Now that our Mermicornos have new hooflets, they need to find four gems that can give them even more powers. In Mermicorno: Starfall season 1 episodes 9 and 10, our team searches for the snow quartz and aquamarine gems, while Royal Mother Pearl and Barb try to aid the citizens of the sea who lose their homes due to Ika Inkblot.
Which of our Mermicornos will receive the gems first and what powers will it give them?
Mermicorno: Starfall episode 9 recap: A Song of Ice and Fire Noodles
The episode begins with our Mermicornos deciding to train and they manage to complete a task by combining their creative force powers. Afterwards, Astra tells them about how their hooflets can hold magic gems that increase their power as written in the diary.
The four gems are aquamarine, snow quartz, topaz, and pink pearl. Luckily Octokyo is having a ramen noodle eating contest where the winner receives chopsticks embedded in snow quartz. Gwen decides to enter the challenge and against all odds, she defeats the reigning champion Rowdy Skullvil.
But the victory comes at a cost as Gwen's ice powers have been depleted. Nautique overhears this bad news and insists they ask Astra for help.
Refusing to add more stress to her friend, Gwen disagrees and together they try to find a solution. Their solution however comes with an encounter with a snake oil salesman AKA: conman.
Gwen falls for his trick of wearing a hat, and while her eyes are closed, he slips ice into it. Gwen pays for the hat with the snow quartz chopsticks, oblivious to how she just made matters worse for the whole group.
Returning to the group, Gwen and Nautique find that everyone is wearing the same hat, which is actually a hat for the Octokyo Goldfish Basketbubble team. Gwen finally confesses what happened and together the Mermicornos find and defeat the conman.
The snow quartz chopsticks are returned and upon activating them, the gems choose Gwen, enabling her with imitation power.
Meanwhile back at the Pearl Kingdom, Barb has been working overtime trying to prepare for all of the evacuees but even Royal Mother Pearl notices she's overworked and on the brink of exhaustion. Regardless of the Queen's concern, Barb keeps working until she finds herself in a sticky situation.
Coming to terms that she cannot go on without aid, Barb finally asks Royal Mother Pearl for help and takes a long overdue and well-earned nap.
Mermicorno: Starfall episode 10 recap: As You Squish
After Squishella wakes up from a dream where she's able to defeat Sawtooth and the Squidians on her own, our team of Mermicornos decides to search for the aquamarine gem next, which is located on Mount Sora. It is immediately apparent that this episode will be heavily focused on Squishella, who due to her high maintenance and big dreams of being a superstar, is often left to wait for her friends to handle the dirty work.
Her friends don't mind, appreciating Squishella for who she is. But it may be time for Squishella to show them what she's capable of.
When they arrive at Mount Sora they find several musical rocks that Squishella begins to play with ease. Seahorses catch her and bring her to their village leader Bubbles.
Thanks to some translating by Nautique, the village sees Squishella as their hero because she could speak the language of the musical rocks. They give her the aquamarine and celebrate her arrival.
However, it doesn't take long for the celebration to end when a sea beast comes and steals all the musical instruments. The village believes Squishella is the hero who can defeat the beast.
The beast has been attacking the village for some time, but they can't leave because of the musical rocks that they have come to love and adore. Squishella decides to take on the task, disregarding any help from her friends.
Squishella's attempt to retrieve the aquamarine, which was swept up in the mess of the last attack, fails. But when she confesses to the group that she wants to feel capable, they agree to work together as a whole team.
In the process, Squishella learns that the music hurts the sea beast's ears. They decide to move the rock and the sea horses away from Mount Sora so they can play and sing as much as they want.
In the end, the sea beast returns all the stolen instruments. The aquamarine gem chooses Squishella and gives her the power of invisibility.
Mermicorno: Starfall season 1 episodes 9 and 10 review
One of the things I haven't extensively mentioned is the attention to detail in every episode. This ranges from the episode titles themselves to the artwork consistent with Tokidoki designs and styles to the way humor works in both the foreground and background.
Names for people, places, and even things are incredibly clever and well thought out. It may not seem like a major feat, but sometimes it is the smaller things that often bring about bigger impacts.
I find myself laughing harder at a joke or scene that was improvised or occurred accidentally in a film or TV show than the actually scripted moments. The message of both episodes comes down to not being afraid to ask for help when you need it.
It seems no matter your age, everyone is bound to have that moment of wanting to do something on their own, to be seen as a hero or at least capable of handling their own problems. But the fact of the matter is, powers or not, no one is perfect, and we will all eventually need help.
When we do, we shouldn't view it as a burden or weakness but just what makes us normal. With two gems down and two to go with only about three episodes left, I can't help but wonder if all the gems will be found in time.
Stream Mermicorno: Starfall season 1 on HBO MAX.