Day 3 - Funniest Moment In The Show
Well for this one, i literarily wrote an entire breakdown of my favorite joke, and why it works so well, so i might as well just Repost my analysis of the funniest moment, in what i consider the funniest Amphibia Episode.
The Dinner, is probably the funniest episode of all of Amphibia. It's an expertedly crafted masterpiece that utilizes everything the show has spend 2 seasons worth of character building to set up with moments that are both hilarious, and 100% built of off the characters involved.
But i think my absolute favorite joke in the entire thing, has to be Sasha's attempt at drawing a tree, and how each of the Plantars manage to piss her off in such a way that it really does seem to her like all 3 are completely and totally doing everything they can to piss her off(When it's really just sprig).
It all starts with Sasha drawing a perfectly basic tree, which none of the participants in the game gets.
That's kinda funny, but what makes it even better is that there is a specific reason why the frogs and Grime aren't able to associate this with a tree, because as we see in the season 1 episode "Family Shrub", this kind of imagery just isn't associated with trees by Amphibia's inhabitants. But instead with shrubs.
Hell, Hop pop pretty much calls Anne crazy for suggesting it could be replaced by a tree.
It is literarily a piece of alien artwork to them, drawing trees in a way that Amphibians just don't do.
No wonder not one of the Amphibians are able to get it.
And then, Polly, the youngest Plantar family suggests it's meant to symbolize Toad Tower exploding.
She doesn't do this just to piss Sasha off, but because she genuinely thinks that it looks like that, and being as young as she is, she either doesn't quite get just how painful the memories of it is to Sasha(Just as much as it is to Anne), or she doesn't care, or a combination thereof.
Anne, who for some reason doesn't get what it's supposed to look like either, understands that at the very least it's not Toad tower, and tries to suggest that being the case, only to be interrupted by Hop Pop.
Hop Pop latches unto the idea that it's the tower, because he kinda gets what Polly is talking about, and when forced to think on the spot, Hop Pop has an amazing ability to be the most awkward guy you could possibly meet(5 minutes earlier, he told an incredibly racist and offensive joke to the one guy who would find it absolutely hilarious because to him, it was so true.).
So without thinking about it at all, he just continues rambling.
And having been there, he recalls the most memorable moment of that night, where Sasha decided to give her life for Anne, he "points" out where on the picture he thinks this took place.
And being his usual self, he puts his foot in his mouth further by connecting it to the other moment that he recalls from that night. Namely Anne choosing the Plantars over Sasha.
Not too surprisingly, the moment, which was arguably the most intimate moment Sasha and Anne ever had, is a very, VERY touchy and personal moment for Sasha, and so having it dragged up is likely to hit some nerves.
Having it further dragged up in a manner that makes fun of her deciding to kill herself rather than let Anne die with her, is incredibly emotionally painful for Sasha, and it's not surprising that at this point, she goes from trying to be a good guest to being outright pissed.
Frankly speaking, Sasha would have made the choice to die for Anne regardless of her choice of Sasha and the Plantars, so for Sasha this is Hop Pop just outright taunting her.
But at the very least, he isn't doing it on purpose. He's just being an awkward, awkward old man.
No, that role falls to his grandson, who seems to think that the rest of the family actually IS intentionally picking on Sasha, and so decides to get in on the action, by pointing to an event that simply cannot possibly be depicted in the picture Sasha drew.
You can kinda see where Hop Pop and Polly is coming from in this being a depiction of Toad Tower. But there is no way anyone could ever seriously claim to see Sasha in this picture "Plummeting to her possible death".
This is purely Sprig being a little shit, and taunting Sasha because he wants to do so.
It is also stepping over a line. And unlike Hop Pop, it is a line Sprigg steps over intentionally, and with no regret.
And it's at this point Sasha finally snaps.
"It's a a TREE! YOU MORONS, A TREE!"
It's a great sequence, but that's not even the punchline.
Because Hop Pop, in the moment being completely oblivious to the fact that this is a very volatile situation, decides that rather than being diplomatic, and give Sasha some leeway, to instead continue with the game, and send her to the shame corner.
Which the younger Plantars act like children about, which just clinches it for Sasha that yes, they seriously dragged up what was up until that moment probably the most traumatic moment of her entire life and made fun of it, and her choice to die for Anne, just to trigger her and make her lose the game.
Needless to say, she absolutely loses it, and it's hard to blame her, but at the same time the audience knows that other than Sprig, this is just the Plantars being their usual selves.
It's an expertedly crafted joke sequence that is both hilarious in how it crosses the line twice, it's built entirely on how each of the characters acts in situations like this, builds off continuity, and creates a strong moment of conflict fueled by the shortcomings of every character involved eithouth either the plantars(As a whole at least, not so much for Sprig) or Sasha being completely in the right.
And all of this masterful storytelling takes no more than 45 seconds to tell, all without being rushed. Anyone can tell a joke. Actually crafting a sequence that is both funny, painful, and emotional, all based on the characters involved that takes true skill.
