http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarVsTheForcesOfEvilS2E3MrCandleCares
Star rebels after the school guidance counselor insists her future is set in stone.
Tropes:
- Adults Are Useless: Especially when Tom is paying them to be manipulative, and to look the other way when capturing a teenager.
- Bait the Dog: It seems that the guidance counselor Mr. Candle is doing a good job, by telling Oskar he's going to become a musician and the school swimming star he's going to be an athlete. Then he tells Star that she can only be Queen of Mewni. He also tells Marco that he's going to be a janitor.
- Black Comedy Burst: Star plans to cut off a friendly mermaid's tail. Poor Tiffany then finds her cage broken, and she's flopping around like a fish while Marco and Star hug.
- The Chains of Commanding: Queen Butterfly mentions that being queen doesn't give you time to do what you want or be happy. Marco points out that Star can still run Mewni her way.
- Character Development: Tom seems to consider Star's feelings more when he and Marco talk about how she's a free spirit, and he accepts her rejection of him.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Tom straps Marco to a wheel and spins him around until he confesses that the "smooch buddies" was a lie.
- Cooking Duel: Marco challenges Tom to a game of ping-pong for his freedom. It doesn't go well for Marco, but he manages to talk his way out instead.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Tom beats Marco in 58 games of ping pong, which he lampshades. Justified as that Tom was using magic and fire- based balls.
- Delinquent Hair: As part of her punk makeover, Star shaves half her hair, dyes it purple, and styles it so some of it covers her left eye.
- Didn't Think This Through: Marco lying to Mr. Candle about dating Star, so as to out Tom as a liar. He forgot that the last time he confronted the demon, Tom nearly barbecued him.
- Distinction Without a Difference: Star doesn't cheat at ping-pong, she just makes the rules and changes them. Tom and Marco agree about this.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The guidance counselor tells a Hispanic honor-level student that he'd do best work as a janitor. Marco is upset, for good reason.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Even a demon like Tom will not want to see someone use the toilet and do their business, so without hesitation, tells Mr. Candle to flush him to hang up on him.
- Everyone Has Standards: Marco calls Star planning to cut off a mermaid's tail shameful.
- Funny Background Event: In the episode's ending, the Warnicorn Star summons just for the fun of it breaks the mermaid's tank, and she starts to flop on the ground gasping for air.
- He Knows Too Much: After establishing that "Starco" is not a thing, Tom prepares to kill Marco for knowing about the scheme.
- Hope Spot: For a moment it seems Tom regrets trying to manipulate Star when Marco points out that Tom lied to her and made her think she was inadequate. Then Tom says he has to kill Marco so he can't blab the truth.
- Killer Rabbit: Pear Grenades are this.
- Loophole Abuse: Subverted. Star prepares to cut off a mermaid's tail so that she will never be queen, but Marco interferes so that Tom can confess, and Star didn't want to hurt "Tiffany" anyway.
- The Makeover: Star shaves off half her hair, dyes it purple, and changes to a rebellious punk outfit. Thanks to her magic, she's back to normal by the next episode.
- Oh, Crap!: Mr. Candle freaks out when Marco claims to be "smooch buddies" with Star, because he knows Tom is watching and is going to lose his temper.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Marco's ping-pong match with Tom. No matter how good Marco is, he's still a human, while Tom is a demon prince with magic powers. (Also, based on the ping-pong trophies in the background, Tom is probably a better player than Marco even without cheating.) In the end, Marco just can't win, which he himself admits, and the only way he can get out of this is by convincing Tom that he is using the wrong method to get Star back.
- Portmanteau Couple Name: Invoked when "Starco" for Star and Marco is dropped by Mr. Candle and Tom.
- Potty Emergency: After meeting with Tom in the bathroom, Mr. Candle asks him to leave because he actually does have to use the bathroom.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Marco points this out to Tom when it's clear he can't beat Tom at ping-pong. Even if Tom does win and kills him, it won't make Star love him. This gets Tom to concede and admit the truth to Star.
- Relationship Sabotage: Tom tries to use Mr. Candle to sabotage Marco and Star's relationship, preemptively or otherwise, by making sure their potential careers would keep them apart. It backfires when Marco catches on and confronts Tom, ultimately getting Tom to accept that he has no chance with Star while Marco and Star's friendship remains strong.
- Ship Sinking:
- A minor point: Star points out that Marco is her roommate, and Mr. Candle admits that dating your roommate would be awkward.
- Tom accepts Star's rejection of him and leaves her and Marco on good terms.
- Ship Tease:
- Zig-zagged; Star claims that Marco is just her friend, and Mr. Candle relays to Tom that "Starcoinvoked is strictly platonic", but Tom doesn't want to take any chances. The episode ends with Marco and Star sharing a big hug, and one of Tom's demonic servants quips "Point: Marco".
- Also, when Mr. Candle asks Star if she has a crush on Marco, she responds "He's my roommate. We're just friends." Note that neither of those is actually a denial of having a crush on Marco.
- Then, Marco knew Tom was involved, so he decides to mess with Mr. Candle regarding his current relationship with Star to draw Tom out.
- Spit Take: Mr. Candle does one when Marco claims to be "smooch buddies" with Star.
- Take a Third Option: Marco does remind Star that she can rule Mewni her way. Apparently, Star forgot she can do that.
- Talking the Monster to Death: Despite getting utterly curb-stomped by Tom in ping-pong, Marco manages to convince him that forcing Star to be his girlfriend would take away from her independent spirit, the thing Tom admires most about Star.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Tom accepts Star's rejection of him and leaves without causing a scene.
- Tranquil Fury: Marco when he overhears that Tom is paying Mr. Candle to ensure that Star gets back together with him.
- The Unreveal:
- We don't know how Britney's appointment goes.
- We never found out what happened between the events of "Blood Moon Ball" and this episode for that matter.
- Villain Has a Point: While it's debatable whether he's an actual villain, Mr. Candle is right when he said that Star will be queen of Mewni regardless of how she feels about it.
- Wham Shot: Mr. Candle talking to Tom in the boys' bathroom.
