True Colors (Amphibia)

"True Colors" is the twentieth and final episode of the second season of the American animated television series Amphibia, and the 40th episode overall. The episode was written by Michele Cavin and Jenava Mie and directed by Kyler Spears and Jenn Strickland, and originally aired on Disney Channel on May 22, 2021. It garnered 0.33 million viewers when it premiered.

The episode revolves around Anne and her friends arriving at Newtopia in their quest to return home, leading to a set of fateful discoveries and betrayals as they discover that someone else has set other plans for her and her friends in motion.

The episode received universal acclaim for its fluid animation, voice acting, character development, mature themes, emotional depth, action sequences, cinematography, musical score, scale, writing and cliffhanger. Many fans and critics have called it one of, if not the best, episodes of the series.

Plot
The episode begins with a flashback of Marcy studying at the library when she receives a text message from Sasha about Anne's birthday. Just as she is about to leave, a mysterious book falls off the librarian's cart next to her. She reads the contents and after randomly flipping through pages, learns about the Calamity Box and finds its ability to transport people to other worlds amusing. She then receives another text message from her parents demanding that she come home immediately as they have something important to discuss. While the conversation is not shown, Marcy has become visibly upset as she runs out of her house in tears. When she stops running to catch her breath, she arrives in front of a thrift store and sees the Calamity Box through the window. She then receives another text from Sasha asking where she is, and Marcy replies declaring that she has found the perfect birthday gift for Anne.

Several Months Later, in the present day, Anne, Sasha, Marcy, Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Grime, and Frobo all arrive at Newtopia on Joe Sparrow to give the Calamity Box to King Andrias. Sprig is saddened that their adventures are over, but Anne reminds him that as long as they have the music box, they can visit each other whenever they want. Meanwhile, Polly starts to feel itchy in her butt. Upon their arrival at the castle, Anne prepares to give the Calamity Box to Andrias, but it is taken by Grime and Sasha, who commence their plan for a toad rebellion on Newtopia, even getting Andrias to surrender by threatening to drop the box. Anne voices her anger at Sasha for betraying them and declares she is done being friends with her. In anger, Sasha tries to use the box to send Anne and Marcy home, but it doesn't work, so she has them all imprisoned until she can figure out how to use it. Anne, Marcy, Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Frobo, and Lady Olivia are then rescued by General Yunan and take shelter in an old restaurant. Anne then rallies everyone to fight back against the toad rebellion and comes up with a plan; Marcy, Hop Pop, and Lady Olivia will save King Andrias while Polly, Frobo, and General Yunan fight the toad soldiers. Meanwhile, Anne and Sprig will close the gates before the whole toad army arrives.

Meanwhile, back in the throne room, Sasha feels guilty about betraying Anne and wonders if she is a horrible person. Grime tries to cheer her up by handing her another heron sword and helping her remove a tapestry of a benevolent Andrias, only to find a mural of a sinister-looking Andrias using the Calamity Box to cause chaos and destruction. They realize that Andrias is not what he seems, and after seeing Anne and Sprig trying to close the gates, they rush out to stop them. While Sprig deals with Grime, Sasha tries to warn Anne about Andrias, but Anne, still furious with Sasha, refuses to listen and begins to fight. Eventually, Anne and Sprig defeat Sasha and Grime and manage to close the gates. Andrias then appears and orders his guard to arrest the toad soldiers, ending the rebellion.

Back in the throne room, Anne, Sprig, Polly, Frobo, and General Yunan are waiting for Andrias, with Sasha and Grime tied up. Andrias then arrives with Marcy, Hop Pop, and Lady Olivia and is ready to send the girls home. Despite Sasha's warnings, Anne gives the Calamity Box to Andrias, who begins to tell everyone an ancient tale. Long ago, Newtopia was a glorious kingdom of greatness until that greatness was lost when the Calamity Box was stolen from him because he trusted those he thought were his friends. But now that the box is back, he can finally return his kingdom to glory, revealing that his ancestors were not explorers, but conquerors. He puts the Calamity Box on a pedestal, which causes his castle to rise into the sky, and reactivates his robot army. To everyone's horror, he reveals that he plans to finish his ancestors' work by using the Calamity Box to travel to and conquer other worlds. He demonstrates his power by destroying one of the Toad Towers. Marcy tries to talk to Andrias, saying that this wasn't part of their deal, but Andrias reveals he lied to her. He also admits to Anne and Sasha that Marcy had full knowledge of the Calamity Box and got them all stuck in Amphibia on purpose. Marcy reveals that on the day they left, her parents told her that they were moving away, but Marcy, not wanting to be apart from her friends, decided to use the Calamity Box to keep them all together in Amphibia.

Despite the mistakes they all have made, Anne, realizing who Andrias is, tells her friends that he must be stopped. Anne then frees Sasha and Grime, who fight beside her and the Plantars, as do Yunan, Olivia, and Marcy; during the fight, Frobo gets destroyed and Polly grows a pair of legs, which was the cause of her itchiness from before. Polly manages to grab the box, but Andrias threatens her to put it back or he'll drop Sprig out the window. Despite putting it back, Andrias still drops Sprig. Anne, devastated by the loss of Sprig, awakens her powers through the blue gem from the Calamity Box and fights off Andrias and the rest of his robots until she soon faints, exhausted from the power. Sprig, having been saved by Marcy on Joe Sparrow, arrives and hugs her. Andrias then decides that since Anne is the only one left with the power to stop him, he cannot afford to let her live, but before he can do anything, Marcy takes the Calamity Box and uses it to open a portal to Earth. Anne and the Plantars manage to escape with Frobo's remains while Sasha and Grime continue to fight off Andrias. Andrias then mortally impales Marcy with his light sword through her chest. Marcy tells Anne “I’m sorry for everything.” before she drops the Calamity Box, and closes the portal.

Anne and the Plantars awaken on the hood of a car in the middle of Los Angeles traffic. When the Plantars ask where they are, Anne solemnly comments that she is finally home.

Production and broadcasting
The episode was originally scheduled to premiere on May 1, 2021, but it was pulled the day before it aired and replaced with a rerun. Although early reports attributed the delay to a scheduling shift, it was later revealed that the episode was pulled by the network at the last minute due to concerns over the violent nature of the final scene. As a compromise to air the scene fully uncensored, a disclaimer warning was added in at the beginning of the episode, as well as a post-credits scene which featured the opening sequence for the third and final season of the series, revealing Marcy's actual fate.

The episode was accidentally released on iTunes the day after the episode was originally scheduled to premiere, but it was quickly taken down. However, the episode was soon taken and placed on several streaming sites. As a result of that, the creator of the show, Matt Braly, started putting up videos of Amphibia characters telling the viewers not to watch the episode too early. Some of these characters included Grime, Maddie, Loggle, Yunan, Felicia, Hop Pop, and Curator Ponds. On the iTunes version of the episode, some fans spotted an error where a green newt with a hat was seen with the characters at the climax of the episode. When the error was reported the creators fixed it by replacing the newt with Lady Olivia when the episode officially premiered.

Reception
Since airing, "True Colors" has received universal acclaim. Many call it one of the best episodes of the entire series.

Patrick Gunn from Collider praises the episode for its great character development and describes Andrias as the true star of the episode. Gunn even states that the episode "plays with the bonds both broken and torn throughout the series to create a thrilling triumph. The stakes are higher because they mesh with the themes of friendship throughout the series and builds and expands upon them. Not to mention the amazing animation and fight choreography, particularly during the blue powers fight." Hope Mullex from The Geeky Waffle said the episode was "Gut Punching", Mullex also describes the show itself as a "Fastasticially Written Drama" due to the concept of flawed female characters having their own personal journey in the world of Amphibia.

It was also referenced on the pop culture website TheGamer where it was stated that "King's Tide", the season finale for Season 2 of The Owl House, had a similar ending to this episode. Both shows were even described to being "Kindred Spirits."