Sunday, February 24, 2019

Lint Catcher / Trial By Squire (Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 3 Episode 8) - 'Toon Reviews 27


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Lint Catcher


Marco deciding to leave Earth behind is immediately followed by him returning to Mewni.  His decision feeling sudden is appropriately emphasized by everyone surprised by his unannounced return, even Star. 
Although it probably would’ve been better if there were more episodes of him not fitting in on Earth, the one episode of that subject gave enough legit reasons for him to leave.  However, this episode takes an interesting direction with both reasons resulting in disappointment considering what we’ve seen Star get up to on her own.  He thinks coming back will get him closely acquainted with Star again, but he’s shocked to learn she’s reconnected with Tom. 
Then there’s his “status” as a knight given to him by King River himself where he only has a cape to show for it.  When the other knights claim him as an intruder, they just laugh right in his face when he says he’s an official knight.  It’s later explained that Marco being named a knight was never meant to be taken seriously. The cape is River’s old meat blanket and people need to work hard to become a knight.  These facts make too much sense to the process of knighthood and kind of make Marco look dumb for thinking he actually was a knight just from a cape and offhand remark.  Then again, he has constantly been a loyal partner to Star in the heat of battle for much of the series and just recently helped save Mewni.  Not to mention, he’s aged 16 years and has become a macho fighter in another dimension.  With these facts in mind, it’s kind of frustrating that no one sees how Marco has done a lot to prove he should be given a chance as a knight. 
However, even Star feels that Marco needs to go through the proper motions of becoming a knight, the first one being to serve as a squire of an established knight.  The only knight in need of a squire is one the audience met not long ago, Lavabo.  What this moves leads to is kind of unreasonable on Star’s part.  Marco suggests finding a better job for him than working with a laundry knight so he and Star could be closer, and she’s offended by this.  She may be trying to follow the rules like a good princess, but it doesn’t feel right for her to be this inconsiderate of her friend’s feelings.  Heck, her parents even suggested that Marco could stay with her for the time, so even when following the rules nothing’s stopping her. 
This may not be Star’s best moment, but her attitude to the whole thing leads to another nice moment from Eclipsa.  Star suddenly finds her outside, albeit chained up, and their conversation brings Star some sound advice.  Since Marco’s her best friend, she should be glad that he’s here, and since she’s a princess she has the power to bend customs a bit.  That’s appeal to Eclipsa right there.  Her nonconformity may make her look bad, but she seems to know how to use it to make herself happy and not hurt anyone.  She also subtly lets Star know that being a squire for Lavabo can be dangerous.  This leads to a fun sequence where Star helps Marco beat back a monster in the lint catcher of Lavabo’s laundry machine.  From here, it’s clear that Marco would be better off working for Star, so in the end, she bends the customs to keep her friendship with him strong while also giving Marco work.  She makes Marco her own squire, and while it’s questioned if princesses even need squires, she’s far more open to take advantage of her being a princess who can do what she wants. 
This episode goes in a direction that shockingly devalues some accomplishments, but ultimately satisfies in the name of a nice friendship.
B+

Trial by Squire




This episode may exist to show how well Marco is as Star’s squire, but really, it’s easy to see that he’s a strong fit from her when looking back on most of the series.  As a result, this episode is mostly there in the name of a light-hearted escapade with only a small tie to recent major events. 
Once again, they’re going on a shopping spree at Quest Buy where something dangerous always seems to happen when they’re trying to buy something.  While those other times had a reason to go out to buy something, this time they seem to just be buying something for the sake of it on the day of a huge sale.  Marco in particular has this shopping spree planned out with an extensive list of what to get and whatever is available. 
There is a catch to the shopping this time though.  Marco isn’t the only squire at Quest Buy.  Many others who have been squires for actual knights are here to get things for those they serve.  They seem like they’re on friendly terms with Marco, greeting him warmly, introducing the knights, and admiring his shopping practices, especially a young girl named Higgs.  These good traits feel so genuine that what follows leaves an unpleasant shock. 
One earlier comment from Higgs basically guarantees competitiveness from the squires when it comes to racing each other for certain items to make knights look their best.  However, what happens goes beyond basic competitiveness as Higgs and the other squires seem to deliberately ruin Marco’s shopping.  They unscrew the wheels on the shopping cart, ruin items with their facial impressions, take so much of one item that there isn’t one left for Marco, and get him attacked by dragons.  It’s very disturbing that they would go this far just to sabotage the new squire.  If they were all doing it to each other, it would make more sense, but all of them making things difficult for one squire is a way harsh move that makes them look like total jerks. 
Higgs does give a reason for this behavior though.  She had to work hard doing lots of menial work for her knight to become a squire while Marco just got the position handed to him out of pity.  That’s understandable that she wants Marco to know how hard squires have it, but purposefully sabotaging him is going too far.  What’s more, this attitude devalues the fact that Marco has done a lot of heavy work to get a chance at being a squire for the bulk of the series, so it further feels wrong. 
Fortunately, this bad stretch of jerk moves reaches a solid conclusion.  While all the other squires look down on Marco, Star lets him know he’s her squire because of how much she values him as a friend.  She also gives a solid reason for Marco to not trouble himself over what the other squires are getting their knights because she doesn’t need them.  She’s a princess, not a knight after all, and that’s one of the most legit points she’s ever brought up.  In addition, when Star and Marco use their shopping time to buy fun things, they get the last laugh when the knights show more interest in what they got than what their squires got.  Well Higgs’ knight anyway. 
This episode is not very vital to the main story and can get unsettling with the amount of jerks that can catch you off guard.  However, the way it builds up to a point that princess squires, i.e. good friends, can be just as beneficial as knight squires makes the story pleasing when all is said and done.

B-


The Ranking
  1. Moon the Undaunted
  2. Stranger Danger
  3. Return to Mewni
  4. Rest in Pudding
  5. Demoncism
  6. Toffee
  7. Club Snubbed
  8. Puddle Defender
  9. Sophomore Slump
  10. Lint Catcher
  11. Scent of a Hoodie
  12. King Ludo
  13. Marco and the King
  14. Book Be Gone
  15. Trial by Squire
The next Star vs the Forces of Evil review follows Marco realizing the revolution he started at St. Olga's Reform School, and Star meet Mewni's royal monster expert.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews from Hey Arnold it's "Full Moon" and "Student Teacher."
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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