As we near the home stretch of Season 5; this episode marks the first of two consecutive episodes with Stacy as the central character along with an appearance by the highest-profile guest star of the season in The Wonder Years co-star Jason Herveynote as Ethan Greene.
We start things off with a performance of “Lost in Emotion”; Stacy mentions plans for a medieval-themed birthday party, complete with costumes, with the younger kids quickly snapping up their choices (Richie as a jouster, Kenny as court jester, Devyn suggests King Arthur…er, Queen Arthurian, Connie as the princesses’ lady-in-waiting and Stacy as Princess Guinevere). Ryan apparently ends up handling guest invitations, suggesting Stacy invite Ethan Greene (a classmate Stacy has in homeroom) to the party…something Stacy is hesitant to do seeing that Ethan is a nerd (Richie: “I like geeks”) before she eventually relents - with Richie suggesting he personally invite Ethan to the party (Devyn: “He likes geeks”) just before the band returns to the stage (“How Can I Forget You”).
Ethan then catches up to Stacy with the intention of giving her flowers and candy; but the first impression doesn’t work very well (the daisies are dead, Ethan fell off his bike, crushing the candy…which had also melted), leading to the Imagine Spot; with Stacy as a very vain princess (“I Get Weak”) while the others are in roles similar to what they planned to go to the party as. At that point, Princess Stacy encounters a talking frog, who quickly explains that he’s actually a prince but due to a “trick of fate” he got turned into a frog, and only a princess’ kiss can turn him back). Said frog - to Princess Stacy’s amazement - can also dance and sing (“You Can’t Judge a Book By Its Cover”). Sure enough, upon Princess Stacy kissing the frog; the frog turns out to be a prince, with Princess Stacy fainting in shock as the daydream ends.
Returning to the real world, Ethan returns - and to the surprise of Stacy - much better groomed than when he first appeared; with Stacy apologizing after learning that what’s inside is far more important than external appearances. This leads to closing song “Prove Your Love” at the birthday partynote .
Songs performed in this episode:
- “Lost in Emotion” (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam cover; lead vocals by Kenny)
- “How Can I Forget You” (Elisa Fiorillo cover; lead vocals by Ryan)
- “I Get Weak” (Belinda Carlisle cover; lead vocals by Stacy)
- “You Can’t Judge a Book By Its Cover” (Kids Incorporated originalnote ; lead vocals by the Frognote )
- “Prove Your Love” (Taylor Dayne cover; lead vocals by Stacy)
Tropes associated with this episode:
- An Aesop: In this case, Stacy learning that what’s inside is much more important than the outside.
- Birthday Episode: The episode has Stacy planning a birthday party with a medieval theme.
- Call-Back: This is not the first time Kenny has played the court jester in a medieval-themed Imagine Spot.
- Imagine Spot/Storybook Episode: The middle of the episode featuring a retelling of ‘’The Frog Prince’’; with elements of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table scattered in.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Ethan both in the Imagine Spot and for real towards the end.
Characters in The Frog Prince-themed Imagine Spot:
- Jouster: Richie
- Court Jester: Kennynote
- Queen Arthurina: Devyn
- Connie: Lady-in-Waiting
- Stacy: Princess Stacy
- Ethan Greene: Prince Ethan
