Well, we did it... we're finally at the series finale. It's a bit sad for me to finally end this series, but we're not done just yet, so let's get started with the finale of The Owl House, "Watching and Dreaming"!
Also... final image count for this post... 69... heh... heh...
TITAN JUMPSCARE!
He's also got a little something in his right eye... guess that explains Hooty... I think? (HOOTY DEFIES ALL EXPLANATION!)
Eda dreams that she caused her father to lose his one remaining eye... damn, that's brutal.
"BILL!" exclaims King, as if his voice actor had never before voiced an evil triangle named Bill.
Honestly, between King dreaming that he's about to be sacrificed, Eda dreaming that she took out her father's remaining eye and gets disowned by her family and captured by the Emperor's scouts, and Luz dreaming of the rest of the Hexsquad turning on her and holding her responsible for Belos' actions, that's quite brutal on the Collector's part, to be tormenting them like that. Of course, they're being prodded on by Belos, who says it'll make them see "the error of their ways" and make them want to be the Collector's friend.
I love how when Luz starts realizing she's dreaming, she squeezes Amity's cheeks and Amity just stands there like an NPC.
It's so wonderful to see these weirdos reuniting at last after being apart from each other for so long.
Belos has a bit of an "Oh, crap!" moment upon hearing the Collector reveal that King is a Titan.
"Perhaps this will be easier than I thought," says Belos. And you can hear the voice morph from Raine's into Belos' own voice as Belos says this.
Eda finally gets to meet Luz's palisman, carved from palistrom wood that she stole! It's heartwarming to see her and Owlbert meeting Stringbean for the first time.
"WAKKA WAKKA WAKKA," or whatever that noise is that Pac-Man makes.
As dangerous as the Collector's games were, you still can't help but feel bad for him since he's just an innocent little child who wants someone to play with.
Hey, Raine- you got a little something... never mind.
Screw it, I'm just gonna say it:
WAS THAT THE BITE OF '87?
Well... that's not good.
It's honestly impressive how Amity was able to draw a light glyph, as a puppet, in order to undo the puppet spell. Honestly, it just begs the question as to how conscious everyone under the puppet spell is. Are they unconscious, or are they actually conscious but unable to move? The second possibility is definitely the most terrifying to think about.
Either way, still very impressive that Amity, whether through sheer willpower or whatever else, managed to undo the spell.
The Collector tries to make some friends... it doesn't go well for him.
Luz shows the Collector the place where she first learned the ice glyph, and the Collector remarks how the Titan must have really liked Luz if he showed her his magic.
Contrast that to Belos, whom the Titan did not favor so much... and for good reason.
"I always come back."
Back in S1E4 "The Intruder", Tinella Nosa kicked a rat out of its hole as the boiling rains started to come down. Now, the rat returns the favor.
The Collector takes Luz's words about "kindness and forgiveness" to heart...
...unfortunately, it's rather not the time for kindness and forgiveness. Poor, sweet, innocent Collector.
But I still like how despite the Collector absolutely not grasping when the "kindness and forgiveness" approach works and when it doesn't, Luz still tells them that they did good.
Jesus Christ... that really HAS to hurt! I really don't think anyone could even imagine how that must feel except Luz, who died from it and lived to tell about it!
The most heartbreaking part of this scene, for me, is that Luz isn't thinking about herself. She's trying to use her last moments to say something to Eda and King before they're separated again, but sadly can't come up with anything to say.
And once she's gone, as far as Eda and King are aware... she's gone for good. Little do they know she has a certain someone she has to meet.
You know what? I think I need @DuchIsYourRuler (if you're still active) to caption this one.
Go on...
SAY THE LINE, DUCH!
Oh crap, she knows. Discussion on whether those under a puppet spell are conscious or not aside... she just knows. IT'S SO HEARTBREAKING, MAN!
AW HELL YEAH, NOW HE'S LOOKING JUST LIKE HIS OLD MAN!
One thing that I find so heartbreakingly sweet is that the thought of losing Luz forever makes King and Eda so devastated that they become STRENGTHENED BY RAGE! It's honestly awesome to see them put up one hell of a fight against Belos for Luz's sake.
Luz, now in the in-between realm, realizes too late what she wanted to say to Eda and King before they were separated... she just wanted to thank them. Luckily, she'll be able to see them again, because...
Guess who?
We finally meet the man himself, the source of all the Boiling Isles' magic, and one hell of a dad: Papa Titan!
In a callback to a line King says in S1E16 "Enchanting Grom Fright", the Titan proclaims:
"I am both King and Queen, best of both things... but Dad works fine!"
Ah, I love this old man. For someone whom the Boiling Isles' citizens revere as a god, he's pretty chill. He's spent the last several centuries in his pajamas (I like to think those are his pajamas, it's just funnier to me).
Also, look at that beer belly. Overall, he just seems like a huggable, loveable, big-bundle-of-joy dad.
Another thing I like about the Titan is that he expresses remorse for trapping the Collector, having not known at the time that he was trapping the wrong person.
He also gives Luz a pep talk that she's needed for a long time now, reassuring her that despite the mistakes the both of them have made, neither of them are like Belos. I think the Titan himself put it best when he said that Belos cared about nothing more than being the hero of his own delusions.
Aside from being delusionary, it's important to remember that there's also a good dose of narcissism involved with Belos, something that poor Luz couldn't see as she was too busy beating herself up for her own mistakes. And I think the Titan's conversation with her really did give Luz some much-needed help, as when the time comes for the Titan to give Luz his power, he tells her that he can only give it to her if she chooses herself to receive it, and Luz, after having heard some kind words from none other than the Titan himself, is able to overcome her low self-esteem and choose herself to be worthy of the Titan's power.
So... thanks to some help from the ol' Titan, our Luz is starting to feel more like herself again.
It's glorious!
Honestly, seeing the Titan die so gloriously actually made me a bit sad. Like, I was both sad and in absolute awe at the same time, at seeing the grand fellow make his curtain call. Farewell, Titan, and we thank you.
I love how when reassuring the Hexsquad that Luz will be alright, Camila puts her arm around Amity as if she were her own daughter. And frankly, she really does consider Amity to be like a daughter to her. So I thought that was just a really sweet detail.
This poor kid... he just found out just how serious death is for mortals firsthand, and now he's got that Belos mesh growing on him, the poor kid's just so scared and overwhelmed. Goddammit show writers, he's just a kid, why must you put him through this?
"I ALWAYS COME BACK!"
I love how Luz makes this grand entrance and then second-guesses what her first words should've been after being revived with the Titan's powers. She's such a dork. And we wouldn't have it any other way.
Just think how far all these characters have come. And yet, despite everything, they've stuck with each other through thick and thin. Eda must be one hella proud mentor right now, and I love seeing her having Luz's back during what is arguably their finest hour.
It's just- IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL WATCHING THEM COME ALL THIS WAY!
Aww, they get to do the "WEH!" together!
AGAIN, THIS FAMILY OF WEIRDOS HAS COME SO FAR!
Today is not a good day for Emmiline Bailey Marcostimo.
Honestly, a real beautiful shot, seeing the Boiling Isles from space, the Titan's hand raised so high that it pierces the clouds. And you can even see other lands, made from the remains of other fallen Titans.
How are they breathing in space? They got magic, dummy!
I think the tune that Raine is whistling here to keep the Belos mesh at bay is the tune of "Eda's Rhapsody", a tune that becomes their recurring motif throughout the series.
"How long was I out for?" asks Raine, looking towards the camera.
Hey, don't ask me, pal, I don't know any more than you.
I love how when Luz is giving her little Good Witch Azura-style monologue while pulling Belos from the heart, she calls herself both a "child of the human realm" and a "student of the demon realm".
I feel like saying that while she was defeating Belos served as just one more punch in the face to him. He thought humans superior to witches and wanted to "save" humanity from them, yet here he is being defeated by another human harnessing the powers of the realm he so despised. It's a giant blow to his delusional worldview.
"NOW EAT THIS, SUCKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Considering that was one of the very first lines we heard in the very first episode, hearing it come back for this epic climax was awesome. Besides, Belos deserves it.
I love how Belos has this look on his face of absolute, unfiltered: "OH... CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!"
The Collector finally makes a friend without forcing them into it! The poor child finally gets some love, they deserve it.
Finally, the best character returns... PHILIP WITTEBANE'S BEARD!
I love how she's just so done with him at this point that she just doesn't react to a thing he says, all while giving the trademark Caleb Wittebane thousand-yard stare of cold disdain.
You can tell he is trying so desperately hard to come up with something, anything, any sort of lie that can get him out of this situation. But all his experience in deceit can't help him now.
Oh, cool! His flesh is melting! Frankly, I find this more cathartic than disturbing. Yes, it is disturbing, but the catharsis I feel at seeing this outweighs the disturbing factor.
I said this back when going over the Season 1 finale, "Young Blood, Old Souls", but back then, Belos seemed almost unstoppable. And yet, here he is now, a melting pile of goo, literally BEGGING for mercy at Luz's feet.
Once again, he is trying so hard to lie his way out of his situation, and he's becoming increasingly desperate as his lies fail. I could think of no better way for him to meet his fate than like this.
Also, I love how he tries to pull the "WE'RE HUMAN!" card with Luz, when, well... just look at him! Would you call THAT human?
The very last shot of Belos before he is stomped into oblivion. Once again... to call this... THING... "human" would be an insult to humanity.
Also, see how he's still got a skull? I like to think that when Eda, Raine, and King step on him right after this, his skull gets cracked and they stomp on his gooey brains... hehehe!
"Eww, it's on my claw!"
And thus, at last, ends the life of Belos. Formerly a human called Philip Wittebane, he ended his life as a pile of goo that didn't deserve to be called "human" at all. No tombstone marks his final resting place... no one mourns his death. In the human realm, they still think he went missing back in the 17th century... they will never know of the atrocities he committed just to seek their praise and approval. A truly worthless creature, a waste of life. The self-proclaimed "savior of humanity" was killed as though he were a cockroach, for even a cockroach's life would have more worth than his.
Yeah, in case you couldn't tell, I am having LOTS of fun writing about Belos dying! He is genuinely one of my favorite villains, in a "love to hate" way. I cannot put into words just how satisfying his death is to me.
Anyways, I love how it just stops raining once he's already been stomped into oblivion. I definitely think Luz used her Titan powers one last time to clean the land of such a pestilence.
Once again... seeing the mighty Titan pass on is so gloriously bittersweet.
"Dang kid, you really DO have tall genes!"
Luz gives King a message from his father: "I loaf you." Of all the things he could have said to his son... he chose the absolute best thing. It's honestly adorable.
And so, despite everything, our beloved trio of weirdos stuck together and finally brought peace to the Boiling Isles.
I love how Odalia is RIGHT THERE and her family is just ignoring her! This is the last shot of her we see in the show, so... good riddance!
Hunter gets to talk about wolves to the best father figure he ever had... I'm so happy for the boy.
My favorite witch-principal returns... never stop being a hazard to child safety, Bump, my man!
Tibbles ponders how he can exploit the current economic state of the Boiling Isles for profit.
"Dammit, my house was up there."
If you think about it, this is their first time being together in the whole episode (not counting Amity being used as a puppet for Luz's nightmares at the beginning). Luz has died and been revived, she defeated Belos and brought peace to the Boiling Isles... yep, these two deserve to smooch.
And for the very first time, Camila meets Luz's Owl House family.
HE'S MORE HANDSOME THAN HANDSOME SQUIDWARD!
As disturbing as it is to ponder how that much Hooty can fit into the Porta-Hooty house... this is so heartwarming.
The Collector gets a much-needed hug. And even if he's going back to the stars, King has gifted him Francois so he'll never be alone.
"A whole chapter of my life was over... but a new one was just beginning."
Alright, that'll do it for this post.
"Wait, what about the epilogue?" you ask? People, please, put away your pitchforks and torches, I wasn't gonna leave that out! I figure I should send off this series with a proper finale, so for the next and final post, I will be poring over as many details in the epilogue as I can. Hope to see you all there!
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