The End of Star

Last week marked the end of Star vs The Forces of Evil, already one of my favorite shows of this decade. I’ve explained what I like about it once before, but let this serve as a short addendum now that we know where the story went and how it all ended. Slightly muddled spoilers ahead (but spoilers nevertheless, including the final episode).

Throughout the four seasons of the show we saw Star Butterfly go a long way. She started as a very disjointed character - silly, irresponsible, unfocused, uncaring, but also full of energy, passion, dedication and love. She'd sometimes point them in a wrong direction, but you could tell her heart was in the right place. She might not notice that something was bad or unfair, but she would never avert her gaze on purpose. And throughout the airing she took time to figure herself out and make all these parts come together into a fully realized person. And she's just a really great character - smart, funny, cool, laid back, but also unafraid to act immaturely, and able to appreciate both cool and cute stuff likewise. Thanks to the support of her friends and family she had all these varied points of view assisting her in pursuit of what’s true and right, unwavered by the obstacles on the way. I really enjoyed watching her grow and how her core was getting consequently more and more unearthed, letting her shine brightly in the end.

Seasons 1 through 3 had their arcs that would eventually get wrapped, but they also kept on expanding the world, continuously making it bigger and more open. It helped maintain the show’s sense of greatness and wonder, but with the final season it was important to put a stop somewhere. In the second-to-last episode, we see the literal edge of the universe, signalling that this really is the back-to-the-wall, nowhere-to-run state. And it was just the culmination point for a season-long narration slowly building - there were fewer and fewer places left in the universe to discover, and instead the characters kept revisiting the same ones, often with an overbearing sense of familiarity. I liked the non-twist of the episode where Quest Buy is getting closed and the gang is simply unwooed by the room that creates its infinite stock, able to exit it just as they entered. It’s something they’re used to by now. And the fact that the store closed business with no fanfare left a very specific impression, a genuine, unforced acceptance that things end and that's just the way life goes.

In another episode Star tries to plan a trip and that act makes her realize she’s already been “through outer space” and experienced so much that there really isn’t any spot she particularly wants to go to. It makes one wonder, what can writers even do in the finale? They decided to go big - Star faces an army of racist (speciesist?) warriors whose power far outmatches hers. They are determined to kill off all the monsters believing they are evil (most aren’t, like humans). It seems like the royal family’s only option to save them is by going into a fight they are very likely to lose, banking on the small chance that they just barely beat the opponents, likely causing a lot of destruction and risking their lives. Star comes up with something different - she will destroy the entirety of magic, rendering the enemies powerless. While it’s a practical solution to the problem at hand, it’s also very symbolic in terms of making the mark, cutting off toxic traditions and removing an overwhelming power that was usually in hands of just one person. The realm of magic has a very unique look and the “Whispering Spell” used to destroy it has a significantly different tone from the usual sorcery used in the show, be it Moon’s elegance, Star’s loudness or Eclipsa’s poetry. Its destruction feels grand, monumental, and of course sad and tragic. But the real heartbreaker comes when Marco and Star have to say goodbye to each other and go back to their respective dimensions forever, but in the last moment they both decide to come live in the other’s world instead, and it turns out they were actually too late, getting trapped in the imploding magic realm as a result. In that moment neither of them cares, as they’re only concerned with being together, even as the reality falls apart and they have no idea what will happen to them in just a few moments.

And what happens is something beautiful. At first it seems like they were cleaved apart, destined to live each in their respective universe after all. As they are coping with separation, they both notice an omen in the sky, something that looks like a magical portal. On the off chance that it could let them meet once more, they both rush to it as fast as they can, but just as they are about to reach it, it explodes... And the explosion actually merges the dimensions, showing that their love was strong enough to literally bring their worlds together so that they could be joined. The results look scary and chaotic - suddenly monsters and technology are next to one another and panic ensues. Perhaps it will be the job of Star and Marco to help make sense of this new world. But in that moment, it doesn’t matter. They fought the destiny, and they won. And it was about time to claim the prize.