Star decides to find out why Mewman's hate monsters.
Tropes:
- Anti-Climax: After dramatically building a new dam to stop the incoming Giant Wall of Watery Doom, the scene cuts to a pathetic splash over the edge as the water is stopped.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Moon's reaction to Star's questions on what the difference between the monsters and the other non-mewmans really is implies that she's never really thought about it, especially given how she deflects to Dr. Goodwell.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Presumably because he'll be a better expert than Goodwell was, Star appoints Buff Frog to be Mewni's new Royal Monster Expert.
- Bait the Dog: Jelly at first seems like Star in that she is a Mewman that doesn't hate monsters. It turns out that while she may not hate them, she doesn't think of them as equals but as slightly more intelligent animals.
- Big Dam Plot: Dr. Jelly Goodwell plans to isolate the monsters by blowing up enough of their dam to create a moat around their village, turning it into an island prison of sorts. The monsters don't really care, as the dam bursting as such is common enough that they can clean it up no problem. Things get a bit more serious when Jelly decides to shake Buff Frog's hand using the one holding the detonator, setting off a second explosion which takes out the entire dam and threatens to destroy the village.
- The Bus Came Back: Some of the monsters in the settlement Star and Jelly observe (and end up rescuing).
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Apparently, Star's antics have become so commonplace that Moon just knows how it will go down.
- Call-Back: Moon is apparently working on Eclipsa's trial when Star bursts in.
- Calling the Old Woman Out: Star calls her mom out about how unfairly treated monsters are, as well as how unfair it is that certain creatures that would qualify as monsters are treated as better than them. The argument does not end well.
- Condescending Compassion: Dr. Jelly Goodwell is one of the few Mewmans that doesn't explicitly hate monsters and wants their preservation. However, she doesn't consider them to be intelligent beings and treats them how one would treat a lab rat. Not to mention the fact that she blows up a dam to try and isolate them on an island.
- Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears: When Dr. Goodwell rips off her clothes, Star covers Buff Frog and the tadpoles' eyes.
- Death Glare: Tom does this to the shopkeeper who tried to kick him out, scaring the man into submission.
- Double Standard: Star lampshades how the Mewman Fantastic Racism against monsters is fairly arbitrary, classifying lizardfolk as monsters when individuals like Lekmet and Rhombulus, and groups like the Pony Head, Demon, and Pigeon kingdoms are not, despite the fact that someone without foreknowledge could easily mistake them for monsters. Moon's explanation of why this is more or less boils down to "they're rich", or the fact that they are respected members of the Magical High Commission.
- The Dreaded: The Mewmans are obviously well aware of how powerful Tom is, not to mention his Hair-Trigger Temper. A Mewman shopkeeper who tries to chase him away believing him to be a monster, is absolutely terrified when he realizes who it really is, and promptly gets down on his knees, begging Tom not to incinerate the shop.
- Everybody Knew Already: The monsters were all aware of Jelly Goodwell's activities and just humored her.
- Expert in Underwater Basket Weaving: On top of a Royal Monster Expert, Castle Butterfly has a "Royal Muenster Expert" (as in the specific type of cheese).
- Fantastic Racism: As we all know, Mewmans are racist against monsters, but there's a conundrum to it; There are plenty of inhuman creatures that don't receive such treatment, but some more than others could just as easily qualify, making it somewhat hypocritical as Star points out. Most egregious is Tom, who is subjected to anti-monster sentiment before being recognized; despite what their appearances and nature suggests, Demons appear better regarded than other "monsters" in Mewman society apparently for the sole reason that their royal family are allies of the Mewni royal family. Plus, while it is known they scare people, they don't evoke anger in people the same way monsters do. This comes up in Star's line of questioning to Moon, along with characters like Lekmet, Rhombulus, and the Pony Heads who also aren't "monsters" because of their social statuses.
- Going Native: Jelly Goodwell is so impressed with the monsters' teamwork in stopping the flood she accidentally started, she decides that more Mewmans should live like the monsters... starting with herself.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: At the height of Star's outrage at Mewmans' rather illogical racism towards monsters, she actually says "What the heck is the difference?".
- Ignored Epiphany: The monsters stop the busted dam from flooding their village, which seemingly convinces Dr. Goodwell that they're intelligent people and not smarter-than-average animals. In fact, she still thinks of them as uncivilized idiots, but also that they're better off that way, and wishes to join them.
- Incredibly Obvious Bug: Buff Frog apparently had a tracker planted by Jelly Goodwell behind his right ear since he was a tadpole, but it's only visible in this one scene for the sake of the joke. The tracker itself is larger than his ear and is constantly beeping, but Buff Frog treats it just as a source of occasional itch.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Dr. Goodwell is considered a monster expert, but doesn't really know anything about monsters, nor does she even see them as fellow sapient beings—she literally assumes that the monster town is a bunch of "naturally occurring formations that almost look like buildings", because it's inconceivable to her that they would actually know how to build their own houses. As she's the one who decides who is a monster and who isn't, that may certainly explain why Mewmans' prejudice against monsters in the present is arbitrary.
- Moment Killer: Just as star decides to appoint Buff Frog as Mewni's monster expert, Buff Frog expresses he got stabbed by the pin.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Jelly Goodwell is a parody of Jane Goodall, a zoologist famous for her studies on chimpanzees in the wild.
- Oh, Crap!:
- A racist shopkeeper nearly wets himself when he tries to kick Tom out of his shop, not knowing who it was and thinking he was just a random monster.
- Downplayed with Moon. She has a Little "No" as she hears the sound of running footsteps towards the door...which get kicked open by Star.
- Punny Name: The Royal Muenster Expert is called Brie Parmesan; both her first and second name are sorts of cheese.
- Slobs Versus Snobs: Though Star fails to notice, all of the monster-like allies of the Mewmans are wealthy, while the actual monsters are poor. Moon even points out that the Pigeon Kingdom are allies because they're rich, when Star brings up that their kingdom (unlike the Lucitors and Pony Heads) was only created very recently and thus "long history of being civilized" can't be the reason they're not considered monsters.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: When Jelly gives up her bias against Monsters, she decides to start by joining them. But it takes more than siding with a different race to give up one's perception of them, as demonstrated when Jelly's idea of "being a Monster" is stripping to her underwear, rolling in mud, and climbing trees.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Just as Star is running up to the room, Moon's reaction is more subdued, almost as if she's been through this with Star before.
- Underestimating Badassery: Jelly continually underestimates the intelligence of the monsters.
- The Watson: Star asking about why certain creatures that look like monsters but don't get treated as such is the exact same question that the audience has wanted answered for so long.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Star finally brings up the question that's been bugging many viewers for years: what's the difference between "monsters" and the Butterfly Kingdom's many non-Mewman allies who clearly look like monsters? Her mother's answer is less than satisfying and proves that Moon never actually gave this any thought.
- You Are Number 6: Goodwell tags monsters with numbers and only refers to them as such.
