Really Small Problems - (The Owl House Season 1 Episode 14) - 'Toon Reviews 42

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Really Small Problems

So far, even at its most simplistic, episodes of this show could always offer something substantial, be it for characters, the world, or certain plot points.  This cartoon, however, seems simplistic to a fault where very little about brings any weight to the series’ main elements, and isn’t even that impressive.  At least it’s reasonably fun for what it is.

This is another episode focusing on the friendship of Luz and King.  For the latter, it’s somewhat nice to see how meaningful this bond is to King, considering a big thing he lives for is power and has long shown disdain for being called cute.  Actually wanting to spend time with Luz adds several new layers to him.  As a few moments they share together show, their friendship is certainly an endearing one.  For conflict, the cartoon features King feel somewhat threatened when it comes to being Luz’s friend.  Reflecting Luz’s own growth, she’s firmly established a good bond with Willow and Gus, two of her first true friends, and is therefore spending more time with them than ever.  To say nothing about seeing more of them with her going to Hexside now.

Things come to a head when a carnival is announced, with the main gang, as well as Willow and Gus, receiving invites from Tibbles, the vendor from “Hooty’s Moving Hassle.”  As an aside, there’s a somewhat humorous layer to the setup where they all know it’s a trap, but come to the carnival anyway confident that they can still enjoy it.  Enjoying it is just what they do, via a collection of charming moments of Luz and her friends exploring all the usual fun carnivals have to offer.  Through it all, these moments do what’s necessary to make King’s conflict understandable.  He legitimately feels like he’s just there as Luz seems to pay more attention to Willow and Gus when exploring the carnival.  This also gives weight to his constant desire for friendship bracelets, mainly for their symbolism of how he and Luz will always be friends no matter what.  However, his way to fix this comes with several noticeable issues.  King comes across a vendor with a potion that can shrink anyone it sprays.  The thing is, the vendor is clearly Tibbles with an ulterior motive, yet King completely believes his lies.  Maybe it’s a joke, but it’s not in line with how self-aware everyone else has been.

Anyway, after King uses the spray on Willow and Gus, shrinking them, it becomes clear just how lacking this plot really is.  Episodes with King feeling inferior and doing unethical things to regain some sort of power are starting to feel repetitive and stale by themselves.  This setup could stand out if tied to a major recurring plot, or the center of an interesting idea or character trait.  Here, King’s feelings tie into none of those things.  They’re understandable, but without being part of a truly big hook, it’s hard to get as invested in this episode as many others in the series.  Plus, all of the understandable aspects of King’s feelings feel hard to stomach when he focuses on being with Luz and getting those bracelets without any care for Willow and Gus.  They have to deal with all kinds of dangers and obstacles while being miniature, which can get reasonably frustrating, even to those watching.  Either way, it’s hard to care about something as frivolous as King getting a simple trinket with what they’re faced with.  That said, it is nice to see resourcefulness of them trying to get Luz’s attention while small, especially on Willow’s part.  Luz is also given a worthy portrayal where even though she’s put more focus on Willow and Gus, her care for King is still strong and apparent.

Of course, things heat up for the inevitable moment of Luz finding out what happened to Willow and Gus, and it takes a while for King to see the magnitude of his actions.  To be fair, this is expected coming just after King wins those bracelets, but right after this, he and Luz get shrunk, and all four of them are caught by Tibbles and put into his tiny circus.   In an attempt to give the story some weight, all of his actions are a continuation of how the character involved destroyed his stand in his previous appearance.  However, considering how that was also a light-hearted escapade, it still isn’t much, nor does it give Tibbles much credibility as an antagonist.  This makes it all the more sadder that King still can’t figure out that he was the vendor who gave him the potion, even if it is supposed to be funny.  

Then during the circus, King heartily explains his actions, which given the formula of his stories isn’t all that effective, especially without being part of something bigger.  The biggest thing is a short statement is how he knows Luz will eventually go home, the closest thing the episode has to tying into the series’ overall basis.  If only there was more talk of that other than one short statement.  Still, how King gets everyone out of the circus and back to their normal size is nicely staged, and I can’t fault the heart of everyone making amends.  Then again, with how good a friend Luz is in general, it’s not surprising that she’s the main source of the heart.  Elements like this serve as good reminders that this episode is good as it is, even if it’s got very little to it.

As a perfectly enjoyable extra, the carnival also offers the basis for a subplot of Eda using it to make some good cash.  It’s a good comedic setup where she goes about her way without Tibbles and his scams stopping her, and her craftsmanship gets a lot of attention.  Her scam also shows how big an influence Luz has been on her, highlighting authentic human artifacts she’s picked up since getting this houseguest.  Then it escalates into her getting in trouble with a literal fun police and then needing to sell concessions at Tibbles’ tiny circus in a ridiculous getup.  She even goes along with it, albeit reluctantly, until it catches her attention that her ‘dumb kids’ are trapped there, showcasing genuineness as a caretaker.  This gives her the incentive to fight back at Tibbles, finish him off, and revel in her earnings.  With all this said, this whole subplot also doesn’t really offer anything substantial to the series, but it does get by for being reasonably entertaining.  Having an amusing well-written lead like Eda at the center certainly helps its case, so if nothing else, this episode is a good watch for solid fun.

Ultimately, this episode is one of the most simplistic and least productive to the show, even showing hints of overused conflicts.  Thankfully, it’s kept enjoyable by a fine story, some funny moments, the general atmosphere of the carnival, and heart in the right place.  It’s far from great, but if you watch it expecting general entertainment, that would be no really small problem.

B

The Ranking

1.      Lost in Language

2.      Adventures in the Elements

3.      The Intruder

4.      Covention

5.      Escape of the Palisman

6.      The First Day

7.      I Was a Teenage Abomination

8.     Witches Before Wizards

9.      Something Ventured, Someone Framed

10.  A Lying Witch and a Warden

11.   Sense and Insensitivity

12.  Hooty’s Moving Hassle

13.  Really Small Problems

14.  Once Upon a Swap

The next Owl House review covers much broader topics as we learn a lot about Willow and Amity's past friendship, the threatening parental forces that drove them apart, and how they both can move forward from it in the present through reliving the past.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews, things get festive in Amphibia in one of the featured cartoons, "Snow Day." Also features thoughts on "Cracking Mrs. Croaker." 

If you would like to check out other Owl House reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.