...because if you don't, they might not want to be your friend anymore...
All those moments that make you cry from season one of Amphibia.
Anne or Beast?
- At the end of the pilot, Anne tries to make the music box that transported her to Amphibia work again, so she can go home. Nothing happens. She opens and closes it a few times. Anne sighs, and resigns herself to being stuck in the strange village, at least for a long while.
Best Fronds
- Sprig has apparently had issues making friends with the other frog children in the village.
- The very unsubtle hints that Anne's "friends" back in the human world are anything but. While later episodes will show that they do genuinely care about her, this episode immediately makes it clear that their friendship is incredibly toxic. This is highlighted in her conversation with Sprig at the lake, where Anne rattles off things that she believes friends do for each other, such as getting things they really want regardless of the circumstance, or giving a friend your all your belongings if she likes them. Even Sprig, who confides in her earlier in the episode to have never had a close friend before, is clearly taken aback and saddened by Anne's words and all that they imply. Even Anne appears uncomfortable as she finishes talking, as if she herself doesn't know what to do with the information she just vocalized.
- The Reveal that her two friends also got trapped in Amphibia; one is a prisoner at the castle with the Big Bad, and the other is missing. Suddenly, the horror has gone much higher now that three girls are missing from Earth.
Cane Crazy
- When Anne breaks Hop Pop's favorite cane just after he threatens to throw her out if she continues to disrespect him, she freaks out and says that she cannot go back to living in a cave. The scene then flashes back to show us exactly what that was like for her. While it manages to also be funny due to how over the top it is, it reinforces just how bad Anne's situation was before the Plantars took her in.
Flood, Sweat & Tears
- Anne and Sprig progressively finding it harder and harder to be roommates can hit close to home to anyone who's ever dealt with such a scenario. It comes to a head when Anne accidentally breaks Sprig's favorite action figure. Not even using the correct term of "action figure" gets him out of his Heroic BSoD.
- Both Anne and Sprig finally confessing how hard it's been being roommates, even believing for a moment that their friendship is broken because of it.
The Domino Effect
- Anne misses her cat Domino so much that she adopts a caterpillar that looks like Domino, only for it to turn out to be a dangerous amphibian-eating moth monster.
- Just the sad way Anne looks back on her time with Domino II before she has to lure her away for good with the cat toy.
- Later, when Sprig offers a doll replica of Domino II, he realizes it may be a little homely...only for Anne to tearfully embrace it and weep that she loves it. Now she misses both Domino I and II.
Taking Charge
- Anne starts to have a nervous breakdown when her phone loses its charge, even saying that all her memories of home are gone.
Girl Time
- Anne makes a My God, What Have I Done? face and covers her mouth after she calls Polly "a disgusting little slob". Polly's expression after said comment is a punch in the gut.
- Having spent the whole episode trying to "fix" Polly by doing more feminine activities, the Plantar family ends up needing her to break a spitting record to win a trophy to pay off their debts. However, Polly misses her first two shots, and when asked how come she's not performing her best, she says it's "hard to concentrate when you're feeling gross". Even if she openly says she found Anne's activities boring, the idea of being a girl the 'wrong' way still bit into her self-esteem, which really is kind of Truth in Television when it comes to peer pressure on behavior. Thankfully, Anne quickly realizes she was in the wrong, and assures Polly that she's great either way.
Anne Vs. Wild
- Anne has a brief Hope Spot at the end where she tells the Plantars about the box, and hopes maybe one of them knows how to get her home. Hop Pop doesn't have any answers, and Anne sadly says it was worth a try. Sprig promises they'll get her home, one way or another.
- And then Hop Pop is shown finding an entry about the box in a book. Its name is revealed to be "the Calamity Box."
Contagi-Anne
- Anne thinking that the Plantars caught a rare and fatal condition called Red Leg (in reality it was the result of a mushroom that turned their skins red), and breaking down after being unable to cure them is crushing, particularly since they were the only ones who cared for her and took her in when she arrived in Wartwood.
- What's worse: the guilt. Anne feels that if she hadn't faked being sick, then the Plantars wouldn't have all gotten sick from working in the rain. Every time they bring up that she's sick and laud her for taking care of them despite it, all it does is make Anne feel worse, because she doesn't deserve the praise she's receiving for her deception.
Family Shrub
- After taming the pumpkin monster and earning its trust, Sprig betrays it and kicks it back to its cage. It's hard to not feel sorry for the poor beast.
Plantar's Last Stand
- Hop Pop losing his prized produce stand, which had been passed down for generations.
- In the episode, he turns to manipulation in order to make enough money to save it. Just when he thinks his trickery is in the bag, in comes Mrs. Croaker, who had been a loyal customer to the Plantar family ever since Hop Pop was a boy. Had Hop Pop's consciousness not been with him, he very well could have ended up swindling someone he considered practically family.
- As a result of admitting his lies, not only does Hop Pop lose the stand, he loses the trust of the citizens, including Mrs. Croaker.
Toad Tax
- Even after being in Wartwood for a month, Anne still gets treated as an outcast by the villagers. Being laughed at and called a 'scarecrow', Anne tries her best to toughen up. It only results being deeply hurt by all this, even though she doesn't entirely show it. It's the equivalent of someone at school trying to fit in, only to be seen as an oddball by other students.
- While it may be seen somewhat as Laser-Guided Karma for how they've treated Anne, you can't help but feel sorry for these villagers whose valuables were confiscated, just after being accused of not paying taxes despite denying it.
- One can get a bit misty-eyed when Anne, even after how badly treated she was, sneaks in at least one item back to each of the citizens. The look of gratitude each of them give her is not lost on her either, especially Leopold Loggle, who expresses happy tears when Anne manages to sneak him one of his prized wood valuables.
- Just the sheer fact that the toads nearly took Bessie away. The look of sheer horror and devastation in Hop Pop's eyes can break your heart. It gets even more emotionally unnerving when you remember his past with Bessie in "Anne Theft Auto".
- Just when Anne thinks she's done for and the toads are going to kill her, suddenly all the citizens rise up in her defense. Keep in mind that these are the same people who had treated her poorly. All it took was Anne's kindness and compassion towards the citizens to make them realize that she was not what they thought her to be. One can get very emotional during this moment, especially after witnessing what Anne went through with these people in previous episodes.
- The fact the citizens, having been terrified of the toads earlier, stood up and were willing to fight them and protect Anne...it's all just too much, and can make one burst into tears with relief that these people finally view Anne as one of their own.
Mrs. Croaker: "If you got a problem with her, you got a problem with ALL of us! - Admit it, when Anne teared up over the realization that the town now respected her (albeit not under the circumstances she had hoped for), you teared up too.
Prison Break
- Sasha tells Grime that if he compliments and encourages his troops instead of yelling at them, they'll do whatever he wants. Grime asks if it really works, and Sasha replies with a smirk, "Oh, it works. Trust me, I have experience." Another reminder that Sasha really wasn't a good friend to Anne.
- The worst part is, there's other evidence that Sasha does genuinely care for Anne.
Snow Day
- Every Hibernation Day, someone in the town disappears without a trace, never to be seen again. It happens so often that everyone says their (possible) goodbyes to each other before going under. The citizens embracing one another in sorrow is enough to break your heart, especially a tearful Felicia Sundew hugging and kissing her daughter Ivy.
A Night at the Inn
- When the Plantars go to free Bessie, they find a bunch of snails from the cannibals' other victims... including one that belonged to a newlywed couple, still with a "just hitched" banner hanging from the shell.
Wally and Anne
- Wally feels genuinely hurt after Anne tells him that without proof of the Moss Man, the citizens will view her just as insane as him. Anne is quick to realize her mistake, especially since she has bonded with him during the journey and taken his advice to heart about how one shouldn't be bothered by others' judgment. Thankfully, they make up quickly.
Bizarre Bazaar
- When Anne thinks she's lost the Calamity Box forever, she looks like she's about to have a breakdown.
- Hop-Pop secretly buries the Calamity Box. He knows very well he's risking Anne's trust and has taken away her only possible ticket back to Earth. Sure, he's only doing it to protect everyone, especially Anne, but still...
- Also, think of it from HP's perspective — the somber tone in his voice as he's burying the box clearly indicates there's something he doesn't want to talk about...
Cursed!
- Anne's "friends" sent her to do break ups for them. This is yet more evidence that Anne was never their friend and more like an indentured servant.
Reunion
- The beginning of the episode provides more context for how Anne and her friends got to Amphibia. On Anne's thirteenth birthday, Sasha convinced her to ditch school in celebration, with Anne's only caveat being that she needed to be home by six for the birthday party her parents planned for her. Even though they'd spent the entire day together, when Anne tried to leave, Sasha pressured her into staying out with her friends instead and then convinced her to steal the music box that ended up trapping them in another world. So not only do Anne's parents have no idea where their daughter is or what happened to her, but she disappeared on the night they were throwing her a party to show how much they love her.
- We get a look at just how bad Sasha was to Anne: getting her to skip school, stealing (kicking an arcade game to get their quarters back and wanting the gems on the Calamity Box), and manipulating Anne into ditching the party her parents had planned, mocking it as well. Also, Anne has known Sasha since kindergarten; just how long has this treatment been going on?
- Having watched her friend let herself go and presumably fall to her death, only to be saved by Grime and taken away to God knows where (and especially the falling out they had after being reunited), you can't blame Anne for letting it all out and break down. Surely Anne will see Sasha again, but not on the same side.
- And furthermore, Sasha seems to have finally begun to understand how badly she'd messed up working with Grime. Her last words to Anne aren't of spite or anger, but regret.
Sasha: Hey, Anne...maybe you are better off without me.- And what's the soundtrack that plays throughout the scene? Bill Withers' Lean On Me.
- Which cuts out right after Sasha decides to drop.
- Keep in mind this is a thirteen-year-old deciding to let herself die. It's noble, but dang, that alone would leave any kid feeling messed up afterward. No wonder Anne had a breakdown, and who knows what this means for Sasha's psyche? Sasha has repressed all of her guilt, sadness and trauma, masking it with anger and an obsession with getting even with Anne.
- When you think about it, Sasha's behavior towards Anne brings up a lot of questions about Sasha's own personal life. Do her parents or other family members treat people the same way? In "Best Fronds," Anne is shown to believe that the behavior of her "friends" was normal, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that Sasha treats people the way she does because that's how she believes friendship works.
- The first season ends with no hints at all as to the fate of Anne's other friend, Marcy.
