True Colors (Amphibia)

"True Colors"
Amphibia episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 20
Directed by	Kyler Spears and Jenn Strickland
Written by	Michele Cavin and Jenava Mie
Production code	220
Original air date	May 22, 2021
Running time	24 minutes

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"True Colors" is the 20th episode and the finale of the second season of the American animated television series Amphibia, created by Matt Braly. The episode was written by Michael Cavin and Jenava Mie and directed by Kyler Spears and Jenn Strickland.

"True Colors was originally supposed to be released May 1, 2021, but was delayed due to a scheduling shift. On May 2, 2021, the episode was accidentally leaked on iTunes but was quickly taken down. The episode officially premiered on May 22, 2021, after an Amphibia marathon.

Plot

In a flashback, Marcy stumbles upon a book in a library, detailing information on the Calamity Box, in particular its ability to transport people to other worlds, which she dismisses as "goofy". Right afterward, she receives an urgent text message from her parents. Later that day, following an argument, Marcy runs from her house in tears and finds herself outside a thrift shop. Coincidentally, she spots the Calamity Box inside. Getting an idea, she sends a text to Sasha about acquiring it as a gift for Anne's birthday.

Six months later, the group of Anne, Marcy, Sasha, Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Grime, and Frobo enters Newtopia in order to give King Andrias the Calamity Box so he can send them all back home. Polly starts to feel an itchy sensation on her butt while Anne, Sprig, and Marcy talk about how their adventures are almost over. Marcy asks Anne if she wishes that the adventures could last forever; Anne does not quite agree with this despite admitting she has had some good times. Upon arriving in Andrias' throne room, Anne prepares to give him the Calamity Box as agreed upon. However, Grime suddenly steals the Box and gives it to Sasha. They overpower the King and his guard and assemble the Toads to initiate a hostile takeover of Newtopia. Andrias surrenders to Sasha in defeat after she threatens to destroy the Box if he doesn't concede, claiming that she doesn't want to go home and has instead decided to stay and rule over all of Amphibia. As Sasha tries to get Anne and Marcy on her side, Anne, hurt once again by her betrayal, denounces Sasha as a friend and immediately cuts ties with her.

In revenge, Sasha tries to send Anne, Marcy, and the Plantars back home with the Calamity Box, but it doesn't work. Frustrated, she sends everyone to the dungeons until she can figure out how the Box operates. Along the way to the dungeons, General Yunan suddenly arrives and saves everyone, and they all escape through a secret passageway led by Lady Olivia. In a hiding place, Anne rallies up everyone to fight back against the Toad Rebellion. Marcy, Lady Olivia, and Hop Pop head out to free King Andrias, while Polly, Frobo, and General Yunan fight off against the Toad Soldiers. Meanwhile, Anne and Sprig try to close the gate before reinforcements for the Toad army arrive at Newtopia. Back in the throne room, Grime gives Sasha a new sword as a gift. Sasha then starts to wonder if Anne was right about her being a horrible person and claims she doesn't know what she wants anymore. Grime tries to cheer her up by "redecorating" the throne room, and they begin by pulling down a mawkish tapestry of King Andrias. However, hidden behind the tapestry is a mural of a sinister-looking Andrias using the Calamity Box to cause chaos. They realize that Andrias is not what he seems, and after noticing Anne and Sprig are trying to close the gates, they leave to try and stop them.

While Sprig deals with Grime, Sasha tries to warn Anne about Andrias. Anne, still being furious with her, refuses to listen and continues to close the gate herself, only to be provoked into a duel with Sasha. They fight resulting in Anne overpowering and ultimately defeating Sasha, while Sprig easily defeats Grime. Anne then successfully closes the gate. Polly, Yunan, and Frobo defeat the Toad Soldiers while Marcy, Olivia, and Hop Pop free the King who calls in his guard to arrest the Toad Soldiers, ending the invasion. In the throne room, with Grime and Sasha tied up, the King arrives and declares that he's ready to send the girls home. Against Sasha's warnings, Anne successfully gives Andrias the Calamity Box. Andrias then reveals that his once-glorious Kingdom was left to be displaced and forgotten when the Calamity Box was stolen under his watch by those he once thought were his friends. He wishes to restore his kingdom's glory by using the Calamity Box to rule over not only all of Amphibia but of all worlds, revealing that his ancestors were glorious conquerors. He then puts the Box on a pedestal which powers up his castle, causing it to lift off from the ground and into the sky. He also reactivates several robotic factories that built soldiers for world domination.

Marcy protests to Andrias that this wasn't part of their plan, but Andrias states that he lied to Marcy in order for her to bring back the Box fully charged. Andrias then reveals to Anne and Sasha that Marcy had full knowledge of what the Calamity Box was capable of and had stranded her and her friends in Amphibia on purpose. Marcy admits to her actions and confesses that Andrias was planning to take them all with him to explore the new worlds together. She further reveals that on the day of Anne's birthday, Marcy was told by her parents that her family was moving away. Marcy, not wanting to be apart from her friends, decided to use the Calamity Box to keep them together in Amphibia. She tries to defend herself by emphasizing how their adventures had changed both Anne and Sasha and how it gave Anne her beautiful friendship with Sprig, but Anne can't help but feel hurt by this revelation.

Regaining her composure, Anne declares that regardless of any mistakes she and her friends have made, Andrias needs to be stopped. Anne then frees Sasha and Grime who fight by her side along with Marcy, Yunan, and Olivia. In the ensuing fight against Andrias and the robotic soldiers, Frobo is destroyed, but Polly grows legs and manages to remove the Box from the pedestal. However, Andrias has captured Sprig and threatens to throw him out a nearby window unless the Box is returned. Despite Polly putting the Box back and Anne's pleas to let him go, Andrias nevertheless drops Sprig to his supposed death, resenting the close friendship he and Anne have developed.

In rage and despair, Anne regains her connection to the blue gem from the Calamity Box. She uses her newfound abilities to fight off Andrias but faints as a result of the power being too much for her to handle. Sprig then reunites with Anne after being rescued by Marcy. Recognizing the threat Anne poses, Andrias declares he cannot let her live, but while he's distracted, Marcy takes the Box from the pedestal. As Sasha and Grime attempt to fight off Andrias, Marcy sets the Box up to send Anne home with the Plantars as a way to make up for what she's done. A portal opens up but Marcy, before she can do anything else, is impaled through the back by Andrias' flaming sword and collapses, supposedly dying as she apologizes to Anne for her actions.

As Anne stares in shock, the box falls from Marcy's hand which activates the portal and suddenly transports her, the Plantars, and Frobo's remains all to Los Angeles.

In the mid-credits scene, the new intro for season three is shown detailing the Plantars new life with Anne in Los Angeles, Sasha and Grime leading a revolution in Wartwood, Marcy being kept alive in a large glass tank, and Andrias initiating various attacks on Anne's home which she defends using her newfound powers.

Reception

The episode received universal acclaim. Tony Betti from Laughing Place writes that "while many fans of Amphibia were expecting the season finale, “True Colors,” to be more about the anticipated betrayal by Sasha Waybright, we got more than we anticipated and some pretty decent cliffhangers that have us looking forward to the third season of the Disney Channel series."

David Kaldor from BubbleBladder writes that "As many probably know by now, the episode was mysteriously pulled from the schedule right before it was supposed to air but wasn’t kept from being released online briefly, so everyone ended up being able to see it without an official release. Even other Disney Channel cartoon creators like Dana Terrace were calling out that Disney did the Amphibia crew dirty on giving their show the proper premiere."

On RJ Writing Ink, Roderick J. Fritz describes the season finale like this. "Having gotten the chance to see “True Colors” not once, but twice, any doubts I had about the hype around it have been silenced. Matt Braly and his team have created one of the best season finale’s I’ve ever seen in my life. Honestly, the last time I can think of a finale leaving this starstruck was “Crossroads of Destiny” from Avatar: The Last Airbender, all the way back in 2006. That episode left me absolutely reeling as a kid, and now, Amphibia’s given me the same reaction." Fritz also says "Matt Braly, you and your team managed to create an absolute masterpiece in “True Colors”. Nearly everything about it is flawless, from the bombshells to the fighting to the music. If you guys don’t win an award for this episode, then I don’t know how you will! Truly, Disney did you a great disservice by delaying this episode."

Release

Originally, the episode was supposed to air on May 1, 2021, but was delayed due to a scheduling shift.

On May 2, 2021, the episode was accidentally released on iTunes, hours later it was deleted from the site. Shortly after the delay and leak on iTunes, a surge of fans took to social media to express their resentment towards Disney's treatment of the show with support being displayed from other showrunners and viewers alike.

In the duration between the iTunes leak and the episode's premiere, Matt Braly uploaded several videos on Twitter of characters telling fans to not watch the leak, with their voice actors in character passing the message. It started with Grime, then was succeeded by Maddie, Loggle, Felicia, Hop Pop, and finally Curator Ponds.

When the episode was initially leaked, a group shot during the climax showed a generic green-skinned newt with a beret instead of Lady Olivia. This was corrected when the episode was officially aired.

References

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