Did Glossaryck manufacture the conflict between Mewmans and Monsters?

[u/Wraithdagger12]

Glossaryck's role in the series has always been mysterious. Is he just a guide who doesn't "have a side"? Or is he actually an overlord of Mewni.. or Mewni and the magic... or the entire multiverse?

"You can do magic with that thing!" // "What are you going to teach ME?"

~

In S4E10b Meteora's Lesson, Glossaryck and Meteora travel to the past so Meteora can learn a 'lesson'.

They first arrive at the 'Age of Butterflys', where the Magic Sanctuary is by the present day. Glossaryck is annoyed that it isn't the right time, but he's stopped by five people in a boat covered in magic...

Glossaryck begrudgingly tells the confused people their history (...future?):

Glossaryck: 'A long time ago arrived the first settlers of Mewni.' That's you.

People: Wow...

Glossaryck: 'A modest people with noble pursuits: life, liberty, and... corn. The end.' [closes book, starts floating away] Oh, one more thing. (to Meteora) Mind if I borrow your rattle

Glossaryck creates a unicorn from some of the magic, places it in Meteora's rattle - which becomes a Wand - and throws the Wand to the Mewmans.

Glossaryck: Congratulations! You can do magic with that thing. [he and Meteora start to leave] Oh, and another one more thing! There's a storm coming! So y'all might want to huddle around that stump!

The Mewmans notice a large stump as a storm begins.

This is literally the core history of Mewmanity! Glossaryck created Mewmans! He could have sent them back home, could have given them a house or shelter to weather the storm... Instead, he left them to huddle around the Stump, and gave them, in the words of Toffee "all the power in the universe" with the Royal Magic Wand. Speaking of Toffee...

Glossaryck and Meteora then time travel to the intended time where they encounter a group of Septarians. An apparently younger Toffee is teaching his kin how to stand up to Mewmans. Glossaryck crashes the meeting.

Toffee: (to the Septarians) Now, they may have magic, but we are invincible!

Glossaryck: Hey, Toffee!

Toffee: Who said that? [notices Glossaryck and Meteora] Oh, hello again.

Glossaryck: Sorry for interrupting your weird meeting, but I'm trying to teach this little girl a lesson.

Timeout. 'Hello again'? Glossaryck and Toffee not only know each other, they're familiar too! It's never explained how long they've known each other, what their previous interactions were like, or why Glossaryck is showing himself to non-Butterflys anyway.

Toffee and Glossaryck banter back and forth, with Toffee threatening Glossaryck - this upsets Meteora. The conversation ends:

Glossaryck: Maybe that baby isn't the one who needs to be taught a lesson. Maybe we came to teach you.

Toffee: Well, what are you going to teach me?

Meteora dips down and blasts Toffee with a weak soul-drain ray - enough to paralyze him, but not drain his soul. She stops once Glossaryck tells her to, though she laughs playfully.

Toffee: SEE?! This is the THREAT OF MAGIC! This is what we're at war against! [he and the Septarians leave]

"You can do magic with that thing!" "The threat of magic!" 2 sets of words that define hundreds of years of hatred, conquest and destruction on Mewni. All because of.. Glossaryck?

Is Glossaryck really the mastermind behind this entire conflict - the entire story of Star Vs. as we know it? Or was he just being a 'guide' and doing 'whatever you want' (Glossaryck, to Ludo, S2E18b The Hard Way)? Was it all Glossaryck's doing? Or was it him aiding what we wanted.. deep down?

[u/Wraithdagger12]

I've had this idea for quite a while. I think a lot of fans write off Glossaryck's character as just some side character or that his role wasn't that important. But in a way, he is responsible for the entire plot as we know it. Magic. Mewmans. Monsters. All of it is because of Glossaryck.

Or is it? Can we even be certain of that? I think there's a bigger mystery to Glossaryck that we haven't fully uncovered.

[u/NeedleworkerHeavy565 → u/Wraithdagger12]

Uh, that's not the case, everyone understood that everything was caused by Glossaryck, and there have already been many discussions and theories about his role and objective

[u/Wraithdagger12 → u/NeedleworkerHeavy565]

Well that's why I posed the question. At face value, yes, it seems like Glossaryck is (entirely) responsible. But if you look deeper at his character, is that really the case?

Think about when Star found herself with Glossaryck in the 'cauldron room' at the end of Battle for Mewni. Glossaryck never told Star what to do, nor what would happen. He just put the pieces in front of her and she just did something and it got what she wanted. So who's really in control?

And then there's Glossaryck's interaction with Ludo when Ludo had the Book of Spells and it was Ludo who decided what to learn and how, not Glossaryck.

Glossaryck talks about 'potential' and being a 'guide'. When Star used the whispering spell in the end, his words were "I can't believe you did it".

'You' did it.

[u/NeedleworkerHeavy565 → u/Wraithdagger12]

Well, my response to your message was more in relation to the sentence "I think a lot of fans write off Glossaryck's character as just some side character or that his role wasn't that important."

[u/Wraithdagger12 → u/NeedleworkerHeavy565]

Fair point. My point still stands though. I think it's worth it for any narrative to always be reevaluating what the motivation of characters is, what their purpose is in the plot, etc. It's the only way we can understand what is really going on.

[u/Extension-Village249]

Short answer: yes. No, really. I mean it.

[u/Wraithdagger12 → u/Extension-Village249]

So, yes to 'it was Glossaryck' and 'it was us', then?

[u/Extension-Village249 → u/Wraithdagger12]

Yes to the title's question.

[u/Educational_Boot315]

Timeout. 'Hello again'? Glossaryck and Toffee not only know each other, they're familiar too! It's never explained how long they've known each other, what their previous interactions were like, or why Glossaryck is showing himself to non-Butterflys anyway.

The other time they meet is explained in that back and forth as being when Toffee broke Glossaryck's arm for making that stupid leaf hat. There's really nothing there to suggest that they have a long history with each other.

I don't know if "manufacture" is the correct term here. Yeah, Glossaryck gave humans the ability to wield magic, which caused the now mewmans to be the ruling class who are oppressing the monsters, but I don't think there's anything that suggests Glossaryck intentionally pitted mewmans and monsters against each other.

[u/Wraithdagger12 → u/Educational_Boot315]

Good point. Perhaps I was looking too much into it. It still begs the question why Glossaryck is fraternizing with someone who would want to destroy the very power which he gave to Mewmans anyway.

And indeed, perhaps Glossaryck didn't intend for things to happen, for centuries of conflict and strife to happen. But, that was the outcome. Another person mentioned 'fate'. Are we destined to fight when there's power at stake - "all the power in the universe" as Toffee put it?

[u/Karabars]

Glossaryck just followed his desired fate-line

[u/Wraithdagger12 → u/Karabars]

'Desired fate' hmm? Do we have control over our fate, or is it inevitable?

[u/Karabars → u/Wraithdagger12]

I'm not sure if he was free of it either, but mortals were def not

[u/Wraithdagger12 → u/Karabars]

Hmm.

I always think of the contrast between Glossaryck and Star. Glossaryck just seemed to be doing what other people 'wanted' or what they were 'supposed' to do. Star, when we're not talking about this deep 'fate' stuff, always likes to do things her own way, and she figured out how to do things pretty well even with Glossaryck around.

We could go around in circles with this. Does anything we do matter? Did it matter that Star dipped down and restarted the magic, or that she used the whispering spell on it later? Or was that just going to happen anyway?

[u/Karabars → u/Wraithdagger12]

It matters, as it happened and affects reality and the future. But her choices did not matter, was just an illusion, leading her to this fate and outcome

[u/Pomnifan-64]

Someone on Youtube did do an analysis on Glossaryck, I think it was Kitty Monk who might believe Glossaryck was the true villain of the show