#svtfoe down by the river

[darth-caillic]

11, 9, 14, 26 from the salty asks? — @xoteajays

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

I like Jar Jar. I get why people don't like him and not being into comic relief, but I've always liked him.

Most disliked character(s)? Why?

Kylo Ren: It's less about him and more about how fucking annoying his fans are. Also, he's just very poorly written, especially when you consider Anakin has done his whole arc and did it a lot better.

most of the characters in SVTFOE: Almost everyone, with the exception of River, Tom, and maybe Kelly, are total annoyances

Ross Gellar: I mean... look at him. He's such a loser

Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

Star Wars: Star Wars needs to stop making content taking place between the end of the prequels and just before the start of the sequels. Like thank god for the acolyte taking place 100 years before TPM

Lore Olympus: LO fans need to chill on main. I've lost count of the times I've looked it up on Tumblr or twitter and immediately closed the tab cuz fans are just being too freaky.

Most shippable character?

Obi Wan is pretty shippable if I had to narrow it down to one (they say when they dropped their Obi Wan romance *shrugs*).

[ncfan-1]

‘Down by the River’ did have some nice character growth for Moon, though it took me a while to realize what it was.

That Moon can be a bit smothering, and is a raging micromanager, both of these things are well-established. In the S3 finale we find out she micromanaged the castle staff so much that they literally have no idea what to do when she’s gone. They don’t think for themselves, they don’t take initiative, and it doesn’t even occur to them that they could just follow the pattern they’ve been following for years and years, regarding their daily routine. They just completely fail to function without Moon around to tell them what to do.

And in this episode, we find out that this behavior of Moon’s extended beyond the castle staff, but to all Mewmans living in the Butterfly kingdom, as well. The family she interacted with had no idea how to grow food--this, from country peasants living in what is (as far as methods of food production goes) a medieval, agrarian society. Under Moon’s rule, the Mewmans were so coddled that they had no idea how to do the most basic things to see to their own welfare. And trust me when I say that this does them no favors, because when someone has their every need met in such a way as to foster complete dependence on the person fulfilling those needs, it severely impacts their ability to care for themselves and live a fulfilling life if the person fulfilling their needs suddenly goes away.

But instead of Moon going back to coddling them, we see her teaching them the basics of growing food. She’s found a healthier way to care for her people than simply giving them everything they need without teaching them how to obtain it for themselves, and I hope they do more with this over the course of the season.

[whenimgoodandready]

The Good Book says to "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" 22:39. It’s like, The Golden Rule! But just “how much” do we love thy neighbor, huh? Is it mandatory? I mean, isn’t that why we have fences in our yards and not bridges!? Well, our former king and queen of Mewni learn about this the hard way! Let’s see if Moon and River will hand us a cup of sugar:

*Down by the River-(“Leave it to Beaver” theme song plays) Meet the Maizleys! Just your typical normal average everyday Mewman family. You got Merrick, the happy-go-lucky patriarch of the family and then there’s his upbeat wife, Maude and their wacky kids, eldest sarcastic daughter, Mendel and their little rascal son, Manny! Oh! And they’re teeny tiny too! Cute! They come home from grocery shopping climbing up the giant stairs to their unbelievably huge house where they find it taken over by monsters! (record scratch) Oh wait! What’s this!? Oh look! It’s that monster that didn’t understand hand gestures from River back in “Battle for Mewni:Marco and the King”! Hey you! What’s up!? Turns out, it’s his home (he’s got a family too) and that by her majesty, Eclipsas royal decree, all homes that once belonged to monsters shall be returned while the Mewman occupants get kicked out. OOOOOOOOOOH! No wonder everything wasn’t to scale with them! The Maizleys aren’t tiny! :P.

Pros and Cons of what just happened there: Pro-Eclipsa gave back a monster family’s home; Con-The Maizleys are now housebroken. Well, at least the monster gave back their belongings to keep, right? (laughs sheepishly). The Maizleys now go in search of new living quarters and they head to the forest and meet (gasp) the former queen of Mewni, Moon! It’s like, meeting a celebrity while out shopping! Sadly, Moon can’t do anything to help them since she’s not the queen anymore and is now living the simple life with River. As we remember from “Moon Remembers”, she and River went to the forest to “spend some time together” and build a yurt (which is now built), but if you ask me, I think I know the real reason why they’re there *cough*togetawayfromEclipsa*cough*. The Maizleys act as “next door neighbors” to Moon and River trying to live in the great outdoors like them, buuuuuuuuut not to the competency that they do. See, we can recall how River is an extreme wilderness man from “Camping Trip” and “The Bogbeast of Boggabah” (but needs to work on his cooking skills) and that Moon can handle herself in Mother Nature from her time with Star during “Battle for Mewni”. The Maizleys however, not so much.

The Maizleys keep getting in the way of Moon and Rivers peace and quiet by making a mess, being loud and annoying and invading their personal space with their insane antics. Merrick is a bumbling idiot, Maude can’t clean to save a life and the kids, Mendel and Manny, are little sh@ts that would drive a babysitter up the wall! The Maizleys may be a nuisance, but they mean well really. Moon snaps and goes all Fuzzy Lumpkins yelling at them to GET OFF HER PROPERTY! She then plans some booby traps (ex.exploding pies (guess one good thing came out of Pie Island for her, huh?) and a moat filled with alligators which she fluently speaks, remember! “Bwah” Lol!) in case they come back and River gleefully joins along. Oh boy, she’s lost it hasn’t she? You’re not at war, Moony! After waiting a bit, the Maizleys don’t show up and Moon grows concerned and she and River go in search for them. They find them leaving the woods cuz they’ve been through such bad luck in the forest and cuz they lost everything. Things were so much easier for them when Moon was in charge since she gave the Mewmans jobs and homes which is why they never needed to fend for themselves. Awwwwww, Moon feels bad for them, so she and River make peace with them and teach them how to survive. Suddenly, another Mewman family show up and I think we all know where this is going?

It was funny seeing the whole episode act out as a dom com of two different families trying to adjust to their new living arrangements with Moon and River being the uptight duo and the Maizleys being all merry and dim. Just put in a laugh track and you got a show! I’m starting to think maybe a whole new society will be built in the forest lead by Moon and River if more and more Mewman families keep showing up with them! Now we already know why the Mewmans can’t deal with the changes Eclipsa made, most of them are stubborn and racist, but others are also very stupid and inexperienced when it comes to the harsh realities of being on your own. Eclipsa is doing a kindness for the monsters after centuries of hostility, but isn’t really thinking much on the Mewmans. Yeah, I know they were in the wrong, but not all of them are horrible and despicable people. This is why she needs to earn their trust. The most important thing we learned in this episode is that the economy is tough now. People getting forced outta their homes, dealing with the changes in laws and being ruled by an “evil” commander and chief! Wait! Am I talking about the shows economy or our economy?........Either way, people don’t know what to do cuz they’re scared and helpless and the only thing they need right now is a little helping hand that’s all! (soft heartwarming music plays) Chip in! Ask for help! Be kind! Be a pal. In the end, we could start anew.

[mindareadsoots]

I feel like River has gotten pretty badly flanderized as the series has gone on, which is a problem because there wasn’t that much to his character in the first place. Before he was basically a barbarian, and the parent where Star got her ADD tendencies from, but now he’s... what even is this?

[lifelikesleep]

THE MOONRIVER IS SO STRONG IN THIS ONE

[subtlyfailing]

Season 4: we are moving towards war

I am apparently the only one who like the direction this show is going? There is such a political drama underneath the shipping that overshadows everything in this fandom. Let me explain; 

Season 3 leaned heavily into the idea that "history is written by the victor". It was about propaganda, fear-mongering, and above all, conspiracy. With the high commission  literally writing the history books and branding Eclipsa as evil for hundreds of years. They erased the true rulers of Mewni from history because it did not fit with their narrative - the expansion of butterfly kingdom and the war against monsters. When Eclipsa was recaptured, they had no interest in a just trial, rather wanting to act themselves as judge, jury and executioner against their enemies.

Moon's government was a strong state. It was authoritarian state (as in non-democratic), where the government had control of everything. A classical autocracy like those of the old European kings before democracy took hold. Taken further here, the people of Mewni seems to have little agency of their own - judging by their uselessness when being left to their own devices. 

Season 4 examines what happens when a strong state collapses. What happens when a government with roots and support in the populace (Moon was loved by mewmans) is removed and replaced with a ruler with no support within the populace? Eclipsa does not lead the country, she only holds the crown. She looks inward, focusing on Globgor, on Meteora, or on needing to become stronger magically. 

Meanwhile, settlements are leveled to the earth because of anarchy and looters and people are displaced from their homes by royal decree with no follow-up - no creation of new settlements for those displaced. 

Eclipsa is repeating the mistakes of past queens who chased monsters off their lands. And she is busy combing sandbanks for scraps of magical books. Magic isn’t what helps those people, governing is. 

This new season seems to borrow heavily from racial and cultural conflicts in war-and civil war stricken areas across the world. A weak government that does not hold sufficient control the periphery of the kingdom (anything apart from the closest town), and displaced people looking to other Strongmen (Moon) to keep them safe. 

Refugee camps (the growing camp around Moon and River), anarchy, looters, continuous conflict between races, expropriating homes from people who have lived there for generations, failure of diplomacy that has been strong for generations, a militia loyal to the past ruler attempting to assassinate the new queen. This season has to be moving towards a civil war.  

It shows that having the rightful claim to the throne does not make a good ruler. But neither does having the absolute control that the high commission enjoyed for some time. Politics isn't about who holds the rightful claim to some magic wand or a crown. It's about good governance. Sharing resources between everyone, keeping all people safe, helping those in need of it without forgetting the rest. 

The question is what side the characters will land on. Will Star stay by Eclipsa's side? With the way she is currently ruling, i would doubt it. Will Moon be able to stay out of the conflict?  I don't think it is a coincidence that we see her armour in this episode.

 What about Marco? His relationship with Eclipsa seems to be good, will his monster arm come back into play? 

How will it all end? Democracy? Constitutional monarchy? The country splitting into two? Could Glossaryck be priming Meteora to rule both races as a half-monster/half-mewman queen? Time will tell. 

[geekgirles]

Wait a minute, I just realised something

Did Moon marry River when she was 19?!

Moon's first entry on her Butterfly takes place right after her news on her marriage. And, according to herself in "My New Wand", she didn't manage to dip down until she was 19, probably due to Glossarick's long mourning period after the passing of Queen Comet.

Besides, Moon has clearly aged between her wedding and her Butterfly, further proof of this would be comparing all of Moon's younger selves and her current self.

Just Married! Moon resembles teenage Moon a lot more than Current!Moon, who, again, according to the book, had just turned 17 by the time she became queen, making it a two year gap between her coronation and her wedding, if I'm right on this one. Whereas Butterfly! Moon (both the drawing from the book and the screenshot) is clearly modeled after Current! Moon's design.

On a side note, let's not forget dipping down isn't just achieving one's Ultimate Magic Form, but, as seen in "My New Wand" and "Meteora's lesson", the mere ability to use magic without a wand. Which makes it all the more possible for Moon to have married River young.

Any thoughts?

[weedeeutna]

Star:marco there is someone knocking at the door,go see who it is.

Marco:why me ?,i've just cleaned the entire house by myself

Star:i gave birth to our child.

Marco:...

Star:...

Marco:star...mariposa isnt our child she is my sister

Star:*mumbling* ugh...mom said this always work

[soyalexnajera]

THIS PIE'S EMPTY

YEEET

[ironlord-firoh]

Ok now that we reached the mid season finale and are halfway through season 4. I have seen a couple of things in the way that eclipsa acts as queen of mewni that are really bothering me.

In the past we have seen her and how she cares more for her family than her people.

We have seen a lot of good examples of this like in "Cornball!" Were she through that going after Meteora was more important than calming down the people.

Or in "Butterfly follies" and the time she inverted on trying to free globgor with hammers and stuff as we saw in multiple episodes. She even brushed the front part of the crystal were his teeth were in CotMB.

Eclipsa loves her family, sure, has good intentions and is not evil, yes I think we all know that, but she is trying to resolve one problem while causing another, and tbh I don't think that after her coronation she is going to be any better.

She also she has done a lot of good things for the monsters but at the same time has caused bad things for the mewmans.

Like in "Down by the river". Mewman families have been kicked out of their homes to give it back to the monsters that owned them in the first place but without giving the mewmans a heads up or a place for them to stay.

Luckily for them, and the other mewmans, they found moon and river and now they have their own little town. Even though moon says that she is not in charge she is 'cause everyone still listens to her and ask for her advice.

But that still does not justifies the way eclipsa acted.

In the end Star is the only one that seems fit to rule. She has become so mature and selfless in the last couple of seasons. She has gone from an immature girl to a young women concious of the consequences her actions have to the people around her and the importance of the rool of being queen.

She gave Eclipsa the kingdom because she through it was the best thing to do, but in the last months while helping her on how to take her responsibilities as queen, Star has been more of a ruler than Eclipsa herself.

So what I'm getting at is that, in the end, Star will end up being the rightful heir to the throne and eclipsa and her family will probably just go on with their life, whether is in mewni or not I'm not sure. But well have to wait for the next part of the season to see

Post-New-episode-Edit: I regret what I said about eclipsa, she is a total sweetheart and deserves to be queen. Star is out of her marbles for wanting to destroy magic. Now moon is cancelled.

[captainicequeen555]

Svtfoe. Down by the river. Theories and future

Moon is starting to take care of mewmans that have been evicted from their previous homes. Technically, she just show a family how to care of themselves, but other family came along. 

That place is going to get full of people who dislikes Eclipsa, some of them are monsters

Theory: Moon will have to come back to the former kingdom in order to take proper care of those people,------ 

---- then she will find the tapestry and remember Toffee again.

Is going to be wild. Moon has shown she is a natural at being a queen, and all those people Star imprison in Yada Berry episode may want to live under her care.

Again the history repeats itself. Someone is proving to be a more capable leader instead of someone else

Boy, did that go well.

More and more times Moon is acting like Toffee. And I mean actions, not behaviour. I know they are a lot alike but this is getting out of hand. Where will it end? Is Toffee really going to return? And if he does, will it be trough Moon?

[brianwithanh]

From Star vs. the Forces of Evil - Down by the River.

This is a sort of “Moon’s village” theme. It’s fun and sweet and a little folksy, and hopefully helps accentuate this place as different from the other places we’ve seen so far in Mewni, like the Forest of Certain Death or Monster Town or the Monster Temple, etc. As we’ve gotten to know this world better, it’s been helpful narratively to give each section of Mewni it’s own tune or sound or vibe.

[itsd-man]

Moon looking at a Catepillar and River eating a Rock.

[drmaelstrom]

Concept:

River and Globgor become Best Dad Friends and sworn blood brothers and bond over their mutual adoration of their daughters and also Punching Things.

[mindareadsoots]

I mean... okay... but surely you had to do something for yourselves, right? It’s not like the Queen just gave you a house and a job and-

Jesus Christ, you’re grown adults.

[lifelikesleep]

SVTFOE Recap (4x05 - 4x06)

Apparently these are things I'm doing now. Keep in mind I only do these when specifically asked, so if you don't see one after an episode drop, that's why. Anyway, let's jump in. (MAJOR SPOILERS btw)

Yada Yada Berries

We start with a communal breakfast at the monster temple, delayed by Manfred who seats the monsters on the ground with dog bowls. Eclipsa sends him back to the kitchens to fix it, where he eats from her bowl (unknowingly full of the poison berries) and he turns to stone.

Star and Marco set off to solve the mystery of who put them there and attempted to "yada yada" Eclipsa.

Rasticore is regenerating from the single hand that was left!

Star and Marco find Apothecary Sherry who sold the berries, but we find she's sold them to MANY people, Mewmans and even a monster, who all hate Eclipsa. Sherry "self-yada yada-ed" herself to keep from giving more information.

Star arrests everyone on the list. No one fesses up and Eclipsa frees them all in a bid to begin to earn their trust. She also says that Manfred, and presumably Sherry who'd also been turned to stone would be "fine, eventually." So they're not dead, I guess.

Down By the River

A Mewman family (the Maizleys) lose their home when the descendants of the monster who first owned it takes it back through Eclipsa's royal decree.

Moon and River are living in their yurt by the river and are come across by the Maizleys who cause chaos despite their good intentions.

Moon loses her patience and tells them to leave.

She has a change of heart after learning that they don't know how to take care of themselves out in the wild. As they put it, they never had to because when Moon was queen, they had everything they needed.

Moon and River invite them to stay and work to teach them what they know (how to cook, grow food, etc.). Another family in a similar situation comes along and ask to stay the night. It seems Moon and River are building their own little settlement.

(Moon and River are absolutely adorable in this episode too).

The Ponyhead Show!

Ponyhead has her own show and Star plans to have Eclipsa play a song on it to win her some favor with the kingdom.

Marco's cooking segment with Kelly is cut and they have a...moment? A flirty moment? Oh, boy.

After some very Ponyhead shenanigans, Eclipsa finally plays her song, one about the pain of being frozen and reawoken and her desire to build a better future for Mewni, but the Mewmans aren't swayed. Well, almost. There's some hope.

Surviving the Spiderbites

The Spiderbites come to the monster temple to discuss a possible alliance with Eclipsa who is nowhere to be found. Star fills in and unknowingly shows them art, iconography, and entertainment about Globgor and his past exploits of terrorizing Mewni, including the Spiderbite ancestors. Yikes.

Princess Spiderbite and Slime are still going strong after season 3's "Monster Bash", proving that the Spiderbites have no problem with monsters, but rather Globgor himself.

Star finds Eclipsa who apologizes profusely for her absence. Queen Spiderbite claims Globgor ate King Shastacan (aka Eclipsa's first husband), and Eclipsa doesn't quite confirm or deny this.

She shows them Globgor in his crystal encasing and proves that he can't get out. The Spiderbites are pleased and offer themselves up for an alliance.

Once they've left, Eclipsa reveals to Star that she's been trying to find a piece of the Book of Spells so that she can restore it with Glossaryck's silk worms. She wants to learn to do magic that can help the kingdom instead of just herself.

When Eclipsa asks Star if she's seen any remnants of the Book, Star lies. She secretly has a piece of it hidden in her closet. It seems Star doesn't fully trust Eclipsa yet, and worries that she'll set Globgor free if given the chance.

Please add anything I've missed!