Amphibia: A Night At The Inn

September 9, 2021 12:24 AM - Season 1, Episode 29

Polly feels like she's not allowed to do anything because she's just a pollywog. Meanwhile, Bessie breaks down (she can do that?) on the road, so Anne and the Plantars stay at a roadside bed & breakfast. As a result they almost die.

• Locations on signs at the start: "Mountain Pass," "Doom Lagoon," "Slaughter Forest."
• Sprig: "I know [not being able to leave the valley and figure out how to get back to Earth] stinks. How about some careless misadventuring to get your mind of it? I think there's a creepy lagoon nearby!" Anne: "Oh! Think we'll find some bloated remains?" Sprig: "Here's hoping!" (both run off laughing)
• Polly is upset that she doesn't get to go off heedlessly into dangerous situations on account of being a baby. Anne and Sprig run back in terror. This is called humorous juxtaposition, folks. Anne: "Whew! Who knew leeches could run so fast!" Sprig: "Or had legs!"
• Bessie stops moving, causing Hop Pop to proclaim "Snail trouble!" At the end of the episode, the trouble in fact turns out to have been a bear trap left by the antagonists. Hop Pop can't get under Bessie to find out what the trouble is. This is a place where the snail-as-car metaphor sort of breaks down though, I mean it's not like horses "break down" and require people to clamber beneath them to discover the issue.
• This is a Polly episode, which tend to be about her being the baby of the family in some way. Here, it's that she doesn't get allowed to do dangerous stuff (which is practically all stuff in Amphibia in one way or other), despite being the fiercest Plantar. She single-handedly incapacitates the episode's villains with quick thinking and dodging despite having no legs. When she attains froghood, she's going to be terrifying.
• "Dandy Lion Inn." Why, this place certainly won't be dangerous!
• The innkeepers, a lot of suspiciously similar frogs, are cannibals. Cannibals have been seen in Amphibia before, the Mudmen back in Anne vs. Wild. In addition to eating guests, they keep their snails, presumably to sell later. Their names are Teddy (patriarch), Martha (his wife), Juliet and Jennifer (daughters, presumably, hopefully not incestuous, which appears to be the subtext here)
• Why did they draw custom playing cards of their victims?
• Polly slaps the others awake. Hop Pop: "Hah? What- what's goin' on?" Anne: "Five more minutes..." Sprig: (instantly) "Hi Polly!" Events of Snow Day notwithstanding, Sprig is a morning frog.
• On running out of the room away from the cannibal family, Anne spies two large barrels marked BAKING SODA and VINEGAR. "Finally! A chance to use everything I know about chemistry!" (cracks fingers)
• Anne running into barn: "heheheheheheheh" Hop Pop: "What are you laughin' about?" Anne: "Nothin'! Let's get out of here." Hop Pop (distinctly): "Bessie! Things are getting messy!" A pay-off from Anne Theft Auto.
• Meanwhile in the house, as the contents of the barrels flow out and begin to mix... Teddy: "Hey do you hear that? Did you leave the sink running? ...oh dear." (house explodes) Anne: "Chemistry wins!"
• Predators of the episode: horned bullfrogs (cannibalistic)
• From the backpack: earbuds, a nightshirt, a jacket (background items in Anne's empty room)

posted by JHarris