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Amphibia Season 2 Thoughts/Review
The second season of Amphibia had a hefty task to undergo. It had to massively expand the world, introduce Marcy, sneakily weave in hints to her truth that would be revealed in True Colors, set up the toad rebellion with Sasha away from Anne, hint at the full story of Andrias and the core, introduce much deeper lore, and completely shatter the status quo by the end. And yet it managed to pull it all off. It felt like everything came together this season.
The biggest change from season 1 to season 2 is just how serialized the series became. Season one was very episodic for the most part with story, plot, and lore progression sprinkled throughout but never the main focal point with Reunion serving as a turning point in the series in this regard.
The season doesn’t completely pivot away from the structure of the first season. It still contains episodes that have the adventure of the week nature of the first but even in those episodes it keeps sight of its end goal and keeps the plot moving forward for the most part or at the very least doesn’t distract from the plot.
This is best shown in episodes that may seem like what some people would consider “filler” episodes on paper when just hearing the synopsis but in reality are some of the most important or emotional episodes of the series such as Hopping Mall or Battle of the Bands.
Battle of the Bands in particular is incredibly integral to the plot and character development in the series. This may be one of the most important episodes for Sasha’s character arc.
Battle of the Bands sets up Sasha’s capacity for genuine change, not just doubt in her own actions. We see how much she cares about this friendship and that she is capable of giving up control and making the right choice for them.
Without this episode Sasha’s change of heart and redemption later in the series wouldn’t work. And it all occurs in an episode where a toad warrior wins a music competition by playing a 3 hour harp solo.
This integration of development into most of the episodes makes it so that the season constantly feels like it is headed somewhere with all the hints towards this destination weaved in organically throughout. This serialization allows for so many character arcs to be built up within the season and leads me to my next point.
This season is the one that juggles the screen time of all three of the calamity trio best.
Every girl gets the screen time necessary to hit all the points they need to complete their individual arcs this season. Marcy becomes part of the main cast for a large chunk of season 2 and, while Sasha doesn’t appear much, she is given solo episodes from her perspective that show her struggles and journey after the fallout of Reunion.
Their arcs as individuals and as friends play into the themes of the show perfectly. This show is centered around change and growth and so much of this season is challenging the way people fight against change.
Sasha and Marcy’s attempts to fight change are precisely why everything came crashing down in the finale. Sasha was desperate to regain control and force things back to the way they were and Marcy wanted to escape reality so that things wouldn’t have to change between the trio. Both of these come back to bite them.
In Sasha’s bid for control she shatters whatever trust she had built with Anne and due to this can’t get Anne to listen to her when she tries to reveal the truth about Andrias. This directly leads to their second fight, her capture, and Anne handing Andrias the box.
Marcy’s desire to keep the trio from growing apart leads to her deceiving Anne and Sasha and bringing the box right to Andrias. This gives him the ability to regain his former “glory” and causes her fantasy to come crashing down in the worst way possible.
This season emphasizes that the trio is fascinating and complicated and tragic all at once. They do care about each other. So many of their actions this season and in True Colors alone prove that they do but their individual flaws and Sasha and Marcy’s reluctance to accept change clouds it, leading to terrible mistakes and betrayals that can’t be taken back.
This complexity wouldn’t be displayed nearly as well if we didn’t get to spend time with the trio before everything falls apart. The three episodes leading up to True Colors that explore their dynamic are vital to getting their care for each other, the tragedy of their friendship, and the hope for Sasha and Marcy to get redemption across.
A lot hinges on the trio’s friendship because their actions and dysfunctional relationship is what drives things and forces change in the story and world so if you aren’t invested in the trio (both as individuals and as a friend group) many of the big moments in the series wouldn’t work.
I also want to once again give props to how the show uses the opening to allude to future plot points about the trio.
Marcy’s reveal is hinted at in the moment that replaces the photo in the rain. Sasha and Anne are fighting while Marcy looms over them facing away and holding the music box. The ominous lightning strikes once again which hints at Marcy’s truth that Sasha and Anne are unaware of and that all three of them have conflicting end goals for their journey in Amphibia this season.
Marcy looms over Anne and Sasha. Her presence is felt throughout Anne and Sasha’s personal journeys in Amphibia, the good and the bad, because she is the reason they are there. Marcy is the one in control/possession of the box. There’s the implication that she knows more about it than she is letting on. She is facing away which makes it seem less like she is the looming presence and more like it’s her actions or knowledge of the box that is.
Things like this make going back to watch the season really fun because you can catch how all the pieces were there for Marcy’s reveal to make sense but none of them were obvious enough to spell it out for you before the fact.
Amphibia’s world is also opened up to us in season 2. It manages to find the perfect way to introduce this brand new world without overwhelming the viewer.
Anne and the Plantars haven’t been outside of the valley and Newtopia is established to be far away. The audience gets to experience all these new places and all the new lore with the characters and it doesn’t feel unnatural and stilted. Instead it feels like it has a natural wonder to it that matches each character.
One of my favorite shots in this season is the first time the fwagon came over the hill and the world beyond the valley came into view. That shot was mesmerizing and really encapsulated just how ambitious I think this season was.
There aren’t many series that have created that same awe over just how big their world is that Amphibia captured in this single moment. That awe is what season 2 excelled at. It expanded the world so much and yet made sure you really got a grasp on the nuances that each faction of the frogs, toads, and newts had. No one part of Amphibia felt the same.
Newtopia, Wartwood, and the toad towers are all wildly different even in their color palettes and the music used when in each location.
When we are with the Toads the color palette leans more towards reds and the music sounds more intense such as the rock music that plays when Sasha is riding the narwhal worm or the theme that starts off Prison Break and Barrel’s Warhammer. They are very distinct and help give these places their own personality.
When in Newtopia everything feels grandiose with the color palette of blues, whites, and golds. The music is full of brass instruments that exude an air of royalty and greatness in contrast to the rough and tumble intensity of the rock themed music of the toads and the more humble feeling of the softer string instrument focused music used in relation to Wartwood and the frogs. (I’m not great at talking about music but I’m trying to get across how different each location feels musically)
Since we’re on the topic of music I want to gush about just how great the soundtrack for Amphibia is.
While I think season 3 is the musical peak of the series, this season is phenomenal as well.
One of my favorite things TJ Hill does is the way he makes Sasha and Marcy’s themes go through multiple different renditions to show what point they are at in their respective arcs. The instrument choice and volume reflects what kind of turning point they are at within their respective arcs.
My favorite scores in the season have to be the orchestral rendition of No Big Deal when Anne activates her powers and the score that plays when Marcy’s truth is revealed. I could listen to these on repeat if given the chance. TJ Hill is very talented and I wanted to take the time to give him a proper shout out.
I’ve spent so much time gushing about the season that I think it’s about time I got to the finale.
True Colors is what I still believe to be Amphibia’s best episode.
Everything in the season felt like it was building up to this.
The toad rebellion, Sasha’s change of heart, and Andrias’ betrayal have all been building in the background of this season. Even the more shocking events such as Anne’s powers, the truth behind Marcy’s actions, and the cliffhanger of Anne and the Plantars back in the human realm have been built into the season with all the pieces there for the audience to put things together.
Anne’s stone not charging all the way and the hints at the girls’ calamity powers through their feats that occurred while their eyes flashed their respective colors gave enough for the audience to know something big would come of these moments but not enough to give away exactly how they would manifest or when.
The same can be said for Marcy but her reveal is even hinted at as early as the first time the opening plays this season in the moment that replaces the photo in the rain like I explained above.
These hints are carried into her character throughout the season in episodes like Scavenger Hunt, where Marcy admits that she struggles to make friends, and The First Temple, where Marcy’s tunnel vision blinds her to the consequences of her actions.
The biggest hint is in A Day at the Aquarium when she stands there alone long after Anne leaves with the Plantars in a very striking visual portrayal of her loneliness and isolation (both major factors in her decisions with the box) and directly following this moment she is given a proposition by Andrias that we don’t get to hear. This looms over the end of the season leading into True Colors and added another layer to what was going on with Marcy away from Anne.
There was so much there that hinted towards Marcy’s reveal but just like with Anne’s powers it’s something that was still shocking because the specifics weren’t clear. Many people theorized that Marcy would betray Anne, but none that I know of got how she would betray her friends right. It was a masterful reveal.
Even Anne ending this season back in the human realm had all the pieces there. So much time was spent charging the box and making their way through the temples that it was obvious that someone was going to end up back home and having it be Anne, our protagonist, makes the most sense.
Even with all this build up all of these reveals still manage to give me chills to this day despite the fact that I know how they will work out and I think that’s the mark of a good twist. If it’s ruined by knowing what will happen it wasn’t a great twist in the first place.
True Colors is one of the best season finales I’ve seen for a cartoon and it caps off what I consider to be the best season of Amphibia. It manages to improve on almost everything from the first while not getting bogged down in the pacing and tonal issues of the third (I still love both those seasons as well). It’s an all around great season.
Extra thoughts
These are my rambles that I omitted from the review above but found worth sharing. You can easily skip these if you want.
One of my favorite things about the finale is that it makes it clear that Marcy’s actions aren’t clear cut. They can’t be placed into a neat box of good or bad. Marcy didn’t make her decisions out of malice, but desperation and fear. She’s afraid of losing the only friends she has and based on how Anne and Sasha ignored Marcy’s interests prior to Amphibia it felt like a matter of when their friendship would fall apart after Marcy moved not if from her point of view. Marcy didn’t think through the consequences of her actions with the box. As a result, she took Anne and Sasha away from their lives for over half a year and they were dropped into very dangerous situations. She also hid that she planned on going on more adventures with them rather than returning home and ensured that Andrias got a hold of a fully charged box. Marcy’s choice is a complicated situation that can be understood from all sides.
The trio’s friendship is also a very complicated situation where all of them had flaws and made decisions that ultimately lead to this point. Some were more toxic and damaging than others (Sasha’s manipulation and control freak tendencies) but no one person is painted in black and white. Marcy isn’t evil. Just like Sasha isn’t irredeemable. just like Anne isn’t blameless. They are people.
True colors has some spectacular animation with the standout scene clearly being when Anne activates her powers. The change in fluidity and style (as well as the clear DBZ inspiration) makes it so that the raw power of Anne’s new form can be felt.
I kind of wanted to elaborate on what I mean by Sasha and Marcy’s themes changing to show where they are or shifts in their arcs. I’ll use Sasha’s theme as an example. In the first season Sasha’s theme sounded like it was played on a music box. Each note was sharp and precise just like her and her manipulation, but when she is reintroduced in Toadcatcher her theme that plays at the end starts out soft, almost reflective as Sasha touches the scar and thinks about Anne, before it crescendos near the end as Sasha states things aren’t over between her and Anne. The notes blend together and the instrument changes, it’s not as precise and more driven by emotion, more ominous. The way the music plays out shows a shift in Sasha and her plans and not for the better.
For Marcy’s theme I feel like it’s a lot more self explanatory. Just listen to her theme that plays during her introduction and her theme that plays during the reveal in True Colors. There’s a stark contrast that anyone can notice. Her theme is very upbeat and energetic in the first one while in the second one it is slowed down significantly and uses brass instruments/an organ. Both of these choices make the tone much more ominous at the beginning as the music crescendos before the music softens once more, but keeps the much slower and deeper rendition of the melody, and brings that air of tragedy that this moment entails. It’s brilliant. (again, I wish I was better at talking about music)
Part of the tragedy of Marcy’s character is in her contrast. When she’s around Anne and the Plantars or Andrias (usually) she’s upbeat, happy, and energetic but the deep seeded loneliness she has slips through when she’s alone which is made the most clear at the end of A Day at the Aquarium.