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Collateral Damage
This is technically another episode of Star getting in trouble through
recklessness which often vary in quality. However, it has a noticeable distinction
of starting while she’s understandably bummed about her recent huge losses.
While dropping in on Janna’s detention to
pick up trash with a stabby stick, Star rambles on about her problems and doesn’t pay
attention to what she’s picking up. One
of those things is a statue of a popular possum in Echo Creek named Otis. This situation of causing a problem through
not paying attention is a common thing to happen in life, even to people who
are good. In Star's case, it's nice that she has some regret for her careless action
which is an appropriate change of pace from avoiding problems as usual.
However, while Star understands that she
messed up, the episode becomes devoted to the entire school never letting up on
what happened to the statue. It’s
only within the first few minutes of students crying over the statue’s demise
when it feels like everyone is going too far with their grief. Yes, it’s appropriate to feel sad over the
loss of something, but at the same time, they’re mourning an inanimate statue
which is honestly ridiculous.
The thing that pulls the plot through and makes it work though is Star
taking initiative to do something about it, including making a new one to
replace what she broke. Unfortunately,
the students are far too dense to move on, accept change, and get
that Star was only trying to help them feel better. They complain about the statue’s lack of
similarities to the old one even though the differences should be obvious since
this is clearly a replacement statue. This just makes what’s going on even more ridiculous
than it already is.
To be fair, the
episode does attempt to give legit reasons for why everyone is saddened by the
statue’s destruction, and they’re brought about in an interesting way. It’s told through a story illustrated with
still old-world style photographs and narrated by Marco doing a pioneer
accent. It’s about how pioneers of the Bonner party traveling to the new world. They ultimately
decided to settle in the land of Echo Creek instead when they didn’t have
enough resources to get by. However,
they had to fight a herd of possums before they could fully settle down.
At first, the story makes it seem
like the settlers actually hated the possums meaning that the grief everyone
has for the statue is completely unwarranted.
Then the story ends by pointing out that even if
it’s of an enemy animal to Echo Creek, the statue still commemorates the only
time the town won anything and give it some identity. It may not be a huge reason to hold the Otis
statue in a high regard, but it does make everyone’s reactions more
understandable. Also, Star’s ultimate
solution to the problem does justice for her character. It's all because she truly gets that losing the Otis statue
caused the school to lose their sense of self. She gives an inspiring
speech to encourage the students to play to their strengths and forge their own
identity, and maybe even be better than a possum. The fact that the speech works along with
another version of that old-world style Marco narration, this ending is very impactful for Star's sake.
While you do have to sit through a lot of
ridiculousness to get there, what it leads to makes it all worth it.
A-
Just
Friends
The
friendship between Star and Marco has always been one of the biggest strengths
of this show. This is what makes this season’s plot point of Star developing a
crush on him work. We’ve gotten a few
hints of this, especially in “Bon Bon the Birthday Clown”, and while could make
Star possessive, she never feels that way.
She understands that Marco is with someone else. However, like most people, her true feelings
are unable to be restrained for long, but as this episode shows, she puts in a
good effort to respect her friend’s love life.
As a matter of fact, Star further attempts to stick to this fact by
getting tickets for Marco’s official girlfriend Jackie Lynn Thomas to have her
join them for a concert of their favorite band. She strives to make the concert
experience great for the three of them so to get used to the new dynamic, making her thoughtful.
In the process, the group’s time together
helps develop Jackie’s character. Her
portrayal is a far cry from just being a standard love interest with very few
lines in Season 1. She's laid-back
and open for fun, having a similar idea for concert
accessories to Star’s, and finding pleasures in things that get in the way of
making it to the concert. It’s these traits that have Jackie get along
so well with Star, but she’s considerate of Marco too. She's never hard on him for
any mishaps he causes and quick to let him know that she wants him around. Little moments like these have enough
endearment to this group dynamic.
It’s
put to the test when the three guys finally get to the concert featuring a
performance of the title song, “Just Friends.”
It’s a moving rock ballad that can speak out to anyone, especially the
youth. We all have people we’re
particularly fond of in certain stages of life, but it’s a common occurrence
that the person you crush on has someone else who means a lot more to
him/her. Through great synchronization
in singing and the soothing nature of the tune, the song is a nice way to get
the message across.
It stands out even
more with how it speaks to Star, and not just with how she and her concert
companions lip sync to the song. From
early on in the series, she’s been supportive of Marco getting together with
Jackie, and it shows that she knows that accepting this is the right
thing to do. However, given how she herself now feels about Marco, seeing him
get intimate with Jackie makes that hard to do. That’s not even counting shots of other
couples, including some to further represent the LGBT community, kissing as the
song plays. That's enough to make Star feel more left out since now she can only be “just
friends” with practically everyone present.
The last scene of Star leaving the true love couple
while taking out her jealousy by blasting a sign is a perfect representation of
her interesting portrayal through. She does what’s right by letting her best
friend be with his girlfriend, but isn't exactly being happy about it.
As a result the episode ends up being just a
friendly watch with great character moments, an effective use
of music, and a mature approach to one of life’s hardest aspects.
A+
The Ranking
- Bon Bon the Birthday Clown
- Ludo in the Wild
- Into the Wand
- Just Friends
- The Hard Way
- Hungry Larry
- Raid the Cave
- Running with Scissors
- Game of Flags
- Baby
- On the Job
- Sleepover
- Is Mystery
- Naysaya
- Mr. Candle Cares
- Wand to Wand
- Page Turner
- Starstruck
- Girls’ Day Out
- By the Book
- Friendenemies
- Crystal Clear
- Collateral Damage
- Gift of the Card
- Starsitting
- Star on Wheels
- Mathmagic
- Camping Trip
- The Bounce Lounge
- My New Wand
- Heinous
- Red Belt
- All Belts are Off
- Spider with a Top Hat
- Star vs Echo Creek
- Fetch
- Goblin Dogs
- Pizza Thing
- Trickstar
The next Star vs the Forces of Evil has Star's life head towards a whole new direction because of a song.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is one of the last episodes of Xiaolin Showdown Season 1, "Mala Mala Jong."
If you would like to check out other Star vs the Forces of Evil reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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