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The Owl House Season 2, Episode 9 Review

There are many reasons why fans of The Owl House love Amity Blight. She’s powerful, smart, and while she came off mean at first, she’s actually just lonely due to her abusive parents. However, another reason she’s so popular might be due to her being voiced by Mae Whitman, AKA the voice of Katara from Avatar: the Last Airbender. Comparisons were inevitably made, but now that she’s changed for the better thanks to Luz, those comparisons have only gotten stronger. And in this week’s episode, “Eclipse Lake”, we see just how much of Katara Amity’s now channeling.

It’s as amazing as you’d expect.

Amity’s Mission is So Katara

What are some adjectives used to describe Katara from Avatar? She’s powerful, smart, motherly, and protective. And while Amity may not have the motherly aspect down (yet), Amity Blight’s shown all of these qualities. And this week, they’re on full display as she takes center stage.

Thanks to Eda’s Mom, the Owl House Gang knows the key to opening a doorway to Earth is through Titan’s Blood. Now, thanks to the Echo Mouse, they learn of a site called Eclipse Lake where Phillip Wittebane once found it. The only problem is Luz is sick with the Common Mold. It’s like a cold, only it causes fungi to grow on her at the end. As a result, Amity takes it upon herself to find the Titan’s Blood for her and thus help her girlfriend. Which is what she refers to herself as. LUMITY IS CANON, PEOPLE!

From the start, Amity’s actions exude a lot of influence from Katara. Case in point, she now carries around a bottle of abomination goo that she magically draws from in combat, much like Katara’s Waterbending. However, unlike Katara, Amity’s motives aren’t as good as they should be.

Hunter’s Own Motives

It’s bad enough that the Emperor’s Coven is present at Eclipse Lake, but Hunter also makes his presence known. He’s trying to beat Kikimura (who’s losing it after trying to kill Hunter) and find the Titan’s blood for his “Uncle”. As a result, he inevitably comes into conflict with Amity’s group.

It’s at this point, the Katara parallel’s intensify. In the Season Two finale of Avatar, she and Prince Zuko ended up bonding over their shared trauma in an underground, green colored cave, only for Zuko to reject her kindness in the end. The exact same scenario plays out here, right down to Hunter’s motivation. He seeks to redeem himself in the eyes of Emperor Belos, while Amity seeks to prove herself to Luz. In Amity’s case, though, she comes to realize that she doesn’t need to prove herself to Luz, because Luz loves her for who she is. In contrast, it’s heavily implied that Belos only sees Hunter as a tool for some grand scheme. But more on that in a moment.

While it’s discovered that Eclipse Lake dried up years ago, there is still some left in the key to the portal, which Amity has on her. An epic fight ensues, and once more, the animation kicks it into high gear! In the end, Hunter makes off with the key, though Amity inadvertently cracked it, leaking some Titan’s Blood onto her glove. Now, both sides have the means to power a portal.

But, just what does Belos have planned for Hunter?

Belos’ True Plans for Hunter

Belos claims that the Titan has big plans for Hunter, but knowing him, they can’t be good. This week’s episode, though, may have given us our biggest clue.

At one point in the shows opening, we see a book with a page turned to something called a “Grimwalker.” And the ingredients for it correspond to items found in previous episodes. More importantly, though, the resulting being would look a lot like Hunter. Is Hunter meant to be a sacrifice for the ritual in the Day of Unity.

In addition, this episode marks the first time we see Belos without his mask. He’s just an old man with a plant-based marking on his face. One might not even be able to tell of his potentially sinister intentions. However, it’s that very appearance that makes him so dangerous. Moreover, he’s said to have been to Earth, which explains his desire to return so badly.

Something Big is Coming

We only have one episode left of The Owl House before the series goes on break, but the hype for the show has never been higher. If the episode synopsis for next week is right, then Luz may finally return to Earth, only to confront the fake Luz. In other words, things are going to be big, and I can’t wait!

I Give “Eclipse Lake” a 4.5/5

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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 7

It goes without saying, but The Owl House is one of the best cartoons currently airing on TV. The character’s are great, the world’s imaginative, and it’s got great talent behind it. In addition, it made Disney history with Luz being its first bisexual lead. Now, The Owl House’s Mouse House history again. This week’s episode of the show, “Eda’s Requiem,” gave us Disney’s first non-binary character, Raine Whispers. Not only that, it also gave us a glimpse into the life of Eda the Owl Lady.

How Eda Copes With Changes In Her Life

A lot has changed for Eda the Owl Lady since the show started. When she was first introduced, Eda was a relative loner and the strongest Witch on the Boiling Isles. As of now, though, she’s lost most of her power, to the point where not even the Emperor’s Coven is bothering to go after her. On the plus side, Luz has helped her open up to others more. As a result, she’s mended things with her sister and Mom, and it’s all but stated that she views Luz as a surrogate daughter. Yet as this episode shows, her newfound attachments can lead to loneliness.

Luz has made it clear that she intends to go back to Earth one day, and King’s now on a quest to find his Dad. So, this episode sees Eda naturally worried about eventually being left alone. She’ll have Hooty, but that’s about it. Thus, a chance meeting with an old acquaintance/flame leads her to team up with a group of Bards rebelling against Emperor Belos.

Enter Raine Whispers, the new head of the Bard Coven. While their shyness and aversion to being in front of crowds seems like the last thing you’d want in a bard, inside Raine is a fiery determination. They’ve seen part of what Belos has planned for the Day of Unity, and whatever it is, scares him. Enough that he goes with other Witches to free Wild Witches, something Eda gladly joins in.

The Story Behind Eda’s Requiem

On the surface, joining a group of rebels against Belos seems like a classic Eda move. She thinks that what Belos’ doing is wrong, and given everything we know, she’s right to think so. However, I could tell right away the real reason why Eda suddenly joins this group of rebels: to cope with her sorrow over Luz and King eventually leaving her.

Several times during the episode, Eda tries playing music on an instrument Raine may have gotten her. However, when she does, her curse/emotional state affects the magic, causing it to corrupt and destroy all it touches. That includes other magic. Implications aside, Raine thinks Eda’s Requiem could be what they need to beat the other Coven heads after they’re caught in an ambush. The two look ready to go down fighting the heads of the Abomination and Beast Coven. Yet when Raine sees Eda has King and Luz, they sacrifice themselves so that Eda can escape.

By the episode’s end, Eda seems to come to terms with the fact that Luz and King may leave her one day. Fortunately, that day might not happen for a long time. More importantly, in a livestream on Penstagram, King reveals that he’s legally getting his name changed to “King Clawthorne,” making Eda cry. The moral of the story is that though people may leave to live their own lives, bonds like that of the Owl House are hard to break. Eda’s Requiem is not today.

The Darkness of The Coven System

Heartfelt moments aside, “Eda’s Requiem” also showed us how far Belos is willing to go for this “Day of Unity”. He’s hunting down wild Witches and enslaving them to the Coven System because he needs as much magic as possible for the Day of Unity. Given how it seems meant to merge the Boiling Isles with Earth, it makes sense why he needs so much magic. However, as Raine reveals, anyone who refuses to join his cause will disappear, never to be seen again. More importantly, rather than punish Raine for their rebellion, Kikimura seems to use their Coven brand to imprison them. In other words, Belos can’t afford any slip-ups.

Whatever Belos plans on the Day of Unity, it cannot be good for the Boiling Isles. Shoot, I wouldn’t be surprised if said plans involve sacrificing most of the Isles population. One way or another, Belos needs to be stopped, and Luz and Eda may be the only ones who can. I eagerly look forward to seeing where the overarching plot of the show goes from here.

Come Back for My Look at the Amphibia/The Owl House Panel

Even though COVID-19 has kept San Diego Comic Con from meeting in person two years in a row, the convention’s still going on this weekend. As with last year, SDCC’s being done through online panels. And guess what? This afternoon, we’ve got a joint panel with Amphibia and The Owl House. Come back here this evening as I give my thoughts on the panel and talk about what it went over. Or go check my friends at The Game of Nerds for their coverage of SDCC.

I Give “Eda’s Requiem” A 4/5

Stray Observations

• That fanfic lady from the first episode came back! I wondered what happened to her!

• Those Coven heads are crazy strong. The Abomination guy could turn himself into one!
• The Abomin-ton’s are now being used by the Emperor’s Coven as elite guards.

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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 16 Review

From the moment we saw this image of Luz and Amity in the trailer for the second half of Season One, fans have been hyped for the episode “Enchanting Grom Fright”. I kept seeing fan art of Luz and Amity in their Grom outfits on Twitter and Instagram, and was just as excited as everyone else was. And when the time came and “Grom Fright” aired, it lived up to the hype. And Disney may just have its first confirmed LGBTQ+ main character.

What is Grom, Anyway?

It’s almost time for one of the biggest social events of the semester at Hexside: Grom Night. On the surface, it seems like the Boiling Isles version of Prom, with dates and music and dancing. However, this is still the Boiling Isles, so it means there’s a dark twist to it. It turns out, the event gets its name from Grometheus, or Grom for short. It’s this shape-shifting monster held underneath Hexside that tries to escape every year. So Principal Bump created the dance, and the person crowned King or Queen has to fight the creature back. It’s only made harder since Grom can read minds to turn into a person’s biggest fear. And this year, Amity’s been chosen to be Grom Queen, something that terrifies her.

Considering how, when we first saw her, Amity came off as someone extremely confident in her abilities, seeing her so frazzled is surprising, especially for Luz. As a result, Luz volunteers to fight Grom in her stead, which demonstrates how far their relationship has grown since they first met. Whereas Amity once saw her as a nuisance, here she’s willing to accept help from Luz.

It doesn’t pan out as well as they hope, and both of them end up fighting Grom.

Facing Your Fears: Luz

While it may be set against a high-school dance, the main theme of “Grom Fright” is learning to confront one’s own fears. That’s by far one of the hardest things a person can ever do in their life, and some people are never able to. And Luz and Amity both have some big fears. While Luz manages to handle her more mundane fears (cats with human faces, milk, and jerks online), the whammy is seeing her face her worst fear: confronting her mom. AweStruckVox, you were right!

I think we knew that Luz would eventually have to tell her mom the truth that she’s not at that lame camp and in another dimension. The fear of disappointing one’s parents is something most people have to go through at least once in their lives, and Luz has to do it in the worst way possible. Grom sadistically turns itself into a monstrous version of Luz’s Mom and talk about how heartbroken and disappointed she is in her for lying to her. As a result, the normally confident and self-assured girl starts to fall apart.

If I could give Luz any advice right now, it would be this: don’t let the fear of disappointing your mom hold you back. She needs to be honest with her and tell her the truth and how she’s made so many friends and been so happy in the Boiling Isles. Parents may not always approve of their child’s choices in life, but if they truly love them, they’ll understand how happy they are and respect their decisions. If not, then it’s their loss.

Facing Your Fears: Amity

But what of Amity’s fear, though? Amity said that her biggest fear was something super embarrassing, something she doesn’t want anyone to know. It turns out she wasn’t lying. This episode all but confirms that Amity’s developed romantic feelings for Luz. The signs have been there for a while, now: Luz is normally the kind of person Amity would not associate with. Yet for one reason or another, she keeps being intrigued by her and taking an interest in her. Heck, Amity flat out admits that she admires how fearless Luz seems to be despite being a human who shouldn’t even be in the Boiling Isles.

The big reveal, though? When Amity faces down Grom to protect Luz, we see what Amity’s biggest fear was: asking Luz to go to Grom with her and being rejected. As outsiders looking in, we know that Luz would never do that. But for Amity, that’s about as scary as it can get. Fortunately, both of them face their fears together, and give us this gorgeously animated dance sequence in the process.

Simply breathtaking to look at!

An Enchanting Grom Night

This may be my favorite epiosde of the series thus far. “Grom Night” had shipping fuel, character development, superb animation and music, the whole nine yards! I am so glad that I’m reviewing this series as it comes out!

Lumity ship fuel aside, this episode ended with a big surprise, and an even bigger mystery. Someone has been sending letters to Luz’s mom addressed from Luz. Poorly written letters, I might add, that sound nothing like what Luz would say. The question is, who’s writing them?

Right now, I’ve got two theories about this: Eda’s been leaving those letters behind when she sneaks over to Earth so that Mrs. Noceda doesn’t realize that her daughter’s not at camp. The other theory is that the camp’s been sending them, which waves a lot of red flags in my eyes! Either way, for the moment, it looks like Mrs. Noceda knows nothing about what her daughter’s up to. But we know that Luz plans to tell her one day, so that’s enough for me.

So in conclusion, this episode was awesome and you guys need to watch The Owl House. Now for some Grom Photo’s!

I Give “Enchanting Grom Fright” A 5/5

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