Matt Braly’s hit animated Disney Channel series Amphibia consistently has delivered a pleasant, entertaining series with moments of dark comedy and brilliance. The show boasts funny, out-of-context lines and dark images while also building a strong story surrounding evolving friendships and self-discovery through its protagonist, Anne Boonchuy (Brenda Song) and her new best friend, Sprig Plantar (Justin Felbinger).
The best of Amphibia is all on display in the season two finale, “True Colors.” The calamity trio and the Plantars return to Newtopia set to go home to Earth with the fully charged music box. However, several hidden plans are revealed, changing the dynamic. The episode is so massive it has a viewer discretion advised notice at the start of the episode for extreme imagery for children. The team’s conclusion sets up the series for a bigger final season (with the second half airing now) while advancing the calamity trio’s arc to a masterful point in the show while being an aesthetically strong half-hour of television.
Sasha sets the story in motion when she reveals her plans to take over Amphibia with the Toads. There are many moments showing her resuming her toxic traits of taking control but also important character beats. Her mocking Anne for wanting to see her parents suggests that Sasha’s home life is not so perfect. It came up as a point of tension in the previous season finale, and it’s brought up again as a threat here.
The other strong moment comes after Anne tells her off. Sasha starts to reconsider her actions and ask what she wants. She even offers not to fight Anne and does so defensively rather than offensively when she realizes Andrias’ plans while stepping up to support Anne once the king turns. Sasha leaves the episode very much in flux but she shows the potential she has for growth that will come in the third season.
The episode furthers the development of several characters, one of the most crucial being Marcy (Haley Tju). Up to this point, Marcy is a fun, nerdy, awkward character seemingly thriving in Amphibia like she hasn’t before. Now, the episode adds some darkness. King Andrias (Keith David, who we’ll discuss in more detail later) reveals that Marcy knew more about the box and his plans than she let on previously. Her parents (Eric Bauza and Sumalee Montano) told her on the day of Anne’s birthday that they were moving because of her father’s new job. Marcy freaked out and found the calamity box and told Sasha about it as a last-ditch effort to get to stay together forever in a distant land having adventures.
Anne’s memories of Marcy ignoring the rest of the world while getting sucked into escapist activities like video games and dungeons and dragons-esc role playing suggested she can get trapped in her mind. That scene with her parents suggests a difficult home life as a reason for her escapist habits. So, going to a fantasy world to go on adventures with her best friends would be awesome to her.
That moment shows that Marcy can be deceptive for her own gain. Granted, she admitted to not believing the box would work and using it as a last-ditch effort to save her friends. But the moment shows the value Marcy sees in keeping her friendship with Sasha and Anne no matter the cost and no matter the flaws in their friendship. Even though you rarely see Anne and Sasha (Anna Akanna) sharing those interests with Marcy. However, Marcy missed those cues and just figured they would want to stay together even if that meant losing their lives on earth. The fact that she also knew about Andrias using the box to travel and that she could keep Anne and Sasha in Amphibia forever without growing apart.
That discord plays as a sharp divide to the strong bond Anne and Sprig have shown both in this episode and the series. She has a warm conversation with Sprig as they enter Newtopia and even talk about visiting each other. Frustrated after Sasha and Grime (Troy Baker) reveal their plans, Anne first turns to Sprig to vent, not Marcy nor the other Plantars. She devises a plan to save Andrias and chooses to work with Sprig. And, in a consequential moment, Anne finds the strength her calamity/blue powers after Andrias throws Sprig potentially to his death. Yes, that moment shows the climactic power of their friendship, but the events leading up to it show that Anne is comfortable and values that friendship. Not to mention she literally calls Sprig her best friend in this world or any other and the line is justified throughout the series and the episode.
Anne also shows up as a leader throughout, inspiring other characters to act. She convinces the group to rally to stop Sasha and Grime at their lowest point while coming up with the rescue plan. She also leads the attack against Andrias after he turns before anyone else, trusting Sasha after her betrayal. Even her act of using her blue powers is a leadership moment as it inspires Marcy to rescue Sprig. While “True Colors” displays Marcy and Sasha’s need for growth, it shows how much Anne has blossomed as a leader and a person.
I’ve taken too long to get to this point, but Andrias is the star of “True Colors.” David sparkles finally able to showcase his depth as a villain. He still has the giddy enthusiasm seen this season; from the elation he gets seeing the fully charged music box to his “spill the tea” line. He also delivers the strong evil laughter and the strong, boastful delivery of his ancestor’s past as conquerors. In-line with the friendship point, Andrias makes a key point to say that those he thought were his friends betrayed him in his monologue and that he used friendship to dupe Marcy later. That’s a cold-hearted move from a cold-blooded character.
Andrias also delivers the biting, stern line perfectly. Sticking with his view of friendship, Andrias says before dropping Sprig his most pointed belief on the subject: “That’s the thing about friends, isn’t it. The more you love 'em, the more it hurts when they go. Allow me to demonstrate.” That sums up Andrias’ negative world view so efficiently. His history of betrayal has led him to believe that friendship is almost a lie, a tool used to gain support rather than an actual bond. He uses Marcy in this way to learn about her and get the music box back, and he literally stabs her in the back near the end of the episode when she tries to take it away. His view of friendship powers the episode and adds an experience level of nuance. Fitting given the experience and depth that David provides.
“True Colors” plays with the bonds both broken and torn throughout the series to create a thrilling triumph. The stakes are higher because they mesh with the themes of friendship throughout the series and builds and expands upon them. Not to mention the amazing animation and fight choreography, particularly during the blue powers fight. The use of a dramatic version of “No Big Deal” in the background for the score is fantastic, and the whole sequence is wonderful. Shoutout to the shot before Anne gives Andrias the music box with Andrias’ full body filling the frame, it’s just such a powerful image conflating these two characters together before the final confrontation. “True Colors” is a well-loved episode, but it deserves even more credit for how it weaves so much together so beautifully. Braly’s team crafted a single story that portrays the power of friendship for power, for deceit, and for good.