Recapping the Story of Amphibia, Pt. 2

Hello, my fellow frog fans! My name is RJ Writing Ink, and welcome back to the second half of my recap to Amphibia, a Disney cartoon that everyone should be watching. With the premiere of season three Saturday morning on Disney, I’m more excited than ever about this show. Though given how I’ve been blogging about it since the start, that’s to be expected. 

Yesterday, I recapped the first season of the show. Now, it’s time to head into season two, as Amphibia expands its world to new heights. New friends await, old faces from the past return, and emotions are stirred as a threat that Anne couldn’t imagine makes itself known.

Journey to Newtopia

Sometime after the events at Toad Tower, things have returned to normal in Wartwood. With the route out of Frog Valley now fully cleared, Anne and the Plantars are free to go on their quest to find a way to get Anne home. Packing their bags, the family departs Wartwood for the capital of Amphibia, Newtopia, in search of answers.

From the getgo, the path to Newtopia proves to be an eventful one. The group has to travel across treacherous jungles, winding mountain paths, and scorching deserts! Of course, trouble continues to find them as they travel. They fight vicious predators, thieving thespians, and all sorts of dangers as they go. However, they also discover some important information about Amphibia, and the connection it has to Earth.

Right after leaving the Valley, the group comes across ancient ruins that Anne and Sprig decide to explore. Much to their surprise, the “ruins” turn out to be an old factory, with technology on par with that found on Earth. Managing to escape the mysterious factory, though, the group pays no mind to it. Even though a robot Frog is now following them!

Secondly, as they get closer to Newtopia, Anne stumbles upon the menacing owner of this tourist trap of oddities that is clearly meant to be this world’s version of Stan Pines. Anne escapes being made part of his exhibits, but not before she learns that he got items from Earth in Newtopia, confirming a link between the two worlds.

Marcy at the Gates

After around a month of travel, the gang makes it to Newtopia! Only, the city’s gates remain shut due to being attacked by an army of giant ants. Right as the Plantars get caught in a wave of insects, a new figure drives them off. However, Anne quickly recognizes this figure as none other than her other childhood friend, Marcy Wu. 

Just as Anne and Sasha went to the Frogs and Toads, Marcy got sent to the Newts of Newtopia. Putting her analytical skills to good use, Marcy quickly won over the Newts with improvements to their city, leading her to become the leader of the Newtopian Rangers. After Marcy teams up with the Plantars and Anne, they manage to drive the ants off, freeing the city from the siege and leaving the group free to meet the ruler of Newtopia, King Andrias.

Adventures in Newtopia and Revelations

The good news is that King Andrias agrees to help everyone in their quest to find a way back to Earth. The bad news is that it will take a while to learn everything they need to know. Thus, in the meantime, Anne and the Plantars kill some time in Newtopia.

Most importantly, though, Anne and Sprig have a heartfelt moment where Sprig confirms that his parents are both dead, bringing the two closer together. Meanwhile, Anne and Marcy start to come to terms with Sasha’s less-than-positive impact on them.

At last, though, Andrias reveals what he learned about the Music Box. Centuries ago, his family used its power to travel between worlds, and the gems that power it can only be recharged at three temples. Marcy feels it best for Anne to stay with her while the Plantar’s return to Wartwood to retrieve the box, but the idea leaves the family heartbroken. Reluctantly, Marcy lets Anne return to Wartwood with her foster family, while Andrias gives Marcy an interesting offer…

Return to Wartwood and After the Rain

After another long trip, Anne and the Plantars return to Wartwood, at long last. However, things do not remain peaceful for very long.

Not long after they make it home, Hop Pop goes to retrieve the Music Box from its hiding place, only to find it missing. Worse, Anne catches him trying to find it and realizes that he’s been lying to her this whole time. Angered and hurt by this deception, Anne runs away and almost cuts all ties with the Plantars. It’s only after they work to recover the Box that Hop Pop reveals his rationale: when he was out of town one day, giant herons attacked Wartwood. While Sprig and Polly survived, their parents didn’t, and Hop Pop’s blamed himself ever since. Thus, when he read about the Music Box and saw that it was dangerous, he panicked. While Anne ultimately forgives him, it takes a while to mend their relationship fully.

Temple Quests

Shortly after recovering the Box, Marcy arrives to begin the quests to the temples. Each temple corresponds to a different gem on the Box and a corresponding meaning: mind, heart, and body. In addition, each temple contains traps meant to test a person’s worthiness. The first temple puts Marcy’s mind through its paces as she solves puzzle after puzzle, only to come up with an unbeatable one. Marcy forfeits, but this was the true test: to know when to admit defeat. Because of this, she manages to recharge the green gem. Unknown to everyone, though, when the girls were sent to Amphibia, they gained powers from each gem, and are now losing them. 

Welcome to the Family, Mr. Frobo!

In between temples, the Plantars discover the robot that’s been following them all this time. They adopt it into their family, with Polly naming him Frobo.

More Temples

Anne encounters the Newt from the bazaar at the second temple, who serves as the temple guardian. Throughout the temple, Anne’s heart is continually put to the test, during which she shows just how much she’s grown as a person since arriving in Amphibia. However, she only charges her gem up halfway before leaving to help the Plantars.

Finally, at the last temple, the group finds it impossible to beat on their own. At that moment, Sasha and Grime swoop in out of nowhere and save them. After the events at Toad Tower, Grime lost his army and branded a fugitive, leading to him and Sasha going into hiding. Thus, they claim to want to make amends with everyone. Despite Anne’s reservations, they allow her to help them clear the temple, with Sasha demonstrating the strength and resolve needed to do so. Following this, everyone plans to return to Newtopia to send the girls home. However, Sasha and Grime have other plans.

Coup d’état Attempt

Despite claiming to have reformed, Sasha and Grime have done no such thing. After falling into a slump over their loss at Toad Tower, the two manage to light a fire inside of each other. Rather than try to get his old job back, though, Grime decides to unite all the Toad Lords and overthrow Andrias altogether. As for Sasha, rather than learn her lesson, she doubles down on her toxic behavior, only feigning reform to get back into Anne and Marcy’s good graces.

Thus, Anne is understandably furious when everyone returns to Newtopia with the Music Box, and Sasha and Grime launch their coup. Working together, Anne, Marcy, the Plantars, and their allies in the city manage to free Andrias, defeat Sasha and Grime, and shut the city gates before their armies can arrive. It looks as though things are starting to look up for everyone. 

That’s when things get dark—some of the darkest that Disney’s ever done.

True Colors

With the now repowered Music Box at his fingertips, Andrias decides to reveal his true colors. Firstly, the Box isn’t just a means to travel between worlds. Centuries ago, it served as the power source to a technologically advanced empire, complete with floating castles and powerful, robotic soldiers. What’s more, Andrias was poised to use the Box to invade other worlds. Now that he has it once more, he plans to use it to conquer all of existence.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Andrias then reveals that Marcy was keeping secrets from her friends. The day they got sent to Amphibia, Marcy learned her family would be moving out of state, separating her from her only two friends. Having read about the Box’s powers, Marcy got her friends to steal it in the hopes that it could send them to another world where they would never have to be separated. Marcy selfishly ripped her friends from their homes and family in a misguided attempt to save their friendship. By doing so, though, she may have damaged their bond beyond repair. 

Despite being disgusted at Marcy for knowingly ripping them away from their homes, everyone works together to stop Andrias’ plans of conquest. However, even working together (and Polly getting her legs), their efforts end with Frobo getting destroyed and Sprig at Andrias’ mercy. 

What happens next…well, you should see for yourself.

The Adventure Has Only Just Begun

And thus, season two of Amphibia comes to an end, but in the worst way possible. Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop are now stuck on Earth, and without the Box, there’s no way for them to get home. Sasha remains trapped in Amphibia, where Andrias will undoubtedly begin to solidify his power with his massive army. Andrias is now in a position to conquer the universe, with Earth his first target since Anne threatens his plans. And given how his robot’s technology exceeds anything found on Earth, there’s little to stop him from conquering Earth. And, to top it off, Marcy was horribly wounded and possibly dead. 

In addition, Andrias may end up being the least of everyone’s problems. Unknown to everyone, Andrias isn’t the one pulling the strings. In truth, he’s serving something far more powerful. Dubbed “The Night,” this is an ancient, undoubtedly powerful eldritch entity hidden within the bowels of Andrias’ Castle. While the Night’s origin and motives remain unknown, eagle-eyed fans have managed to piece together a few clues. 

The Prophecy

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in “A Day at the Aquarium,” there’s a story told in Amphibian writing in the book Andrias shows everyone. It reads as following:

“Three stars burning bright, come from beyond to expel the Night. Whether they fight or embrace the fall, their choice shall determine all.” 

Many fans, myself included, have theorized that Anne, Sasha, and Marcy’s coming to Amphibia wasn’t just a fluke. In actuality, they are the ones mentioned in the prophecy, and that they were to use the power of the gems to defeat this ancient evil and save not just Amphibia but all of reality. However, the three are separated and divided due to their own emotional issues and Andrias’ manipulation.

In other words, Anne might be home, but her adventure isn’t over yet. She has to find a way to get back to Amphibia, save Marcy, and stop Andrias’ insane plans. 

SWEET MERCY, THIS IS AMAZING!!!!

Amphibia Has the Makings of a Modern Classic

Maybe I’m overhyping this show too much, or I enjoy it because I’m a sucker for these kinds of massive, overarching stories. However, I genuinely think that Amphibia could potentially go down as a modern cartoon classic. At this point, I could write an entirely different essay on just why Amphibia is such an amazing show.

Were it not that it was hindered by Disney itself, I think that Amphibia would likely be even more popular by now. But now that I’ve finished gushing about it, I want to know your thoughts about it. Do you think this show’s amazing, or am I guilty of overhyping it? Let me know in the comments below. See you guys on Saturday once I post my review.

Click here to see Disney’s Playlist for this amazing show!

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