Two down and only eight more portal-crossing hellions to hunt down. In Astrid & Lilly Saves the World, Episode “Amygdala,” our two favorite monster slayers, Astrid and Lilly, put their courage to the ultimate test when their third adversary threatens to exploit the deepest, darkest fears of the students and faculty at Pine Academy High School. This week’s episode was written by Alexandra Mircheff and directed by J. Stevens.
Conquer Your Fears | Nothing says “good morning” quite like a startling scare. Brutus (Olivier Renaud) begins the day’s monster hunter conditioning with an unexpected visit to Lilly’s (Samantha Aucoin) room that makes the girls practically leap out of their skin. The lesson: “You have to learn how to conquer your fears… You have to always be ready,” Brutus explains to them.
In addition to the fright, Brutus brings good news. Astrid (Jana Morrison) and Lilly’s superpowers are on track to strengthen and the gals should also expect to gain super hearing and sight soon. Even with enhanced power, our heroes will be no match to the diabolical Fear Demon, known as the Timoring, if they don’t conquer their greatest fears first. Not to mention, the only way “Tim” is going down is if Astrid and Lilly can somehow uncover the monster’s own phobia.
Trust is a Must | As much as Astrid and Lilly want to trust Brutus’ intentions as their guide, the duo is still hung up on the suspicion that Razor planted in their minds. After all, Brutus has provided them with little to no personal history and their training has been feeling a little too spontaneous and misguided. Why does Brutus want to help them save humankind? What’s his deal?! After confronting Brutus, however, the gals get the background they need to feel more at ease with accepting his “Giles”-like guidance.
They learn that their monster friend is an agent for the Portal Protectorate, trained since he was a hatchling to patrol the many portals of the Universe. With a flash of his oh-so-official badge, Brutus gives them the serious lowdown on what’s at stake if the three of them don’t work together: “Portals weaken the architecture of the Universe… If there’s too many open at once, it could cause the whole cosmos to collapse.” Eight more monsters will be no easy feat if Astrid and Lilly want to close the portal they accidentally opened, so trust is a must!
Fearmonger Fail | The Timoring claims his first victim during Astrid and Lilly’s night out on the prowl. They find a deceased substitute teacher on the floor of a classroom with an abnormally large snake fang protruding from her neck!
Next, Tim makes an attempt to kill Vice Principal Michelle (Megan Hutchings) in broad daylight. The demon creatively manifests Michelle’s phobia of aging and presents himself as a creepy clown with a cake adorning a 30th birthday candle. The thought that anyone could think she’s turning 30 years old cripples the vain vice principal with fear. Luckily, Astrid, Lilly, and the school’s handyman with a tube of mayonnaise interrupts Tim before he can kill the trembling woman.
The fearmonger tries once more, this time by hackling Valorie (Christina Orjalo) as she practices a monologue for a school play. The poor girl is booed off stage and then subsequently chased out of the theater. When Astrid and Lilly finally catch up to Val, they find her in a puddle of tears and macaroni salad. This is the second time that Tim has failed to actually kill his victim. What could possibly be preventing him from doing so?
There’s Another Monster in Town | The Timoring isn’t the only monster threatening mankind. The local Christian extremist Christine (Geri Hall) has been harboring a twisted villain who has convinced her that he’s an angel sent to help her rid the world of the evil Jonas, her daughter Candace’s (Julia Doyle) photography teacher. Now that Jonas is dead, Christine’s “angel” shares with her that they will be building a new world together – how sweet (*read with sarcasm) — but in order to do so they’ll need to recruit more hands. Together, Christine and her youth group set out to wrangle up more teens, and their first target is Astrid.
Christine and her cringey crew barge into Lilly’s home with a letter from Astrid’s mom granting them permission to take Astrid for the annual youth group lockdown. Without a choice in the manner, Astrid is forced to leave with them. The only plus side to this radical, religious-fueled abduction is that Sparrow (Spencer Macpherson) has also been captured.
Lilly kicks her super-powered leg into high gear when she hops on her bike and bolts over to the church where Astrid and Sparrow are being held prisoner. She arrives just in time to bust Astrid and her bestie’s crush before they’re subjected to some hellish torture designed to guilt teenagers into joining Christine’s cult. It’s safe to say that being held captive and forced to conform to Christine’s radical beliefs is Astrid’s biggest fear.
Mayophobia | Ready to brave the terrifying Timoring, Astrid and Lilly make their way over to Pine Academy. Tim takes no time at all to transform himself into a walking, talking dodgeball man ready to smash Lilly into the gym floor. Like a true detective, Astrid makes the connection of Tim’s disappearance after attacking Val and Vice Principal Michelle with mayonnaise. Yes, a frightening Fear Demon has a “mayophobia”.
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Rather than cowering down to her dodgeball nightmare, Lilly takes on her fear and goes head-to-head with Tim. This turns out to be the perfect distraction, allowing Astrid to arm herself with mayo dispensers. Astrid manages to hold Tim off just long enough before Astrid can douse him with ungodly amounts of America’s favorite condiment and make him shrivel up in fright. Lilly seals the deal on her dodgeball triumph by landing one swift stomp to Tim’s noggin – splat! The demon’s amygdala is harvested and that’s one more menacing monster to check off the list!
Turning Up & Turning Heads | The next day at school, Brutus makes an effort to earn Astrid and Lilly’s trust when he shows up to intervene as one of Christine’s minions starts bullying Astrid about having an imaginary boyfriend. Mr. “Hottie with a Body” turns heads as he walks down the hall and up to Astrid to slip his arm around her neck. The youth group twat is left speechless. Way to step up for our baddies, Brutus!
All of you Monster Hunters out there, I have to know: if you were met with the Timoring, how would your greatest fear manifest? Also, who else is crushing on Brutus after Episode “Amygdala”?!
Astrid & Lilly Save the World airs Wednesdays at 10pm on SYFY.
