The beginning of a beautiful friendship!
Sprig tries to capture a mysterious beast to prove that he's responsible, and encounters a human girl in the process. Full Recap
Our story begins in Wartwood, a sleepy village in the marshland world of Amphibia, where frogs and toads reign supreme. It's evening, and local vagrant One-Eyed Wally is just leaving Stumpy's Diner. The bumbling fool wanders down a path in the woods, where he is startled by a sudden rustling in the bushes. Behind him, an ominous figure rises from the shrubbery, its features cloaked in shadow. Wally slowly turns to face this unknown entity, and lets out a cry of pure terror.
The following morning, old Hopediah "Hop Pop" Plantar rides into the town square with his grandchildren in tow. The kids in question, who refer to their elderly guardian as "Hop Pop", consist of adventurous (and also reckless) Sprig and his pugnacious tadpole sister, Polly. Upon parking his cart, Hop Pop informs the children that he is going to do some shopping, and they are in charge of watching the cart. Or, more specifically, Polly is in charge. Despite Sprig being the older of the two, Hop Pop makes it crystal clear that the boy has had more than enough incidents in the past to be considered the "irresponsible" sibling. In fact, Hop Pop has such little faith in Sprig that he also tasks Polly with ensuring that her brother stays put.
While the two of them wait, Sprig is visibly dismayed by Hop Pop's words, and openly wishes for a way to prove himself to his grandfather. Just then, Wally comes running into the center of town warning of a fearsome monster lurking in the woods. The villagers are horrified by his descriptions of the beast, and Mayor Toadstool declares that it poses a threat to their safety and must be caught. Sprig immediately jumps on the idea of being the one to capture the beast, out of the belief that doing so will finally prove his responsibility to Hop Pop. Polly objects to his plan, and orders him to stay where he is (implicitly threatening him with violence in the process), but all Sprig has to do to get past her is offer up some candy as a bribe.
In no time at all, Sprig finds himself on a monster hunt in the woods. Just as it seems like he's hot on the creature's tail, Sprig is caught in a trap and ends up hanging upside down from a tree, his foot ensnared in a rope. He then becomes the second person to hear a rustling in the bushes, and is finally greeted by the sight of the mysterious beast: a human teenage girl in a school uniform. Disheveled, wearing only a single shoe, and wielding a sharpened stick as a spear, the young girl is unlike anything Sprig has ever seen before. Despite his rather compromised position, he remains undeterred, and defiantly informs his captor that he tastes terrible. To his surprise, however, she replies that she has no intention of eating him, and seems taken aback by the very notion. When he points out that she tried to eat Wally, she retorts that she only wanted his help, and that he ran away in fear at the first sight of her (something that Sprig notes is entirely in character for Wally).
Their conversation is cut short when a loud shriek emerges from deeper within the forest. The girl suddenly declares that "It's coming back!" She begins to flee, but stops herself when she sees that Sprig is unable to get himself down. She turns back, cuts the rope, and carries him with her before ducking for cover inside a log. Through a hole in the log, the duo catch a glimpse of their hunter as it passes by: an enormous red mantis, its exoskeleton covered in sharp protrusions. While they catch their breath, Sprig remarks that her saving him makes it clear that she's not a beast at all, but in fact a hero. When asked for her name, the girl replies with Anne Boonchuy. As the two get to know one another, Anne finds that she is starving for something to eat, and isn’t exactly enthused about Sprig's suggestion; namely, bugs. The two promptly set off to find something a little more in line with Anne's taste.
At this point, Hop Pop emerges from the store with groceries in tow, and is greeted with the sight of an angry mob, led by Mayor Toadstool himself. Hop Pop shrugs it off until he sees Polly all alone in the cart and learns of Sprig's plan. The mob overhears this, and Wally, who has truly mastered the art of bedside manner, claims that Sprig's fate is sealed and that the monster will devour everything in its path. Hop Pop, of course, would never let such a thing happen to either of his grandchildren, and sets out with Polly to find her missing brother. The mob follows right on his heels, armed to the teeth with pitchforks and torches.
Anne and Sprig, meanwhile, are peacefully eating mushrooms on the forest floor. As they enjoy their lunch, Sprig decides it's time to address the elephant in the room and ask Anne about her origins. She explains that she is a human being and that she derives from "another world!" Unfortunately, she has no recollection of how she arrived in this bizarre place. She has no idea how to get home, if such a feat is even possible. She then turns the tables and asks Sprig what it is that brought him to this patch of the woods. He explains that he is on a quest to prove that he is indeed responsible. When questioned how he means to do that, he guiltily responds with a slack jaw.
He is spared from having to answer her question when the duo are interrupted and surrounded by the mob. The villagers promptly tackle and bind Anne with ropes, all the while Sprig tries to explain to the crowd that this is all just a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, not only do his words fall on deaf ears, but Anne outright accuses him of setting her up.
The whole kerfuffle is brought to a sudden halt when a large green mantis makes its presence known. The crowd tries to intimidate it, but it winds up being scared away by a much more impressive foe: the even larger red mantis from earlier. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, Sprig frees Anne and tries to convince her to leave while he distracts their insectoid adversary. Naturally, he comes within about an inch of getting himself killed. He is saved however, by Anne catching the mantis' claw as it descends toward him. As she does her best to hold the mantis' claw in place, Sprig grabs the rope that was used to bind Anne and uses it to tie up the mantis.
Despite her helping to save the day, the villagers are still not receptive of Anne, with the mayor suggesting that they run her out of town. Sprig, however, steps up and insists that she's not actually a monster, but simply lost and in need of the town's help. Though the crowd remains wary of her, Hop Pop steps in and declares that he would be happy to look after her, an offer that the mayor begrudgingly accepts.
After the crowd disperses, Sprig apologetically asks if he is in trouble. To his surprise, Hop Pop is actually proud of the boy, citing his standing up to the crowd to help Anne as one of the most responsible acts of bravery he's ever seen. Sprig's eyes light up at the acknowledgement of his responsibility (Hop Pop tries to clarify that he only meant that Sprig was acting responsible in this single, isolated instance, but it's a lost cause). Anne, meanwhile, asks for a map so that she can try to find a way home. Hop Pop informs her that the valley they live in is surrounded by mountains that are utterly unnavigable during this time of the year, and that she won't be able to get through them for another two months.
During this time, Anne is permitted to stay in the family's basement. As she gets ready to turn in for the night, Sprig comes downstairs and tells her that he's glad she's living with them. In response, she tells him that the feeling is mutual. After he leaves, she sits down and pulls a peculiar wooden chest, adorned with marshland imagery, out of her backpack. Cautiously, she opens the chest and reels her head back, as though expecting something extraordinary to occur. Instead, she is met with a resounding silence as nothing happens, prompting a heavy sigh.
The following morning, old Hopediah "Hop Pop" Plantar rides into the town square with his grandchildren in tow. The kids in question, who refer to their elderly guardian as "Hop Pop", consist of adventurous (and also reckless) Sprig and his pugnacious tadpole sister, Polly. Upon parking his cart, Hop Pop informs the children that he is going to do some shopping, and they are in charge of watching the cart. Or, more specifically, Polly is in charge. Despite Sprig being the older of the two, Hop Pop makes it crystal clear that the boy has had more than enough incidents in the past to be considered the "irresponsible" sibling. In fact, Hop Pop has such little faith in Sprig that he also tasks Polly with ensuring that her brother stays put.
While the two of them wait, Sprig is visibly dismayed by Hop Pop's words, and openly wishes for a way to prove himself to his grandfather. Just then, Wally comes running into the center of town warning of a fearsome monster lurking in the woods. The villagers are horrified by his descriptions of the beast, and Mayor Toadstool declares that it poses a threat to their safety and must be caught. Sprig immediately jumps on the idea of being the one to capture the beast, out of the belief that doing so will finally prove his responsibility to Hop Pop. Polly objects to his plan, and orders him to stay where he is (implicitly threatening him with violence in the process), but all Sprig has to do to get past her is offer up some candy as a bribe.
In no time at all, Sprig finds himself on a monster hunt in the woods. Just as it seems like he's hot on the creature's tail, Sprig is caught in a trap and ends up hanging upside down from a tree, his foot ensnared in a rope. He then becomes the second person to hear a rustling in the bushes, and is finally greeted by the sight of the mysterious beast: a human teenage girl in a school uniform. Disheveled, wearing only a single shoe, and wielding a sharpened stick as a spear, the young girl is unlike anything Sprig has ever seen before. Despite his rather compromised position, he remains undeterred, and defiantly informs his captor that he tastes terrible. To his surprise, however, she replies that she has no intention of eating him, and seems taken aback by the very notion. When he points out that she tried to eat Wally, she retorts that she only wanted his help, and that he ran away in fear at the first sight of her (something that Sprig notes is entirely in character for Wally).
Their conversation is cut short when a loud shriek emerges from deeper within the forest. The girl suddenly declares that "It's coming back!" She begins to flee, but stops herself when she sees that Sprig is unable to get himself down. She turns back, cuts the rope, and carries him with her before ducking for cover inside a log. Through a hole in the log, the duo catch a glimpse of their hunter as it passes by: an enormous red mantis, its exoskeleton covered in sharp protrusions. While they catch their breath, Sprig remarks that her saving him makes it clear that she's not a beast at all, but in fact a hero. When asked for her name, the girl replies with Anne Boonchuy. As the two get to know one another, Anne finds that she is starving for something to eat, and isn’t exactly enthused about Sprig's suggestion; namely, bugs. The two promptly set off to find something a little more in line with Anne's taste.
At this point, Hop Pop emerges from the store with groceries in tow, and is greeted with the sight of an angry mob, led by Mayor Toadstool himself. Hop Pop shrugs it off until he sees Polly all alone in the cart and learns of Sprig's plan. The mob overhears this, and Wally, who has truly mastered the art of bedside manner, claims that Sprig's fate is sealed and that the monster will devour everything in its path. Hop Pop, of course, would never let such a thing happen to either of his grandchildren, and sets out with Polly to find her missing brother. The mob follows right on his heels, armed to the teeth with pitchforks and torches.
Anne and Sprig, meanwhile, are peacefully eating mushrooms on the forest floor. As they enjoy their lunch, Sprig decides it's time to address the elephant in the room and ask Anne about her origins. She explains that she is a human being and that she derives from "another world!" Unfortunately, she has no recollection of how she arrived in this bizarre place. She has no idea how to get home, if such a feat is even possible. She then turns the tables and asks Sprig what it is that brought him to this patch of the woods. He explains that he is on a quest to prove that he is indeed responsible. When questioned how he means to do that, he guiltily responds with a slack jaw.
He is spared from having to answer her question when the duo are interrupted and surrounded by the mob. The villagers promptly tackle and bind Anne with ropes, all the while Sprig tries to explain to the crowd that this is all just a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, not only do his words fall on deaf ears, but Anne outright accuses him of setting her up.
The whole kerfuffle is brought to a sudden halt when a large green mantis makes its presence known. The crowd tries to intimidate it, but it winds up being scared away by a much more impressive foe: the even larger red mantis from earlier. In the midst of the ensuing chaos, Sprig frees Anne and tries to convince her to leave while he distracts their insectoid adversary. Naturally, he comes within about an inch of getting himself killed. He is saved however, by Anne catching the mantis' claw as it descends toward him. As she does her best to hold the mantis' claw in place, Sprig grabs the rope that was used to bind Anne and uses it to tie up the mantis.
Despite her helping to save the day, the villagers are still not receptive of Anne, with the mayor suggesting that they run her out of town. Sprig, however, steps up and insists that she's not actually a monster, but simply lost and in need of the town's help. Though the crowd remains wary of her, Hop Pop steps in and declares that he would be happy to look after her, an offer that the mayor begrudgingly accepts.
After the crowd disperses, Sprig apologetically asks if he is in trouble. To his surprise, Hop Pop is actually proud of the boy, citing his standing up to the crowd to help Anne as one of the most responsible acts of bravery he's ever seen. Sprig's eyes light up at the acknowledgement of his responsibility (Hop Pop tries to clarify that he only meant that Sprig was acting responsible in this single, isolated instance, but it's a lost cause). Anne, meanwhile, asks for a map so that she can try to find a way home. Hop Pop informs her that the valley they live in is surrounded by mountains that are utterly unnavigable during this time of the year, and that she won't be able to get through them for another two months.
During this time, Anne is permitted to stay in the family's basement. As she gets ready to turn in for the night, Sprig comes downstairs and tells her that he's glad she's living with them. In response, she tells him that the feeling is mutual. After he leaves, she sits down and pulls a peculiar wooden chest, adorned with marshland imagery, out of her backpack. Cautiously, she opens the chest and reels her head back, as though expecting something extraordinary to occur. Instead, she is met with a resounding silence as nothing happens, prompting a heavy sigh.
- Anne: "Looks like I’m gonna be here for a while."
Tropes:
- Almost Kiss: During the introduction of Wartwood, a frog couple is about to kiss at a fountain, but a dragonfly takes the boyfriend away.
- Always a Bigger Fish: Or rather, a bigger mantis. The green mantis that attacks the frogs is scared away by a larger red mantis.
- Closed Circle: According to Hop Pop, not only is the valley surrounded by mountains, but Anne's arrived at a time of year when they're all but impassible, meaning she's stuck for the next couple of months.
- Comical Overreacting: When Wally encountered Anne, he thought she was a beast in the woods that was trying to eat him. Upon meeting Sprig, she clarified that she was trying to ask him for help, but he freaked out at the sight of her and ran off before she could talk.Sprig: That does sound like Wally.
- Conscience Makes You Go Back: Anne nearly leaves Sprig to the mantis, but ultimately decides to save him, thus earning his trust.
- Defiant Captive: After being caught in Anne's snare trap, Sprig defiantly tells her that he tastes terrible. Anne is actually disgusted by the idea of eating him.
- Description Cut: When Anne bemoans her situation, learning that she's stuck inside the valley for several months until the weather improves and she can leave to search for a possible way home, she asks where she's going to stay for that long. Cue a shot of the Plantar's home.
- Dramatic Irony: The red mantis chases Anne and Sprig early on, so when the green one attacks the mob, the audience knows more is coming.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference:
- In this episode, the Plantars' cart is pulled by a yellow slug, instead of Bessie the purple snail as in all subsequent episodes. Said snail is never identified as Bessie, but she's afterwards shown to be the Plantars' only method of transportation around Amphibia, and several subsequent episodes made it clear the Plantars don't have enough wealth to have another draft animal.
- The basement appears to be placed outside the Plantar house, and uses a ladder to get down. In all subsequent episodes, the basement is accessed from inside, and has stairs leading down. That said, it's implied that the Plantars didn't use the basement much before Anne moved in, so they had to clear the inside entryway after the first night to make it easier to access her new living abode.
- Establishing Character Moment: In the first few minutes of the episode, we get to see the Plantars and their personalities. And by extension, also Anne’s personality:
- Sprig is overly enthusiastic and we soon get a montage of him causing damage to the Planter house in some way, showing his recklessness, although it's also made clear that it comes from a genuine desire to be helpful to his family, even if he takes it too far.
- Hop Pop lets Polly watch the cart, saying she's more responsible than Sprig, showing that he is the most sensible one of the family, and is concerned for their well-being, albeit also aware of their flaws since he implies that he only left Polly in charge because he didn't have anybody else to rely on to watch them both together.
- When Sprig calls Polly a baby, she retorts by saying that he is one, showing that she is indeed more responsible than Sprig and wants to be treated like an adult, but has a fiery temperament that makes her immaturity shine through on occasion. She also allows herself to be bribed and warns Sprig to not get himself killed when he runs off, showing that she's not a complete stickler for rules and responsibilities all the time, as well as fully aware of the type of world she lives in, despite her young age.
- When we see Anne for the first time, she was able to set traps, create makeshift spears and outrun predators for days, which indicates her resourcefulness. Also, she frees Sprig from the trap she made and saves him from a giant mantis, despite her first instinct being to run away. This proves that while she can be selfish, she always tries to make the right choice.
- Et Tu, Brute?: When the mob ties up Anne, she assumes that Sprig was only talking to her to make her lower her guard.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: After Anne and Sprig meet, the former asks the latter why he was in the woods. Sprig responds that he was proving himself responsible, and when Anne asks how, he remembers that the "beast" he was supposed to capture is not only right in front of him, but not a beast at all.
- Failure Montage: Sprig asks Hop Pop why he trusts Polly (who's still practically a baby) more, we flashback to several disastrous acts of irresponsibility on his part.Sprig: OK, so yesterday was a bad day...
- Feet-First Introduction: Anne is introduced this way.
- Food as Bribe: Sprig throws candy on the ground so Polly will let him leave the cart.Polly: Bribe accepted!
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Anne's pupils briefly flash blue as she yells at Sprig to help while holding off the red mantis.
- Growling Gut: Because being trapped in Amphibia has left her starving and unable to find proper food, Anne's stomach growls loudly when she first encounters Sprig.
- Horrifying the Horror: This is the intended purpose of the "mantis formation": the frogs stand on each other's shoulders and pose threateningly to scare away a giant Slaying Mantis. It seems to be effective, but it's revealed that what scared away the mantis was an even larger mantis.
- Humans Through Alien Eyes: Moreso than in later episodes, the focus is primarily on the frog characters at the beginning, and we learn of Anne through Wally and Sprig. The former sees her as a scary monster, while the latter initially tries to capture her and later comes to the conclusion that she's an ugly hero.
- In Medias Res: We first see Anne days after arriving in Amphibia.
- Never Say "Die": Averted in the first four minutes of the show, and again when Anne is warned about trying to leave the valley before the weather thaws, both times by Polly, The Baby of the Bunch. It really sells what kind of world Amphibia is.
- Not Hyperbole: Sprig tells Anne not to let the bedbugs bite... because they can drain a body in seconds.
- Scared of What's Behind You: The frog villagers seemingly scare off the giant green mantis by taking "mantis formation" (stacking like a pyramid to appear larger), but it was just running from the larger, scarier red mantis.Polly: Nope. That scared it off.
Pops: Yeah, that makes more sense. - Shout-Out: When Polly gobbles up the candies she got from Sprig, she sounds like Pac-Man. Her round body and hair bow resemble Ms. Pac-Man.
- Slaying Mantis: Anne and the frog villagers run afoul of an enormous red mantis covered in spikes. The mob is confronted by a slightly smaller green mantis when they restrain Anne, which is then scared off by the red one.
- Suddenly Shouting: "I'm a human being, and I come from...ANOTHER WORLD!"
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Hop Pop returns to find Sprig gone and Polly moaning from too much candy, she yells at him unprompted "I don't have a candy problem! You have a candy problem!"
- Try Not to Die: After Sprig runs into the forest when Polly was supposed to be looking after him, her only words of advice are "Don't die!"
- Unreliable Expositor: Anne claims she doesn't know how she arrived on Amphibia when Sprig asks but shows at the end that she does know the music box was responsible. Why she kept this to herself is unclear, although later episodes suggest she's ashamed of stealing the box, as well as rightfully nervous of showing her only possible way home to a bunch of strange creatures she doesn't really know. On the other hand, Anne really had no idea how opening an old music box transported her to a world of anthropomorphic frogs.
- What You Are in the Dark: In her Establishing Character Moment, after hearing a predator she was running from is getting closer, she runs off, leaving Sprig behind still tied in a trap she made. However she stops halfway, considers what she’s doing and frees Sprig from the trap and helps him to hide from the beast. This in turns allows her to gain Sprig’s trust.
Looks like I'm gonna be here for a while.
