The end of Amphibia was bittersweet but acceptable, it also teaches us that many people important in our lives won’t be forever at our side. It’s WAY better that the really sour taste of two lovers merging their worlds together without facing consequences, that’s for sure.
I know everyone is talking about Anne and her future but I would like to point out the Marcy “going to solve world hunger” but really being happy with her webcomic because in a lot of cases smart people get trapped in others’ expectations and when they want to do something different than “saving the world” or “contributing to society as many want to” they are called selfish or how their true potencial is wasted. Marcy has potential for solving world hunger or be an strategist for seeing many fantasy movies.
But no… we are told she is doing a webcomic, something without doubt that Marcy, geeky dreamer adventurer imaginative Marcy, would love.
Sure, maybe the webcomic is a hobby and she has another job but the fact that Matt and crew only gave us the webcomic information about what Marcy has been doing is a subtle indication that this is what Marcy adores to do with her passion, not what she is supposed to do because of her intellect.
There is a melancholy and bittersweetness to Barrel’s story now that we know how the trio’s separation happened.
Because out of anyone who tried during the disappearance of the box, we know that Barrel was following Andrias. He wanted to help his friend get back the box to its “rightful” place and was working his hardest throughout the chase to get that artifact back.
But since he showed hesitation, Andrias saw him nothing more as a failure, someone he couldn’t rely on, and inevitably ordered him away from the capital once as a Newtopian guard to now an outskirts guard — protecting his people, others who couldn’t fend for themselves, all far away from the people he loved.
And he would follow this order without hesitancy.
Up until his inevitable death.
But the thing that makes it bittersweet is how in his job, he showed how dedicated he was as a person.
He followed Andrias’s orders till he died, he defended villages even when his body couldn’t move anymore, he was so revered and noticed for his dedication and loyalty to the people around him that he became a legend to the toad community — a legend spoken now with reverence, kindness, and even through common slang.
“It is said that the one who wields this hammer is the true leader of all toads.”
“Barrel gave his life defending a helpless village from a terrifying beast.”
“By Barrel’s Belly.”
“Barrel the Brave.”
The toads never forgot him even as robots decayed and the ancient world turned into nothing more than memories, and he became a symbol of what the toads could be when united.
