[7.2/10] Another solid but not amazing outing for the show, and that's coming from someone who’s normally a sucker for Polly episodes. The best part of this one is the initial resurrection of Frobo, and him still acting to save Polly, even if it means sacrificing his own life. It’s a little cheap, but Polly’s tear somehow reminding Frobo of all the times they had together, and turning him back into his usual, self-sacrificing self absolutely worked on me. And the idea that he came back to life, for a brief moment, only to still strive to protect Polly and end up “dying” again in the process, is poignant.
Too poignant really. Their reunion is sweet; a second loss of Frobo is sad, and Polly realizing that she tried to do too much too fast without being safe forced her to lose her mechanical little brother a second time is all potent, piercing stuff.
And then Amphibia almost instantly undoes it.
Look, this is one of the times where I have to remind myself that Amphibia is a kids’ show, and a Disney Channel show no less, so however bold the show may have gotten in the past couple of seasons, there’s limits to how far they can go. All that said, killing Frobo off, bringing him back again, killing him off again instantly, and then bringing him back again two minutes later feels cheap to this crusty old grown-up. The best stories are founded on the idea that actions have consequences, and head-faking those consequences only to pivot back to undoing your toughest plot points weakens the power of your storytelling in my book.
Still, on a nuts and bolts level, this one is perfectly entertaining. Polly going down a robotics rabbithole is a nice direction for her amid everything else. I like the A.I. girls (Melissa Villasenor!) and their excitement over her project. Anne, Hop Pop, and Sprig being mesmerized by cat videos while Polly learns a new skill is a fun mini-satire of the internet. And the lesson, about proceeding with difficult things at a measured pace and taking the right safety precautions while trying dangerous things is a sound one. Plus hey, the Teddy Ruxpin parody was worth a chuckle.
Overall, this is a respectable enough episode with some tender moments that nonetheless feels like, with some different choices, it could have been a great one.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2024-02-25T18:48:43Z
[7.2/10] Another solid but not amazing outing for the show, and that's coming from someone who’s normally a sucker for Polly episodes. The best part of this one is the initial resurrection of Frobo, and him still acting to save Polly, even if it means sacrificing his own life. It’s a little cheap, but Polly’s tear somehow reminding Frobo of all the times they had together, and turning him back into his usual, self-sacrificing self absolutely worked on me. And the idea that he came back to life, for a brief moment, only to still strive to protect Polly and end up “dying” again in the process, is poignant.
Too poignant really. Their reunion is sweet; a second loss of Frobo is sad, and Polly realizing that she tried to do too much too fast without being safe forced her to lose her mechanical little brother a second time is all potent, piercing stuff.
And then Amphibia almost instantly undoes it.
Look, this is one of the times where I have to remind myself that Amphibia is a kids’ show, and a Disney Channel show no less, so however bold the show may have gotten in the past couple of seasons, there’s limits to how far they can go. All that said, killing Frobo off, bringing him back again, killing him off again instantly, and then bringing him back again two minutes later feels cheap to this crusty old grown-up. The best stories are founded on the idea that actions have consequences, and head-faking those consequences only to pivot back to undoing your toughest plot points weakens the power of your storytelling in my book.
Still, on a nuts and bolts level, this one is perfectly entertaining. Polly going down a robotics rabbithole is a nice direction for her amid everything else. I like the A.I. girls (Melissa Villasenor!) and their excitement over her project. Anne, Hop Pop, and Sprig being mesmerized by cat videos while Polly learns a new skill is a fun mini-satire of the internet. And the lesson, about proceeding with difficult things at a measured pace and taking the right safety precautions while trying dangerous things is a sound one. Plus hey, the Teddy Ruxpin parody was worth a chuckle.
Overall, this is a respectable enough episode with some tender moments that nonetheless feels like, with some different choices, it could have been a great one.