“I’ve Been In That Thing’s Head,” Or: How Does Marcy View The Core?

“I’ve been in that thing’s head,” or: how does Marcy view the Core?

In the last episode of Amphibia the Core decides to ram the moon into Amphibia and kill everyone on the planet because it is such a sore loser.

Ramming the moon into Amphibia is sort of an extreme action to me, so I do wonder what would lead it to do that. How lucky is it that Marcy says it for me, then: “Fear. I’ve been in that thing’s head. I know that more than anything, it’s afraid of being destroyed. Of being irrelevant. It will do whatever it takes to defeat us and claim the stones as its own. If that means destroying an entire civilization, then so be it.”

You don’t know how much this line means to me. Marcy of all people saying that the Core is scared, just, wow. But why? Why her? She’s been in its mind but how does she know? The Core would never admit this, the Core would never tell her that, so how does she know that it is scared? (And why does her voice go flat? Why does she look so tired when she says that?)

Well, there’s this word that Marcy uses. “Irrelevant.” “Irrelevant” is an interesting word considering it applies to both Marcy and the Core: “I am scared of being irrelevant.”

And, I gotta say, getting your friend to steal a music box for her birthday present and riding on the pipe dream that it might send you to a place where you’ll never have to grow apart is. Sort of an extreme action to me? You’d have to be really desperate to do that.

Marcy: “I’m sorry. I was so scared about moving away. The thought of losing you was just so big. I was afraid that if we weren’t together, we wouldn’t be friends anymore.”

Do you understand? The Core has Marcy’s actions and thoughts blasted up to eleven, pushed to extremes. “I am scared of being irrelevant. I am desperate. I will do whatever it takes to keep us together, even if it means sending us to another world.”

Because if Anne defeats Andrias the pushover and Sasha defeats Darcy the control freak then does Marcy defeat the Core? Does Marcy understand? She’s been in its mindscape, she’s been in its fantasyland. She’s rejected its fantasy adventure, she knows she’s not it, but does she look at the Core and does she understand, viscerally, what she’s looking at?

Marcy: “You know I bet I can fit in your pocket.”

There’s something to be said about Marcy going “boundaries, Marcy” and then immediately climbing into Andrias’ pocket. Ignoring boundaries like that, like the Core does all the time.

(Edit: Okay I just rewatched “the Beginning of the End” and in the flashback in the beginning Marcy spoils the movie they are watching. And Sasha goes: “Whoa! Spoiler alert!” Then Marcy apologizes, and, notice this, opens her mouth to spoil the other twisty twist right after apologizing.

Again, “boundaries, Marcy,” she thinks. The thought is fresh on her mind she literally said it out loud - and then she gets the bright idea to climb into Andrias’ pocket. No hesitation, no delay.

The Core is a thousand times worse in its actions, make no mistake about that, but on a base level they are the same! And Marcy would recognize that!)

There’s something to be said about Darcy going for the mind pain thing when Andrias is being pissy about his long-dead friend, forcing him to follow its orders.

Marcy: “But forcing them to follow my dreams is wrong. I learned that the hard way.”

There’s something to be said about Marcy using her own selfish wish as Anne’s birthday present and Andrias going “Yes … it’s … everything I’ve ever wanted,” because Mars & Dars both have a tendency to not consider what other people want in favor of what they want.

There’s something to be said about immortality and lasting forever.

Marcy: “What an amazing adventure. Makes you wish it could last forever, huh?”

Actually, let’s go on a tangent. In s3e22 (episode 13a) Mother Olm says this: “These conquerors, with their arrogance and greed, created an unnatural thing that does not sleep and will not die.”

Mother Olm really is hyping the Core up as the spookiest and scariest villain of all time, and for me as an individual I know that’s not true. I don’t view villains as scary, I don’t tend to buy the hype.

Crucially, I don’t think Marcy buys into the hype either. Does she hate it for what it has done to her? To everyone? Sure! Why not. But I don’t think Marcy finds the Core scary, she doesn’t buy into its hype, because ‘scary’ is a word used for things you don’t know and she’s literally been in its mind. (And also did slap away Aldrich’s hand and reject the Core’s sick fantasy that was so cool btw.)

Anyway, tangent over, back to “the Hardest Thing”.

Something interesting happens right after Andrias betrays the Core, and the interesting thing in question is that the Core-as-Aldrich says this: “Fools! You cannot stop … a god!”

Considering the Core canonically feels emotions, I’d imagine that it feels quite upset, because in the previous scene Andrias betrayed it and it failed the invasion so epically. (Rest in piss buddy.)

So if we take it saying the above in the context of the Core being upset, there is a certain interpretation I can and will make.

That is, do you think it wants to be a god?

Do you think it wants to be “an unnatural thing that does not sleep and will not die”?

Do you think it wants to be a machine computer? Do you think it wants to be anything but a bunch of losers in a trenchcoat that don’t know everything, that aren’t gods but pitiful mortals like the rest of us, that get scared and frustrated and make mistakes?

Because I am sure it would love to be an emotionless machine and god-emperor. I am sure it would love to be a thing, a machine computer that doesn’t feel fear or uncertainty, only here to conquer and control and restore Amphibia to its former glory. I am sure it would love to be a god, far above mortal things, soaring the skies instead. But the Core isn’t a god. The Core isn’t even a computer. It is very, painfully mortal, and capable of being destroyed.

I am sure it would love Mother Olm hyping it up as a villain like that, cuz it makes it big and it makes it relevant. I am sure it would love to be an object, a great and terrifying thing instead of a person (people?), because why be made of flesh and blood when you could rather be a machine computer?

Now, this analysis is about what Marcy thinks of the Core, so let’s bring it back to Marcy, shall we?

Marcy is an escapist.

Canon gives very little information about her home life which is honestly such a shame, but I can’t imagine that it was the greatest, considering she did what she did.

Marcy: “I started this whole mess because I wanted to escape that reality. But I won’t run away from it anymore!”

In Amphibia Marcy is the chief ranger of the Newtopian Knight Guard, because why be the clumsy klutzy Marcy of Earth, the place where your pain comes from, when you could rather be a super cool ranger/artificer?

Because if Anne defeats Andrias the pushover and Sasha defeats Darcy the control freak then does Marcy defeat the Core the escapist?

…

I guess the Core would be sort of unnerved by Marcy because she can cut through its hype and see it for what it is: A bunch of old amphibians long past their expiration dates, still trying to bring back the nonexistent greatness of a millennia ago. It’s honestly sort of pathetic, that they can’t freakin’ let go. That’s what you get for being the antithesis of change, I guess.