Buff Frog and his monster friends leave Mewni unexpectedly, and Star and Tom go looking for them.
Tropes:
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Buff Frog calls his tadpoles "babushkas". Babushka means "grandma"/"old lady" in russian. Nobody in their right mind would call their kids such.
- Bag of Kidnapping: Buff Frog's monster friends put Star and Tom in sacks and attempt to execute them to prevent them from telling anyone about their whereabouts.
- Bittersweet Ending: Despite Star's best efforts, Buff Frog and the other monsters choose to leave Mewni, having grown tired of the prejudice they have to live with and the lack of improvement of their lot in life. Though Buff Frog and Tom do believe that there is hope for the future that Star will change things for the better and tell her as much.
- Call-Back:
- Before Buff Frog leaves Mewni, he does his "chest-pound, arms out, and then croak" salute that he used to give Ludo in Season 1.
- In "Starfari", a shopkeeper harassed Tom until realizing he was demon royalty, which made Star question what qualifies as a "monster". Here Tom reveals this is a regular occurrence, which is why he still does think of himself as a "monster".
- Claustrophobia: In the worst timing possible, Tom learns he's claustrophobic while stuffed in a sack and he starts panicking endlessly.
- Cross-Referenced Titles: Refers back to last season's "Is Mystery", another episode featuring Buff Frog.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?:
- A group of people leaving their birth country because of racial discrimination? Sadly, this has happened too much in Real Life.
- Tom's wealth and status haven't entirely stop Mewmans from discriminating him based on his looks, which is very much the case for minorities born into affluence and cultural assimilation.
- Fantastic Racism: Tom admits that he, as a half-demon, is still a monster and is still discriminated against despite his social status and wealth.
- Despite demons being legally exempt from Mewni's prejudice toward monsters, mewmans still judge Tom based on his inhuman looks. The legal fiction that certain kinds of nonhumans are more "monster" than others doesn't change that racism fundamentally come from distrusting visibly different people.
- Foreshadowing: When Tom says he wants to eat food left on a table in the village, Star objects that it's "monster food". Later on, Tom tells the villager that he does identify as a monster.
- Forgot About His Powers: It never occurred to Tom that he could've just used his fire powers to break out of his Bag of Kidnapping but then again he was in too much of a state of panic to think of that.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Tom avoids any malice toward Marco, but is clearly uncomfortable with how close Star and Marco are. He practically begs Marco to let him join Star on the search for Buff Frog, and twice asks Star if he's doing things "better than Marco". Star makes no comment about it.
- Happy Ending Override: Buff Frog might have been named the new monster expert and work at the castle now, but he is still treated like a monster by Mewmen, and ends up leaving along with his peers, being tired of these prejudices.
- Inappropriate Hunger: Tom wants to try some left-over monster food they find in the village, despite it being days old and covered in swarming flies.
- I Shall Return: Buff Frog at least lets Star know it will not be goodbye forever, and promises he will return once Star becomes queen.
- Kidnapped by an Ally: A variant. The monsters who kidnapped Star and Tom didn't know they were friends of Buff Frog, and it's not until Buff Frog comes in to clear things up before Tom gets executed.
- Leave No Witnesses: The monsters don't want anyone knowing they're leaving, and where they're going, so if there are any Mewman stragglers, they tranquilize them, kidnap them, and then execute them.
- Make an Example of Them: The monsters attempt to execute Tom to remind Star what will happen to her if she attempts to find Buff Frog any further.
- Moment Killer: Marco bursting in with the letter interrupts a moment between Star and Tom. Tom subtly reminds Marco it was Innocently Insensitive.
- Non Sequitur, *Thud*: As she succumbs to the knock-out darts, Star mutters to Tom (who's already passed out) "What are you doing on the ground? What am I doing on the ground?"
- "Not So Different" Remark: Tom mentions that while he is wealthy and some people give him a pass, he is still a monster, and he suffers from Fantastic Racism like the less privileged ones. Unfortunately, this does little to sway the monsters.
- Oh, Crap!: Marco when he realizes that he can read the letter Buff Frog supposedly left.
- Pet the Dog: At Tom's request, Marco makes up an excuse about chasing Glossaryck so Tom can take his place this time.
- Prehensile Hair: One of the monsters has long, ropy hair that she uses to pick up Star.
- Put on a Bus: Buff Frog and the other monsters leave Mewni because they feel their problems aren't really getting any better despite Star's efforts, though Buff Frog promises to return once Star is in charge and has the power to change things.
- Ransacked Room: Star arrives at Buff Frog's home and finds everything in disarray, leading her to believe that something bad happened. Subverted when Buff Frog explains that nothing happened, it's just the result of having ten tadpoles running around the house.
- Rhetorical Question Blunder: As Star and Tom come to and find sacks over their heads, Star asks Stock Phrases typical of waking up after being kidnapped and Tom gets Captain Obvious about it:Star: What happened?
Tom: I don't know.
Star: Where are we?
Tom: I don't know.
Star: WHO DID THIS?!
Tom: Star, I know exactly the same amount as you do right now, which is nothing. - Right for the Wrong Reasons: Upon finding Buff Frog's note, Star deduces that it's too legible for him to have written it and assumes someone must have planted it to throw them off the trail. She's right that he didn't write it: Katrina wrote it on his behalf so Star would know that he was leaving.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Regular monsters are somewhat resentful of other monsters whom they believe are treated better because of their higher social standing. Tom points out that's not 100% true; if he's alone with a Mewman stranger, it's still an uncomfortable moment because of his demon features.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: The monsters are leaving Mewni rather than stay and deal with Mewman Fantastic Racism.
- Sudden Anatomy:
- Tom has a tail, something that even Star wasn't aware of.Star: Okay, that's new.
- Katrina also has grown very muscular arms with hands which she used to write the letter to Star.
- Tom has a tail, something that even Star wasn't aware of.
- They Know Too Much: Because Star went too deep in investigating Buff Frog's whereabouts, they kidnap her and Tom and decide they cannot leave alive with what they saw, not wanting to risk word of their escape getting to the Royal Family.
- Tranquillizer Dart: Star and Tom are hit with them while in the monster village.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Tom finds out the hard way he's claustrophobic after getting a burlap sack stuck over his upper body.
- You Fool!: Tom calls the monsters a bunch of fools for giving up too soon on peace between monsters and Mewmans.
