Wednesday, August 15, 2018

'Toon Reviews 20: Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 2 Episode 9: Sleepover/Gift of the Card


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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
  1. Ludo in the Wild
  2. Game of Flags
  3. On the Job
  4. Sleepover
  5. Mr. Candle Cares
  6. Wand to Wand
  7. Starstruck
  8. Girls’ Day Out
  9. By the Book
  10. Gift of the Card
  11. Starsitting
  12. Star on Wheels
  13. Camping Trip
  14. My New Wand
  15. Red Belt
  16. Star vs Echo Creek
  17. Fetch
  18. 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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