REVIEW: Amphibia – Season 3, Episode 7, “Spider-Sprig/Olivia and Yunan”

"Frog-Man, you are but a wart on the face of this city. Get ready for some laser surgery!"

Television Reviews

*SPOILERS*

“Spider-Sprig” finds the Plantar and Boonchuy families watching a movie about Tarulantu-Lad, an alien who becomes a superhero. While Hop Pop and Polly find it ridiculous, Anne’s dad is reduced to tears, and Sprig is inspired by the hero. However, Sprig soon finds himself at odds with Robert Otto, the neighborhood safety supervisor. The two try to save an out-of-control school bus, and Sprig succeeds. Robert’s granddaughter Molly Jo emerges from the bus and ignores him in favor of Sprig. Robert finds spare parts from Andrias’ robots at the junkyard and attacks Sprig. The fight ends when Molly Jo is endangered by the property damage they caused. She accuses Sprig and Robert of being selfish attention-seekers, and they decide to clean everything up. “Olivia and Yunan” opens with a flashback to when Marcy was rescued and taken in by Olivia. Marcy pledges to help protect Newtopia, as Olivia’s family is sworn to do. Currently, the land is overrun by factories, and Andrias tasks Olivia and Yunan with overseeing production. Olivia and Yunan decide to find Marcy and fight back against the Mad King. When they pull her out of her tank, the vents project images to trick her rescuers. Marcy can momentarily see the projection device, and they all work together to break it and escape. However, Andrias stops them and reveals his plan for Marcy. 

“Spider-Sprig” is exactly what it sounds like (an 11-minute Spider-Man homage) and very predictable, but I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. The creative team behind Amphibia has their fandom on full display again in this episode. Season 3 is particularly reference-littered so far, and while I can imagine that distracting some people, I’m not complaining. I like Brad Garrett’s Robert and how he goes from a reasonable enough if overly self-important public servant to a literal supervillain. I wish we could see more of his relationship with Molly Jo, especially since that seems to be the main reason for his antipathy for Sprig. This is only an 11-minute episode, so I understand prioritizing action over the dynamics of tertiary characters. Still, it would make Robert’s actions more understandable or at least provide some context. On the other hand, I admit it would be less funny for him to change so drastically and quickly if he was portrayed in a more sympathetic light. 

It bothers me that “Spider-Sprig” puts equal blame on Sprig as Robert. Sprig’s motives are a mixture of noble and self-serving, but I think people are what they do, not what they intend. If you do good and help people, your intentions are of little concern because they came to no harm. Likewise, if you have good intentions but the outcome is bad, you did something bad. The fact that Sprig isn’t 100% in the right is overshadowed by the fact that he’s trying to help people, while Robert Otto is only interested in getting revenge on him no matter the cost. I also find it strange that after working together to save Molly Jo twice, it doesn’t occur to Sprig and Robert to work together to keep the city safe. Even at the very end, when they come to a mutual respect and understanding, they merely part ways as Sprig heads home and a policeman informs Robert that he’s under arrest. This probably boils down to time constraints and the light-hearted nature of this story, and that’s fine. I just think “Spider-Sprig” settles for good enough when it could have been great. I like that it touches on the whole trope of superheroes doing more damage than good and how that impacts little people, though. Anne’s dad’s reaction to the movie is endearing, and I wish he factored into the episode more. Sometimes I really think Amphibia would benefit from full-length single-release episodes, and this is definitely an example of that. 

“Olivia and Yunan” is a meatier story that ties into the overall season more than “Spider-Sprig,” continuing the trend of pairing heavier stories with more comedic ones. I’m always happy when an episode features King Andrias, a delightfully hateable character voiced by one of my favorite voice actors. “Olivia and Yunan” revisits Andrias’ madness, as the titular characters spy him mumbling, seemingly to himself but actually to the Core, the entity that later possesses Marcy. As an aside, the tank Andrias has had Marcy marinating in since he stabbed her looks a lot like the one Luke was in after his confrontation with the wampa in The Empire Strikes Back. I have to assume this is another intentional reference. Likewise, the ravaged Newtopian land is reminiscent of what Saruman does to parts of Middle Earth in The Two Towers. Even among the better Disney Channel shows, Amphibia’s influences do it credit.

One aspect of “Olivia and Yunan” I particularly enjoyed is the portrayal of Andrias. He looks away when dealing with or talking about Marcy a couple of times. His facial expressions, body language, and especially what he says to Marcy about begging the Core to use a different host add a lot to his character. Previously, Andrias was introduced as a magnanimous individual who wanted to help the humans get home safely. When his real motives were revealed in “True Colors,” he was shown to be (and has since remained) a sneaky, self-serving, child-stabbing monster with no redeeming qualities. Going back to what I said earlier, Andrias being concerned for Marcy and feeling guilty doesn’t make up for the fact he nearly killed her. Heck, he’s now using her as the vessel for some creepy deity. It only feeds into the idea that Andrias is either totally nuts or being influenced by the Core in some supernatural way.

Overall, I liked “Olivia and Yunan” better than “Spider-Sprig,” and I can’t wait to see what happens next with Andrias, Marcy, Olivia, and General Yunan. I assume Andrias will send Marcy into the human world after Anne or set her on Sasha, who remains in Amphibia. Regardless, I’m really looking forward to seeing the frenemies reunited, when and however that happens.