REVIEW: Amphibia – Season 3, Episode 5, “Fixing Frobo/Anne-Sterminator”

Television Reviews

*SPOILERS*

“Fixing Frobo” opens with Polly showing Anne, Hop Pop, and Sprig the repairs she’s made to Frobo. It’s a disaster, as he still doesn’t work, and lowering him up shorts the house’s power. Polly promises to wait until they get back to Amphibia to fix Frobo, but she borrows Anne’s laptop and researches robots after everyone goes to bed. She finds and contacts the I.T. Girls, a pair of online robot gurus who give her advice but tell her not to power him on in the garage. When Anne and the others find out what Polly is up to, they again urge her to wait until they’re in Amphibia. The girl defiantly runs into the garage and activates Frobo, but he’s returned to factory settings and doesn’t recognize her. He shoots into the air in an attempt to reach headquarters, but when Polly speaks to him, his memories come flooding back. They crash, and Frobo breaks apart, but his head remains active. The I.T. Girls arrive and advise Polly on how to fix him the right way. 

“Anne-Sterminator” opens in Amphibia as King Andrias plots that have Anne taken out. Meanwhile, Anne feels guilty about not telling her parents about the nastier details of her adventure. Before she can come clean, Andrias’ robot descends on their house. They flee in terror, and Anne’s mom confronts her about the lies. Anne’s dad pushes mom to be more understanding, but she believes Anne hasn’t really learned anything after all. Regardless, the Plantars and Boonchuys band together and defeat the robot. However, the robot self-destructs, and Anne has to activate her powers to kick him far away. The FBI finds out about the Plantars and contacts someone named Mr. X. 

“Fixing Frobo” is a lot of fun, and I particularly like the comedy in this episode. Mr. Boonchuy is hilarious here, and it’s cool that he’s a gamer; I wouldn’t have guessed that. It fits well into his personality as Anne’s more laid-back parent, though. There’s also a decent Star Wars reference when Anne watches T.V. with Hop Pop and Sprig. A jab at the “I hate sand” line in Attack of the Clones had me in stitches. Amphibia‘s creator, Matt Braly, appears to be a pretty big nerd himself, to nobody’s surprise. Polly’s obsessive drive to fix Frobo reminds me of Anne in “Fight at the Museum.” Much like Anne, Polly puts her goals ahead of safety and common sense, to disastrous consequences. It’s hard not to lay some of the blame on Anne and Hop Pop, though; Polly is still essentially a baby, and they’re her caretakers. It seems a little naïve of them to take Polly at her word that she won’t tamper with Frobo, and they proceed to leave her alone for much of the episode. I just think that’s worth noting since, when Polly finally does “fix” Frobo, he rockets through the Boonchuy’s roof and into the atmosphere. They show Anne’s dad with a horrified expression when this happens, but I’m surprised there wasn’t more fallout with Anne’s parents. 

I think “Fixing Frobo” balances its tone very well between the jokes and its very real stakes. It’s also legitimately emotional to see how far Polly will go to be reunited with her best friend. Usually, I’m opposed to montages or flashbacks to scenes we’ve seen before, but I’m willing to accept it this time since Frobo is getting his memories back. The old scenes aren’t recycled for Polky’s benefit or to remind the audience of things nobody forgot. I also like the I.T. Girls. I could easily see loud, zany characters like these becoming annoying or overbearing, but they don’t in “Fixing Frobo,” at least. I imagine they’ll be recurring allies to Polly and the rest of the gang. 

“Anne-Sterminator” is at the other end of the spectrum tonally, a more serious story delving into the consequences of Anne keeping crucial information from her parents. I understand Mrs. Boonchuy’s frustration when she finds out Anne has been keeping things from her. However, it seems harsh of her to insinuate that it’s Anne’s fault she’s being pursued by the robot assassin. She outright accuses Anne of being immature and learning nothing from her trials in Amphibia. Anne is only 13, so I find it a little odd for her mom to chide her for childishness. I like how this is resolved, with Anne’s mom understanding that everything she did was to protect the Plantars and the families reconciling. Sometimes Mrs. Boonchuy’s temper and expectations are just a bit much, especially compared to Mr. Boonchuy, who has been calm and patient with Anne and the Plantars since they got there. I like her overall, though, and I think a lot of moms are like this in real life, so it’s just a foible she has, not a flaw in the writing process. 

This is the first time we’ve seen King Andrias since episode 2, and I’m glad he’s in “Anne-Sterminator.” It’s good to check in with the villains every couple of episodes to keep the stakes high. However, I just really like Keith David’s voice, and that’s the main reason I like this character. This episode also introduces a potential new villain in Mr. X, the mysterious FBI contact interested in the Plantars. I imagine this will be one of those subplots where the government wants to experiment on the “freaks” to unlock scientific secrets. This reveal at the episode’s end gave off Gravity Falls vibes, as did the scene where Andrias needed the third book in a series, but his robot could only find the second. 

Overall, both “Fixing Frobo” and “Anne-Sterminator” are excellent. The stories pair nicely since they contrast tonally, but both deal with the consequences of lying about robots. In all seriousness, both stories involve damage to the Boonchuy home, which I imagine may need to be replaced soon. The robots roughed it up pretty well, and now Andrias surely knows precisely where the house is, which won’t work at all. He can and almost certainly will send more robots that way in the coming episodes. This is shaping up to be a pretty great season overall, and I look forward to seeing what happens next.