Our favorite high schoolers and monster hunters are back in Astrid and Lilly Save the World’s latest episode. This show just gets more endearing to watch every week. The monsters are getting more creative, and the characters are getting more lovable, if that was even possible.
Separating Astrid (Jana Morrison) and Lily (Samantha Aucoin) from each other for most of the episode was a smart idea. If anything, having their characters go on their separate quests deepened their friendship, and made them that much stronger when they came back together. Astrid’s sweet relationship with Sparrow (Spencer Macpherson) is back on track to be a classic high school romance of the best kind. Lilly’s continued reconnection with one of the school’s most popular girls, Candace (Julia Doyle) after the two had been friends as children has the potential to be the most heartwarming part of this series and the redemption arc everyone needs.
There was also more development of the minor characters this week while the leads found themselves. VP Michelle Knight (Megan Hutchings) got to try her hand at holding auditions for the school play, which was a glorious disaster. Her idea to re-set Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet in Australia was so terrible and yet wholly unsurprising. Sparrow got to prove himself as a worthy partner for Astrid by taking her on a date to a local ice rink. Although said rink was horrifically unsafe by having next to no lighting, Sparrow rose above, showed how supportive he can be, and why this budding romance is worth keeping.
The theatre auditions brought their own brand of anarchy to a series intent on embracing chaos. The Dom Toretto monologue was hilarious, and I for one hope that some high schooler somewhere is inspired to make this their own in their real-life high school play audition. Candace’s Erin Brockovich was just stilted enough to be perfectly humanizing, which her character so deserves. We’ve seen cracks in the untouchably popular veneer so far, and it’s so lovely every time her humanity shines through. Finally, the Jaws monologue was next level, and that kid is definitely destined for greater things than his high school play despite his insistence he’s not an actor.
This episode’s Monster of the Week was another fascinating one. Astrid and Lilly Save the World has been so creative with their monsters. So many monster stories waste the potential of the almost infinite possibilities that this genre can bring. Even though the series is only four episodes in, Astrid and Lilly Save the World clearly doesn’t have that problem. This week’s monster was more of a misadventure, a poor soul who fell through a crack in the universe and landed on Earth. As someone with extensive experience with seasonal allergies, this was by far the most sympathetic monster I’ve seen, since he was allergic to basically everything living.
The Christine (Geri Hall) storyline remains among the most fascinating. What makes it so effective in the context of the show is that a tiny new glimpse is seen every episode. Just enough is revealed to make the whole story incredibly creepy. Her blind devotion to this unseen demon is unsettling, and yet so relatable to anyone who has interacted with religious extremism. It makes fans want more, and this story is clearly building to an apex.
Astrid and Lilly Save the World is fast becoming a comfort show that, while not perfect, is incredibly endearing. The characters get deeper every episode and the Monster of the Week format works incredibly well. Combined with a creepy, through-line story, this series is shaping up to be something special.
New episodes of Astrid and Lilly Save the World air Wednesdays on Crave.