I wasn't going to give it a chance at first. The premise was silly to me, and the few season 1 episodes I caught now and then didn't do anything for me. But I heard talk and saw fan art, saw that so many people loved these characters dearly, and that pushed me to see the show through. And I am so glad that I did.
The story of Anne, Sasha, and Marcy's relationship is so real and so near and dear to my heart. The tragedy of their imperfect love for each other is beautiful, and that alone made me fall in love with this show. That all three would do anything for each other, whether it's make terrible mistakes or change for the better, is the true love that I so desperately long to experience. They're cartoon characters, but they're written so real. They're so, so important to me.
Of course there are things that I would have done differently, and things that I wish could have been explored more. I feel that a number of the slice of life episodes drag, especially in season 1, and it hurts the show's pacing. I vehemently loathe season 3's aversion to addressing Sasha and Marcy until it's their time to show up for the plot. I feel that Darcy was severely underutilized. I wish we could have seen more of Sasha and Marcy's calamity powers. I wish we had seen more of Andrias's relationship with Leif and Barrel. I really don't like that the day was saved by a plot device only introduced in the final episode.
And I never, EVER would have written an ending as tragic as the one we got. I'm afraid of unhappy endings, of leaving things unresolved or on an unidealistic note. Of course we all wish that the worlds hadn't been cut off. It hurts to know that Anne will never get to see Sprig and Polly grow up, that Grime will never get to see just how far Sasha has come, that Marcy will never get to have the familial relationship with Olivia and Yunan that they deserved. It's especially hard to know that even after everything they've been through together, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy still drifted apart. It's so, so hard to say goodbye. So hard to accept that not everything gets a perfect, happy ending, wrapped up in a neat little bow. That sometimes things change, not always for the better, and all you can do is remember and move on.
It's not a perfect ending. But in a lot of ways, I feel it's the perfect ending for Amphibia.
Amphibia is not and was never an escapist fantasy. It's clearly a story very personal to its creator, one that aims to share some of the hard truths he's learned in his life. Amphibia is a story about love and loss and how those things change you, how you improve and become stronger for those you love, and what you'll give for them. But it doesn't try to convince us that love can conquer anything, because it can't. Sometimes, no matter how hard it is, you have to say goodbye. I think that's a really important lesson, not just for the audience, but for the characters.
Anne will never forget Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop, and they'll never forget her. They changed each other for the better, and their lives are better for it, even if they can't be together anymore. Maybe Anne, Sasha, and Marcy didn't get to be together forever, maybe life led them in different directions, but their love for each other still made them better people. And maybe it's enough to know that despite everything, no matter how far apart they are, their love will always find each other.
And if that isn't enough, well, we'll always have fan fiction.
I know that my passion for this show will fade, just like it did for all the shows before it. But I will never forget the feelings Amphibia made me feel, and I truly believe that Reunion, (especially) True Colors, and The Hardest Thing will go down as some of my all-time favorite episodes of television. I know that the story of Amphibia is one that will change my approach to storytelling, and hopefully me as a person, for the better.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, to both Matt Braly and the crew and all the fan creators who got me invested, for Anne, Sasha, and Marcy. And to Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Grime, Olivia, Yunan, and Andrias, goodbye, and thank you for all the awesome adventures.
