Amphibia: Spider-Sprig/Olivia & Yunan

November 13, 2021 2:07 AM - Season 3, Episode 7

Spider-Sprig: Sprig decides to become a superhero, and does a pretty good job of it, but gains a rival in the form a local safety supervisor. Olivia & Yunan: Back in Amphibia, Olivia and General Yunan attempt to rescue Marcy from King Andrias's clutches.

Spider-Sprig, written by Gloria Shen, Storyboarded by Silver Paul, Alexa Swansonn, Kyler Spears and Rachel Paek, and directed by Joe Johnston

Sprig and Mr. Boonchuy both tearup over a cheesy Japanese hero show, ("Tarantu-Lad" vs "Buffer Fish"), while Anne and Hop Pop look on in worry, and Polly in disdain. She's a harsh little pollywog.

Sprig really got into it, but Polly didn't like it. "It was stuffed with predictable tropes and lazy writing!" PREACH IT, SISTAH. Hop Pop to Polly: "We have got to cut back on your internet use."

While Polly lists all the way stories like in the movie would never be possible, Sprig is envisioning it actually happening. Looks like a Sprig episode.

This episode establishes that Sprig can climb walls because he can secrete goo on his fingers that sticks to surfaces. Ew.

Sprig grapple-tongues across the attic, but a beam breaks and sends him to the floor. Might want to get that fixed, Boonchoys.

He designs his superhero costume in a way not dissimilar to how Peter Parker did in the first (Sony) (non-Amazing) Spider-Man, with sketches. "Frog Man" is his idea, very original.

Polly walks in on Sprig in costume and posing, and says "What are you doing?" in a tone of voice that indicates that she knows perfectly well what Sprig is doing. "You're never going to solve systemic societal problems with a sock on your head!" "Watch meeeee!"

The rooftop Sprig watches from has a gargoyle on it. Could this have been the perch Cloak-Bot used to attack Anne and the frogs from? Maybe Sprig should have done this sooner. Wait, it's not a gargoyle, it's a gargoyle-shaped lump of pigeons. Perfidious avians!

Sprig uses his tongue to spell out his hero name! Uh, okay. He can't hold it up for long though. He calls himself the "ribbiter of justice!"

Sprig's rival is: "Robert Otto! Neighborhood safety supervisor!" He also has a pose going on. Well at least he ain't a cop. He was pestering a couple of kids for running a lemonade stand though, who are not impressed. "More like neighborhood butt cheek!" And on Disney no less! Robert isn't too imposing on his inline skates though. Mr. X could rock skate shoes much better, and that's why he's in the F.B.I.!

There's a scene of danger! A school bus is out of control, its brakes inoperative! Both Robert Otto and Frog Man are away, while the lemonade kid rues, "This neighborhood's finally hit rock bottom."

Otto is hit full on by the bus! Wow, maybe he does has super powers!

Sprig--sorry, Frog Man--stretches his tongue across the intersection repeatedly, making a tongue web that stops the bus! That's actually pretty impressive, school buses have a lot of mass! Cloak-Bot was a lot smaller than a bus! He should remember he can do that!

On the bus was Molly Jo, Robert's granddaughter with awesome hair.

Following is a montage of heroism! Frog Man gets a cat out of a tree! (On the tree is saved "Ally Wuz Here.") News reports about the new frog superhero! (Superheroes exist in this world? Also, there's a Spanish version of the report, with the caption "El Misterioso Hombre Rana.") A news page: "Frogman On Watch," "Frogman Saves Bank," "Frogman Saves Entertainment" (he's on Conan!) "Frogman Saves Old People." Also, "Chicken Stock Plummets." The page is being read by Polly, still on the internet. "Trending: Frog Man!" Anne sees it, and shouts, "Sprriiiigggg!"

Robert Otto seems to own a junk yard, "Otto's Auto Junk." Is this the same yard as the one where they fought Cloak-Bot? It turns out: YES.

He's reading a page on "DuzzFeed," "it's news, maybe": "Frog Man: Greatest Neighborhood Hero Of All Time? Los Angeles is agog man, for Frog Man! And who could blame anyone for loving this little weirdo. He's pink as a pig, built like an eight-year-old, has a tongue that makes us SICK, and yet this emphibious dynamo has captured the hearts of every Angeleno with his slimy charms."

Photos of Sprig are captioned: "CHERI_01 Frog Man Can Cam!!! #FROGMAN #BIGGESTFAN", and "MAR1JO I Love Frogman #FROGMAN4LIFE" And on a website called "Dimgur," someone photoshopped the Distracted Boyfriend meme to include Frog Man and Robert Otto!

Robert Otto finds Cloak-Bot's torn-off arm! I thought it was a little suspicious how the show made clear that that arm got severed! Apparently he can control it by putting it on his own arm, which is interesting technology. And he can punch cars with it! Looks like Frog Man's got a villain.

People are offering Frog Man pyramid-shaped game systems, diamond rings, adorable kitty cats and novelty pizzas in tribute!

Sprig is pretty blase about the villain attacking him. "Huh. Looks like Robert Otto. He said he hated me and was going to get his revenge. What's he doing here?" (one attack later) "Yes! My very own supervillain!"

Sprig, running away, slips right between the cab of a rig and its trailer! He really does have skillz.

He and Otto race up a building, cross kicks with each other... and fall down, wincing in pain.

Molly Jo is walking out of a coffee shop. Narratively fortuitous, true believers! She's texting on her phone: "Frogman is my all time fav!! [heart emoji]"

Molly Jo isn't happy, and calls Sprig a jerk, because their battle destroyed the street. But--Sprig was running? I mean what was he supposed to do? Aw well, MST Mantra I know.

After Molly Jo dresses them down, Sprig and Otto clean up the street, rather implausibly, but at least Cloak-Bot's arm is used for good.

Again, some of the people used as extra in these scenes appeared, again as extras, in previous episodes.

M.J. (OH I GET IT NOW): "Hey! Can I see your face?" Sprig: "No. It would give you nightmares. And those nightmares would puke."

Olivia & Yunan, written by Jenava Mie, storyboarded by Drew Applegate and Eddie West, and directed by Jenn Strickland

• Well that was certainly fun! I'm sure the next ep will... oh.
• Directors Johnston and Strickland are the two superstars of seasons two and tree, in my admittedly-flimsy book.
• We start out with Olivia and... Marcy? Wearing a cast and a crutch and wearing a Saint James Middle School jacket. Ah, it's a flashback.
• Olivia: "I am a descendant of a long line of newts who made a sacred vow to care for this land."
• Marcy, rather impulsively, vows to care for the land as well. Olivia: "We'll be counting on you, Master Marcy."
• Well, current-day Amphibia doesn't look very well cared for. The Frog Bots are razing the countryside and leaving the animals homeless. I mean sure, some of them are terrible frog-eating monsters, but many are just trying to survive.
• Yunan seems a lot calmer now. It's been weeks since Anne and the Plantars vanished, with no word. I expect they're hoping that Anne's crazy glowing blue powers[TM] will help them.
• They peek in on Andrias, who's talking to... himself? "Please, my lord. Things are progressing as fast as they-- Yes, I-I know, but the device hasn't even been tested. Surely we should try it on someone else first? As you wish." Could it be Andrias is having second thoughts, that it's the crazy monster we saw him worshiping back in Season Two who's ultimately responsible for everything?
• Andrias enlists Olivia and Yunan to help him. Olivia will oversee resource extraction, and Yunan to get frogs to work in factories. "And if anyone resists--give them a stern talking to. Just kidding! TERMINATE THEM." Well so much for humanizing the big evil newt king.
• Olivia and Yunan decide to secretly work against Andrias. Olivia remembers Marcy beat Andrias in flipwart some time back. Yunan says she's pretty smart, right before almost accidentally braining herself with her extendo-claws.
• The ways through the castle are now guarded by frog-bots. Yunan carries Olivia over them, using her metal claws to swing from the ceiling. Hm, Sprig could probably have done that too, come to think of it.
• They sneak into Marcy's old room and go into the passage Anne, Marcy, Sprig and Polly went into back in The Sleepover to End All Sleepovers [S2E10A], into the mysterious basements of the castle. Yunan grabs Marcy's crossbow. "Yoink!"
• Chained in the basement is what seems to be a Moss Man, last seen in the sleepover episode, and before that seen in Wally and Anne [S1E15B] in Season One! They're followed by the floating ethereal amoebas that chased the kids earlier. Yunan: "What is this place?" Olivia: "I think it's where our ancestors kept all their otherworldly prisoners."
• They find a big rolly stone, push it aside and there's Marcy, in her rejuvenation tank. We heard Andrias tell them to put her in it, but other than in the Season Three opening this is the first time we've seen her in it. The room has a steampunk decor, and as they walk by mechanical eyes open and follow them. Well that can't be good.
• March: "Sashy? Anne?"
• Olivia, Yunan and Marcy are thrown into an illusory realm, resembling the ravaged landscape outside of Newtopia, where Olivia is accosted by a vision of her mother, who is angry that she [Olivia] let the land be damaged. She [the vision] then turns into a big pollution monster.
• Marcy (coming to her senses) realizes it's just VR. (Yunan: "Vrrrr?") It's designed to show one's greatest fear, which for Yunan seems to be grubhogs. "I had a bad experience, okay? When I was a little girl one of those monsters nearly took my arm off!"
• Marcy's greatest fear is, the reaction of Anne and Sasha to her betrayal. The scene is in a hall of lockers: on the wall is a sign reading "PROM? Yes or Yes (with hearts)?"
• Marcy realizes that the eyes are creating the illusions, so, they go about breaking them. Yunan is very good at that.
• Andrias stops them from escaping. When asked how he knew they were there, he said "'We've' been watching you the whole time" and an eye appears in his crown. Well that's not good!
• The monster from back Season Two that Andrias was serving finally comes down, with lots of eyes and multiple mechanical claws. Marcy: "What the heck is that?"
• The claws clamp Marcy to a fiendish-looking chair, and Andrias (rather helpfully) explains--studying the Mossmen improved our medical technology, but studying the Shadowfish (I assume the amoebas in the basement) allowed them to "conquer death, and thus, the core was born!" He says it's a collection of Amphibia's finest minds through the ages, preserved, which is not exactly a Lovecraftian monstrosity as seemed evident before, but, still much like one really.
• Andrias: "My lord craves a host! The best, the brightest! The only one who could beat me at flipwart! Honestly Marcy, I like you. Always have. I begged the core to consider an alternative host, but alas."
• So, Marcy gets filled up with 0s and 1s, and the core falls silent, then Marcy, wearing a helmet the machine put on her with lots of glowing eyes, says "Well, hello there." The closing credits (which don't have the joyful Season Two closing credits animation for this episode) lists Haley Tju as voicing "Marcy/Darcy." Looks like we have further direction for the rest of Season Three, which may end up coming down to Calamity Anne vs Darcy.

posted by JHarris (2 comments total)

Just two extras now :)
Production Supervisor is Ally Tai
Apparently the frog letters on Marcy's tank say "Host"
posted by Marticus at 6:54 PM on November 14, 2021 [2 favorites]

I love it when shows turn the tables on expectations, and hate it when they go with predictable mind control plots to turn good characters bad, so what I hope is that Marcy is still there, comes to an internal agreement with "the core," and together fight against a confused Andrias. Or something like that. The chances seem slim, but it'd be a lot of fun at least.
posted by JHarris at 10:01 PM on November 15, 2021