Episode Review: The Owl House (Season 2, Episode 13) – Any Sport in a Storm
When he was announced as a cast addition for Season 2, The Golden Guard gained quite a bit of fan-gushing from the online Owl House community.
While there has been scant information learned about Hunter (aka The Golden Guard), it has usually been while in his service to Emperor Belos. This latest episode release, looks to throw him into an area that he hasn’t had much experience with: other persons around his own age.
_____
After being questioned by the Abomination Coven head Darius on his strength of character, Hunter sets out to prove himself worthy of the Golden Guard title. At Hexside, he attempts to recruit students into the Emperor’s coven and happens to come across Willow starting up a Flyer Derby club, which he decides to use as a cover for recruiting “the best and the brightest.”
Meanwhile, Amity informs Luz that the author of The Good Witch Azura books is holding a signing in town, and the two eagerly go off to meet her.
_____
After her interactions with Amity in episode 11, it was nice to see Willow getting some additional character development in this story. We’ve seen her grow into a competent witch with her plant magic, but it is nice to see her stepping up to take on a leadership position in a school program.
Even so, the issues Willow faces with starting her club at Hexside feels a little flimsy, given one of the school’s professors hangs the fate of the club on whether her team can beat his at a Flyer Derby match (feeling like a small callback to season 1’s Wing It Like Witches).
Getting to see Hunter out of his element is a nice touch, let alone reminds us that he’s around the same age as some of the school students, but doesn’t seem to know how to really interact with them. In a real world comparison, his recruitment methods feel like Armed Forces recruiters going to high schools, to convince kids that their skills can greatly benefit their country.
There also is some new information, that the title of The Golden Guard is older than Hunter himself. Up until this point, I had assumed this was a title Belos had bestowed exclusively on Hunter.
We also get the return of background characters Skara and Viney, and Gus even shows how supportive he can be towards Willow, though one scene makes it possible that maybe he harbors feelings for her.
The return of Darius is rather quick, but surprising. His last appearance in Eda’s Requiem went by like a blur to me, but recently we’ve been learning a bit more about the different Coven heads. With what we see here, it does make me wonder just how loyal most of the heads are to the Emperor.
While Willow and Hunter’s interaction is the “A” story of the episode, Luz and Amity encompass the “B” story, dealing with their love of the Azura books, and their attempt to meet author Mildred Featherwhyle.
We had a slight blip in the relationship arc between these two with the last episode, and it is nice to see a subplot about something that they share a common love over. Plus, we do get to see somewhat of a payoff from Luz in Season 1, wanting to start an Azura book club at Hexside.
Unfortunately, the “B” story starts out with an intriguing premise as the two question the author’s heritage (Luz purchased her books in the human realm, but is the author from the demon realm?), but feels like a bit of a “mystery box” distraction as the girls try to find answers for the questions they have.
The episode overall has some strong moments, but shows some flimsiness at times as the stories make their way to the end. Even one moment in the resolution of Hunter’s story arc made me question the “logic” that was used. However, after the last episode felt like a tease for things to come, getting an episode that brought about some character development for both Willow and Hunter was quite enjoyable, and some of these moments helped raise the rating on this episode just a bit more for me.
Luz and Amity’s plotline did feel a bit pointless, though a saving grace was getting to see the two off on a little quest, bouncing ideas and theories off of each other.
Final Grade: B
Episode Review: The Owl House (Season 2, Episode 12) – Elsewhere and Elsewhen
When it comes to The Owl House, the show can surprise us with where character development can go.
In the first season, Amity Blight character arc proved to be an unexpected treat as the season went on. For the second season, the character that gained notoriety was Eda’s sister, Lilith “Lilly” Clawthorne.
It’s been awhile since we saw her, but the latest episode will surely entertain a number of her fans (and maybe even enthrall some new ones).
__________
Eda throws her sister a party, for her new role as assistant curator for the Supernatural Museum of History. However, Lilith grows upset in trying to figure out what to do for her first exhibition, wanting to prove herself to a former mentor who still works under Emperor Belos.
Meanwhile, Luz is still struggling to understand more about how Philip Wittebane made his portal door that allowed access between the human and demon realms. When Eda mentions that Lilith dabbled in trying to find time pools (holes in reality that can transport one back to various times), Luz teams up with Eda’s sister to find one that can lead them back to the Deadwardian Era, when Philip was alive.
The party also brings around an unexpected visitor, when the witches’ father shows up. Though he requests to see Eda, she is apprehensive given something that happened between them in the past.
__________
Season 2 episodes with Lilith have grown rather interesting, and here, we see the writers continuing to have some fun with her. Her interaction is largely with Luz, and it’s really the first time they both have done something together.
Earlier in the season, we saw how Luz had taken to teaching the Clawthorne sisters “glyph magic,” and Lilith was most enthralled. Here, we get a bit more character development, in seeing that she also has a special affinity for the history of the Boiling Isles, with some of that information rubbing off on Luz.
When it comes to interacting with Philip Wittebane, I was expecting a bit more than what we got. However, it does feels like for those “keeping score,” his true identity is hinted at in a pretty major way. Plus, Lilith and Luz’s interactions may have contributed in what happens to the Boiling Isles in the future, on a level they probably cannot comprehend at this time.
The time pool concept in the episode felt a bit too convenient for me, but given my fascination regarding the space time continuum in shows, I was intrigued to see where the concept could go. Plus, the episode did remind me a bit of the time-hopping in an episode of Gravity Falls.
While Luz and Lilith’s adventure takes up a story-heavy “A” plot, the “B” plot about Eda nervously avoiding her father feels rather flimsy. This isn’t the first time this season we’ve had a “B” plot feel like it could have been excised altogether. The show has a thing for often trying to juggle two separate plot strands, but this is another case where I wish we could have just focused on Luz and Lilith (even if there are some possible future revelations in Eda’s story, regarding where things might go with her).
Seeing Luz and Lilith together was definitely a highlight, but the episode left me wanting to see more about Philip, let alone more of Bonesboro from the past. Eda’s story about dealing with her past and her father, really made me wish it was a stronger, better structured story point that could have given us much more than what we got here (it feels like it could have worked better as an “A” plot story in another episode).
This was an episode that I was really hoping would open up some major revelations, but it felt like it was moreso about providing scant hints about things that will probably be paid off in future episodes.
Final Grade: B-
Episode Review: The Owl House (Season 2, Episode 11) – Follies at the Coven Day Parade
The last seven months was almost sheer agony as many waited for the remaining Season 2 episodes of The Owl House to hit. Speculation ran wild on a number of fronts, and the slightest of possible release dates led to some social media sites causing the show to trend again.
Now with the episodes officially coming out, we are continuing on our journey for the final full season of the show.
_____
After returning from her brief visit to the Human Realm, Luz struggles with wanting to stay in the Demon Realm, while also dealing with her promise to her Mother that she would come back.
After encountering Emperor Belos’ assistant Kikimora struggling to bridge issues between her family and work life, Luz thinks she may have found a way to figure out how to have things both ways, if she helps the little demon out in regards to Coven Day Parade duties.
Luz also learns that Eda has been following up on information regarding Raine Whispers (her ex-partner), and tries to set up a rendezvous with them during the parade as well.
_____
With this episode, the show wastes little time in jumping into the action. Stuff seems to fly at us pretty quickly in regards to information, but surprisingly, the action stays moving at a good clip as we bounce around a number of elements happening during the parade.
One of the more unexpected elements is Kikimora being willing to be part of a plan to help Luz and Eda. Given what we’ve seen in the past, I had assumed Kiki would be much more ruthless of a character, but the episode seeks to cast her in a grey area. It is a little flimsy in Luz’s logic that she thinks that Belos’ assistant can help her resolve her own dilemma, but then again, Luz is just hoping her plan works.
The episode also introduces another Coven head, in the form of the Plant Coven’s Terra Snapdragon. Unlike some of the other coven head introductions, her use here manages to make her both intriguing and terrifying (she has somewhat of a “Big Brother” vibe given how she tends to pop up unexpectedly). Plus, given her powers, one has to wonder if Willow and her might meet up in the future.
Earlier in the season, Raine Whispers was an intriguing addition to Eda’s past, though events after his last appearance have affected him in unexpected ways. We get some hints that something is going on, though the scenes between him and Eda feel moreso like they may have a bigger encounter in the future. As it is, it almost feels like this part of the story could have been jettisoned, and repurposed as something a bit stronger in another episode.
We also get some interesting dilemmas when it comes to Luz and Amity’s relationship. Luz has been tight-lipped about her “attempt” to visit the Human Realm, and upon finding Luz’s phone, Amity is curious regarding what it contains, but struggles with her thoughts that she may be invading her girlfriend’s privacy. The issue is also helped by her going to Willow for advice, leading to a short-and-sweet scene between the two.
When I sat down and thought about it, it felt like this episode ended up juggling quite a number of elements to it. However, unlike some of the earlier Season 2 episodes that had balancing issues, I think what saves Follies is that the different elements actually have time to transition from one to the other, without feeling like they are cramming 2-3 episodes into a 22-minute time-frame.
The episode balances a bit precariously at times with it’s storytelling, but it has enough going for it that it manages to be entertaining, while also opening up some extra questions that need resolution (hopefully before the season ends, and we have to wait for the multiple specials that will conclude the series).
Final Grade: B
The Entertainment Nut 