Amphibia Review: Hop Luck / Stakeout

"SON OF A SLUG!"

There's a formula key to what feels like every other Amphibia episode so far: something that once seemed insignificant at the start proves to be crucial to the resolution of each narrative. In "Cane Crazy," Anne's hypnotic pen becomes a commodity to pay for reparations to Loggle's damaged shop; in "Flood, Sweat, and Tears," Anne and Sprig's pillow-fighting becomes an invaluable asset in the climactic fight sequence; and now, with "Hop Luck," Hop Pop's old-fashioned book of advice goes from a relic of the past to a vital source of life-saving advice.

Some adherence to that formula is expected, and I know why the writers are using it for now: it works. It's pacing by-the-books, ensuring that episodes make sense and have a satisfying conclusion. The issue is just that, as someone who gets really into the mechanics of plot devices and how narratives get assembled (I'm a massive writing nerd and I apologize profusely), that means that episodes like "Hop Luck" feel transparent in their lack of adventurousness. Luckily, Amphibia is such a charming and charismatic show that it never impedes on the show's ability to be fun, and Anne and the Plantars' quest to gather pizza ingredients in hopes of winning the town's annual cook-off for the first time is an enjoyable enough ride.

Even if the conclusion falls into place a little too easily—I feel as if we all could've seen the downer ending coming (the mayor declares their dish the best they've ever done... but still the worst of the roster, and they get sentenced to the Shame Cage), though I liked to sweet undertones to it—getting to that point leads to some of the show's best humor yet, with each pit stop bringing something new to the table, whether that means facing off against an evil tomato plant or arrange-marrying Sprig with the town baker's terrifying daughter (voodoo doll and all) for a ball of dough. If there's predictability in how the episode bookends itself, there's complete unpredictability in getting to that point.

For my money, though, "Stakeout" is the far better episode of the pair, and I'd argue it's the best episode of the show so far. I always love it when a series goes balls-to-the-wall with a weird idea, especially this early on, and turning a corn robbery faked by Sprig to make Anne and Hop Pop hang out with each other into a caffeine-overdosing hallucinogenic nightmare is fantastically strange, bordering on Regular Show-esque, which is the last comparison I ever thought I'd make with this show. The strange premise allows for some sweet, colorful visuals and great joke-telling, all complimenting an episode that is very deeply all about character development, and instead of using its gimmick to sacrifice their progression, it actually tightens Anne and Hop Pop's bond.

In that sense, "Stakeout" is almost like a drugged-out chemistry test. We haven't seen much of Anne and Hop Pop on the same side, with Hop Pop tending to hang back at the outskirts of episodes he's involved in, so it's fun to see them collaborating at the episode's core, because they bounce off of each other really well. There's definitely a generational gap between them, though Amphibia never concedes that one is truly superior to the other, instead focusing on how that underlines what makes them and their core beliefs so different, and it's a great change of pace. (As an example, the show I'm most well-known for reviewing,The Amazing World of Gumball, has really struggled with hacky joke-telling recently when it tries to comment on the divide between its kid and adult characters, so it's great to see Amphibia finding a way to outsmart that overdone formula.)

While I was fearful that the episode would consist of Anne and Hop Pop arguing until reaching some mutual agreement, I'm glad that it decided to just sweep their passive-aggressiveness under the rug as soon as Sprig gets reinvolved. As the character responsible for manipulating them into spending time together, he plays a solid supporting role here, with his attempts to quietly mediate between them helping to keep the episode going when it threatens to slow down, and I appreciate the sense of unintentional retribution he faces for taking advantage of them, with Anne and Hop Pop (under the influence) distorting him into a more evil corn thief creature and nearly impaling him with farm equipment. What goes around comes around, Sprig, but hey, Annie and Hop Pop are closer than ever, so credit where credit's due: you did your job.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I hope "Stakeout" is a stepping stone for the series. If the show is so comfortable with its characters already that it's able to do something that wacky this early on, I'm optimistic that Amphibia's got a lot of tricks up its sleeves, and I can't wait to see whatever ridiculous premises it's saving for later.

FINAL GRADES:
"Hop Luck": B.
"Stakeout": A-.

For the last set of Amphibia reviews for "Cane Crazy" and "Flood, Sweat, and Tears," CLICK HERE.

For updates every time I post a new review, follow me on Twitter @Matt_a_la_mode.