All In & The Hardest Thing
Two-part finale concluding Anne, Sasha, and Marcy's journey.
The two-part series finale of Amphibia, comprising the episodes 'All In' and 'The Hardest Thing', aired on Disney Channel in May 2022. The episodes concluded the show's third season and were directed by Roxann Cole and Joe Johnston. They are notable for their LGBTQ representation, including a bisexual flag reference and a hinted romance between Lady Olivia and General Yunan.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Amphibia
- Season
- 3
- Episode
- 17 and 18
- Director
- Roxann Cole
- Joe Johnston
- Jenn Strickland ("All In" only)
- Writer
- Gloria Shen, Jenava Mie & Michele Cavin ("All In"); Todd McClintock & Adam Colás ("The Hardest Thing")
- Air date
- 7 May 2022 ("All In"); 14 May 2022 ("The Hardest Thing")
- Length
- 48 minutes ("All In"); 29 minutes ("The Hardest Thing")
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The story starts with a memory: Anne, Sasha, and Marcy get caught after pulling a K-pop dance party prank at school. While Sasha and Marcy avoid punishment, Principal Murphy speaks with Anne about being led into trouble by her friends. She assigns Anne an essay on her future identity and goals, and gives her an early birthday wish. In the present, Anne, Sasha, Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Grime, Olivia, Yunan, Frobo, Joe Sparrow, and Domino 2 are held captive in a circle inside Andrias’ castle. Andrias announces his Earth invasion to Los Angeles, unleashing his robot army and two massive mind-controlled herons. Frobo helps the group break free, and they land safely in a pool. Hop Pop identifies the herons as the ones that killed Sprig and Polly’s parents. After battling the robots, Anne and her friends are surrounded by more, but Mr. X and Anne’s parents—now FBI agents—rescue them. They gather at the school, where Anne’s parents share homemade Thai food and Polly upgrades Frobo using the school’s metal shop equipment. Meanwhile, inside the Core’s hive mind, Marcy meets King Aldrich, Andrias’ father. He builds a fantasy world for her, designed to ease her assimilation into the Core.
Production
Matt Braly revealed the titles and time lengths for both episodes in a ScreenRant interview and a Twitter post. Braly stated that the preceding episode 'The Beginning of the End' was part of the finale because it led into these episodes and was longer than usual. He considers 'The Hardest Thing' his favorite episode. Brian Sounalath recorded his last voice lines for Mr. Boonchuy for 'All In' on March 4, 2022. Braly said the friendship between Anne, Sasha, and Marcy was creative, especially when they met other new friends in Amphibia, which strengthened their friendship; he noted that 'You'd amazed when you go outside of that friendship, outside of that bubble, and you start hanging out with different people, because it unlocks different things in you. In some storyboard scenes, Marcy was originally to remain in her containment suit for the rest of the finale. A cut final scene after the credits, intended as non-canon comedy, showed Anne dying at age 91 from Alzheimer's disease and being sent back to the world of the Guardian to take its place, but she does not remember and fades away, frustrating the Guardian; the last shot shows the stones as shooting stars.
Reception
'The Hardest Thing' was favored by the LGBT community because a heart-shaped sticker with bisexual flag colors appears on the rear-view mirror of Sasha's car near the end, implying she is bisexual, which Matt Braly confirmed; this also referenced Sasha's voice actor being bisexual. The episode also hinted at a romance between Lady Olivia and General Yunan. Hope Mullinax from The Geeky Waffle described 'The Hardest Thing' as very sad with many consequences, particularly Anne and Sprig never seeing each other again, calling it 'choice after choice where our characters have to choose where they end up. They must say goodbye to people they love with no certain future of reuniting.' She called 'All In' an emotional roller coaster where all characters' journeys come together, praising Anne's journey of self-discovery as seen in the flashback, and described it as 'a spectacle to watch,' adding that Matt Braly and his team should be very proud. Jade King of TheGamer praised 'All In' for the dramatic battles between Anne and Andrias and Sasha and Darcy, noting her nervousness about the many storylines converging even after Braly told her to expect a 'blockbuster filled with epic moments and worthwhile payoff.' She praised 'The Hardest Thing' for its heartfelt ending and said Anne's narrative was a good statement on what the show stands for, calling the final episode 'a whirlwind of hesitant farewells.' Matthew Moorcroft from Collider placed 'The Hardest Thing' among the 'Top 10 Best Cartoon Show Finales That Still Hold Up,' praising its complex character writing, engaging storytelling, and pushing boundaries of children's television with some of the darkest moments in Disney Channel history. He noted the finale has characters face their emotional baggage and said 'while there is a bittersweet nature to their departure, it has maturity unlike other shows and allows our characters to have lives away from each other.'
Frequently Asked Questions
Who directed All In & The Hardest Thing?
All In & The Hardest Thing was directed by Roxann Cole, Joe Johnston and Jenn Strickland ("All In" only).
Who wrote All In & The Hardest Thing?
All In & The Hardest Thing was written by Gloria Shen, Jenava Mie & Michele Cavin ("All In") and Todd McClintock & Adam Colás ("The Hardest Thing").
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