Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Young Blood, Old Souls - (The Owl House Season 1 Episode 19) - 'Toon Reviews 42

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Young Blood Old Souls

It’s been a real joy going through this world and following all these characters.  That’s why the last episode effectively left a heavy emotional toll when it ended with Eda cursed and captured and Luz and the other Owl House inhabitants left alone.  This along with the threatening presence of Emperor Belos and the reveal that Lilith was the cause of Eda’s curse leave a lot to overcome in this work to close out the season.  While it doesn’t reach the heights of the first part of the finale, it’s overall emotionally satisfying.

The biggest factor to how well the finale works is the culmination of much of the character development.  Luz in particular really impresses where after leaving the last episode devastated over the loss of her mentor, she’s brave and determined enough to do whatever it takes to get her back.  The best part of all this is how she’s very competent with going into the fray.  Throughout this whole season, even up to the most recent episodes, Luz has constantly sprung herself into random situations without the proper knowledge.  This time, she’s going in with every magic she knows, and actually thinks before going through with certain spells, showing that she knows the seriousness of the situation.  She opts to go after Eda alone, only reluctantly bringing King along, forms clever strategies to get herself arrested, and uses her spells skillfully to free herself and learn where Eda is held.  I love Luz as a positive energetic individual, but her developing this much of a backbone is a rewarding outcome for her journey .  It’s genuine development that really gives purpose to her progress of learning to be a witch thus benefitting the series as a whole.

Astonishingly, Luz’s development isn’t the only thing standing out in this episode.  The last episode did not leave very good impressions on Lilith with the reveal that she was Eda’s curser and offered little reason to why she was that drastic.  However, a lot of this is uncovered here with circumstances getting her to realize that the Emperor’s Coven, which she devoted her life to, is not what she thought it was.  Her desire to get Eda’s curse healed by having her join the coven was very true to the heart, and she's eager for the process to be done.  All Emperor Belos does though is make Eda speak audibly again while she’s still a beast, and nothing more.  In fact, he plans on having Eda petrified for being a wild witch going against his norm, and to make things more serious, in this world, petrification cannot be reversed.  It’s a fate so dark that everyone feels that she doesn’t deserve it, and this includes Lilith.  At the same time, it brings a welcome air of humanity where for all her high class, she’s still capable of naïve mistakes and acting before knowing all the details.  Balancing the situation, her wild sister proves to be quite mature in the situation.  When Luz comes to free her, all Eda cares about is getting the human to go back to her realm where she’ll be safe and just accepting petrification.  I wouldn’t say this tops her emotional sacrifice when her curse took hold last episode, but it comes close, and really sells the endearing family bond between Eda and Luz.  As for Lilith, it’s after this instance where she goes on to atone for all her mistakes, and a lot of things come together in a genuine manner.

Unsurprisingly, Luz is very aggressive towards Lilith after what she did to Eda, going all out with using her form of magic to attack her.  Everyone winding up in the human realm where magic doesn’t work and Lilith agreeing she deserves Eda’s fate then brings many welcome insight to her background.  Once Luz quells her aggression, focus turns to a flashback of Lilith and Eda’s youthful days.  They were very close as children with Lilith making sure to look out for her sister, down to the point of using a spell to allow her to share any pain Eda would get.  They were also powerful enough to try out for the Emperor’s Coven with Eda especially working hard enough to have a chance.  This also answers why she originally wanted to join the coven; so that she and Lilith would be in something grand and special together.  There was a catch to all this though when only one spot was available, and the only way to decide on who got the spot was a witch’s duel.  

Like the stunt that she would later pull in “Covention,” Lilith obtained something that would shake up the system and give her an advantage in the duel.  That would be the very scroll that contained the curse, though Lilith was under the impression that it would only strip Eda’s powers for a day.  Then there’s an air of tragedy as Eda’s love for her sister ruled, for she refused to fight Lilith, dropping out of the duel, but that’s when her infamous beast form took hold.  This paints her whole situation not out of malice, but out of a big mistake that drove Lilith with guilt for all her life, giving context to all her past actions.  It makes her feel much better rounded as a character, and shows that she’s more complex than her usual qualities suggest.  It’s a clear example for why the cast of characters is one of the biggest strengths of this show.

Once Lilith’s stance is explained, the last moments of the finale fall into place, giving solid resolutions to some of the conflicts while also setting up new ones.  Lilith’s betrayal to the emperor is quickly uncovered and she’s imprisoned with Eda, leaving Luz to face Belos alone.  Despite him being a legitimately powerful and intimidating force with a brand of magic unlike those of most witches, Luz still holds reasonably strong against him.  The spells she possesses even prove this as they break off a piece of his mask.  As intimidating a villain Emperor Belos is though, his motives seem to be much more specific than being malicious and power hungry alone.  Throughout this episode, as well as the last one, he constantly brings up that everything he’s doing comes from communicating with a being called the Titan.  At this point, I can only assume that it’s the decaying corpse that the Boiling Isles is built around.  In any case, there are suggestions that his motives or more complicated than that.  This is further proven when he claims that his plan isn’t really to destroy Luz or even Eda, and they’ll be spared as long as Luz gives him the portal that brought her to the demon realm.  The very move is one of many to set a new status quo into motion, for giving up the portal means Luz will be staying on the Boiling Isles for an unknown amount of time.  That’s not even mentioning being separated from her mother.  Still, her love for her mentor, and possibly everyone else she’s met on the Boiling Isles, is strong enough to give into the demand to protect them.  Even so, she remains strong and resourceful as she manages to destroy the portal just as Belos lets her go, prolonging whatever plan he has. 

As for Eda, not only does her disdain towards Lilith back down slightly when she hears she betrayed the emperor, but the crowds of the Boiling Isles are led to vouch for her.  In some of their more awesome moments, Willow and Gus advocate that Eda being petrified isn’t right and everyone recounts the good she’s brought to their lives.  It’s like the first signs of true revolution against the rule of Emperor Belos, although since the petrification still goes on as plan, it’s not at its most powerful yet.  Luckily, Luz is able to save Eda before anything bad comes to pass, and they’re all quick to escape.  However, one ominous statement on what wild magic did to Eda from Emperor Belos shows that his threat is still very much at large.

Then there’s the overall resolution to the episode big on heart and even more long lasting effects.  Lilith, now officially seeing the error of her ways, handles Eda’s curse once and for all.  Using the same spell to share pain when they were younger, both sisters hold a little bit of the curse.  While this means their magic is weakened for good with Eda's magic completely gone, it’s still the best way possible to get the curse under control.  Plus, there’s an option for their magic to continue with Luz stepping in to teach the magic she knows, opening the possibility of her form of magic becoming a new norm.  Speaking of Luz, she may not be able to have a way home now, but with how much her social life has grown, she’s clearly in a good state.  It’s even bigger now that Lilith is against the Emperor and back with her sister, even though signs are present to show that true forgiveness will take a while.  As you can tell, things are mostly wrapped up nicely with a few loose ends, but the loosest end comes from one last scene with Emperor Belos.  To build up excitement for future seasons, even though he lost the older portal, he’s shown building a bigger one intended for an event called the Day of Unity.  Something interesting is also done in regards to the inhabitants of the Owl House where he doesn’t brand them as criminals, but sends someone to spy on them.  Ultimately, his plans are very unknown, but again, it fills a season finale’s obligation to build up excitement for what comes next.

Along with the previous episode, this is an exciting closure to Season 1.  It may not leave as strong an impact as the first part, but in showing how the characters have grown and shaking up the status quo, the resulting effects are definitely positive.  You feel like something was gained from following these characters leaving you emotionally invested in their trials, and proud of where they end up.  Above all, it leaves you wanting more in terms of where their adventures will lead when the time comes to revisit the Boiling Isles.

A

Fan Art


The Ranking

1.      Enchanting Grom Fright

2.      Agony of a Witch

3.      Understanding Willow

4.      Lost in Language

5.      Adventures in the Elements

6.      The Intruder

7.      Covention

8.      Young Blood Old Souls

9.      Escape of the Palisman

10.  Wing it Like Witches

11.  The First Day

12.  I Was a Teenage Abomination

13.  Witches Before Wizards

14.  Something Ventured, Someone Framed

15.  A Lying Witch and a Warden

16.  Sense and Insensitivity

17.  Hooty’s Moving Hassle

18.  Really Small Problems

19.  Once Upon a Swap

Final Thoughts

There have been times in my life where I’ve come across shows that I simply could not stop admiring and thinking about, with almost all their elements bringing huge intrigue.  That’s a way of saying how engaging those shows really were, and how they were huge sources of leisure that made life worth living.  In this modern age, I’m proud to say that The Owl House is one of those immensely engaging shows.  From its first season alone, it’s shown the makings of a quality work easy to get fixated on through creative worlds, inspiring messages, and especially endearing characters.

When it comes to shows taking place in a fantasy world, the best ones are those that immerse themselves in the imagination to the fullest extent possible.  This show is no exception, and it’s very fitting that’s the case with the main setting inhabited by such a menagerie of witches and demons.  There’s always something creative happening from all-out character designs, the settings that lend themselves to every adventure, and even deep insight to various major story beats.  When you look around the Boiling Isles, the scenes always pop into life be it from the looks of a witch or demon or a vast variety of magical spells.  In fact, magic itself is practically an element all its own.  Much of it is separated amongst various characters in different tracks or covens marked by different colors, making it easy to tell everything apart.  

Then you have major outliers to the rule to add more intrigue to the subject.  There’s Eda’s access to magic of all kinds, including long unused spells, Luz’s ability to do magic with a multitude of glyphs, and even Emperor Belos’ vastly different powers.  How magic is utilized adds as much character as the designs and personalities definitely helps the show define itself as a creative experience.  Plus, the many locations of Boiling Isles go hand in hand with the inhabitants and the magic they possess and further breathe life into the series.  The Owl House itself is a stylish locale appearance-wise, but through the deeper themes of the show, it soon makes sense that its inhabitants are societal outliers.  Other reoccurring locations include the magic school, Hexside, where the brimming magic and personalities make it stand out from the normal school setup, and the Emperor’s Castle holding the darker sides of magic.  Great creative appeal is also found through one-off locations through their memorable impressions.  There’s a convention that brings all the different magic groups together, a library where contents of the books come alive, a wholesome wintry location that turns out to be most principle in magical development, and the ever-popular depiction of the inside of one’s mind.  Just to add even more intrigue, special events are given very creative touch, be it a sport with unpredictable obstacles, or a school dance that exposes one’s deepest fears.  With all this said, it’s no doubt a major selling point to The Owl House that you’ll be treated to one of the most immersive and creative experiences ever.

Endless creativity in worlds and characters could be the biggest selling point for the show, but a real measure of its endurance is how it balances fun imagination with deep subjects.  This way it’s able to reach out, not just to kids, but to anyone of any age via universal themes all people can imagine themselves in.  That’s a huge reason why everything The Owl House has created for itself is so successful.  The core theme of the series definitely fits the universal standard, and it makes itself known almost immediately.  You have a main protagonist, Luz, with an overt spirited passion that allows her to really express herself, but also isn’t accepted by her peers.  It’s only when she’s transported to an all-out fantasy world when she and her interests finally start feeling at home.  Living here and learning its trade of magic becomes her big chance to have a place where she can be accepted for her true self.  Granted, it doesn’t come off very strongly at first with the premiere being very preachy with its message and also ignorant of some legit problems Luz’s interests have caused.  Luckily, almost everything after that greatly improves the presentation.  In addition to following Luz grow as a witch, several occasions bring to light necessary measures to improve herself as well.  She learns to manage expectations picked up from the books she reads; sees the consequences of brash actions; understands it can sometimes take a while to win someone over; realizes the issues of being somewhere without her mom knowing; and becomes considerate of how others approach her extreme courses of action. 

All of these instances lend themselves well to the presentation of the main message from here, as it’s seamlessly woven into the framework of the storytelling and is not preachy at all.  Interests and legit growth lead to Luz becoming her own witch, showing clear transformation from awkward and inexperienced to a uniquely powerful individual.  This is evident in the ways she finds non-biological ways of performing spells by drawing glyphs, sometimes in huge discoveries, and later during random activities.  If you think the latter point is impressive, consider just how much Luz actually uses the spells.  Her use is limited at first, but as the series goes on, they’re put to broader more apparent use in dangerous situations.  By the time she uses them against the Emperor and hits him genuinely good in the season finale, it’s clear that Luz may not be a chosen one, but she’s still destined for greatness.  As you can see, this presentation of the series’ come theme turns out to be very inspiring.  Through balancing the notions of expressing passions and holding back for the sake of good impressions, anyone can become their best self.

The more that’s seen of the series, the more impactful this main theme becomes. In highlighting Luz’s growth as a witch, attention is also brought to her finding an ideal place.  No matter who anyone watching the show may be, it’s believable that many could feel like they’re not accepted for who they are, some more overtly than others.  Through watching Luz’s struggles to fit in, it becomes truly inspiring to watch her slowly consider the Boiling Isles the place to be her best self.  The core theme is certainly a good fit for the eccentric fantasy lovers, but it gets even broader as it relates to other members of the cast who each have their own struggles.  Audience members struggling to find their talents and true status; suffering abuse from strict authorities that shapes them into cold and miserable figures; blindly following a rule that seems to do more harm than good; and living as parts of various races and sexualities are sure to find hope that even when they don’t seem to fit in, there’s always a place for them. 

For the message to leave an even bigger impact, it’s allowed to really shine through the atmosphere of some seriously dark undertones.  An example of this involves frequent explores of Eda, for all her magical abilities most witches don’t have access to, having to suffer a curse that turns her into a frightening monster.  It’s somewhat great to see her take the right measures to live a good life, but as the season goes on, it’s clear that the curse has drawbacks even she can’t manage easily.  By the season’s end when the curse completely takes over, the series is brought to new emotional heights effortlessly.  True, the curse is later calmed enough to turn Eda back to normal albeit without magic, but still.  In the bigger picture though, there’s a huge challenge to the series’ setup that can even make the multitude of witches and demons feel unaccepted.  It’s first shown in a small extent in the series premiere with creatures of erratic differences imprisoned, but it isn’t long before the dark weight of the concept gets even bigger.  Due to the tyrannical rule of Emperor Belos, witches are prevented from using magic to their fullest extent by being forced to choose one single coven and stay there forever.  Only a select few can join a coven that allows all magic, and that seems to come with a lot of pressure that has been shown to do a lot of damage to one’s demeanor.  Eda is, or was, able to get around this by doing all magic without joining a coven, but by this season’s end, her actions bring to light the consequences of breaking this rule.  Witches of her kind are deemed to be using magic the wrong way and are therefore wild and deserve to be petrified, a process that’s irreversible.  However, the prospect of such a dark process isn’t met with blind obedience, but rather several instances of rebellion which I suspect will grow in future seasons.  It’s great to see that even under such powerful purposes, the show is able to stick with its messages of allowing self-expression for all kinds of people.  How it’s a matter that can connect to many and brings on some genuinely bold story directions further shows the magnitude of this animated series as something great.

Of all the elements of this series though, the one thing that makes things like the imaginative world and inspiring themes work is the endearing cast.  In fact, in my experience, you could say that if you have characters of great personalities starring in any project you undertake, everything else will write itself.  The Owl House may just be one of the strongest instances of this I have ever seen.  Starting with the main protagonist Luz, there’s not much I can add to her since much of her development was covered back in the look at the series theme.  However, I can say that as far as main protagonists go, she’s a truly great one to follow.  From the moment she first appears, one can easily sense her appeal in how her charm and spunk really livens things up.  Just her energy and enthusiasm is nothing short of a cute selling point to her scenes as well as a strong tie to her always trying to express herself through her fantasy passions.  Plus, how she continuously grow in maturity, consideration, and calculating serves as a good balance for all her quirks, making for a truly well-rounded individual.

All of these qualities are great for Luz herself, but her appeal is best demonstrated as it brings out the best in the rest of the cast.  The other main protagonists, Eda and King, serve as a greatly appealing surrogate family for Luz during her time at the Owl House.  When she first comes, their eccentricities seem to blow hers out of the water, with Eda being a laid-back smart-talking witch and King supposedly being former ruler of demons.  They may not seem like the caring type, but Luz’s presence easily reveals them to be much more than that.  King is already proof of this concept through looking cute, his menacing words lacking true menace, and only getting Luz to constantly coddle and pamper him.  Still, his lust for power grants him sympathy as he always feels from the heart whenever he’s left out or not taken seriously.  Instances of this don’t always make for the best stories, but it’s well in line with his primary characteristic.  Eda, on the other hand, is even more demonstrative of characters being more than they seem.  Given what she’s like, when Luz first shows up in her life and has her be a mentor in the ways of a witch, you’d think she wouldn’t be too up for that.  As the series goes on, not only does Eda turn out to be a solid mentor, but a genuinely great parental figure to Luz too.  She may joke around and be snarky a lot, but the show is quick show she also has good heart.  There’s genuine care to how she’d do anything for her roommate even if there’s no weight to what he wants, and how she works hard to keep Luz safe and provided for.  Heck, the season finale is like the culmination to all of Eda’s care for Luz as she willingly lets herself succumb to the curse during a violent duel just to keep Luz alive.  As for her mentorship, while she doesn’t do much of it, what she does in that regard is very commendable. I mean, she has a major disdain towards orderly thing like school, but is willing to let her biases down to give Luz the best magic teaching possible, and it really benefits her.  In addition, what Eda herself teaches Luz even has a deep basis for exactly how the human uncovers her own true power.  All the while, Eda remains delightfully charming being just as caring to Luz and later the other friends she makes, as well as entertainingly charismatic.

Speaking of Luz’s other friends, the rest of the cast does their part to make this show as great as it is.  With every appearance, it’s telling that intense care is taken to portray them as likable and prove that they’re more than whatever their introductions suggest.  Now and then you have one-dimensional characters like shallow bullies and figures only around for funny lines, but the most prominent figures are those much broader than that.  Luz’s first friends outside of her surrogate family, Willow and Gus, mostly fit the basic role of her supportive friends joining her for escapades, but they’re plenty compelling.  They both start out as underdogs stemming from lack of confidence and really wanting to fit in.  As time goes on and they get to know Luz more, they manage to pull off truly impressive plant and illusion respectively, and even get in their own form of rebellion by season’s end.  Personally, Willow stands out more between the two with there being more heart to her challenges though. Nevertheless, in addition to her and Gus being an enjoyable dynamic, their growth does have legit merit.  Character depth especially astounds within those who appear much darker than most.  Eda’s sister, Lilith, head of high and mighty Emperor’s Coven, appears stern, uptight, and generally unpleasing.  However, the fact that she lightens up at the prospect of being with her sister again, even if potentially in something Eda opposes, brings out a genuine light in her dark mood.  Throughout the season, both sisters are portrayed as rivals, but care is constantly taken to show there’s heart in their sibling bond too.  It seems like the heart could mean nothing once it’s revealed that Lilith put that curse on Eda, but disdain over this reveal doesn’t last too long.  The last episode shows that everything Lilith has done was to make up for this wrongdoing and fully repair her relationship with her sister.  Even more remarkable is that at the same time, she realizes her faults in siding with the Emperor’s Coven, goes against them, and is set up on a path to true redemption. Ultimately, Lilith has a lot to think about as a character, and leaves plenty of intrigue for where things will go with her in the future.  I could also say the same about her former authority figure Emperor Belos. He only appears in the last two episodes, but his presence is felt through his tyrannical rules with his coven system, following the “Titan’s will,” and petrifying ‘wild’ witches.  However, when Luz and her family escape his grasp, he doesn’t seem active in hunting them down, showing more interest in Eda’s portal to the human world.  This begs a lot of questions on how genuine he is with his rules. Could it be that he’s just using them as a way to pull off his own personal plan?  Either way, the show is clearly doing something right when even just a few appearances of a character build anticipation for what more there is to be done.

Now of all the characters, there’s one that just about perfectly embodies being more than they seem, having several layers of appeal, and developing smoothly and naturally.  That character is Amity Blight, and as you watch the series, it’s truly surprising how much she steals the show.  Her first moments suggest big clarity to exactly what we’re in for with her, but every appearance shows just how complex she really is.  In fact, her first moments present her as just your standard mean girl most wouldn’t want anything to do with, valuing her high status and belittling those beneath her.  However, those first impressions turn out to be precisely why Amity turns out to be so great.  Every subsequent starring role following this is dedicated to exploring a new area of her character and significant ways of her changing for the better.  You’d think all she cares about is achieving perfection, but she’s actually very moral by wanting to earn it fairly and being distraught when tricked into breaking the rules.  Heck, she even sounds like she’s pressured into being perfect, begging questions if it’s what she truly wants.  Another appearance shows her genuinely enjoying simpler pastimes like reading to kids and indulging in the fantasy novels Luz happens to be into.  This aspect confirms that while she may not have seemed like it at first, Amity really is a good sympathetic soul at heart, but the life she leads has conditioned her not to show this.  A big source of this comes from her family consisting of relentlessly teasing older siblings, and even more pressing, parents who use their authority to have her fit a certain role.  Now, all we see of Amity’s parents this season is how they made her severe ties with her former best friend, Willow, but I’m inclined to believe that’s just a small extent of their power. 

Thankfully, for Amity’s sake, she ultimately finds a way to embrace all her good qualities through Luz coming into her life.  Really, Luz’s presence on the Boiling Isles naturally brings out the best traits of everyone she meets, but this quality is at its most apparent with Amity.  At first, adhering to the toxic mentality of her family name she’s grown up with, Amity doesn’t want anything to do with Luz. She puts her down for trying to learn magic even though she’s a human, and gives her the most blame for every bad occurrence.  Despite this, Luz is able to see through Amity’s cold exterior and understand where she’s coming from.  When Amity is distraught over the bad outcome of a witch’s duel, Luz comforts her by proving that she works as hard at magic as Amity does via the glyphs she knows.  An even bigger example is when Luz first notices Amity’s sweet side, something implied to not be accepted by her authorities, fully making her interested in befriending her. Instead of judgement and disdain, though it takes time to prove this, Luz instead responds with acceptance.  Wholesomely bonding during an escapade at the library and Luz allowing her to borrow one of her prized books further do a world of good for Amity.  It’s Luz’s instances of compatibility and care that allow her an outlet where she can be her best self and not have to worry about coming off as strong and perfect.  Because of this, Amity continuously rediscovers her true self as her respect for Luz only grows from here.  She adopts a tendency to stop at nothing to keep Luz from getting hurt no matter how badly Luz messes up, and works together well with Luz who never judges her own mistakes.

Through the intricate care to Amity’s character and how Luz brings out all the layers showing she’s more than her cold exterior suggests, what it all leads to seems like poetic justice.  Within the last few episodes of the season, all their time together leads to a surprising culmination in which Amity flat out falls in love with Luz.  It isn’t even implied either, a refreshing change of pace for how couples are typically built up, and standing out a lot more with this being an LGBT ship.  There’s Amity timid with a note asking Luz out, the two getting very intimate in a dance, and an abundance of blushing and awkward talk from Amity whenever Luz greets her.  In addition, when considering all the hardships that Amity has to live through, this romance stands as something more meaningful than just a separate element.  Because Luz has shown Amity great kindness and gestures purely from the heart despite all animosity she's gotten from her, Amity now has a place where she's never judged for how she acts.  Luz has simply been the only figure in her cold, authoritative life to give her what she needs, so it’s no wonder Amity would see her as someone special she’d never want to lose.  She’s a character you can tell desperately needs happiness, and the amount of times she and Luz are paired together builds the potential for that once the couple comes to pass.  

Although Amity is currently doing all the explicit flirting while Luz is oblivious to it all, there are a couple signs that lean to the possibility of Luz returning those feelings.  For one thing, even back when they weren't on the best terms, Luz has appeared the most interested and excited in befriending Amity.  That would make sense considering how, out of all the friends she's made, Amity shares a lot of what she's really into.  There’s also a sincerity in tone and posture to her service and concerns of Amity that easily puts aside her usual eccentricities.  To add a broader background, this also occurred back when they were rivals.  Luz also goes on to trust Amity enough to seek advice from her and confide in her with personal problems, things she’s never shown to do prior, except maybe around Eda.  Let’s not even forget Luz actually seeming to want to do something big and grand for Amity.  Their last moment together this season has Amity break her leg with Luz, initially concerned for her well-being, happily stepping in to carry Amity like a bride.  The charm, the sweetness, and all the ways these characters bring out the best in each other definitely give good reasons to want them to come together.  However, the fact that Amity’s big role this season gets her a broken leg does have a significant connection to this next point.

It’s clear that The Owl House has a lot of ambition with its story and characters, the major foundations of the true strength of an animated work.  In a way, the word to describe how much of them introduced in Season 1 alone is crazy.  While this shows the series has a lot to work with, there are also times where certain story beats and characters are given memorable performances, but don’t really lead to anything.  Some unresolved plot points are a given to be explored in later seasons such as Emperor Belos’ Day of Unity, the truth behind King’s background, who the Titan is exactly, and Luz finding a way to reconnect with her mother on Earth.  Then you have story and character elements that have significant appearances that feel unresolved due to never tying into anything bigger.  Some of them feel like superfluous obstacles like Tibbles whose schemes involving cards and an obvious carnival are mostly there for light-hearted fare without significant weight.  Less laughable is a being called the Bat Queen who has a connection with Eda, leaves an offering of treasure and a whistle, and connects to  the background of palismen.  Despite bringing a lot of mystery and promise for big reveals, the Bat Queen just shows up in two episodes, and then nothing is done with her afterwards.  You’re just left wondering things like who her owner was and what her whistle does, and these big things being ignored bring fear that those answers may never come.  The same can also be said for what the deal with the Good Witch Azura books is.  Once it's revealed that these books Luz is into somehow existing on the Boiling Isles which Eda has no knowledge of, you have to wonder how they exist in both worlds.  They're brought up this season with great intrigue, but like the Bat Queen, they're totally unresolved.

As to how this connects to Amity’s last big role in Season 1 getting her a broken leg, this turns out to be perhaps the biggest instance of unresolved story and character beats.  As extensively discussed earlier, she’s had a lot of great development as well as attention and appearances throughout this season.  This steers us to the subject of season finales.  By nature, most would expect them to be grand events to wrap up what came before in the season and prepare for what’s to come.  Aiding in the grandeur is usually all the characters who left the strongest impact throughout the season coming together for their own grand performance.  Amity certainly left a strong impact, but when we reach the end of the season, she’s given nothing but an injury that leaves her unable to really do anything in the last two episodes.  Everything shown of her says she’s destined for bigger things, but when all is said and done, everyone gets a big thing to do at the end of this season except for her.  That simply doesn’t feel right and is completely disproportionate to the attention she had beforehand. 

Now, one logical reason I can think of for why this and other exciting story and character moments were cast aside were time reasons.  In recent years, a very common criticism for shows has been that they’ve felt too fast-paced, slow-paced, or just plain underdeveloped.  When it comes to TV episodes, they can only tell so much in a fixed amount of time, so as a result, telling stories and fleshing out characters in a satisfying way can be most difficult.  In the case of the last two episodes of this first season, it was a necessity to get to get somewhere with elements like Eda’s curse, Emperor Belos, and Eda and Lilith's relationship.  Those had a lot of weight and urgency to them throughout the season, maybe even the most urgency, and they could not be left ignored for long.  As those episodes showed, those plot points had a lot to unpack, so it’s understandable that there wasn’t room for any other major elements or roles for in-depth characters.  If they tried to fit them in there, any development could have run the risk of feeling rushed, take away from what needed to be focused on, and not being satisfying in their own right.  The fact that the last episode, “Young Blood Old Souls,” feels less grand and impactful than many other episodes, including its predecessor, supports this perception. 

This is probably why characters like Willow and Gus, who honestly don’t have much to work with as characters, got chances to shine in the finale and Amity didn’t.  It seems indicative that she’s here for more than just the romance angle.  Shown as early as the fifth episode, Amity herself has a tie with things like the emperor with her being set up to work hard to be the best and join the Emperor’s Coven.  That’s something simply too big for what the final two episodes were meant to fully explore.  Imagine how intense a confrontation with her mentor, Lilith, would have been considering that she showed a lack of faith in her protégée’s abilities behind her back.  I bring this up because it's implied that Amity lost a lot of respect for Lilith after that witches’ duel, and that they were never very close to begin with. The point is featuring something like this here could have badly affected the pacing, and taken away from Lilith’s needed confrontation with Eda.  It might have also meant that Eda’s sacrifice would not be the emotional highlight that it is if Amity was involved. 

Then there’s the matter of Amity setting out to join the Emperor’s Coven.  On the surface, it seems like a huge aspiration of hers, but through closer looks, her stances on this goal seem a lot more complex than that.  For one thing, she only really puts a lot of focus on joining the coven in one episode, and never openly brings it up again anywhere else.  That begs questions as to how much she herself actually aspires for that.  Also factor in how she seems much happier doing activities unrelated to training for the coven, the fact that her biggest fear only involves her love for Luz, and that she comes from parents who say that people in her family only associate with the best of the best, demonstrating lots of stress and pressure.  Heck, her only line throughout all of the last two episodes is “Shut up,” and that’s directed at a poster of Lilith and the Emperor’s Coven.  This leads me to believe that Amity never really valued being the best witch with the best status in the best coven, and it was all a goal her parents have been forcing on her.  Only Luz showing up in her life has gotten her to realize this and start embracing her true self.  While all of this makes sense though, it hasn’t been explicitly stated. If that were to happen, it would probably be presented in a huge character building moment for Amity.  The thing is, again, the finale to Season 1 simply didn’t have room for that.  Now the best outcome is that all of this will happen in the following season, whenever it comes.  I know from experience that the length of hiatuses of shows are very unpredictable, some even lasting as long as a year.  I’m usually fine with waiting for shows, but a great character like Amity exiting this season doing virtually nothing after lots of attention and development will make this wait pretty hard.  I’m left feeling anxious to see the closure of her role in heavy series matters.  While I would like what I discussed to happen and I think that it makes the most sense to happen, for all we know, the actual series may go in a completely different direction.  It may not even be totally emotionally satisfying.  Ultimately, I’m only left to speculate what will happen and won’t be able to fully come to terms with things until more episodes air.  That’s enough to really get one fixated on this show, both for the better and the worst.  That being said, you could say that the show is doing right by making its audience want more.

Overall though, a great work of animation is a very welcome thing to turn to when dealing with the difficulties of the real world, and The Owl House is definitely one to fit the bill.  The world is imaginative, its messages are universal and inspiring, and bringing everything together are characters that are very easy to invest a lot of care in, even if they’re not real.  I’d even go so far as to say that for a TV series, this has all the makings of a Disney classic destined to be remembered for ages.  I have no idea where exactly it will go next or when more material will come, but several things are for sure. I’m excited to check out any of its new surprises, following story directions, and especially more time with its amazing characters.  This is a series that successfully brings light into a dark world, saying there’s a place for absolutely everyone no matter who they are, and you can’t ask for better than that.

 

Highly Recommended

Be sure to stay tuned for reviews of the remaining episodes of Amphibia Season 1. Until then:

Stay Animated Folks!


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