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Sleepover
In
my eyes, a particularly good episode is one that starts out as something
simple, but then leads to something much bigger, and at times more
intense. That’s the case with this
episode in which Star has her first sleepover with many girls she knows,
including Marco’s crush, Jackie Lynn Thomas.
It starts with a display of activities that wouldn’t be out
of place in a real sleepover. They include makeovers, snacking on brownies, and in
Marco’s case, trying to impress his crush with music and his physique. Regarding the latter activity, it becomes
more substantial when everyone decides to play Truth or Dare
Punishment with a magical box that Pony Head happens to
have. Although it doesn’t feel
that way at first, the box's ominous tone bring a the impression that
this game will be a bigger deal than your average sleepover game.
The first question the box asks is a simple one about favorite colors, but the tone
intensifies when one lie leads the box to give a shock to everyone until someone
actually tells the truth. The simple game becomes a
bigger deal from there. The rest of the
game takes everyone inside the box where
everything is red and threatening, further showing how seriously the box will take the game. The consequences
for the next lies are also executed on a much larger scale with everyone
turning into monsters which apparently are what lies look like. It’s a twisted tactic
to get everyone to admit that they never actually liked Star’s brownies (which
I find hard to believe since they looked appetizing and no one showed a hint of
disdain to them before).
However, the last question makes Truth or Punishment incredibly intense, and that’s
the uncomfortable question of who everyone has a crush on. Everyone is brave enough to admit their
honest feelings, and that includes Marco flat-out
admitting his crush is on Jackie. This is something he’s been scared to admit many
times before. It’s great to see Marco be
brave enough to admit his true feelings at this point in the series despite potential
awkwardness. You won’t
believe this, but the box still senses that somebody
lied. This time, it unleashes a furious rage as everyone fully insists that
they told the truth. It’s a desperate
scene where everyone vouches for their honesty. On top of it all is a passionate speech
from Marco on how he really feels about Jackie, and she turns out to be
touched and not weirded out at all.
When the box still refuses to
let up, it stops when Star finds a loophole
in the box’s ideas of lies that feels so true to real life. Sometimes the only reason things come off as
a lie is because you don’t always know the truth and your mind can always
change. That’s a deep, interesting, and almost philosophical twist to the issue that brings Truth or Punishment to an
end. Also, the concept is further proven in
the end when the last shot reveals that it was Star who wasn’t honest with her
crush. It appears to be on Marco, suggesting huge relationship
drama for later on now that Jackie’s about to get involved with him.
Even through the basic setup, this episode
shines for what it reveals about many characters involved and the powerful way
of doing so.
A
Gift of the
Card
Shopping
trips have a different effect on everyone.
Some are all for them, while others can get dreadfully bored by them, or
even both depending on how much the person
shopping knows what they want to buy.
This episode is very relatable to this concept.
Marco is roped into going Quest Buy after
Star finds out that he didn’t buy anything with a gift card she got him which
will expire at midnight. It may seem
that Star is forcing Marco to do something he doesn’t want to do which would
make her pushy and inconsiderate. I mean Marco didn’t have a good
experience the last time at Quest Buy.
Their time there also paints Marco as a relatable shopper when he can
never decide on what to buy.
Then
creativity is added in when it turns out that when the card expires, it will
kill its holder, and buying a random item doesn’t help unless it’s something
the holder truly wants. This is an interesting take on shopping
through giving a sense of urgency to an otherwise mundane pastime. Still, this reveal
doesn’t fully get Star off the hook. It
plays to her recklessness by getting Marco something he doesn’t want. The
fact that he could get killed if he doesn’t buy something he really
wants makes her actions worse. You’d
think that if Star knew the consequences and what the boy
she lives with is really like, she’d make the right choice and not buy it at
all.
This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy
the episode for its relatability to shopping though. If you take out the
implications, its creative additions are interesting. They reach a high point when
it’s nearly midnight and the card turns into a humanoid lightning figure
designed to kill, talking in a computerized voice. During an exciting climax of Star and Marco
rushing through the aisles, Marco
spots a security wallet he’s interested in getting. Considering a short scene of Star and Janna
looking through his wallet at the beginning, it makes sense that this would
be what he would buy. However, since
the wallet protector isn’t in the color he wants, a nice scene of Star and
Marco agreeing to get through the destruction together as best friends arises.
Before that can happen though, an opening
scene of Ms. Heinous, the original headmistress of St. Olga’s Reform School,
ordering a monster named Rasticore to track them relevance. Rasticore ends up landing on the card
monster before it can kill Star and Marco.
There isn’t much of a confrontation though since a wallet
protector is found in a more appealing color, saving Marco
from harm. This may
resolve the episode’s main issue, but Rasticore getting destroyed except for
his arm and delivered back to Ms. Heinous does set up even more bigger conflicts.
Boneheaded character moments may
hold it back, but this episode is still worth enjoying for its relatability and
heart from character relationships.
A-
The Ranking
- Ludo in the Wild
- Game of Flags
- On the Job
- Sleepover
- Mr. Candle Cares
- Wand to Wand
- Starstruck
- Girls’ Day Out
- By the Book
- Gift of the Card
- Starsitting
- Star on Wheels
- Camping Trip
- My New Wand
- Red Belt
- Star vs Echo Creek
- Fetch
- Goblin Dogs
The next Star vs. the Forces of Evil review features Marco and Tom bond in their own way, and development on that hole in Mewni's force field.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "We've Got Pests" from OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes.
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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