Review: Magical Girl Friendship Squad “Just Two Weak Girls”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

This episode opens with our duo, miffed that they were selected as guardians of the universe at random rather than due to fate, airing their discontent about their furry world creator/former friend, Nut. Daisy claims she doesn’t miss Nut, while Alex specifies she doesn’t even miss the red panda’s signature breakfast, “double decker pancake sandwiches”. Daisy’s stomach grumbles (“out of rage!”, of course) while Alex says she’ll just eat at work. Daisy is shocked to hear she’s still working at Aggregon after the company sicc’d some mutant egg monsters on them, which erupts in a fight. Alex storms off, saying that at least she’s trying to do something rather than just laze around and complain, leaving Daisy alone. In the meantime, Nut is attempting to find new guardians in the apartment building, to no avail. Alex is immediately captured by Verus at work, who’s taken Coffee Dude hostage in order to ensure Alex’s compliance. Daisy, starting to feel the loneliness setting in, opens the apartment door to find Lulu on the hunt for a wild animal that was reported in the building. As the grumpy landlady saunters off grumbling that the supposed raccoon in question “could have gone anywhere, but came there”, Daisy accepts that randomness is its own kind of fate, and heads down to the laundry room to find Nut hiding in an “out of order” washer. The two reconcile, and Daisy reveals that Alex is with Verus, who Nut knows to be dangerous, because “they have a history” (cue Daisy’s “What? You used to date?” comment, complete with obscene hand gestures.) The two rush to Alex’s aid, with some unexpected help from Corvin, only to have Verus summon “The Emptier” to destroy the universe right as they get there. Nut takes on Verus, while Daisy and Alex gear up, only to discover their magical powers aren’t working. The Emptier taunts them, saying they aren’t magic, but “just two weak girls!” Nut implores them to express their feelings towards each other, as their friendship is the true source of their powers. The two hesitate, claiming it’s cheesy, but finally acquiesce, and proceed to kick ass. With The Emptier defeated, and the world saved (for now), Verus teleports to another universe, and Alex and Daisy proceed to pick up right where they left off, congratulating Nut for having dated someone so hot, while also teasing her about her snake lady ex.

Our Take

This is one hell of a season finale. From learning about the true source of the magical duo’s powers to Jason Mantzoukas (that’s Dennis Feinstein for my fellow Parks and Recreation fans, or Adrian Pimento if Brooklyn 99 is more your jam) making his appearance as universe-destroying villain “The Emptier”, it manages to pack a lot of action, jokes, and feels into 12.5 minutes.

Hilarious highlights include Daisy identifying Corvin by his “Chalamet for Men” cologne, and Alex weighing a future with a guy she’s been on two dates with against the universe with all of her friends and everyone she’s ever met in it, “he *is* really tall…”

Mantzoukas, for his part, is exactly the right choice for the final boss of this season, balancing intimidating and goofy for an effect not unlike Alex Hirsch’s Bill from Gravity Falls, minus the multi-voice effect used by the more triangular single-eyed multi-dimensional evil being.

The action sequence is the most magical yet, both due to the fact that we get a sort of double-transformation sequence after our heroines express their love for each other, (“our friendship is the best!” “yeah, you wish you could connect like this!”) and the fact that the previous fighting music, Amyl and the Sniffers’ “I’m Not A Loser” is replaced by the more mystical (but still punk) “Black Moon” by The Screaming Females for the first transformation sequence, and, after the second transformation, the anime-tastic track “Emotion” by the rock idol J-pop group Q’ulle. The final effect combines the best of magical girl showdowns with classic anime final battles, with plenty of power beams a la Dragon Ball Z and similar. Not only does this serve to showcase how creators being fans of a certain genre can inform their approach to their own shows, but, as a fan myself, it further enhances the whole “friendship is magic!” theme by reconnecting this show to childhood faves, which I tended to watch with friends that I still (badly) keep in touch with now.

While I would LOVE to see additional seasons of this show, its future remains uncertain. But at least “Just Two Weak Girls” sends us off with a fitting message in this (for now) final piece: embrace the cheese, my friends. That’s where the magic is.