Wraith's Journal #27 - Star raids Ludo's lair! Star is as powerful as Eclipsa?! Marco levels up! [S2E15/16]
After Star lost the Book of Spells and Glossaryck to Ludo, she has to go and get them back. Star and Marco go to Sensei's birthday party. Star overcomes her lack of knowledge of spells in her own way, and does something really unique with magic! And Marco goes on the adventure of a lifetime.. literally.
These episodes are kind of a 'down low' moment after the intensity of Bon Bon, but we still get some important and fun moments nonetheless. Let's watch and see what happens!
~
Raid the Cave starts with Star scrambling to pack. Marco wants her to call her mom and tell her what happened with the Book of Spells but Star would rather do anything else.
~Interestingly, Star has this to say: **"**I made this mess. And I'm gonna be the one who cleans it up." Again, I'm not convinced it was all Star's fault. Like I said in the Bon Bon piece, Glossy brought himself, and Ludo ambushed Star. More experienced queens than Star have been caught in an ambush... Importantly, Star is taking responsibility for this despite that. She has grown up a lot, and this is important.
Marco and Star drop in on Buff Frog, who is reading a story about 'wicked Mewmans' to his kids. Buff Frog is confused that Star didn't know about Ludo coming after her, but Marco explains that the letters he sent were illegible. So much for that warning.
All the same, Buff Frog gives Star intelligence on Ludo's lair and how to get there. He takes her over-packed backpack, saying she only needs her Wand.
Star and Marco ride to Ludo's lair on a warnicorn, guarded by a couple Monsters, and storm the castle tree. Marco and Star beat up all the Monsters inside, before realizing that they aren't aligned with Ludo. In fact, they're all teenagers, and are "alternative Monsters" who don't want to fight.
~Neat little insight here about Monsters. Like, what is the general attitude towards Mewmans among Monsters? Apparently this little group is fine with Mewmans (or at least Star), but not wanting to fight is interesting that we're hearing this at this point in the story. It's still a ways off, but this is the first time Star is seeing that more Monsters might actually be open to getting along, beyond the little talk she had with Lobster Claws way back when and now being friends with Buff Frog. Everything is connected...
Marco and Star wander off to check out the abandoned lair. She once again rebuffs Marco's request to call her mom, then demands privacy so she can use the All-seeing Eye (ASE) again. After several failed attempts, Star does successfully cast the spell and eventually finds Glossaryck.
Star is able to communicate with Glossy through the ASE (I guess it does that, too). She tries to physically reach out to him, but Glossy notes the spell doesn't work like that.
Star, undeterred, closes her eyes and continues reaching into the ASE, her cheek emblems and eyes glowing all the while. She is able to get her arm to wherever Glossy is. "Hmm. I have never seen that before."
~Neither have I! Star dipped down for the first time in a while. Like, she didn't use her Wand here (apart from casting the ASE in the first place), and this was pretty intense - about as intense as when she wanted to save Marco back in Storm the Castle. Shows how far Star was willing to go to fix things here.
Star appeals to Glossy to get him to come with her, but he nonchalantly says that he belongs to the Book of Spells, which is now in Ludo's possession. Star throws a hail mary, asking if she and Glossy are "friends", but he merely replies, "Friends? Well, that's such a simple concept."
Star almost breaks down here, and the ASE starts to collapse. Their last words to each other:
S: Glossaryck, come on! My mom is gonna ground me for, like, a thousand years!
G: Yes, probably, but you'll be fine. Or not. Anyway, your spell is collapsing.
S: But I need you!
G: Maybe this is what you need.
The spell collapses, and Star is knocked onto the ground.
\"Maybe this is what you need\" - Cryptic as always.
~Glossaryck is kind of odd here - almost odder than normal. He had a very neutral, almost cold tone toward Star. More than that, he was very cryptic. "Maybe this is what you need"? Why exactly does Star 'need' to not have the Book of Spells and to be put in this position where her family's knowledge is in the hands of an adversary? Just.. what's up with this?
Marco rushes in to check on Star, and Star lets him know what happened.
Behind Marco, 2 of the Monsters rush in, realizing that it's Star, and they claim to be her "biggest fans". Star is confused, but the Monsters explain that while it's "not popular" to like her, some people do like the "rebel princess" who 'does things her own way'. They then ask Star to blast them with a spell, which Star does. "I can't believe we met Star Butterfly!"
~How about that? Once again, we're seeing that Monsters are regular folks who want to have fun. And they admire Star of all people. How long has this been going on? Star's only been in the spotlight for.. several months, at best? How much do people - Monsters - know about her, and how? Perhaps there's hope for Mewni after all.
Star finally relents that it's time to call her parents. Back at home, Star calls them and explains everything. Moon and River comfort and reassure her that they'll handle things: "What matters is you're safe."
They hang up, and Marco bids Star good night. Star has other plans: "Rebel princess doesn't sit tight." She gets a notebook, turns her wand into a magic quill, and starts writing a new Book Notebook of Spells.
~Glossaryck's gone. However, we see that Star is taking responsibility for things and moving forward. She's maturing and her magic is still growing stronger. Also, there's Monsters that like Star. Weird. Star's been learning that Mewmans and Monsters have had a tough history, but some people just want to move on. An adventure for another day.
~
It's Sensei's birthday party in Trickstar. His mother hired a magician to entertain the guests. This magician, Preston Change-O, seems like a normal Earth magician (i.e. he performs tricks or sleight of hand) but Star thinks it's real magic like hers.
Star becomes more suspicious when after Preston performs a 'trick', he seems to subtly suck something from people, making them sad even though they're laughing.
Star confronts Preston after witnessing him draining a lot of something from Sensei in the garage. Sensei is very sad but recovers quickly. Alone and at Wand-point, Star threatens Preston to stop or she'll expose him. He explains that he's a 'joy-sucker' and that he sucks people's joy.
~Where are Joy-suckers from? Are they like Demons on Mewni?
Preston performs his big show with Star keeping a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't suck anyone else's joy. Preston, of course, ignores this and does so anyway, leading Star to blast him. Preston then confesses that he's been sucking everyone's joy, and reveals that his other tricks were just tricks.
People get mad at Star for ruining the magic show, even though it was Preston who was hurting them. Sensei apparently locks him in the trunk of his car, but when they go to check, he's gone, and only his (very full) hat remain.
~Yeah, another side adventure. Honestly, I think Star could have done a better magic show than this guy. While I'm curious what this guy is, where he comes from and what his powers are, he doesn't show up again so as far as I'm concerned he's gone for good. Heck, I'm more interested in what 'oggberry' (apparently, a berry on Mewni) is. Onward.
~
With Glossaryck gone, Moon is concerned about Star's magic training. Since River doesn't want to disrupt her life again by moving her back home, Moon sends a mysterious creature, Baby, to "evaluate" Star's magic.
Star hastily cleans her room to prepare for Baby's arrival while Marco makes a spread of food. Baby arrives and she's.. a cute flying cat with a gem on her forehead (similar to Glossaryck's?)!
Baby evaluates Star's life and her magic skills, all of which Baby deems to be "interesting". Eventually Baby has a final exam for Star: bring her an apple using magic.
Star uses several questionably appropriate spells, none of which go well. Star becomes stressed, and her Wand starts shooting off green energy, shocking Baby. Baby ends the exam, and judges Star having failed.
Star holds her up, and Baby tersely explains everything Star did wrong, and that she couldn't even move an apple (she tried Narwhal Blast, Mystic Suck Portal and more) which should be "basic magic".
Star sadly says that she'll have to go home if she doesn't pass. Baby states it isn't her problem, leading Star to try once more to move the apple.
Focusing, Star casts a silent spell at the apple, and the energy seems to be a mix of pink and green magic. The apple breaks perfectly in half, and Baby bids Star goodbye.
Star is seemingly distraught, but the magic isn't done yet. From the apple sprouts a large, beautiful tree that produces one apple. The apple drops in Baby's hand: "It's perfect."
Marco asks if Star gets to stay on Earth, to which Baby only smiles. She leaves after eating the food Marco prepared. Marco hugs Star, celebrating her apparent 'passing' of Baby's test, which Star returns.
Back on Mewni, Baby delivers her report to Moon:
B: Well, she has a closet full of secrets, a broken wand, a notebook containing her own spells, and she doesn't know basic magic.
M: So, she failed.
B: No, my queen. Star is nowhere near your skill level at her age... she's far beyond it. In fact, I haven't seen anything like this.. since Queen Eclipsa.
Moon and River are shocked at this revelation, and can only look up at their family portrait.
~What does this mean?! First, what is Baby? River called her a 'monster', but did he mean 'Monster' (as in, the indigenous peoples of Mewni), or did he just not like her? She has this weird, unique tie to the Butterfly family (she's apparently been evaluating queens for hundreds of years).
~Anyway, Star overcame the corrupt magic, and her own deficiencies, in a unique way. Whatever she did (again, she didn't say an incantation or anything) was a fusion of pink and green magic. The tree and apple were, in Baby's words, "perfect". In a way, that's life, that's nature. Something dies, but it can become something new. Perhaps, Star took her own magic and the magic that's broken and put them both together into one thing. You can cleave something apart...
~Finally, Star is very powerful. She's not very book smart (she would have easily learned how to move an apple using "basic" telekinesis) but she's very creative and inventive. The tree says it all. But what does this really mean about Star being 'on the level' of Eclipsa? Even in the context of the rest of the story I'm not sure. Star will be called 'wise' and many other things. And this is Baby saying this. She's supposed to be objective.
~Many questions. This is a fantastic episode that shows how gifted (can't emphasize that enough) Star is with magic. It also shows how much she wanted to stay on Earth and do things her own way. Perhaps, it also shows that she's destined for something big? Will she be able to make that her own?
~
I'm gonna talk about Running with Scissors a little differently because it's kind of a unique episode in the story.
Marco ends up in Hekapoo's dimension due to abusing dimensional scissors to "walk" the laser puppies on a rainy day (among other things). She confiscates the scissors which apparently Pony stole and originally belonged to Hekapoo - the "forger of all dimensional scissors" - herself. She explains that scissors have to be 'earned'.
Thus, Marco decides to do just that by chasing Hekapoo and blowing out the flame on her head (her idea).. except there's countless clones so Marco has to find the real one. Undeterred, he declares, "I don't care how long it takes. I'm getting those scissors."
Some time later, Marco arrives at Hekapoo's lair, having bested the last of the clones. Marco confronts Hekapoo. He drops his hood and reveals that he's clearly aged quite a bit.
"Sixteen years. A lot of clones. Seemed to go by.. snaps his fingers ..like that."
~So, Marco would now be 30 years old. Yet, he's describing the time as if it flew by. More than an entire lifetime, for him.
Marco details to Hekapoo his many adventures tracking her down before she willingly allows him to blow out her flame. Victorious, she presents him with his own scissors, enchanted with his name and everything.
Star bursts in, having come to 'save' Marco, and Marco hugs her. Star initially doesn't recognize him, but becomes smitten when she sees how buff Marco is. Marco excitedly recounts some of his adventures while she drools over him. Marco mentions the 16 years he's been gone, but Star (who is clearly still a teenager) notes that he's only been gone for 8 minutes.
~Marco picked up right where he left off with Star. He talked to her like he'd been gone for a little while**, not** 16 years**.**
Marco seems shocked and angry that time on Earth hasn't really passed, and Hekapoo playfully let the detail slip that "time passes differently in this dimension". Star jumps in and reassures Marco that he "[hasn't] missed anything back on Earth".
Star tells Marco to take them home, but Marco wants to stay, citing his adventures and the "new life" he's built here.
Star, sadly, appeals to Marco: "No! Wait, wait! What about your parents, or your friends, or.. me?" Marco pauses, and looks and his and Star's reflections in his scissors.
~Star's right. Marco still has a whole life to live and people who want to live that life with him.
Marco's made his decision. He leaves his dragoncycle, Nachos, with Hekapoo. Marco and Star portal back to Earth, happily reunited.
Marco steps out of the portal and he's his normal self again. Star seems disappointed, and Marco is shocked that his "hot bod" is gone, but Star playfully pokes his stomach and remarks that he's "back on Earth's timeline", although his bald spot from Hekapoo hitting him is still there.
Star reassures Marco, "who cares if you're fourteen again? That just means we have more time to go on adventures together!" to which Marco replies, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Star goes to make nachos, leaving Marco alone in his room. He forgot his laptop password, but notes that the hamburger he left is "still warm". The laser puppies want a walk. Marco takes them for a walk without his scissors.
~So, Marco came back to Earth and immediately returned to his normal, 14 year old self like that. Star even pointed out that he is indeed 14 again. Though Marco forgot his password, he knew enough to know that he didn't need to use a portal to walk the puppies. Perhaps his memory wasn't so fuzzy after all?
~The point is, Marco is very much a teenager. His mental state - that he was so focused on getting the scissors back, and that he reconnected with Star immediately - show that he's still a kid who wants to have fun. Star even directly observed that Marco is his normal self when he's not in Hekapoo's dimension.
~In talking with a friend, this episode showed Marco leveling up. He has the experiences of his adventures in Hekapoo's dimension, but he still has the mentality and form of a teenager who still has to grow up with a loving family and friends. Marco may look different in that dimension, but on Earth and everywhere else, he's our friendly neighborhood, 14 year old Marco Diaz.
Posted Apr 28, 2025, 11:46 PM UTC