After a four month hiatus, we’re finally getting new episodes of Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, so join us for our review of the seventh episode of season three!
Demoncism
The relationship drama continues with this episode, picking up a just a bit after “Club Snubbed.” Star is calling Tom, trying to meet up for the corn shake they talked about at the ball, but he’s not picking up. In fact, he’s been acting weird since their dance together, something Star confides to Ponyhead, who shows up nervously sweating. Ponyhead is clearly hiding something, and Star easily get the information out of her gossipy friend, Tom is getting a demoncism.
What is a demoncism, you ask? Though it’s not exactly made clear until the end of the episode, it is implied it is some sort of ritual to remove demonic essence, and Tom is doing it in secret. From what Star knows, they’re the worst, and she wants to stop Tom from putting himself through the painful procedure. However, they are exclusively private rituals held in a secret location, and only invitees can attend. This doesn’t deter Star, thus she and Ponyhead go on a mission to find Tom and stop the demoncism.
To find Tom, they visit Ponyhead’s ex, a former punk-rock seahorse who has become a “corporate drone.” This interaction isn’t particularly that great, or even necessary to the plot. While it’s funny in some parts, like Ponyhead’s rainbow tears, the scene’s humor mostly falls flat, doing little more than to highlight Ponyhead’s many selfish flaws. Frankly, the time this interaction took could have been betters used to show a journey sequence, wherein Star and Ponyhead run into strange things on the way to the demoncism. But, the show has had plenty of these, so the different direction is welcome, if a bit boring.
The two manage to get a map to the demoncism, arriving just before it starts to prevent Tom from going through with it. As Ponyhead distracts the demoncists, in a sequence that’s much funnier and redeems her previous scene, Star sneaks in Tom’s tent. Star attempts to talk Tom out the the demoncism and he explains why he’s doing it. Turns out, he was inspired by Star trying to be the best princess she can be, and wanted to do the same. He thinks getting rid of the evil within him will make him less angry, less prone to explosive outburst, making him a better person.
Star cannot convince him to stop and Tom goes through with the demoncism. But, things go crazy very fast, and Star tries to stop the ritual when Tom is in excruciating pain, but she cannot. Star does what she can, comfort Tom and be there for him while the ritual finishes. Tom wakes up some time later, still in pain, to find out that, while the procedure was a success, it only removed one of the hundreds of demons living within him. Star is able to convince Tom that he can change without having to through thirteen more years of these procedures, and the two seem to grow closer after the fact, as the episode ends with them holding hands.
Overall, “Demoncism” is a great episode, despite the unfunny blunder of Ponyhead’s ex. There are real-world lessons that come from Tom’s actions and desire to change, and it’s not hard to relate to both Star and Tom in this episode. What makes the episode so interesting is that Star and Tom are seemingly on the path to getting back together, a fact that becomes tragic in the context of the next episode.
Sophmore Slump
After so many episodes focusing on Star and Mewni, we finally come back to Marco on Earth, sort of. Yes, Marco is back on Earth, but he has not taken off the cape he received in “Scent of a Hoodie.” It looks like a problem to his mother, who has a talk with him about her “french summer,” which resulted in her becoming the annoying girl who pronounced “croissant” with a french accent. She warns Marco not to overdo it on the Mewni talk, lest he alienate his friends.
But, Marco doesn’t see a problem and does exactly the opposite. He ruins a D&D game with his friends by turning it into a recreation of his adventures in Mewni, showing off his cape and knighthood. Later, he talks down to and saddens his karate sensei, who has started wearing a cape of his own, by saying he earned his cape and sensei did not. Worst of all, he messes up with his girlfriend, Jackie. He believes that his friends are the ones with a problem and that he’s not being annoying, but Jackie gives it to him straight, and Marco realizes his mistakes.
Marco then tries to make it up to Jackie by taking her out on a fancy date to the pier, without wearing the cape. They have a great time, and Marco convinces Jackie that he is happy to be on Earth, and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else with anyone else. Sadly, it’s all a facade, and after a hug, Jackie realizes that Marco has been wearing the cape under his hoodie the whole time. Jackie tells him that he never truly left Mewni and she breaks up with him, wanting Marco to be truly happy on Mewni, not forcing himself to be happy on Earth.
Marco is sad, but takes the opportunity and plans to move to Mewni. His school “transfers” him to Mewni and his friends send him off with a farewell party. Marco makes up for his behavior and gives a loving goodbye to everyone, including his parents. Though his dad is wary of this choice, his mother says that Marco needs his own “French summer.” Marco says one last goodbye and heads to Mewni, arriving outside of the Butterfly kingdom before the credits role.
This new step in Marco’s young life is a fun and interesting one, and it finally brings the series’ protagonists back together to fight the forces of evil. Further, it’s a great twist on season one and the original premise of the show, flipping the exchange-student premise by sending Marco to Mewni. However, knowing what happened in the previous episode, we’re definitely in for some relationship drama. Jackie and Marco have broken up, but Star, who was revealed to have feelings for Marco, now seems to be growing close to Tom. This show thrives on drama, and these two episodes are testaments to that.
Who know’s what’s going to happen next in the love geometry of Star and Marco, so stay tuned for the review of this weeks final episode of Star Vs. The Forces of Evil!
Follow Us
