Respite from Hell

August 1, 2021

Marcy runs away crying from a home with an open front door. Either side of the door has a statue of a lion, and there's a fountain to the left. She's wearing her school uniform and gray sweater.

Marcy’s home life was probably exceptionally awful, a fact best evidenced by her own behavior. On Earth, she seems to have existed in a nigh-constant state of dissociation and escapism (206, 214); this has all but ceased by the time Anne encounters her in Newtopia (206). Even more telling, Marcy doesn’t show an ounce of regret or remorse over leaving her parents (220).

By contrast, her outlook on school seems largely positive. She proudly cites her straight-A-except-gym report card (214); she keeps taking classes in Amphibia and is surprised that Anne doesn’t do the same (215a).

These facts complement each other neatly. School can be, for some, a safe haven from mistreatment suffered at home—a regularly scheduled respite from hell.

The closed gates of Newtopia: a set of gigantic metal doors in the city wall, carved with a relief of two newts in hooded robes facing each other with arms outstretched, and also seashells.

Newtopia is thoroughly characterized as a realm of scholarship. The city is first mentioned in the context of Newtopia University, a college good enough to risk leaving the Valley for (117b, 208b), and is then formally introduced as “the beating heart of Amphibia—a bustling metropolis full of ancient knowledge, run by the wisest of newts” (201a). Newts are painted as a race of intelligent scholars even by other newts who don’t fit the stereotype, like Gertie (207a).

And the city allows Marcy to flourish. Here, her needs and desires are taken seriously. Here, she’s encouraged to cultivate her skills, to challenge herself in new and exciting ways, to apply her intelligence toward practical ends.

By the show’s dream logic, Newtopia represents school—not a literal reflection of Saint James, but Marcy’s idealized fantasy. Her “perfect record” on missions (206) mirrors her perfect report card.

1: Marcy leans intently over a flipwart board, while chaos reigns on a much larger board. Hop Pop as a white piece is being dragged around screaming, and Polly as a while piece looks shocked. 2: Marcy holds a book titled "Cynthia Coven and the Sorcerer's Stepladder." Cover shows a smiling girl with long dark hair and glasses in a red striped sweater holding up a wand, foot on a stepladder.

Hence the scattered references to Harry Potter (214, 216b), a story about a child in a bad home who escapes to a fantastical school.

Close-up of a page of a worn book with a detailed drawing of a music box adorned with gems, decorated with frogs, trees, mushrooms, and lily pads. Large text reads: TRAVEL TO OTHER WORLDS.

While engrossed in study for the PSAT (a practice college-entrance exam that Marcy won’t take for at least three years), Marcy gets a text from Sasha reminding her of Anne’s birthday. She then immediately learns about the Calamity Box from Dr. P’s book, with the tagline “Travel to other worlds” (220). The reveal of the Box at this exact moment is telling. It implies that Marcy often fantasizes about the trio moving out of L.A. together: The merest reminder of her friends triggers the appearance of a magical travel brochure.

And Marcy really wants her friend group to stick together, even after high school. She implores Anne and Sasha to stop fighting because “We’re supposed to be friends for life. We don’t split up” (219a, emphasis Marcy’s), and she views Amphibia as “a place where we’d never have to grow apart, where the three of us could be friends forever together” (220). Given Marcy’s difficulty connecting with people (207a), it’s quite possible that Anne and Sasha weren’t just her best friends on Earth, but her only friends.

So I’d guess that Newtopia represents not just school in general, but specifically college. While Anne’s view of postsecondary ed is skewed by film (208b), Marcy’s perception seems more in line with how universities market themselves: bastions of culture and scholarship, where young aspiring minds grow and thrive as they never have before—a fantasy utterly realized by Marcy’s Newtopian adventures.

Middle school might provide Marcy some modest protection, but she’s really anticipating the stage of her life when she can move away forever. And when that happens, she wants Anne and Sasha to stay by her side.

In the throne room, King Andrias leans over Marcy's shoulder, smiling maliciously, while Marcy looks forward with a horrified expression.

King Andrias is the other side of the coin: the anxiety beneath the fantasy.

He’s big. He’s old (207b, 220). He makes robots (220)—which are babies, as per Frobo (215b, 220). He cracks bad jokes (208a). He dabbles awkwardly in youth culture, from fist bumps (207b) to slang (220). He is, in a word, dad-coded.

And he has a vendetta against friendship: He deliberately drives a wedge between Marcy and her friends, then tries to kill Sprig just to make a point about how love invites pain (220). This, too, is parent-like behavior in Marcy’s schema: “They were making me move away,” she tells Sasha and Anne. “They were gonna tear us apart!” (220).

Marcy views her dad as a supervillain hell-bent on destroying friendships and ruining her life, so Amphibia presents her with exactly that: King Andrias is a mythic exaggeration of Mr. Wu. And given the over-the-top, almost gleeful malice that Andrias directs at Marcy, I suspect that her dad actively abused her (rather than, say, being passively neglectful).

Close-up of Marcy's face in the throne room during the final moments of True Colors, tears welling up as she stammers.

Even after Marcy escapes her father, the trauma he inflicted doesn’t vanish. It resurfaces at her lowest moment, crashing into her with all the subtlety of a giant flaming sword.