This is it, the last episode of Mermicorno: Starfall season 1, and boy is it an exciting end from start to finish. All season long our heroes have been preparing for the moment they rescue Pearl Girl from the dreaded Ika Inkblot, but will it be enough?
Mermicorno: Starfall episode 13 recap: Total Eclipse of My Heart
Our season 1 finale begins with a flashback to the night before the Adoptaversary, where Astra is placing the finishing touches on her gift, the locket, for Pearl Girl. Pearl Girl happens to interrupt, curious as to what her gift is.
But Astra is able to hide it in time. This memory weighs heavily on Astra's mind as she and her friends arrive at Ika Inkblot's lair.
Before they enter, Astra runs through the plan one more time, basing it on Princess Hana's diary. There is one hiccup; they'll need to use their gem powers sparingly as when they run out, the gems disappear.
They hope that once Pearl Girl is freed, she can use her powers to find Kameko's dad. Inside Ika's lair, he's preparing for the ritual and eclipse, setting up party decorations and the like, where we see that he has the power to turn sea creatures into Squidians with an orb.
With the eclipse beginning, Ika panics about the lack of the last star power when Sawtooth and the Squidians arrive with the bad news. Ika promptly fires Sawtooth for his constant failures.
Meanwhile, Astra plan starts off well until the group runs into Sawtooth as he's leaving the lair. This does not go according to the plan and thus everything starts to fall apart.
As the Mermicornos get inside the castle, they block the door from Sawtooth and the Squidians but need to split up. Squishella and Nautique remain at the door while Astra, Gwen, and Kameko continue onward to save Pearl Girl but get captured.
Unfortunately, Sawtooth and the Squidians break in, capturing Nautique after he instructs Squishella to turn invisible and hide. While captured, Astra begins to break down, confused as to why the plan is failing when it seemed foolproof.
Gwen reminds Astra that plans can change and just because Princess Hana wrote it in her diary doesn't mean it will work. Kameko finds a secret passage out of the holding cell that leads them to the kitchen.
Looking through the window in the door, Astra, Gwen, and Kameko can see Ika and Dark Pearl. Changing the plan, Gwen disguises herself as Sawtooth bringing Kameko to Ika while Astra tries to save Pearl Girl.
What no one expected was for Ika to reveal a whole lot of information about Kameko's father. He automatically assumes Kameko has powers claiming her father was once captured, and more importantly, he is a turtle.
Before Astra can get to Pearl Girl, Sawtooth and the Squidians arrive. Gwen's powers fade and now the Mermicornos are captured but wait...Squishella arrives to free them.
Even though they do not have much gem power left, they still fight back against Sawtooth and the Squidians, while Astra sings an upbeat song. Although they are defeated, Sawtooth tries to attack one last time when his hoof touches Gwen's accidentally.
He's transported to a flashback where he, a Sharkicorno, aided the Mermicornos. But the worst part happens when Gwen gets captured by Ika Inkblot, forcing Astra to choose between Pearl Girl and Gwen to save with her last protection star.
In the end, she chooses Gwen. Time runs out, the eclipse has arrived and so has Dark Pearl.
The Mermicornos have no choice but to retreat. While they do, Sawtooth stops the Squidians from following them.
When he returns to Ika, he receives his job back but is unsure about whether he should be helping the Mermicornos instead of working for Ika. The Mermicornos successfully escape but are uncertain what will happen to the rest of the ocean as the episode comes to a close.
Mermicorno: Starfall season 1 episodes 13 review
What a final episode and cliffhanger! I was not expecting the final episode to be as dramatic, exciting, and chaotic as it was.
Usually, midseason finales, season finales, and series finales are bigger and grander than other episodes, as this is going to be the final defining moment in the show before the show, if it does, continues. This is the episode everyone will remember the most so it needs to leave an impact.
Here, we knew the season finale would be the great rescue of Pearl Girl, but I didn't expect it to be an outright failure after all of the hard work our Mermicornos have done all season. On the flip side this is a smart choice for several reasons but most importantly to show that sometimes things don't go as planned and sometimes that means failure.
We can work as hard as we want toward something, but it doesn't guarantee the result we want. That's not to say we shouldn't work hard nor that we shouldn't try again.
By doing so we learn more than we ever could have expected about ourselves, others, and the situation at hand. But in terms of Mermicorno: Starfall this defeat is going to deeply affect our heroes, especially Astra.
I would not be surprised if they are all so impacted by it that it will take some time and a lot of friendship to fix their broken hearts. I'm thinking a lot of guilt on Gwen's part for placing herself in the situation that made Astra unsure who to choose.
I'm also guessing Astra will feel the most sad and disappointed believing she let the entire ocean and world down. The casual twist about Kameko's father was definitely an eyebrow-raiser.
I had a strange feeling that at least one of her parents must have been nonhuman but I'm confused as to how Kameko doesn't even know her father is a turtle herself. Unless he's able to turn into a human and turtle at whim.
But I was correct in thinking Ika Inkblot knew of his existence. But where did he go and how will Kameko and the Mermicornos find him?
I'm curious if a season 2 is greenlit, whether we'll meet Princess Hana and perhaps get more insight into how Dark Pearl can be saved. Maybe we can see more of Baby Bones?
My final thoughts on Mermicorno: Starfall are that it is a far more enjoyable and fun show than it gives itself credit for. The impromptu songs and theme song are such catchy and upbeat songs that it will be hard to forget them for some time.
Every character from the main villain Inka Inkblot to our heroes and the side characters they meet along the way have all been so carefully created and curated. Ika is the bad guy but he's the funny, incompetent kind of bad guy.
Far from threatening. Royal Mother Pearl is the Queen with a heart of gold and good intentions but doesn't realize half the things she says are downright confusing or funny.
Baby Bones, don't change, you are perfect! Do I have some idea as to what the plot of season 2 will be?
Sure. But at the same time, I'm not going to easily predict every moment of every episode.
This is a family-friendly cartoon but also knows the target audience. This was a show you could tell with every line of dialogue, every character drawn, and every little detail, was done with love and care for the original source material which is Tokidoki's Mermicornos.
Stream Mermicorno: Starfall season 1 on HBO MAX.