Two new Mermicornos join our group, but what about Sawtooth? In Mermicorno: Starfall season 2 episodes 9 and 10, Astra recruits Rip Tide and Sunsprite while Sawtooth discovers his creative force and decides to join the Mermicornos.
Mermicorno: Starfall episode 9 recap: Kraken Down
The group splits up with Astra, Gwen, and Kameko going to find Rip Tide and Sunsprite, while Nautique, Squishella, and Valentina stay behind at the Mermicorno kingdom. Gwen reminds Astra again about Sawtooth, but Astra chooses to ignore her again.
They find Rip Tide and Sunsprite, searching for a treasure chest in a cave when stingray Cap'n Cutter and her pirate stingray crew find them. Lucky for them, Astra, Gwen, and Kameko arrive to help Rip Tide and Sunsprite escape on their massive pirate ship, the SS Cool Boat.
Gwen finds their lack of appreciation for saving them troubling. Rip Tide and Sunsprite, who speaks incoherently but giggly Rainbowish, explain that they arrived in the ocean together during the Starfall, remembering to stick together.
Far from panicked, they go with the flow until they hear about Blackfin's treasure, which if found through a series of clues, will make them the greatest explorers in the ocean. The treasure chest they obtained has the last clue: the Kraken.
Wanting Rip Tide and Sunsprite to like her and be willing to join their mission to save Dark Pearl and stop Ika, Astra decides to pretend to be cool and carefree. This upsets and annoys Gwen, who has taken the role of the responsible one, constantly steering the ship and even saving Kameko from falling overboard.
Rip Tide and Sunsprite's carefree nature is also careless, but Astra refuses to listen to Gwen, which leads to them butting heads. When they arrive at the Kraken's location, they try to take the treasure chest from the top of its head.
But when Astra goofs around a little too much, all of them get swallowed. Before they can be eaten, Astra confesses to pretending to be cool so they would like her.
She also realizes she's a very good planner and thanks to her quick thinking, they manage to escape but leave the treasure behind. Astra tells Rip Tide and Sunsprite about their mission, and the two are on board!
Meanwhile, Squishella begins to feel jealous of the connection between Nautique and Valentina, noticing they have a lot in common. The two are working together to see what each of the pearl talismans can do when Squishella uses one, which accidentally turns everything upside down.
In the process, she drops the pearl, which they need in order to return to normal. Using tape, they tape their fins to the ground and begin going through all the pearl talismans.
As Nautique and Valentina continue to work wonderfully together, Squishella gets mad again and claims she found the right pearl, which instead shrinks them. The pearl shatters, unable to be put back together even with Squishella's creative force.
She finally comes clean about how Nautique is supposed to be her best friend, and she's worried she'll be replaced by Valentina who shares a lot more in common with him. Nautique reassures Squishella that it's because they are different that they are the best of friends.
Due to their small size, Squishella finds the right pearl talisman as evidenced by the remains of jelly on her hooves. Once their first issue is fixed, she uses a magnifying glass to magnify her creative force, putting the broken pearl pieces back together, thus returning them all to their correct size.
Mermicorno: Starfall episode 10 recap: Song of Sawtooth
As Sawtooth tries to hide Shelly the crab from getting caught, Ika has announced that he has taken over Octokyo. He tasks Sawtooth with a job: to wipe out the last of the creativity and round up the rebels.
In return, Sawtooth will be the Director of Creative Disruption. So, Sawtooth goes about stopping creativity but continues to feel horrible about doing so.
He follows the sounds of music into the sewers to find Penny, the singer for Pop Star Princess, playing her guitar. Angered, Sawtooth takes the instrument away, hoping to instill fear.
But Penny isn't fazed. When Sawtooth returns to Ika's base in Octokyo, he adds the guitar to the pile of other instruments when he accidentally touches an electric guitar.
It startles him and Shelly, coming to the realization that his creative force is music. The sound alerts Ika, causing Sawtooth to lie on the spot, but Dark Pearl doesn't believe him, suspicious of his glowing green hooves.
Later, Sawtooth sees Penny and blames her musical tune for getting stuck in his head. She deduces that he's a musician like her and needs to write his own song.
Sawtooth denies it and leaves but is unable to sleep. He gives up and goes back to Penny, where the two decide to work together.
She'll help him write a song, and he'll return her guitar. But when he goes to retrieve the guitar from the rest of the instruments, they fall out, and the commotion alerts Ika.
Sawtooth lies again, where Ika buys it, but Dark Pearl does not. For days Sawtooth and Penny work together to the point Ika wonders why more rebels haven't been collected or more creativity been stopped.
Sawtooth confides in Penny about how when he arrived to the ocean during the starfall, he lost his memories. The first person he meets is Ika, who lies to him about how dangerous the Mermicornos are.
Ika allows Sawtooth to stay and work for him as long as he doesn't do anything creative. This is how Sawtooth receives his name.
Sawtooth confesses that he remembers his real name being Sharkicorno and that he was friends with the Mermicornos, but he doesn't want to leave Ika, as he's been his only friend since he arrived. Even though Ika always got angry every time he tried to do anything remotely musical.
Penny reminds Sawtooth that Ika is not his friend for trying to stop him from being himself. When Ika and Dark Pearl find Sawtooth in the sewers with Penny, Ika assumes he was going to bring her to him.
Sawtooth betrays Penny, and thus she is taken with the intent of being turned into a Squidian the next morning before Octokyo in the hopes no one will rebel again. Sawtooth is given his new title and finally respected by Ika, but he decides to throw it all away by freeing Penny and Shelly.
When Ika learns of Sawtooth's escape, he sends his Squidians who are easily defeated by Sawtooth and Penny's song. Penny decides to seek a safe haven, whereas Sawtooth intends to find the Mermicornos.
Angered by Sawtooth's betrayal, Ika turns every citizen of Octokyo into a Squidian.
Mermicorno: Starfall season 2 episodes 9 and 10 review
Yay, Sawtooth or Sharkicorno is finally free of Ika and going to join our Mermicornos! I've been waiting so long for his story to unfold and I wasn't disappointed.
Episodes 9 and 10 really pushed the importance and value of being yourself as Astra, Squishella, and Sawtooth all worked through the same problem that most kids, teens, and even adults find themselves in. Who truthfully, doesn't want to be accepted?
But with acceptance comes learning who your real friends are. As Mermicorno: Starfall has beautifully expressed, friendships are not built on bullies, nor distrust, nor lack of respect.
It's mighty convenient that Ika only now sees Sawtooth's value and potential when completing horror deeds, and not for the creative musician he was. The same can be said of what Gwen went through.
Another aspect of wanting to be accepted is the fear of losing the friends you've gained. Will they stop being my friend because I'm not similar to them?
Will they stop being my friend because I won't do what they want? Will they stop being my friend because they don't like me for my quirks, interests, or strengths?
Building lasting friendships is such a powerful, creative force, in its own way, and it's wonderful to see a kids' show embody realistically and maturely. Some friendships won't last forever, but that doesn't mean it's not worth making friends at all.
With three episodes left, will our Mermicornos, with the help of Sharkicorno, be able to rescue Dark Pearl, defeat Ika, and save the ocean? I'm concerned that with so many loose threads needing to be tied, there will not be enough time.
Which does leave the potential for a season 3, if a season 3 can be greenlit. Television shows, even kids' media, can fall victim to early and unfair cancellations.
Considering Mermicorno: Starfall has been the best kids' media I've consumed in literal years, I'd be heartbroken to see it wasted. Let's finish the story on a high and hopeful note!
Stream Mermicorno: Starfall season 2 on HBO MAX.