to know about the Box, and she thinks Anne’s the one she’s been “searching for”. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I know it has some significant meaning.

Last, is the fact that Hop Pop lies to Anne and buries the Box in his yard. All this leads me to believe that the Calamity Box is something powerful and potentially dangerous. What it’s purpose is, though, I don’t know.

There are four episodes left in the first season of Amphibia. Either they give us a major clue about the truth, or will make us ask more questions. That’s what a good show does: building up for the next season. This episode gave us a look at the forces at work in Amphibia, and I loved it.

I give “Family Fishing Trip” and “The Bizarre Bazaar” a 4/5

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Click here to see the first episode on YouTube