Eclipsa survives an assassination attempt! The kingdom is slowly starting to trust her? | Wraith's Journal #51 [S4E5/6 - Yada Yada Berries through Surviving the Spiderbites]
Things are moving on but there's still a lot of tension. Someone tries to poison Eclipsa! Eclipsa decrees some Monsters' homes be returned to them, but this creates problems for Mewmans... Eclipsa finally introduces herself to the people! And the Spiderbites show up to meet.. Globgor? What's with all that? Let's find out!
~
Eclipsa is hosting the 'Queen's Monster Breakfast' except Manfred has served the Monsters like dogs. Eclipsa demands they be treated fairly, and her oatmeal taken back until everything is right. Manfred jealously wishes he could eat from the royal china and tries to eat Eclipsa's oatmeal.. but turns to stone!
Eclipsa, Star and Marco investigate the commotion and Glossaryck reveals that Manfred ate Yada Yada Berries! Star grabs Marco for an "adventure" murder mystery to find out who's trying to yada yada Eclipsa.
~I love the theme of this episode! Star and Marco have a good dynamic here; we get to see the darker side of Monstertown; and I just love a good mystery.
Marco and Star stop by the 'Local 839' Assassin's Creed Guild and find.. Rasticore! He's partially regenerated from when Meteora blew him up. Star threatens him with her rainbow fist into revealing information about a yada yada plot. Rasticore tells her that Babs didn't show up for work today, so Star and Marco go to check out her house.
~I guess no hard feelings about Rasticore trying to kill or kidnap Star and Marco? Also I like that this place is just.. out in the open. Are assassination contracts just a thing on Mewni?
Star and Marco get to Babs's house. She's a small woman with a lot of cats. She called in sick today, so she wasn't able to fulfill her contract from an anonymous person - they left a note and some yada yada berries from Apothecary Sherry.
Yada yada berries - sweet, but with a hint of stone...
Marco and Star check out Sherry's stand - she has various potions, powders and what not. Marco bribes Sherry into revealing that she sold yada yada berries to one person - a guy named Ruben.
~Slight aside, ya know, now that I think about it, it's quite impressive how quickly this kingdom got established. Not just Monster Temple, it's a whole thriving community!
Star and Marco go to Ruben's house, but no one's home. Star STORMS IN and starts destroying the place! Ruben comes out of hiding - revealing himself to be a chameleon Monster - and Star stops laying siege to his house.
Marco: Whoa. How'd you know he was a chameleon monster?
Star: I saw the family portrait.
Star points to a framed portrait showing 2 people with just their eyes and mouths visible
Star: All right, Ruben, now tell me about your little visit to Apothecary Sherry today!
Ruben: Yeah! I bought the berries to yada yada Eclipsa. She made me eat out of a dog bowl this mornin'!
Star: What? Eclipsa made sure you were served on the royal china.
Ruben: Too little, too late! I ate my breakfast, then I went to Sherry and bought them berries!
Star: Wait. You bought the berries after breakfast?
Ruben: Yeah! And I wasn't the only one! She got enemies left and right!
Star: Ugh. We got the wrong guy. Sorry, Ruben. Victimless crime.
Ruben: What?! You destroyed my home!
~Star passed the perception roll.. although I don’t think completely destroying that guy’s house was necessary.
Marco and Star return to Sherry. Star tries to intimidate Sherry into telling the whole truth, but Marco calls her off.
~Star and Marco doing a little 'good cop, bad cop' here. I like it.
Marco is straight with Sherry and confronts her about what they know. Sherry plays dumb, so Marco offers to have her brought back to Monster Temple to be interrogated with 'Eclipsa's dark spells'. Sherry instead takes a drink.. of yada yada berries! Star and Marco investigate Sherry's stand and find a LONG list of people who bought berries.
Marco: Whoa, that's a lot of Mewmans.
He and Star watch several people walking by
Marco: We can't lock 'em all up... can we?
Hard cut to the dungeon where several dozen Mewmans were rounded up. Star gives a rousing speech to try and get them to talk:
Star: I know underneath it all, you're good people. So one of ya made a mistake. Life's hard in Mewni these days. I get it. It is tough! But you know what we do? As Mewmans, we survive! And we rebuild! And we turn in the criminal who tried to poison Eclipsa!
no one responds
Star: Okay, you guys. Look, Eclipsa is not a bad person!
Mewman 1: Yes, she is! She stole me family's land!
Mewman 2: Don't even matter who tried to yada yada her! She's gonna off us all anyway!
Eclipsa enters
Eclipsa: Star. It's okay. I understand why they feel this way. I've upended all their lives quite thoroughly. I am asking you to give me a chance to earn your trust. But I know that takes time, so for now... [Eclipsa unlocks their handcuffs] ...you're all free to go. Sorry about all of this.
Mewman 3: Man, I still don't trust her.
Mewman 4: Yeah. She's only doin' this to make herself look better.
Star is shocked that Eclipsa let them go
Eclipsa: There will always be people who don't like you. If I'd locked up everyone who hated me, there'd be no one left!
Star: Eclipsa, I.. I don't think you realize how much the Mewmans hate you.
Eclipsa: Oh, I do. That's why I need to earn their trust.
Star: But how?
Eclipsa: I don't know. But we'll figure something out.
~Despite the mystery remaining unsolved, I still think it's a really fun episode. Getting to explore the town is nice, and we're continuing to build this conflict of Eclipsa vs. the people.
~Honestly, Eclipsa is showing that she wants to be a good queen. She knows there's the perception about her, but she admits she needs to "earn" the trust of her people - even if she doesn't quite know how yet.
~What's concerning is the guy in the dungeon who said Eclipsa 'stole his family's land'. Eclipsa's made a lot of changes in a short time. We know from the Book of Spells that she and Globgor talked about a 'fair sharing of land' and that a lot of the land on which Mewmans currently reside was taken from Monsters (by force). And we're about to explore this, and the consequences, in more detail...
~
A family of Mewmans return to their house in the woods to find it occupied by the dinosaur Monster's family! The house is comically oversized for a family no taller than 2 meters, but is perfectly sized for these Monsters...
The Monster politely but firmly notes Eclipsa's decree that Monsters' homes are being returned to them. Also that this was his '5 times great grandmother's house'. He even packed up the Mewmans' belongings for them.
Dinosaur Monster: Well... this is awkward... Goodbye.
~I get Eclipsa's trying to do the right thing for the Monsters, but did anyone tell her that she'd be displacing Mewmans by her actions?
The Mewman family wander the woods looking for a place to live. They bump into River and Moon, who have set up their yurt Down by the River. They're enjoying the quiet life. Moon talks about wanting to "spend time and do nothing".
~Seems Moon is adjusting to no longer being Queen.
The family patriarch introduces himself as Merrick Maizley - he worked in the castle before Meteora attacked. He and his family are not sure where to go, but Moon notes that since they have their belongings, they should simply find a place to settle down. The Maizleys move on.
Cue the Maizleys hanging in the vicinity of Moon and River's yurt and annoying them more and more. They even go as far as to bang pots and pans in the middle of the night to protect Moon and River from a 'Hookman', much to Moon's anger.
In the morning, River and Moon keep an eye out in case the Maizleys come back, but their annoyance turns to worry when they don't.
Eventually, they run across the Maizleys, who detail the various calamities that befell them in the night. Moon and River are horrified.
Moon: Haven't any of you ever learned to take care of yourselves?
Merrick: Well, no, your Majesty. We've never had to before. You always took such good care of us.
Maude: You gave us good jobs and a nice home.
Merrick: But ever since you left, I don't know what we'll do.
~There's a pervading thought in the fandom that Mewmans are useless and, well, can't take care of themselves, among other things. If I may offer a different perspective:
~Mewmans had it pretty good for the past couple hundred years. Sure there may have been the odd Monster attack, but after Skywynne expanded Mewman civilization (as detailed in the Book of Spells) and the great war eventually ended under Festivia, Mewmans emerged as the dominant civilization on Mewni. They had big, secure kingdoms, steady leadership, and as the Maizleys put it, "good jobs and a nice home". Life was good for them; it wasn't rough like the old days (pre-Skywynne). So, I don't think it's so much Mewmans can't take care of themselves, just that they now have to adjust to a new reality. Even if Moon was still Queen now, rebuilding the kingdom and dealing with Monster tensions and a desire among some to find harmony are problems that would have to be dealt with by whomever is Queen.
~Also interesting that Mr. Maizley says that Moon "left". Moon didn't leave.. some stuff happened. Moon has accepted that Star took the reins in her absence and gave the throne to Eclipsa because she thought it was the right thing to do. Moon is content with her life here - she didn't put up a fuss about Eclipsa beyond still not trusting her. It's, again, a new reality. Things change. We adapt.
The Maizleys turn to leave, but River and Moon have a change of heart. Moon and River invite the Maizleys to stay at their camp. They get along, and River and Moon teach the Maizleys to live off the land. Another family turns up, asking if they can settle. Moon and River invite them to join them.
~Perhaps, River and Moon can still help people after all. I think the best leaders don't choose to lead, they simply do so when the need arises. Moon knows how to take care of people, how to lead people. River knows how to survive in the wilderness. They may not be Queen and King anymore, but they can still do good for whoever needs them.
~So. Eclipsa's policies are continuing to have adverse effects for Mewmans. Whether these Mewmans choose to leave her kingdom because of the Monsters, or Eclipsa herself, they're finding a new home.. with the old Queen, Moon. There's 3 families (including Moon and River) so far. Will more join them?
~
It's the first episode of The Ponyhead Show and Eclipsa is set to be a guest on it.
~Oh... no... Who thought this was a good idea? In-universe, that is.
Seahorse is running production, and he set it up so people can 'upvote' or 'downvote' it while it's being broadcast. It already has -1.
Pony has several segments of.. mostly just her, which cause the show to receive progressively more downvotes. Marco was supposed to do a cooking segment with Kelly (this legitimately would have been a better show), but that got overshadowed by Pony continuing to hog the spotlight - literally.
Meanwhile, Eclipsa is having her makeup done by Pony's sisters, which ends up being really overdone. Eclipsa decides she just needs to be herself. Star checks on Eclipsa and declares, "This is a train wreck. Pony Head is crazy. Why do I always forget that?"
~YOU THINK, STAR?!
Eventually, several Mewmans turn up at Cloud Kingdom (how did they get here?) upset about the show. Star thinks they can just turn it off, but Seahorse rigged it so it's being forcibly streamed to everyone's phones.
Star has had enough, and uses magic to drag Pony off set and gag her. Eclipsa takes the stage.
Uh, hi! I'm Eclipsa. Uh, Queen. Um... [she takes out her skeleton guitar] ...I'm going to play you a song here! I wrote it.
♪ Imagine waking up
♪ To a world turned upside-down
♪ Those you know are gone
♪ And suddenly you have the crown
♪ Here I am, this is me
♪ Brokenhearted but finally free
♪ Never quite fit the mold
♪ Just not great at doing what I'm told
♪ Now I'm here in your world
♪ So much bigger from my point of view
♪ Centuries from my home
♪ Can't go back, so let's start something new
♪ Here I am, this is me
♪ Open-hearted, I proudly decree
♪ Now as Queen, I am yours
♪ Let's make magic and reach for the stars
♪ Let's make magic and reach for the stars
~The people actually stopped and listened as soon as Eclipsa started singing. They may have had their reservations about Eclipsa, may have heard all the stories about her. But they heard her - perhaps for the first time.
~It's a beautiful song. It tells her story very concisely. It's very personal. She's in a scary new world. The throne has been thrust upon her. She's alone. But, she wants a fresh start. She wants to be a queen for the people. She wants Mewni to be better for everyone.
The song ends and there's a short reprieve. The studio (except Pony) liked the song. The people outside Pony Head castle start throwing things at the castle, yelling to "Give me back my compact!". The upvote/downvote meter, which had been sitting at 0/964 before Eclipsa's song, is at 0/4900 and quickly rising.
Star admits defeat and magics away the television equipment. Marco laments not being able to show off his dad's tortas ahogadas recipe, but Kelly invites him to make some with her later instead.
Star: Eclipsa? That was an awesome song. I'm sorry nobody else liked it. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. But don't worry, we'll find a way to get the people of Mewni to love you.
Eclipsa: I don't have any regrets. I'd rather be hated for who I am than liked for who I pretend to be.
The angry Mewmans go away. One young girl hums the song, and taps the 'upvote' button.
~If it's any consolation, I think (some of) the Mewmans just wanted their phones back.
~Yeah, I'm not gonna talk about Pony. She is who she is. What's important is Eclipsa finally got a chance to show herself to her people. It may not have gone well, but they got to hear her for the first time properly. Again, I can't emphasize enough how important this is. Stories have been told about Eclipsa for hundreds of years. We saw with the MHC (and Moon) in Season 3 that a lot of those stories are embellished or outright not true. "Details" are hazy or 'second-hand'. Eclipsa is trying to be a Queen for the people. She's not perfect, but she's also having to fight against a narrative that wants her to fail.
~Is it 2 steps forward, or 1 step forward 2 steps back? I'm not sure right now. Eclipsa and Star are trying. They'll get there. No story would be complete without a setback every now and then. Eclipsa may be struggling to connect with ordinary people, but can she connect with other royals?
~
It's The Big Day™! The Spiderbites are coming for an official visit.. except Eclipsa is nowhere to be found. Star spends all day showing them around Monster Temple. She offers them Monster-themed refreshments, shows them Monster art, and a Monster dance performance. The Spiderbites are disgruntled to outraged.
Star angrily confronts King and Queen Spiderbite, accusing them of having a "problem with Monsters". On cue, Slime walks in. Princess Spiderbite runs over and kisses him. Star is confused. Queen and King Spiderbite happily greet Slime, with King Spiderbite even taking some of his slime for his spider bites. Queen Spiderbite explains things:
Queen: We have no problem with monsters. Our problem is with Globgor!
King: Crusher of Skulls. Plucker of Limbs!
Queen: How can you live in this castle and ignore his atrocities?
Star: What? No-no-no-no. Those are just rumors.
Queen: So why is all the tableware covered in Globgorean horror parties?
Star: No, this is just cute monster decoration— [turns the mug over] Oh...
Queen: Then there's this artwork you showed us. Did you even read the label? [points to plaque reading "THE BLOOD OF GLOBGOR'S ENEMIES"]
Star: [visibly sweating] Oh, that's what those are for...
Queen: And "The Cold Unfeeling Stare of Globgor", subtitled, "He Will Eat You"? Or "Globgor's Army Burns Spiderbite Village to the Ground"?
Star: Boy, that got real specific...
Queen: And that dance you showed us is a tribute to Globgor eating my great great granduncle Shastacan!
Star: No, no, Globgor's a vegetarian!
King: We only agreed to come today because Penelope insisted we give you a chance. But clearly nothing has changed.
Star: But, Eclipsa said--
Queen: That evil witch doesn't care about anyone but herself!
King: We all heard what happened between her and Rhombulus!
Star: But that—
Queen: How do you know she won't try a stunt like that again?!
King: How can you trust her?!
Star: I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation for all this, and I will go find that out right now.
~Star, after rolling a nat 20 on the perception roll at Ruben's house, rolled several nat 1s on realizing all the brutal reminders of what Globgor allegedly did hundreds of years ago.
~What is the truth, really? Sure, this is all art, but there is always a basis in reality.. right? We keep hearing how Globgor is a terrible person, but Eclipsa wrote so kindly about him. It can't all be true.. or can it?
~And I believe this is the first instance we hear that Globgor ate Shastacan, from a Spiderbite herself. How did that go down? Shastacan was pretty nasty (at least from the.. 10 seconds we saw of him), but did he deserve that?
Star angrily searches for Eclipsa, having tried to carry this day on her own. She remembers that the All-seeing Eye exists, and finds Eclipsa on the roof of Monster Temple.
Star confronts Eclipsa, who is looking for something with Glossaryck. Star tells Eclipsa what time it is ("Tell him, McCluskey! Tell him what time it is!") - Eclipsa, in horror, forgot that "today" is the day the Spiderbites were coming.
Star: Eclipsa, these alliances are important! All the other kingdoms are terrified of you! The Spiderbites are the only ones who would even visit us, and you just completely ditched them! If you don't come talk to them right now, you'll never convince anyone you're not the Queen of Darkness!
~Yeah, like, Star is the only one who actually took this seriously. The girl-who-is-no-longer-the-princess is showing more responsibility than the Queen.
Archibald shows up to tell them the Spiderbites are leaving. Eclipsa and Star rush downstairs to beat them. Eclipsa deeply apologizes, but the Spiderbites aren't having it:
King: Well we're not surprised. This castle makes it quite clear that you only care for your Globgor.
Eclipsa: I understand what this must look like. The paintings, the mural...
Queen: The Dance of Death.
Eclipsa: The Dance of Death?! [to Star] You performed the DANCE OF DEATH?!
Star: I didn't know there was a Dance of Death! I also didn't know that Globgor ate Shastacan!
Eclipsa: The truth is a little more complex than that, but... yes, he did. [to Spiderbites] I'm truly sorry for how terribly I've treated you, your Majesties. And after what happened between me and Rhombulus, it must be especially hard for you to trust me. But I hope you will allow me to make it up to you. In fact, I'd like to show you something.
they all arrive at Globgor's chamber
Eclipsa: I know that seeing this must be terrifying, but let me assure you Globgor is very much stuck in this crystal. [hits the crystal with a pickaxe, the pickaxe breaks] For the good of the kingdom, that is where he shall remain.
the Spiderbites are apprehensive, but pleased that Globgor is secure in the crystal
Queen: Thank you for showing us this, Eclipsa. I feel a little more at ease now.
the Spiderbites set to leave again, this time on better terms
Queen: It was lovely meeting you, Eclipsa. And if you ever need allies, you have our support.
King: The other kingdoms might not be so easy to convince. Especially the Johansens; they'll be a nightmare. But we wish you good luck!
Queen: Until next time.
~Where to start?! Eclipsa admits that Globgor has a.. troubled past. But, it seems that is indeed in the past. Sadly, we never learn the full circumstance that led to Shastacan getting eaten. Myself and others have tried to piece together a timeline of the events surrounding Eclipsa's abdication, Meteora's birth, Globgor's involvement, Shastacan and the MHC's involvement, and so on, but it's all just murky. All we gt it this, that the truth is "more complex". I would just say that our knowledge is incomplete. Ultimately, it's something in the past, and that's where it lies.
~It is good that Eclipsa talked about the "good of the kingdom". Once again, she is showing that she's being a Queen for the people, not just for herself or Globgor.
~On the other hand, it's a victory! Eclipsa's reign has been troubled so far, but Surviving the Spiderbites has gotten them on her side! I wonder why the Johansens would be a "nightmare"? River seems like a reasonable guy, what about his family? A royal family getting on board should make it easier for other people to trust Eclipsa. Good that they made the first move.
Star and Eclipsa clean up. Eclipsa reveals that she was searching for remains of the Book of Spells, which Ludo burned all those months ago...
Star: The Book of Spells? [angrily] Are you still looking for a way to free Globgor?
Eclipsa: No, my dear. There's nothing I can do for him now. It's.. it's just that I... [sighs] I'm not good enough at magic.
Star: You've done some of the most powerful magic I've ever seen!
Eclipsa: Oh, thank you. But I only know how to do magic that can help myself. I need to learn magic that will help my kingdom. I wish I could be more like you, conjuring new spells that are all your own, even without a wand. I need the book to guide me.
Star: Well, I hate to break it to you, but that book is super gone. Ludo burned it up ages ago.
Eclipsa: But if any of it survived, I might be able to bring it back. Glossaryck has these wonderful little silk bugs that can reconstruct anything from even the tiniest scrap. Don't you, Glossaryck?
Glossaryck shows off his silkworms that are building a garment
Eclipsa: Are you sure there's no trace of the book left? Anything you happened to find while wandering around the castle?
Star: [shifty-eyed] ...No. No, not that I can think of.
Eclipsa: Well, that's a pity. Well, thank you for all your help today, Star.
Star returns to her room. She checks her closet. A shoebox still has a fragment of the Book of Spells*, with bits of magic on it from* Rest in Pudding*...*
~Once again, Eclipsa is showing that she wants to be a Queen for the people. She's doing the right thing, she just needs some guidance and support.
~Although, I think Eclipsa is being too modest. Eclipsa has indeed made many powerful spells. She's accomplished more than a lot of Queens did.
~And.. why did Star keep the fragment of the Book of Spells? It's basically useless like that.. except for Glossaryck I guess. What's the significance of the golden magic, if any?
~
More story in the books! We have a fun mystery episode with Star and Marco combing the kingdom to figure out who's trying to kill Eclipsa (it was a lot of suspects). Mewmans are either being displaced or leaving the kingdom of their own accord, and find Moon and River's little encampment to make a new home! Eclipsa sings a beautiful song to introduce herself to her people! And Star and Eclipsa made it through a little diplomacy to secure some much-needed allies in the Spiderbites.
Eclipsa is slowly gaining the trust of the people, yet some are drifting away... I've always liked Season 4 because of the emphasis on the story. I think writing about it is giving me a new appreciation for how much is going on - we never really got this luxury to stop and analyze everything that was going on when the show was airing.
Plenty of fun as usual, and I love all the plot threads going on. How many more people will make a home with the old Queen Moon? Can the new Queen Eclipsa convince enough people to trust her? We'll find out next time!
Posted Oct 15, 2025, 10:47 PM UTC