WOTFI 2021 is here! Bringing an end to the Genesis Arc and a big change to SMG4, Mario and friends.
The finale of the Genesis Arc. Can the gang stop SMG0 and save Mario, Axol, and most importantly, the universe?
- Animation Bump: Several scenes are done in Source Filmmaker instead of GMod, a rarity for mainline SMG4 episodes. Even in the GMod scenes dramatic moments have more lip-flap animations than usual.
- Armor-Piercing Response: As the heroes congratulate Melony for finishing off Zero, Meggy asks where Axol is. Cue Melony sobbing her heart out. Everyone quickly figures out what happened from there.
- Artifact Title: Once again, most of the cast gets in on the action instead of just the Fat Italians. Though they do have to battle clones of a Fat Italian in challenges, as well as fight a Brainwashed and Crazy Mario.
- Aside Glance: The thumbnail shows SMG4 doing this with a Determined Expression.
- Beat the Curse Out of Him: They have to beat Shadow Mario first before they can free the real deal.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Although brief, Melony kisses Axol before she is forced to kill him.
- Bittersweet Ending: The universe and Mario are saved, Zero is finally destroyed for now, and SMG4 and SMG3 have buried the hatchet. On the other hand, Melony is forced to put down Axol with her own hands in order for all that to happen, breaking her heart and innocence in the process, but she comes out of it stronger than ever.
- Bookends: The arc was started by a corrupted Morshu meme, in the final battle her heroes give Mario and Melony the opening needed for the final blow using another corrupted Morshu.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Mario, briefly.
- The Bus Came Back: After 4 months of absence, Belle returns in a challenge that Mario and Luigi have to beat her at a video game in.
- But Now I Must Go: SMG1 and SMG2 leave to hide the Guardian Pods so that no-one can ever misuse them again.
- Butt-Monkey: Luigi suffers a lot of comic setback from the cannon sending him spinning out of control, losing a Luigi impersonation contest and being reduced to a skeleton by Zero briefly.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: After losing a challenge he should have won by default, Luigi manages to win one that he was sure to lose by carefully picking the battlefield.
- Call-Back: While comforting Melony, Meggy says she knows how it feels to lose someone close to you.
- Company Cross References: One is made to Episode 8 of Sunset Paradise when Mario says "You get to see Mario's signature move."
- Curb-Stomp Battle: One challenge is to see who can be nice to Luigi and the combatants are the nice if awkward Fishy Boopkins against Mario. It's no contest.
- Dual Boss: Zero forms one with a Shadow Mario clone... a super-powerful one capable of fighting the Glitchy Gang to a standstill by himself. It's only when SMG3 points out that going for the real Mario is a better strategy that he loses focus and allows them to defeat him.
- Excuse Plot: The justification for the fan-submitted challenges? The crystal holding Mario keeps sending off portals that teleport the gang to pocket dimensions, forcing them to compete with clones of Mario in various challenges in order to keep moving forward.
- Face Death with Dignity: When Melony cannot free him from Zero, Axol calmly accepts his fate and encourages her to Mercy Kill him.
- Grand Finale: Once again and for the third time, a WOTFI episode concludes a huge arc.
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Harsher in Hindsight: All of the heroes' pleas for Axol to be freed from Zero turns into this once you've watched the conclusion of the battle. - He's Back!: Mario, after spending the ending of "MARIOS OKAY", the entirety of "The Final Piece", and most of this episode in a coma and the gang forced to fight clones of him and a Shadow Mario as a Dual Boss with Zero, is reawakened by SMG3 and SMG4 using their Guardian powers to enfuse Mario with memes.
- Hidden Depths: Melony is revealed to be a pretty skilled at manga art. A lot rougher and more chibi than Axol's style but good nonetheless. She pledges to improve and finish Two Piece in honor of Axol.
- Inelegant Blubbering: Melony breaks down sobbing hysterically after being forced to kill Axol.
- Jerkass Has a Point: SMG3 is the one to call out that trying to appeal to the mind controlled Mario is a waste of time when they can break him out of his crystal prison instead.SMG3: Well I think that sweet talk made me want to die
That's how you kill a god? You gonna try and make them cry? - Kill the Ones You Love: Despite her best attempts, Melony can't sever Zero's connection to Axol, forcing her to put him down at his request.
- Killed Off for Real: Axol. Melony is forced to put him down in order to destroy Zero as the two had become irreversibly bonded to one another.
- Mercy Kill: In a mix of this and Heroic Sacrifice, Axol pleads to Melony to kill him in order to save the universe when it becomes clear that he can not be saved. She does it, leaving her heart-broken.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: As promised, nothing is the same anymore for the series due to Axol’s death and along with it, Melony's innocence. Melony takes up manga art in his honor.
- Out of Focus: While normally a main cast member, Shroomy's role is reduced to a cameo in the "Wake Melony" challenge.
- Powerful and Helpless: Melony has the power of the Fierce Deity Mask and is probably the best fighter of the Glitchy Gang but by the time she reaches Axol, SMG0's possession is too deep rooted. Her sword just impotently bounces off as she tries in vain to hack him free.
- The Reveal:
- We finally get to see what Zero's true form really looks like (although only for a brief moment).
- At the end, SMG1 and SMG2 reveal that SMG does not stand for Super Mario Glitchy, but Super Meme Guardian.
- Say My Name: Melony tearfully yells out Axol’s name as she strikes the killing blow on him.
- Sleepy Head: Melony is shown to be able to sleep while been dragged down the street at speed, with her eyes forcibly glued open and while being drowned. It takes a planet shattering soundwave to wake her.
- Staking the Loved One: Melony returns Axol's feelings for her... and is forced to personally kill him to save the universe, since his possession by Zero is beyond her ability to reverse.
- Suddenly Speaking: Steve does it again years after the last time he did in "Super Mario Attorney," only this time it's for a much darker reason.Steve: YOU WILL ANSWER FOR YOUR ACTIONSAND GOD WILL NOT BE SO...MERCIFUL
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Spoiled by the Merchandise: Averted. The episode opens with a promo for WOTFI 2021 merch including an Axol plushie which gives false hope that he might survive. - The Unreveal:
- Despite this being Zero's last appearance for now, the events that led to Zero becoming the universe hopping abomination he is now are left unexplained. It takes another arc finale for us to find that out...
- We still don't know why SMG1 looks different from Spudnick outside of SMG4's theory that he was squished in an accident..
- Villainous Breakdown: SMG0 undergoes one when Mario is freed, causing his new universe to start falling apart.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: It's shown in the "post Eggman's nudes" challenge that Melony can switch between her human and watermelon forms freely by removing the Fierce Deity Mask and putting it back on within her ability.
- Wham Episode: Melony is forced to kill Axol in order to stop Zero, thus permanently killing off one of the main cast members.
- Wham Line: Although it's pretty clear where the scene is going due to the buildup, this line from Axol is what ultimately hammers home what his fate will be:Axol: Melony... We're out of time... There's only one way left to beat Zero...
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Neither Swag nor Chris are seen or mentioned again for the rest of the episode after Zero flicks them away.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: SMG4 and the Mario clone are challenged to beat Sonic in a race by any means necessary. SMG4 uses the YouTube universal remote to freeze him which works right up until Susan Worcestershire takes it back by force. Mario, simply shoots Sonic in the leg before he can get off the start line.
- Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: Luigi (who else would it be?) uses the tactic to great effect by challenging Belle to Rock Simulator, a game where the goal is to do nothing and waiting for her to Rage Quit.
- Mario ends up winning in a similar way to Bob in the "don't get cancelled on Twitter challenge" by only responding with "yes" until Bob makes a comment about Asian people.
- Wonder Twin Powers: SMG4 and SMG3 are able to save the gang from the last episode's cliffhanger by holding hands and using their meme power to turn the memes of the land into projectiles that can hurt Zero, freeing the other SMGs that he was crashing in his hand. Naturally, Bob has a derigatory comment ready.SMG3: FORGET YOU SAW ANYTHING!
