"But when my sister had Transformation, she merely turned purple for two days."
—Starfire
Starfire struggles with the puberty blues, eventually leading her to abandon Earth in search of a place where her new "hideous" form will not lead to her being ostracized. Unfortunately, this leads her into the clutches of an alien being who feeds on adolescent Tamaraneans.
Tropes:
- An Aesop: Looks can be deceiving. Also, true friends don't care what you look like on the outside. They like you for you and that's all that really matters.Robin: (to Starfire) No matter how you change on the outside, you'll always be Starfire on the inside.
- Always a Bigger Fish: The Chrysalis-Eater plans to make a meal out of Starfire while she is inside her coccoon. After our heroes beat her, she is encountered by the massive carnivorous plant that tried to eat Starfire a while earlier and is devoured by it.
- And I Must Scream: Subverted when Star is trapped in the cocoon; she can still talk, she just can't move.
- Baffled by Own Biology: Tamaranean Starfire undergoes multiple strange mutations and fears she is turning into a monster. When she flees to outer space for fear she will be rejected by her friends, she learns that she's going through a type of Tamaranean Transformation (their equivalent of puberty), with hers being one of the few culminating in forming a chrysalis around herself. Unfortunately, the being she learns this from specifically eats Tamaranean chrysalises! Downplayed, because while Starfire knew of the Transformation, she didn't realize it could manifest the way hers did — her sister Blackfire just turned purple for a couple of days.
- Bait-and-Switch: When Starfire's transformation is revealed, everyone in Jump City starts to laugh at her, the Titans and Plasmus included... But it turns out to be an Imagine Spot since right after her changes are revealed, Robin asks if she's okay.
- Bait the Dog: A beautiful woman approaches Starfire on a planet, calms her down and explains that what she is going through is a natural process for Tamaraneans. When a chrysalis starts growing on Star, immobilizing her, the woman reveals that she is a monster who plans to eat Starfire.
- Big Damn Heroes: Just as the Chrysalis-Eater is about to eat an immobilized Starfire, the Titans show up in the nick of time to save her.
- Big "NO!": The Chrysalis-Eater yells out one as she is about to be eaten by the alien plant.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Before revealing herself, the Chrysalis-Eater dresses as a beautiful woman in white and calms down Starfire, telling her that the puberty blues are perfectly normal. Then when Starfire gets trapped in her "chrysalis," the creature reveals her true form, a spider-like monster with large pincers and teeth.
- By the way, the creature's female form resembles that of the White Witch from the Legion of Super-Heroes.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: The "transformation" that Starfire goes through is basically the Tamaranean-equivalent to puberty in humans, and apparently, the transformation is different for every Tamaranean alien—for example, Starfire claims that when her sister, Blackfire, went through her transformation, she simply turned purple for two days. And according to the alien creature that tries to eat Starfire, Starfire's one of the few Tamaraneans to form a chrysalis instead after a period of various cosmetic mutations.
- Body Horror: Poor Star. First the zit, then her fingers sprouting claws, then her feet becoming huge and hairy. She keeps "changing, and changing, and changing," as the narrator puts it.
- Break the Cutie: After hitting puberty and becoming hideous and being humiliated for her appearance, Starfire cries and leaves earth thinking she is a monster with tears leaving behind her as she flies away in space.
- Bright Is Not Good: In her humanoid disguise, the Cironielian Chrysalis-Eater appears as an eerily beautiful woman with chalk-white skin and dressed in a matching robe. She retains the white coloring (albeit with some purple and black now mixed in) even after assuming her true form.
- Casual Interstellar Travel: Starfire travels to multiple inhabited planets and, according to the Narrator, the "deepest darkest parts of the galaxy". Justified as she was previously mentioned as capable of achieving FTL flight. The Titans on the other hand are less justifiable, as Cyborg somewhat uncertainly modifies their deep sea submarine for space travel to follow her.
- Continuity Nod:
- Once more the Titans fight Plasmus, who now gains oozing toxic pustules.
- Star makes reference to her sister Blackfire going through the transformation.
- Determinator: The Titans, especially Robin, flying in space from planet to planet to find Starfire.
- Failed a Spot Check: None of the Titans realized that Starfire was covering up her increasing oddities, even when she buried her clawed hands into a large sundae.
- False Reassurance: The Chrysalis-Eater assures Star that "it will all be over," right before revealing that she eats Tamaraneans that grow through the chrysalis.
- Fractured Fairy Tale: Used as a Framing Device, complete with a book opening\closure akin to Disney movies and adequate narration.So the happy young girl returned home with her friends. And they all lived happily ever after...that is... until Beast Boy got the chicken pox.
- Giant Spider: In her true form, the Chrysalis-Eater is a rather huge-sized, arachnid-looking alien monstrosity.
- I Am a Monster: Starfire says this right before leaving Earth.
- Innocently Insensitive: Starfire's decision to leave the planet in shame from her metamorphosis is partly fueled by what she hears Robin say about Plasmus before her "deformities" are revealed.Robin: No matter how nasty he gets, he's just a monster. And like every other monster, he's got to go.Starfire: (Later, after her disguise falls off) I am sorry... I have "got to go".
- Just Desserts: The Chrysalis-Eater ends up devoured by the Man-Eating Plant (a subtle irony, as it didn't like how Starfire tasted, instead choosing the alien who wanted to prey on Starfire).
- Karmic Death: After failing to devour Starfire and being defeated, the Chrysalis-Eater finds herself at the mercy of the huge alien plant, which promptly gobbles her up.
- Loves the Sound of Screaming: One could conceivably excuse the Chrysalis-Eater's actions as that of any other predator if she didn't sadistically goad Star as the cocoon was covering her, telling her, "Please, scream all you wish, it whets my appetite."
- Mid-Season Upgrade: In this episode Starfire gains to blast her star bolts from eyes, thanks to her transformation.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: Raven treats Starfire's concern over her giant "zit" as this, though any normal person would be freaked out. Fans were quick to joke that Raven must get "big" pimples.
- Noodle Incident: Starfire describes her sister's puberty this way, saying that Blackfire "only" turned purple for two days.
- Out-of-Character Moment: Raven makes a Pun-based quip during the fight with the Chrysalis-Eater: "I think it's time we wrap things up!" as she manipulates some cobwebs to do that, which feels like something Beast Boy or Cyborg would have said.
- Potty Dance: The episode begins with Beast Boy doing this as Starfire laments the beginning of her transformation.
- Puberty Superpower: After her Transformation is complete, Starfire can shoot starbolts from her eyes as well as her hands.
- Suddenly Shouting: Cyborg’s response to Robin bugging him about his progress on the T-Ship.Robin: Cyborg, how long until we can launch?
Cyborg:(over the comm) Oh, about five minutes after you (Cyborg's mouth pops out of the comm to yell in Robin's face) QUIT ASKING ME THAT!!! - Terms of Endangerment: The Chrysalis-Eater calls Starfire “my dear” several times, both before and after revealing her true form and intentions.
- Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: A Man-Eating Plant tries to eat Star, but then spits her out. It's cold comfort for her, however, as it makes her think she's so hideous that she isn't even fit to eat.
- Took a Level in Badass: After Starfire completes her transformation, she gains the ability to fire energy beams from her eyes.
- True Beauty Is on the Inside: The episode's Aesop, naturally.
- [Verb] This!: When Starfire is free from the cocoon for her transformation, the Chrysalis-Eater then tells Raven and Cyborg she will devour them for ruining her chance to eat Starfire. Then Starfire yells "Devour this!" before she blasts her with her new ability to fire starbolts from her eyes.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Starfire doesn't return to Tamaran, believing she is too ugly to fit in with her former comrades. She does return to Earth at the end, however, after defeating the Chrysalis-Eater.
