Marcy Wu is Here and I Love Her Already!

Amphibia Season 2, Episode 6 Review

We’ve known since the start that when Anne got zapped to Amphibia, her friends Sasha and Marcy went along with her. We learned almost at the start that Sasha was with the Toads, but Marcy? Her whereabouts remained unknown, and led to a lot of fan theories and ideas. Then the Season Two trailer rolled along, confirming that the two would meet. Now, at last, that moment is here: Anne and the Plantars are in Newtopia!

Next to last week’s pseudo-crossover with Gravity Falls, this was the episode fans looked forward to the most. Does it live up to the hype, though, and is Marcy as good a character as we hoped? The short answer is: yes and yes.

Marcy Wu Is On The Job

Going into this, we knew almost nothing about what kind of person Marcy Wu was. Thus, this episode had to establish her personality in a short span of time, which isn’t exactly ideal. Plus, given how Sasha turned out, there were some fears that Marcy may end up being the same. Fortunately, those fears seemed to have been put to rest. Not only does the episode establish Marcy’s personality, but got me to like her with very little effort.

To sum up Marcy as a character, she’s an adorkable, ditzy genius. She’s super smart, so she could focus less on her school work and more on her own interests. Most of which involve video games and tabletop RPGs. Unfortunately, she’s also excitable, easily distracted and tends to get sucked into her own world. Which means Anne had to spend a lot of time back home keeping her safe.

That was the Marcy that Anne knew back home, though, so how does it compare to the Marcy we’re introduced to? Simply put, Marcy’s not only survived, but thrived. She got warped straight into Newtopia when she arrived, and, using her brains and knowledge of RPGs, became Newtopia’s chief knight ranger and a badass fighter.

At the same time, though Marcy retains many of the quirks she had on Earth. As soon as sees Anne and the Plantars, she starts gushing over them and talking a mile a minute. Some may see it as annoying, but I found it endearing. Going from being a kickass, isekai-esque heroine one moment to a lovable dork freaking out because her cape’s on fire is genuinely funny. And the way she does it seems so natural, too. So, yeah, I like Marcy Wu.

Old Friends Playing Catch Up

The main plot of the episode is straight-forward enough. Newtopia’s shut its gates due to the giant ants advancing on the city, so Anne, Marcy, and the Plantar’s have to work together to get rid of them. The real meat of the episode, though, comes through the interactions between Anne and Marcy.

While we still don’t know how much of a negative influence Marcy was on Anne, at the moment, it doesn’t like she is at all. Anne and Marcy’s reunion lacks any of the toxic friendship implications we got with Sasha. So, it feels more like a genuine friendship. However, Anne still sees Marcy as someone that she needs to look out for, leading to some noticeable tension as Anne tries to keep Marcy safe. At the climax of the episode, Anne finally admits that she doesn’t want to lose Marcy after just getting her back.

The evidence is clear: Anne’s pretty traumatized from the events at Toad Tower and losing Sasha as a friend, so she doesn’t want to lose Marcy. Marcy gets it, but proves to Anne that she doesn’t need to be babysat anymore by taking down the giant Ant Queen and saving Sprig.

Speaking of Sprig, he spends the entire episode suspicious of Marcy and her intentions. After seeing how mean Sasha was, he’s not taking any chances. I don’t blame him, either. Marcy did help talk Anne into stealing the Calamity Box; or at the very least, didn’t try to stop Sasha from making Anne do it. All things considered, though, I think that Marcy can be trusted by Anne and the Plantars. For now, at least.

A New Game?

So, Anne and the Plantar’s have made it to Newtopia and found Marcy Wu in the process. Yet Anne and Marcy remain no closer to getting home, nor do they have any clue where Sasha is. Still, that doesn’t stop them from vowing to find Sasha and get back to Earth. As Anne regales about all her adventures in Wartwood, though, the two girls are being watched by someone: King Andrias of Newtopia, voiced by Keith David.

Little is known about the King of Amphibia. It’s possible that he might be an ally for our heroes, but the ending to this episode gave me some bad vibes. As he walks away from where he was viewing the two, we see him look at a board with several figures carved onto it, including Anne and Marcy.

Seeing this got the gears in my head turning, and made me realize something. If Anne, Sasha, and Marcy all got transported to Amphibia, why did they get separated? Furthermore, isn’t it odd that each of them ended up with one of the three sentient species in Amphibia? Anne found the Frogs, Sasha the Toads, and Marcy the Newts. What if there’s a reason behind that? What if they were brought over to act as representatives for each of the three people’s of Amphibia? And what if King Andrias has something to do with it? Or at least knows something about it?

Whatever the case, it’s clear that there are more mysteries to be solved in Amphibia, and that whatever brought Anne and her friends there had a reason for doing so. For now, though, I wanna see more of Marcy. She’s a great character, and this was a great first episode for her.

I Give “Marcy at the Gates” a 5/5. Perfect blend of plot, character intros and arcs, and humor.

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