Sense and Insensitivity
This
episode falls into the simplistic category when it comes to subject matter, but
as this show has continuously proven, it can still offer insightful development
to major elements. In this case, the
things our main trio gets up to may seem like simple things they’re trying on the
surface, but they end up saying a lot on their background. To some extent, they even offer new layers to
their relationships with others.
The
main topic is a writing competition where the winner has a chance at major fame
and fortune. For what it means for the
main players of the series, this news offers something interesting for Luz’s
background. While she’d really like to
become a witch, in a world where that really can’t happen, she’s set her goal
on becoming a writer. In a broad sense
that’s a very logical career outlet for an eccentric fantasy lover like
herself. However, King is even keener on
entering the competition, mainly for the fame and attention he finds that
bestselling authors seem to get, lining with his constant lust for power. He and Luz team up for their entry resulting
in a very believable part of the creative process. They both have different ideas on how their
story should go with Luz wanting something sparkling, dramatic, and big on
romantic tension, while King wants to go all dark and violent. You’d think they get along fine at first, but
then King’s desire to be the best brings out his less than appealing
qualities. When Luz leaves the room, he
completely hijacks the creative process and makes the story all about what he wants
without any consent from his partner.
This leaves Luz understandably upset, conceding that if this is how King
is going to act, he should just write the book himself. As inconsiderate as King feels in this scenario,
it is technically in line with what he really wants in life. He’s seen himself as someone worthy of
absolute reign, but all past instances of this have come off as pretentious and
lacking any real bravado. That said,
it’s a pretty low point for him to just take over something Luz was so
passionate about without talking things over with her. That’s just being a bad friend, not to
mention unethical if this was applied to the real world.
As
the story goes on, King’s unethical means both get him what he’s after, and offer consequences for his rashness and unfriendly decisions. He has a chance encounter with a shady
publisher called Piniet, who happens to be head of the writing
competition. Through his power of
getting the whole story just by thumbing through King’s draft, he sees it as
the best entry, and has it published into a bestselling novel. This in turn gives King the well-respected
status he’s been after, and best of all, it’s real and has basis in a true
talent and accomplishment. The fact that
King achieved this through betraying Luz and her visions remains, but even when
he’s all high and mighty as an author, he still has some heart to him. This is especially apparent as he tries to
civilly invite Luz to a party honoring his book, although she seems to refuse. That said, this actually offers a welcome
growth in character for Luz. She always
wants to see the best in everyone she meets. Now it’s hard for her to deal with
the fact that one of her friends, and one she loves to shower with love and
affection at that, has seriously wronged her.
Nevertheless,
she aims to hold back her negative emotions and support her friends’
success. It’s at this point though where
King discovers the dark side of the creative industry. After finishing one book, Piniet expects him
to have sequels ready to go quickly, but the draft King happens to
have is not up to the high standards of the predecessor. He believes that he’s at his best when
rebelling against Luz’s flowery story ideas which he flat out admits to her
when he sees her at the party. This is
enough for Luz to completely drop her usual cheerful self and be vocal about
her anger and frustration over King’s lack of consideration for her visions and
tastes. Departing from her usual nature
as it is, this is honestly very good for Luz since she’s being completely open about her stance on matters and vocal of her beliefs. It may make her look aggressive, but it’s
still the healthiest thing to do in this case.
Then
the creative process works its way into the climax when word gets out that Luz
is key to King’s success, so Piniet has them trapped in a shrinking box. Their only way out is to write a quality work
quickly or else they’ll be deformed into small cubes which has disturbingly
happened to many other authors Piniet holds in a suitcase. As Luz puts it, this is a toxic setup that’s
sure to result in burnout and unrealistic expectations. I mean, how can anyone put together something
great without time to prepare and process it?
Anyway, there’s a nice moment of confiding where Luz further tells King
off for his faults in all this, mainly how he can’t compromise, and King
explains his behavior. He admits that
he’s unable to live his dreams the way she and Eda have, so when the
competition was announced, he was desperate to make the most of it. Only now
does he admit that he went too far with them through hurting Luz, one of his
truest friends. This in turn makes Luz’s
claim that her friendship with him is one of the best parts of the dream truly
meaningful, paving the way for a creative resolution. With a draft of Luz’s story, they’re able to
distract Piniet and then get him with Luz’s light spell which is used to set it
on fire and later get the contract that started all this to destroy it. As for King’s status as a writer, he ultimately
loses it, especially when the tiny Dana Terrace self-inserted caricature
appears with her draft, which goes a little too far. Even so, I’d say that for how he and Luz grew
from this experience, it’s rewarding enough that their friendship is now stronger.
For a more plot-relevant development, this episode features an interesting subplot of Eda. She’s still visibly worried about her curse and how it’s intensifying, and her attempt to find a new way to quell it leads to something meaningful. She spots Lilith picking up information about a flower called the Bloom of Eternal Youth which she’s trying to secure for Emperor Belos. To stop the emperor’s desire from coming to pass as well as disprove Lilith’s claim that her age is holding her back, Eda decides to go after the flower herself. The quest turns out to be a good bonding experience for these witch sisters. While searching for it, Eda and Lilith cross paths, and surprisingly aren’t immediately tense with each other and are even honest about what they’re after. That said, Eda does show off usual mischief associated with siblings by racing off to the plant to beat Lilith who can’t catch up to her. At no point does this ever seem ill-intended or malicious, but rather playful and jovial. Eda even breaks from this mindset to save Lilith from a giant spider creature at one point, stating that for all the complexities of their relationship, it doesn’t change that they’re sisters.
As for the flower, if an earlier scene of
the dealer giving them both identical maps was an indication, it’s not a
surprise that it was all a scam he set up for them. This, however, turns out to be a high point
for the sisters’ time together as they show great compatibility in facing the
figure who conned them. It’s not shown
how they do it, but the implications are still worthwhile. That’s not even all, as it closes with a good
moment of heart. Lilith could just take
Eda to the Emperor’s Coven now that she has her, but she doesn’t. She has the decency to let Eda have that choice,
while also stating that the emperor himself holds the key to healing the
curse. Eda civilly states that she still
wants no part of the coven and that she’s still trying to cure the curse
herself, but she’s still grateful for the time she spent with her sister. It’s clear that Lilith is too, and in a good
showing of her complexities, she’s visibly distressed that this may be the last
time they get along as well as they did.
That’s enough to show the heart of this character dynamic, as well as
set up what’s to come.
While
there are bigger and more interesting episodes, this one is still very
solid. Through the simple adventures,
characters are better understood, develop significantly, and even show more
pleasing sides to their connections with others.
B+
The Ranking
1. Lost in Language
2. The Intruder
3. Covention
4. Escape of the Palisman
5. I Was a Teenage Abomination
6. Witches Before Wizards
7. Something Ventured, Someone Framed
8. A Lying Witch and a Warden
9. Sense and Insensitivity
10. Hooty’s Moving Hassle
11. Once Upon a Swap
Well, here it is. My least favorite episode of The Owl House (as of now). There aren't many fillers in this show as whole, but while many people found them weak, I still found them really enjoyable.... eeexcept for this one. There is one element that heavely damaged the episode to me, and that would be... the bullshit ex-machina ending of the A plot. The solution of the main plot comes out of nowhere, and botcher the whole moral of the episode. That alone ruined the enjoyment of the episode to me, and the B plot and the writing jokes are not enough for me to forgive that ending. As of now, Senses and Insensitivity stands as my least favorite episode of The Owl House. Hopefully nothing worse happens in the future.
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