I’ve always been one to believe that having a healthy sense of ego can do wonders for a person moving about life, especially when you’re a teenager finding your place in the high school bubble, an otherwise awkward social experiment you’re forced to participate in for four years. My advice to all of you high schoolers out there: Be confident in who you are and who you’re becoming… but don’t let it go to your head because if a Kevaculous infiltrates your school, you’ll be the first to lose it – and by “it” I mean your head!
Don’t worry, Monster Hunters! If you’re unsure of just how much ego is too much, this week’s episode of Astrid & Lily Save the World, “Toenail,” (written by Veronika Paz and directed by Audrey Cummings) draws a heavy line between self-confidence and egomania for us.
A Most Unwelcome Guest | It’s Student Appreciation Day at Pine Academy High School and Principal Varshidi (Marvin Ishmael) has become the host of a most unwelcome guest, the ego-boosting Kevaculous. As the possessed Varshidi struts down the hallways, he hands out high-fives like they’re going out of style, infecting students with a deadly dose of egomania. Mark Truman was the first to fall victim to the monster’s flattery. It took only a matter of minutes for the athlete’s brain to burst.
Astrid (Jana Morrison) and Lilly (Samantha Aucoin) poke around the scene of the crime and discover the splattered mess that Mark left behind. The nature of his death sets off major monster alarms, sending the girls racing to meet with Brutus (Olivier Renaud) to get all the details on their latest foe. The monster hunters learn that they’ll need to perform an exorcism on Varshidi to rid him of the Kevaculous.
In the meantime, the only way to slow down the egos festering in infected students is to bruise their false confidence with some good old fashion bullying. Who better to recruit for the job than Pine Academy’s top bully himself, Tate (Kolton Stewart)? Tate gladly takes on the task and makes his way through campus firing off insults at every person he crosses paths with.
Double Trouble in Lover’s Paradise | Candace (Julia Doyle) confides in Lilly about her mother’s threat to remove her from the school play if she doesn’t earn an A+ on her biology midterm exam and Lilly offers to help. Lilly asks Eggs, Candace’s stage partner in Romeo & Juliet, to meet with Candace at the library to study with her. What results from Candace’s candid conversation with him is an epiphany that staying in a relationship with Tate to appease others is not worth her happiness anymore. Candace subsequently breaks it off with the jock and takes her first step away from the social constraints that her mom and her popularity at school have constricted her existence to.
Astrid and Sparrow (Spencer Macpherson) are also finding trouble in “lover’s paradise” after Astrid didn’t show up to their date. Later, the capture and defeat of the Kevaculous will be just the right kind of confidence boost she needs to spill her heart out to Sparrow and regain his trust.
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The Guardian | After a failed attempt to sedate Varshidi with some chloroform that Astrid whipped up in chemistry class, our monster slayers are forced to find an alternative way to get a hold of the Kevaculous for the exorcism. Valorie (Christina Orjala), who has hit a depressing lull in her acting career, has an ego too far broken to be exploited like her schoolmates’, so Astrid and Lilly ask the impenetrable Val to lure their principal into the school theater where the BFFs intend on extracting the parasitic invader.
As soon as Astrid and Lilly have Varshidi held captive, Brutus arrives to the exorcism with a bag of banishing goodies: a cauldron, eye of alien newt, dust of norm-norm horn, and ears in brine. Brutus also presents them with some handy-dandy toenail clippers to collect the clippings needed for the orb. Over the course of the exorcism, Lilly berates the Kevaculous to the point of submission. Before his deadly demise sets in, the monster warns our heroes of the true terror they have yet to face – the Guardian, otherwise known as Christine’s (Geri Hall) fallen angel!
Alright, my fellow Monster Hunters! The danger that’s brewing in Copper’s Cove has only just begun with the Guardian building an army to do his dirty bidding. I want to know your predictions for next week’s episode. Drop them in the comments section below!
Astrid & Lilly Save the World airs Wednesdays at 10pm on SYFY.