4. "Past Present" Episode Review (GOOD)
"You cannot begin to imagine." - Sage, when she returns home to her cousin's
"Uh... hi." - Thyme, attempting to introduce herself to Parsley's brothers
"I'm sorry, did you say Thyme?" - Thyme's mother, when visiting Parsley's home
"Sure! She's my friend, from High Guardian Academy. The school got all infested with trabbers and was evacuated for the weekend, but her mom's away, so she's staying... with us." - Parsley, answering the question above before slowly realizing she is talking to Thyme's mother
What feels like a filler episode is not. Instead, "Past Present" is a deeper look into the lives of each of the girls, and it is about as personal as it can be.
Because High Guardian Academy is infested with trabbers, every student is required to return home; and surprisingly, Parsley is not responsible for this, nor is she held accountable. She could have easily and inadvertently did this in the previous episode. By leaving the underground caves, she could have released all of them into the school.
But consequently, the girls must reconcile, or confront their home life before going back to academy life. Sage is once again caught between old magic and new magic, while Parsley and Thyme have conflict with their mothers. Similar to the previous episode "Transformations," each girl has a plot, with the exception of Rosemary.
Having a life and conflict outside of High Guardian Academy, there is a bit more depth to the girls. Although I will admit that it is weird; if not lazy that all of the girls have issues with their mothers. Thyme would like to avoid Flora, Parsley is requested to stay at home with Angelica; and Sage learns that her mother experimented with new magic.
The latter is most egregious, because despite telling Sage to only use old magic, she does not appear in the episode, and it would've been nice to have some kind of flashback.
But in spite of Sage's arc focusing on old magic and new magic, there is no direct, easy explanation between their differences. After watching the episode, I wonder if different terraspheres have different properties, or if it is just cosmetic. I'm assuming it's the former, but it seems more like the latter.
Even though Sage is impressed by new magic in the first episode, when Aunt Aloe produces a new room for her and Rosemary to sleep in; I don't understand why she is so resistant to the terrasphere Anise gives her. And because Sage is the smart one of the group, she would crave knowledge and at least experiment with new magic; but this does trigger the events of the next episode.
She also claims that other students mock her for using old magic, but one student, Amaryllis, is not enough to support this. This doesn't really happen in the previous episodes, especially when she has never demonstrated or used old magic in front of other students. It could be argued that this happens in the background, but if this really does happen, then it should be shown on-screen.
As for Parsley, even though she is my favorite protagonist of the show, the conflict with her mother seems contrived. Parsley believes that she is stopping her from making something of herself, but she has already done this, due to being a blacksmith and fulfilling (I assume) family tradition, and this is in spite of being a girl in a masculine occupation.
Not only that, but in the episode "Disorientation Day," she is allowed to advance into Moss Phlox's third year class because she is already proficient at smithing; so why is she even bothering with academy life?
However, I'm also guessing that Parsley does not want to help her mother in taking care of their family; i.e. she does not want to be her mother's assistant by taking care of her brothers. I say "guessing" because I'm unsure of why she is so upset. It could also be because her life (and occupation) at home is preventing her from making friends and having a social life, but this is clearly not the reason.
Additionally, wouldn't Parsley's oldest brother become the next person in charge of helping their mother take care of the others?
Still, the episode is a good reminder that the girls have lives outside the academy. Even though none of the humor in the episode is hysterically funny, the dilemmas that the girls face still make memorable moments, owing to the awkward moments they find themselves in.
One good example is the face that Sage makes above. Another good example is when Thyme tries to introduce herself to Parsley's brothers when they are staring at her out of complete fascination. One of the boys even develops a crush on her.
But the best example is when Thyme's mother visits Parsley's shop to repair a pair of scissors. Afterwards, Parsley explains that Thyme is staying with her in order to hide from her mother. Then, she eventually realizes that she is directly talking to her. The way her smile fades is just funny. Adding to this is how Flora has such a straight face when listening to her and looking down on her
And sure, the plan to save Parsley's brother, Nettle, is complex and maybe even unnecessarily dramatic, but at least Parsley and Thyme work together to save him, and somewhat mend the relationship between Thyme and her mother.
Overall, I like the episode for showing that the girls can't run from their problems at home. Things may have happened in the past, but they still have relevance in the present.
But what about the future?
previous episode review: Transformations
next episode review: Lost Cause