#(pls matt give them names so i can have better chara tags)

[anistarrose]

Anne had so much control over her powers in this episode. She didn’t find herself glowing blue in a rush of adrenaline at the last moment, to defeat the baddie mere seconds before disaster would’ve struck — no, she gave a goddamn dramatic speech to Mr. X, and activated her power with what felt like deliberate intent, fully aware of what she was doing and how she was timing it. She channeled her power into the portal, purposefully and successfully, and even had enough control to perfectly slice an avocado!

She was in a hostile environment, as always, but this time, no one she loved was in immediate need of saving — no one was falling from the sky, or about to be slain by a killer robot. She didn’t awaken her powers in a moment of distress, for once — she did it in a moment of confidence. 

And she only attained this confidence after hearing her parents’ confidence in her. You can tell they’re such an important anchor to her, how troubled she was in prior episodes when they didn’t believe in her and how desperate she was to prove herself, and now... they’ve seen Amphibia, they understand what conditions she survived for months, and of course they’ve seen how different she’s been these past few weeks. 

They believe in her unconditionally, now, and hearing that belief voiced has never been more important to Anne. Any uncertainty from their argument in Anne-sterminator, any shame that may have persisted even after they reached common ground (and I’m inclined to believe that moment in the junkyard did leave an effect on Anne, even if she didn’t show it outwardly until now), and any weight their expectations Anne fears she can’t meet has been lifted off her shoulders. 

There’s still so much more on Anne’s shoulders than a 15 13-year-old should ever have to bear, but she understands the hardships her parents have faced, how strong they are, and she trusts their words when they say that she’s strong, she’s capable, she’ll be able to save her friends. She understands her parents better than ever now, and the same is true of them understanding her. 

Using her powers usually makes Anne feel bad. And it seemed to tire her out somewhat this time, too — but I am so, so curious if she felt any different, any better, now that she’s rounded this corner in her relationship with her parents. Because there’s still so much up in the air about the shrouded, perhaps sinister nature of the Calamity Gems — but at least on an emotional level, I imagine even this one instance of Anne being able to associate her powers with confidence, not panic, could do wonders for her mental state and level of control going forward.