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The Owl House, Episode 17 Review

I know it’s only been seven months since The Owl House first premiered on Disney Channel, but thanks to how the world is, it feels longer. Now that we’re almost at the end of the first season, I keep looking back on the main characters and realize how much they’ve changed since we first met them. While Luz has gone through some major growth as a witch (with card glyphs being her motif), the characters who I think have grown the most would be Amity and Willow. In this breather episode that we get before the big finale, we get to see just how much they’ve grown in the short time they’ve known Luz, and it’s very touching to look at.

Also, now that we know that Amity has a crush on Luz, it only makes their interactions even more adorable!

Boscha the New Alpha Girl

Do you guys remember Boscha: the girl with three eyes that I joked looked like if Tom and Janna from Star vs. had a kid? Well, ever since the events of Grom night, Amity’s started to spend more time with Luz and patch things up with Willow, and all but broken off things with Boscha. As a result, she’s taken Amity’s place as the new Alpha Girl of Hexside.

Which sucks for her, as Willow’s become way more confident from hanging out with Luz and reconciling with Amity. When Willow continues to show her up in school (and Amity roasts her for her immaturity), Boscha spends the entire day making Luz, Gus, and Willow’s lives miserable. How does Luz resolve this? By challenging Boscha to a game of Grudgby Ball. If they win, Boscha has to leave Willow alone. If Boscha wins, they get to use them as water gofers and target practice.

How Many Times Do We Have to Teach You This Lesson, Luz?

Trivia time: why do you think Luz would make such a risky bet in the first place? If you the answer is “because she got the idea from a work of fiction,” then you are correct. She’s basing this on a “Good Witch Azura” Sports Movie and the fact that her side’s the underdogs, and underdogs always win.

The big problem is that every time Luz has tried to use what she learns from her Azura stuff to fix her problems, it always backfires on her. Yet the lesson never fully sticks and she just gets in more trouble. This doesn’t mean she’s not learning, though. She’s caught on that the Boiling Isles aren’t like the PG fantasy story she imagined, and has adapted to it.

In addition, she’s not as reckless as she was at the start of the season, which helps her out. In the end, Luz realizes she messed up and tries to take all the punishment in Willow’s stead, surprising everyone. Even Boscha admits that Luz is a good friend….that doesn’t stop her from using Luz as target practice, though. Fortunately, she gets help in from Amity.

Amity’s Crush is So Adorable

When we first met Amity, she couldn’t stand Luz or Willow. Now she can’t seem to get two sentences around her without blushing or babbling like an idiot. It’s absolutely adorable to watch, especially since she tries to deny it in front of everyone else. Unfortunately for shippers out there, Luz seems to be the kind of hero who’s oblivious to love. She doesn’t seem to pick up on Amity’s obvious feelings for her, which most people would be able to.

Shipping frustration aside, this episode does show how much Amity’s grown as a character over the course of the season. She went from being condescending jerk to a misunderstood perfectionist who just wants real friends to a true friend of Luz and Willow. When Boscha says that by helping Luz and Willow, she killed her social life, Amity merely says that she just improved it. You go, girl! Shake off that toxic influence!!

In the end, Boscha wins due to some “Golden Snitch” nonsense that calls out how that trope in Harry Potter, but it doesn’t matter in the end. The Grudgby team loses all respect for her and transfers it to Willow, thus nullifying any of Boscha’s attempts to humiliate her and Luz. Karma’s a pain, huh Boscha?

What Does Emperor Belos Have Planned?

We now only have two episodes left in the season, and from the sound of things, something big is going to happen in these next two episodes. And I think that it has something to do with Emperor Belos.

In the episode’s B-Plot, Lilith tries once more to get Eda to join the Emperor’s Coven, apparently at Belos’ own behest. According to Lilith, Belos has big plans for the Boiling Isles. Given what we know about the Emperor right now, I doubt that any of those plans are good.

I have no idea what’s going to happen in the last two episodes, but I hope that it blows everyone’s minds in the process. The Owl House needs to finish its first season strong if it wants to be one of Disney’s top cartoons for the 2020’s.

Luz Makes History as Disney’s First Bisexual Main

Before I ended this post, I wanted to let you guys know that The Owl House just made headlines, with Dana Terrace confirming that Luz is bisexual.

While she isn’t the first LGBTQ+ character Disney’s done, it doesn’t change the fact that this is a first for Disney. It even made CNN’s website!

I Give “Wing it Like Witches” A 4/5

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The Owl House Episode 15 Review

If I had to choose the most interesting character on The Owl House, I wouldn’t choose Luz, King, or Eda. Instead, I’d choose Amity Blight. At first, we thought she was a condescending jerk. Then we learned that she was more complex than that. She puts a lot of pressure on herself, her older siblings can be a pain, and her “friends” are shallow as they come. The only real friend she had was Willow, yet she broke that off years ago. We had our theories as to why she ended her friendship with Willow, but it’s this episode that confirms them.

Amity Scrambles Willow’s Brains

While Luz learns how to turn memories into photo’s using Willow as her subject, Amity sees an old memory-photo of her and Willow as kids. So, she tries to burn her face out of the photo. But then the other photos catch fire, and since they’re linked to Willow, it scrambles her brain. It leaves her as a babbling moron.

I don’t know what’s more surprising: the fact that Amity resorted to such drastic measures, or the fact that, for once, Luz is only partially at fault. I say partially because Luz didn’t hide the photo’s from Amity.

There’s only one way to fix Willow: Luz and Amity go inside her to fix her memories and set things right. It’s a mind-scape episode!

Don’t You Just Hate Nasty Parents?

The resulting trip down the literal memory lane shows us that Amity and Willow were about as close as friends could be. They played together, got in and out of trouble together; they were inseparable! Until Amity’s birthday, when she broke off their friendship. As a result, Willow’s got a lot of repressed rage and bitterness over it that manifests as a fiery spirit trying to burn Amity alive. However, we then learn that this decision was not of her choosing.

As many people predicted, Amity’s parents are complete jerks who care nothing for their daughter’s happiness; only that they remain in good social standing. So they gave Amity an ultimatum: break off her friendship with Willow and hang out with the friends they chose, or they make sure Willow would never get into Hexside.

I’ve seen a lot of abusive parents in fiction before, and while they may not be the worst I’ve seen, Mr. and Mrs. Blight are pretty high up there. There’s just something about watching parents treat their kids like tools that angers me beyond reasoning. More so because of the knowledge that the kid is often unable to do anything to stand up for themselves. This revelation manages to calm Willow down and restore her damaged memories, though.

Where Does Amity Go From Here?

So we know for a fact that Amity’s actually a good person. It’s just that her parents toxic influence molded her into what we first saw. That’s because she was a kid who couldn’t stand up for herself. But things are different now.

Amity and Willow aren’t helpless kids anymore: they’re teenagers, able to make their own decisions and stand up for themselves. While it may take a while to mend their friendship, I think they’re already on the road to doing so. And if Amity’s parents try to object, Amity will need to stand up for herself; with some help from her real friends, though.

I doubt we’ll see this sub-plot resolve itself in the month left of Season One, but I know this isn’t the last we’ll see of Amity and Willow’s character development. Plus, if there’s one thing I love, it’s seeing children standing up to abusive parents. Sue me, I’ve got a rebellious spirit at times

I Give “Understanding Willow” a 4.5/5

Stray Observations

• Willow seems to have two dads! Can we all stop to appreciate how far the portrayal of same-sex relationships have come in kid’s shows in just a few short years?

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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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