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The Owl House Season 2, Episode 8 Review

When it comes to the residents of the Owl House, Hooty is the black sheep of the group. Or rather, the black owl. He can be incredibly badass, holding off the Emperor’s Coven on his own. At the same time, he can also be super annoying, and some of the stuff he does can give people nightmares. Thus, some fans jokingly groaned when this week’s episode would be Hooty-centered. After the episode aired, though, it’s safe to say that fans appreciate Hooty more than ever!

Helpful Hooty is Here!

The entire episode starts with Hooty writing a letter to Lilith, the two becoming penpals after she moved back with her Mom. This serves as the framework for the story as the entire episode takes place via flashback. To sum it up: with all the adventures and events going on in the Owl House resident’s lives, Hooty feels left out and not needed. However, after Lilith gives him some words of encouragement, the tube-owl resolves to help the residents with their various problems.

• Eda’s overworking herself, trying to get strong again and stop whatever Belos’ got planned.
• King’s still upset about not finding his Dad, and how his voice starts to crack.
• Luz is torn between her desire to return home and her growing feelings for Amity.

Hooty ends up helping, but not in the way he intended. In the process, though, we end up learning more about the world of the show than we could’ve ever thought.

King Goes Through Puberty

Firstly, we have King, who’s going through what’s essentially demonic puberty and everything that goes with it. Thus, Hooty resolves to help him figure out just what he is. As a result, we end up learning more about the different categories of Demons and Witches that inhabit the Boiling Isles than before. Unfortunately, its made evident that King doesn’t even fall into any of these categories. Hooty tries to cheer him up by telling him that it doesn’t matter since he’s loved for who he is, but that doesn’t help. Instead, it ends up awakening powers in him that he didn’t know he had. King has sonic screams! He can use his voice to break objects like Danny Phantom, the Banshee, or Black Bolt. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s no telling what else he may be capable of as he gets older!

Hooty, though, isn’t happy.

Eda the Harpy Lady!

Next, we have Eda as we gain more insight into her curse. Despite gaining a measure of control over it, it remains a problem for her, and not getting enough sleep makes it worse. Thus, Hooty knocks her out with cookies laced with a sleeping potion. Unfortunately, those cookies amplify her dreams and take her down some uncomfortable memories.

This portion was absolutely brilliant, as it demonstrates how much a serious condition like Eda’s can affect a person’s life. To start off with, we learn that Eda accidentally clawed her Dad’s eye out via the Owl Beast. Then, we learn Raine broke up with her when she kept pushing them away because of the curse. However, none of that compares to what we see next. It’s revealed that the Owl Beast isn’t just a curse but also an actual living being. A being native to a different island in the Demon Realm that got captured by an unknown entity and sealed away before washing up on the Boiling Isles as the scroll Lilith would find. 

Eda’s a Jinchuriki

This is big for two reasons. Firstly, it explains why no one on the Boiling Isles knows what to do about Eda’s curse. It’s not from the Boiling Isles, but another place entirely! Secondly, the Owl Beast isn’t inherently evil. All it wants is to return to its home, only to be trapped inside Eda. In other words, Eda’s a Jinchuriki, and the Owl Beast is her Tailed Beast.

As a result of this revelation, Eda and the Owl Beast come to something of an understanding. Neither likes their current situation but accepts that they’re stuck together for the time being. So, they agree to work together. And as I suspected, this new cooperation and control allow Eda to assume a new, hybrid form. She’s like a freaking Harpy! While she may not regain her magic, the trade-off here is amazing!!

LUMITY IS CANON!!!

Last but not least, we have the saga of Lumity. Ever since Amity kissed her, Luz can’t stop thinking about Amity Blight. She’s crazy about her, but she’s been ridiculed in the past so many times, she’s too afraid to act on her feelings. So, Hooty decides to force the issue! He drags Amity to the Owl House’s basement, where he set up this cheesy tunnel of love to help Luz convey her feelings for Amity.

Cheesy or not, Amity thinks it’s sweet because it shows how much Luz cares about her, though. However, Luz almost ruins everything by destroying it, not wanting to look lame in front of Amity. 

Part of establishing a strong romantic relationship is finding someone who likes you for you, both the good and the bad. If someone loves you, you shouldn’t have to worry about looking lame in front of them, because it won’t matter. And when Luz almost lets her fear win out, she nearly wrecks everything.

In the end, Hooty gets so upset he tries to run away from everyone. Fortunately, his family points out how much he ended up helping them and is able to calm him down. In addition, Luz and Amity finally confess their feelings and start dating.

LUMITY IS NOW CANON, PEOPLE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!!!!

Best Episode Yet!!!!

This has to be one of the best episodes that The Owl House has ever put out. Not only did we get Lumity becoming canon, but we got a ton of lore and character development. And the ending leaves us room for more. A mysterious being that looks like an older version of King shows up at the Owl House with a letter for King. While Hooty ends up eating it, I have no doubt that this letter will return in the future.

After seeing this episode, I couldn’t stop squealing. The Owl House just keeps getting better and better, and I can’t wait to see what comes next. Also, LUMITY IS CANON!!!!!!!

I Give” Knock Knock Knockn’ on Hooty’s Door!” A 5/5

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The Owl House, Season 2, Episode 5 Review

When people are creating a work of fiction that goes for an extended length of time, they tend to add in a b-plot to balance things out. When it comes to the format of a half-hour show, that usually involves one or more characters doing something concurrent to the main plot. However, sometimes the b-plot of a show can end up overshadowing the main plot. In this case, this week’s episode of The Owl House was meant to focus on Gus. Instead, everyone’s attention was drawn to the b-plot of Luz and Amity. More Lumity coming our way.

Gus Tries to Take Center Stage

Gus Porter is supposed to be among the main supporting cast of the show, and for good reason. He’s young, spirited, and fascinated by humanity, making him perfect to be Luz’s friend. However, we’ve also seen that being younger than his friends leaves with major insecurities. And, like many young people, this leads him to mess up. This week, his hang-up’s over how useless he thinks illusion magic is lead him to hang out with a group of kids from Hexside’s rival, Glandus High. Which, if you’ll recall, is where Matthomule transferred from.

Joining them on their quest to find these magic stones that can boost their powers, Gus resorts to using Luz’s glyphs to impress the others. It works, but Matthomule sees right through him. Then, when it’s revealed that the stones are kept in an illusionists graveyard and guarded by an illusionist, Gus realizes he can’t go through with this. However, he’s quickly overpowered by the other students, who mock him for his apparent uselessness.

Maybe it’s because I’ve seen Naruto, a series where characters can create illusions so real they can leave a person mentally damaged, but I already know that illusions aren’t useless. When used by someone with a powerful imagination, illusion spells can be unbelievably powerful. Powerful enough to fool the five senses. In this case, Gus uses the full extent of his power to scare the other students off, impressing the guardian and Matthomule. As a result, the two end up becoming closer together.

Speaking of which.

Lumity is Love, Lumity is Life!

As I explained before, the big draw to this episode was the b-plot with Lumity. Thanks to Gwen’s intel, Luz starts looking for the human who once lived in Bonesborough. The good news: Amity gets her into the restricted section where the human’s journal is. The bad news: Luz and Amity are both distracted by each other.

We’ve known since Grom that Amity has fallen for Luz. Ever since “Escaping Expulsion”, it looks like Luz has started developing feelings for Amity. Thus, the two can barely look at each other without becoming a blushing mess!

I absolutely adored seeing these two girls acting like this! It shows just how far their relationship has come since they first met, and demonstrates how important they’ve become to each other. When Luz talks about what her world’s like, she doesn’t hesitate to offer to let Amity come visit Earth with her.

In the end, the duo don’t find the journal due to it being destroyed, but they do find a rat that can project the contents of whatever it eats. From it, they learn a little more about the human who once lived on the Boiling Isles and donated his journal to the library.

And it doesn’t go unnoticed that this man looks a lot like Belos with his hair visible.

The Big Dang Kiss

The episode ends with another important step in Luz and Amity’s relationship. Firstly, Amity changes her hairstyle from the dyed green we’ve seen her with to a shorter, pink version. It’s a very symbolic moment for Amity, showing that she’s done being her Mom’s puppet. Oh, and she kisses Luz on the cheek.

THAT’S RIGHT! AMITY KISSED LUZ ON THE CHEEK, PEOPLE!! I practically squealed with joy at this sight, as it all but confirms that the two will become an item before the show’s out. It does, however, leave the two embarrassed wrecks.

I have no idea if these two will even work out as a couple, but I’m looking forward to seeing where things go from here.

The A & B Plots Should’ve Been Swapped.

I don’t, in any way, think that this was a bad episode. I actually loved it. However, I think that by making the library exploration the b-plot, it ended up undermining Gus’ story. I looked on Tumblr, and all people would talk about was Lumity.

Had this episode made it clear that Luz and Amity were the main focus, I think I would’ve been fine with things. However, it didn’t, and the episode suffers a little thanks to that. Unless what Gus did plays a bigger role in the future, I doubt I will remember it that well. Sorry, Gus.

I Give “Through the Looking Glass Ruins” A 3.5/5. Lowered due to B-Plot Overshadowing A-Plot

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The Owl House Episode 9 Review

After the events of “I Was a Teenage Abomination,” I was certain that Luz wouldn’t be going to the Boiling Isles version of Hogwarts, Hexside. However, it appears Dana and her team had more to tell with Hexside, as this week’s episode saw her return to the school. In the process, we also got to learn some more about Eda’s increasingly interesting past and set up some plot points for the future.

New Jerk in School

In this episode, Gus’ status as President of the Human Appreciation Society gets threatened by a new student, Mattholomule, who wins everyone over with fake human artifacts. So to one-up him, he sneaks Luz back into Hexside to show her off. Despite being banned from Hexside after her last visit, Gus talks her into it by lying that he got the ban lifted.

We don’t know Gus that well as a character since he’s only been in minor roles until now. However, I found his actions in this episode to be pretty selfish, even if we could understand where he was coming from. People shouldn’t lie to their friends about something like that, especially when it could get them in big trouble. To be fair, though, he was riled up by Mattholomule because he knew he was a fraud.

Mattholomule is like a younger version of Stan Pines, having the same charisma, but none of the character traits that made the latter a lovable rogue. The episode makes it clear that he doesn’t care about the club, only that he wants to cause trouble for the sake of it. The jerk even admits that later in the episode! Add in the fact that he’s named after my least favorite subject in school, and I don’t like him. Here’s hoping we don’t see much of him.

Eda Makes Amends

Meanwhile, the episode’s b-plot sees Eda realize that Luz’s interest in Hexside isn’t going away anytime soon. The witch has made it clear that she distrusts public schools and the Isles’ Coven System, as she thinks they stifle creativity and thinking. Despite this, though, we’ve seen that Eda’s largely failed to keep her promise and teach Luz magic. As a result, Eda decides to swallow her pride and get her enrolled in Hexside.

Truthfully, I was more interested in the episode’s b-plot than I was with what Luz and Gus were doing. At the start of the show, Eda would never consider doing this. The fact that she’s willing to put aside her “beef” with Hexside for Luz’s sake shows just how much she cares about her apprentice, despite how she may act.

As a bonus, we got to learn more about Eda’s past, and as expected, she had quite the reputation! The end credits even show some of her memorable pranks, and they’re hilarious!

Ultimately, Luz ends up getting sent to detention for coming to Hexside, which in the Boiling Isles= Attack of the Pod People! Gus busts her out and takes the blame for the trouble she caused. As a result, Gus is thrown out of the club, and Mattholomule gets to be President. However, Eda was able to talk Bump into letting Luz enroll in the next semester, and he won’t tell the Emperor’s Coven. Eda can’t help but be happy for her apprenctice and trusts her enough to not succumb to the Coven System in place. Which, to me, shows how much Eda cares for her pupil.

Future Hexside Story?

So, this episode wasn’t the most exciting of the series, or the most drama-filled. However, what it does do is open the door to plenty of future stories. In particular, the idea that she’ll study at Hexside hints at the idea that Luz will either continue to stay in the Boiling Isles after the summer ends or will choose to return to it.

At the same time, this also sets up a potentially big problem for Luz down the line. If she stays in the Boiling Isles past the summer, her mom will eventually realize she never went to that dumb camp and become worried. This, in turn, could lead to Luz having to choose between Earth or the Boiling Isles, though I hope it doesn’t come to that.

I Give “Something Ventured, Someone Framed” a 3/5.

Stray Observations

• Eda’s Last Name is Clawthorne

• Ed and Em are in the illusion course.

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The Owl House Episode 3 Review

So when Disney started running all the promos for The Owl House, they kept coming back to a few aspects. Chief among them was Hexside, this school for learning magic in the vein of Hogwarts. At first, the promos made it look like Luz would be attending Hexside on top of her lessons with Eda. However, when this episode introduces us to the school, it turns out Luz’s crashing the school in another weird adventure.

Mean Girl in a Demon World

After getting frustrated over her training’s lack of progress, Luz runs off while Eda and King scavenge a trash slug. I thought the last episode had taught Luz to be patient with her training. Thus, it felt disappointing to see she didn’t let that lesson sink. Luz knew what to expect being Eda’s apprentice; plus it was either that, or Reality Camp.

The show doesn’t give us much time to dwell on Luz’s Aesop Amnesia for long, though. We got new characters from Hogwarts Hexside, the local magic school. First, we get Willow and Gus, two students who are basically in the same boat as Luz was back home. Willow’s stuck learning something she has neither the talent nor love for, and Gus’ obsession with humans doesn’t seem that popular. The three bond quickly as Luz sneaks into their version of Hogwarts.

In addition, we also get the closest Luz may have to a rival on this show right, Amity Blight. Amity’s got all the hallmarks of the mean alpha bitch: teacher’s pet, top student, responds aggressively to anyone she sees as a threat. Luz takes an instant dislike to her, and decides to help Willow one-up her by disguising herself as her abomination project. What’s an abomination? I think some sort of golem/homunculus made out of slime.

So, basic high-school sitcom drama, but with magic? Okay.

I Was Almost Dissected

As expected, Luz and Willow’s plan works, just too well. Amity goes as green with envy as her hair, and the manner she chooses to get back at them is pretty dark. She talks the Principal into trying to dissect Luz, and worse, making Willow deliver the first cut. Like last week, its moments like this that remind us how this show’s part horror. And for some reason, seeing an alpha girl like Amity try to kill Luz was darker than that puppet guy.

It doesn’t work, though, as Willow shows off her true talents with plant magic, and this was the end result:

Nice job, girl! She could give Poison Ivy a run for her money.

Eda vs. King

While Luz’s crashing dark Hogwarts, the show has its first sub-plot with Eda and King. The two make a bet over who’s teaching methods are better, with King using a trash slug as his student. It’s a humorous side-story with equally humorous stakes. If King wins (which he never does), Eda has wear a dunce cap; if Eda wins, she changes his name to Mr. Wiggles.

Turns out, King wins by feeding the slug dog treats, while Eda’s loss feels twofold. She realizes Luz is at Hexside, and she responds with an overly-dramatic “nooooo!!”.

It’s still not made clear why Eda hates the ideas of conformity or being told what to do, and this episode doesn’t help in that regard. Maybe she’s just the kind of person who thrives in non-traditional learning environments, which isn’t unheard of in real life. People who did bad in school become hugely successful. Also, I can partially sympathize with her dislike of school curriculum. As many classes I had that I liked, there were many that I saw as a waste of my time. Which they were.

In the end, though, King loses the bet because he runs out of dog treats and the slug goes crazy.

New Friends, New Enemy

So, Luz got the Aesop she learned pounded back into her head: she needs to be patient. King loses a bet but will probably not be going by Mr. Wiggles. And The Principal of Hexside’s so impressed with Willow that he transfers her to plant magic. As for Luz, she’s now banned from Hexside. In other words, Hogwarts isn’t on the itinerary for Luz.

It seems like a happy ending for all, but I’m still concerned about Amity. I’ve seen her type of character, and they don’t let slights like this slide. Given how furious she was at being outdone by Willow, she’s going to be after Luz and her new friends from now on.

Overall, I think this episode was an improvement over last week’s. It gave us three new characters for Luz to interact with, as well as an affectionate parody of Hogwarts. I liked it, but it’s only making me more eager to see Luz start casting spells on her own. With Amity now after her, she’ll need the extra protection.

I Give “I Was a Teenage Abomination” a 4/5. Better.

Stray Observations

• Notice how the school bell was voiced by Alex Hirsch?
• What goes into making an abomination? Asking for a friend.
• I can already see people shipping Luz and Gus. I’m staying away from that!
• Why do trash slugs remind me of those stories of whales with garbage found in them? I don’t like that!

Favorite Quotes

• “You can call me Mr. Wiggles!”
• “I may be an abomination, but your my a-mom-ination!” hilarious
• “I’d teach her about demons. How to identify them, talk to them, raise an army with them and tear apart the world!”

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