The penultimate episode of Astrid and Lilly Save the World is in the books. It’s bittersweet because, on one hand, it’s clear how far the show has come and how much it’s proven itself since the beginning. On the other, it’s sad to think the first season is already over. All the more reason to hope for more seasons for more of these characters and stories fans have come to love. 

With Lilly (Samantha Aucoin) and Astrid (Jana Morrison) on the outs, this episode was another opportunity to see their characters develop independently. It was particularly poignant seeing Lilly standing up for herself, and advocating for her needs and wants. Their separation just made fans remember why this friendship is so special, and it was all the more emotional when they finally reconnected. Fans knew they couldn’t stay apart for long. 

One of this show’s most endearing aspects are the blossoming romantic relationships. This episode gave us content in spades. Candace (Julia Doyle) is one of this show’s most complex characters. It was great to see her gathered in for her actions in the last episode and be able to rejoin Lilly and continue their relationship. It was actually devastating to see Sparrow (Spencer Macpherson), or a mind-controlled version of him, move through this episode. Hopefully, he’s still in there somewhere, and he and Astrid can continue their sweet high school romance. Finally, who knew Val (Christina Orjalo) and Eggs (Michael McCreary) would make such an adorable couple also? Color me pleasantly surprised.

This episode was the final culmination of Michelle’s (Megan Hutchings) artistic vision, a re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet but ‘down under’. As someone who has always ranked Romeo and Juliet at the bottom of the Bard’s works, I weirdly found Michelle’s take to be an improvement? I’m willing to fully accept being of the minority opinion on this. Thankfully Val was back from her emergency theatre camp to fully implement this vision. 

This week’s Monster of the Week was one that created a doppelganger of its victims. Its modus operandi was basically to become the person it was impersonating, absorb them, and relish in the fact that no one would be any the wiser. It was a heart-crushing moment when Lilly laments no one’s noticed how fake of a version the monster is of her. Both Samantha Aucoin and Jana Morrison played the fake versions of their characters to perfection. 

Relatedly, an argument can be made that Brutus (Olivier Renaud) was at his least useless this episode. Normally regulated to simply giving instructions, not listening, and generally being absent discovering the joys of Earth, it was nice seeing him actually get in on the monster-fighting action. I have a feeling the team will need him in the last episode of the season, for the final showdown with the Big Bad. 

Finally, this episode set Christine (Geri Hall) up perfectly for the final episode. The Big Bad has a face and a body, and the cracks are starting to show in Christine’s support for the cause. Christine has been one of the most well-constructed characters in a show filled with exceptional characters. She gets more evil every episode, and it’s been a downward spiral that’s been enthralling to watch. 

Astrid and Lilly Save the World is all set for what will hopefully be an epic season finale. We’ve come so far with these characters in such a short amount of time. Astrid and Lilly have spent an entire season getting ready to save the world. Next episode, they’ll finally have a chance to prove it. 

New episodes of Astrid and Lilly Save the World air Wednesdays on Crave.