This Is The Beginning Of The End - Tumblr Posts

Amphibia Season 3B Thoughts (Part 1)

Because of Tumblr’s image limit I split my thoughts into 2 parts. This part will cover “Escape to Amphibia” to “The Root of Evil”. (part 2 link)

With Amphibia entering its endgame next week I’ve decided to look back at all the episodes of season 3B so far and give my collected thoughts on each episode (I plan to do the same with The Owl House. Hollow Mind was insane). I’ve had a lot of fun with Amphibia as a show and want to finally give it the attention it deserves because I’ve had the luck of following this show since before season 2 began airing. I binged the first season on Disney+ in 2020 around the time that lockdown officially went into effect and I’ve been hooked since. This wasn’t a show I followed since the beginning like Korra or She-ra but I got into it early in its run and it holds a special place for me in the lexicon of cartoons I have watched because of this.

Matt Braly said on twitter that this week’s episodes were the last “fun episodes'' of the show before it officially entered its endgame. That coupled with his statement that the finale is pretty much a three parter that begins with “The beginning of the end” has made it so I would like to cover the final 3 weeks worth of episodes in one post (we’ll see I may become too excited to wait) and split my 3B review/thoughts into 2 parts.

Escape to Amphibia

Okay, I want to get this out of the way because it’s a bit nitpicky and just my personal preference. I said in my Amphibia series thoughts post that I thought this should have been the season 3A finale and I still stand by that statement. Would that have hurt me because of the cliffhanger it would have ended on? Yes, but I think that this would have been the best point to end 3A on because it would truly feel like the beginning of the end of Amphibia, the closing of the earth chapter of the story and the beginning of the endgame. 

I really love the Christmas episode but it felt like an odd point to end 3A on considering how close to the endgame Amphibia was. Though it is on brand for Amphibia considering 2A ended on “The Shut in” which was a halloween themed episode. With that nitpick out of the way I’d like to talk about the actual episode which I really like.

I really liked how the episode made the music box theme and design make sense on a lore level and really expand what I initially thought was just a cool design choice. The music working as coordinates for other worlds was such a unique detail that I wasn’t really expecting for them to incorporate. In hindsight this was really obvious but at the time I was shocked.

I like that the episode chose to focus on Anne’s struggles to say goodbye to her parents. The first time she went to Amphibia she didn’t get to do that. She disappeared without any knowledge about where she went or if she would ever be able to get back. There was no closure on either end. Her avoidance boils over because she can’t ignore the seemingly insurmountable tasks she must complete and the reality that her making it back home isn’t guaranteed this time either. She’s going to be saying goodbye to her parents for maybe the last time and that hurts. 

Anne’s parents are once again the MVPs of the season with their heartfelt assurance and support helping Anne forward. They are just so supportive. This is probably redundant because everyone knows this by now but Anne has the best parents. They made her a care package and helped her go against the FBI and knew how important getting back to Amphibia is to her even through her conflict. (They are also telling Mr. X about everything which I think brings credence to the theory that earth and Amphibia will have to fight together. If that’s the case Anne’s parents really are the MVPs on the earth side of the story)

This episode was full of visual callbacks which helped sell that this was the endgame. Everything has changed, all the characters have impacted each other in some way, and nothing can ever be the same. The contrast really emphasizes the passage of time. The two most striking visual callback are when Anne uses her powers and stomps on the ground to knock the FBI agents over and the final shot of Anne and the Planters overlooking what has become of Amphibia.

I really like the scene where Anne activates her powers and strengthens the portal. The visual parallels are really fun. The scene above is very reminiscent of Sasha during the third temple and I think that is intentional. Sasha’s redesign has her incorporate blue into her armor along with the red which symbolizes how Anne has changed Sasha and how she is incorporating the lessons she has learned throughout Amphibia and through Anne into herself. The effect on each other is mutual. Sasha was not a good friend to Anne before this point but her good traits (when not taken to the extreme) have rubbed off on Anne and in some ways inspired her like she said in “The Third Temple”.

The second parallel, the final shot with Anne and the Plantars overlooking Amphibia was so jarring and it was even more shocking because this is the exact same view that they saw when they first exited the valley and the world was opened to them. The contrast between those two moments is amazing. 

This really sells the feeling that this episode marks the beginning of the end of Amphibia. It also makes sure that the lasting impact of True Colors is felt. We saw it in “Olivia and Yunan” briefly but it hits differently when it’s through the eyes of Anne and the Plantars. We’ve spent more time with them and these are the characters we first explored this world with so even though this wasn’t the first time we saw this in some ways it felt like it was (hopefully that made sense).

Side note: I loved all the Star Wars references. I’m a massive star wars fan so seeing Anne in the dark hallway with the red light saber and knowing it was a homage to Darth Vader’s scene (you know the one) in Rogue One just elevated it for me. This was just pure fun.

I don’t have much that I wasn’t a fan of. It’s more there are things I wish we could have seen more of. I really liked the dynamic of Terri and Dr. Jan in this episode and wish that they had interacted earlier.

Commander Anne/Sprivy

I had fun with these episodes. I have the same problems with them that I’ve seen a lot of people voice about how it makes Anne less capable than she usually is so that they can rush Sasha being given back command but I do believe that Sasha was the better person to be in command because of her experiences as a lieutenant in the toad army and her natural cunning and leadership ability. 

Anne knows that she isn’t aware of all the things that Sasha is and she’s not quite ready to jump into a leadership role immediately. She’s having to go from earth and leaving her family behind again to leader of a rebellion in less than 24 hours. That’s a lot of pressure to put on anyone so Anne struggling to fill the role is natural.

Having Anne and Sasha form a partnership rather than a commander and subordinate role was smart. Sasha has a knack for warfare and leadership that Anne doesn’t have but Anne is more in tune with the feelings of those around her and can understand their needs. They both have different, complementary strengths that make them equals. The execution was a little off but the points the episode makes and the conclusion it comes to are all things I agree with based on the characters. (I wrote in my Amphibia series thoughts about how well Sasha’s experiences and traits make her transition to rebellion leader work)

I love Sasha’s new character design. The blue incorporated into her previously completely red outfit shows how Anne has changed her and how she has accepted it as part of herself now. Her hair is down in contrast to her usual updo and shows how she has loosened her stranglehold on having control and is more open emotionally (a very literal representation of “letting her hair down”).

She is also noticeably more muscular now which matches her strength gem and shows her dedication to training that has been talked about in every season (she literally wore weighted clothing all the time as shown in the third temple and was nonstop training in toadcatcher). This redesign is also just really cool.

I liked the idea that Sasha immediately gave up control because she doesn’t trust herself with all the power. She believes that she ruined everything last time (to be fair she sort of did) but she neglects to give herself credit for how much she has changed. The old Sasha wouldn’t have relinquished power in the first place and would have fought every step of the way to keep control. The fact that she is so afraid of falling back into old habits shows that she’s different.

Sasha has been faced with multiple crossroads throughout the series and until “Turning Point” she always made the wrong choice. Her decision in “Turning Point” and her continued attempts to be different than she was before is what I believe redemption is all about, continually choosing to be a different, better person every step of the way.

I appreciate that Anne thought that Sasha’s insistence that Anne needs to be in charge was a new manipulation tactic because even though Sasha has changed Anne hasn’t been there to see it happen. Sasha has betrayed Anne twice and no amount of verbal assurance that she’s a new person can change the damage that has been done in such a short amount of time. 

Now for “Sprivy”. I liked Sasha in this episode (not that surprising) because even though she’s turned over a new leaf she isn’t suddenly a completely different person. She calls Sprig and Ivy “Twerp and twerpette”, is completely done with their clingy fledgling relationship very quickly, and is still prone to anger (though she does hold it back much better). 

I don’t have much to say about this episode outside of this, the fact that I like that Wally’s father comes back as the rich benefactor that is supporting wartwood and Sprivy learning that they shouldn’t let their new relationship dictate all their decisions was nice because first relationships can be hard to find that balance in.

Sasha’s Angels/Olm Town Road

First up “Sasha’s angels”. This episode was fun but didn’t contribute to the plot nearly as much as I would have hoped. I had a lot of fun with Toadie but I was a lot more interested in the Anne and Sasha part of the episode even if it didn’t get much focus comparatively. Sasha’s redemption and reconciliation with Anne have been a long time coming so I appreciate all the points in the story where they are allowed to adress the cracks in their relationship. 

Anne doubts Sasha’s intentions when it comes to waiting for Mrs. Croaker’s team instead of charging in to save them. She understandably doubts that Sasha sees the frogs as individuals she cares for instead of disposable pawns like she did with the toad army. This is understandable considering how Sasha frequently saw others as stepping stones for her to use to gain control. But it’s made clear once again that Sasha truly has changed. She does care about those “beneath” her but she knows that she can’t charge recklessly in because that could make things worse for everybody. 

Anne really did show Sasha how to trust others to do things rather than take control and do everything yourself but she hasn’t been here for months and hasn’t had the chance to see the way the others have grown so she is also understandably worried. It’s not that she doesn’t trust them its just that her last time seeing them they would not have been able to escape the way that they did. It’s another case of seeing how Anne has changed the people around her, the frogs have learned to stand up for themselves and Sasha has changed her leadership mindset for the better, and how the others can help Anne.

Now onto “Olm Town Road”. Sasha steals this episode. She very clearly projects onto Lysil and Angwin and it adds another layer to Sasha’s guilt over her mistakes. Sasha’s anger on Lysil and Angwin’s behalf reflects her own guilt and desire for redemption and fear that she doesn’t deserve this third chance that Anne has given her. If they can’t find redemption then how can she? (though if we’re being honest Sasha is at least on her third chance, so her spiel about second chances is a little comedic in this context)

I like that they aren’t totally ignoring Sasha’s mistakes or downplaying her desire to make things right. There hasn’t been a big blow up or a confrontation like I think some people expected, I expected more pushback myself before the episodes started airing, but I think the Amphibia crew has done a good job showing how this has effected them in every interaction they’ve had so far. 

Sasha continuously overcompensates while trying to prove she’s changed and become the person “Anne deserves'' and Anne has doubted Sasha’s intentions and motivation on more than one occasion. Anne isn’t the type of person to blow up at someone. Her actions in “True Colors'' weren't the norm but they were necessary. She was standing up for herself and Sasha deserved to be told off for betraying Anne yet again. And if Sasha was to show that side of her again in 3B I have no doubt that Anne would blow up at her once more but Sasha has been genuinely trying and Anne can see that.

Anne wants her friend back as seen in her journal and if Sasha is willing to try then Anne will meet her halfway (this and Anne saw the start of change when Sasha fought with her in True Colors). This has always been Anne’s character. I can understand wishing there was more conflict because of how devastating the second betrayal was and how final her severing their friendship seemed at the time, but I don’t think this is out of character.

I also believe there is some guilt on Anne’s part for their last fight on top of the Newtopian walls. Anne was understandably angry but she was being vicious in their last fight, going for headshots and kill blows (crew members even pointed it out on twitter afterwards). Sasha was obviously holding back, constantly on the defensive and not even trying to go on the offensive, and could have ended the fight at multiple points if she wanted to (like in the photo below) but she chose to try and reason with Anne. I think Anne recognizes this and feels bad about it. She thinks they both screwed up in their last encounter. 

And Anne got to see the start of Sasha’s change. “Turning Point” was obviously the true start to Sasha’s redemption where she was at a crossroads and finally made the right choice, but “True Colors” was where she first decided to have Anne’s back and hold Andrias off so that Anne and Marcy could make it through the portal. We got to see them work together (in a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” sort of way). Sasha finally gives up control to someone else by deciding to have their back and tries to take responsibility for her actions and set things right. Anne got to see Sasha’s good qualities shine through even if it was only for a moment.

Sasha’s moment of standing up to the Olm leader also shows a moment of growth. Sasha has stood in that very position and yelled at leaders before in “Barrel’s Warhammer” as shown below.

In “Barrel’s Warhammer” she is standing on top of a toad soldier, not caring who she has to walk on for power, and yelling at the leaders because they don’t want her and Grime to lead after hearing that Anne and Marcy were working together in Newtopia. In “Olm Town Road” she is standing atop a drill, a symbol of corruption and greed, that the leader is arguing is planted and defending Lysil and Angwin, two olms she just met, claiming that she doesn’t care what the Olm’s think of her if they can’t see what’s right in front of them, pointing out their hypocrisy.

Overall I had fun with these episodes and really liked how Sasha was used in them (she easily stole the show) but they weren’t exactly what I was expecting if I’m completely honest. The Plantars were kind of just there and they have a tendency to lose relevance within this half of the season. They haven’t had much focus in season 3B (Sprig gets a few episodes later but this doesn’t entirely fix the problem) and they don’t get much growth with anyone outside of Anne save for “Grime’s pupil”.

This was also a really odd cut off point for the episode. I remember watching this when I came out and being confused by that decision. It works better when you can go straight into “Mother of Olms” like I did on this rewatch. I think this odd ending point also played into why people were frustrated with the episode “Mother of Olms” because they had a week of anticipation and build up for what ended up being only 2 minutes worth of plot progression.

Mother of Olms/Grime’s Pupil

“Mother of Olms” was an interesting episode because on the one hand it did finally reveal the prophecy to the characters in the show and we got the implication that Anne could activate Sasha and Marcy’s powers on the other this is a prophecy that any fan that watches youtube or is active in the cartoon community would already know about. 

I watch VGMarkis’ videos (which are phenomenal by the way. I recommend watching his episode breakdowns. His channel is linked) and so I already knew about the prophecy before this episode which sadly made this less enjoyable for me. That and I’ve never been the biggest fan of gross out humor which this episode was chalk full of (though I did enjoy the magic school bus homage that the journey to mother olm’s brain evoked).

But on a much more positive note the music, colors, and animation in this episode were all phenomenal. I’ve always loved the softer color palette that amphibia uses for its world and characters and the coloring for mother Olm and the cave surrounding her were all really pleasing to the eye. The music that played when mother olm recanted the prophecy and answered Anne and Sasha’s questions was great and makes me wish that Amphibia could get  its score released (there are other great tracks like Sasha’s theme, Marcy’s truth, Anne’s powers, etc). 

On a rewatch I actually like this episode a lot more than I did the first time. It hasn’t jumped up to be among my favorites of the series but I wasn’t disappointed like I was when I first watched the episode. I think sometimes expectations can be built sky high when waiting a week, especially for an episode that promises plot progression in a show like Amphibia. I had a lot more fun with this episode and liked the reveal of the prophecy much more. I could sit back and take in the visuals and music without anything clouding my expectations which really helped me.

The extra ramblings of mother olm are also a lot clearer on re-watch. Mother olm talks about how Anne, Sasha, and Marcy are meant to save Amphibia from their worst selves while the screen shows them fighting off what has been confirmed to be “a symbolic representation of Amphibia’s greed and corruption”. This once again hammers home the themes of the show. Amphibia is about change and growth and becoming your best self. Anne and Sasha have both changed for the better from their first appearances and they have changed the characters around them for the better as well. 

This is also the case for Marcy (not to the same degree as Sasha and Anne but still). She helped Newtopia and effected Yunan, Olivia, and is implied to have at the very least seeded doubt into Andrias. This whole show is about change for the better and bringing out the best in others so it could be setting up Andrias to do “one good thing” with his life. I don’t think he’s had enough moments of doubt and genuine connection to set him up for a full redemption but having him do one good thing would be fitting.

Marcy is the only one of the three friends that still has an arc to undergo. Anne and Sasha have gotten to the point where they have been able to work through their toxic traits and have made genuine connections. Matt Braly said that Marcy didn’t make any genuine connections in her time in Amphibia and this hurdle is part of her character arc. I really want to see how this will be handled. I have faith in the Amphibia crew so I’m not nervous.

Also Sasha was pathetic this episode and it was really funny. The fearless leader of the rebellion who has never had to put her name in the book of cowards tried to sit out this mission because it was too gross. 

In the first 2 and a half seasons because of Sasha’s limited screen time every episode she was in was very plot and character focused. She didn’t really get the chance to be ridiculous in the same way everyone else was because her episodes were heavy in drama and angst. Now thanks to her upgrade in status to the main cast she gets to have these types of moments and I couldn’t be happier.

I unironically loved “Grime’s Pupil”. It wasn’t the episode I thought I would come away enjoying more between the two but it was. I really like the decision to pair up Grime and Sprig. They haven’t had much of a chance to interact in the series and none of their interactions have been one on one until now. I am biased because I love Grime and I have wanted more of him since the show returned to Amphibia. His dynamic with Sasha is my favorite in the entire series but I have wanted to see how he interacts with other characters when he’s outside of Sasha’s orbit for a while now.

Sprig and Grime was such a fun dynamic to explore. I didn’t really think that much about the level of animosity Sprig must have felt towards Grime for years until this episode and I liked how it handled Grime and Sprig learning to respect the people that each of them had become. Grime is no longer the tyrant who only wanted power and didn’t care for the people beneath him and Sprig isn’t a helpless, weak frog that toads are conditioned to believe all frogs are.

I love how exaggerated Grime and Sprig’s expressions would become in this episode. They got to have some of the most fun and dynamic animation in 3B. I liked how the exaggeration was used in the fights as well to emphasize Grime and Sprig’s strengths in their fight against the Hybeenas (I don’t know if I spelled that right).

I also enjoyed being able to see Sasha and Anne being friends and in a partnership leading the rebellion. Anne filling in Sasha’s blind spots when it comes to the feelings of Sprig and Grime and backing her up in her decree that made Sprig and Grime work together was just fun background development. That and the fact that we’ve gotten to see them be a lot more casual with their touches and interactions (like holding hands in “Mother of Olms”, Sasha slinging her arm around Anne’s shoulders, the “drumroll please”, etc). There isn’t the weight or awkwardness that was present in season 2 and we are seeing two people who are childhood friends interacting.

We get to see some cracks in Sasha’s usually put together facade (let's face it Sasha is a mess underneath. We all know it) during the cheer at Sprig and Beatrix’s matchup. “I’m very busy Hop Pop!” and not changing the cheer makes me question how exactly she is coping with the stress she is under. This is just a little thing that I would like to see more insight into if possible.

The Root of Evil

“The Root of Evil” was unexpected because I would have never in a million years thought that a cartoon airing on Disney channel would have an entire episode paying homage to Midsommar. I remember watching Midsommar in theaters when it came out (I am a fan of many A24 films and appreciate their horror) and so I understood all the references.

This scene in particular gave me chills. Anyone who’s watched the movie knows  what this is referencing and lets just say it’s not nearly as fun as this makes it out to be which should say something.

I really like how season 3 is bringing back aspects from seasons 1 and 2 so that the story really feels like it is coming full circle. This is a plot point I knew was going to come back when I first watched “Children of the Spore” and I’m only shocked that it didn’t come back earlier.

I appreciate that this is a Hop Pop centric episode. There isn’t any real new development on his end though which I wish was rectified. The Plantars feel superfluous at times and when they do get the spotlight it doesn’t really further their development as characters or their relationship to others (Polly is sort of just there in 3B). I understand that season 3B has a lot of ground to cover and I think the decision to focus on other characters and plot points works because of this. I just feel that most of the episodes focusing on the Plantars this season haven’t packed the same punch that episodes in seasons 1 and 2 did.

Side note: I love the Major Armstrong reference. This actually isn’t the only Fullmetal Alchemist brotherhood reference this show has made. My favorite is probably Anne pointing at Sasha when being dragged out of the throne room in “True Colors” being a reference to the scene where Edward swears to come back for Alphonse when he sees him at the doors of truth.

Also there continues to be Hop Pop death flags.