Sasha Finally, Finally Starts Her Redemption Arc On New Amphibia

Amphibia S3, Episode 2A/2B Review

New season of Amphibia, same old antics that we know and love. At least, that’s how things are for Anne and the Plantar’s for now. As Anne finds herself in the role as caretaker, she and her adoptive family experience the hurdles of living on Earth. On the other hand, Sasha gets thrown into the deep end as she finally starts her redemption arc. It’s about time, too; Sasha’s one of my favorite characters on the show.

Hop ‘Til You Drop

Now that the Plantar’s are living with Anne, the initial formula of the show’s been reversed. Anne’s the savvy native, and the Plantar’s are the wide-eyed, naive outsiders. Polly picks fights with everyone, Hop Pop’s a sucker for scams, and Sprig keeps touching everything. Needless to say, Anne finds her patience severely strained. Thus, she decides to go “sink-or-swim”, and takes them to the local mall. Their goal: overcome their vices, or they’re stuck in the house forever.

It goes as bad as you’d think. Polly tries to quell her rage at a Build-A-Bear clone, but picks a fight with babies. And their moms.

Sprig can’t help himself; he has to touch everything, but he wrecks an art gallery.

Hop Pop technically doesn’t fall for a scam. However, he does dive into a chlorinated fountain for money and gets chased by a mall cop.

The whole incident’s pretty hilarious; the kind of thing you’d expect from Big City Greens. However, once the crisis ends, it brings up a key point in the show’s narrative. Not everyone can quickly adapt to a new and unfamiliar environment, and Anne shouldn’t expect the Plantar’s to. After all, in the first few episodes of the show, Anne kept getting into trouble in Wartwood!

Ultimately, both parties admit that this new life takes adjusting on everyone’s parts. The group hugs it out, and they have to get Hop Pop showered. He’s covered in chlorine!

Now, on to the redemption of Sasha!

Turning Point

Picking up from Sasha and Grime’s perspective of “True Colors”, the two have hit rock bottom. Their army’s captured or in hiding. Anne and the Plantar’s got sent to Earth. And Marcy’s barely alive. Thus, the two flee to Wartwood to plan their next move. Grime tells them that Andrias is a jerk, but omits what happened to the others; and their unintentionally justified coup.

As for Sasha, she’s hit the lowest point in her life. Until now, she’s been suppressing the guilt she feels regarding her treatment of Anne. It’s gotten to the point where she can barely function. In addition, the fact that the townsfolk trust her since she’s Anne’s friend only makes things worse. However, when she finds Anne’s journal in her room at the Plantar’s Farm, she finally breaks down in tears. It’s an honestly painful sight to see.

Sasha’s Redemption Arc

All the way back in season one, I speculated that Sasha, despite her flaws, can be a good person. Later, I compared her to Catra regarding her character arc. She genuinely care about her friends, but her negative traits have given her a toxic view on friendship. Thus, like Catra, it takes everything blowing up in her face to make her realize how bad she messed up.

But once you hit rock bottom, the only place to go is up. And up is where Sasha goes. Having realized how she’s nearly lost everything, she vows to be a better person, and admits the truth to Wartwood (minus the coup, but that hardly matters anymore.) Sasha then puts her money where her mouth is by defending Wartwood from an army of Frobot’s alongside Grime.

To say this moment was satisfying is an understatement. It was incredibly satisfying, and a culmination of Sasha’s character arc. She’s finally working on getting rid of her control issues, and not a moment too soon. With the help of the townsfolk, Sasha and Grime smash Andrias’ robots, saving everyone for the time being. Thus, the two decide to stay and lead a resistance against Andrias.

So Worth the Wait

Sasha may have started off as an antagonist, but she’s become one of the more nuanced antagonists in a Disney show in recent years. I found myself invested in her character arc, and have wanted to see her change for the better. Now, we’re getting that opportunity! I only hope that the final season splits it’s time between Earth and Amphibia, giving the fans what they want from both sides.

Meanwhile, I’m still enjoying the episodic misadventures of the Boonchuy-Plantar family. It may seem pointless, but when filler’s done right, it can yield good character development and take the edge off. Even serialized shows Avatar did that, and everyone loves it! So, yeah, I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.

I Give “Hop ‘Til You Drop” a 3.5/5 and “Turning Point” a 4.5/5

Stray Observations

• We got another reference to Matt Braly’s love of video games in this cameo of Cactuar from the Final Fantasy franchise. And a reference to Gravity Falls in this Bill Cipher artwork
• If Anne runs into anyone she knows, she can just tell them that she was at her family’s farm in Alaska.
• Matt and his team took a jab at Disney in this episode. And given how they screwed up with “True Colors”, they deserve it.

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• Blonde may not be Sasha’s natural hair color.
• Never mess with Mall Cops!
• JOE SPARROW!!!

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