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Face the
Music
This
episode is on an interesting custom to the royal part of Star’s life, making for
an insightful story with the theme of keeping up a good royal image. I love music and think it goes well with
great ideas set to animation, and the emphasis on music invests me in the custom. The deeper meanings behind the custom are what really make this episode stand out to me.
There’s an event called Song Day where future
queens are assigned a minstrel who writes a song for them.
The opening scene
featuring Moon’s song demonstrates what they’re usually like. It’s a cheap song with positive traits that barely
rhyme, feeling like propaganda. Star is
not looking forward to such a ballad being written about her by her assigned
minstrel, Ruberiot who absolutely lives for music, eager to
play his lute at any given moment.
This
setup has more depth to it than just Star not liking usual song
style. The songs don’t relate to who
Star is, and that’s relatable to the artistic field. One’s style may stand out from others, but its
quality can be badly effected when forced to fit a mold. This concept makes Star sympathetic through
believing that the song won’t show the real her. She’s also smart to pick out the flaws with
the other songs and how they put pressure on future princesses to be 100% good which
could depress them if they mess up. Also,
Ruberiot, despite seeming overly poetic, understands how Star feels and wants
to write a more honest song. It’s
through understanding the true Ruberiot that gets Star on board with the
tradition as they collaborate on the princess ballad they’ve been striving
for. In turn, this could be the moment where Mewni understands the their true future queen. This is especially investing as a look into any work's creative process.
There’s also a subplot that further
develops the adventurous side of Moon.
In addition to previous reveals of fighting monsters in the past and
running the Magic High Commission, Moon has a firmer backbone than
her regal mannerisms suggest. She
ventures into the Forbidden Forest to try and retrieve Star’s spell book.
Going after Ludo, she uncovers his home where
she, and the audience, learn about his background. He was mistreated by his
family all his life, and they now feel he shamed their name after he locked them out of their castle.
Only his brother, Dennis, still loves him and helps Moon track him down to
where she learns he has the missing piece of Star’s wand. It’s admirable that Moon is going to these
lengths to help her daughter, portraying her as a great mother character. The fact that she keeps the mission low-key
also exemplifies the pressure of Mewni royalty keeping up appearances for their
subjects. This whole adventure also supports the episode's major theme brought by Star's song. Moon performing this not so royal adventure behind the people of Mewni's backs further prevents them from learning what the rulers of their kingdom are really like.
That's when Song Day arrives and Star's song comes together to introduce the true her, and it's quite a musical number. The song
starts with a lute cover of Star's good character traits, but then smoothly flows
into a rock cover of her action and adventure side, and is very catchy and
memorable. This part of the song is so musically investing, the eventual tonal shift is enough to catch you completely off guard. Star’s proposed honesty goes beyond her interests through a verse of her losing her spell
book and hiding the misstep. This sudden change in mood is nicely reflected by the crowd being shocked by the reveal. Even Star gets a shock when, in attempt to
make the song reveal everything about her, Ruberiot adds in one last verse of her
having a crush on Marco.
The episodes' ending is
bittersweet, for while Star gets all the pressures of her faults off her chest,
opening up this much brings on a change in outlook to the royal family. The
people of Mewni and the Magic High Commission are mad that Moon and River
didn’t tell them about the loss of the spell book and Glossaryck. This secrecy has only made the danger the kingdom’s in worse. Also,
things are now really awkward for Star and Marco now that her secret crush is out
too. It's a rare instance in a family show that shows that telling the truth has its down as well as ups. For all the pressures it can relieve, some truths can be very damaging, proving that they're better off kept secrets. It certainly means a lot more that we got an awesome song to make this message clear.
This episode is one of the
show’s best with an interesting look into the creative process, strong
character development, and one song only for Star shaking things up big time.
A+
The Ranking
- Face the Music
- 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
Be sure to stay tuned for review of the Season 2 finale where as things remain awkward for Star and her loved ones, the series takes a major step towards an interesting new direction.
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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