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Commander Anne
Through entering the second half of Season 3, there’s a transition to a different atmosphere and focus. Instead of the relatable homely setting of Earth, the setting is back in the fantasy category with an apocalyptic flair. The reign of King Andrias has turned Amphibia into a desolate wasteland, stripping its vibrancy and mostly welcoming aesthetic. It’s certainly a shock for Anne and the Plantars when they first arrive back after such a long time away. However, that’s where the new atmosphere brings about motivation to make things right for this world.
It isn’t long before Anne and the others find refuge in this doomsday setting upon learning what’s become of their hometown of Wartwood. This is also where what’s become of Sasha since her last appearance is revealed as she’s taken charge of protecting Wartwood’s citizens and built up a resistance. The resistance’s headquarters reveal several callbacks to past events of the series, most notably their location being in a secret hidden basement of the Plantars’ house. With Anne’s return, Sasha feels more confident than ever about bringing justice to this world and doesn’t hesitate to let that be known to the crowd.
The reason for this is soon revealed as she entitles Anne the new commander of the resistance. All the while, Anne, and even several others, question if putting her in charge of the resistance is the best thing to do. All Sasha says is that the reason for the decision is complicated as if to avoid sharing any details. Anyway, the resistance sets off to take out one of the king’s bases guarded by beasts under the control of mushroom enzymes; another callback to give legitimacy to past seemingly one-off events.
All the while, a point is made of how natural it is that some people are just not cut out for certain tasks. Anne isn’t used to holding a position like a commander, leading to her making poor decisions that lead to dangers the group barely escapes. This setup kind of makes sense, but it can also be kind of laughable how badly Anne messes up while in charge. She’s planned strategies before and taken charge when things were at stake, so it’s somewhat hard to believe that managing this position would be so difficult for her. Also, it’s kind of sad to see her arrive in Amphibia clean only to instantly revert back to how she looked during the majority of her original time there; missing shoe, leaves in hair, and all. She really should be expected to know how to get around this world by now.
Still, there is a point to Anne’s ineptness as commander when they reach the base, and no one is in the right shape to face the beast guarding. Anne wisely accepts that she’s not fit for the position and insists Sasha be commander. It’s here where Sasha reveals that the reason she’s staying out of power is because she ended up ruining their friendship the last time she sought for control. This shows that she truly has maturely adjusted her morals and values after her recent epiphany, and Anne is quick to point that she can manage being commander because of this change. So, after Anne willingly lets herself be eaten along with the rest of the group, Sasha is open to using her smarts to save everyone and prove herself worthy of being leader. Still, a compromise is reached with her and Anne agreeing to share the leadership duties, meaning healthy growth for both of them as both friends and individuals.
This shift in tone may not be perfectly executed, but it shines for its clever ideas and apparent character development.
A
Sprivy
When Sprig started a romantic relationship with Ivy Sundew, the two had a lot of potential to be a very charming kid couple. In the subsequent appearances of them together after that, they certainly met that potential. The problem is that there wasn’t a lot of material devoted to their relationship, making it seem not very important in the grand scheme. This is especially hurtful to this cartoon devoted to their relationship and how prominent it is even in the face of needing to stop a tyrannical king destroying everything.
Sprig and Ivy are apparently so close and so infatuated that they can’t bear to spend a second apart. Such extreme attachment is too much for the rest of the resistance as well as baffling from an audience perspective. Because so little of Sprig and Ivy as a couple has been shown throughout the series, it doesn’t feel right for them to be portrayed as this clingy. Even if this is a romantic relationship, the show hasn’t really made it seem like Ivy is that vital of a part of Sprig’s life. Heck, one past moment of the Plantars missing home showed Hop Pop thinking of Sylvia, Ivy’s grandmother, but not Sprig doing the same for Ivy. For that, how attached they act towards each other ends up just as off-putting to the audience as it is to the actual characters.
Having this unfold in something like the resistance makes it even worse as the main plot shows. Sprig and Ivy are tasked to join Sasha on a mission along with two supporting characters from Warwood; Stumpy the local restauranteur, and Fern who works at the town spa and I’m certain hasn’t even spoken before. The goal is to take down a robot battalion while they’re changing shifts so a delivery of important supplies for the resistance can get through. Sasha has certain teammates assigned for certain things, but Sprig and Ivy are distressed that this means they have to split up. This in turn leads to a very dumb decision where Sprig forges a message saying Sasha wants the partners to switch leaving him with Ivy and Stumpy with Fern. It’s not hard to see why this is a bad move because certain talents are not being used in the right place. Sprig and Ivy’s attempts at shutting down the robots’ force field are ineffective, and Fern gets easily distracted by things and is unable to help Stumpy when he needs it. While Sprig can be rash, Ivy has been known to think more logically about things, so one would assume that she’d not go along with this foolish act so easily.
Because of this boneheaded move, everyone is mobbed by robots, though getting out of the mess does make the overall message clear. Everyone’s talents are put in the right place to avoid the force field’s power and ultimately shut it down. Sprig and Ivy even see the benefits of this despite STILL making a huge deal of being apart for a few seconds. For that, the cartoon gets points for nicely executing the message it sets out to teach, obvious as it is. However, since Sprig and Ivy’s relationship hasn’t gotten a lot of attention before and still doesn’t after this cartoon, the threat to the mission’s progress feels baseless. It acts like this romance is a huge thing in the grand scheme when it really isn’t.
The cartoon itself has some merit, but emphasis on something that’s actually a very minor detail makes the viewing experience awkward and off-putting. Its heart is in the right place, but it overall turns out to be pretty weak.
C+
Fan Art
Series Ranking
1.
True
Colors
2.
Hopping
Mall
3.
Reunion
4.
Marcy at the Gates
5.
Anne-sterminator
6.
Olivia
and Yunan
7.
Toad Tax
8.
The First Temple
9.
Froggy Little Christmas
10.
Turning Point
11.
Battle of the Bands
12.
Barrel’s
Warhammer
13.
Escape
to Amphibia
14.
Anne vs Wild
15.
The Domino Effect
16.
The Third Temple
17.
Toadcatcher
18.
Prison Break
19.
The Second Temple
20.
Temple Frogs
21.
A Day at the Aquarium
22.
Mr. X
23.
Anne of the Year
24.
Contagi-Anne
25.
The
Shut-In
26.
Best Fronds
27.
After
the Rain
28.
Family Shrub
29.
Fixing
Frobo
30. If You Give a Frog a Cookie
31. Commander Anne
32.
The New Normal
33.
The Dinner
34.
Hop-Popular
35.
Anne Hunter
36.
Wally and Anne
37.
Children of the Spore
38.
Fight at the Museum
39.
Friend
or Frobo
40.
Sprig’s
Birthday
41.
A Night at the Inn
42.
Bessie
and MicroAngelo
43.
Handy Anne
44.
Scavenger Hunt
45.
Lily Pad Thai
46.
Dating Season
47.
Anne or Beast?
48.
Combat Camp
49.
Little Frogtown
50.
Cursed!
51.
Thai
Feud
52.
Snow Day
53.
Civil Wart
54.
Maddie and Marcy
55.
Stakeout
56.
Croak and Punishment
57.
Taking Charge
58.
Flood, Sweat, and Tears
59.
Bizarre Bazaar
60.
The Plantars Check In
61.
The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers
62.
Wax Museum
63.
Return
to Wartwood
64.
Sprig Gets Schooled
65.
Swamp and Sensibility
66.
Trip to the Archives
67.
Toad
to Redemption
68.
Anne Theft Auto
69.
Adventures in Catsitting
70.
Hop Luck
71.
New
Wartwood
72.
Ivy on the Run
73.
Night
Drivers
74.
Quarreler’s
Pass
75.
Hop Pop and Lock
76.
Plantar’s Last Stand
77.
Fort in the Road
78.
A Caravan Named Desire
79.
The Big Bugball Game
80.
Fiddle Me This
81.
Hollywood Hop Pop
82.
Truck Stop Polly
83.
Family Fishing Trip
84.
Hop ‘Til You Drop
85.
Spider-Sprig
86.
The Ballad of Hoppediah Plantar
87.
Girl Time
88.
Breakout Star
89.
Grubhog Day
90.
Cane Crazy
91. Sprivy
92.
Lost in Newtopia
93.
Sprig vs Hop Pop
94.
Cracking Mrs. Croaker
The next review features another resistance mission with a varied cast, and the next big step in saving Amphibia as our heroes seek a prophecy from the Mother of Olms.
Next time is an Ed Edd n Eddy review of "Ed Overboard" and "One of Those Eds."
If you would like to check out other Amphibia reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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