Amphibia Spoiler Review: Mother of Olms/Grime's Pupil
This week’s episode of Amphibia was a big one! We got some answers to the prophecy of the Calamity Box as well as brand new allies in the fight against King Andrias in “Mother of Olms” and “Grime’s Pupil.”
One of my favorite things about Amphibia is how it upends expectations. This show never loses its footing in the midst of its bigger episodes. It knows what kind of series it is and understands that identity well. Even in the darkest moments, it balances it with humor and wit. An episode played for humor can have a heavily weighted final two minutes that set up the endgame. “Mother of Olms” is a great example of all of this as it’s a fun adventure romp for the majority of the entry.
Don’t get me wrong. “Mother of Olms” is very much a BIG episode. This is the week where we meet the all-knowing Mother Olm who has all the answers. That has to be exciting! SO MUCH HYPE, right?
In a very Amphibia twist, they made Mother Olm a sweet old lady who is charming and kind. She’s starting to lose her memories, setting up for a low-key Hop Pop focused episode. The journey to help her remember reminds me so much of The Magic School Bus episode as they journey into the brain of this very old and powerful creature. It was completely unexpected.
This kind of twist is exactly what I love about Amphibia. This series never gets too big for itself. It knows when to hold back those giant, important moments. For example, “True Colors” has to be a huge episode from start to finish. It’s the finale of the middle chapter that reveals the big bad and sets up Act III of the show. But “Mother of Olms” doesn’t have to be the biggest episode. While I adored it, I’m sure it disappointed some people, because it would be easy to overhype this episode.
But Matt Braly and his team are so good at what they do. “Mother of Oms” only needed the last two minutes to set up the prophecy stuff, and the rest of the time, it can function as a fun Amphibia episode that we all love. The team knows exactly how much to put into each entry without getting in over their heads.
Maybe I’m also biased towards this episode because I watched it after getting back from a 3-Day convention, sleeping in a hotel room, and being sore as hell. I really FELT Hop Pop and Mother Olms’ old people pains. Y’all, I am not as young as I used to be! I was definitely shouting “YEAH! Preach! Being old is hard!” at these two as I drank my own hot tea and propped up my feet.
Of course, the biggest part of “Mother of Olms” is the prophecy in the final two minutes and what it reveals. Thanks to a confirmation from Matt that a fan guessed the prophecy’s meaning, we know that Anne, Sasha, and Marcy are fighting for the very soul of Amphibia. The fan, Zachary Bartolo, stated the frog monster in the mural is “a symbolic representation of Amphibia’s greed and corruption” which is interesting to think about.
As a world, Amphibia represents change and characters being the best versions of themselves. Even background characters like Toadie in last week’s episode are going through these personal changes. It’s when the villains are tarnishing that idea by controlling the very environment for their own gain that Amphibia fails to help people. Selfish intentions and greed are never a good thing.
It also a fascinating setup for the endgame of the series. King Andrias is a person. A person can be killed. But greed and corruption are ideas, and ideas are the hardest thing to kill. It’s not a physical thing to be destroyed. Even if they beat Andrias, what is stopping the next king from trying the same dangerous gambit that endangers all the world?
This means the ending of Amphibia will more than likely have to have some kind of redemption. I could see them trying to redeem Andrias, as there were hints of his regrets in “Olivia & Yunan.” It’s also a very common method of storytelling in all-ages media, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they go this route. If Amphibia acts as a way for people to become the best version of themselves, wouldn’t that also include the villains? What if victory is not a defeat of a bad buy but instead, a willingness for Andrias to change and be better?
That would be a very beautiful ending to the series.
Finally, Mother Olm says that the girls’ powers rightfully belong to them. We know that Anne’s powers allowed her to control the portal back to Amphibia. Perhaps at the end of the season, the girls will be able to hold onto their powers. This could be a little loophole for them to travel between Earth and Amphibia to be able to go see their frog family when they want when the show ends.
Also, the music of this episode was really freaking good! T.J. Hill really went all out in this one.
Moving onto “Grime’s Pupil,” this episode made me happy from start to finish. My goodness, I love Grime. He is my favorite character in the series, and I’ve missed him for most of this season. I have really enjoyed his journey of falling into a parental role for Sasha (something I’ve talked about that she’s probably needed in her life). Still, he’s never let go of who he is as a leader and a person despite having a new human ward and forming an alliance with Wartwood. I adore Grime so, so much!
A big part of this episode is Grime not only facing mistakes of his past but also breaking down his own biases towards frogs.
Good for Sprig to hold Grime accountable for his actions way back in season one. It’s been one of those unaddressed plot points that I’ve wanted to see come up. They sort of danced around the topic during “The Dinner,” but everyone was trying to play nice for various schemes and plans. Grime absolutely should be called out. He tried to murder Hop Pop and subjugated the frogs for a long time. For him to be in a high position in the Wartwood Rebellion, Grime does need to address these things. He has to be able to keep the trust of the frogs he’s working with. While he didn’t apologize, Sprig’s animosity still got through to Grime to instigate a change in him. Like Sasha in “Turning Point,” this is Grime’s beginning. It’s a start of a new path, not a complete change.
This brings us to Grime shifting his biases. It’s so important to set up the end of the series. Frogs, toads, newts, and olms have been separated into different classes for so long. Part of the reason Grime wanted to invade Newtopia in season two was to return power to the toads. But if the people of this world are to truly come together to beat the Big Bad, then biases must be dropped.
Especially if they’re fighting for the very heart of Amphibia. What happens when Anne, Sasha, and Marcy leave and the frogs, toads, newts, and olms are left on their own again? Will they fall back to their pre-show ways and separate? That would probably lead to the next Andrias rising up. What needs to happen is these different groups must learn to adapt and compromise as one community for a better future. “Grime’s Pupil” also showed why Grime is such a great candidate to help shape the future Amphibia. He’s a very adaptable person, able to help Sprig discover a better version of himself to fight Beatrix. Perhaps this was a look at when Grime will be one of the leaders of the world of Amphibia after the finale.
Finally, I want to talk about Sasha in these two episodes. Baby girl is so stressed, but it’s definitely different from Anne. All season, Anne has struggled with the weight of being a hero. In “Mother of Olms” and “Grime’s Pupil,” I think we’re seeing some of Sasha’s trials with heroism coming out.
A lot of it was played for comedy, but the stresses of leading the Wartwood Resistance are definitely weighing on Sasha. Anne worries about the big picture. She’s the only one with Calamity Powers at this point. Meaning, she’s the only one who could have a chance of taking on Andrias at the moment. Sasha’s struggles are different. She has to worry about the day-to-day plans. I noticed in the last few episodes that Anne took a bit of a back seat to let Sasha do her thing. She’s the support while Sasha is the brains. While it’s funny seeing her snap at Hop Pop in a cheerleading outfit, Sasha is clearly stressed and breaking at points.
It makes me wonder how she was doing prior to Anne’s arrival. Grime was more than likely her confidant. It’s different though with Anne. Grime is a parental figure. Anne is Sasha’s peer who is going through the same thing. It’s not going to come down to Grime to save the world. It’s going to be Anne, Sasha, and Marcy. So, the fears of being a hero are definitely catching up with Sasha.
“Mother of Olms” and “Grime’s Pupil” were a ton of fun and definitely set up a lot of possible important threads for the end of the show. Though peeking ahead at episode titles, I am STOKED for the next episode! Bring it on!
