Tear Jerker / Star vs. the Forces of Evil

Wait... Star's crying?!

Warning: Spoilers Off applies to these pages. Proceed at your own risk.

General

• As the series continues, it becomes very clear of how strained the relationship between Star and Queen Moon is. Yes, they genuinely love one another, but they still get into fights and expect the worse from each other most of the time (i.e., Moon thinks that whenever Star calls her she must have caused some kind of trouble; Star thinks her mom will be mad with whatever bad news she gives). By Season 3, it's clear there will be even more conflict between them.

Season 1

Star Comes to Earth

• Star and Marco's entire dilemma. They may work things out in the end, but it's still pretty sad to consider:
  • Star is a genuinely nice girl who earnestly tries to help others... but her unfortunate lack of control over her powers results in her kingdom being endangered, and she's forced to leave her home. She doesn't fare much better on Earth either; despite her best efforts, she endangers others and makes things horrible for Marco, much to her guilt and dismay.
  • Marco, meanwhile, is a safety-obsessed guy who is forced to suddenly live with a dangerous alien who inadvertently brings him misery in the form of laser puppies, a destroyed room, literal rain, and cacti. By the end of it, he's going insane. Star sums it up well:
    Star: I didn't get a choice about coming here to Earth, and you didn't get a choice about having to deal with me. I'll... I'll find another family to live with.

Cheer Up, Star

• The normally bubbly, hyperactive princess just looking sad that she isn't getting a call from Oskar and thinking she isn't cool enough.
• The music box tune that plays while she is checking her phone.
• Star hanging up on Marco's grandmother.

Diaz Family Vacation

• Marco's parents suffering a Disney Death, when Marco assumes they were eaten by the hydra. After he, Star and King Butterfly kill the monster, he runs inside the slashed belly calling for them desperately, and even King Butterfly looks worried. There's a lot of horror in losing your parents on a wild vacation where Everything Is Trying to Kill You.

Brittney's Party

• Sabrina Backintosh's entire relationship with Brittney is heartbreaking. She is so anxious to go to the party that she faints in relief at receiving an invitation. When Brittney insults Sabrina's gift as "not designer" and literally throws it in her face, Sabrina only responds with a "you're welcome." As per her character trope, she ends the episode being horribly injured. As paramedics carry her away, she cheerfully exclaims "it hurts all over!" While this could be seen as comic relief, one might also interpret her upbeat attitude as trying to get Brittney to like her. Sadly, Brittney only ever mistreats Sabrina.

Mewberty

• Hope actually asks Janna if they can use Star's spellbook to get her parents to stop fighting.
• During the climax, Marco tries to curb a dangerous, fully Mewbertized Star from kidnapping more boys. Glossaryck tells him he's only making it worse, and when Marco sees the guys trapped already, a look of sheer hopelessness passes upon his face and he lets go of the net. He watches on as Star takes Oscar and flies off, convinced that Star's officially gone forever.
  Marco: (tears in his eyes) Goodbye, Star...

Freeze Day

• Marco watching memories of him seeing Jackie in the exact same way since they were little, realizing he made very little progress in greeting her directly. Hits home for people who have been in Marco's position.
• Possibly worse is Father Time's memories. All he ever did for his entire life was run on The Wheel of Progress, with no way to get off of it and no way to see the world around him. Can you blame him for not wanting to go back?

St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses

• Star's reaction to Marco being captured (she helplessly screams his name while sliding down the vent due to his disguise preventing him from fitting in the vent).
• Star breaking down crying when it looks like her attempt to break Pony Head out of St. Olga's has ended in utter failure: Marco's been captured and is about to be brainwashed, she has no knowledge of where he is while hearing him screaming in pain, she's stuck in the laundry room with no idea of how to escape, and Pony Head is still hopelessly brainwashed.
• There's something terribly pitiable about Miss Heinous exposing herself to the school's brainwashing machine; a grown woman so desperate to be perfect that she's willing to use a device meant to be used on children.
  • Or that she actually intends to use something that terrible on children in the first place. What made her so... broken?

Mewnipendance Day

• Star has a Heroic BSoD moment when Marco examines Mewni's history more closely, particularly that of the Monster Massacre when the first pioneers of Mewni arrived at the Forest. She starts off excited about her history, but upon rethinking it and seeing the massacre from a new point of view, it becomes clear that it wasn't a great and mighty battle for independence. Her ancestors stormed a forest and slaughtered countless monsters whose only crime was defending their home. Realizing this, Star is suitably horrified to see the battle in a new light.
• Buff Frog being thrown out of the only home he'd even known because Toffee knew he was rightly suspicious of him.
• Ludo is genuinely upset at having to fire Buff Frog.

The Banagic Incident

• Star's Tranquil Fury after Marco admits he underestimated her. It's played for laughs but it's clear hearing that really hurt her. After such a zany episode, it really feels like jarringly tragic Mood Whiplash.

Marco Grows a Beard

• As much as he deserved it for his Bad Boss tendencies, it's kinda sad to see Ludo get betrayed by his minions and thrown out of his own castle by Toffee.
• Ludo's fit of laughter is hard to see as funny, especially since the sobs mixed in makes it clear he's suffering a psychotic break.

Storm the Castle

• At the beginning of the episode Star asks Marco to put his hand into one of the sandwich monster holes, he looks at his arm, gets a quick flash of Monster Arm and nervously refuses. It might mean he is still traumatized by that event and it might create a rift between him and Star somewhere down the line.
• Star and Marco's fight at the start of the episode. Marco angrily swats the sandwich aside, and it gets sadder with Star asking why they're even friends.
  • To make things worse, after she realizes her mistake she goes up to Marco's room to apologize to him, only to find out the monsters kidnapped Marco. After Star leaves to go rescue him, she tells Mr. and Mrs. Diaz that they're wrong; this is all her fault. Star already felt guilty as it is for saying that earlier that day to Marco, and now the last thing she ever said to him before he gets taken away is "Sometimes I don't even know why we're friends." And the reason the monsters kidnap Marco is because they want her wand. The poor girl's guilt just doubled and truly feels this is all her fault.
• For Angie and Rafael Diaz, they drop their cheerful demeanor when they realize that monsters have kidnapped their son and have taken him to another dimension, and Star refuses to accept their help. She leaves them to wait and worry, after they try to call the police and say that it's their fault for not doing their jobs as parents, to have watched Star and Marco's magical antics. They follow this up with a Moment of Awesome by calling the Mewni Guard and arriving to the monsters' castle to save their son.
• The moment when Star is forced by Toffee to destroy her wand with the "Whispering Spell" to save Marco. The spirit of the unicorn whispers something to Star just before it leaves. Star begins to have tears fall from her eyes, and never looks away from Toffee as she hears what the unicorn had to say.
  • A commenter on this video was able to make out the words of the Whispering Spell and the wand's spirit, and they're much worse...
    Whispering Spell: For all of the horrible things I’ve said and done, one more to remember me. I’m one to worship something out of nothing. You are forever determined in our hearts.
    Spirit: I was never your wand. Now save yourself.

Season 2

Ludo in the Wild

• Ludo being all by himself, starving in the Wilderness for many days, having lost everything.
• While also funny, Ludo's cry of "You never loved meeeee!" as the Mother Eagle drops him from the sky after she rebukes his attempt to pass as one of her children is the first of many hints this season provides of Ludo's less than ideal family life.
• A little bit of fridge horror: if Ludo took control of the mother eagle, then does this mean her babies starve to death without her there to take care of them? Her broken facial expression doesn't help things...

The Red Belt

• Marco's dream at the beginning which reflects his fears of not progressing in life and getting left behind by his classmates.

Mr. Candle Cares

• Star is so desperate to avoid the confinement of her royal obligations that for a moment, she was willing to do irreparable and almost certainly fatal harm to an innocent mermaid just to get out of it.
• Tom's Heel Realization when Marco calls him out while lying to Star: "You made her think she's not good for anything but being queen!". This makes him actually free Marco from his cold-blooded torture, before preparing to kill him for He Knows Too Much. Marco while playing ping-pong with him points out that it doesn't matter if Marco lives or dies; Star will be the one to decide if she wants Tom back.
• When Star calls her Mom looking for advice about being Queen, the first thing her mother does is ask "What did you do now?" Their relationship is so strained, her go-to reaction is to wonder what sort of trouble Star has caused. Worse yet, Star may recognize this as justifiable, because listen to the dejected way she says, "Nothing... yet."
  • The possible justification makes it even sadder, her mom has been shown to frequently call Star to check on her, but always gets hung up on or ignored with Star only bothering to call her back specifically because something HAS gone wrong and she needs help fixing it. The idea being that while her mom tries to keep some form of contact with her daughter, Star doesn't reciprocate that.
• Also, when Star asks Moon if she's happy, Moon looks genuinely perplexed about the question. She says that while she has Warnicorns, meaning Star can still have time for them as queen, she details The Chains of Commanding and says that thinking about happiness will make Star's face wrinkle.
• Britney is having an emotional crisis about having reached her peak at such a young age. (This is somewhat justified, given that Star has threatened her position as Alpha Bitch and humiliated her by accident so many times.) Before Mr. Candle can comfort her, Tom orders him to abort the mission, and Candle leaves Britney in the lurch.

On The Job

• This episode paints a rather grim picture of life for monsters like Buff-Frog in the land of Mewni: forced to eke out a miserable existence in the wastelands, and to steal, torture, and do God knows what other horrible things just to survive and provide for their families. It leaves you with the feeling that most monsters aren't Card Carrying Villains like Ludo, but Justified Criminals.

Naysaya

• One of Marco's insecurities is that he covers the mirror when he showers because he's "ashamed of his body". Poor kid…
• When he accidentally messed up a jock's jacket, the jock is very understanding and patient, but Marco is apparently so self-loathing that he actually wants the guy to beat him up for it.
• Marco ends up spilling all his deepest insecurities to Jackie in a desperate attempt to shut up the Naysaya. The Long List of secrets is pretty silly (he still keeps his childhood "woobie" he calls Esteban, he takes only showers because "that shark movie" made him afraid of the bath-tub, he cries when it rains), but the last one shows Marco has some serious existential dread on his mind.
  Marco: Your watermelon reminds me of my biggest fear of all, that we're all alone on this tiny blue marble, floating in the infinite expanse of the universe, ripped from the center and ejected out into a black void for no reason at all, players on the stage of the absurd.
• While Star's Shipper on Deck reaction to Marco finally asking Jackie out is funny and heartwarming, anyone who remembers The Reveal at the end of "Sleepover" will see this scene in a whole new light.

Bon Bon The Birthday Clown

• Basically, the entire episode. Where to even begin?
• Star's face on the episode's teaser poster…
• The Mayor of Echo Creek sadly subtracting a number from the town's population sign after Bon Bon dies. It's especially sad when you remember that Bon Bon died at the Mayor's birthday party, and he was the one who heard Bon Bon's last words.
• From start to finish, this episode is NOT kind to Star.
• Star's jealousy over Marco and Jackie's relationship.
• Star's horrified reaction when she realizes she caused Marco and Jackie to crash.
• Bon Bon returning as a friendly ghost, only to immediately get sucked away by Star's spell.
• Star crying over losing the spell book and Glossaryck. It's even the page example pic above.

Raid the Cave

• Poor Star sounds so heartbroken when she finds Glossaryck using the All-Seeing Eye spell, but he refuses to go with her and seems dismissive, even contemptuous, of her attempts to rescue him. It may or may not be all part of Glossaryck's plan, but it's cruel either way.
  • Her crushed expression after the following exchange is particularly brutal.
    Star: Glossaryck, don't you want to come with me. I thought we were... friends?
    Glossaryck: ... Friends? Well that's such a simple concept.

Baby

• Baby's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Star after the evaluation. And what makes the moment even sadder is the fact that Baby is right.

Running With Scissors

• When Marco returns to Earth after spending sixteen years as an Action Survivor he struggles to readjust to his normal way of life. This is a case of Surprisingly Realistic Outcome for soldiers, fighters and victims because they can have trouble readjusting from a way of life that consisted of adrenaline or fear. At worst they can also feel disconnected from people due to a lack of empathy towards their experiences.
  Marco: (attempts to start his laptop) Password? (Beat) I can't remember my password.
  • Although mostly Played for Laughs, it actually was genuinely sad to see Marco lose his hot body as he came back to Earth. He did spend sixteen years getting that strong (or perhaps the body he could only dream of having) and now it's gone.

The Hard Way

• Ludo telling Glossaryck how his father never paid him attention, everything he knows until that moment was self-taught and that he wants some guidance in his life because he doesn't really know what he wants. To make things sadder later, Ludo starts acting like a child and seeks for Glossaryck's approval and affection as the father figure he never had.
  Ludo: I don't know what I want! I've never done this before... You know what my dad taught me about making my way in the world? NOTHING. Zilch! I was one egg after fifty. Everything I learned I had to learn dirty. But for once in my life, I'd like... *sigh* some guidance.

All Belts are Off

• Jeremy's scheme of gluing a $100 bill on the ground with a colorful turd placed on top of it...just to mess with whomever comes to try and get the money. The Bearded Hipster tries in vain to grab the doll while avoiding the turd. He ends up not getting the dollar, his glasses falling on the turd, and looks about ready to cry in frustration over what happened. And it was his birthday.
• Marco's anger at Sensei Brantley may have been immature, but it wasn't unjust. And while Marco comes to understand and accept his Sensei's decision as well as find out the real reason why Jeremy was chosen, Marco's anger can come across as understandable to anyone in his position — You're a hardworking, talented student in whatever field you are in and when a chance at an award or promotion comes along and you should get it on account of your work, it's given to someone else. Usually, for the same reason Jeremy was chosen or another unfair reason.
• YMMV, but Jeremy's saddened reaction to the Grand Master being bored at his karate demonstration can give him some sympathy points.

Collateral Damage

• While meant as a Funny Moment, seeing just how much the students of Echo Creek High were falling apart mentally and emotionally over the destruction of the Otis statue is actually quite depressing. Particularly bad is a young couple actually on the verge of breaking up because of the unhappiness they feel without Otis, and then a boy dressed in fake Possum ears, nose, and tail declaring "Hey everyone, look! It's me, Otis! I'm back!", prompting the couple and a jock student to go over to him, pet him, and tell them they love him, as though he really was Otis. These are all young people who are so low on self-definition and self worth that something like this hurts them more than it probably should, as to them, Otis "defined Echo Creek's identity", and thus their own identities as well.
• The story of the Echo Creek settlers war against the Possums and how how they drove all the Possums from their home can make one sad for the Possums when you think back to the Mewnian Monster Massacre and draw the obvious parallels.
  • Also, even though it's Played for Laughs, Timothy Bonner's letter to Rebecca becomes sobering when you realize he's essentially breaking up with his beloved girl over his hatred for Possums. It's also parallel to how veterans of war become so consumed with anger that it pushes their loved ones away.
• Star's minor Heroic BSoD at the beginning — she's in a funk over losing her family's spellbook and Glossaryck.

Just Friends

• Star goes to a concert with Marco and invites Jackie as a surprise for Marco but as the episode plays out, Star unhappily becomes the third wheel and gets uncomfortable when couples (including Marco and Jackie) begin to kiss during a song. The episode ends with Star awkwardly telling Marco that he should be with his girlfriend and that she'll be fine. The ending shows that she's anything but fine about what's happened between Marco and Jackie as she casually destroys a billboard with green magic. If anything, it's also another indication that Star may be changing for the worse.

Face The Music

• Ludo is this when you learn more about his family. His parents reveal he was the runt and tried to toughen him up. Needless to say, that explains why Ludo is the way that he is.
• Moon's somber explanation to Star of why the Mewnians are angry with royal family for lying. The way she says it implies she was forced with the same hard lesson sometime when she was a princess.
  Star: Mom! I... I didn't realize this would happen. I thought they wanted to know the real Star Butterfly.
  Moon: They don't, Star. They just want to believe that you're a perfect, little princess. And sometimes, the truth is dangerous.
  • Moon saying how proud she is of Star before the Song Day performance is also this. Moon was probably saying that because she'd just seen how horrible the relationship between Ludo and his parents was, and she never wanted Star to end up like Ludo, feeling like she was unloved.
• Subtle, but think about the irony of Ruberiot's situation for a moment: His song for Star would've become a hit... but then he started talking about the secrets the King and Queen kept, as well as revealing Star's crush on Marco. He could've became a legend if he hadn't mentioned that part. Now it's likely he won't be remembered given the Mewnians are more concerned with the secrets of their leaders.

Starcrushed

• After the events of "Face the Music" where Marco finally got wind of Star's feelings for him, Star and Marco have now been avoiding and have had trouble talking to each other. It becomes difficult to take in considering how super close they were before that episode.
• Ludo consolidates his status as a Jerkass Woobie in this episode. To sum it up, he had an awful childhood where he was neglected by his parents and bullied by his brothers; time after, he lost his army of monsters and his family's castle, and had to survive in the wilderness by his own. And now his body has been overtaken by Toffee, who's using him as a puppet to carry out his evil plan against his will. To make things worse, this happened right after Ludo had just gained some sympathy from Moon, who was willing to help him.
• Lekmet dies in a Heroic Sacrifice to resurrect Moon, Rhombulus and Hekapoo after Toffee drains them of their magic. All that is left of Lekmet is dust and a single horn which Moon quickly grabs in her escape.
• Considering Lekmet's death, one will hate to think of how Rhombulus is going to react to this because they lived together and appeared closer than the other members of council. According to Word of God they were a lot closer than we thought.
• Jackie, who is often characterized as really patient and understanding, is in a stunned silence after hearing Star's confession. She doesn't even gasp like the others. Janna even does a couple glances at her to make sure that she's doing okay.
• Star's confession is also a bit of tearjerker because viewers of the show can have empathy with her scenario. She unwillingly developed feelings for her best friend. She tried to bury and suppress her feelings because she knew that Marco didn't share the same feelings and she wanted to preserve their friendship. She tried to invoke I Want My Beloved to Be Happy but she couldn't fight her feelings. She tried to bury them again after "Face the Music" but reluctantly and publicly confesses them after her mother tells her that she needs to leave Earth.
• And finally, arguably the most heartbreaking moment of the entire series so far: Star is forced to leave Earth after Moon tells her that Toffee has returned. After confessing her feelings to Marco, she tearfully runs to her room while Marco chases after her but only to find that Star has already left and that her room is disappearing as well. The episode itself ends with a desolate, quiet shot of the Diaz's home. The episode can't end on the chirpy closing song it usually did because Star had to leave Earth, no longer able to claim it as home.

Season 3

Return to Mewni

• Marco's depression over Star leaving. For him, it feels like it's been forever since she left.
• Moon admitting Toffee and his minions killed her mother.
  • It's rather sobering how Moon never really told Star about her own late mother, to the point that she allowed Star to believe she was put in a nursing home.
  • Prior to this reveal, when Star frustratingly asks what happened to "the cool, warrior queen Mom", Moon responds that she was never that and was once a happy-go-lucky girl like Star.
    • In other words, we learn that Moon is basically Star who became a Broken Hero.
  • And during their argument, Moon reveals that Lekmet is dead.

Moon the Undaunted

• Seeing Young Moon having to become queen while mourning her mother's death.
• It's quite a shock to see how distressed the usually carefree Glossaryck is about the death of Moon's mother.
  • If that's anything to go by, then it must've been an awful shame that Mewni lost, not only a good queen, but also a wonderful mother and someone Glossaryck genuinely adored.
• Eclipsa revealing to Young Moon that she lost her mother too, around the same age. She actually tears up when she says this.
• There's a sobering Dramatic Irony when Moon promises that as queen, she will hunt down the monsters and leave them without leader or country. Given we know not all monsters are bad, this means one more generation of the vicious cycle going on.

Book Be Gone

• When the spellbook won't allow Ludo to write in it, Glossaryck suggests he talk to and befriend the book. Ludo pours his heart out to the book, thanking it for everything, and saying he loves it and wants to honor it by adding new knowledge to it. Glossaryck then bursts into laughter and mocks him for falling for his joke. Enraged, Ludo throws the book into the fire, but when this kills Glossaryck, Ludo cries and says he didn't mean it. Still, not cool, Glossaryck.
  • Especially Ludo's little rant about how Glossaryck hates him and never believed in him and that Star was "always his favorite" before he throws the book into the fire. It's very obvious that his real Daddy Issues are seeping in here.
• Ludo's My God, What Have I Done? moment, as he desperately tries to snatch any piece of the burned book that's flying through the air, crying "Glossaryck! No! I'm sorry! Come back! I didn't mean it!" And then, when the futility of his actions sinks in, he just curls up in a fetal position and starts sobbing, further cementing Ludo as the biggest Jerkass Woobie on the show.
• Just Glossaryck trolling Ludo for the entire episode instead of telling him why he can't write in the book. Given Gloassaryck knows Ludo's better with direct instruction it just comes across as him being a jerk for the sake of it.
• Whether you liked him or not, Glossaryck's death is surprisingly sad given how he was a memorable character. And in his last moments, he even admits to knowing he was going to die, but is still surprised nonetheless all the while wearing a sullen expression and speaking in a neutral tone.
  • The Running Gag of Glossaryck trying to roast pudding and failing but he finally gets it right... only to have the victory short-lived as he burns away with the book, without his handiwork.
  • The score for this scene is a callback to Glossaryck's speech in "Raid the Cave".

Marco and the King

• River waking up in bed, only to see that Moon's side is empty. He clearly misses his wife.
• River admitting to Marco that he has no idea where Moon and Star are, and he's been throwing parties because he's worried sick about them. He also admits that the only reason he can be a good king is because Moon is usually there to help him.

Puddle Defender

• As Moon and Buff Frog play a Monster board game that clearly paints Mewmans as monsters, Moon comments that she used to play a similar board game, but with the roles reversed. As they continue playing, their conversation becomes more heated, until Moon angrily declares that Buff Frog has no idea what it's like to care for children because he's a Monster. Incensed, Buff Frog takes takes about as well as you'd expect and turns on Star and exposes her being about to sneak out of the house in order to prove to Moon that he's a fit parent.

King Ludo

• Ludo's entire obsession about being "beloved", especially knowing where it comes from.
• Ludo levitato-ing River into the sky before he can even finish giving words of inspiration to his people. Until the end of the next episode, there was no knowing whether or not he'd survived.

Toffee

• Marco, Moon, and Buff Frog can only watch in horror as Star uses the Whispering Spell on the piece of wand in Ludo's hand, causing another explosion that traps Star herself inside the wand. With Toffee.
• What happens after Toffee returns to his original form when Moon gives him back his finger. It starts by making the viewers think that the next minute or so will be giving us a big heap of Nightmare Fuel, especially when he forms himself around Ludo, then pukes him out after completely regenerating. But as soon as Moon and Marco demand to know where Star is, he crushes the half of the crystal in his hand into dust and tells them the worst possible thing they could imagine him saying:
  Toffee: She's gone.
• Toffee's complete Lack of Empathy after saying the above line. He simply shrugs off a distraught Moon's attacks like they're nothing, and asking her "Are you finished?" in a bored tone. Then, when Marco lands a punch, he gives the boy a Death Glare and strikes him hard enough to send him flying. But the kicker is when a heartbroken Ludo gets Toffee's attention as he's leaving:
  Ludo: Please, just tell me... did I have any part to play in this?
  Beat
  Toffee: (bluntly) No.
• Let's face it, the idea of Star being gone. This was hard on Marco, but Moon was a complete wreck trying to bring her baby girl back. It's too much for anyone to bear.
  • To put in perspective, Moon desperately tries to take the crushed wand pieces and assemble them back together in the hopes it will somehow bring Star back, and while she's already crying, she sounds like she's going to lose it completely because she can't make a single piece fit. It gets even worse when Marco offers a piece he think would work instead.
  • Keep in mind that Moon lost her mother, Lekmet, and who knows how many other dear ones due to Toffee. And now this time, he's done the same to her daughter, but it happened right in front of her and she couldn't do anything about it. No wonder she aims the Darkest Spell at Toffee's heart... she's in so much despair that she was willing to kill Toffee!
• At the end of it, after Toffee's seemingly killed once and for all, Ludo... DOESN'T try to go back to being a "beloved monarch." He asks Star to throw him back into the void from the season 1 finale, because he wants to be alone and work through his issues. He even bids a somber goodbye to the Spider and Eagle. Toffee's manipulation and cold dismissal have clearly done a number on him.
• Star stuck in some kind of limbo with Glossaryck. She starts panicking about the possibility of being dead and trying tell the small wizard, with tears in her eyes, that she has to get out because "Marco and Mom probably think I'm dead". And all Glossaryck can do is to show a Lack of Empathy, either by being insulted over Star indirectly implying he's dead or showing zero remorse over Star's hurt from him betraying her.
• While they (mostly the other two) probably deserve it for letting Marco be killed on the grounds that 'the resistance will live on', the Mime's briefly-seen tearful reaction over Marco leaving the Arts and Crafts crew (a.k.a "the Resistance") in the dungeon is a little sad (as well as funny) since she's the most likable character out of the three.

Demonicism

• It's kinda sad to see Ponyhead crying over seeing her ex-boyfriend Seahorse post-demonicism. The guy's gone from a rowdy punk rocker to a nerdy, Stepford Smiler compact-phone salesman who only communicates (on the clock, at least) in stock retail-worker phrases. It must have taken monumental effort for him to give the help he could.
• Tom at the titular ritual. And it turns out all he went through only got rid of one of the angry demons inside him. When faced with the fact that if he does want to get rid of all of them, he's looking at decades of repeating the terrible and painful process, he starts to give up on ever bettering himself.

Sophomore Slump

• Jackie breaking up with Marco because she can tell he's not happy living on Earth, however desperate he is to make their relationship work.
  • In one last attempt to keep their relationship together, Marco says, "You are my best friend!" to her. Jackie looks like she's about to tear up at this statement but composes her self again to give him this line, "We both know that's not true."

Lint Catcher

• Poor Marco is rather crushed when after proudly declaring himself a Knight of Mewni because River had knighted him earlier, all the real knights mock him as River wasn't serious and he had no authority to do that. The "knightly cape" River had given him was just an old blanket, and he will do anything to make it there.

Trial By Squire

• After failing to get an item on the blowout sale through the entire episode, Marco feels like a failure, unable to be the squire he hoped to be to Star.

Princess Turdina

• Princess Smooshy getting captured by Miss Heinous and having her emotions drained. The look of terror in the princess' face is awful to watch. When she falls to the ground weakened, she can't even use her camera phone right.

Lava Lake Beach

• Tad and Kelly breaking up for real. Kelly is in tears as she hates being Tad's girlfriend but still misses him. While Tad is still in denial about the whole thing but he's crushed when Marco convinces him that it's final. Dana Davis' voice work greatly conveys how heartbroken poor Kelly is.
• Tad convincing Marco that he has a crush on Star. Marco refuses to admit it as he runs back to Star as he sees couples everywhere and comes back to Star and Tom kissing. He then just silently walks away.
• The episode ends with Marco commenting that now that it's after midnight, it's his birthday. He spends the day before his birthday realizing he's in love with his best friend, gets heartbroken, and watches the Soulrise purposefully away from Star. Happy Birthday Marco.

Night Life

• Though Marco convinces Hekapoo not to tell the Magic High Commission that Star is the source of the rogue portals, she officially breaks their partnership, much to his dismay.

Monster Bash

• After a royal guard nearly took the monster party-goers for questioning, Star tries to apologize but the monsters politely refuse her offers out of depression. They then walk home sadly as they say they've gotten used to this.
• Star having a breakdown as she realizes she has no idea what to do about how to fix the monster and Mewman tensions or even about her own family line. The peace she worked so hard to achieve was massively stalled in one night.
  • Worse of all, it was done by Mina, someone she had previously looked up to.
  • To top it off, the whole ordeal parallels the nature of idealogical-based terrorist attacks. Mina attacks a peaceful gathering between races that were historically divided, just to promote the ideal that her race (Mewmans) is superior while the target race (monsters) are evil. Mina even goes as far as to kidnap them and likely execute them. Even the after effects are rather similar, not only is the area damaged and going to be investigated, but the attack only worsens mistrust between both groups.
• Odious as she is, Miss Heinous' confusion upon discovering her nursery where she lived as a child and her true heritage as daughter of Eclipsa and her monster lover can be rather pitiful to watch. Jessica Walter's acting made this moment.
  • The moment when she picks up the two dolls which, it turns out, are dolls of her mother and father, and then suddenly remembers they were once her's, and clutches them fondly to her chest.
    Miss Heinous: These were my dolls. I love my dolls.
  • What's worse is that the "odious" nature of Miss Heinous isn't even her true nature - it's all been a false persona forced upon Meteora through brainwashing, which leads to this Tomato in the Mirror moment. And all because of the way she was born.
  • Then, there's the tragic implication that when her mother was taken away from her, Meteora was essentially orphaned, and left with no where to go but St. Olga's.
• Star telling Tom how not only is she upset that the party didn't work, but that she's growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that nobody is helping her with all the questions she has. It's gotten to the point that she hardly even knows who her own family is anymore.

Total Eclipsa The Moon

• Eclipsa is visibly afflicted when Moon mentions her daughter, which she hasn't seen since her imprisonment and thought she was long dead considering all the centuries she spent crystallized. Worse yet, Eclipsa finds out later that all records of her daughter's existence were erased and replaced with someone she doesn't have the slightest idea about.
  Eclipsa: I had a daughter... I would like to know what happened to her.
  Eclipsa: They erased my daughter. I'm the one on trial.
• There is a sobering element of One Dialogue, Two Conversations before Moon reveals Festivia to Eclipsa. All this talk of her daughter existing must've given Eclipsa hope that perhaps her husband, the MHC and the kingdom as a whole had somehow accepted her daughter as the new queen of Mewni despite being half monster. Meteora's absence from the Butterfly Family records sadly indicated otherwise.
  • Up until this point, Eclipsa has maintained a care-free and unfazed attitude about being imprisoned for over 300 years. But then she learns that her daughter's history has been overwritten by Festivia, and she starts to worry more. This paints a sad picture that the only reason she was taking her predicament in stride was because she thought Moon was Meteora's descendant, giving her a comforting assumption her daughter moved on with her life, found love, and had a family she would live on through. Her finding out about Festivia only fuels her worry that something bad happened to her poor baby girl instead.

Butterfly Trap

• Star sounds deeply distraught when she learns she's descended from a peasant girl who was swapped out with the real heir to the throne, Eclipsa's daughter Meteora.
  Star: We're nobody!
• The realization Star has as she's chewing out the Council: Eclipsa, seemingly the only member of the Royal Family who listened to her and gave her advice, isn't actually her family at all. And the thing is, not even Eclipsa knew this for sure until Moon revealed to her Festivia's existence and Meteora's disappearance from the archives. The Magic High Commission's confession plus Star pointing it out was what finally proved it.
  Star: You... aren't actually my great-great-great-great... something... Grandma.
  Eclipsa: (sadly) No, sweetie. I'm not.
  • What's just as painful about this moment, Eclipsa sounded like that she didn't want to believe this. Both Eclipsa and Star seemed to see each other as close family members or surrogates for missing emotions, only for them to face the reality that neither of them are related. Eclipsa could have seen Star as a substitute for Meteora and Star could have seen Eclipsa as a more affectionate version of Moon.
• The prejudice against monsters is worse than we thought. The Magic High Commission and the people of Mewni are so biased that they could never accept a queen who's half monster. They switched the real princess with a peasant girl. Keep in mind Eclipsa's daughter, Meteora, is Miss Heinous.
  • Makes one wonder if Eclipsa is truly evil. Yes, she wrote the dark chapter in the spell book and eloped with a monster, and yes she's definitely selfish, but did she really do anything else that's evil? Yet the commission and Mewmans are so convinced she's 100% evil that just being near her automatically makes one evil.
• The look of sheer horror on Eclipsa's face when she's shown her ex-husband King Shastacan literally throwing her infant daughter away before he exchanged her with the baby that would become Festivia. Even though that was a dramatization, the intent was still the same. Her ex-husband hated her and her child that much he saw Meteora as a thing and was all too eager to make it seem like she never existed. Just imagine being a mother and realizing your own child was treated like they were garbage and you weren't there to stop it from happening.
• While not as tragic as what was done to Eclipsa and Meteora, Festivia's role in the cover-up is pretty sad as well. The woman was an innocent baby (and likely an orphan) used in a ploy by King Shastacan and the Magic High Commission because of their extreme prejudice against monsters and their refusal to allow Meteora to keep her heritage. She had no choice in her situation and most likely grew up having no clue what she truly was. It gets even worse when knowing she was queen during a time when Mewni was in the middle of a horrible war with the monsters, which might've been because of what happened to Eclipsa and Meteora. Festivia was responsible for trying to keep her people's spirits up during one of the worst wars in their history, but had no idea the war was about her. And God only knows what having a creep like Shastacan for a father would've been like.
  • According to the Book of Spells, Festivia didn't get to grow up with parents at all. The MHC raised her themselves, having told her that her parents had been eaten by the monsters she was dumped into a war with. Worse, it's implied that she eventually found out this wasn't true in Eclipsa's case. Even so, she spent her life loving the "auntie" and "uncles" responsible for her entire situation.
• This also entails the context that for generations, Festivia's descendants have lived the royal life at the expense of the red tape that comes with it. If you recall "Facing the Music", her descendants have been forced to live up to Mewni's high expectations of the "perfect" princess. And look at Queen Moon, she shouldn't even be a stressed-out, no-nonsense queen. In another life, she could've been a simple peasant mother raising her daughter to be whatever she wanted to be.
• Lekmet's spot with the commission being filled in with a flower-laden picture of him.

Ludo, Where Art Thou?

• Lord Brudo and Lady Avarius don't treat Dennis any better than they treated Ludo, and all because Dennis hasn't given up on his big brother.
• The whole scene where Dennis has been trying to find his brother—it's been hours of no results and it's frustrating that Dennis hasn't gotten any sleep.
• When Dennis tries to take Ludo back home with him, the garbage dummies of their parents try to bury him, all while still insulting him and accusing him of "being too good for the family." Thankfully, Dennis decides to fight back.
• Ludo's continued Sanity Slippage is upsetting enough. It's implied it was even intentional on his part to force himself to face all his worst anxieties and internal issues. Even after he and Dennis overcome their parents, Ludo still feels he has to face his complicated feelings regarding Star and Marco, putting himself through psychological torture again.

Is Another Mystery

• The reason why Buff Frog and the other monsters are leaving. Things are too tense and complicated between monsters and mewmans for the monsters to safely stay. Tom tries to convince them to stay by talking about his insecurities, despite Tom's wealth and royal status. Tom still receives glares and dirty looks for being a monster. Even after this attempt, the monsters still leave for another dimension and Buff Frog promises to return to Mewni once Star is queen.
  • What makes it worse is Buff Frog tried to leave without telling Star. The first Mewman to show him kindness, the first Mewman to actively fight to improve the Mewman/Monster relationship, the one who personally picked him for a job in the castle, and he couldn't bear the thought of explaining to her why he felt he had to leave. If Katrina hadn't written that note, Star would have found them gone and never known where they went or why.

Marco. Jr

• As Star feels the baby kicking, she comments that there might be a place for him in the Mewni King's guard; Rafael responds that Star "stealing away" one of their sons is enough. Angie also flat-out says they decided to have another baby because they were lonely without Marco around.
  • Following this, Marco tries to feel his unborn sibling kick, but he notices it stopped. While it may be coincidence that it stopped, he can't help but feel that it's because he hasn't been spending time on Earth that the unborn child doesn't like Marco.
• While trying to save Marco from the spell, Angie and Rafael try to go though a questionnaire on Marco that requires perfect answers and no mistakes. After getting confused on the first question they realize how little they know about Marco.

Skooled!

• Rat Princess tearfully tells Pony Head, in no uncertain terms, that she needs to put up with the new school rules or leave it. She and the others also clearly show some resentment of Lilacia for being better at brunch than them.
• The school chef is a girl younger than the other princesses, who nonetheless gets into battle alongside them. Yet, when a grenade is about to explode near her, she freezes and cries. Later, as they barricade the front door to stop Meteora, she breaks down again, saying that she and the others will die. It's sad to see such a child exposed to so much danger.
• As Saint Olga's holographic displays Meteora's childhood, we get a glimpse of how utterly abusive it was.
  • The first memory is of a visibly distressed Meteora strapped to the brainwashing machine, with a mechanism keeping her eyes pried open.
    Meteora: You know, my mind's been wandering so much lately. I thought I could use a little refresher; get me back on track.
    St. Olga: Time for a nice, relaxing brain massage.
  • The second memory is Meteora as a young woman sadly looking at her tail in the mirror.
    Meteora: Mother, why do I have to hide my tail?
    St. Olga: You know that old rhyme, dear: Boys do not make passes at girls with devil tails.
    (Meteora sadly hides her tail under her dress)
  • Of the memories, the worst of them by far is the one where she's just a 5 or 6-year-old girl that's happily showing her glowing cheek marks to her adoptive robot mother, as it depicts outright emotional and physical abuse of a young child (St. Olga attempts to forcefully scrub Meteora's glowing marks off her cheeks, seeing them as a physical imperfection and causing great discomfort to the little girl. Meteora, to avoid further abuse, has to learn how to turn off her cheek lights with tear-filled eyes). Yes, one can definitely see the exact moment Meteora goes from being an innocent kid to an utterly miserable one.
    • In "Total Eclipsa the Moon", Eclipsa nostalgically fussed over how her daughter had "pretty little clovers on her cheeks, and the cutest tail in all of Mewni". All in contrast to St. Olga, who belittled Meteora for both. Kind of sobering to think that if only Meteora had been raised by her real mother Eclipsa, she would've grown up happier with who she is, rather than miserably and bitterly struggling to hide her monster-half and repress her Mewman royalty heritage.
  • While revisiting all those memories, current Meteora gets increasingly uncomfortable with each one. It's a very hard process for her. Tellingly, when she begins to sort through the memories she just harshly orders Gemini to go back further. But when she reaches the memory involving her glowing cheek marks, she asks him to not make her see this one again.
• The death of Gemini. The poor guy's stuck with Meteora ever since she was overthrown as headmistress of St. O's, apparently having been in love with her, only for her to rip his heart out in a fit of anger against Rasticore. And it doesn't look like she'll be crying over him any time soon...
  • The saddest part of that scene are his last words, hammy as they'd be without the visual context:
  Gemini: If you wanted my heart... all you had to do... was ask.

Booth Buddies

• Star and Marco's kiss leaves a really foul aftertaste when you realize that they were manipulated into it and that Star probably is horrified with herself when she realizes that her feelings for Marco aside, the kiss is technically cheating on Tom, someone she clearly cares about despite her crush on Marco and someone who considers Marco his best friend.

Bam Ui Pati!

• The promo alone indicates that Ponyhead has fallen into depression as a result of losing her horn by shutting herself away from the world and wanting to be left alone. It also appears this loss has disabled her magical abilities as she is not even seen flying (though that was proven false), making it all the more relatable to those who have experienced life-changing injuries.

Tough Love

• The way Meteora acts like a young child around her "mama," Eclipsa, despite being a grown woman/monster. Even in regards to all the destruction she's been causing, it's clear that everything that's happened to Meteora has taken a toll on her psyche.
• Moon and Eclipsa's failed efforts to pacify Meteora followed by Eclipsa stopping Moon from attacking allow Meteora to get in one good attack at Moon, resulting in half of Moon's soul being taken and her retreating to the Realm of Magic, while Meteora continues on her rampage. The look on Eclipsa's face says it all.
• Eclipsa's Anguished Declaration of Love for her daughter, complete with her eyes filling with tears. What's worse is that it looks like it's going to get through to Meteora... and then Moon attacks her.
  Eclipsa: I love you! I know you haven't heard these words in a very long time, but I'm saying them again to you now. Please, Meteora, come back to me.
  • Worse yet, both Meteora's expression and what Eclipsa says reveal something heartbreaking: Meteora has likely never heard the word love directed at her before. That's just plain heartbreaking.

Divide

• Star kicking the Magic Council out of the royal council meeting, saying she's not taking any ideas from "liars." Rhombulus in particular looks devastated that Star no longer trusts them.
• Even though Star tries to keep a brave face, it's clear that she's still incredibly worried about her mother being nowhere to be found.
• Star, the one who has been Eclipsa's only supporter/defender, orders the guards to arrest her. And when Eclipsa asks Star what she plans to do to her daughter, Star only looks back at Eclipsa and tells Marco that it's time to go. This is truly a sad, but realistic act — Eclipsa didn't mean to indirectly cause Moon's disappearance, but she did. And Star has every right to be angry and feel betrayed.

Conquer

• If the realm of Magic's effects were of any indication, we get a glance of what Moon used to be like before losing her mother, making those moments all the more tragic.
  • Another tragic undertone takes place when the amnesiac Star and Moon start hitting it off and having fun together. That is, Star probably has never had a similar moment with her mother previously, due to Moon's usual aloofness and strict attitude, and how Star was never really comfortable around her. They literally had to be brainwashed and/or mentally regressed in order to have something resembling an actual mother/daughter relationship.
• This whole episode really showcases the War Is Hell trope:
  • The defeat of each member in Marco's group until Tom is the only one left, hit with huge Survivor Guilt, and can do nothing but sadly bring home news that Marco, his comrade-in-arms, has fallen.
  • Star's horrified reaction after seeing Marco's soulless body.
  • Even Star is starting to feel the scars of war for the first time. So much untold destruction on her kingdom, countless innocent lives being lost by the minute, then she finds her castle turned into a battleground filled with hundreds of floating soulless knights who made a brave Last Stand against Meteora. Not even Toffee or Ludo and his army tore into her kingdom like that.
  • Tom constantly taking the soulless Marco across the ravaged, soulless town to the castle evokes the image of a soldier carrying his fallen comrade across the battlefield.
• Eclipsa can't contain her tears as she is forced to kill her daughter Meteora.
  Star: What did you do?
  Eclipsa: ...What I had to.
  • To put into perspective, Eclipsa was torn between her adoptive family and her biological daughter. Star was more of a (grand)daughter to her longer than Meteora ever was, even standing up for her. Meteora on the other hand, was too far gone to be her daughter, and it was a matter having to let her go.
  • What makes this even worse is how Meteora reacts to Eclipsa attacking her, like a child who is incredulous that her mother is hurting her.
    Meteora: You're on their side?!
  • Meteora's apparent last words are nothing more than a fearful cry of "Mommy!". It's a lot more saddening considering this would be her actress Jessica Walter's last line she spoken in the cartoon prior to her passing in March 24th, 2021 three years following the airing of this season finale.
• Star then allows Eclipsa to keep her wand out of guilt, admitting that her family wasn't even part of the royal line and it belongs to Eclipsa. If it hadn't been for her family taking the throne (or even the Fantastic Racism that exists in Mewni), Meteora's suffering 300 years in the making might've never happened.

Season 4

Butterfly Follies

• The Butterfly Kingdom has been destroyed after Meteora's rampage and now lies in ruins. And, Star's proud people have become refugees under Eclipsa's protection.
• Moon is still missing, the Mewmans blame the Butterflies for everything that's happened, River is sad and confused and Star is becoming so desperate, she's spending several sleepless nights looking for her.
• Marco looks genuinely upset when the unflattering "Butterfly Follies" play portrays Pony Head as Star's best friend instead of him.

Escape from the Pie Folk

• Hooray, they found Moon! Only, she's lost her memory and she's on Pie Island, making pies. Which wouldn't be so bad, if the Pie Folk weren't a bunch of liars and thieves. And, it turns out, Star and Moon are descendants of the Pie Folk! Yes, Festivia was a Pie Folk. How desperate were the Magical High Commission that they would accept the child of a family of lying thieves to be Meteora's replacement (unless they were unaware of her background since she was just a baby)?
  • It gets worse: Festivia wasn't even chosen: she was accidentally left behind by the Pie Folk. The Magic High Commission found a random lost infant and instead of trying to find and return her to her family, they raised her to be the Queen of Mewni.
• On a happy note, Moon escapes with Star, her friends and her family, knowing that this is where she belongs.

Moon Remembers

• Moon gets some of her memories back and seems to be making friends with Eclipsa again...or so it seems. After dinner, she and River leave the Monster Temple and she makes it clear that she still doesn't trust Eclipsa.

Swimsuit

• Eclipsa is so desperate to free Globgor that she possesses the body of the one who sealed him in the first place: Rhombulus. She nearly succeeds, too, but Star convinces her that this is wrong. Rhombulus makes it clear he will never forget this and he thickens Globgor's crystal prison, bitterly promising the monster king will never be free.

Down by the River

• Just seeing Moon and River retire by themselves gives a bittersweet sense of what their lives might've been like if only they hadn't been monarchs, stressed out and upholding a regal image for their subjects and their daughter. They could've lead peaceful lives away from it all, together as a loving couple.

Surviving the Spiderbites

• Turns out that the Spiderbites don't mind Monsters; Princess Spiderbite is even dating Slime Monster. However, everything Star has been showing them turns out to be celebratory pieces for Globgor, who once attacked the Spiderbite village, and even ate the Spiderbites' ancestor, King Shastacan.
• Eclipsa shows King and Queen Spiderbite the crystallized Globgor in order to ease their worries. It works, with the Spiderbites commenting how Globgor is probably never getting out, and is effectively dead. Eclipsa doesn't say anything, but is visibly uncomfortable.
  • A little cherry on top, when showing them Globgor, Eclipsa sullenly declares that for the sake of the kingdom that Globgor will remain imprisoned in crystal. She may have given up on freeing her true love from his prison. All for the sake of people who hate her and him. Even when she has her kingdom and her baby back, Eclipsa still can't win. Not completely.
• When Eclipsa asks Star if she's ever found any remaining pieces of the Magic Book of Spells, Star says she hasn't. Cut to Star entering her closet and opening a box, revealing an intact piece of the book. Star is at a complete loss, because she knows she willingly deceived Eclipsa, and most of all, isn't honest with herself regarding her own faith in Eclipsa.

Curse of the Blood Moon

• Tom's great-grandfather Relicor reveals that he used the severing stone to sever his soul from Tom's great-grandmother. In order to do so he had to give up the memory of the first time they fell in love. Relicor greatly regrets his decision and is uncontrollably sobbing because he will never have that memory back. In fact, Tom wants them to be sure that it's what they want.
• Star and Marco use the severing stone to break the curse tying their souls together, which puts them into some sort of lucid dream of reenacting their dance at the Blood Moon Ball. This version continues past the point where Tom interrupted them in reality, and they start to wonder whether they actually want to break the curse at all, admitting they both like it the way they are. But then right afterward, severing stone breaks the curse and brings them back to reality; it was too late for them to back out and now they could be experiencing the same regret Relicor has. It's also ambiguous exactly what memory they lost in the process, but it seems likely that what they forgot was their conversation inside the dream where they admit they still love each other.

Princess Quasar Caterpillar and the Magic Bell

• Dennis is genuinely hurt when Ludo yells at him for inadvertently exacerbating his struggles to move on from his former villainous ways. His response? To soberly tell him it's not the castle that's at fault for his regression towards evil, but Ludo himself.
  • Subsequently, Dennis learning that Landbaron conned him out of his castle despite his belief in the goodness in others. He's trying to lead an honest life, but he starts to believe there's no room for honesty in a rotten world. Even Ludo is deeply saddened to see he played a part in his younger brother losing faith in the goodness of others.

Ghost of Butterfly Castle

• Moon visiting the destroyed Butterfly Castle and her mother's tapestry.
  • To build on this, the Butterfly Castle wasn't just a simple landmark of Mewni Royalty: it was a home. And now, it's been reduced to a ramshackle ruin of a once-proud kingdom. The saddest part is, it may never be home like it once was.
• Mina's child-like Undying Loyalty to a bad cause that she is unable to recognize as bad due to what was done to her mind as a side-effect of Solaria's super soldier program is heart-breaking.
• But the worst part of all is Moon's reaction. She doesn't care. She says that it's not her problem, it's Eclipsa's. Doesn't she know that this could also put her own daughter in danger?

Cornball

• Does This Remind You of Anything? doesn't even cover the sheer amount of racism and prejudice in this episode.
• The fact that Star is desperate for Buff Frog, of all monsters, to move back to Mewni. Clearly, Star just misses having him around.

Meteora's Lesson

• Reynaldo is extremely lonely because of his current job and wants more than anything to rejoin the Magic High Commission. However, Glossaryck doesn't give a fig about him as he thinks his rhyming and riddles are annoying. That isn't Reynaldo's fault, as he is still afflicted by the spell Rhina the Riddled put on him, but as previously stated, Glossaryck doesn't care.

The Knight Shift

• Star's reaction when Marco decides that he wants to quit being a knight and eventually return to Earth.
• The other knights still resent Marco, now not only because Star personally chose him as her squire, but because he doesn't want to be stuck doing one thing for the rest of his life, which they see as selfish.

Junkin' Janna

• During Eclipsa and Star's meeting with the Magical High Commission, Star and Rhombulus get into an argument which results in Rhombulus crystallizing Star's compact and Star beating him up. Star's distrust of the MHC, combined with what Eclipsa did to Rhombulus, seems to have ruined the friendship they once had.

A Boy and His DC-700XE

• Tom is shown to have some serious self-esteem issues. He feels like he's not as "cool" as Marco and his friends, and defines himself by his relationship with Star, to the point where he doesn't even know what to do with himself when she's not around.
• Hampton doesn't have it easy either. He's stuck with a dangerously inexperienced rider, and all he really wants is to fly with his fellow dragoncycles.

The Monster and The Queen

• Globgor telling Eclipsa that it's not the right time for him to be released from the crystal, and that she needs to wait until both the Mewmans and he himself are ready for it to happen. In the real world, Eclipsa (who is projecting herself into Globgor's mind) has tears streaming down her face.
• Turns out that Eclipsa went into Star's mind to find the piece of the spellbook she had. Needless to say, Star is not amused when she finds out.

Cornonation

• River inadvertently reveals that while he's proud of Star and he's sure that Moon loves him, he sometimes feels like they don't take him seriously.
• Manfred rallying Moon's followers to not come to the Cornonation is a sobering reminder that there are just some people who are too wrapped up in bigotry to give Eclipsa a chance.
• Star just misses being a normal teenager and wants to be one again, telling her mother that she isn't sure what teenagers even do anymore.
• The fact that, even for just a short while, Star was swept up into believing Eclipsa would ever do anything as untrustworthy as free Globgor.
• Hekapoo switching out Meteora's play pen for a cage as the Magical High Commission moves in to arrest Eclipsa. It's highly cruel treatment for just an infant oblivious to the situation she's in.
• Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Magical High Commission still claims that Eclipsa and Globgor are not to be trusted and that they're terrors...despite the fact that it was the MHC who enforced lockdown on the stadium when Eclipsa tried to evacuate everyone, and they were planning to crystallize both Eclipsa and Globgor again, for no valid reason.
• It wasn't Eclipsa who freed Globgor; it was Rhombulus, who was trying to prove that Globgor was somebody to fear. It's telling that even Hekapoo and Omnitraxus (who are not so innocent themselves) are taken aback by how crazy Rhombulus's plan was.
• When Rhombulus was ranting about why he freed Globgor, he gestures to Eclipsa screaming she's evil. Throughout it all, Eclipsa doesn't look angry or upset. She just looks tired, because this isn't the first time people have exclaimed she's pure evil and she knows it won't be the last.
  • Globgor himself looks very remorseful when Star brings him on stage to turn himself in. It's the look of a man who would most likely never see his family after this.

Doop-Doop

• After spending the entire episode stalling their big trip, Star finally admits to Tom that she has no idea what to do with her life anymore now that she's no longer a princess. Despite the fact that Tom ultimately agrees to give Star some space to figure things out, it's clear that he's upset.

Britta's Tacos

• Marco worrying that things will be awkward the next time he sees Jackie, since the last time he saw her was when they broke up.

Gone Baby Gone

• Well, there's the fact that Meteora had to go through growing up orphaned and with a rough childhood again. The result was a little different this time around, though, but she (or rather, “Grobb”) probably thought her parents either died or abandoned her.
• There's also Marco seeing his baby sister grown up, but he missed that part of her life. Marco wants to bring her back so he can see her grow up himself.
• Star's cheek hearts literally break when Brunzetta says she doesn't remember who Star is.

Jannanigans

• Janna becomes upset when Star, Marco and Tom think she's messing with them when she legitimately can't remember how she got to Mewni. As she puts it, Janna's the one who orchestrates and organizes the weirdness in her life, and the idea that something happened to her she had no power over and no memory of terrifies her.

Here To Help

• Even though it's clear that Star feels the same way about Marco, part of the reason why his confession for loving her is so painful to him is because he's convinced that his feelings for her are unrequited.
• Star and Eclipsa finding out that Moon was responsible for the Solarian rebellion. And this was aired on Mother's Day.

The Tavern At The End Of The Multiverse

• The death of Quirky Guy, just a few seconds after he bonds with Janna and thinks he's cool. Yank the Dog's Chain, indeed.
• Mina getting ready to throw all of the monsters off a cliff, including Buff Frog and his family. Among them, poor little Katrina is in tears.
• Star becoming so distraught with what happened she decides to destroy the realm of magic. When she finds out that it is her destiny, she realizes that she will never be able to see Marco again.
• Star's utter bitterness toward her mother after learning she was responsible for everything. She even tells Moon to stay away from her. Despite their disagreements, Star still loves her mom, and the heartbreak after seeing what her mother did is a painful one.
  • Just Star telling Moon that she wishes she didn't exist. Again, this aired on Mother's day.
  • Not only that, one can't help but wonder what Comet would think if she were alive to see what her daughter Moon has become in her absence.
  • Not just Comet, but also River. Note that River knows absolutely nothing about Moon's betrayal, but had River learned about it, to say that River would not be happy about it wouldn't even begin to describe what would happen.
• Eclipsa tells Moon that her entire life has basically been "a time like this" when one realizes she just essentially said her whole life is a Trauma Conga Line.
• Star crying over possibly not being able to see Marco (whom she first calls her boyfriend) ever again.
  • Even worse? It can't have been more than a few hours since they finally accepted their love for each over. They've barely had any time to actually enjoy being a couple, and now it's all going to be ripped away from them.
  • This also means Meteora and Mariposa will never grow up together again like they promised.
• To sum it all, Star's trust lies in none other than the kooky, eccentric, and disappointing Glossaryk, who hinted at the heartwrenching decision to destroy the magic. That's how worse things are for her, and that's how desperate Star is to pull off the win.

Cleaved

• Eclipsa and Moon seeing their mother's ghosts.
  • The contrast makes it even worse, with Moon perking up when she sees Comet and Eclipsa closing her eyes and using her Mewberty wings to block Solaria from view. Then, when the ghosts of the previous queens are disappearing, Eclipsa and Solaria just stare at each other until Meteora gurgles happily at her grandmother, who then puts a hand on her cheek and smiles before fading away.
• Star and Marco tearfully hugging each other because they know they probably won't see each other again. Later, this becomes a heartwarming moment.
  • Although it's more than deserving for Mina to be eaten by a corrupted unicorn. It's somewhat sad to see her plead for help from her idol Solaria, who just glares at her in both shame and anger.
• With the magic gone, it also causes some characters who are made of magic (Glossaryck, Hekapoo, Rhombulus, and Omnitraxus) to die. Although, in any case, only the former two will most likely be missed. And Sean (with the nature of his existence questionable), has been left all alone.
• Mina, her powers gone, refuses help from Moon and goes off with Manfred into the woods. Despite seeing Solaria disgusted at her and the legacy she started, Mina is so determined to come back one day, showing how detached from reality she is.
• Moon crying to Star and wondering if she'll ever be good mother to her.
• As Star does forgive her mother, she admits the worst part of it all isn't so much the act itself while bad, but rather the severity of its consequences. Star lays out the Awful Truth that that in their family, the consequences will always be more disastrous than the wrongdoing, no matter how big or small. It's not just Moon who's had to go through this, but Eclipsa and even Star herself.
• Maude Maizley seems rather haunted by the actions she committed while hopped up on the Solarian Warrior's spells.
• The ghosts of the previous queens, whom we all got to know and love, here and in supplementary material, are gone for good, and it's FINAL.
• The look of pure heartbreak on Marco's face when he believes that he's just lost his chance to see Star again.

Livestreams and Comics

• In a livestream after the episode "Starcrushed", after being asked more than enough times about his thoughts on Star's confession, Marco makes it clear on what he really thinks about the scenario.
  Marco: Okay… guys, I've said it so many times… so many times. I have… barely had a chance to process any of this information… (inhales) and… I don't have an answer yet. I don't know. I mean, I guess I'm… really glad she told me… anyway, I can't talk about it; I'm gonna get all… choked up.
• The fourth issue of the Deep Trouble comics explains why Ferguson and Alfonzo were Demoted to Extra in Season 2. Apparently, Star stopped taking them with her and Marco on adventures due to their immature behavior and has drifted apart from them, with one of the final straws being when she learns that they regularly break into her room and mess around with her stuff without permission while she and Marco are gone. While her reasons for distancing herself from them are entirely understandable, it's still pretty sad to see someone as amiable and friendly as Star speak about her former friends as nuisances, referring to them with a disdainful tone even before learning about them invading her privacy. She also considers her growing apart from them as the natural result of her growing up and becoming more mature, which can hit pretty close to home for anyone who's drifted apart from old friends as they age.

The Magic Book Of Spells

• Jushtin the Uncalculated, the only Butterfly male to be named heir to the throne (under the title of queen), was forced to supersede his claim because of Mewni's traditional matriarchy system. His mother loved him and had high hopes for him, yet she was ultimately forced by tradition to take the crown and royal wand away from him, all the while holding back her tears as she announces the news to the kingdom.
  "He was just a boy,
  but he could dream.
  So goes the sad tale
  of Jushtin the un-queen"
  • Even more saddening is that unlike his younger sister, Solaria the Monster Carver, who gets hailed as a hero despite her racist, genocidal actions against the monster population, Jushtin's reputation only comes from being his family's only "un-queen". Even his accomplishment of allying the Butterfly family with the Pony Heads and Lucitors are treated as a mere footnote in history compared to the tapestries that immortalize his female relatives. It's as if everyone wanted to forget that Jushtin was made liable to inheriting the throne in the first place.
  • The irony of the Succession Crisis between Jushtin and Solaria, even though Jushtin was disinterested in being a king (or a "boy queen" in this case), he would have been a better leader than his sister since he made long-lasting alliances with other kingdoms and races within Mewni, while Solaria started out a proud imperialist, and in the course of three decades, slowly devolved into an uncompromising, genocidal, and xenophobic warmonger whose actions eventually led to her death.
• Dirhhennia the Heaped seemed to be suffering from some mysterious disorder that made her obsessed with balls, while also being genuinely depressed and morose. Nobody in her life seemed to understand her except her boyfriend Chad, and she was eventually forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her Manipulative Bitch sister Crescenta (who at one point decided to turn Dirhhennia into an actual lone wolf just because she could).
  • In a bit of a Fridge Tear Jerker, there's the subtle implication that because Festivia never had proper parents, she had no idea how to be a parent to her own daughters. If she knew how to be a better parent, Dirhhennia may have lived a happier life and Crescenta may have been a better person.
• Rhina the Riddled had zero interest in romantic relationships, but because she was told she had to get married and produce an heir to the throne, she cast a spell on herself to make her fall in love with someone. Trouble is, the guy she married was abusive to her... and a distant relative of the Lucitor Family. It reached the point that Rhina attempted to cast a heartbreak spell to make her husband lose interest and leave her. Unfortunately, the spell worked too well and she ended up killing him by accident, via a literal broken heart. Not only was this traumatic for Rhina but it messed up her daughter Celena pretty badly as well once she was born.
• As mentioned above, Celena the Shy was born from an abusive, loveless marriage between her mother and her demon father, the latter of whom was accidentally murdered before she was born. As an adult, she gained a reputation for being extremely shy and reclusive... which caused everyone to constantly hound her in an attempt to learn her secrets.
• Comet the Chef, like her cosmic namesake, had a fleetingly short life. Because she was a Supreme Chef, she followed a personal philosophy that everyone was equal once they sat and dined at the same table, which made her the first queen to actively advocate for mewman-monster equality. Unfortunately, Toffee went and assassinated her, ironically causing Comet's daughter Moon to become an anti-monster bigot out of grief and hatred.
  • What made Comet's story even sadder was that unlike the other queens, she didn't hate monsters or try to help them just to prove Mewman superiority; instead, she treated the monster population with genuine kindness. But because she's a Butterfly queen, she's automatically assumed to be racist and cruel by her monster enemies all the same.
  • The saddest part is she nearly succeeded, having formed an alliance with the Monster King and was on the verge of signing a peace treaty when Toffee murdered her at the signing. This means Toffee effectively has no one but himself to blame for the monsters' current situation and had he just accepted it, everyone would likely be better off.
  • Even sadder is how there was still the opportunity to sign the peace treaty even after Comet's death, it's really sad to see that all the hard work the former queen put in for peace between Mewmans and Monsters ultimately amount to nothing and her final actions being essentially wasted.
• Crescenta died before her granddaughter Celena was born.
• The implication that ruling Mewni was a case of Lonely at the Top for several queens like Estrella, whose 'loves' consisted only of her immediate family, and Rhina who only talks about three people: her mother Crescenta, her best friend Lady Gyoza and her pet turtle Turtle Hopkins.

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