History Recap / AmphibiaS3E31TheHardestThing

* CatSmile: A quite literal case when the Guardian, in the form of Domino, smiles as they're about to send Anne back to the world of the living.

** Subverted with Anne. Even though [[ALasPoorVillain she still sympathizes with Andrias's situation]], she doesn't exactly forgive him for everything.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Anne argues with the Ethereal guardian that she's just a teenager who, despite being a hero who's helped tons of people, has also made '''hundreds''' of mistakes throughout her life. Giving her a position of extreme power and authority as she is now can only result in catastrophic consequences for the multiverse. Upon hearing her talk of growth and change, they decide to ask her again after her natural death.
** While Andrias turned against the Core in the end, he still committed countless crimes against Amphibia and Earth before. His last scene shows him gardening while being in chains and watched by guards. He seems relatively happy though.
** As was the concern, Anne, Sasha and Marcy did end up drifting apart as time went on. First due to Marcy moving, then Anne and Sasha fell into different friend groups in high school. Sometimes life just happens and people move on. That said, the series does end on the hopeful note that the three will rekindle their friendship, and [[WordOfGod Matt outright stated]] that Marcy visited LA multiple times over the years and the girls did keep regular tabs on one another, so while their bond did stretch, [[TrueCompanions it never grew weaker]].

* AnAesop: The world and the people in it are always changing, and you can't hold onto the past forever.

** The Guardian casually reveals to Anne that she'll live another 78 years (i.e. to age 91).

Mother Olm appears and tells the girls that the prophecy has come to pass. Mother Olm continues explaining it's less a prophecy more of a cry for help, and that help is within the three gemstones. The three are aware that using the full power of the stones may strand them in Amphibia forever, but will not leave Amphibia in its hour of need. As everyone rushes inside the castle to use the music box, Mother Olm pulls Anne aside to tell her that, should their power fall short, a single person can call upon all three stones and be granted a power that can defeat any foe, at the cost of their life. Though hoping the situation will not come to that, regardless, Anne asks how the spell works, to which Mother Olm responds, "You have only but to ask."\\

Roughly 9 months later, Amphibia has been rebuilt with the environment healed from Andrias's industrialization. Andrias has abdicated his throne and is seen helping to replant the flora he devastated, albeit under guard and while wearing chains, though he's fine with it. Polly has grown into a frog, with Wally still unable to get used to it. Maddie is shown to have started a pharmaceutical business with her sisters, using her potions. Loggle has returned to his scrawny shape, which he blames on taking a cheat day. Grime, Olivia, and Yunan have become dignitaries for toads and newts respectively. Joe Sparrow and Bessie have fallen in love and had a trio of adorable sparrow-snail baby hybrids. Toadie has become the new mayor of Wartwood, with Toadstool as his aide. Hop Pop has started a business selling the California avocados that he had gotten from Los Angeles, with Frobo helping garden them at the Plantar Farm. Sprig is shown keeping a journal of all the creatures he's encountered, with the aid of Anne's phone. Everyone meets in the center of Wartwood to unveil a new statue of Anne in honor of her saving Amphibia. After being told by Ivy about a new continent untouched by any amphibians, Sprig, looking at the Anne statue and thinking of her encouragement, jumps onboard to check it out.\\

* AmbiguousCloneEnding: Anne's body fatally overheats [[NoBodyLeftBehind and disintegrates]] after [[HeroicSacrifice using all the Calamity Gems herself]] to destroy the Core for good, but the Gems' guardian sends her back with a new one after she declines to watch over the cosmos. It's not quite made clear whether Anne's consciousness was preserved and put into a new physical shell or [[KilledOffForReal destroyed with her previous body]] and leaving a total simulacrum to return to Earth and live out her life in her place. Either way, Anne reckons [[CloningBlues she'll have an existential crisis down the line.]]

* CloningBlues: The Guardian effectively brings Anne BackFromTheDead by saving her consciousness just before she disintegrated and creating a copy of her body. Anne acts as if she simply survives, though she acknowledges an existential crisis may be pending.

* TomatoInTheMirror: The stone deity tells Anne that she technically died, but they managed to save her by copying her consciousness right before her HeroicSacrifice. Anne lampshades that that will [[CloningBlues cause her existential dread]] later.

** The Core, now inhabiting Darcy's helmet after having lost their human host, committing an act of ''massive'' destruction for petty reasoning, smashing Amphibia's red moon into the planet to deny the heroes victory, makes the situation analogous to ''VideoGame/MajorasMask'', aided by the fact that the moon is revealed to be a massive machine covered in the Core's HellishPupils, just like the Moon of Termina has a humanoid face on it.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[HeroicRROD Since Sasha and Marcy are less used to the Calamity powers than Anne is, they quickly run out of steam while she's still going]], leaving her no choice but to summon the full power of all three stones. After she defeats the Core, her body completely disintegrates.

** Ten years after returning from Amphibia, Sasha has cut her to shoulder length while Marcy has grown hers out. Anne has kept her hair largely the same, but has it tied back in a bushy ponytail.

** Besides several references to their time in Amphibia in their outfits, Sasha has what looks like a Bisexual Pride heart sticker on her rearview mirror.

[[caption-width-right:350: ''[[Series/DoctorWho Everything ends, and it’s always sad. But everything begins again, too, and that’s always happy. Be happy. I’ll look after the rest.]]'']]

[[caption-width-right:350: It's time for the journey to end.]]

* RewatchBonus: TheReveal that the red moon is a massive machine that can house the Core's consciousness turns their presence throughout the show as well as many promotional materials and artwork, into an EvilOverlooker and ever-present reminder of [[SaveTheWorldClimax the true stakes]] of the girls' presence in Amphibia.

*** Andrias has abdicated his throne and is seen helping to replant the flora he devastated, albeit under guard and while wearing chains, though he's okay with it. It also appears that he might be going blind due to his hazy looking eyes. He's joined by the Triple Bs, also in chains.

** Sasha and Marcy have gotten their Calamity powers only minutes ago and unlike Anne they never had any chance to get used to them. When the three try to stop the ''moon'', the struggle becomes too much for Sasha and Marcy and their powers start to fade.

** As was the concern, Anne, Sasha and Marcy did end up drifting apart as time went on. First due to Marcy moving, then Anne and Sasha fell into different friend groups in high school. Sometimes life just happens and people move on. That said, the series does end on the hopeful note that the three will rekindle their friendship, and [[WordOfGod Matt outright stated]] that Marcy visited LA multiple times over the years and the girls did keep regular tabs on one another, so while their bond did stretch, [[TrueCompanions it never grew weaker]]. Similarly, travel to Amphibia via inter dimensional portal was shown to be a difficult endeavour made possible mainly through the use of the energy of the calamity gems. Whilst Terri did manage to build a working portal setup, without the stones it's left uncertain if there can ''be'' any other power source that could enable travel between both sides, thus they are reluctantly separated for several years, though there is again a hopeful possibly that such an outcome might one day be achievable.

'''Andrias:''' ''(surprised that she's talking to him, but then turns away in shame)'' Take care, Kiddo.

* FinalBattle: The war may be over, but the Core decides to come back for one last hurrah with the heroes. Subtlety be damned,one way or another, the Core's time is up.

** It's implied that this is at least partly the reason why Andrias now has Barrel's warhammer. Alongside it are Leif's leaf and the toy robot pin Marcy gave him when they first met, both seen on his cloak.

** According to WordOfGod, the blow Anne dealt to Andrias that damaged his cybernetic also shattered the implants that maintained his longevity, meaning that [[NoImmortalInertia his age is finally catching up with him]] (hence the scraggily beard and blind eye he was shown having in his last scene). Rather than repair his cybernetics, however, Andrias has chosen to live the remainder of his life repenting for his actions by replanting all the foliage he devastated.

* YourDaysAreNumbered: The Guardian casually reveals to Anne that she'll live another 78 years (i.e. to age 91).

* EasilyForgiven: Downplayed. Marcy's goodbye to Andrias is a little terse and he's clearly surprised he even got ''that'' much. In the TimeSkip Marcy can be seen with a blue newt pin on her bag, indicating she still thinks of him.
-->'''Marcy:''' Goodbye, Andrias.\\
'''Andrias:''' ''(Shocked that she's talking to him)'' Take care, Kiddo.

* HeroicRROD: Since Sasha and Marcy are less used to the Calamity powers than Anne is, they quickly run out of steam while she's still going. Then, when Anne summons the full power of all three stones, after she defeats the Core, her body completely disintegrates.

* RageQuit: The Core [[SoreLoser did not take their defeat well]] and tries to destroy Amphibia as revenge. Sasha even calls it a SoreLoser.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The Guardian really wants to retire from the GodJob it's been doing for at ''least'' ten thousand years, but while it wants Anne to replace it, the Guardian doesn't force her, and instead sends her back to live out her natural lifespan on the logic that a lifetime of CharacterDevelopment will make her even ''better'' at the job. It even provides one-shot versions of the Gems so that Anne, Sasha, and Marcy can return to Earth, and it's also implicitly the one who let Anne harness their full power to destroy the Core because she asked for the power to save the world she'd come to love. It even says that it's not a jerk when Anne asks if she has a choice.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Anne rejects the offer of the Cosmic Guardian, saying that she's just a kid who would screw it up. The Guardian decides to let her live her life completely before asking her again.

* RewatchBonus: TheReveal that the red moon is a massive machine that can house the Core's consciousness turns its presence throughout the show as well as many promotional materials and artwork, into an EvilOverlooker and ever-present reminder of [[SaveTheWorldClimax the true stakes]] of the girls' presence in Amphibia.

* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The prophecy Leif saw when she touched the Calamity Gems is revealed to be this. By stealing the music box and sending it to Earth, she started a chain of events that eventually led to Anne, Sasha and Marcy finding the box, being empowered by the gems and transported to Amphibia to serve as their champions and eventually thwart Andrias and the Core's invasion of Earth. In response to this, the Core induces a ColonyDrop from the massive machine hiding as Amphibia's red moon, aiming to wipe out the planet entirely as its last spiteful act of vengeance against the heroes -- the very thing that Leif saw that made her so afraid of their misuse of the box that she stole it and hid it on Earth.

** When the Core sees Anne about to use the full powers of the stones against it, she replies to its comment that she's using "Amphibia's greatest treasure" against it that the stones ''aren't'' the world's greatest treasure, with an image of the friends she's made along her journeys showing what she thinks the greatest treasure truly is.

* SoreLoser: After the invasion failed, the Core is willing to use the "moon" to destroy all of Amphibia to get revenge and take the stones back. Sasha even calls it that, with Andrias agreeing.

** Anne argues with the Ethereal guardian that she's just a teenager who, despite being a hero who's helped tons of people, has also made '''hundreds''' of mistakes throughout her life. Giving her a position of extreme power and authority as she is now can only result in catastrophic consequences for the multiverse. Upon hearing her talk of growth and change, it decides to ask her again after her natural death.

** Andrias is no longer Amphibia's ruler, but it's not shown or mentioned if anyone replaced him, or if Amphibia now has a different kind of leader such as a president instead. Neither Olivia, Yunan nor Grime are implied to be the Head of State in the new post-Core Amphibia.

* VillainousBreakdown: The Core has apparently completely ''snapped'' after their invasion was thwarted and they were forced to inhabit Darcy's helmet to survive, being willing to [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out all of Amphibia]] to spite the heroes for its own loss, despite the fact it could have crawled away and survived unnoticed. Indeed, it enacts this plans immediately after Olivia announces the defeat of Darcy publicly, almost in response to the assertion that they could have lost. It loses its composure entirely when Andrias turns on it, screaming at him in disbelief how he could refuse immortality. Its last moments are simply spent staring in wide-eyed shock before it's completely destroyed.

*** Andrias has abdicated his throne and is seen helping to replant the flora he devastated, albeit under guard and while wearing chains, though he's okay with it. It also appears that he might be going blind due to his hazy looking eyes. He's joined by the Triple B's, also in chains.

** The Guardian has been doing their job for at ''least'' ten thousand years, and is getting pretty tired of it, and it wants to at the very least retire (which very well may not entail death), and when Anne rejects its offer to replace it the being decides to return her to life, saying that it can wait 78 years more for Anne to continue to grow as a person until she's ready for the role.

-->'''Andrias:''' Finally doing something useful.