Salut, Stargazers!
Welcome back to my Review of Star vs. the Forces of Evil.
Let’s talk about Episode 5.
This episode surely tugged at the heartstrings, and also poked at the funny bone as well. This was perfectly written and acted, and gave some good character development to two characters; both related. Sure, there some parts I didn't, but I swear it's only a few.
Let's begin with...
In it, "When Star's biggest hero Mina Loveberry, a rogue magic-wielder from Mewni, loses her mojo for battle, Star attempts to help her get it back."
This episode introduced Mina Loveberry, a powerful battle-brained magic-holder from Mewni, who is now down on her luck. When she meets her idol, Star does everything within her to get her back to who she was. But Marco sees her nut she shouldn't be close to.
Mina is mixed duffle for me.
Marc is right in that she is a crazy lady. But I did find some of her antics hilarious. It also made me wonder how and why all of these people (and animals) from Mewni are popping up on Earth. At first, I thought "If they had the Interdimensional Scissors, that I can understand. I mean that explains Ludo, Pony Head and Buff Frog [and we’ll get to him tomorrow].) I just wish they had alluded to that." Fortunately, they did at the end, which I'll get to in a moment.
Anther problem I have with her is that we don't learn a bit more about Mina. We just hear it from word-of-mouth from Star on a "take my word for it" manner. I wish they had given Mina a fuller backstory, like what she was before and how she got on Earth. Like a quick minute of moving images with narration. Not that it would've helped her be liked in my book, but still.
Star was really weird in this halfer. You would think she would remember everything that happened in “Mewnipendence Day” to realize Mina’s “ideals” are just what she would be dead-set (yes, ironic) against. But, since she was hanging onto every word of Mina’s creepy “ideals”, that has to be a “no”. Marc was right to see her as--and call her--a crazy lady. Too bad Star was so stubborn to sniff the butt of her “idol”; at least she saw the light towards the end.
This episode reminded me of “Mewnipendence Day”, where Star (with assistance of Marco, of course) learns that her ancestors of Mewni began a brutal, horrible and heart-wrenching act of violence and worse against the monsters that didn’t deserve it. And this influenced her as shown in the start of the series (and Mina in this episode). And watching Mina descend into this madness by planning to--and almost committing to--wiping out the people of Echo Creek (and later on, if successful, the people of Earth) definitely springs that to mind. And Star definitely feels the same way now, especially after that episode, leading her to that epiphany and her agreement with Marco. (Also, gotta shout out that striped-tie guy for unwittingly [or at least almost entirely aware] saving everyone with the Congress vote.)
This was a really good episode. I came in with a different feeling of boredom and irritation, but the progression to the climax really woke me up.
Random Thoughts:
--This episode is the first in all of the series in which Star does not have her wand with her the whole time. Seeing as whom she with at the time, I don’t blame the producers for this decision.
--If it was more of a thing to take day-old donuts, I’d rather take them to a shelter. I’m sure the homeless would appreciate them. It’d be a waste to just throw them away.
--Again, thank Mewni for that red-tie guy for having everyone vote.
--Mina's introduction (as shown in image form in the bumper above) continues the series major influence from Sailor Moon. And it looks beautiful.
--The faces the two Paul Blarts made during the climax made me laugh more than other jokes. Then again, most of the episode was more sobering than usual, so can you blame me?
--Also, in the end, Mina disappears through the trashcan and back into Mewni. I have a feeling she’ll be back with an unwanted (and unneeded) vengeance. And I’m sure she meet up with a certain someone for a crazy alliance. And they find a perfect passageway to get from their world to Starco's. (Could be wrong, though.)
Fave Lines:
Pete "Evening, Marco."
Marco "Evening, Pete."
=
Star "You're Mina Loveberry!"
Mina "Ya caught me! Are you a cop?"
Star [to Marco] "That's Mina Loveberry."
Marco "I have no idea who that is."
=
Star "Wh-wh-wh-what are you gonna do on your vacation?"
Mina "I will let the soul be my guide and wander off to the depths of this unseen planet."
Star "Wow!"
Marco "That's what you say when you've lost your marbles."
=
Park Ranger Welcome to the Echo Creek Mud Pits. Here, we will answer all your questions about mud.
Woman Finally
=
Fave Moments:
--When Star Realizes Marco was Right
--Star and Mina's Torpedoing the Park
--When Mina she-hulks up (admittedly)
--The Paul Blart Mall Cop...Cops
Now, to dim out the darkness a bit
and add in some more fun, here's…
Oh look, River’s back!!
Seeing King Butterfly return was great enough; but for some reason, he also brings a more hyped-up, gung-ho, looney knock-the-poop-out-of-everyone attitude (aka, borderline senility) that hasn’t been in him regularly (You know what, he was something like this in “Royal Pain”) and I love this! But when we learn why he acts this, it’s much less funny and more really heartbreaking. He’s reached the mid-life crisis stage; plus his little princess isn’t little anymore. So he wants to spend as much time with her as possible. Honestly, it’s a very relatable topic. And to see it executed so well here, it makes me smile (and cry a bit).
But hey, at least he looks a little bit younger; that’s great. (or he looks younger and the geyser wiped out his beard and cleansed his pores. Either way, this was nice.)
Another sweet, humbling moment I loved was when Marco revealed he wanted Star to see Old Youthful. SInce he’s seen it himself many times, he wanted Star to see it as a way to give back to her, after the many astonishing sights she’s shown to him over the seasons.
It’s super sweet and another example of why I love the Starco friendship dynamic.
This episode mixed weird and wild (ba-dum-tiss) with sad, humble and heartfelt, and it’s a sweet healthy, frothy perfect mix (like getting a chicken strip salad & sipping with a Frosty at Wendy’s). We also got much more from King Butterfly in this halfer, and because of that, he’s become more fleshed-out and more relatable as a character (and one of my faves).
This episode did have its belly-laughs (which were good) and its heart-tuggers (which were great), and was a perfect watch for me. I think this one is one of my favorites this season so far.
Random Thoughts:
--Rafael is one fast painter (even for animation, lol)
--That featu
--I bet that Bald Eagle looked jealous seeing King River jumping over the forest. Bet that's endangered to him too, amirite??
--Even though they were in it for a second, seeing Mami and Papi Diaz taking part in (weird but nice) painting slideshows still made me smile because of their still-burgeoning love for one another.
You know…
Fave Lines:
-Everything River says
-”What's up nature? You're gonna get tamed!” -Star
=
King "Since when are you too cool for piggyback rides?
Marco "Well, I'm not too cool for a piggyback..."
King "That would be weird Marco."
=
-”I’m not her boyfriend!” -Marco
--...yet. (heh-eh-eh-eh-) -Me
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Fave Moments:
-River and Baldy
-River knocking the crud outta his leg
-Marco Wanting Star to See Old Youthful
-River’s Geyser Run
-River Wanting to See Star
-Star Still Seeing Dad as Her Hero
-Star Actually Enjoying the Camping Trip
--
Yep, definitely one of my favorite episodes this season so far.
So tune in tomorrow when I review another favorite of Season 2.
I think you guys are going to love this one.
See you tomorrow, Stargazers. Until then,
I'm Andrew, saying: "Reach for the Star and Keep looking up! ...at your [tablet] screen."
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