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It does seem like that the wand might have been something of a crutch for Star and Moon at this point, but then again, it does seem implied that using the wand for enough time causes some of it to rub off. I'm not sure if it was or will be relevant, but apparently in the supplementary material Mina Loveberry was a result of experimental magical enhancements to create a super-soldier to fight monsters, which might be related to her having a monstrous butterfly form similar to Moon and Star; they're using a more refined form of the same magic on themselves.
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Mar 12, 2019 10:00
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Ghost Leviathan posted:It does seem like that the wand might have been something of a crutch for Star and Moon at this point, but then again, it does seem implied that using the wand for enough time causes some of it to rub off. The wand's advantage is that anyone with it can use magic without any prior experience or practice. However, anyone with enough skill and practice can dip down and learn to use magic without a wand.
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Mar 12, 2019 16:34
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Good to have the show back. Not liking Star just knowing wandless magic now without having to learn it at all. Its a bit of a cop-out of dealing with the consequences for what she did. I also thought it was a bit odd that for a show where one of the main themes is tackling racism, the Pie Folk were a blatant negative stereotype of Carnies and the main characters were openly racist towards them. I do like them exploring the implications of Eclipsa's takeover and how the Mewmans hate monsters not being second-class citizens anymore though. The Mewmans are terrible and deserve to get hosed over tbh.
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Mar 13, 2019 10:52
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Thing is that Star learns best through physical practice, and her quickly picking up wandless magic once she figures out the trick makes sense; she's already basically treated the wand like an extension of herself, once she truly realises she doesn't need it she just goes back to business as usual and it works because she has confidence it will. Interestingly contrasted with Eclipsa, who is unprecedentedly powerful with the wand but powerless without it, and implied to have a far more intellectual approach. There's definite overtones of white grievance with the Mewmans, maybe almost too on the nose that even the prisoner is mad they can't arbitrarily imprison monsters for being monsters anymore. And the theme that even the nicer Mewman royals have been perpetuating the racist policies that keep the underclasses of both sides set against one another while they don't notice the royalty exploiting them. (Apparently the supplementary books have Ludo's family be basically propped up as a token monster nobility to keep the monster plebs under control, and obviously that didn't work. Wouldn't be surprised if the monster king in the backstory was a similar puppet monarch) Wouldn't be surprised if they're building up to an arc villain for the final season being basically a reactionary, though I dunno how Ludo would inevitably be involved there.
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Mar 13, 2019 12:26
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Nephthys posted:Good to have the show back. Carnies aren't a race though. Pie Folk are mewmans they're just mewmans from Alabama.
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Mar 13, 2019 14:02
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I'm hoping more of the lore from the spellbook will make its way into the writing. I think I asked this a while back but is anyone good with anagrams? There's definitely one in the book and I can't solve the first line. e: never mind, apparently someone solved it 
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Mar 13, 2019 22:46
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Nephthys posted:Good to have the show back.  Star learning wandless magic has actually been a thing since the Season 2 opener! It just hasn't been quite as apparent since she always relied on her wand as a crutch, and wandless magic was typically associated with the special effects that came with dipping down. She was also utilizing wandless magic back in the Season 3 finale, when she was battling Meteroa in her Butterfly form.
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Mar 14, 2019 00:27
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Episode synopses for (most of) the rest of March: March 17th: Ransomgram - Star and Marco work together to rescue Marco's friend from strange demons. Lake House Fever - Star turns an unfortunate time at Tom's family lake house into an exciting excursion. March 24th: Yada Yada Berries - Star and Marco act like amateur detectives as they open an investigation into who is responsible for trying to transform Eclipsa into stone. Down by the River - Moon and River attempt to get used to their new lives after they gave up their crowns. The Ponyhead Show! - Star asks for Ponyhead's help to increase Eclipsa's popularity. Surviving the Spiderbites - Star tries to keep the Spider Bites family occupied while Eclipsa runs late for dinner. March 31st: Out Of Business - Star, Marco and Janna want to take full advantage of Quest Buy’s Going Out of Business Sale. Kelly’s World - Marco and Kelly risk life and limb to return a library book before it’s overdue. No description yet for Curse of the Blood Moon, which is a 22 minute ep.
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Mar 15, 2019 02:15
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I hope that one episode title is a reference to Chris Farley.
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Mar 15, 2019 02:35
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I wonder if we're gonna get any Bojack Horseman references with Pony Head. They do have a lot in common.
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Mar 15, 2019 05:20
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It's good to hear that Janna still exists.
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Mar 15, 2019 05:43
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I'm glad it seems things will be moving at a fairly quick pace. That's always fun. Hope to see plenty of Moon and Eclipsa, hopefully they are still going to be on good terms after the initial adjustment period, it was interesting seeing them be on the same page last season.
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Mar 15, 2019 22:30
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Madurai posted:It's good to hear that Janna still exists. That scoundrel.
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Mar 15, 2019 23:57
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Good set of episodes! Definitely a positive uptick from the premier. Ransomgram in particular was the closest we've gotten to a classic S1/S2 Marco and Star adventuring episode in a long while, and was a great return to form. Will probably post some more detailed thoughts when it's not 2 AM.
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Mar 17, 2019 06:48
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I like Eclipsa having to deal with the fact that her actions are going to have lasting consequences and that she needs to start playing by the rules if she wants to get anywhere with people other than the Butterfly family
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Mar 17, 2019 18:51
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Let's overthrow the patriarchy!
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Mar 17, 2019 19:10
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Edit: wrong thread
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Mar 17, 2019 19:28
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Alright, some thoughts on the episodes: So there's a lot going on with Eclipsa, and I think it's going to boil to a head pretty soon. Now, for those who haven't read the Book of Spells, Eclipsa's background is that she was the daughter of Solaria the Monster Carver, probably the most genocidal queen in Mewni's history. Solaria herself was an objectively terrible leader—she actively sought war against the monsters and lost, only getting bailed out by the Lucitors and Pony Heads after a years-long siege against Butterfly castle. As a result, Eclipsa didn't exactly have good role models growing up, and was forced to keep her attraction to monsters secret. Eclipsa was also 'not much older' than young Moon when Solaria died, and wasn't queen for a particularly long time either. At best, I'd say Eclipsa is probably only in her mid-to-late twenties, possibly even younger than that. Contrast this with Moon—Comet was a competent and fair leader for her daughter to look up to, and since her death Moon has ruled as an active and hands-on ruler for at least two decades. She's so hands-on, in fact, that the Kingdom basically falls apart without her active influence, as shown in Marco and the King way back at the beginning of Season 3. And since Eclipsa took over, while she's done things like forbidding the imprisonment of monsters and rebuilt the old monster temple, the Butterfly castle is still a wreck and it's very doubtful that she's taken over the very direct and active role that Moon had in running the kingdom. Personality-wise, I think Eclipsa is a reflection of the kind of queen Star may have grown up to be if she didn't have Marco to encourage her to grow. Impulsive, evasive, and not necessarily selfish, but focused on her own needs as opposed to those of the kingdom. And I think Moon can tell that, which is a big reason why she doesn't trust her—and in a sense she's proven right in the very next episode, when Eclipsa resorts to attacking Rhombulus (nearly killing him!) and straight-up stealing his body so she can free Globgor. Speaking of Star, the episodes were an interesting look at how far she's come from the beginning of the series, and how far she has to go. In Swim Suit, she's willing to put her needs on hold temporarily to try and defuse the confrontation... but then she still tries to back out instead of seeing the conversation through, allowing the conflict to escalate to the point of near disaster. And in Lake House Fever she's, well, straight up cruel—far from intentionally, but she still puts Tom and his family through a wringer because of her unwillingness to have an honest discussion about their relationship and her lingering attraction to Marco. Going forward, I think the show is going to put greater pressure on Star by pitting Moon and Eclipsa against each other, and by forcing her to choose directly between Tom and Marco. Butterfly Follies already showed that the Mewmans still love Moon, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's directly encouraged by the Mewmans to take back the crown—especially if Eclipsa continues to focus on freeing Globgor at the expense of running the Kingdom. And for the love triangle... I mean, there isn't much to say that hasn't already been said. Marco and Tom have already been open with each other, and the impetus is on Star to finally put her foot down and tell Marco "I'm sorry, I know we both like each other, but I'm with Tom and I care about him too," or to tell Tom "I'm sorry, you deserve better than this." Continuing as if nothing's wrong just hurts all three of them, and isn't fair to either Tom or Marco.
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Mar 17, 2019 20:09
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I feel that Star is becoming to Eclipsa what Marco used to be to Star - a good influence, a moral rock to keep her impulsiveness in check, and a bringer of common sense, like "Hey, this is just gonna make your relationship with the high commission worse, so maybe don't" Also I like that Eclipsa has basically become one of the family, simultaneously a grandmother figure and (ironically) little sister to Star, both offering her wisdom to Star and seeking Star's when her own wisdom fails her.
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Mar 17, 2019 20:44
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This thread has a tragic absence of GIFs of Eclipsa and Moon shredding on the bone guitar
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Mar 18, 2019 01:40
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Benne posted:This thread has a tragic absence of GIFs of Eclipsa and Moon shredding on the bone guitar What about grimy River? 
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Mar 18, 2019 02:21
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Just caught up and man I'm glad that Kenny Pittenger is now a regular writer/boarder this season and thus we can get more moments like this
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Mar 18, 2019 06:23
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So while I caught Moon Remembers and Swim Suit, for some reason I never saw Ransomgram or Lake House Fever in any of the listings. Even the Wikipedia descriptions are completely blank. Were they only aired on the Disney XD app or something?
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Mar 18, 2019 08:13
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Tom has a great mom.
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Mar 18, 2019 09:46
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Shitenshi posted:So while I caught Moon Remembers and Swim Suit, for some reason I never saw Ransomgram or Lake House Fever in any of the listings. Even the Wikipedia descriptions are completely blank. Were they only aired on the Disney XD app or something? I had that happen too. Apparently they only air one out of two on XD, and all the episodes run on regular Disney. Who knows why, but adjust your DVR accordingly.
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Mar 18, 2019 10:09
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Kinda crazy how far Tom has turned things around considering his first appearances. Does really seem like he's actually found being more chill and stable is more pleasant for everyone, especially himself. Though it does seem like he's still disinterested in Star's actual life while Marco takes an interest, which doesn't help their complicated relationships at all.
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Mar 18, 2019 10:44
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Ghost Leviathan posted:Kinda crazy how far Tom has turned things around considering his first appearances. Does really seem like he's actually found being more chill and stable is more pleasant for everyone, especially himself. Though it does seem like he's still disinterested in Star's actual life while Marco takes an interest, which doesn't help their complicated relationships at all. Tom seems 100% more interested in his relationship with Star than Star is, for better or worse. Star otoh, is almost 0% interested in her relationship with Tom and seems to be doing it out of inertia and now maybe a dose of guilt.
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Mar 18, 2019 13:59
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Xelkelvos posted:Tom seems 100% more interested in his relationship with Star than Star is, for better or worse. Star otoh, is almost 0% interested in her relationship with Tom and seems to be doing it out of inertia and now maybe a dose of guilt. It really does seem like Tom's in it probably as much out of inertia and that Star is one of the only people his own age that he genuinely likes and respects. (he definitely still has a frenemies relationship with Marco) Both him and Star are confusing them actually getting along better for their relationship being rekindled (no pun intended) and a perceived payoff for the effort Tom put into it. (Tom having built his coach himself seems like a good metaphor for that) There's a very teenage theme with the show having relationships that have a lot of build up and a short actual existence, like Marco and Jackie-Lynn, since the characters have all the desires and personal investment but little to no long-term interest once they've got what they want.
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Mar 18, 2019 14:11
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Star pretty much spelled that out too. "But that's what teenagers do, they break up because we are idiots!" "Well I know that, but it's still pretty hard on my mom."
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Mar 18, 2019 19:21
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The Star Tom relationship is a very good example of one person being most invested in an actual relationship and the other because of comfort/convenience/inertia
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Mar 23, 2019 05:08
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BioEnchanted posted:Star pretty much spelled that out too. I thought it was interesting that Star brought up that she was a teen twice in the episodes as a way to deflect responsibility from herself (Once to try and get out of moderating Eclipsa and Rhombulus, and once to Tom to justify breaking up with him in the past), and it backfired horrifically both times.
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Mar 23, 2019 05:32
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To be fair, Eclipsa and Rhombulus and both hundreds of years old by now - they shouldn't need a teenager to moderate them.
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Mar 23, 2019 08:11
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Come to think of it, really shouldn't be surprising that those two come to blows so badly, Rhombulus is a trigger-happy cop with the mind of a child while Eclipsa is highly intelligent but self-admittedly selfish and even more immature than Star in some ways.
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Mar 23, 2019 09:04
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I'd like to see Star's friends interacting with Eclipsa, see what they make of her given the treaty they signed together - Rich Pigeon is still probably sore about Meteora's rampage, but it would be neat to see Tom and Spider-Bite interacting with her.
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Mar 23, 2019 10:08
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Acebuckeye13 posted:Apparently there's a way for the book to come back from a single fragment, so don't be surprised if that pops up next season Caaaalled it.
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Mar 24, 2019 06:08
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It does seem that, Discworld like, it's a general rule of magic in Star Vs that if you throw enough magic at something, some of it sticks.
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Mar 24, 2019 10:54
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Well, the people hoping for more Mewman stories should be pretty happy with this week's batch.
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Mar 24, 2019 12:16
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:Well, the people hoping for more Mewman stories should be pretty happy with this week's batch. 
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Mar 24, 2019 14:26
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I'm expecting the Globgor shoe to drop with someone other than Eclipsa releasing him in the run up to the finale, maybe Mina trying to finish him off. Also am I the only one hoping that Eclipsa is totally on the up-and-up and that Star hiding the book from her is gonna make her the rear end in a top hat? Like Eclipsa finds out and is less angry, just more "What? Even you don't trust me Star?  "
BioEnchanted fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Mar 24, 2019 |
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Mar 24, 2019 17:15
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If there's a theme with these episodes, it's that while the second Butterfly dynasty may be illegitimate, Moon is still a pretty good queen, while Eclipsa has the right to take back the throne and is definitely in the right with reparations for the monsters Mewni's spend centuries repressing, but she's in the 'and then what?' stage of rebuilding and reconciling after the battles have been won. She's got the wand, got her kingdom, and the one person who could genuinely pose a threat to her rule is (mostly) one of her staunchest allies, but centuries of racially-charged oppression and warfare leaves deep scars. Also possibly a difference that Eclipsa is quite happy to waste time on her own and being selfish while Star and Moon both are very active people who need something to do to keep them going; Moon doesn't take to an idle life very well while Star has thrown herself completely into princessly work once it actually means something other than sitting around waiting to inherit the crown.
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Mar 25, 2019 11:52
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