Webby enters the library as Lena playfully remarks about the same routine Webby follows during her usual visits there as she approaches the reference desk to find new books on Shadow magic. To Webby's surprise, the librarian on duty is Mrs. Quackfaster, working a second job to pay for a retirement condo in Birbados. She tells Webby that the book she's looking for is already being read by another little girl: a purple hummingbird, with a serious demeanor.
While trying to borrow the book since she thinks it'd be too difficult for her to understand, Webby is surprised to find that this girl is an expert in ancient languages. Introduced as Violet Saberwing, she apparently knows "Webbigail" from the news as Scrooge's assistant in his adventures, and offers to review "Spirits of the Shadow Realm" together later tonight...as a sleepover! Despite Lena wanting to keep things routine, Webby accepts excitedly.
It turns out she picked the perfect day for this: it's Binventory night, so Scrooge and the boys are out cataloging the treasure of the money bin. Beakley gives Webby an encouraging boost, since her other 2 sleepovers with Lena ended with a magic money shark or fighting a unicorn. However, Webby instead becomes panicked by the realization that magic ruined both of her sleepovers. So, Webby resolves to hide anything magical or adventurous to protect her new potential friend. Keep to normal things like games and pie. To that end, she hides almost everything in her room, and runs into Duckworth in order to answer the door personally rather than have her ghost butler surprise Violet. Violet brought Pie for the night.
Meanwhile, offended by Webby's Innocently Insensitive comment that Webby "needs friends" unlike her, Mrs. Beakley invites Launchpad over for dinner and some casual time together. Communicating this is...difficult at first, and at the dinner table, Launchpad is overwhelmed by the number of spoons, leading to him passing out when trying to drink soup from a crazy straw. Launchpad for his part thought this was a prelude to being fired, and even when learning the truth, the two have trouble finding a point of connection. Then Launchpad notices Beakley's reading a book called "The Scarlet Pimperbill" about a shadowy defender of the city. And so he decides to introduce her to his favorite TV show: Darkwing Duck.
Webby is given a brief rundown of why Violet wanted the book: she was looking into Tulpas: manifestations of strong emotions like greed or jealousy. Violet thinks it's the best explanation for what happened during The Shadow War. Trying to deflect out of her newfound fear of magic, Webby leads Violet away to try a scary makeover, while Lena notices that Violet's carrying around...Her Amulet!
Accidentally spilling her supernatural knowledge, Violet discovers all of Webby's adventurous stuff, very happily wanting to explore it more using runes from Demigorgana. Trying "rune baggle" as a compromise, Lena finds she can actually touch the runes, and tries to communicate with Webby that Violet is suspicious due to several shadowy figures beginning to manifest in the shadow realm. Unfortunately, her attempts are ineffective due to Webby's own nerdy interest in the runes, and misunderstandings of her Bedsheet Ghost attempts to communicate. To scare her off, Violet uses the amulet to disperse Lena's energies, but on seeing it, Webby demands an explanation on how and why she has that piece of magic.
Violet explains that when the shadow war happened, she was attacked by the shadows of duckburg. And when Donald shattered the amulet to release Magica's powers, the staff flew all the way to the beach Violet was on, reverting back to its basic amulet form, and inspiring Violet to turn her rational mind to learning more about this mysterious world outside textbooks and "rational truths". Satisfied, but still hesitant, Webby wants to just move on, but then Violet has an idea: what if they used the amulet to draw Lena back to the physical realm? While Lena protests in silence, Webby decides this is the break she finally wanted to save Lena.
Meanwhile, Beakley is...unimpressed by Darkwing Duck's episode where one of his villains Quackerjack summoned the demon Paddywhack to possess his doll Mr. Bananabrain, hoping the girls are having a better time than she is.
Starting the resurrection seance, Lena tries to talk Webby out, seeing herself in these "manipulations". Only, then the amulet is sent to the shadow realm, fusing with Lena. And all of a sudden, the figures merge into a new one: Magica De Spell. Responding to Violet's chants it circles the seance goers, manifesting into multiple copies of what looks like Magica's shadow. Lena reaches for the 2, and with their magical circle active, drags them both into the shadow realm.
While Webby is overjoyed to see her first best friend again, Violet identifies the figures as the Tulpas she mentioned before, nervous about their actions. Lena for her part accuses Violet of being "A spy! A thief! A 2nd rate knockoff of me!" But as she tries to claim Webby, the tulpas morph...into versions of Lena, then capturing Webby and running down the halls of the manor. Giving chase, Lena and Violet argue means, ends and blame for this, with Violet expertly parrying Lena's accusations, saying the tulpas are manifesting Lena's fears and jealousy of Violet, and that regardless of their own feelings right now, they both care for Webby, and need to find a way to disperse the tulpas before they escape with Webbigail as their prisoner.
In the living room, Beakley has discovered Darkwing Duck to be far more captivating than she first assumed as she and Launchpad gush over the twist ending of an episode they have just finished. She excitedly asks him to put the next videotape in so they can see what happens next, but Launchpad sadly tells her there are no more tapes: Darkwing Duck was canceled before the finale could air. Having already fallen in love with the show despite her initial skepticism, Beakley is outraged and dismayed over not getting to see how the cliffhanger is resolved. Fortunately, Launchpad shares that he wrote a "fan script" on the last part, and finally connected to a shared interest, Beakley insists that they film it to satisfy her want for closure. Something Launchpad is very excited for.
Realizing she needs to finally let go of her possessive nature to save her friend, Lena joins with Violet to use rhyme magic to disperse the tulpas and return Webby and Violet to the physical realm. Unfortunately, with her spirit still unanchored, this means Webby and Lena will be separated once again. Still, as she begins dispersing, Lena links hands with Webby and Violet. But doing so causes Webby's friendship bracelet she made with Lena to become loaded with blue magic, swirling around them all, leaving a blue cloud behind....and a surprised Lena exclaiming "I'M BACK??" as she pats down a physical form.
After watching the grownups run off to film their Darkwing story before the boys return, the new trio returns for another round of makeup fun. Webby proclaims this her most successful sleepover with magic bringing her old best friend back, getting a new best friend, and even pie. Violet then gives a mock proclamation of vengeance after tonight, while Lena pretends that her body is beginning to melt, giving Webby another fright, before they all laugh it off as another point of connection between the new best friends.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: When Launchpad gets a pea stuck in his straw, it looks like a setup for him to inhale it when it finally dislodges. He collapses from oxygen deprivation first.
- Bedsheet Ghost: One of Lena's desperate attempts to communicate with the living world is to move a sheet, although she acknowledges it as being "so cliché".
- Berserk Button: Upon discovering that Violet somehow has Magica’s amulet, Webby is furious.Webby: WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?! (tackles Violet to the ground and takes the amulet from her) Slumber Party’s over! Start talking. NOW!
- Bland-Name Product: Baggle in place of Boggle.
- Call-Back:
- Mrs. Beakley points out that Webby's sleepovers have had disastrous results in the past, such as the money shark and fighting a unicorn. Lena also admits that both of those incidents were her fault.
- Possibly minor one regarding Mrs. Beakley's grand-parenting. In the first episode she mentions she "has enough excitement looking after Webby," and this is the first episode we see them interact together without the boys around. Webby is indeed hyperactive, and Mrs. Beakley can barely keep up with her.
- In "The Shadow War: Part 1," Mrs. Beakley also mentions that as a grandmother, she's very good at utilizing guilt. In this episode, she obliviously guilt-slings Webby over Lena without even meaning to.
- Comically Missing the Point: Webby and Violet are too busy reading the runes on the fallen dice to notice that Lena has rearranged the dice to spell "Don't Trust Her".
- Continuity Nod:
- Violet has Demogorgan runes to contact the dead.
- The author of The Myth of the Shadow Realm is B.A. Beagle. As in Black Arts Beagle.
- Converted Fangirl: In-universe Mrs. Beakley isn't very impressed with Darkwing Duck when she first sees it, but she becomes a die-hard fan (along with Launchpad) by the time they reach the Cliffhanger ending.
- Cut Short: In-Universe, the fate of the Darkwing Duck show - much to the fury of Mrs. Beakley.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Violet Sabrewing is a violet sabrewing.
- Enemy Without: Lena's jealousy towards Webby and Violet getting close to one another manifests in several tulpas.
- Even Nerds Have Standards: When Webby and Violet are conversing with each other in different dead languages, Quackfaster walks by them and calls them "nerds".
- Famed In-Story: Apparently, Webby's become famous enough through adventuring with Scrooge that Violet recognizes her the moment she hears her first name.
- Foreshadowing:
- Tulpas are mentioned in the book on shadows. They form the primary threat later in the episode.
- Mrs. Beakley suggests they should film a Grand Finale for Darkwing Duck based on Launchpad's scripts. A later episode is about a studio creating a new Darkwing Duck movie.
- Formal Full Array of Cutlery: When having dinner with Beakley, Launchpad is confused over which of four spoons to use to eat soup. After trying to use all spoons at once, he decides to use a straw instead. A crazy straw.
- Freudian Trio: With Violet in her circle of friends Webby forms a trio that parallels the triplets; Lena is shifty id like Louie, Violet is studious superego like Huey and Webby mediates between the two as ego where she was previously shown to be closest to Dewey in her drive for adventure.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Lena gets jealous when she sees Webby befriending Violet, worried that Webby would forget about her. Her jealousy makes her assume that Violet is just using Webby for a nefarious purpose. In fact, when Lena rips into Violet for being "a spy, a thief" and in her words, a "knock off of me", she then says...:Lena: Get away from Webby, she's mine!
- Hypocritical Humor: Quackfaster calls Webby "a bizarre one". For the record, their last interaction had Quackfaster chasing Webby through the archives while shrieking and swinging a scimitar.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Friendship-based: In the beginning, Lena claims to prefer that Webby not meddle with dangerous magic, and just let her go if she had to — even if it meant she stayed stuck in the Shadow Realm. But it's ultimately played with, as in the end her suppressed jealousy and fear that Webby might actually let her go and forget her nearly explode into a dangerous situation.
- Ironic Echo: Many by Lena, although Webby can't hear her.
- Improbably Predictable: Lena is able to predict Webby's routine doing research in the library down to the word until she runs into Violet.
- Left Hanging: In-Universe, the Darkwing Duck show was canceled before the cliffhanger was resolved.
- Literal-Minded: Launchpad confuses the sport cricket for the insect cricket.
- Mythology Gag:
- Launchpad presents his self-insert fanfiction that completes the In-Universe TV show, but in Darkwing Duck, Launchpad actually was Darkwing's sidekick.
- The In-Universe Darkwing Duck episode that's shown being watched Launchpad and Mrs. Beakley is a reference to the actual Darkwing Duck episode, "The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain". Paddywhack's and Mr. Banana Brain's design match that of the original show.
- The In-Universe Darkwing Duck show was revealed to be Cut Short, in real life Darkwing Duck was abruptly canceled despite a fourth season being in development, which among other things would have followed up on the cliffhanger ending of the third season episode "Steerminator" and featured sequels to episodes "Negaduck" and "The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain."
- The Scarlet Pimperbill bears some minor resemblance to Negaduck with the red hat and black mask.
- No Antagonist: The conflict of the episode is due to Lena's jealousy and suspicion of Violet, not due to the actions of any villainous character. The closest to an actual antagonist in the episode are the Tulpas, who are manifestations of Lena's aforementioned jealousy.
- Noodle Incident: Just what did Mrs. Beakley get up to "that summer undercover in Paraguay"?
- Not So Similar: Ultimately, Lena's perceived similarities to Violet—specifically the ones that make her untrustworthy—are just Lena projecting out of jealousy. Violet's motives are entirely innocent and she really does care about Webby and exploring magic. They still manage to bond over their friendship with Webby.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: A variation. When she hears about Violet, Mrs. Beakley commends Webby on continuing to offer friendship after her last sleepovers all ended in mystical disasters, accidentally causing Webby to guilt trip herself over those disasters and attempt to hide who she is. Unlike most examples, Mrs. Beakley realizes this and tries to play damage control, but it doesn't take at first.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Inverted. Violet, in contrast to the other characters, refers to Webby as her full first name "Webbigail" instead of her nickname.
- Pals with Jesus: Webby has a signed photograph with the demon Rakshasha.
- The Power of Friendship: It not only banishes the demons formed from Lena's jealousy, but also brings Lena back to our reality.
- Red Herring: A lot of signs point to the possibility of Magica being involved, like the Tulpas taking Magica’s form, and Violet having Magica’s amulet, but the amulet flew right to where Violet was during the Shadow War, and the Tulpas were actually manifestations of Lena’s feelings.
- Self-Insert Fic: In-universe, Launchpad writes fan fiction about Darkwing Duck, which feature him as Darkwing's sidekick.
- Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Despite Lena's suspicions, Violet is completely on the level. She has Magica's amulet for completely innocuous reasons, and she isn't summoning the gathering specters, Lena is.
- Shout-Out:
- The episode title is a reference to My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic... and the new character is a purple bookworm who isn't good at making friends.
- Beakley's book, "The Scarlet Pimperbill", is a direct reference to The Scarlet Pimpernel, an early example of The Cowl and inspiration for works like Zorro and Batman. Similarly, the duck on the cover of the book looks like a red Darkwing Duck and is mistaken by Launchpad as such. The duck also resembles The Scarlet Pumpernickel.
- Among the mystical objects Webby hides are the three Sankara Stones from the Temple of Doom.
- Skepticism Failure: Violet explains to Webby that she disbelieved in the supernatural, but the Shadow War changed that.Violet: All my life, I’ve been rational, never giving things like magic a second thought. But when the Shadow War happened, it jolted something in me. Opened my eyes! There's a world beyond textbooks and rational truths! One I'm compelled to know more about.
- Slobs Versus Snobs: Sums up Launchpad and Mrs. Beakley's dynamic. Beakley prefers high culture and sophistication, while Launchpad is very much the opposite. They end up bonding over the Darkwing Duck show.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Webby at one point wonders if pie is something normal for sleepovers. When Violet arrives later, she has brought a pie as a gift.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Webby, when she's talking to Quackfaster at the library, about how she's just doing some casual shadow magic research, not "trying to bring [her] best friend back from its depths or anything".
- Sweet and Sour Grapes: Accepting that Webby's safety is more important than being with her, Lena lets herself be detached from Webby's shadow to save her from the tulpa. After doing so, Webby not only manages to keep Lena around, but bring her back into the physical world.
- Trapped on the Astral Plane: Lena turns out to have been sent to the Shadow Realm, where she can move around and see things in the physical world, but has little ability to affect them.
- Tulpa: Violet had been researching them when Webby met her. According to the book she got at the library, they are a physical manifestation of extreme emotion. The shadow demons that attack Webby later turn out to be tulpas from Lena's jealousy and fear of being forgotten.
- Wham Episode: Lena is rescued from the Shadow Realm, and just in time to meet Della.
- Wham Line: After Violet and Webby return from the Shadow Realm, we then hear Lena shout, "I'M BACK?!".
- Wham Shot: After Lena tells Violet to get away from Webby, the mysterious shadow demons that keep appearing throughout the episode takes the form of her, with it later revealed that Lena's desire to not be forgotten by Webby caused tulpa manifestations to be made.
- You Are What You Hate:
- It's implied that part of the jealousy Lena feels towards Violet is because she can see similarities between the two of them. She even makes a comment about them both acting the same way to learn Webby's secrets.
- The tulpa that attack look like Magica at first, and try to kidnap Webby after Lena lets her fierce possessive jealousy slip.
