True Colors (Amphibia episode)
| "True Colors" | |
|---|---|
| Amphibia episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 20 |
| Directed by |
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| Written by |
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| Production code | 220 |
| Original air date | May 22, 2021 |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
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"True Colors" is the twentieth episode and finale of the second season of the American television series Amphibia, created by Matt Braly and produced by Disney Television Animation, and the series' fortieth episode overall. It was written by Michael Cavin and Janava Mie, with Kyler Spears and Jenn Strickland directing.
The episode was originally set to air on May 1, 2021, but was removed from schedule shortly before its intended air date. However, the episode was leaked accidentally on iTunes on May 2, 2021, but it was removed hours later. The episode officially aired on Disney Channel on May 22, 2021.
Plot
Months before the series' start, Marcy Wu finds a mysterious book that talks about a "Calamity Box", capable of interdimensional travel, before being called home by her parents. At her home, she gets into an argument with them and runs away, finding the Calamity Box in a store. In a fit of desperation, she contacts her friends Anne Boonchuy and Sasha Waybright, revealing Marcy to be the one that transported them to Amphibia.
In the present, after charging the box's gems, the girls, the Plantar family, and Captain Grime, travel to the city of Newtopia so King Andrias can transport the girls back to Earth. However, upon arriving at the castle, Sasha and Grime reveal that they deceived them in order to infiltrate Newtopia and overthrow Andrias. As Andrias is taken prisoner and their army goes to Newtopia, Sasha tries to convince Anne and Marcy to rule with her. Anne, however, is angry over both the deception and Sasha's overall toxic behavior, and cuts off their friendship. Angry and hurt, Sasha tries to spitefully transport Anne back to Earth permanently and separate her from the Plantars. However, she instead has them taken to a dungeon after finding out the box can't work. Anne and her friends are rescued by General Yunnan and Lady Olivia. Anne then prepares a plan to rescue Andrias and stop the coup.
Meanwhile, Sasha reflects on Anne's words and reconsiders her behavior. Grime tries to cheer her up by giving her a sword and redecorating. The two then find a tapestry of Andrias leading a bloody conquest using the box, before discovering Anne's attempt to stop them. At the city's walls, Sasha tries to explain to Anne the truth about Andrias, but Anne refuses to believe her and the two engage in a sword duel, while Grime fights Anne's best friend, Sprig Plantar. Anne's group emerges victorious, while Andrias has his royal guard arrest all conspirators.
At the castle, Andrias reveals himself to be a conqueror determined to conquer other dimensions with his robot army, using the Calamity Box to power a portal after it was stolen from him by his two friends a thousand years ago. He also reveals that Marcy knew the truth about the box's power, and that he tricked her into giving him the box in exchange for taking the girls with him. Marcy then explains that she did it out of fear of losing her friends after learning that her father found a job in another state. As Marcy tries to justify her actions before breaking down, Anne and Sasha become horrified over her lies, but nevertheless remain determined to stop Andrias. Aided by the Plantars, Grime, Yunan, and Olivia, the girls fight Andrias' army.
During the battle, Andrias tries to kill Sprig's tadpole sister, Polly, but is saved by Frobo, a defective robot who previously befriended Polly, before being destroyed by Andrias. He then tries to kill a grieving Polly again, but she grows a pair of legs and takes the box. However, Andrias threatens to throw Sprig to his death unless she puts the box back in its place. Although she reluctantly obeys at Anne's insistence, Andrias nevertheless throws Sprig in order to spite Anne after she calls him her best friend. Enraged at Sprig's apparent death, Anne manages to awaken hidden powers within her product of her connection to the partially-charged blue gem, and manages to overpower Andrias and his army, but becomes exhausted and powers down. During Anne's fight, Marcy rides on her sparrow, Joe Sparrow, and saves Sprig.
Realizing the threat Anne poses with her powers, Andrias tries to kill her. However, Marcy opens a portal back to Earth, while Sasha and Grime distract Andrias. Anne and the Plantars cross the portal to safety, but Marcy is fatally stabbed by Andrias before she can join them. As she loses consciousness, Anne apologizes to a distraught Anne. The portal then closes, transporting Anne, alongside the Plantars and Frobo's head, to Los Angeles, California.
Production
Development
"True Colors" was directed by Jenn Strickland and Kyler Spears, with Janava Mie and Michael Cavin writing the script. Storyboards were provided by Inbal Breda, Silver Paul, Danny Ducker, Joe Johnston, and Eddie West. Early storyboards were produced before Disney Television Animation was closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rest of the episode was produced remotely as a result.[1][2]
According to series creator Matt Braly, the flashback revealing Marcy's role in stranding the girls in Amphibia was put at the start of the episode in order to establish her crucial role in the story.[3] He also said it was "difficult" for the production team to feature the scene in the moment Andrias reveals the truth because they felt it took away from the emotions from the scene.[3]
Braly said the closing scenes for the episode were inspired by the opening scenes from the first Sonic X episode, having been a longtime Sonic the Hedgehog fan.[3] He also said that the scene in which Anne's powers manifest was inspired by Son Goku's first transformation into a Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z.[3] According to Braly, cameos from lead Gargoyles character Goliath and Gravity Falls villain Bill Cipher were added at the start of the episode in hopes of starting speculations about a multiverse of Disney TVA-produced series.[3]
There was some debate between the production team and Disney regarding Marcy's fate.[3] Braly perceived the company was concerned with the impact of Marcy's presumed death on their target demographic, but he also felt that children would be able to handle the scene and understand its importance in the story.[3] Through the two came to an arrangement by showing the third season's intro after the credits and Braly was satisfied with giving fans hype for the third season, he nevertheless felt it robbed the final scenes some tension by revealing so soon that Marcy is alive.[3]
Animation
Saerom Animation provided the main animation for the episode, while SMALLBÜ Animation animated the sequence in which Anne activates her powers for the first time.[3] Braly hired them to work on the sequence due to being a longtime fan and friend of theirs, and them having been fans of the show.[4] The animators were allowed to develop several hairstyles for Anne's powered form, before picking a final design.[5] They also wanted her power aura to reflect both Anne's growth and her connection to Amphibia.[6] Her aura also has the shape of a lotus flower, which in Thai culture symbolizes spiritual awakening, something the production team sought to reflect through Anne's powers.[7][8]
Release
"True Colors" aired on Disney Channel on May 22, 2021. The episode was originally going to air on May 1, 2021, but was removed from schedule a day before its intended broadcast.[9] According to Braly, this was due to last-minute discussions regarding the episode's final sequences.[3] However, the episode was accidentally released to stream on May 2, 2021 through iTunes. While the episode was later taken down hours later, it was leaked by fans through the internet.[10] During the following days, Braly and the series' main and supporting cast released posts on Twitter asking fans to avoid spoilers until the episode was officially released.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] On May 15, 2021, it was reported that the episode would officially air on May 22, 2021.[19]
Reception
David Kaldor of Bubble Babble said that the episode was "good. Not great, probably not even as good as the last finale", feeling that "[i]t checks off all the boxes for a good season finale", including exploration on character growth, payoff to previous hints, set ups to the next season, and "slam [audiences with] massive revelations about characters and things", and praised the animation for Anne's powers, but felt it wasn't able to properly cover certain plot points due to its length, saying that the episode should have been a two-parter, particularly due to audiences having already predicted several plot points, which he felt it "makes it hard to relate to the moment", while still describing the reveal of Marcy's motivations and Anne's powers to be "fresh".[20] However, he was particularly critical of the inclusion of the third season's intro at the end of the episode, feeling it took away from the dark tone and cliffhanger from the final scenes, and criticized the reveal of Marcy's survival as unnecessary to show shortly after the final scenes.[20]
References
- ↑ Patten, Nellie Andreeva,Dominic; Andreeva, Nellie; Patten, Dominic (March 24, 2020). "Animation Production Is Still Going, Sometimes Slower, Amid Coronavirus Crisis".
- ↑ "Amphibia Creator Matt Braly Talks Season 2, Kermit the Frog, and Quarantine Struggles". TV Shows.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 "Sit Down and Think With Amphibia Creator Matt Braly" – via www.youtube.com.
- ↑ "Amphibia: Matt Braly Talks Season 3, New Shoes, and That Wild Season 2 Finale". comicbook.com.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ Baj, Darya (December 7, 2021). "Matt Braly on Amphibia — Culture, and Alienation — the Metaphorical and Fantastical".
- ↑ Disney TVA's Twitter
- ↑ The Season Two Finale of Disney Television Animation’s “Amphibia” Gets a Surprise Delay
- ↑ Matt Braly's Twitter
- ↑ Matt Braly's Twitter
- ↑ Matt Braly's Twitter
- ↑ Matt Braly's Twitter
- ↑ Matt Braly's Twitter
- ↑ Matt Braly's Twitter
- ↑ Matt Braly's Twitter
- ↑ Matt Braly's Twitter
- ↑ "Disney Announces New Amphibia Season 2 Finale Release Date". comicbook.com.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Review: Amphibia "True Colors"". Bubbleblabber. May 23, 2021.
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