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Bam Ui
Pati!
Among the least pleasing elements of the series, especially
in this season, Pony Head is one of the biggest contenders. It seems like the more she appears, the more
her worst qualities outshine any appeal she may have. In most of her appearances, she’s inspired bad ideas, has been no help at all in serious situations, and has completely belittled her peers and dominated her family.
However, having recently lost her horn, the source of her flying power,
to Meteora, she does go through believable motions following such a huge
loss.
Pony Head is in a state of
depression, locking herself in her room surrounded by comfort food wanting
nothing to do but watch a Korean soap opera.
Through it all, she retains much of her negative qualities by not paying
for her food, shutting out all attempts to help her, and only caring about her
show. For once, this behavior actually
feels appropriate since Pony Head went through such an ordeal. A harsh display of selfishness from a usually
selfish character is a logical first step to accept bad things that
happen.
Plus, with her soap opera being
about a girl who refuses to sing again after her “body bone” gets cursed, it
makes sense for Pony Head to be attached to it.
She always makes sure to watch it literally everywhere she goes. Even when running away as some of her sisters
and Star try to reason with her she has to bring the show with her. Out of this comes an exciting chase into a
storm where Pony Head rides in the back of a truck belonging to her seahorse
ex-boyfriend with her laptop in tow.
It’s interesting to see action come from such a monotone driver at a
crazed hitchhiker’s command.
Even better
action comes from those pursuing her with the sole intent for Pony Head to see
sense. Well, it’s really Star acting as
the voice of reason. Her sisters may
seem like they want to help, but one line about how Pony Head being depressed
gives them nothing to do implies they’re not over their disturbing ways. Eventually, Pony Head really goes mad and
drives the truck into the violent part of the storm, crashing it. After the crash, she sees the end of her soap
opera where the main character gets over her curse and sings again. When Pony Head gets the power to get out of
her funk and sounds more humble, that’s a sign that she’s grown from what she’s
been through. It’s like character
development she desperately needs coming to be.
Then, the ending shoots down any good all this has brought. First of all, the claim that Pony Head can’t
fly without her horn is completely ignored when she ends up flying fine without
it. Also, instead of moving on without
the thing she lost, the seahorse botches that mature tone by providing a new
artificial horn to replace Pony Head’s old one.
It’s like she never lost her old one at all, and it further shows as she
returns to her usual belittling. Talk
about a waste of good development.
I
give credit to the interesting concept and a few enjoyable moments, but for how
this episode shoots down so much good potential, it goes to show we can’t win with
Pony Head.
D
Tough Love
As we enter the homestretch of Season 3, all of its best
elements start coming together for a grand experience. It gets started with this episode showcasing
the destruction caused by Meteora ever since her true monstrous form was
unlocked after viewing her past. This is
also a cause for Moon and Eclipsa to team up again, claiming to be the only
ones who can possibly deal with her.
Once again, it’s interesting to see how well they put aside their
differences for a common cause and actually work well as a team. Even so, they’re approaches to the situation
are radically different. Moon sees
Meteora as just another monster who needs to be destroyed. These views are shared by a vast majority of
Mewmans they come across while on pursuit, all of which mad and frustrated over
the destruction. As for Eclipsa, since
Meteora is her daughter, she’s concerned for her well-being like any mother
would be. These worries also give a
believable reason for her light-hearted approach to life, in that it’s implied
to be a cover for her worries. It’s just
another way to make Eclipsa such a great well-rounded character.
Her worries really intensify when she and
Moon discover the full extent of Meteora’s powers. Not only has she been destroying villages and
castles, but she’s been sucking the souls of anyone who comes across her. The effect is marked by the victims getting
black eyes and inflating, not unlike what was seen in the Season 2 finale. It’s demonstrated at Boggabah where one of
the residents idiotically approaches her in a forest, something bad happening
off-screen, and later floating soullessly.
It’s truly dark staging for sure.
Then when Meteora makes her full appearance
as a gigantic demon-like monster, the episode gets really interesting with both
Moon and Eclipsa’s approaches at play.
Eclipsa feels certain that she can reason with her daughter via the
maternal instinct which sounds like it can go either way. However, when she walks up to Meteora with a
childhood toy, the approach seems like it has merit. Just like how Meteora felt at peace when
looking at things from her infant years earlier in the season, the same happens
here as she stops her attack. In fact,
when seeing the toy gets her to recognize Eclipsa as her mother, she completely
ceases her attack and is set up to catch up with her long lost family.
Then things go south when Eclipsa promises
Meteora anything she wants, and Meteora requests what belongs to them by right,
the throne of Mewni. In a moment that
firmly and genuinely displays her true morality once and for all, Eclipsa says
that the throne is not hers to give sending Meteora into a pout.
However, when Moon is led to fiercely attack
in her butterfly form, Meteora goes on a full on rampage again resulting in an
awesome battle. Eclipsa’s motherly love
stalls things a bit, but it’s Moon’s will to fight that keeps things
tense. The love proves to be a downfall
when Eclipsa uses her magic to hold Moon’s back as she’s about to kill
Meteora. The real kicker is that it opens
Moon up to be shot down by Meteora resulting in half her soul corrupted and
getting drawn to a strange portal. Eclipsa’s
distressed reaction to all this further proves her true loyalties and is a
testament to her layers as a character.
This leaves this episode as a great display of characterization along
with intense action and strong anticipation for what’s to come at this season’s
end.
A+
The Ranking
1. Butterfly Trap
2. Total Eclipsa the Moon
3. Moon the Undaunted
4. Tough Love
5. Deep Dive
6. Stranger Danger
7. Sweet Dreams
8. Skooled!
9. Return to Mewni
10. Rest in Pudding
11. Night Life
12. Demoncism
13. Toffee
14. Monster Bash
15. Is Another Mystery
16. Marco Jr.
17. Club Snubbed
18. Puddle Defender
19. Sophomore Slump
20. Starfari
21. Lint Catcher
22. Princess Turdina
23. Ludo, Where Art Thou?
24. Scent of a Hoodie
25. King Ludo
26. Marco and the King
27. Death Peck
28. Book Be Gone
29. Booth Buddies
30. The Bogbeast of Boggabah
31. Stump Day
32. Trial by Squire
33. Lava Lake Beach
34. Holiday Spellcial
35. Bam Ui Pati!
36. Ponymonium
The next Star vs the Forces of Evil review is the first part of the major aftermath with Star trying her hand as acting queen, reveals of what happened to Moon, and Marco and his comrades getting together to put up a fight.
Next time on MC Toon Review is "Helga's Masquarade" and "Mr. Green Runs" from Hey Arnold.
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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