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The Owl House Episode 11 Review

I actually debated on whether or not I should review this episode now or wit for it to premiere in the West. However, I realized that you should never look a gift horse in the mouth and enjoy that we got a new episode of The Owl House. An episode that sees Luz take the next step in her magic training in a good old fashioned magic boot camp.

Magic Camp for Dummies

Luz is excited to be enrolling in Hexside soon, as she’ll get to study alongside Gus, Willow, and Amity. That is, until she learns she needs to know at least two spells to be in their grade. Otherwise, she’s in the baby course! So, after prodding Eda, master and student go to the snow-capped knee of the Isles to train in nature.

You would think that after everything they’ve gone through, the two would have a better mentor-student dynamic. However, I was frustrated to see Luz failing to learn the same lesson: to be patient and trust in Eda’s teachings. However, she doesn’t want to look bad in front of Amity and her siblings, who are also training to make up for the “Library Incident.” This leads to Luz trying to use Amity’s training wand to take shortcuts, which leads to trouble. In this case, she angers a monster that grabs Eda and Amity’s siblings.

A New Kind of Magic

So, Luz screwed up again, but this ends up leading to a breakthrough in her magic training. She discovers that magic comes from the Boiling Isles itself, and that it flows through the very elements. Using the snow, she’s able to discover the glyph for ice and uses it to help Amity save everyone.

This answers a lingering question from when Luz first learned light magic: the glyph she saw. The Boiling Isles residents cast the glyphs to use magic, but in truth, they occur naturally in nature. In other words, for every element, there could be a magic glyph for it. That means that Luz could, in theory, learn spells for every element on the Boiling Isles. If she could learn how to combine together, she could create even stronger spells! It’s like Fullmetal Alchemist all over again!

King’s Boot Camp

The side story was also very hilarious, in my opinion. King gets jealous that he get help with the training, so he uses a potion to bring his stuffed animals to life. But then they go all Small Soldiers on him and run amok. We then seeing him bribe Hooty into helping him get rid of the toy army in an off-screen, but apparently vicious, battle.

I don’t know what it was about this that I found hilarious. Maybe it was the fact that it was like an evil version of Toy Story. Or seeing Hooty tear through the stuffed animals off-screen and having stuffing fly everywhere that give it a dark comedy. Maybe it’s the fact that they play Hooty’s PTSD for laughs. Either way, Alex Hirsch did a great job with this side plot.

What Next

With the way the world is now, there’s no telling when new episodes of the show may return. However, the fact that this aired over in Turkey almost two week ago gives me hope that we won’t have to wait long. Hopefully, Disney can air them from remote locations when the time comes.

As for me, this episode got me excited for the rest of the season, as it’s clear that The Owl House has a lot more mysteries left to be solved. Who knows how far Luz can take magic with the right training? I hope we find out, as this is one of the best shows Disney has made in a while!

I Give “Adventure in the Elements” a 4/5

Stray Observation

• Amity and Luz now seem to be at least on good terms.
• King has a mouth! It’s confirmed

King’s Kute Moment

Favorite Quote

• I will be haunted by my actions forever. Hoot hoot!

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Edens Zero Chapter 92 Review/Recap

Shonen Jump may be off until May 10th, but at least we still got Kodansha Comics. The new chapter of Edens Zero brings us closer to the climax of the Belial Goer Arc. What’s more, it shows how far Homura has come as she earns her title as the new Sword of Edens. I’m so proud of her!

Recap

Sylph freaks out when she can’t beat Homura and starts saying that Joe will absorb her. However, the hair clip she wears activates and suppresses her emotions. The Element 4 member then goes back on the offensive and begins to force Homura into a corner. Homura counters with her own wind, which manages to overwhelm Sylph. Emerging victorious, Homura declares herself to be Homura Valkyrie, the Sword of Edens. Meanwhile, Witch takes down Laguna, bringing down the Element 4.

Elsewhere, Drakken Joe emerges from a healing tank, barely able to keep his body from withering away. Realizing that the Element 4 were beaten, Joe comes to a realization. The fact that the Element 4 and his boarding team were beaten means one thing: Cat Leaper has awakened. Meanwhile, Rebecca concludes the best way to beat Joe is to destroy his life support systems. Then Labilia starts laughing at the idea. Only it’s not Labilia: she’s some sort of girl with a spiral face.

Just see for yourself.

Review

Well, thanks to the Sword of Edens, Joe’s lost his elite troops and he doesn’t seem to have long for this world. In other words, he’s being backed into a corner. However, now Joe is well aware that Rebecca’s activated Cat Leaper, which will make him desperate. And when people are desperate, they do things they wouldn’t normally do.

Also, let’s talk about “Labilia”. If I’m right, then this imposter is really that woman from the G.I.A., Amira. I remember that she was trying to take down Joe, and impersonated Homura to do so. If it is her, I don’t trust her, at all. Her presecene also raises a lot of questions. Was she really Lablilia in the previous timeline or was that the real Labilia? Where’s the real Labilia? This throws everything for a loop!

Well, it looks like the Belial Goer Arc is headed into its endgame. Hopefully, the end will be as great as the build up. Also, Sword of Edens is what I’m nicknaming Homura from now on.

I Give “Sword of Edens” A 3/5

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Star Wars: History Abridged Pt. 3

Hello, everyone, Jay here with some more Star Wars: History Abridged. This series has been dormant for some time, but with “May the Fourth” next week, I thought it’s a good time to restart it. Picking up where we left off, this post will cover the start of the Old Sith Wars, my favorite period in Star Wars lore. The long and short of it is that, in fifty years, the Galaxy almost fell apart. The Republic came close to collapse, and the Jedi came closer to extinction than ever. Until Order 66, that is. And it all starts with the conflict known as the Great Sith War and a planet called Onderon.

Crisis on Onderon

According to Wookiepedia, the Great Sith War started in 3,996 BBY. However, its roots go back four years earlier, to a planet called Onderon (Yes, that Onderon). The world was harsh, filled with dangerous beasts from its moon, Dxun. The two were so close that they would briefly merge atmospheres and create an air bridge. Worse, there was an ongoing civil war between the ruling monarchy and the Beast Riders, outcasts who had tamed the dangerous beasts of the planet.

When Onderon asked to join the Republic, Jedi Master Arca Jeth sent his three Padawans, Tott Doneeta, Ulic Qel-Droma, and his younger brother Cay Qel-Droma, to resolve the conflict. They showed up right as the Beast Riders raided the Royal Palace and kidnapped Queen Amanoa’s only daughter, Galia. The three Padawans pursued the Princess’ abductors deep into Beast Rider territory, arriving at their base just as Galia was marrying their young leader, Oron Kira.

Years ago, Oron had snuck inside the Onderonian’s walled city. There he became friends with Galia. United by their shared desire for peace, the two fell in love. Galia knew her mother would never approve of their union, so they had secretly arranged all that had transpired. This abduction was nothing more than an elaborate plan to elope. One that the Jedi consented too once everything had been explained.

With that, the wedding continued, and everyone celebrated the union. However, Oron and Galia revealed a startling secret about Onderon to the three Jedi and their world’s connection to the Dark Side.

The Dark Truth of Onderon

Four hundred years ago, there was a young Jedi Padawan named Freedon Nadd. Everyone who met him saw him as a prodigy and thought he’d be one of the Order’s best. However, his strength made him arrogant, and when he was passed over for knighthood, he furiously left the Jedi Order. 

Traveling to the moon Yavin IV, Nadd discovered the Massassi, descendants of Naga Sadow’s followers who had joined him in exile centuries prior. What’s more, Nadd found an even bigger secret: Sadow himself kept alive in stasis for centuries. Recognizing Nadd’s strength in the Force, Naga Sadow taught Nadd everything he knew about the Dark Side. Then, Nadd killed him and declared himself a Dark Lord of the Sith. After this, he traveled to Onderon, where he established himself as King, banishing criminals and anyone who opposed him beyond his walled city to die. The Beast Riders were the descendants of these outcasts.

It gets worse. Nadd died centuries ago, but his ghost stuck around his Tomb underneath the Royal Palace. He spent centuries teaching his descendants the Dark Side in the hopes that one of them would be able to create him a new body to possess. 

Battle for Onderon

As freaked out as they were, the Jedi came to bring peace, so that’s what they were going to do. So with Galia and Oron in tow, they returned to the Capital city of Iziz to negotiate peace. 

Queen Amanoa wasn’t interested. Calling on the spirit of Nadd himself, the Queen used the strength of the Dark Side to empower her outnumbered forces. Iziz became a battleground between the royal army and the Beast Riders. The three Jedi were almost overwhelmed. However, Master Jeth’s timely arrival turned the tide of the battle in favor of the Beast Riders. With the Dark Side’s influence broken, the Jedi pursued Queen Amanoa into the palace to Nadd’s tomb, banishing Nadd’s influence. Which, unfortunately, killed the Queen. 

Naddist Uprising

With Amanoa’s death, Galia and Oron became the new monarch’s of Onderon, which officially joined the Republic. The only problem was what to do with the remains of Amanoa and Nadd? In 3,998 BBY, Arca Jeth chose to move them to a new tomb on Dxun where their Dark Side influence could be locked up. However, their bodies got stolen by the Naddist Sith Cult, led by Amanoa’s thought-to-be-deceased husband, King Ommin. With Master Jeth captured by the Naddists, Ulic Qel-Droma, now a Knight, called the Republic and Jedi for reinforcements.

In the battle that followed, thanks to the aid of Jedi Knight Nomi Sunrider, the Naddist forces were crushed, and King Ommin himself was slain by Qel-Droma. At last, Onderon was freed from the grip of Freedon Nadd.

What no one knew at the time was that this wasn’t the end of the crisis. Instead, it was only beginning.

Birth of the Krath

The Jedi didn’t know at the time, but just before Ommin’s defeat, he had visitors. Two cousins from a Deep Core system with an interest in the Dark Side and Sith Artifacts. Intrigued and realizing Onderon was a lost cause, Nadd chose to make them his new apprentices and helped them escape with Sith relics in tow. Together, they would found the Krath, a Sith Cult that would seize power in their system. 

Worse, Nadd had appeared before the Jedi and sensed darkness within Ulic Qel-Droma. Unknown to all, there was another Force-user that Nadd had taken an interest in, a young Jedi named Exar Kun. However, that is a story for another day.

To Be Continued

Pretty cool story, huh? If you want to learn more, click the links to Wookiepedia. Or if you want to read the story for yourself, search for the Tales of the Jedi series. Tomorrow, we’ll be picking things up with the rise of the Krath and the Return of the Sith as the Great Sith War begins!

May the Force be with you!

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