Finding Real Friends (and Love) in the Emerald Entrails
In his next appearance, we see more of just how toxic the environment Hunter’s grown up in can be. When Belos puts him in charge while he’s busy, the Coven Heads walk out on him. Darius, in particular, goes out of his way to belittle Hunter for being an errand boy trying too hard to please his superiors, saying he isn’t worthy of fulfilling the role of the Golden Guard. Desperate to prove him wrong, Hunter takes Darius’ half-hearted suggestion of finding the best and brightest Witches to join the Emperor’s Coven seriously, leading him to sneak into Hexside to do just that.
This marks Hunter’s first true foray into the lives of normal teenagers, and he does hilariously bad! He has no clue how to interact with people his age, and it isn’t until Willow, not knowing who he is, tries to recruit him for her burgeoning Flyer Derby team. Hunter’s first instinct is a hard no, but he gets convinced when he hears it will have the best and brightest Witches of Hexside. Even then, he doesn’t have that much faith.
Joining the Flyer Derby team is the best decision for Hunter on several levels. Firstly, it provides him a sympathetic ear to vent his frustrations about not having magic in the form of Willow. Having spent much of her life mocked for her stunted magic, Willow empathizes with Hunter, even if she lacks the full context. Secondly, playing with the Emerald Entrails (a name he came up with) gives Hunter a taste of genuine camaraderie. It goes without saying but living amongst the Coven Heads is very toxic, with them constantly fighting to gain the favor of Belos. Lastly, it also forms the beginnings of the HuntLow ship, something I’m a big supporter of.
The Effect of Willow and Darius on Hunter
More than anyone, Willow might be the best thing to ever happen to Hunter. When he meets her, she’s this strong, confident, self-assured young woman who positively influences his life. Furthermore, he also emphasizes with her when he discovers she suffers from a lot of the insecurities he does. This serves to help both of them further down the line and adds fuel to a lot of fan-related content.
Ultimately, his growing bond with the Hexside students leads him to cover for them and prevent them from joining the Emperor’s Coven against their will. Instead of becoming furious with him and his defiance, though, as Belos would, Darius does the opposite. He praises Hunter for standing up for himself and finally acting like most teens would, reassuring him that he’s doing the right thing and encouraging him to continue to do so. Not only does Darius repair his Golden Guard cape, but he also promises not to tell Belos about Flapjack.
In this one episode, Hunter gains two positive influences on his life. In Willow, he finds a peer and friend he can open up to (and even love). In Darius, he finds a worthwhile father figure. There’s a reason why so much fan arts depict the two’s importance in Hunter’s life, giving him the love that Belos never could.
Too bad his entire world is about to fall apart.
The Trauma of “Hollow Mind.”
Now we have one of the most important episodes in the series, “Hollow Mind.” If you read my episode review, you know how I sang its praises, so I won’t recap them here. Instead, I want to dive into how this marked the big turning in Hunter’s character arc and turning his back on being the Golden Guard for good.
Journeying into the Emperor’s mind, Hunter is forced to confront the truth he’s tried so hard to deny: that Emperor Belos is an absolute monster. He’s got the blood of countless Witches and Palismen on his hands, and if he got his way, the rest of the Boiling Isles would follow suit. Watching this episode, I felt my heart go out to Hunter. You could hear how desperately he wanted to cling to the lies he’d been fed. It was painful.
What made things worse, though, was Hunter and Luz’s bone-chilling revelation regarding Hunter’s identity as a Grimwalker. Learning that he’s not only a clone of someone long dead but merely the latest in a long line of clones Belos repeatedly murdered when they stood against him destroys Hunter. He realizes the man he’s looked up to all this time is the monster everyone says he is, and even though he and Luz escape his mind, Hunter’s on the verge of a mental breakdown.
I felt my heart breaking when I saw Hunter go into full panic mode as he ran into the woods, not knowing where he was going. He just knew he had to get away from Belos.
