Well, Stargazers. The time has come.
The new television series we immediately fell in love with has ended its first season. And boy, what a season that was.
So let us reminence in the last piece of the first taste of what has become one of my (and, by extension, your) favorite animated series in this decade.
So let’s get straight into the final episode of Season 1 (and pretty much the most important episode since before even the first episode was previewed)...
(I’d like mention here that the position of Star’s face and eyes, while serious, look really funny.)
In the first scene, Starco are in another dimension looking for an interesting item in its bowels--a sandwich. This was a strange scene, and an even stranger catalyst for their ensuing argument. And the argument itself was heavy on the drama. Even though Marco has a good point to blast Star for doing it--said sandwich almost caused them to die being the bowel monster's own lunch.
(Also, the nice brief callback to the titular appendage creature from "Monster Arm" was really cool. Showing that it may return at any moment sometime soon. Cool.)
I won’t say I was royally screwed over from the promo of this episode, so yeah.
But the following scene at night layered on the non-humor. Seeing Marco going missing was startling, and seeing his parents worry close to death over their son's disappearance is saddening. It was fine to see the looney officer give us some unexpected comfort and humor. Without him, this part of the episode would have gotten more heartbreaking than I would’ve loved to see. And to see Star own up to her mistake from the earlier adventure and looking for Marco on her own, was really heartwarming.
Also, a nice factoid: we now know Mr. Diaz’s name--it’s Rafael. Really cool. Really classy. Really...well…
When we meet up with Buff Frog, he’s destitute, living near the Castle. After Ludo (aka Toffee's puppet) fired him as a minion, he's gone from the swamp, to a nice room and a dream job chasing a princess, to nothing...but a door. It's really sad to see this. Also sad was Star blasting him, retconning their kind truce back in “Mewipendence Day”.
But it’s understandable, because of her belief that he and Ludo kidnapped Marco, not knowing of their unceremonious axings and that it was really Toffee committed this.
What Marc said to Toffee was so badass.
If there was any doubt that he's just an awesome character (I mean why should there be?), this moment put them to rest. And can I call this "Classic Marco"? I mean, it does mean "putting friends first", but I want it to mean "can fight and give a sweet-ass one-liner beforehand", too.
How about "Vintage Marco"? Yeah, that fits better.
Star's (and Buff Frog's) invasion into the castle freakin' awesome!
And her straight-up temporarily knocking out Toffee was f*ckin' boss!
I’ll be honest with you. While I knew he wanted something to do with the Wand, I expected Toffee to take it from Star and use it for his own advantage. But I did not expect this...at all.
Toffee is a real cunning villain...even this I couldn't foresee. Brilliant.
Jesus Christ on a cracker, that smile.
When Star finally destroys her Wand, it really broke me for a bit.
When she was given the Wand, she was taught a spell to destroy it; the first she was given. Seeing the Wand break apart bit by bit, piece by piece, was a truly terrible thing to see. But I will absolutely agree--it's better to save your best friend than to keep your wand. Although, she keeps both later on, which is great.
Holey moley. It was just heartwarming for her to give up her Wand for Marco. Seeing the Wand being very important to her, yet her best friend is even more so just makes me cry tears of joy. And her heroics and seriousness are undeniable. There are few times I’ve seen her look and act serious and aggressive. Here, this is so well-done, it’s even scary!
All this time, seeing a friendship that might not have started off good, but has blossomed into a close, serious, strong and humble kinship between an Earth boy and a magical princess from another dimension just make it one of my favorite parts of this series. And now it’s enough to give up a powerful scepter from a kingdom to a brutally cunning villain--it just blows my mind.
Remember the unicorn used to help power Star’s Wand from “Quest Buy”?
Well, it returns here...although it’s now a spirit. Yeah...Rest in Peace.
The Wand blowing up and taking Toffee and his henchmen with it was truly a surprise. But I'm not too sure of saying it wasn't deserved. What Toffee did to Marco.
I was shocked that Buff Frog would've gone with them, too. Along with his new batch of children. Thank Goodness, he escaped in time.
As for Ludo, I really could care less where he ends up. Fortunately, Star took care of that banishing him to another dimension. After this episode, and the things he's done, I officially hate him, and I won't stand any appearance he has in the next season.
Back to Toffee, I won’t say what we already know, but I’ll end it with this:
He is a way better villain than Ludo ever was. Right off the bat, he knew what he was doing.
He got himself hired as Ludo’s advisor to help capture Star’s Wand, he already devises a plan to fool Star and (almost) help Ludo and his henchmen catch the Wand, and he's given them a better performance doing so; and under the surface, he already had another plan: he acted as the better henchmen to Ludo, made his co-horts look even more like fools, convinced Ludo to fire Buff Frog (his most strong and loyal henchman), turned his other minions against him and got himself the boot as well, became the new leader and turned the minions into even more stronger and powerful sidekicks against Starco. And they have never knew of his existence.
In the few episodes he appeared, the Lanky Lizard in Louis Vuitton has become the most cunning, strategic and powerful villain in this series so far. And somehow, this just excites me.
I’m supposed to hate him, but I can’t stop beaming over his admittedly terrible deeds. They’re so complex and , yet he makes them look so easy. And, if anything, makes me love him more than I have Ludo, who has, for all his appearances, just makes his minions go after Starco and her Wand, failing miserably every time. Toffee’s brief stint as main villain makes Ludo look like a pathetic worthless piece of creature life. This coming from a guy who admittedly loved and enjoyed their matches in almost half the episodes.
I Know he’s been obliterated, but he’s been an awesome villain, and I’ll mourn his loss.
The hug…
Just...beautiful. Just beautiful.
Oh, and this...other hug.
Between mother and daughter. Queen and Princess.
That was heartwarming, and was even more heartwarming when she wasn’t angry at Star for her troubles for one, but was happy that she is safe and okay. I just couldn’t stop smiling.
Star’s Wand barely survived its destruction with an ultra-awesome upgrade.
As for the little unicorn, I couldn't wonder very hard where it came from, but who cares?
His backstory was super beautiful and his destiny to power up the almost-doomed Wand was heartwarming. Also, his speaking Italian was both more heartwarming and funny.
And really hot, admittedly.
Also, since only half of the Wand's power on the faceplate is recovered, the other half is missing.
Even worse...
...it's still in the realm of the monsters' dimension. Ouch.
Near the end, King and Queen Butterfly talk to Sir Glossaryk about the Wand’s state. He reveals that it’s been cleaved. Meaning that it has been broken apart. But it can be put back together.
This is very interesting, yet very good news. Since the Wand isn't entirely broken, it can also be fixed. But it's not going to be easy. Remember?
It’s good to see Glossy back again, this time on our screens, talking and not frozen. Although I wish this didn’t happen. Him shaving his leg and being disrobed from his towel was pretty gross.
But funny, too. Really funny.
Meanwhile another eyebrow-raiser:
King Butterfly's real name is River. Really nice name.
This means...that Queen and River aren’t very sure about their plan about Star's practicing her powers on Earth. And that they more about their plan than they let Star (and by extension, us) know about. There is more to this to sending their daughter to Earth to practice her powers.
What is there to this plan that she doesn’t know about (and we aren’t revealed to yet)? We don’t know yet...until next season.
Also, back to the new Wand, it’s at half-power. Meaning while Star has one half of its power, the other half is still missing. Who will find it first? We’ll find out...next season.
And another thing...Toffee and his minions were disintegrated thanks to the old Wand exploding...but, remember, after getting blasted by Star earlier, his arm reattached…
So, could this be only the beginning of Toffee? (I hope so, because...well, yeah.)
When the episode progressed, it got more darker than past episodes. More than “Party with a Pony”, more than “Mewberty”, even more than “St. Olga’s Reform School for Wayward Princesses.” And I really enjoyed it. Every moment had me shocked and close to clutching my heart. The rush of dreariness and pain from the one continuous scene from the Castle formerly belonging to Ludo was the crux, and therefore the best part.
This episode had so many moments that were unexpectedly dark and brutal, more so than many moments in this series. Yeah, I expected some things to happen, but not this.
And dammit, I enjoyed the hell out of this episode! This is just brilliant, and one of the best episodes this season--no far from that. This is THE best episode of the season, and one of the best in the series so far.
The animation is spectacular and one of the very best pieces since the series switched animation studios (from Mercury Filmworks to Toon City Studios); the voice acting is some of the best in this season, and this series yet (everyone does amazingly here; especially Michael C. Hall as Toffee--his voice and delivery is just perfect; so perfect, it even gets me aroused at times. Don't know why, but I don't care.); the writing is brilliant (it's clear that this series has only gotten better and better story-wise [despite the few hiccups along the way], and I'm nail-bitingly excited for what will come next from the writers' room); and the direction is great (the pacing is nicely done, and story fits well). Overall this episode is just the best episode of the season, and the best of the series so far.
And now, this:
Now that Season 1 has ended, and Season 2 has yet to begin, I have some questions hoping to be answered by then:
Will Star become more responsible and aggressive like she was here?
-(I can hope so, because there will be more dark adventures and matches to come this way, and I enjoy her this way.)
Will Ludo become a bigger threat thanks to Star rebuffing his gesture?
-(Probably not, but that'll be interesting to see as the series as he restarts his evil career)
Will Toffee return?
-(If the arm reattachment is any indication, along with this slinky smile
yes. Hopefully.)
Who will find the other half of the power to Star's Wand?
-(It's not sure yet, but I'm betting my money on the monsters. It is left in their realm, and with it in their possession, it will cause lots of tension later on. For all I know, I'm hoping the race to find it will be tense and adventurous. And dark, too.)
Will that guy who got taken away by the monster butterfly ever return relatively scathed?
-(Nah. But you can't blame a guy for trying.)
Will Starco stay friends? Or will there be something more?
-(At this point, it could go either way. And to be honest, I wouldn't care. I love them being friends. And yes, as of recently I joined the bandwagon for them to become more than that. So whatever happens next season, I'm just ecstatic to watch a great friendship go along as nicely as it does on an animated TV show).
These questions will be answered, along with the many others that will crop up in season 2.
I'm hoping to enjoy this as much as Season 1. And I hope you all will be there, too.
For the last time for this season, I thank the Star vs. The Forces of Evil Wikia page.
For absolutely everything. I know you guys will be amazing help come next season. Thank you guys very much.
And lastly, I thank all of you for checking out these reviews for these past months. I know these aren't the best reviews, but I do my best to make them good enough for you guys, and I'm ever grateful for the many reads you guys have given. I hope you guys join me for more coming...as soon as Season 2 begins.
See ya then. Good night.
I can't wait for season 2
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHave you began the review for season 2 now since it's premiere?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be honest with you: No, I haven't.
DeleteAnd here's why: I've been through a lot of crap throughout this summer with the crappiest luck. My laptop screen broke down (and I had to rely on a computer monitor to use it again--and then that broke down too), I had to use other computers at other places (libraries, other relatives' places, their computers, sometimes my phone, which I rarely use)--and it'd be rare if I even get one post done, and lots of other things (both important and minor) have gotten in the way.
I know I don't do excuses when not doing something I wanted to do before, but here we are anyway.
Because of that, I felt like I have no point to continue a blogsite. And yet because I have frequent contact with you on social media, I should've let you know about it more. And I didn't. I'm very sorry I didn't get to tell you and everyone anything about this, because I felt more disappointed in myself to tell you than you all have felt disappointed in me. And I very well understand it if you all are disappointed in me as of late.
And I'm so sorry I didn't get to tell you and everyone about this much earlier; not because I read it and chose not to respond, but because I didn't notice your comment then.
I promise I'll work something out with this Review series by next month. I hope I won't let you down.
See you then.
-Drew