Heartwarming / Amphibia Season 3

"This is really happening... I'm gonna see my parents..."

In General

• After the complete Downer Ending that was season 2 and seeing the Plantars stranded on Earth with Anne, watching the season 3 opening theme is a well-needed breath of levity. It seems like the Boonchuys have immediately accepted that Plantars into their family, the Plantars are adjusting to human life, Marcy is still alive (albeit in a suspended condition), and while the threat of King Andrias looms near, Anne still retains control of her 11th-Hour Superpower. If the tagline is anything to go by, this season may be the most epic season of Amphibia.
  "The adventure is far from over... In fact, it is only the beginning."
  • In addition, some of the major Tear Jerker moments from season 2 involved Sprig and Polly's absent parents and the void they'd left in their children's lives, to the point that Sprig (the oldest sibling) couldn't even remember his mom. Now that the Plantars are living with Anne and are shown interacting with her own mom and dad, it's likely that Sprig and Polly will get a taste of what having a mom and dad around the house is like. Both Anne's old and new family fit together pretty well.
• The entirety of the anime-styled outro. No words needed.

The New Normal

• Sprig is generally excited to see Earth, and eagerly asks if it's too early to call Anne's parents "Mom and Dad", showing how he wants to get along with the rest of the Boonchuys just like how Anne and his family do.
• Anne promises the Plantars that they got her home, so she's returning the favor. She'll find a way to get them back to Amphibia, rescue Marcy and Sasha, and stop Andrias before he can conquer the multiverse. Hop Pop in turn says that he trusts Anne to lead the way.
• Polly promises the currently defunct Frobo they'll find a way to fix him with Earth's advanced technology.
• After being stuck in Amphibia for months, Anne finally reunites with her family. Just before Anne knocks on the door, we see a downcast Mrs. Boonchuy in the kitchen silently stirring batter, clearly affected by her missing child. She then hears a knock on the door, only to find it's Anne, finally home safe and sound. Mrs. Boonchuy responds by dropping the batter and tearfully embracing her daughter, with Mr. Boonchuy hugging them both out of joy and relief. Even Anne's cat Domino joins in by meowing in delight and rubbing on Anne's legs, happy to have her owner back.
• After the initial and understandable shock, Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy believe Anne when she reveals that she didn't leave voluntarily on her birthday. Anne had mentioned that her mother could be hard on her, but here Mrs. Boonchuy is completely understanding of the situation, asking how the maggot larb tasted.
• Anne getting her parents to agree to let the Plantars stay with them until they can find them a way back home.
• During the quarantine montage, Anne is a little annoyed that her parents won't let anyone out of the house and are watching her. She wakes up to someone tugging her hair while she checks her phone...and sees her mother combing her hair. Anne's face both lights up and sweat-drops, but you can tell she appreciates the sentiment, if not the gesture.
• Anne has Marcy and Sasha's initials carved on her bedpost along with BFF. It's mixed with Tearjerker, since the last time they all saw each other ended up with the former being presumably dead and the latter being tossed around like a ragdoll trying to keep Andrias from hurting Anne.

Hop 'Til You Drop

• Anne's parents comforting and giving her some advice on taking care of the Plantars, since now Anne is the one taking care of them and because of the fact that her parents might've felt the same way when she was younger.
• After realizing that it's really Anne, the first thing Gabby does is hug her before proceeding to catch her up on all the hot gossip. She also politely says goodbye when Anne has to leave and is genuinely glad that she's back.

Turning Point

• Mixed with Tear Jerker, but when Sasha witnesses Marcy getting stabbed, her reaction is to scream Marcy's name, just like Anne. While the girls' friendship was clearly rife with problems, and both Sasha and Anne were angry with Marcy for what she did, their bond is still genuine.
• Grime can see how worried Sasha is about Anne and Marcy. He tells her no time, they need to go now and there's nothing they can do to save her friends. Grime then tosses her out the window. It may be harsh, but he's trying to stop her from sinking down into guilt and depression.
• Sasha selflessly throws herself in between the frogs and an invading robot army, when she could've easily run and saved herself. And then Grime swoops in to save her when the robots pin Sasha down and prepare to execute her.
• At the end, Sasha confesses that Anne didn't really send her and Grime to protect the frogs... but, as the citizens of Wartwood point out, she chose to protect them anyway. They acknowledge she's been terrible in the past, but she's still capable of good, and they accept her. This leads to Sasha and Grime deciding to stay and protect the town for real. Sasha even realizes there is a chance to save everyone, and ends the episode by saying, "We start fighting back."
• As Sasha and Grime are outnumbered by the robot army, who comes to the rescue? Cool Old Lady Mrs. Croaker, who kicks a robot and has Archie deliver the finishing touches. Cue the whole townsfolk coming to face the army, because it's what Anne would do for them.
• The fact that, despite Grime and his sister Beatrix having had an ugly history together, she actually invites him to join her holdout against King Andrias. She knows the toads are underground and have a fighting chance against Andrias if they stick together.
• Grime pretty clearly only sticks around Wartwood for Sasha, even forgoing the chance to join his sister and her army.
  Grime: Beatrix may have soldiers and weapons, but you know what she doesn't have? You, Lieutenant.
• Between Grime forcing her to face the Plantars' house and the citizens accepting her as their defender, the end of the episode implies Sasha may finally be able to get started on forgiving herself, and on improving as a person.
• Sasha's promise to an absent Anne.
  Sasha: I want to be someone better. Someone who deserves you.
• Sasha holding MicroAngelo in her arms while leaning against Bessie when she decides to sleep with them for the night.

Thai Feud

• After establishing that Sprig was too young to know or remember what having his mother around was like in the previous season, he gets his wish when after nearly getting himself and Anne killed in a runaway food truck, Mrs. Boonchuy lays into him for his reckless behavior. In this angry scolding, Sprig sheds Tears of Joy as he, for the first time in forever, feels motherly affection.
  Sprig: Well, I guess we're all done here.
  (Sprig is about to walk off, but Mrs. Boonchuy grabs him by the hood of his shirt)
  Mrs. Boonchuy: Not so fast. If you think you getting out of here without an earful, you've got another thing coming. Firstly, how dare you disobey me. Secondly, how dare you put Anne and yourself in danger. Thirdly, why are you smiling?
  Sprig: (tearfully) You're... you're scolding me. Which means...
  Anne: (playfully punches him) Yep. You're family now, bud.
• Ned genuinely likes the Boonchuys and their restaurant a lot, and is horrified to realize how Innocently Insensitive he was. Mrs. Boonchuy compromises with him by hiring him as a deliveryman, while warning him that the pay will be low.

Adventures in Catsitting

• Sprig bonding with an Earth frog a boy at the vet has, taking it with him and setting it free.
• When Hop Pop worries about being a freeloader, Mr. Boonchuy insists that taking care of Anne for five months out of the goodness of their hearts more than covers anything they might need. Though he may have been suspicious at first, Mr. Boonchuy truly appreciates their charity, and he's proud of them for it.
  Hop Pop: (sighs) Once again, we inconvenience you. How you must resent us, freeloaders!
  Mr. Boonchuy: Freeloaders? (stops the scooter) You three took my daughter into your home when she needed the most. You kept her fed and safe for five months just out of the kindness of your heart. You will never owe us anything. Ever.
  (the Plantars tear up)
  Hop Pop: Wow. I... don't know what to say. Thank you.
  Mr. Boonchuy: Are you kidding? Thank you.

Fight at the Museum

• Even after discovering the existence of talking frogs from another world, Dr. Jan's reaction is a giant Squee. She covers up Anne and the Plantars by telling the guards that they are performers and the destruction of the museum is part of an act. They buy it.
  • When Anne explains why she didn’t ask help for her, Jan gives a little advice based on her own experience about how overworking can cause more harm than good.
• Earlier, Jan saves Anne's life from the Cloak-bot when she comes right through the doors at just the right time, allowing the assassin to notice and flee, sparing her.

Temple Frogs

• Polly, Sprig, and Hop Pop really enjoy their visit to the temple, and show an appreciation for Thai culture, participating in the activities in a respectful and non-appropriative way. Hop Pop's dance skills, which have always been seen as a joke, are not only accepted, but applauded too, which brings Hop Pop to tears.
  Hop Pop: I LOVE IT HERE!
• Mrs. Boonchuy reveals that the entire local Thai community came together to support her and Anne's father while Anne was gone, cooking for them and running their restaurant. In what was undoubtedly the worst five months of their lives, they had a huge support network full of people ready to try and take some of their burdens off of them.

Fixing Frobo

• The Plantars' (including Anne) insistence that Polly doesn't try to repair Frobo is clearly Anger Born of Worry, concerned that something will go wrong and she will be seriously hurt. Anne, with a look of concern on her face, dreads that something might go wrong and Polly will lose her legs.
• Anne's old bear toy's voicebox glitches midway through the line "I eat ice-cream", making it sound like it said "I eat eyes". Everyone is horrified at it, but after realizing it was a glitch, Anne remarks that Loggle would like it. It's a small moment, but one that shows that Anne considers every Wartwood citizen a friend and she misses them all.
• When Polly's tear jogs Frobo's memories, and he can't stop them from falling to their doom, he puts her inside his body to try and cushion the blow from the impact.
• Ally and Jess are so sweet to Polly! They meet a little girl building her first robot, offer every bit of help they can, and rather than getting mad when they predict she'll likely ignore their advice against activating Frobo in the garage, go out of their way to track her down to check on her!

Anne-sterminator

• Although there's some initial tension, Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy forgive Anne for lying to them, realizing that she was just trying to protect the Plantars.
• While Mrs. Boonchuy was berating Anne, Mr. Boonchuy was willing to give his daughter a chance to explain herself had his wife allowed it.

Mr. X

• Fridge Heartwarmer — the Plantars helping out in the restaurant. It might not seem like much at first, until one realizes it means that all of them are now considered part of the family.
• The effort Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy go to to protect the Plantars in this episode is sweet. Given how when they first met them, Mrs. Boonchuy suggested letting the authorities take them, it's heartwarming that now she wouldn't even think of letting the FBI near the Plantars.

Sprig's Birthday

• Anne is obviously bitter that Sasha and Marcy ruined her thirteenth birthday, and decides from it that Sprig deserves the best birthday possible.
• Anne's apology to Sprig when the hot-air balloon ride goes wrong. She says that she wanted his birthday to be the best one ever, and she ruined it. Sprig gives her a friend-punch and tells her not to worry; this was a top-three because of the time they spent together, not the activities. That being said, the lengths that Anne went to to give Sprig the best birthday possible still definitely count as well.
• Sprig says that his second-best birthday was the day that his parents got him his trademark hat.
• If you compare the birthday montage from this episode to the one from Reunion, you'd see that Sasha made Anne do things that made her very uncomfortable such as skipping school, graffiti and stealing the music box which resulted in them getting trapped in Amphibia in the first place. Anne however, takes Sprig out to do things that he genuinely enjoys and she comes across as a much better friend than Sasha did.
• Anne giving Sprig a telescope with 'To Sprig ♡ Anne' engraved on it for his birthday present.
• A small example, but we see the two guys from “Thai Feud” again. The pink-haired guy is proposing to his neighbor.

Spider-Sprig

• Mr. Boonchuy crying over his favorite movie while sharing it with the Plantars.
• Sprig, as Frog-Man, striking up a friendship with Molly Jo.
• Near the end, after being given an eye-opener from Molly Jo, Sprig and Robert Otto decide to team up and clean up the damages that they left behind in their fight.

Olivia & Yunan

• Yunan and Olivia turn against Andrias to free Marcy and help her escape him, despite him being their king, the overwhelming danger involved, and only having known Marcy for a few months. Nonetheless, they still pick the riskier option in order to make sure Marcy is protected from Andrias' machinations.
• The first scenes shows us a Happy Flashback with Olivia showing Marcy a balcony view of Amphibia and Marcy immediately becoming awestruck by the view. Then Olivia tells Marcy about her family's sacred oath to protect the land of Amphibia, and is happy when Marcy promises to do the same due to the kindness Lady Olivia and the newts have shown her when she came to Amphibia. This flashback also shows that Lady Olivia and Marcy have developed a genuine fondness for each other, and implies that Olivia didn't just want to rescue Marcy because she needed her to defeat Andrias.
• Despite Lady Olivia being present when Marcy revealed her true intentions to her friends, she still trusts Marcy and is even offended when Yunan calls Marcy and her friends "scheming backstabbers", implying that Olivia doesn't hold anything against Marcy.
• When Olivia and Yunan travel down to the basement garden, a Mossman offers Yunan a flower, to which Olivia states that it's a friendship offering. Yunan even wears said flower in her hair for the rest of the episode.
• Marcy's very first instinct, once she's pulled out of the healing tank, is to call for Sasha and Anne.
• Lady Olivia immediately pulling out a blanket and a cup of warm tea for Marcy, out of seemingly nowhere.
• Marcy, still confused after being freed, refers to Yunan as "captain", likely remembering the happy memory of their sea-faring adventure as shown in her theme song takeover.

Hollywood Hop Pop

• Hop Pop gives up his big Hollywood break to Humphrey, the elder actor he befriended that has been waiting 45 years for his big break. This is also him returning Humphrey a favour for letting him take his audition for a commercial that Hop Pop got the part for.
• Humphrey Westwood, despite sacrificing his audition to Hop Pop, is genuinely pleased he got the part, without any ounce of resentment or jealousy. In a show like Amphibia, where nice characters are so often later shown to have hidden agendas, it's refreshing to see a character that is as good deep down as he is on the surface — doubly so, since in Real Life, the acting industry can be pretty cutthroat.
• Mr. X is shown to have taken in the frogs that the Boonchuys used as decoys in his debut episode, and has set up a nice terrarium for them to live in.
• When a director wants to talk to Hop Pop, he calls Anne's phone, meaning that Hop Pop has Anne's phone number memorized (despite not having a phone himself) and used it when auditioning.

If You Give A Frog A Cookie

• Anne trying her best to make the Plantars less homesick by making a mini-swamp and bug cookies.
• Despite seeing the Plantars' true selves, Terri is willing to help Anne rescue them after Dr. Frakes kidnaps them for dissection.
  • Not only does she sacrifice her job for them, but she's also willing to help get them back to Amphibia at the episode's end.

Froggy Little Christmas

• Despite Mrs. Boonchuy rejecting the offer to show a Thai Go parade float to help keep the Plantars a low profile, Anne knows full well her mom is sacrificing a lifelong dream. So, Anne decides to make one with Dr. Jan, the I.T. Gals, and the Thai community’s help as a gift for her.
• When Anne is leading her parents outside by the hands with their eyes covered, their hands immediately go to each other as soon as Anne lets go, holding hands with their eyes closed without a second thought.
  • It's further emphasized when Anne's parents talk about their immigration from Bangkok to Los Angeles and how it felt for them to finally feel like accepted members of their community.
• An animated version of Rebecca Sugar (the creator of Steven Universe) is seen throughout the episode singing a Christmas song.
• Andrias wishes “Merry Christmas” back to Anne without even thinking about it, doubling as a funny moment...right before realizing what was about to happen.
• Sprig gives Anne a figure of herself that he made as a Christmas gift, saying that she’s his hero. Even Polly admits it’s a very cute gesture.
  • Speaking of Christmas gifts, in the credits we see Anne giving her mom the butterfly she got back in “Hopping Mall.”
• Anne sends anonymous letters to Marcy's and Sasha’s parents, reassuring them that they are fine and that she’s going to bring them back to Earth.

Escape To Amphibia

• Terri risked getting blacklisted from the scientific community by stopping Dr. Frakes, but Dr. Jan was nice enough to take the former apprentice in, saving Terri's career.
• The I.T. Gals, Humphrey, Molly-Jo, and two of the ladies from the Thai Temple jump at the chance to help the Boonchuys, Terri, and Professor Jan in rescuing the Plantars, even after learning their true nature.
• The instant Molly-Jo meets Sprig again, she sees his face without any disguise on it whatsoever, but she immediately greets him happily and shares a high-five. Recall that in their previous encounter, she wanted to see his unmasked face, but he refused because "it would give her nightmares." But here, she finally lays eyes on his bare face, and doesn't seem frightened at all.
  • Hop Pop also has a sweet reunion with Humphrey who says 'Us actors have to stick together', while Polly has one with Ally and Jess, who hugs her while expressing joy that Polly fixed Frobo.
• After Mr. X tells Anne that she's Just a Kid that never would have gotten as far as she did if she didn't have her parents helping her, her parents reassure her that she's more capable than that.

Commander Anne

• Though it will inevitably be undercut by what Andrias later did to the poor girl, Anne is genuinely relieved when Sasha tells her that Marcy is still alive.
• Sasha genuinely wants to make amends with Anne, and shows it by resigning as resistance leader in her favor.
• And in the end, despite everything Anne and Sasha have gone through in “True Colors”, Anne makes it clear she just can’t bring herself to hate her.
  • When Anne first sees Sasha again, she immediately hugs her!
  • Sasha, on the other hand, spends the episode being supportive of Anne, but effectively not reciprocating to her physical affection. Keep in mind, the last time they ever came close to hugging, Anne pushed her away and called a horrible person, which Sasha took to heart. Even when she and Anne establish their partnership, she tries to seal the deal by shaking on it, but Anne pulls her in for a hug, and it's only then that Sasha lets herself relax for the first time since the beginning of the episode. She's only now starting to believe she's deserving of Anne's friendship.
    • What makes this so heartwarming is that, for the first time, probably since the friendship between the two first began to sour, Sasha will now be a genuine friend to Anne.

Sprivy

• Sprig and Ivy are at their maximum Sickeningly Sweethearts level here.
• It is subtle, but Sasha is only "sort of furious" with Sprig and Ivy nearly messing up the mission. The Sasha from the beginning of the show would have undoubtedly beaten up Sprig and Ivy for disobeying her, but here and now, she just simply and very sternly scolds them. Character Development is in play here.

Sasha's Angels

• Anne and Sasha are pretty clearly becoming thick as thieves again, and this time they both know that they can freely talk things out whenever they don't agree on something.
  • While they're sparring, even if they're disagreeing over what to do with the rebels taken hostage, they don't let it escalate.
  • When Anne apologizes at the end of the episode for not trusting Sasha's judgment, Sasha just tells her that she gets it and asks Anne not to misunderstand: she cares about the Wartwoodians too, but she knows that they're more than capable of taking care of themselves, and that being a commander means making tough choices, like trusting other people's judgment and taking a step back. She's a far cry from the girl that used to take control of every situation because she thought her plans would automatically be the best ones. And how did Sasha learn this lesson? Anne taught her.
• Anne is incredibly worried for the frog team, calling them her everything.
• Mrs. Croaker tells Toadie that she always believed he had a warrior in him. The rest of the team isn't quite sure, but hey, it's Mrs. Croaker we're talking about here.

Olm Town Road

• Sasha gets immediately angry on behalf of Lysil and Angwin when they talk about being banished from Proteus after one mistake. She tells them that everyone deserves a second chance if they aim to do good. Anne smiles at her, visibly proud, and gives her arm a squeeze that instantly calms her down.
  • Sasha in general is visibly projecting on the olm twins, and becomes quite protective of them. She talks about knowing how it feels to mess up so badly that you don't know if you'll ever be able to make up for it, and that she's still working on it. Still, she hopes they won't give up on it.
• When the group gets rejected from Proteus, Sasha is quick to offer to let them stay at Wartwood if need be.
• Lysil and Angwin exposing themselves to the sunlight and pulling a Heroic Sacrifice to stop the drill. No matter how hurt they were by their people, they still want to protect their home. Sasha is moved by this, pretty clearly thinking back on her entire history with Anne and the events of "Reunion" in particular, since despite their fallout Anne almost dove to her death just to catch Sasha's hand, and delivers an incredibly cathartic "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Parasia.
• Anne and Sasha fist-bumping at the end of the episode.

Mother of Olms

• Hop Pop and Mother Olm bonding over their shared Feeling Their Age issues.
• Sasha holding Polly in the air to keep her from sinking in Mother Olm's snot. She seems to be quite fond of Polly in general, letting her hang on her shoulder and being amused by Polly's antics inside Mother Olm's ear. Fridge Brilliance on this, they have a very similar love of weapons, action, and chaos in general.
  • The first person Sasha thinks of, even before herself, after Mother Olm explains the nature of the gems' powers and she realizes Anne's not the only one with the ability to tap into some "cool anime powers"? Resident Lovable Nerd Marcy Wu.
• Anne and Sasha holding hands in excitement when Mother Olm begins to recite the prophecy.

Grime's Pupil

• Grime and Sprig actually manage to form a rapport during their training after fending off some bee-hyena hybrids.
• Anne helping Sprig get ready for his duel.

The Root of Evil

• Hop Pop convincing the others to go back and rescue Gary from Andrias's forces.

The Core & The King

• Andrias had that portrait of him and his friends commissioned to thank them for everything that they had done for him, saying that he'd never have made it as far as he did without them. Shame that it didn't end well...

Newts In Tights

• Try as he might to deny it, Tritonio honestly cares for his band, and ultimately returns to help rescue them from Andrias' forces.

Fight or Flight

• Domino 2 returns... and she has babies now! Despite knowing their diet, no one who's around them for more than five minutes can resist how cute they are.
  • A particularly adorable example of this is when Wally befriends one that looks like him, calls her Wally Jr, and even gives her a hat to complete the look.
• Anne insists on rescuing Domino 2 from Andrias, saying that they have a connection. Although Sprig is skeptical, it turns out that she's right, with Domino 2 having kept the cat toy Anne gave her and even stopping another moth from eating Sprig.

The Three Armies

• Sasha trusting Anne completely in her role of mediator, going along with her ideas, and comforting her once the three armies can't seem to find a middle ground.
• After Anne loses her temper and snaps at them for their squabbling, the titular armies finally realize how petty they're being and put their heads together to come up with a workable plan.
• While it paints a sad contrast with the beginning of the next episode, Anne and Sasha immediately recognize the strategy suggested by Hop Pop, Beatrix, and Tritonio as being exactly like one used in Marcy's favourite film, War of the Warlocks.

The Beginning of the End

• While it's sad that Anne and Sasha always fell asleep while watching War of the Warlocks, Marcy covering them up with her blanket cape is admittedly rather cute.
• Anne admitting that she and Sasha could have been better friends to Marcy, and hoping that they can work on things once they rescue her.
• It's worth noting that Sasha struggles so much to wrap her head around the possibility of forgiving Marcy because she herself still hasn't fully grasped the concept and, unlike Anne, hasn't had the time to work through her feelings on the matter. It's with Anne's guidance and the reminder that they, too, managed to build something beautiful out of what once seemed irreparably broken that changes her perspective. From then on, she's pretty hell-bent on saving "that lovable little nerd" and making things up with her.
• Anne and Sasha still remembering by heart their favourite Super Dance Fusion choreo.

All In

• Principal Murphy turns out to be a Reasonable Authority Figure who genuinely wants to help Anne, telling her to write an essay about what she wants to be so she'll be forced to reevaluate herself and figure her goals out.
• Anne gently reassuring Sasha (who is likely still struggling to see herself as a better person, especially after Darcy's comments on how their group only apparently got along) that it's not who they were that matters, but who they became and the changes they made along the way that made them better people that will allow them to defeat the Core and save Marcy.
  • This gets a Meaningful Echo during Sasha's crowning moment of awesome later in the episode, since Anne's words are the ultimate push she needs to drag herself back to her feet after being grievously wounded by the Core and land a finishing blow to its power cord.
    Anne: It's not who we were that matters, Sash. It's who we are now that counts.
• The Plantars are petrified by the herons Andrias controls, since they're the very same ones that killed Sprig and Polly's parents, making them a collective Trauma Button for them. But when the Boonchuy parents are in danger from said herons, the Plantars spring into action to defend them.
• A flashback shows how Andrias and Marcy met. Marcy, of course, ignored social protocol entirely and, after accidentally hurting him by calling him Drias (Leif's nickname for him), she climbs into his pocket and gives him a small robot pin as a "a little gift for the king of Newtopia". Andrias looks at her a moment before letting out a hearty, genuine laugh, picking her up and calling her Little Master Marcy, promising to help her find her friends. One gets the impression that in that single meeting, Marcy brought Andrias more cheer than he has had for a thousand years.
  • The Core orders Andrias to kill Marcy, seeing her as a threat to its plans. Andrias, who has barely known Marcy for a few minutes, objects that she is just a child, and hastily suggest a way that she might be more useful to them alive.
  • After being defeated, one of the first things Andrias does is beg Anne to save Marcy.
  Andrias: Marcy - *coughs* You must... save... Marcy!
• Anne, faced with the chance to take Andrias one-on-one for the safety of the entire planet, takes a moment to express her gratitude to the Plantars, as she recalls how, before meeting them, she always coasted by and let people push her around, taking the easy path in life, all because she didn't love herself enough to fight for her own rights. Meeting them changed that — changed her — and she is ready to put her life on the line to defend the people she loves.
  Anne: You know, before I ended up in Amphibia, I didn't care about right or wrong, I just did what was easy. I let people walk all over me. And I think that's because I didn't love myself. Not really. But meeting you three has changed all of that, and these months we've spent together have shown me the person I really wanna be. Trap or not, I have to do this.
• Mr. X playing Anne's favorite song and an encouraging message from her family in order to trigger a Heroic Second Wind — redemption for how he previously put her down in "Escape to Amphibia".
• After Grime ends up Taking the Bullet for Sasha and losing an arm, he tells her that he was just a bully in a tower before he met her and that she inspired him to be better, all before collapsing from the strain, albeit still alive.
  • Sasha immediately goes and wraps Grime up when he loses his arm with her fur cape. She even comforts him and calls him out for his (luckily non-lethal) sacrifice, but she's just so touched that he did save her.
  • Just the fact that Grime saved Sasha from being killed. He went from being a bully and a warden to her to performing a self-sacrifice to save her life and considering it to be worth it immediately after.
• Marcy has what she's always wanted inside the Core, a world of endless fantasy adventures... but it's not complete, because even through the alterations to her memories, she still subconsciously remembers and misses Anne and Sasha. And then, when the Core creates doppelgangers of the other two girls, it fails to replicate their personalities well enough, and she rejects them because she wants her real friends, even if they disagree with her.
  • Her only light in the darkness of the Core, an empty mindscape that will eventually consume her personality and absorb her completely, is the BFFs picture. She cradles it to her cheek, expressing her unconditional trust in Anne and Sasha.
• Sprig ends up reading the piece of paper he found to Andrias, which turns out to be a letter from Leif to her former friend. Learning that she hadn't forgotten about him after all is enough to break Andrias' will to fight completely, leaving him in tears.
  • The sequence that plays during this shows the ultimate fate of Leif, how she settled down in what would become Wartwood, found love, and started a family.
• Principal Murphy showing genuine pride in Anne after she defeats Andrias. She acts like a proud parent cheering on her child. She even screams in happiness when Anne takes him down.
• All over Los Angeles, people see Anne's victory and cheer for her.
• Maggie, Anne's school bully, being moved to tears and giving Anne a sincere Thumbs Up after she defeats Andrias is quite touching.
• Anne, Sasha, and Marcy all finally reconcile with one another, with Anne and Sasha forgiving Marcy. Anne even reassures her that, while they can't fight change and, sometimes, life just pulls people apart, what they have is real and beautiful, and their memories will keep their friendship alive even in the face of separation.
• While the Amphibia citizens celebrate King Andrias and Darcy's downfall, Ivy and Maddie share a hug and dance in a circle.

The Hardest Thing

• Marcy expresses so much joy at living out her greatest fantasy alongside her friends after being mind-controlled for the entire season. Unlike what the Core tried to offer her, she's fighting with her true friends by her side. Anne and Sasha also look happy fighting with her too, as all three of them come together for a group hug while fighting the Core.
  Marcy: (squee) This is the coolest, most anime thing that's ever happened to me. I'm so happy to be able to fight by your side!
• Andrias finally stands up to the Core, sending his remaining Frobots to help the girls stop the Colony Drop.
• Anne decides to absorb Sasha and Marcy's powers to keep them from experiencing the Power-Strain Blackout that comes with them, even if it means dying in the process. When they flat-out refuse to let her do such a thing, she encourages them to trust her, because just like she let them lead her and believed in them, now it's her turn to return the favour. Sasha and Marcy tackle her in a hug before being sent back to the ground, and Anne clings to them one last time with tears that take the shape of hearts.
  • Sasha doesn't let go of Marcy once after they are sent back.
• The Core grouses about Anne using Amphibia's greatest treasure against it. Anne defiantly shoots back that the stones are not Amphibia's greatest treasure, as she's surrounded by images of all the people she's befriended. She then beseeches the stones to help her save the world she loves.
• Mixed with Tear Jerker, but all of the trio's goodbyes are this:
  • Marcy says goodbye to Olivia and Yunan, saying that she wishes she got to know them better, but they reassure her and thank her as well, hinting that interacting with her led them to meet and consider a relationship. She also bids Andrias a goodbye, surprising him.
    Andrias: Take care, kiddo.
  • Sasha and Grime try to stay strong, but both eventually break down crying at leaving each other. She also asks him to find Percy and Braddock and apologize for her, showing that she didn't forget about them and is trying to make up for how things between them ended.
  • Anne bids goodbye to the Plantars one by one. She tells Polly that she knows she'll do great things and probably take over the world, with Polly agreeing that'll happen without her moral compass. Hop Pop tells her he's proud to consider her family, and that she's always welcome home. Finally, she and Sprig say that they'll never forget each other and she gives Sprig her phone as a momento. As she leaves, they share one last hug, with a beautifully animated revolving shot.
    • Anne calling Polly the little sister she never knew she needed, and even more so when you remember how earlier in the series, Anne bragged about being an only child.
• Before stepping through the portal, Anne, Marcy, and Sasha bow to the friends they've made throughout their journey, as they are applauded as heroes for all they've done, with many of the Amphibia citizens getting teary-eyed.
  • This can also count as a Curtain Call for the fans that have stuck with Anne and her frog friends until the very end, and gives fans an opportunity to give the show one last round-of-applause.
• The cosmic entity behind the stones is touched by Anne's speech about change, and not only sends her back to live her life before she takes up its job, it gives her, Sasha, and Marcy single-use versions of the stones to allow them to go home.
• The entity reveals Anne is going to die at 91, meaning she has a very long life ahead of her.
• Anne's revival. After Hop Pop tells her not to interrupt his, the rest of the Plantars', Marcy's, Sasha's, and Grime's mourning her, she announces her presence. Sprig notices her, jumps up and hugs her while the rest of them run and tackle her in another huge Glomp, with everyone laughing and telling jokes, while everyone else is overjoyed.
  Anne: What'd I miss?
  Sasha: Well, the moon and The Core exploded, and then... so did you.
  Marcy: But you're back somehow! Which is amazing, but also... how?
  Anne: I don't know where to begin. The whole thing feels like a dream.
  • Even Andrias seems happy about this, now that Anne has finally saved him from the Core's control. He stares up at the broken moon and says this with immense relief in his voice:
    Andrias: It's over...it's finally over.
• Even after stepping through the portal back to earth, Anne still never truly left Amphibia, as her original bodies ashes still exist there. A part of Anne will always be there, even long after she left.
• At the end of the episode, Olivia and Yunan are seen with a Relationship Upgrade, and it’s heavily implied from the way they act that they’re married.
• The ruined landscapes are recovering and becoming as beautiful as they once were.
• Wartwood holds a ceremony where they erect a statue of Anne, remembering her as the hero who saved their world, with "We miss you, girl!" written on the plaque.
• We get to see how everyone in Amphibia are doing post-time skip, especially the Plantars. Polly grew into her adult frog body safe and sound, Hop Pop and Sylvia are still going strong, and Sprig is making a journal of everything he and Anne have encountered with the phone she left for him, not to mention that he and Ivy are still together as well. Even Bessie gets a happy ending, as she and Joe Sparrow not only become mates, but even have offspring together too.
  • In a cute little detail, Polly has adopted Anne's nickname for Hop Pop, and now calls him HP.
  • A very sweet detail is that Sprig is doing all his journal-making in the basement, where Anne slept.
• Seeing Andrias, who has dealt with pain and suffering one can only imagine from having the Core inside his head dictating his life for 1,000 years, being able to live his life as he desires now can tug at the heart strings. Looking closely at the shackles and chains on him, it seems he is serving out a sentence for all his crimes, but at the very least, he is both free of the Core's influence (the broken chains being symbolic of that) and happy at having his second chance. Even better, he has Barrel's warhammer as a walking stick and both Leif and Marcy's pins right next to each other on his cloak; after all this time, he has his friends with him once again.
  • Matt Braly also confirmed that Olivia and Yunan did offer to repair or replace Andrias' life-sustaining cybernetics but he refused, despite knowing he will eventually die as a result. Not only does he want to spend his second chance in as much of a natural state as possible, but he's likely totally fine with dying, since it will mean being with Leif and Barrel again.
• Bog's gang apparently abandoned Toad Tower and started a moving company.
• In the ten-year time skip on Earth, all three girls have grown into their own careers. Marcy, who still moved away, has become a popular webcomic artist. Sasha is now a psychologist, helping kids get over their issues. Finally, Anne, inspired by those life-changing months in Amphibia, became a herpetologist at an aquarium.
  • Despite Anne and Sasha starting to hang out with different friend groups in high school, as often happens in real life, they never lost touch, with Sasha being fully aware of where Anne works now and implied to have visited her there before. Additionally, Matt confirmed in a conversation with a fan on Twitter that Marcy still visited them multiple times over the years, and that all three girls never stopped keeping tabs on each other and remained in close contact for an imprecise number of years.
  • When the now grown-up Anne gives kids a tour of the aquarium, one of the kids asks her what the name of the pink frog she is holding is. Anne replies that the pink frog's name is Sprig, named after "a dear, dear friend of mine.". Aww!
    • If one looks closely, you can see that the pink frog, Sprig, has an aquarium case of his own with a miniature version of the Plantar house and glowing mushrooms. Furthermore, Anne has renamed and remodeled the entire section after Amphibia, a tribute to the world that changed everything for her.
  • Having acknowledged that she and Anne ignored Marcy's interests in the past, it's sweet to hear that Sasha reads her webcomic — and from the sound of it, really likes it!
• The final scene shows the now adult Anne, Sasha, and Marcy reuniting as friends. Even if they did go their separate ways, they still found their way back to each other. Moreover, Anne's final voiceover makes it clear that she's never once forgotten about the Found Family she made in Amphibia, and is constantly using the life experiences she learned with them to keep being her 'best self', even if she can't see them anymore. They are always in her heart.
  • Anne's final voiceover itself:
    Anne: Change can be difficult, but it's how we grow. It can be the hardest thing to realize you can't hold on to something forever, sometimes you have to let it go. But of the things you let go, you'd be surprised what makes its way back to you.
  • While it's understandably not the focus of their reunion, it is never once said that the girls cannot return to Amphibia, or that interdimensional travel is forever beyond their reach without the Calamity Gems powering the transportation. Terri was able to identify the coordinates for Amphibia and open a small portal with extensive power sources, meaning that the series ends on the unspoken agreement that if both sides ever have the chance to meet again, they'll take it in a heartbeat. But for now, their lives go on, and they don't dwell on the past at the expense of their future.
    • The defictionalized Marcy's Journal has a few entries set after Frogvasion. In one, she mentions that Mr. X and Terri are teaming up to attempt to reopen the portal. It's without government approval since Mr. X felt the technology was too dangerous in any governments' hands, but he was not opposed to letting the girls see their friends again if they succeed. Plus, in the journal's last entry during the epilogue, Marcy mentions getting a call from Terri, implying that progress has been made!
• The final shot of the end credits, showing the girls took a new BFF photo holding hands with Tears of Joy.
• After the finale came to an end, Matt Braly sent out not one, but two final heartwarming messages to the fans that have stuck with the story of Amphibia until the very end.
  • Matt further pointed out that despite the Time Skip leading to the Distant Finale, the girls are only 23 years old, so just because their journey of being Trapped in Another World has come to an end doesn't mean their adventures have— in fact, they are very much continuing on, as Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, and all the inhabitants of Amphibia are.

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