RJ Writing Ink

The Owl House Season 2, Episode 10 Review

We all knew that this was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier to watch. When Luz chose to stay in the Boiling Isles rather than go to “normal camp”, she did so without telling her Mom the truth. The fear of disappointing her Mom remained her biggest fear for a long time, and once she destroyed her only means of returning to Earth, all she wanted to do was find a way back. Not out of a desire to return home, but just so she could let her mom know she was alright.

Unbeknownst to Luz, Camilla Noceda remained unaware of the fact that Luz never went to “reality camp”, and the show made it clear that someone was doing that on purpose. Firstly, there were the fake letters. Secondly, we saw the fake Luz that took the real one’s place. Who was this imposter and why was she keeping Luz’s mom in the dark. This episode sees us get this answer as Luz has a bittersweet reunion with her Mom.

The Portal Is Complete! Sort of.

After learning that the key to the portal had Titan’s blood in it the entire time, Luz and the rest of the Owl House are able to build a rudimentary portal. Having done that, Luz dives inside in order to return to Earth and let her Mom know she’s alright. However, it doesn’t work like they want to.

For whatever reason, the portal’s unstable, instead bringing her to this in-between realm with oozing black liquid. While there, Luz discovers that while she can’t touch anything, she can use reflections to observe and communicate with people on the Boiling Isles and on Earth. So, she hops over to Earth to talk to her mom…only to discover the imposter in her place.

Vee the Sad Shapeshifter

A month ago, AwestruckVox from TheRoundtable on YouTube speculated that Luz’s doppelganger wasn’t an enemy. And it turns out, he was right! This other Luz isn’t an enemy in the slightest. However, she is, in fact, a demon from the Boiling Isles. And not just any Demon, but a shapeshifting Basilisk.

If you recall in Season one, a greater Basilisk attacked Hexside and tried to drain everyone inside of their magic. However, they’re supposed to be extinct. And rather than merely being in hiding, this episode reveals the truth. This young Basilisk, dubbed Number Five, or Vee, was brought into existence by Emperor Belos in order to study her kind’s ability to drain magic. Several of them escaped, and when Luz entered the Boiling Isles back in the beginning, she escaped to Earth where she ended up taking Luz’s place. In other words, she’s the one who’s been pretending to be Luz, but not out of malice.

Oh, and her true voice is done by none other than Michaela Dietz, AKA the voice of Amethyst from Steven Universe!

A Good Foil to Luz

Right away, Vee establishes herself as a good foil to Luz. Whereas Luz is weird, expressive, and fearless, Vee is softer and far more submissive. While Luz starts out powerless but still learns how to use magic, Vee hates fighting. And while Luz wants adventure and excitement in her life, all Vee wants is a life free from persecution.

However, the biggest difference between the two? Vee is far more socially outgoing, having made friends with the kids that Luz would’ve met at camp. Even Luz was surprised by this, calling into question just how much of an outcast she was on Earth. Was she picked on so badly that it ended up jading her to living on Earth? Vee even calls her out for giving up the loving home that she had, while Luz is all too quick to accept Vee living in her place if it means not telling her Mom the truth.

The Wittebane-Gravesfield Connection

After establishing who Vee is, Luz helps the Basilisk find some of the stuff Eda left on her trips to Earth to recharge her magic. By doing so, we end up learning something big: EDA IS STAN PINES EX-HUSBAND!!!!

But seriously, we learn that Luz’s hometown and the Boiling Isles may have a stronger connection than what we previously thought. As we uncover the town’s history, we see this statue of two young men. One of them looks an awful lot like Phillip Wittebane, while the other is very similar to either Emperor Belos or Hunter. In addition, it’s revealed that around four hundred years ago, the town was destroyed when a Witch took two young brothers. Again, implied to be Phillip and someone else.

If Belos is indeed connected to Phillip somehow, then this just adds another piece to the puzzle for us to solve. However, that gets put on hold, as Vee’s taken captive by a local conspiracy theorist whose ideas about demons and witches are so far off, I felt dumber after hearing them.

Long story short, Luz has to contact her mom directly and fesses up to everything, helping Camilla to save Vee. And despite it all, Camilla gladly accepts Vee into her home, letting her live with her for the time being.

A Bittersweet Moment

It’s at this moment, though, that things take a bittersweet turn. Camilla finally lets all the fear she’s now experiencing come out. First, she was afraid that the camp worked too well, but now that’s been replaced by the fact that her daughter’s living in another dimension that’s far more dangerous than Earth. And those fears are then compounded when Luz reveals her initial decision to stay in the Boiling Isles. In other words, Luz was right to be afraid about her Mom’s fears.

The situation gets worse when Eda and the others have to pull her out due to the portal becoming unstable. As a result, Camilla makes Luz promise that when she finds a way back home, she’ll stay there, thinking that her daughter ran away because of how she treated her. Luz has no choice but to accept, leaving her with the prospect of having to lose something she holds dear in the future. She can return to Earth and her mom, but go back to being an outcast with no friends. Or she can break her promise to her mom and remain in the Boiling Isles where she’s now far happier. The final shots of the episode say it all: Luz is guilt-ridden by this.

Though, to be honest, Luz shouldn’t feel bad.

Luz Will Find A Way

It was due to the collapsing portal, but Luz likely never got the the chance to tell her mom the full details of her time in the Boiling Isles. Of how she’s made so many new friends, grown as a person, and even got a girlfriend. In other words, she’s gotten everything she lacked on Earth. But Camilla doesn’t know this, so she inadvertently guilt-tripped Luz about everything. However, given how she came to accept the truth about both her daughter’s, I think Camilla would understand if she knew just how happy Luz had become.

At the same time, I’m not convinced that Dana will end the series with Luz having to choose between staying on Earth or the Boiling Isles. Knowing Luz, she’ll find a way to bridge the two together. As far as we know, Belos is already doing that, but for potentially more sinister reasons. While I may be looking to the future, though, it doesn’t make this moment any less of a tearjerker. In fact, this whole episode was a tearjerker.

With The Owl House now on vacation until further notice, we won’t know what happens next for some time. Until then, the only thing we can do is pressure Disney into giving the show the fourth season it deserves.

I Give “Yesterday’s Lie” a 5/5

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Marvel What-If Episode 1 Review

What if? That may be one of the most important questions in the history of mankind. It opens up an infinite realm of new possibilities. What if Hitler became a successful painter rather than the monster history knew him as? What if we learned we weren’t alone in the universe? Or what if COVID-19 never happened? This question has helped drive mankind to innovate, explore, and create for untold eons. And it also happens to be one of the best tools for any storyteller.

The other great tool of any storyteller is, fittingly, the multiverse theory. The idea of an infinitely expanding number of universes lends itself perfectly to this. And the MCU looks ready to capitalize on the concept that’s been present in Marvel Comics for decades. With the end of the first season of Loki throwing the gates to the Multiverse wide open, fans of the MCU get their first glimpse into these new realities with the new animated series “What If…?” For its first outing, we get a fun, but relatively safe, story involving Peggy Carter.

What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?

As we all know, in the main MCU, Steve Rogers was the one who got the super soldier serum, becoming Captain America and going on to help save the universe. However, in this story, things happen differently. A decision by Peggy Carter to stay in the room to watch the procedure leads to the HYDRA spy setting off his bombs far earlier. As a result, Erskine and Colonel Phillips die and Rogers is too injured to undergo the procedure. In that moment, Peggy makes the decision to use the serum on herself, becoming a super-soldier in Steve’s place.

From that point on, the episode tells an alternate, accelerated version of the events of Captain America: The First Avenger. Despite never having to take part in USO shows, Carter faces much of the same hurdles that Steve overcame in the film. Possibly more so due to her status as a strong woman living a very sexist period of time. This doesn’t change much of Peggy’s personality, though. Rather, her newfound strength means that if she wants to do something, now no one can stop her. And once she becomes Captain Carter, she has the time of her life!

Steve Rogers, Hydra Stomper

What was probably most unexpected, but not unwelcome, was what they did with Steve Rogers. While circumstances mean he can’t become Captain America, he becomes a hero in his own way. Thanks to changes to the timeline, Howard Stark manages to build a armored suit much like Tony would have decades later, giving Steve the chance to pilot it into combat.

I have to admit, I never expected to enjoy being able to see Steve Rogers pilot a giant, Iron-Man-esque suit, but once I saw him in battle, it was awesome. And while Steve does end up going MIA in battle, unlike Bucky, he isn’t turned into a ruthless assassin. Unfortunately, fate once again conspires to keep the two apart. Only this time, it’s because Peggy gets stuck fighting a giant, Cthulu-esque monster in another dimension. When she comes back, it’s been 70 years.

A Safe, but Good, Start

Considering just what they could have started off, the first episode of “What If…?” is relatively tame with very few surprises. Roles were reversed and key details altered, but otherwise, this first “what if?” follows the events of the main MCU. However, this is less from lack of creativity and more that Marvel wants to ease us into the realm of possibility. As the series continues, the stories will likely deviate more and more from the films.

As for Captain Carter, I thoroughly enjoyed her character. She’s strong, tough, and just an absolute joy to watch on screen. In addition, the ending to her story leaves us open to seeing more of her in the future. If we somehow get a multiverse-spanning team of Avengers, I hope to see Captain Carter as part of it.

I Give ” hat If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?” a 4/5

Click here for more MCU stuff

Check out more comic stuff

Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 16 Review

Well, everyone, we’re finally here. Season one of Star Wars: The Bad Batch has officially come to an end. Fittingly, the finale takes place entirely on Kamino, where the show, and the Clone Troopers, first began. Rather than go out with a massive bang, though, The Bad Batch chooses to end on a somber, bittersweet note as everyone, both in-universe and in the real world, realizes that things can’t go back to the way they once were. No matter how hard we may want them to.

A Surprise Disaster Survival Scenario

At the end of the last episode, the Empire made the decision to tie up loose ends on Kamino by destroying their major cities and cloning facilities, condemning them to life back under the sea. In more immediate concerns, though, the Bad Batch find themselves trapped on the sea floor in the ruins of Tipoca City with very little chance for survival. As a result, the team and their former squad mate Crosshair have to work together to escape to the surface.

This episode has all the hallmarks for a disaster film. A group of people trapped in a desperate situation. Rising tensions between group members. And most of all, things continually go from bad to worse as the team tries to beat the odds. The Bad Batch has been in tough scrapes before, but this pushed their survival skills to their limit. It’s a really good premise, and the show does a fairly good job of showing it.

However, it’s not the impending death that’s the big draw. It’s the characters themselves.

Crosshair’s Uncertain Future

Crosshair has been the black sheep of the Bad Batch since the series first began. Following Order 66, we saw him ultimately remain loyal to the Empire while his brothers and Omega deserted. At the time, many of us thought that his decision was not of his own free will; that it was the inhibitor chip forcing him to act like that. However, last episode dropped a bombshell by revealing that Crosshair got his chip removed some time ago. This called into question just how much of Crosshair’s choices were of his own accord and which were because of the Empire’s manipulation. Unfortunately, the season finale offers few in the way of answers.

In a particularly somber moment, Omega tries to talk to Crosshair about his decisions. She admits that she wanted to believe that it was the chips that turned him into what he is, but now thinks that it may have just been him the whole time. In other words, it’s the nature vs. nurture debate in full force, and Crosshair may be on the nature side.

Then, just when we think that Crosshair’s not going to change, he ends up saving Omega’s life. But when the time comes for the others to leave, he chooses to remain loyal to the Empire, despite seeing how they’ll just use him. It’s a very mixed message about Crosshair’s future, much like it was for Ben Solo, and while it leaves the door open for him, I’m not sure how many fans will appreciate it.

Tie-In to The Mandalorian and Sidious’ Ressurection

The final moments of the episode, though, are when things start to get interesting again. Having been taken off-world by the Empire, Nala Se’s relocated to a new world to continue her working in cloning technology. If the Empire’s phasing out Clone Troopers, though, why do they still need to work with the technology. Those who have seen The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker may have figured it out.

In The Rise of Skywalker, we learn that Darth Sidious continued using cloning technology decades after the Clone Wars. Firstly, it’s stated that he created Snoke using that tech. More importantly, though, he used it to create a new body to possess after Anakin killed him. While it’s not said on-screen, it’s all but implied that he was using the Kaminoan’s technology to do all of this. Now, we may see the beginning to that project. If it is, then The Bad Batch may have just started to fix the flaws of The Rise of Skywalker.

No Idea On Season 2

While it was nice to get a continuation of The Clone Wars, I have to admit that, in hindsight, the first season of The Bad Batch has been a mixed bag. It’s had some pretty great moments and gave us some franchise-altering information. On the other hand, the plot of the season had little cohesion between episodes. Worse, the season finale does little to hint at what Season 2 might be about.

Despite these misgivings, though, I still think that The Bad Batch has potential when it comes to bridging the gap between the prequels and original trilogy. If we’re lucky, then maybe season two will give us the prototypes to the TIE Fighters, something I’ve always wanted to see in Star Wars. Here’s hoping!

I Give “Kamino Lost” a 3/5

Click here for fsome of my Star Wars stuff.

Click here to see my other animation stuff.