Prediction: Olivia and Yunan will succeed but not how we think.
Apparently a lot of people think Yunnan and Olivia won’t succeed in rescuing Marcy, but I don’t see how that’s a smart decision story-wise. Like yeah, an entire episode that revolves around them planning to rescue Marcy and then ends with them being caught last minute and just barely succeeding is a gut-wrenching twist. But how does it make sense for the villains?
Both Andrias and the Night want to take over other worlds, they don’t have any desire for Amphibia. (Well I’m assuming the Night doesn’t) If he’s so set on using the music box’s powers, like Andrias, then he probably wants to dominate other dimensions. But more importantly, he wants the full power of the gems, and Anne is still on earth. It doesn’t add up that they’d want to keep their prized weapon in Amphibia when Anne still has access to her gem.
“Isn’t it time to say goodbye to those childhood friends of yours?”
I’m convinced this line isn’t directed at Marcy; it’s directed at Anne. And while the Night slowly takes over Marcy’s mind and body, it’s able to weasel its way into Anne through her calamity powers. The S3 opening after True Colors showed Marcy in a clear tube being kept alive by the Night.
But the current season shows that it’s actually her calamity powers resuscitating/healing her.
Which means those things are fucking powerful. And given the level of damage Anne is able to do with them, the Night wants it for himself.
Therefore, the Night is using Marcy as a means to get to Anne.
Since Andrias had Yunan and Olivia place Marcy in the rejuvenation tank, they know exactly where she is and how to get her out. I don’t know if this was clever planning on his part or he was just acting stupidly naive and trusting that his old followers would remain loyal and not attempt to rescue a child later. But nevertheless, it works.
Our gay newt duo go through a series of perilous obstacles and insane hijinx to get to Marcy, believing that Andrias is "preventing" them from doing so. When in reality, this is all the Night's plan. He purposely stacks the odds so they can locate her (though, both the audience and the characters don't know this yet).
They find her like this, fully corrupted, creepy as shit and the poor girlfriends are brought to their knees by the realization that sweet little Marcy will never be the same. But Yunnan and Olivia manage to get the helmet off of her and return her to her normal state.
Now that Marcy is in control, she helps navigate them all out of the Night's Lair (having expert knowledge in the architecture of the castle) and to safety. They locate the portal whether it's through the music box or if there's a spare one below, who knows and they head for home. The episode ends in rejoice with Marcy safe and everyone on their way back to Earth. All is perfect in Frog Land!
Except there is split cliffhanger ending of dramatic irony that subtly hints the Night is still inside Marcy (ergo the eye on her chest) and could take her over again at any moment.
Thus ends the arc of Marcy in Season 3 for I’m certain we won’t see her again until the second half. But once she makes it back to Earth, the Night’s plans finally start being placed into motion.
I’ve been watching too much Stranger Things, but I believe the execution will be similar. Anne will think Andrias is no longer a threat (possibly after the events of “A Froggy Little Christmas,”) is on good terms with her parents and finally told them about the events of Amphibia, even found a way to get the Plantars home, and guess who shows up...
After all this time, thinking her best childhood friend is dead, she’s alive and standing right in front of her, and it’s everything Anne could hope for. We get a parallel reunion to that of “Marcy at the Gates” with hugs and tears. And Anne is so gosh darned relieved to see her friend again, she has no idea what’s brewing beneath the surface.
The Night is spying through Marcy.
After all it makes sense right? Anne’s powers are fueled by emotion. The heart is simultaneously the strongest and most sensitive, making it the perfect target for the Night’s trickery and manipulation. It takes over Marcy, leads Anne into a false sense of comfort, pulls the wool over her eyes. And once she is in her most vulnerable position, the curtain is removed and the wolf in sheep’s clothing is revealed. Marcy is gone. Replaced by the Night. She has no memory of Anne or Sasha, blames Anne for deserting her, and has become a complete monster.
It breaks Anne, fucking destroys her. All this time she has been working so hard to get back to save Sasha and Marcy. Sasha already turned on her. She made her choice. Their friendship is over. But Marcy... Marcy was still there. She and Anne could go back to the way things were, no animosity between them. Everything would turn back to normal. Except this isn’t Marcy. This isn’t Anne’s friend. This is a cold, empty hearted, soulless creature. And by realising this, it’s the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Anne has officially lost everything.
