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Beach Day
I, for one, consider it an interesting reveal that the often-seen photo of Star and Marco at the beach was meant to symbolize something happening in the future. Having that be Star’s motivation to not give up in her times of turmoil makes what was meant to be viewed as a scene of two characters having fun have more merit. They tried making it happen earlier in this season, but that was at a time when there was still a lot of important matters to deal with. Now with Star relieved of all royal duties and deciding to go back to Earth, she’s all set up to make her special beach day with Marco a reality at last. A few signs of a swimsuit, beach ball, and instant camera help too.
What follows is not just charming, but also plays out in ways most people probably wouldn’t expect. When Star and Marco set out for the beach, it’s not uncommon to think that while they plan for the day to be awesome, they run into several difficulties on the way. After all, that tends to be the case in real life and in other stories with this type of setup. As it turns out, a lot of things go wrong for them on the way to the beach, but they always find a way around them. They get stuck in traffic, so Star uses her magic to get the taxi cab to fly over it all. The mad driver drops them off in the middle of nowhere, and Star’s cloud spell refuses to fly in smog, but they’re led to the beach by a seagull.
So really, the hardships don’t last long, and even when Star realizes she left the camera behind, she and Marco still have a genuinely fun time at the beach. Who would have thought that in a show specializing in lore and magic, one of the nicest moments would just be these kids living it up on a beach?
As for that photo, it would be easy to suggest that all of Star’s predictions of today being the specific beach day are overreactions. However, thanks to an old woman taking pictures of nice scenes on the beach, it turns out she was actually right. The moment the exact same photo comes out, that’s when it’s clear that today was beach day after all. Even for how crazed Star was to name this beach day as the one, it’s impressive that she turned out to be accurate.
There is a twist to all this though as Star finds that she’s not nearly as happy as she feels she should be. For that, she goes to the interdimensional being who gave her the photo in the first place, Father Time, and confronts him about her lack of extreme happiness. He points out that it wasn’t him who gave her the photo, but a future version of Star who wanted her past self to help her get through so many hardships in her life. Rather than trying to get Star’s hopes up for nothing, it was all just an attempt for Star to have something fun to look forward to. Considering how much drama filled the show starting with Season 3, I’d say it was a smart move. That said, you can’t help but wonder if there exists a timeline where the beach day was actually more impactful to Star than it was here. At least things are still kept exciting as Father Time silently points out that worse moments in Star’s life are yet to come.
For now, it’s nice that Star and Marco end their beach day on a high note with a flying shopping cart ride home. It makes this episode a wholesome series highlight with several twists to most expectations.
A
Gone Baby Gone
Marco’s family dynamic was bound to shift when it was first announced that his parents were having another baby. Now with the birth of Mariposa, you’d think that all there’d be of that is the usual cuteness expected from new babies. Then this episode subverts these expectations with a creative interdimensional adventure stemming from Marco looking after her and baby Meteora.
Just after he gets them to sleep, he’s visited by Hekapoo and warned that dangerous magical business is going down in other dimensions, hinting at what’s to come near the season’s end. The main point in this case though is that Hekapoo advises Marco to stay on Earth, and it’s clear that he’d listen to the order if not for one crucial factor. Hekapoo left her portal to Earth open, and since Mariposa and Meteora are not in their cribs, they no doubt went through there. Knowing what being in Hekapoo’s dimension will do to their age, Star and Marco rush in to go after them.
This story direction reveals an interesting dynamic resulting from the two babies going into a place where time works differently. Mariposa and Meteora have grown up to become honorary sisters looking out for each other while dwelling in a cave at the top of a mountain. It also gives a good look at what they look like as teens or at least preteens. That’s interesting enough for Mariposa though considering that we’ve already seen Meteora at different ages prior to learning her background. Their lives are basically redefined as a result of living in this world. They have different names, grow up as warriors defending their turf, and Mariposa doesn’t believe Marco at all when he says he’s her brother.
Even when it seems like they’re trusting of him and Star, they have the gall to drug them with a special soup. When they’re down, they plan on sacrificing them to a wizard called Wyscan who has the power to make Mariposa just as capable in battle as Meteora by granting her magic. Once she’s close to achieving her goal though, Mariposa begins to doubt her decision, showing that she does have a heart on situations. She’s willing to vouch for him and hold off her own desires for magic, particularly when Wyscan declares he wants to eat Marco and Star. This brings on a battle against a wizard so powerful yet also very flamboyant.
Now, even though Mariposa is willing to help Marco, she still won’t believe he’s her brother. As an interesting measure to finally convince her, Marco notices a tiny finger puppet around Mariposa’s neck. He puts his finger in it and recites the end of a story he told her at the episode’s start. This believably inspires Mariposa to fight harder against Wyscan, though he basically just retreats and isn’t actually defeated, even if she is victorious. I could also say that the way Star and Marco convince Mariposa and Meteora to come home is a tad shallow. It makes sense that they’re too used to their interdimensional life to return to Earth, but all it takes is a mention of food to get them to come back. Even more endearing is a promise to have them both to grow up together if they come back, as is the ending where they return to being babies and Marco bids them good night.
Overall though, this episode is also one of the strongest of the season, bringing together atmospheric alternate realities, and the adorable nature of infants.
A+
The Ranking
1. Cornonation
2. The Monster and the Queen
3. Gone Baby Gone
4. Escape from the Pie Folk
5. Meteora’s Lesson
6. Swim Suit
7. Cornball!
8. Yada Yada Berries
9. Moon Remembers
10. Beach Day
11. Britta’s Tacos
12. Junkin’ Janna
13. Queen-Napped
14. Ghost of Butterfly Castle
15. The Knight Shift
16. Ransomgram
17. Butterfly Follies
18. Kelly’s World
19. A Boy and His DC-700XE
20. Surviving the Spiderbites
21. A Spell With No Name
22. Princess Quasar Caterpillar and the Magic Bell
23. Down By the River
24. Out of Business
25. Lake House Fever
26. Doop-Doop
27. The Ponyhead Show
28. The Curse of the Blood Moon
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Star and Tom seem to drag their feet in breaking up, and when trouble in Mewni arises, Star and the gang have to turn to Janna to help go back there.
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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