Lost in Language
What
happens when the biggest strengths of a series simply fire on all cylinders? You get an episode where all the stars align for a truly
amazing experience. That’s definitely
the case with this episode here, mainly through imaginative settings and welcome new
layers to some of the main players.
Luz is given the errand of returning Eda’s overdue books to the Boiling Isles’ local library, but after she does that, she decides to stick around to explore. The library itself is one of the most pleasing and creative settings this show has offered with one imaginative element to it after another. There are floating books in a sequence, sentient file cabinets that regurgitate papers when fed, and crystal balls of different references. Imagination is certainly huge here, but the biggest find of all is not magic-based, but character-based.
At one point, Luz comes across Amity in a
much more pleasing than average demeanor.
She’s happily reading a story to a crowd of little kids, genuinely
enjoying every minute of it, as if things like this are where she feels most
comfortable. It’s a far cry from her
distant, brooding, unconnected portrayal amongst that gang of teens in the last episode and is a very sweet character moment for her in general. However, when she notices that
Luz has been watching her read, her attitude goes from bliss to annoyance. Luz tries to express intrigue at this
discovery and suggest joining Amity for the activity, which is partially a way of applying the nature of her beloved Azura books to real life. Amity denies anything big from her time with the kids, though you can tell that’s not so. She also responds to Luz with angst and
frustration since she always gets in trouble whenever Luz is around. All the while, with how genuine Amity’s good
moments have felt, this conversation only proves that she’s more fascinating
than ever with so many layers to her character.
Still, it makes Luz doubt that she’ll ever be able to befriend her
rivals like Azura, but it also makes for a solid starting point for what the
rest of the episode has to offer.
Enter
Amity’s older twin siblings, Edric and Emira, who right away showcase major
shadiness as well as a source of Amity’s less than pleasing qualities. They seem quick to cheer up Luz who feels
down on not being on good terms with Amity, but they’re also majorly belittling their little sister. They embarrass her, call her condescending nicknames, and mess with her favorite
environment with constant practical jokes.
Those are plenty of reasons for Amity to be at odds with them, and end
up with so much pent-up frustration that drives her attitude. Plus with her good moments here and moments
of sympathy in past episodes in mind, it’s easy to side with her with them
around, and when Luz decides to join their pranks. At the same time, Luz’s position on things is
understandable too, and also noble for her cause. Given the eccentric side of her character,
it’s believable that she’d easily connect with a fun-loving pair like Edric and
Emira. Not only that, but she also
believes befriending these siblings will get her closer to Amity.
The first set of pranks gets the three of them thrown out of the library, but they come back for more fun by sneaking in during the night. As this is the night of a special magical meteor shower, it brings about the most creative surprise of all to this library. Open a book, and what’s written inside comes to life. Best of all, this concept is taken full advantage of in a collection of fun scenes to show off the books’ powers. Some provide creative costume changes, some make for ammo during play fighting, and graphic novels have all spoken dialog appear in word bubbles.
All of this is a joy to watch, but these scenes also pave the way for
the concept used for bigger, more dramatic purposes. For one thing, it opens up Luz’s eyes to the
negative qualities of Edric and Emira.
They discover that a book’s illustrations can be altered to have their
appearances and behavior majorly modified, in their case to monstrous
effect. Although Luz was joining these
guys for pranks, there’s an admirable side to her character where she can see
that this joking around is going too far.
She wants no part in vandalizing the illustrations, especially not the
book Amity was reading earlier about a bookmaker named Otabin who’s lonely and
longs for a friend. As the twins take
changing him up for the fun of it into their own hands, the true story of
Otabin proves to have some very good reasons to resonate so much with Amity.
The main reason Edric and Emira were keen to come to the library was to infiltrate one hidden section that Amity uses as a secret hideout. It’s here where Amity turns out to be deeper than ever via the uncovered information. For one thing, the entrance involves pulling back a book about a lonely witch, and like in the story of Otabin, it’s telling that what Amity truly longs for is a friend. She also seems to share Luz’s love for the good witch Azura with a reveal that her graphic novels exist on the Boiling Isles, begging a lot of questions about this fictional character’s true nature.
However, the biggest thing to come from this section’s secret hideaway is Amity’s diary. With the magic meteor shower enhancing the books, the diary creatively reveals even more layers to Amity. Every entry within it is marked by a little talking figure of Amity saying something about herself, all of which are very rewarding. One shows that she has some awareness to her faults and mean behavior as she feels she unintentionally came off as too hard on Luz. That same entry states that she can’t show weakness which further says a lot about where her predominant unlikable side comes from. There are several people one could imagine had influenced this; maybe Lilith, those mean teens, or even her parents who at this point haven’t been seen. Speaking of her family, one entry more or less confirms that Edric and Emira are a big source of her constant angst, mainly as they always get away with their pranks. There are also a few entries highlighting little signs of vulnerability which are welcome to round out her perfect perception.
Anyway,
everything the diary reveals is what Edric and Emira were after, and they
intend to expose them to everyone. It’s
also here where Luz is at her most noble, showing no doubt that this act is
going too far, advocating to put it back.
At the same time, the twins do point out that they’re doing this to get
their sister to lighten up a little, which she could really benefit from. It’s still the very wrong thing to do, but
you can’t deny they have a point. This
ends up not happening at all when Amity shows up on the scene and sees what’s
happening while also revealing another aspect of her character. She tells Luz that she’s been trying to
figure out her true nature, showing that she never really saw Luz as an all-out
bad person. However, since she was with
her siblings in finding her diary, that’s enough to convince Amity that Luz is
a bully. That’s a very bold claim, and
it stands out even more with Amity looking more disappointed than mad. You also must consider her perception on
matters where she sees Luz as the bad guy while she’s the victim, meaning she
never meant any mean moments to come off that way. All of this makes up for the tired trope of
jumping to a conclusion before learning the truth, which usually hurts a story.
In addition, this moment leads to a solid conclusion of everything the episode brought to light. While Luz was against Edric and Emira’s plan, the twins still leave her on good terms while she stays to make amends with Amity, suggesting that they too aren’t as bad as they seem.
Luz is then quick to find Amity and is just about to make up for what happened. Her attempts are stopped by the climax for the episode showing up when both she and Amity are thwarted by a vandalized illustration of Otabin now drawn as a monster come to life. He traps them both in a book by sewing them to pages thus keeping them as 2D illustrations so they’ll be his eternal friends. Luz and Amity have to work together to get out of this situation, and making things pleasing is that they’re both very compatible. They work in good sync when escaping Otabin, have a few solid interactions, and even share a few laughs along the way which is especially good for Amity. In a way, it achieves her siblings’ goal of getting her to lighten up without any embarrassment, and is something she comes to on her own, which is greater.
Things get
even better for Amity when at one point, Luz is about to be sewn into Otabin’s
book, but with the aid of a book cart to ram into Otabin, Amity is quick to come to her aid. It's like she genuinely wants to keep Luz safe. She also proves quite resourceful
as she comes up with a plan to undo the damage done to the original Otabin
illustration, settling the conflict. You
can easily consider this a good bonding experience for both her and Luz, and
care is taken to make sure it’s meaningful in the long run. Just as Amity is about to leave with the
claim that all of this never happened, Luz allows her to borrow an Azura book
she doesn’t have to officially resolve the whole night's conflict. Sealing the appeal of this scene is Amity
deciding that Luz might not be as bad as she thought and contemplates reflecting on her own faults she could work out as well. This shows that Luz and Amity still have a
ways to go before truly connecting, but with the conclusion Amity has come to,
there is promise for progress. That
leaves the whole story as an endearing character-driven event that effectively lays the foundations for a pair of two charming characters who can really benefit from each other.
The
episode also has a subplot of Eda and King taking care of a baby dropped off by
a very powerful demon known as the Bat Queen.
For the most part, it’s very separate and disconnected from the main
story and can be written off as a completely different episode. Still, it’s well constructed on many
fronts. There’s solid comedy from how
someone so laid-back like Eda is thrown into a position of needing to be a caring
maternal figure. Creativity is also
shown with how the babysitting escalates with the crying bat baby revealing to
carry two more babies. However, there’s
also some good heart to the subplot as Eda ultimately has the proper tools to
get the bat babies under control. One of
them includes reading them a story that happens to be of Otabin, and it even
transitions to Luz reading the same story for herself just before learning more
about Amity. By the episode’s end, Eda
has clearly grown fond of the babies. She’s gone from tending to them for the
money to her and King being very disheartened upon discovering the Bat Queen’s
come to take them home. While they may
be gone, this experience feels beneficial in her growth as a good caretaker,
which is really good to see with Luz living with her and everything. A bit of foreshadowing for things to come at the end with the Bat Queen’s brief appearance, and her leaving the gang treasure and a
whistle is a nice touch too.
With
how much I had to say about this episode, it’s clear that this is one of the
highlights of the series. Creative
scenarios in highly imaginative settings are appealing enough, but how they
lead to endearing depth and complexities of many characters makes for an
all-around marvel. It’s fun, heartfelt,
well-written and acted, and proof of this show being worthy of being part of
the great Disney legacy.
A+
The Ranking
1. Lost in Language
2. The Intruder
3. Covention
4. I Was a Teenage Abomination
5. Witches Before Wizards
6. A Lying Witch and a Warden
7. Hooty’s Moving Hassle
No comments:
Post a Comment