Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Death Peck / Ponymonium

"STOP YELLING!" "YELLING FEELS GOOD RIGHT NOW!"
Here's a fair warning for today's pair of reviews: "Ponymonium" is gon' get thrown around a bit. But first (flawless segue):

The premise of "Death Peck" defies easy explanation as to really do it justice, but I'll try anyway. Star, Marco, and Pony Head are off trying to get one final signature for their Petition of Friendship between Mewmins and monsters from Rich Pigeon, but problems arise in the fact that, uh, he's a pigeon. Marco thus tries to grab his talon and force a signature out, but accidentally breaks it in the process, launching an episode-long chase sequence against a flock of thousands of incensed birds.

The delightfulness lay in the dissonance, and the first scene is perfect because of that: Star and co have gone out to a castle to try to get a pigeon to sign a contract; their failure to do so and subsequent imprisonment then forces them through a "fair" trial against pigeons that they can't even understand. Throughout it all, the episode takes advantage of its absurdity, all under a self aware dose of almost mock-seriousness. It's just so dumb, and I love it.

The end of the episode, however, suddenly turns everything around, and it works spectacularly, with Rich Pigeon halting the trial and giving a dramatic, heartfelt speech about how pigeons should stop acting dumber than they actually are. In an episode full of keen reversals, this was the perfect capper to fly in out of nowhere and elevate the episode to near-perfection.

"Death Peck" was just sort of that perfectly weird midseason episode that shouldn't exist and shouldn't work, but it does and it's perfect. It brings to mind "The Party Poopers" from Wander Over Yonder, an episode entirely about the the show's protagonists attempting to impress a race of butt-faced people whilst trying to maintain their composure - it's just bizarre, but lovingly bizarre, and it makes for an unforgettable episode.

Unfortunately, "Ponymonium," aside from winning the award for "Most Pink-Tinted Episode in the Series," is pretty much the complete opposite of that, and it doesn't work. It's just a confusing mess that lacks direction whilst direly needing it and refuses to let the audience enjoy what's happening by subjecting us to constant, mind-numbing interference.

Yes, I can accept the show's intentions in casting Pony Head's entire family as sociopaths, and I can at least vaguely grasp the show's goal with the characterizations, but the result is aimless sensory overload. Neither party is sympathetic, and the whole affair amounts to characters bickering and fighting and being generally obnoxious with poor Star placed in the middle as a proxy for the audience. She's a trooper, but she doesn't do enough to negate everything that the episode struggles with, and she pretty much just stands there and takes heat from both sides, bearing the same confusion that we, as an audience, are stuck with.

And even if that's not the most ideal situation, I feel like the ending certainly butchered up any of the episode's better intentions. I mean, here's the emotional play-by-play of that final scene:

Pony Head: enthusiasm
Star: anger
Pony Head: apathetic apologizing
Star: joking agreement
Pony Head: offense
Star: confusion
Pony Head: heartstrings grab
Star: recuperation

If the episode ended with Star simply infuriated and Pony Head acknowledging the hell she just endured, it would at least make sense - Star is angry, and reasonably so. But here, Star is magically alleviated of all of the frustration and torture she just suffered through, and the result feels forced. Magically solving the problem with the power of friendship doesn't work, and its existence here tries to sweep the mess at the front of the episode under the rug as casually as possible, let alone in a show that indulges in the effects of the consequences of one's actions.

All of that also doubles down on where Pony Head's flaws lay in her integration. She's at her best when her behavior causes conflict and she's forced to meaningfully address it - think "Pizza Thing" - or when she's simply there as a member of the rotating supporting cast to add enjoyable drama in her wake, like in "Club Snubbed." Here, "Ponymonium" capitalizes on her being unnecessarily frustrating, nor does she get any comeuppance in the episode, which instead justifies it. You could thus argue that it works because Pony Head's annoyance wasn't all for naught, but that doesn't suddenly make it enjoyable to watch unfold.

As such, I'm left with a single question: what was the point of all of that? On one level, it struggles in terms of sheer entertainment value in its sheer convolution, but on the other, it doesn't contribute to the narrative either. Nobody apologizes for anything, and things just happen, only to be immediately resolved. (The fact that Pony Head acknowledges the entire framing scheme as typical for her family takes away from any revelations on her part, too.) Whereas "Death Peck" shouldn't have worked but did, "Ponymonium" could've worked, but almost entirely didn't.

Notes and Quotes:
-I like that "Death Peck" had so many pigeons flying round on-screen at one point that the animation started to pixelate. That's dedication to your medium.
-Even if Pony Head didn't work too well in "Ponymonium," she was a perfect bit of comedic relief in "Death Peck," especially with all of the gold she inadvertently stole all pouring out of her for just a little bit too long and a bit too inconveniently, let alone that she sold it like a medical condition.
-Oh, and she also steals him for leverage. Because Pony Head couldn't possibly be more ill-timed.
-The hangman's death from a thousand pecks was such a hilarious reversal and I loved every painful second of it.
-For the record: the only characters I really dug from Pony Head's family were the weirdo twins who, on top of providing a nice dose of eerie, Shining-esque antics, played some hilariously middling art rock.
-I don't have much else to say about "Ponymonium" aside from the fact that I sound it insanely stressful... maybe Marco could've helped balance it out?

Final Grade: A+/D. What an odd pairing of episodes, let alone that they had little to connect them aside from being a break from the show's narrative. "Death Peck," however, was far more successful, and I'd argue it's the most comedically-charged episode that Star vs. has ever pulled off. Everything here is just unbelievably perfect, and I don't know how to feel out of sheer awe in its execution. "Ponymonium," however, is the complete inverse of that, and I'd honestly chalk it down as the season low, let alone a series low. The plot is all over the place, the characters are exhausting, and Star vs. fails to turn the episode around. (The show utterly bombing a moment of poignancy is enough of a shock, too.) I think I've said enough about it, though, so let's not beleaguer the point.

Either way, there you go: a season high and a season low stuffed together. What an interesting day.

For yesterday's reviews of "Sweet Dreams" and "Lave Lake Beach," CLICK HERE.