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Edge of the World
When shows with deep lore and rich creative backgrounds answer big questions built up for the entire series, two emotional outcomes are very common. They can be satisfying to the audience who had been anxious to know everything for a long time, but also distressing for the actual characters. The latter makes these fictional figures feel very real, and invoke sympathy for those who were at good peace prior to the big answer. In this episode, there’s an answer to one of the longest-running questions of the series which is both interesting to the audience, and practically traumatizing for them and the characters.
Looking at King, it’s hard not to wonder about where he came from given his interesting background apparent since the beginning. However, it’s during the second season when all those details come together. The earlier part of it revealed his birthplace and set up a possible identity of his dad, and later on, he learned he had the power to emit a powerful sound wave with his voice. At the center is an endearing desire for King to just meet his family of birth and simply spend time together and bond, mainly through playing catch. This is realized right away with the episode beginning with a dream of King gathering his adoptive family and his birth family together for a feast. It’s a very nice scene and sets up King’s role for the rest of the episode well, but then it’s followed by the harsh realities of what’s currently happening.
Contrasting with King’s happy thoughts of finding family, everyone in the Owl House is reminded of the disturbing truths Luz discovered in the previous episode. The news of Emperor Belos actually being Philip Wittebane, the involvement of the Collector, and the Day of Unity set to wipe all witches out is certainly horrifying. As a result, Luz is anxious to stop the Day of Unity while Eda is insistent on Luz hiding on account that Belos will look for her knowing she was in his mind. The latter perspective stands out with Eda really tapping into the maternal instinct, as does a later scene where she breaks down in sorrow over her kids, Luz and King, involved in all this. Luckily, she has her sister Lilith to confide in and receive emotional support and reassurance from, demonstrating a growth from where they were at the start of the series. Before this though, there’s a catalyst to advance King getting his long-awaited answers when Hooty finally coughs up a letter he ate several episodes back. The big thing about this letter is that it came from a figure bearing a strong resemblance to King who had previously seen a video where he introduced himself to his dad. King reads it and sees it as an invitation to meet his dad and his species of demons and is all set to go. At the same time, Luz sees it as an opportunity to get help in stopping the Day of Unity, and Eda is convinced her kids going there will keep them safe. With these perspectives on pursuing King’s apparent family in place, the answers set themselves up to unfold.
King’s journey to his people leads him, Luz, and Hooty to a far part of the Boiling Isles made of an entirely different Titan, further building intrigue to King’s background. After making their way to the actual island, they are greeted warmly by the demon who sent King the letter, Tarak. He’s not King’s father who’s actually not on this particular island, but King feels perfectly at home anyhow, and it’s easy to see why. This island, called Titan Trapper Island, is populated with many demons with similar features to him. They also fit his old visions of grandeur, being warriors who have trapped Titans for years in their own kind of conquests. Upon meeting King, they invite him to join them for their initiation rituals to ultimately become one of them. It also builds up good promise for them coming to help Luz and her allies in stopping the Day of Unity. While the story does build up good security and audience reassurance with this insightful character background, the rest of the episode goes for emotional turns stemming from very hard truths.
While King is getting to know his people, Luz and Hooty visit the elder Titan trapper, Bill, to convince him to have the island assist in their fight against Belos. The diminutive and humorously cynical figure at first seems open enough to having the island help their cause, even believing the emperor is no real threat to them. Then he reveals a truly disturbing factor in the motivations of himself and the entirety of Titan Trapper Island. Their real prey are actual Titans who are always craving power, have huge appetites, and make a particular sound. That’s the first sign of trouble considering all those traits apply to King. If that’s not enough, Bill says that only one Titan remains, and only the sound of another can release it as he points to a poster with an egg on it, where King hatched from. All of this information is said to come from the huntsman in the highest position, and when Luz and Hooty investigate thigs further, they figure out that huntsman is the Collector. Putting all of these reveals together, it becomes clear that the demons of this island are not who they say they are and are therefore not King’s people. Rather than making him part of their family, they’ll want to hunt and eventually slay him since all signs point to him being the last Titan. Even their skulls turn out to be fake as they’re actually witches disguising themselves as Titans to catch them. From here, the satisfaction from meeting who appeared to be King’s family turns to distress and disturbance, and the feel grows substantially as it soon gets to King.
When circumstances get Tarak to see King as the last Titan the Island’s been after, everyone sets up King for one more ritual. King is directed to carry a torch and use it to light a familiar-looking sun and moon pendant. All the while, all King wants to do is get in a game of catch with his supposed people, symbolic of a simple desire for family love. This makes what happens later all the more saddening. After King lights the torch, he hears an ominous laughter very familiar to that of the Collector. The Titan Trappers say that a connection has been made, and proceed with the next part of the ritual which involves sacrificing King. Relating to what Bill said earlier, it’s connected to the ultimate goal of this group of witches becoming Titan Slayers, highlighting the danger King is in.
Luckily, Luz and Hooty save him before any deadly act can be carried out to which King responds with opposition from being taken away from his newfound family. In the process, he reveals a heavier reason for wanting to go through with the ritual which relates a lot to Luz. He really loves being with her, right down to considering her a sister at one point, and feels that he needs to prepare for a life without her. It brings to mind Luz living in the Boiling Isles relating to her witch fantasy novels that always end with the hero going home, not to mention that promise she made to her mom. Luz’s expression in response is very telling of the underlying stress of everything going on in her life, and is a big reminder that no matter where she stays, there will be pain.
However, there isn’t time to think about it as King is faced with the harsh reality that he is in fact a Titan, the last Titan, explaining why the people of the Island want him slain. This in turn means that his father is actually a Titan who was killed long ago, and without the family he’s currently living with, King is basically all alone in the world. That’s one of the harshest truths to face, especially for someone as young as King, but the stress of this reveal is interrupted when Bill, Tarak, and all the Titan Trappers catch up. In the process, Bill drops a few hints that he’s been making stuff up about Titans and wants power all to himself with the others noticeably taking offense of being left out. There are significant cracks in this dynamic to potentially tear the group apart and maybe shift their priorities to something better. While the possibility exists, it isn’t realized as everyone still works together to chase King and the others down. Thankfully, the pursuit ends well as King, Luz, and Hooty escape the island with King destroying the entrance, preventing the Titan Trappers from following them. The protagonists are safe, but are not necessarily in a good place.
The episode ends in a very somber place, especially for King. He wanted answers about where he came from, and it seemed like he would get those answers. Instead, the biggest clue he got was from a bunch of frauds who want him slain and have already done the same to his true species. He’s the last of his kind and without the family he has now, one member he fears will leave him for sure, he’s got nothing. Even a little moment of him greeting a fallen Titan, his real dad, is demonstrative of heartbreaking loneliness. His answers are not at all what he imagined, and are hard for him to take in. He, Luz, and Hooty do have the promise of returning to the comfort of their real home in the Owl House, but even that can’t last long. The very last scene of the episode shows scouts from the Emperor’s Coven surrounding the Owl House and receiving an order to arrest everyone inside. This is especially distressing since without Hooty, the house has no good security system, so the place the entire show is named after is already doomed. There’s also the possibility of Eda and Lilith being in danger of arrest, although it’s also believable that they escaped somewhere during all this time. Really, Luz, King, and Hooty are whom the audience should be the most concerned about. They’ve faced a lot of disturbing reveals, and now they don’t even have a safe home to go back to. It’s great for the show to raise stakes going into the climax of the season, but with the amount of trauma unfolding, the somber emotions are starting to get overwhelming. Then again, it’s what’s needed to root for the protagonists to find a way around all obstacles.
With what’s learned about certain character’s backgrounds, this episode is very insightful and full of intriguing details to make it rich in appeal. However, the emotional effects do not hesitate to show just how traumatizing the truths really are for the characters themselves. It’s all the more difficult to take in with the audience knowing that all they can do is hope for things to eventually work out in a satisfying way.
A
Fan Art
Series Ranking
1.
Knock,
Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door
2.
Reaching
Out
3.
Hollow
Mind
4.
Enchanting Grom Fright
5.
Eda’s Requiem
6.
Follies
at the Coven Day Parade
7.
Yesterday’s Lie
8.
Agony of a Witch
9.
Elsewhere
and Elsewhen
10. Hunting Palismen
11.
Echoes
of the Past
12.
Escaping
Expulsion
13.
Understanding Willow
14.
Lost in Language
15.
Adventures in the Elements
16.
The Intruder
17.
Covention
18. Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances
19.
Eclipse Lake
20.
Through
the Looking Glass Ruins
21. Edge of the World
22.
Them’s
the Breaks, Kid
23.
Young Blood Old Souls
24.
Any Sport in a Storm
25.
Separate Tides
26.
Escape of the Palisman
27.
Wing it Like Witches
28.
The First Day
29.
I Was a Teenage Abomination
30.
Witches Before Wizards
31.
Something Ventured, Someone Framed
32.
A Lying Witch and a Warden
33.
Sense and Insensitivity
34.
Hooty’s Moving Hassle
35.
Really Small Problems
36.
Once Upon a Swap
The next Owl House review leaves the main protagonists behind for an episode while showing what happens when the Emperor's Coven comes to Hexside.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "The Second Temple" and "Barrell's Warhammer" from Amphibia.
If you would like to check out other Owl House reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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