#that those were hoppops children

[the-sleepiest-melon]

I GOT TO AFTER THE RAIN

#amphibia #pls no spoilers #binging amphibia is fun #it kinds of hits hard once you realize (incoming spoilers) #that those were hoppops children #he feels responsible for the death of children #like idk why it just kinda hit me these werent just sprig and pollys parents #those were his children. that he raised. that he cared for. he felt like he wasn't there for them when they needed him most. #well i guess only one of them he raised #but fuckin hell man #thats dark as shit

[diamond-vic]

Quick analysis of Sprig because I’ve seen people say how Ivy being Sprig’s friend before Anne defeats the purpose of their friendship being the first true friendship the two of them ever had, and I very much disagree with that sentiment (though I’ve not seen this said for a while now, it still got me thinking further about his character). Saying it does downplays Sprig’s character and the importance Anne has to him

In Best Fronds, Sprig outright states how other kids in Wartwood ‘don’t really get him’ after Anne asks if he had any friends before her, heavily suggesting that Anne is his first real friend. Later on, he calls Ivy a ‘childhood acquaintance’ and an ‘occasional sparring partner’. That does not whatsoever mean they were particularly close, or even friends. It does not underplay Anne’s impact on Sprig or vice versa; rather it introduces a further nuance to Sprig when you look closer at him.

It is very possible for a kid to enjoy and look forward to the company of and time spent with others while not maintaining a strong friendship or connection to those people. Ivy matches Sprig’s energy and they show a level of familiarity and comfort with each other when Sprig first introduces Ivy to Anne, and he seems to admire her (even before he actually develops his crush), but their interactions here don’t negate Anne being Sprig’s first real friend. Real, genuine friendship goes beyond occasional time spent together doing various activities, as Sprig is suggested to do with Ivy. He could very well walk away from any time spent with her or any other tolerant child with only scraps of affection from that limited companionship, which many kids naturally crave when they’re his age. Sprig and Polly are shown throughout the show to be rather isolated children, with no further family beyond Hoppop himself. This paired with Sprig’s eccentricity seem to suggest Sprig to have likely grown up mostly spending time with just Hoppop and Polly. That is a very lonely existence for a kid. Furthermore, Sprig’s intense need to be accepted and liked (Cracking Mrs. Croaker, Thai Feud) indicates some desperation for acceptance and belonging in any way he can get; especially in Thai Feud, when he outright says how he’s always wanted a larger family, and he doesn’t understand why Anne being accepted in their family doesn’t mean he’s accepted in her’s.

While it’s very easy to see how Sprig impacts Anne with his genuine friendship, Anne’s impact on him seems to be brushed off more often than not. Which is why I bring back the point of how Sprig has only known empty companionship until he meets Anne. Anne offers him real companionship behind just the wacky antics they might get up to together. Anne truly, genuinely cares about Sprig, and she wants to be there for him. Everyone knows Hopping Mall’s impact with Sprig’s reveal of his mother’s passing when he was little, but in this new context, it’s so much more than just that. And there’s even a fun little detail in the episode I don’t see talked about much at all! When Sprig wakes up saying he had ‘the worst dream’, the first person he calls out to to ask if they’re awake is Anne, even though Hoppop is right next to him. It’s SUCH a brief moment, but it’s so revealing of how much Sprig has come to look to Anne for comfort (especially with the episode’s focus on mothers.. and we know what happened to Sprig’s, so it’s not hard to theorize what he may have dreamed of). When Sprig says how his mom is dead, and he begins to brush off his own feelings (‘can you miss someone you never actually knew? That’s silly.. of course you can’t’), Anne goes to hug him, and from Sprig’s expression alone you can see how much Anne’s reassurance and presence means to him. He smiles and his eyes fill with tears and he holds Anne’s arm as if this means the world to him (You can further speculate that Sprig has been keeping his feelings to himself for years. He might not have wanted to talk to Hoppop about it because he knows how painful his parents’ deaths were to him and that he blames himself for them, and avoided the topic with Polly because she likely remembered even less than Sprig did about their parents, and she wouldn’t understand).

Sprig and Anne both helped the other learn that they were worthy to be loved and listened to in different ways, and I think the parallels between them are so compelling when you look closer. I wish people would focus more on them and Anne and the Plantars in general more often, they deserve far more attention than the fandom gives tgem

#amphibia #sprig plantar #anne boonchuy #there’s a little bit of projection with the whole ‘interacting with other kids but none of it being meaningful and desperate for affection’