Amphibia Spoiler Review: All In

How do I even begin to tackle the amazing penultimate episode of Amphibia, “All In.” It was a high octane roller coaster of emotions from start to finish, bringing together everyone’s character journeys up to this point. The animation was gorgeous. TJ Hill’s soundtrack was stellar. Every single one of the voice actors gave it their all. It truly was a spectacle to watch and some of the best entertainment I have seen in a very long time. Matt Braly and his team should be very proud.

You always know an episode of Amphibia is going to be emotional when they open with a flashback. “All In” showed us Anne only a day before her birthday getting an assignment from her principal. This scene sets up the big question of her journey:

Who is Anne Boonchuy?

In the first few episodes, Anne is a bit unlikable. She takes pages from Sasha’s book, manipulating the Plantars into getting her way. But what makes the first season so good is we see Anne on her own. She doesn’t have Sasha and Marcy to push her into pranks she doesn’t want to do. She doesn’t have her parents to guide her. It’s during this important season that Anne starts to see herself in a different light with help from the Plantars. Realizing she’s capable of more than she knew, Anne starts coming into her own as a hero. It’s an exploration that continues through seasons two and three as Anne undergoes the trials of being a hero. She finds her voice to stand up to Sasha and becomes a catalyst for change. Not just for herself, but she also pushes Sasha and Marcy onto their paths to find their own way as well.

It all comes full circle in “All In.” Before the series, her worth was wrapped up in other people. Sasha or Marcy would tell her what to do, and Anne followed because it was the easy path. Through her adventures with the Plantars, who always put their faith in her, Anne learned to stand on her own. While she loved her friends, they couldn’t define her anymore. All three seasons of Amphibia have been a long journey of Anne discovering her own self-love. It’s her valuing her worth in herself.

The best way to show that someone has grown is when they pass their knowledge to someone else to help them. During the climax of the episode, Anne has every reason to hate Andrias. He’s invaded her world, tried to kill her and her friends, and destroyed Amphibia. But instead, she says one simple phrase:

“I pity you.”

While Andrias shares a lot of narrative foils with Marcy, he’s also a lot like Anne in a way. “The Core & The King” gave us a look at his life the day everything fell apart. Like Anne at the start of the series, Andrias really didn’t have his own voice, always following his father’s will. When Leif saw her vision of the destruction of their world, Andrias had a chance to do the right thing. Instead, he chose the easy path. It left him isolated and alone. He was manipulated by the Core to participate in a plan he doesn’t want anymore. Anne, in a sense, could have become a similar character to Andrias. Both didn’t like who they were becoming. Andrias believes it’s too late for him, which to me is setting up for a tragic Star Wars-style ‘redemption followed by death’ next week. Anne broke the cycle for herself. She has walked the harder path. She’s seen her flaws. She knows her strengths and weaknesses. And in a moment of great empathy, she got through the Andrias (with some well-timed help from Leif and Sprig). That was the key to saving the world. She helped save Andrias’ soul.

Anne Boonchuy is a hero. She is someone who is proud of her family and her culture along with her frog family. She is a friend. She’s a fighter. She makes mistakes and learns from them. She has empathy for so many people, even at times her enemies. She’s funny and personable.

She is Anne Boonchuy, and she loves herself for it.

A big theme this week is accepting that change will happen whether we want it to or not. Change is what makes life interesting and beautiful. It tests us to make us grow. This is exactly where Sprig is. He hasn’t faced the idea that he will have to live without Anne. I love this side of Sprig coming out. It’s always a good reminder that he is still a kid. He has this idealistic vision that he will continue his adventures with Anne forever. He’s very sweet in that way.

Reality is about to crash into Sprig though. Now, a miracle could happen like Anne retaining her powers and having the ability to visit the Plantars whenever she wants. That is always a possibility. But I really doubt the writers would go this route. It would completely negate the lessons of “All In.” Change is the word of the week, and every single person is about to face a major change in their life. It’s going to more than likely be Sprig’s turn next week.

But I think the flashback with Leif is the template of Sprig’s future to tell us that he will be okay. Anne will always be a big part of his life. He’ll never forget the memories and adventures they shared. The pair changed each other for the better. Like Leif, that love doesn’t die even when they’re physically apart. It will be hard for Sprig. At least he’s not alone as he still has his family and community. There could be a long-lasting future with Ivy. If he follows Leif’s path, I have faith that Sprig will be okay.

Spranne against the world.

Speaking of her, our dear Leif hasn’t been here long but she has become one of the most important characters of the series. While she did big things like getting the Calamity Box to Earth, she did one more thing that set up the entire series :

She helped establish Wartwood, our home base for the show. It’s the heart of the series. It is a place for love and change. It can be hard there. People are slow to accept newcomers. But it’s home and represents everything that makes Amphibia great. All thanks to our dear Leif Plantar.  

I loved watching the Plantars face the herons, especially Hop Pop. “After the Rain” is one of his defining episodes as it revealed what happened to Sprig and Polly’s parents. It also shaped him as a character and kicked off his growth over the show. Early on, Hop Pop was over-protective of his kids. He was reluctant to go after that call to adventure. His trauma controlled every action. It was a slow burn development when he backslid in season two as our heroes ventured out of the valley. Because of fear, he held onto his kids so tight because of these herons.

And while Polly and Sprig might not remember much, though Sprig’s line about the heron’s screams is some serious PTSD, they still have every right to be afraid. These monsters killed their mom and dad.

Our Plantars are brave though. Bravery is not defined as not being afraid. It means acting regardless of fear. Seeing the Boonchuys in danger, the Plantars jumped into action to save them. Our frog family would not stand for Anne suffering the same way they did. They defeated the herons in their own Plantar way with their family hunting dance (again, thank you Leif). I loved seeing Polly do the dance for the first time too! It was such a powerful moment of overcoming trauma. They even made the birds their allies in the fight. It was beautiful to watch.

Sasha freaking Waybright, y’all. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. She is the best-written character in this series.

I’ve talked again and again and again about her journey up to this point. Sasha has walked, tripped, and stumbled to her knees at every moment of her redemption arc. She’s faced criticism for her actions, reflected on who she once was, and made the active choice to be better. Like Anne, she didn’t love herself. Her manipulation got her power and status, but it didn’t make her happy. Think of when she’s sitting alone on the throne of Newtopia in “True Colors.” All of her hard work means nothing if she has no one to share it with. Sasha didn’t love herself then…

…But she sure as hell loves herself now. “All In” punched home all the hard work this cast and crew put into her character.

Her friendship with Grime is especially key. Her parental figure and mentor put so much faith in Sasha. They made each other better people. And when he gets struck down by Darcy, throwing himself in front of Sasha to save her life and losing his arm in the process, it wakes up the powerful warrior that is Sasha Waybright.

Side note: I was screaming! I WAS SCREAMING! SCREAMING when Grime lost his arm! Grime is my favorite character and I thought FOR SURE he died! That wasn’t nice! That wasn’t nice at all! I was in TEARS! Hurt me more, Amphibia, because it was such a great moment of high-stakes action THAT WRECKED ME.

And then Darcy gravely wounds Sasha, slicing her back open with a scythe. Crumpled on the ground, it seemed like the end for her.

But there’s a reason that Sasha’s power in the temples was strength.

Darcy made one fatal flaw. She taunts Sasha about who she used to be. Darcy points out that Sasha was a manipulator, teased people, and controlled them for selfish gains. It snaps something inside of Sasha.

And she rises.

Sasha rises on her strength alone. Because this girl worked too damn hard to be beaten down again. She’s come too far to take that abuse. She didn’t face criticism at the hands of friends and strangers over and over just to have it thrown back into her face! Sasha lost Percy and Braddock because of her actions. She sure as hell won’t lose to the likes of Darcy!

In a single moment, Sasha Waybright becomes the most powerful person in the multiverse. She screams, “I am not that person anymore!” and she delivers the fatal blow to Darcy.

And reader, I was in tears. I’m getting emotional now just writing about it. It is the best moment of the episode for me. It might be my personal favorite moment of the entire series.

I am incredibly proud of Sasha. She has had one of the most satisfying journeys on this show. This is how you write a redemption arc. It’s hard and full of struggles. You have to face all of the mistakes in your past. You accept them. You might lose people along the way. You have to forgive yourself. You have to put in the work over and over again. But like Sasha, it makes you the best version of yourself. What a beautiful story.

Sasha freaking Waybright, y’all…

Watching Marcy facing her own inner demons and being rescued in “All In,” I don’t really know what to feel about her story. I’m intrigued to see how they finish her tale in the final episode.

I kept thinking back to what I wrote about her in my recap for “Olivia & Yunan.” There is so much trauma wrapped up in her story. I mentioned that exploring Marcy’s pain could take a season of its own to really dive into the nuances of it. With the series coming to a close, I was concerned about how the writers would handle Marcy’s ending.

She always had the pressure of time at her back. Being the last of the girls introduced with only a season and a half to go, Marcy did have some smart and economical writing working in her favor. “Marcy at the Gates” and “The First Temple” were full 22-minute episodes to help get her up to speed with the main cast. She got some time in Wartwood to get to know the supporting cast. And then “True Colors” happened, breaking up the girls once more. Marcy was physically wounded and taken out of commission. When they revived her, she was immediately sidelined again to bring out Darcy as the big bad.

Structurally, I understand why they wrote Marcy/Darcy’s story this way. It’s a commonly used writing tool to isolate a character to keep them out from knowing the bigger plot. I’ve mentioned this before in my The Owl House recaps in regards to Willow and Gus in season two. They also did this with Tam in the first season of Star Wars Resistance to lure her towards the First Order after feeling isolated from her found family. She had been sidelined out of the main action for a good chunk of the season leaving her with Agent Tierny, a villain, as the only person to confide in. In Amphibia, they physically kept Marcy away from Anne and Sasha to give an in-text reason for why Darcy doesn’t know the new them. It’s the advantage our heroes need in their fight.

It's a writing tactic that’s a double edge sword. Again, Marcy is at the mercy of time. We’ve only had a small number of scenes showing her motives and exploring why she pushed Anne to steal the Calamity Box in the first place as well as her relationship with Anne and Sasha prior to the series.

Now, let’s be clear, this is in no way a criticism. These scenes are incredibly well done and are absolutely pulling their weight! I continue to be impressed with how this crew can do so much in such a short time frame.

I’m more wondering how well they’ll stick Marcy’s landing. Her story was always going to be the hardest to pull off. Everything is there for her. But with time running out, she had to have the fastest turnaround of the three girls. Marcy’s conclusion has to be executed just right. Sasha and Anne are there. “All In” was their episode to show off how far they come. I hope the final episode has the same satisfying conclusion for Marcy that “All In” was for Anne and Sasha.

There is so much trauma and pain left for her that I have no idea how they will tackle it in the final episode. But again, these writers have proven over and over they’re the right people for this very heavy task.  

All this said I adore Marcy’s writing over the last several weeks. The flashback scene last week with Marcy showing her friends her favorite movie only to fall asleep did the job it needed to do. Your interests are part of you. It can be hard when the people you love don’t share that same love. It’s like they’re not accepting a piece of you. Marcy wanted to share her fantasy worlds with them, part of the reason why she pushed Anne to the Calamity Box. It was escapism from reality.

But our interests are just part of who we are. We have so much more to give people. To use an example from Queer Eye (I wish I could remember the exact episode because I use this example a lot in real life), think of yourself as a house held up by pillars. Each pillar represents a piece of us: sex, gender, race, interests, dreams, hobbies, job, etc. While they’re all important pieces, a single pillar doesn’t represent who we are as a whole person.

This is where Marcy is at. While her friends might not share her interests and dreams, there are other parts of Marcy they love and connect with. She’s kind, smart, and loyal. With everything in her being, she believes in Anne and Sasha. They were formative to her, but she, like Anne, has to learn to be okay on her own. She must accept that change is coming. Yes, they might grow apart. Like Sprig, though, it doesn’t change what they’ve had up to this point.

“All In” really nailed this story for Marcy. I fist-pumped when she slapped Aldrich’s hand away. She refuses to be a coward and run away from her problems anymore. It’s a rejection of the fantasies she loves so much. The real world is hard and she intends to face it head-on now. It’s such a beautiful moment when she is alone and the picture of her friends is her only light. She must rely on herself and the hope that Anne and Sasha will succeed.

Also, it’s very clear that Haley Tju is having the BEST time playing Darcy! She balances that sweet side of Marcy so well with the off-the-walls bonkers performance that is Darcy. It’s a lot of fun to watch!

I’ve been saying for a few weeks that we’re probably looking at Andrias’ redemption. I believe “All In” confirmed that it’s here. Is he fully good yet? No, but we still have one more episode to go for him to make amends. All the story clues are there cemented into place when he meets Marcy for the first time.

This bright young woman crashes into Andrias’ life after isolating himself for so long. She immediately breaks through his walls by calling him “Drias,” something that Leif did. Marcy also quickly shows Andrias respect by recognizing that she crossed his boundaries, saying she won’t do it again. As we’ve seen how the Core and his father treat him, probably the last time someone showed him such personal kindness was Leif and Barrel.

We know Marcy’s friendship means a lot to him too. While Sprig reads Leif’s letter, he sees Marcy’s face in his mind. At every step of the way, Andrias tries to protect Marcy from the Core by offering solutions that will take time like draining the girls of their powers. If anything, he’s delaying the inevitable while he’s too scared of the hard path. When he fails, he can’t watch when she’s possessed by the Core in “Olivia & Yunan.” That young woman got through to a 1,000-year-old monarch and started the change he truly wanted.

Andrias finally gets a second chance to love himself and do what’s right. As I said, he is like Anne in a lot of ways. The easy path has always been set out for him. The harder path to making a peaceful world is a template Andrias has set up. He’s ruled peacefully for 1,000 years after Leif took the box. When he meets Marcy, he seems to be enjoying this more quiet life. But it was a path he could never fully commit to as he was still under the Core’s thumb.

Marcy is the reason Andrias starts taking the harder path. It’s why he tries to procrastinate their plans. He pushes back against the Core. He has to go through mental hoops again and again to try and out-manipulate this A.I. It’s a hard choice for him because it’s walking away from the love that he always wanted from his father. He’s found a new love now with Marcy. He lost his friendship with Leif and Barrel, but the first thing he does when Anne defeats him is beg her to save Marcy.

Andrias is on the hard path now and he refuses to lose another friend to the Core.

The reveal of his robotic side really gives Andrias that Darth Vader edge, that he’s more machine than man. Perhaps it’s also a look at how he negatively coped for over 1,000 years to gain his father’s acceptance. In his heart, he always wanted to be good. He wanted to be the ruler that Leif and Barrel knew he could be. But when a robot hivemind that is all machine and no kindness is pushing him away from who he wants to be, it makes me think that Andrias chose to be more robot than person. A way to hide his heart under metal. Yes, on a surface story level it was to extend his life for the plot. But maybe underneath that, thematically, he felt it was a way to try and assimilate himself sooner, to get that connection that he wanted so badly with his father. It was an escape from his guilt towards Leif and Barrel, the guilt that he will never be able to apologize for his actions. In a way, it’s the same escapism from reality that Marcy sought too. Perhaps that’s another reason they hit it off so well.

Also it has to be said that Keith David acted his butt off as Andrias this week. It was such a powerful performance. It was hands down his best episode of the series.

Give it up for Team Earth Avengers rising to the occasion!

They could have run and hid like everyone else. Each member from the Earth team that we’ve grown to love over season three had a moment to shine! I loved seeing Mr. X and Jenny shift from antagonists to protagonists, something that was always necessary from the moment they arrived in the show. Terri and Dr. Jan saved civilians. Jess and Ally supported Anne when she needed it the most.

But it was Bee and Oum Boonchuy that stole the show. They win badass parents of the year. Amphibia never loses what made the Boonchuys wonderful even in this huge climactic battle. They’re welcoming to the newcomers, making sure everyone has food, and immediately accepting Grime, Yunan, and Olivia into the mix. They embrace Sasha the instant they see her after so long apart. They heard that call to action, taking it upon themselves to learn to fight to take a stand against the invasion.

Most of all, they never lost faith in Anne. The trust in their daughter carefully honed over the course of season three is a big reason why Anne is able to succeed. In a key moment, they know exactly what Anne needs to pick herself back up again and keep fighting.

Bee and Oum have been one of the biggest joys of the final season. I adored watching them grow into warriors in their own right. I hope every piece of all-ages media that comes after Amphibia takes notes. This is how you write adult characters in this kind of show.

This brings me to the BLACKPINK fight which I have to talk about.

I swear these writers are inside my mind. When I work on my manuscripts, I score fight scenes to music. When a beat drops or the pace changes, I know what part of the battle I’m in. I can see each movement, dodge, block, and punch. It’s how I’ve always written my work. But I rarely tell people the number of pop songs I score fight scenes to, because I always thought it was silly. I’ve written so many fights to songs like “Pump It” by the Black Eyed Peas, “What” and “PIRI” by Dreamcatcher, and “Take it Off” by Kesha. It might be weird to say, but “All In” hit me hard. I have never felt so seen as watching an entire anime-like battle play out to K-Pop. It made me emotional because that’s exactly what I’ve tried to explain to my writing partner and others for years. It’s a justification in a way that my method of writing isn’t strange, and now I have video proof of how it can work.

Thank you for that, Amphibia. It might be silly to say, but that moment means the world to me.

Everything about the BLACKPINK fight is incredible. The stakes and emotions are so high. Anne pushing back and rising to the occasion with a new wind under her is the turning point. Sasha battles so much harder, driven by Grime’s sacrifice and declaring it’s in honor of him. The animation is fluid and beautiful. The sound mixing against the K-Pop beat is incredible. Everything about that minute of television is absolutely perfect in every way.

I’d also love to see the streaming numbers since “All In” came out and if there was a boost for “As If It’s Your Last” from Amphibia fans. I know it’s made my streaming rounds this past week.

Some random thoughts to round out All In:

-I’m still not over Marcy just yeeting a dog. It cracked me up right in the first minute!

-I lost track of how much I squealed at my girlfriends Yunan and Olivia kicking butt, grabbing hands, HUGGING EACH OTHER, and existing in the same space together. I love them, you guys!

-I laughed seeing that Marcy had beaten the Millennium Puzzle from Yu-Gi-Oh. I love the nerds who work on this show!

-Also, my Zelda-loving heart screamed seeing Anne dressed in Link’s Breath of the Wild garb.

-Aldrich’s Core Face is nightmare fuel!

-Mecha Frobo is AMAZING!

-If somehow a miracle happens and there’s an Amphibia spin-off, I really hope it’s focused on Polly. We’ve only just scratched the surface of her character development. She has so much story to give, and I’ve really loved watching her up to this point.

-I love Joe Sparrow. I’m going to miss that bird!

-It was cool to see the return of the cloak bots!

-Principal Murphy has a hoard of toilet paper in her house. Oh, that pandemic life!

-The end credits with the music box theme are hauntingly beautiful.

I thought for sure that some of the final battle for Earth would carry into next week. I wasn’t expecting such a tight ending to “All In.” The fact it was so closed-ended left me with a single thought:

I literally have no idea what is going to happen next week. I have absolutely no clue. No guesses. No tin foil hat theories. I got nothing.

And that’s incredibly exciting to me. It’s exciting to have no idea what’s going to happen. I’ve purposely avoided all the promos because I want to go in knowing nothing. I’m here for whatever Amphibia gives us for its final episode.

God, I know I’m going to cry my eyes out!