Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Cleaved (and Season 4)

"The thing about good ideas is they tend to kinda hang around like a bad fart."

I feel as if that quote from the final episode, delivered by Mina Loveberry on her untriumphant departure into the wilderness, summarizes Season 4 of Star vs. the Forces of Evil as a whole. There's sincerity, for the most part, in what Star vs. wants to do, but it can never manage to equal the sum of its parts because, even to the very end, there's a sense that it knows what it wants to be, but was never able to really accomplish that. 

(WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AND UNPOPULAR OPINIONS)

Case in point: "Cleaved," as a series finale, does exactly what it wants. It's clear that the past season worked unrelentingly to telegraph everything possible to make the finale work, and it does, filled with emotional crescendos and masterfully-crafted revelations. The first half gives rise to tension and, more than less, makes up the climax by tackling the broader issues in the series' final arc—most importantly, Star and the queens must destroy magic to stop Mina Loveberry in her pro-Mewman,  monster-killing conquest—while the second half is almost a sort of epilogue. 

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Stump Day / Holiday Spellcial

"Tell us the story of Stump Day, Uncle River!" "Ha ha ha, you don't tell me what to do!"

"Hey Matt, didn't you say you were going to stop doing this?" I don't know, man, I just like keeping myself busy...

The holidays are always an interesting time for shows to create episodes because there's a very distinct vibe that they elicit: one of festive cheer to hold over fans for the next year and fill us with warm, fuzzy feelings for all of the characters. In that regards, Star vs. does everything right.

But, because I'm a jerkish reviewer who has to look at the other side of the coin - the merit - I'm going to cite some issues. That's not to say the episodes were bad, because there's plenty to like... but I have a self-important job to do.

"Stump Day" was at its best in making fun of holiday traditions. Think about it: the belief is that there's a gigantic, not-even-anthropomorphic stump that comes and strangles bad children to death. It's criminally absurd and dark as a visual, and then seeing that in practice makes it all the more hilarious. It's a gigantic stump. How utterly menacing of a sight. I hope the bark isn't too prickly. Making Star believe in its existence, too, was delightful in the insanity of her worship, and finding it to be well-reasoned pushed the joke even further when her paranoia checks out. (Having the intense climatic score accompanied by sleigh bells was the icing on the cake.)

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Monster Bash

"It was a great party! I mean yeah, sure, some monsters got trapped in a closet, and Mina probably traumatized some people, and we got busted by the cops and I... am not helping at all, right now."

What a way to leave the audience grasping for more, Star vs. Even in terms of the standards of a midseason finale, "Monster Bash" was a mass deposit of so much new information, yet at the same time, as based on revelations as it was, this was an episode deeply invested in the characters. Not just Miss Heinous, henceforth to be known as Meteora, but everyone, to varying degrees.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Night Life / Deep Dive

"Now focus on my watch." "Hey, that's my watch!" "Dude, this is about Star, get over yourself."
Well, the last two episodes made for a nice break, because now we're back into full-blown narrative mode, and we haven't been going this strong through it since "Battle for Mewni."

There's a lot to try to extrapolate from "Night Life" and "Deep Dive" - they expertly fill in all of the questions left by "Sweet Dreams" while simultaneously allowing us to advance further as we're approaching the  midseason finale.

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.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Sweet Dreams / Lava Lake Beach

"Leave her alone, man! She's going through some stuff!" "We all are! Everyone's in a constant state of falling apart! EXISTENTIAL WAR CRYYYY!"
"Sweet Dreams" and "Lava Lake Beach," however drastically different in their focus, both take the interesting position of showing Star's increasing independence, and consequently, the effect that plays on Marco - the former explores it more on Star's end, while the latter explores it on Marco's. Honestly, I'm in full support of this advancement - after Season 2 went down so hard on Star, I'm happy to see the show mirroring that with Marco - but the means with which it explores the hardship on Marco's end are a bit... less than perfect.

First of all, though: "Sweet Dreams" is one of those episodes that relishes in its ambiguity. We're both subjected to so much and given so little to fully comprehend, but the episode wields that to its advantage.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Princess Turdina / Starfari

"HOW'D YOU KNOW ABOUT RODRIGO?!"
So... this was quite the interesting set of episode in tackling two relatively heavier themes - one, the overarching Princess Marco sub-plot, and the other the constant conflict between Mewnians' perceptions of monsters - but neither episode quite sticks the landing. That's not to say there's nothing to like about either episode, because they expand greatly upon that which the show has been consistently vague in addressing, but neither episode feels as satisfactory as they should because neither truly finds a resolution.

Considering, further, that the common theme the two episodes share (I'd argue) is a sense of hypocrisy, the show's inability to truly redeem upon the pratfalls it examines is a bit frustrating.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Lint Catcher / Trial by Squire

"'Ooooh, hey Star, I just showed up out of NOWHERE. Why don't you give me a job to do?' Okay, Marco, here's a job. 'NooOOo, not that job, another job.'"

After all of the narrative-driven heaviness of the past few episodes, perhaps it's a nice blessing that "Lint Catcher" and "Trial by Squire," despite bearing some significance, felt straight out of Season 1. People can rag on that season all they want, but it bore an enjoyable lightness while establishing the role of Star and Marco within the show, allowing us to slowly familiarize ourselves with them and how they bounce off of one another.

This set of episodes works in the same way; just as Star and Marco's introduction in Season 1 meant they needed ample room to slowly figure themselves out, their current reunion means that the show will have to do the same thing again. Things are a-changing on Star vs., and with romantic investment seeming far more repressed here, the show's clearly trying to build a new framework for the pair's dynamic.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Demoncism / Sophomore Slump

"Wow, he didn't even say goodbye. Not even a little claw wave or something." "Dude. It's a lobster." "Oh."

What I'm trying to emphasize the most in these reviews, beyond just the episodes themselves, is their interconnectivity and how the two play off of some common theme; of all shows, Star vs. would know to pair them up for a reason. The connection between "Demoncism" and "Sophomore Slump," though, is a bit less obvious and gearing towards the long run; on one hand, Star's practically moving on, and on the other, Marco's coming back around.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Club Snubbed / Stranger Danger

"Sunglasses at night. Classy."
Oh boy, two episodes that operate under the pretenses that I'm able to read into the least: the art of assumption and reading into what we're presented. Both episodes banked on leaving the audience to read into whatever subtext it gives us, and thus, the show leans on us to form some resolving conjecture. It's an interesting tactic, and an effective one for telling a gripping narrative, but the pairing of "Club Snubbed" and "Stranger Danger" serves to remind us that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Scent of a Hoodie / Rest in Pudding

"No, this is me. Totes nor-mal."
Hey. It's been a minute.

I doubt any of y'all remember me, but a while back, I wrote up a little review of the entirety of Season 1 per that "Community Watching" event that happened a few months back. Everybody over at the subreddit liked it, so I thought, great! I'll just write one for Season 2 while I'm at it! That... didn't quite work out; turns out it's a bit hard to condense all of that into something that wasn't a complete eyesore to read.

But I'm back, and I'm trying it over again. But episodically. I don't know how long I'll actually be doing this - as of right now, I'm pretty much just cracking down on my weaknesses as a reviewer by exploring a show more driven by an ongoing narrative. (I usually stick to The Amazing World of Gumball, but I might as well expand a bit.)

First, though, a little disclaimer: on top of, y'know, being new to reviewing this type of show, I'm also very much known for being a bit meticulous when it comes to the show's mechanics. With that being said, I value the underlying notions of the show's plot and the ease with which the show conducts itself more than the plots, so don't come here expecting a synopsis so much as just... a mess of thoughts. What a selling point.

That was a long intro, let's just get to the episodes.

Cartoon Splurge: Star vs. the Forces of Evil: Season 1

Hey. If you're new here, let me do a quick introduction: I'm Matt, and I write bits of analysis that are so pedantic that all fun is lost. (Riveting, I know.) I'm not a massive cartoon fan, though I'm currently infatuated with The Amazing World of Gumball; it is for that reason that I'm doing this right now, indebted to Mr. Anonim. So, uh... hello. Hope everybody's doing okay.

As you probably know, his grand idea was to hop between communities and spread word of other cartoons to establish a sort of "Community Watching" and give some shows some new fans. Since so few people seemed to be playing along with it, I decided I had nothing to lose and that I was diving straight in. Though he planned out a few episodes of Star vs. the Forces of Evil, I saw the first episode, recognized its potential, and decided to stick around for the whole first season. That's what this is: a so-called "Cartoon Splurge," where I go all in on a cartoon and review a season of it at a time. At the very least, I can offer an outsider's opinion, and that's good, right?

Oh, and as a disclaimer: I apologize for any anachronisms or technically incorrect assumptions: I haven't seen Season 2 and know basically nothing about it, so my views of the show might be slightly incorrect as I lack the complete image.

First things first, though: one of the things that Anonim repeatedly tried to warn me of was that Star was an insanely plot-heavy cartoon, but it's really not, at least not yet. (I've endured HIMYM - this isn't that, thankfully.) Yes, there's some chronology to it all, but it's still light. You can tell that the show is slowly building up, what with Toffee and the Headmistress (?) of the Reform School, but the show doesn't ever let that detract from simple character interplay and quirky ideas. It's a lot like Wander Over Yonder's approach in Season 2, where four, plot-heavy, 22-minute episodes were punctuated by interludes of 12, lighter, 11-minute ones; through it, the story could build up without compromising on any light fun. For Season 1, at least, Star seems to be following a similar course of action. (The two's similarities may or may not be intentional as per Craig McCracken's post discussing Disney's more rigid views towards serialization.)