numericalbridge

[numericalbridge]

I don't know if you have seen the info about the pilot and the pitch bible (if you haven't, you can ignore this), but I feel it may explain some of the weird choices concerning King is S1.

Back when I watched S1 for the first I remember thinking King was older and that all the jokes about him being a toddler were jokes at his expense for being a brat and not an indicative of his age, all the way until S2E3. Like in One Upon A Swap I thought the point of his problem was that he was infantilized because of how he looked despite his actual age, not that he wasn't taken seriously because he was a child. Is wilde to me how much I didn't realize he was meant to be 8 because of the way he was writen sometimes.

Seeing the pitch bible and how he was mean to be older and the actual ex King of Demons I feel that explains it. His character was changed from a small looking demon into an actual child between the pilot and the actual show, but probably some of the ideas they had for his character didn't change and they didn't make the adjust all that well, at least is S1. Because in S1 it really feels like the writers aren't that sure what his actual age is supposed to be (what with how different some of his plot feels) and that may be the reason.

I have seen posts about the pilot and the pitch bible, but i haven't read it yet myself, but yeah, i definitely can see that it might have been the case with King's writing.

While rewatching i was wondering whether his backstory was changed between seasons, but then i feel like there were moments even in s1 that pointed towards him being a kid (like him settling down with the Bat Queen's babies to listen to Eda's story) or the moments where - if he was meant to be an adult - the infantilization would've been way too much.

Now i am wondering whether between the pitch and the actual season 1 he was already changed to be young, but what changed between s1 and s2 was how young and at what age he met Eda.

#asks #toh king

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wip excerpts

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“I was betrayed.”

“No, you weren’t,” Raine really hopes he can hear their exasperated sigh even from the other side of the room.

“Betrayed and abandoned in my hour of need,” Darius throws one arm over his face and turns his head away. A little abomination that sits on the top of the headboard warbles at him.

Raine crosses their arms, “May I remind you that Eber only had to travel to the Shin because you’ve insisted that just one single potion shop on the Isles sells the medicine good enough for you?”

<...>

Darius grumbles under his breath. From their place by the door Raine can’t quite hear him.

“Come on, don’t be like this. Do you want me to read to you?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to make an inhalation potion for you?”

“No, it won’t help.” He coughs again. <...>

“It’s so stuffy in here, at least let me open the windows.”

“No,” this time he actually sits up and turns to face them. “Do you want to get caught too?” A big abomination steps in between Raine and the windows and menacingly raises a spray bottle filled with disinfectant fluid. “Stay out of the gripping distance.”

“Fine! If you insist,” Raine returns to their place by the door. Darius re-assumes his sulking position in the bed.

“Do you want me to turn on some music or bring you your journals?”

<...>

Just ignore him, then. Raine turns back to finish the vegetables. It’s just the time to add the last batch to the soup. They’ll make everything right. Despite his efforts.

“Did you trim the tendrils off the beetle-goat meat?”

“Darius!” Raine returns to the door. “I know how to cook! I don’t need your… pestering.”

“Oh, really?” Darius crosses his arms. “You don’t know my kitchen, and you cook like a college student still on the run from the Choosey Hat!”

“That’s not true!” Raine feels their ears warm up. “Absolutely not true!” Well, maybe sometimes… Just ignore him!

#wip #darius deamonne #toh darius #raine whispers #all parts are from the same wip just from different places #this is barely edited for grammar/spelling

[numericalbridge]

i am in a way apprehensive of starting season 2 rewatch because on my first watch i greatly disliked (to put it mildly) season 2a and dropped it early on, only watching some episodes that seemed interesting from the gifs i saw. Then after it got better in season 2b and i've heard about the cancelation/shortening i've rewatched 2a from the start - and i still disliked it, but i was under the impression at the time that it was made after the news of the cancelation, so i was trying not to be too harsh on it. Now that i know it was made before the cancelation i will probably dislike it even more.

#toh rewatch numericalbridge #as far as i remember i've only liked Gus' part of the Glass Ruins and Hunting Palismen and Yesterday's Lie #(there were other parts of the episodes i liked but not episodes on their own)

[numericalbridge]

AU where instead of puppets Collector turns the Coven Heads and some other characters he could catch back into children/teenagers - without memories of their adult life but with real memories up to their current age, maybe slightly altered to keep them from freaking out. (Other characters who are not turned are not in the Castle and are hiding or whatever). Main reasons for the AU:

- teenagers Raine and Darius being the only ones who know each other, and they are scheming.

- the hexsquad arrives at the Castle and from hearing Hunter's voice from afar Darius assumes the previous golden guard has come to save him and runs up to meet him. A very 😬 situation (Hunter probably blurts something out about being the previous golden guards brother or cousin, but Darius is mighty suspicious)

- Raine deliberately acts shy until they can figure out the new people. Camila, trying to engage them, asks what's the name of their pet kitten (?) they are carrying, it's adorable! And Luz is, like, No, mama, that's the Head Witch Eberwolf.

#the owl house au #darius deamonne #toh darius #raine whispers #toh eberwolf #(technically they also know terra and that's what weirds raine out but terra doesn't know them back) #silly time #camila is like: at least it's not like that cosmic frontier tng episode #team red toh

[numericalbridge]

Anyway a dariraine au plot point that is placed at the very end of the plot, so even if i write drabbles it would be a long long time till i reach it

Since i feel like it would need some resolution even post Belos' death, especially in the regards of everyone hiding their feelings, i think the culmination would involve some confrontation with Terra and the remaining loyalists, prompting also the culmination and resolution of the interpersonal family drama.

But the starting point of the arc would be Edalaide nearly getting kidnapped by a vengeful Terra (and Graye) after she wanders off because Raine is resting after the possession (they still get possessed in the AU), and Darius and Anodyne are sorting things out in the Human Realm, so Edalaide gets bored and thinks she can secretly go explore a nearby market and buy something for Raine they mentioned to like, and from her 9yo point of view 'Luz has had great adventures so it should be safe'.

Then she gets lured in by Terra asking about her powers plus Graye's illussions, but they are interrupted by Eber who, together with his ratworm, fights them off - mostly Terra since Graye gets attacked by the bugs and pathetically runs away. Afterwards Eber helps Edalaide to calm down by asking her about an animal picture on her bag, and that's what leads to Eber and Darius becoming friends in the AU.

#dariraine au

[numericalbridge]

I know i come off as an annoying humorless bitch, but honestly i am usually perfectly ok with poking fun at characters i like, it's just that with Darius there is quite a difference in tone between jokes aimed at him and his flaws vs jokes about other characters that get more good-natured and sympathetic jokes about them AND those jokes about Darius most often are still based on bad-faith or worst possible interpretations of the character AND there are many many fans who seriously believe that he is that over exaggeratedly mean and irresponsible version from the fanon AND unlike more well received characters before blocking 80% of the fandom his tags are just so full of either serious demonization or mean-spirited humor (and the rest is flanderizing him into a one-dimensional comfort provider).

#darius deamonne #toh darius #the owl house #believe it or not i absolutely would not argue over a cartoon if demonization and double standarts were not just so widespread and horrid

[numericalbridge]

About like 80% of the 'Sick fic' wip is Raine and Darius annoying each other.

#i think it is very important for them to be equally annoying towards each other #(it's not really a sick fic but i call it that because it's short)

[numericalbridge]

So, I've just finished the first season of the Owl House, and i don't understand why people like Eda and call her King's mom when she is so mean?!

In the first episode alone she pokes Hooty in the eye, and says Luz is more valuable to her alive (than dead) even though Luz is clearly scared. And she tells Luz she will only allow Luz to return home if this 14 years old helps her first. Luz clearly doesn't understand the world and its dangers, yet Eda brings her and an 8 years old Kind to a prison without even explaining the tyrannical regime and the existence of the capital punishment. Idk, the vibes are really fishy there? She doesn't even want to free the prisoners in the Conformatorium and flippantly jokes about the Warden tormenting 'some tiny creature'! The impression is that she is at best a rather uncaring and apathetic person. And, as we know, there is no such thing as character development and characters always stay the same as their first appearences, so Eda doesn't value community and hates children forever.

And people say she is a great teacher, but she doesn't even want to teach Luz in the first episode. She didn't even try to think whether Luz would be able to learn magic before making a promise to teach her. And then in episode 2 she cruelly mocks a 14 years old for believing herself to be a chosen one - even King, who is a child, lately admits it was cruel - and she never learns from her mistake because in episode 6 she claims she would never trust Luz again if Luz messes up, causing Luz anxiety to the point not only Luz but also Willow and Gus believe Eda would hurt them at the end of the episode! Yes, she says she only wants them to clean her house but why did she need to pretend to seriously threaten them?

And she never truly apologizes or [verbally flagelates herself] explains how and why she changed her mind, so I am not saying you must hate her, but we can appreciate the person she becomes later, while [only focusing on imaginary bad things about her] acknowledging all the shitty things she's done! Such as: She constantly physically and emotionally (through neglect) abuses Hooty in front of children, endorses child labor, uses wages against an elementary schooler and brags about humiliating King in episode 3, cruelly mocks Gus, Willow and the Blight kids. She even said she would let the twins die by Sleetherbeast to save herself! And kinda suspicious how she knew Odalia and Alador and so must know that they are bad parents yet doesn't try to help the Blight kids. Seems like she had been complacent in their abuse for years, don't you think?

And i am not saying that i am completely against mama Eda either, but to enjoy anything involving her and King everyone must first admit that she has been emotionally negletful and physically abusive towards King. Because King doesn't even know he is a child - that's super fucked up, right? And he doesn't have any friends and thinks demons are underappreciated - and obviously it's because Eda made him feel that way, and he acts older than his age, probably because he had to act as her personal therapist. And, yes, Eda is physically abusive too, since in the episode 4 she says she would break every bone in King's body for stealing the elixir, and that can't be an unfortunate writing choice, because we must look at the scenes in isolation and chose the worst possible interpretation of the character, and if you don't see it that way that means you can't deal with admiting your fave has flaws! Also she literally ate someone in episode 2.

But don't worry, you are alowed to like Eda as long as you are agreeing with all the bad faith interpretations of her and want her to self-flagelate and every character to hate her and talk down to her. And she must experience over the top guilt that no other character has to experience, including begging for King's forgiveness on her knees. Oh, and don't forget that you absolutely must crawl into the notes for any silly fanart of her with King to whine how she 'needed to be nicer sooner' and put your Eda bashing fics in her tag while laughing how 'mama Eda stans' must hate you now! Anyway, i am going to go make a fanwork about older King realizing what a shitty parent Eda had been and he isn't sure whether he would be able to forgive her, but it's ok, she is allowed to become a one-dimensional comfort provider as long as it brings the notes in.

[i know people in the fandom looove to be obtuse so i will spell it out: this is a parody of the way toh fandom talks about Darius (and pre-season 3 Camila too, but i based it on Darius because i look into his character tags more often). I will make a serious post, but later since i don't actually want to post too much negativity about Eda.]

#the owl house #darius deamonne #toh darius #long post #parody of the way toh fandom talks about Darius #(and pre-season 3 Camila too but i based it on Darius because i look into his character tags more often) #i wanted to make it shorter but if darius tags have to be filled with no read more nonsense you can scroll through this once #And i didn't even touch the obsession the fandom has with inflicting violence on Darius in a 'totally joking' manner #because it was too gross to write about a disabled woman like that but the racist fandom has no problems doing it to Darius #as a compensation for this i wanted to make a meta about the way i see eda's arc forming towards opening her own school #but it'll have to wait until i finish rewatching seasons 2-3 #fandom

[numericalbridge]

TOH rewatch semi-liveblog. Season 1 part 4

episodes 16-19 + overall season 1 thoughts

Episode 16

- Ok, actually a pretty good and fun episode. But alas Willow is barely there, and i wish Gus and King's subplot was more focused on Gus since King has plenty of development.

- King saying that Luz is doing a favor for Camila by keeping the truth from her... considering the season 2 revelation about him... Yeah, the show is good with cool parallels and calls forward/back like this one, but really not great with the pacing of the character arcs or balancing the cast.

- Nooo, Amity beating up Hooty, lol

- Eda having a watch with a picture of King is cute.

Episode 17

- Also a pretty good episode, but has a bit too much silliness for my personal taste. When Amity admits to being like Bosha in the past it fits the first episodes much better, and it should've been brought up earlier.

- Not sure how i feel about this 'Willow became more popular because she felt more confident after patching things with Amity". I guess if we actually saw how the majority of the students were treating her before? Or if in this epsiode she was shown reaching out to less popular kids, or if Amity was shown helping her a bit in the previous episode (would work better with the Labirinth Runners too). Yeah, i think Understanding Willow should've been placed earlier in the season.

- What's with the random demon kid who is Willow's biggest fanboy?

i think Hunter has a tough competition there.

- Gus should've had more moments in this episode too, especially in the regards of his friendship with Willow. And Amity's sports backstory was again kinda just there for the sports episode meta joke, but the time could've been better spend on other things.

- Why are they so mean to Hooty yet again.

Episode 18

- First mention of the Day of Unity. I think this intro to Belos and his ideology and DoU works just fine, but if there were whispers about DoU earlier in the season it would've been cool too.

- First time i've watched i thought Hooty straight up murdered most of those scouts and then played the tea party with their corpses. It was even shocking/unpleasant to watch because of it, lol.

(also i was introduced to toh through a gifset of the Eda vs Lilith fight in the Convention episode, and it initially gave me an impression of a much more mature show because from the gifs i assumed Eda killed Lilith there too, when the Hooty looking spell 'ate' Lilith, lol)

- Maybe i've missed something, but how is Eda's gem actually linked to the curse? What even is that gem?

- Eda vs Lilith fight is A+ and Belos' moments are also great.

Episode 19

- I really like the detail that officially this is supposed to be the first petrification in 30 years, yet we see that the wild witches who were brought into the Castle earlier are already petrified.

- I was actually kinda intrigued by the 3 wild witches/demons who were petrified, especially the one in the classic witch hat who seemed quite defiant in death.

- Eda tries to convince Luz to go to the Human Realm, but what about King?

- Belos vs Luz fight is also excellent.

- The Blights' mild reaction to Eda's transformation in the flashback is so funny in retrospect (obviously they couldn't animated the background characters, but still funny).

- Such an important moment for Willow and Gus to interfere and try to save Eda, and yet, nothing is done with the aftermath of it or with their relationship with Eda that was subtly present through out this season. Like, grrrrrrrrr

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Conclusion:

Episodes 16-19 are actually good again, especially episodes 18-19 are great and gave hope for better developments in season 2.

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Season 1 thoughts:

Just writing wise it is mostly fine. Most characters are really good or have potential to be good with deeper development. Luz and King, Luz and Willow and Gus when they are allowed to interact, and Eda and Lilith are really good character dynamics. Humor is probably more engaging for the target audience, but there are moments that are funny even for an adult. The worldbuilding is not the strongest, but i think it's ok for what it is, since the show's storytelling is very stylized. I don't think we needed the full map of the Isles or anything like that. Some things about the schooling system and the coven/goverment system and propaganda are pretty well done for a cartoon.

But there are already problems with certain racist character designs, shallow attempts at body diversity, with sidelining Willow and Gus, especially Gus, and not allowing Luz to have deeper moments with them, and with prioritizing of the white characters; and in general the pacing of the character arcs and balancing the cast are not great, and sometimes it feels like the writers had big episodes and moments planned and perfected and invented some clever call backs/call forwards, but actually connecting those big moments isn't that interesting to them so many of the character arcs end up unfocused and disjointed. Relatively minor complain compared to the rest, but most of the season 1 villains and one-off antagonists are less humanoid demons or creatures and that kinda goes against the lore and the bigger picture of the show. (In retrospect there also seems to be quite a lot of 'missed opportunities' to introduce season 2-3 lore and characters or dynamics but i wouldn't hold it against the show).

Tbh if the rest of the show was like the first season i would've watched it casually, but wouldn't care about it very much.

Best episodes: 18-19 The worst episode: 11

#toh rewatch numericalbridge #toh rewatch liveblog #long post #the owl house #sorry for an even shittier screenshot i couldn't figure out what dimensions would look better on tumblr lol

[numericalbridge]

Baby plant abomination:

#toh rewatch numericalbridge #the owl house #some abominations definitely seem to be more 'aware' than others?

[numericalbridge]

It actually kinda upsets me on the rewatch that Gus has barely any reaction or role in the Understanding Willow episode except for the comedic subplot. If it was a less important episode or if it was just a single case where the show needed to prioritize other characters and otherwise Gus had as much time dedicated to him as other characters have, then it would be one thing, but considering he already barely has any episodes in season 1 it is sooo...

Like, Willow is his oldest and best friend! Maybe you can rationalize it as him not fully understanding the danger or not wanting to think about it, but at the least it could've been shown clearly and they could've shown his reaction once she is alright. Is he not angry at Amity?

Yes, Eda says that only 2 people can go into the mindscape, and they had to focus on Willow's and Amity's backstory there, but there could've been other reasoning why Gus couldn't go. Just show that Gus is trying to hide that he is worried over Willow and then - to show her character growth - subtly show Eda noticing it and engaging in the interview game to distract him. But King and Hooty don't understand what is going on and cause ruckus, and that's why Eda can't hear Luz and Amity trying to contact her to pull them out. Then at the end Gus shows how much he was worried by hugging Willow or crying.

It's like Willow and Gus, but especially Gus, are often an afterthought for the writers, even though their characters are actually great and so interesting when they are allowed to shine, and it seems like for any deeper exploration of any kind of the relationships in the show a white character just always has to be involved.

#toh rewatch numericalbridge #gus porter #the owl house #obviously Luz and Camila's relationship is very important #but other than them relationships between characters of color are always sidelined or less deeply explored in the show #and it's just also bad from even a simple writing perspective of balancing the cast compared to other cartoons that have deeper connections #within the main character's friend groups

[numericalbridge]

TOH rewatch semi-liveblog. Season 1 part 3

episodes 11-15

Episode 11

- Oh, great, the Ruler's Reach episode. Probably the worst episode of the series just for the villain's design alone.

- And neither of the plots even needed a villain. (Also, yet again, both antagonists are demons.)

- Obviously not as serious, but the 'how do you do fellow kids'-style "don't you dare insult shipping!" joke is so grating. Comparing it to something like the library episode where Luz was bumbling how she dislikes romance books... unless the Blights like them of course - that moment was also very exaggerated for laughs yet seemed more true to how an actual teenager might behave or at least more honest, rather than serving as a self-congratulating joke aimed at fandom adults.

- And Dana's self-insert is beyond annoying.

- It's such a pity because on itself both Luz and King's, and Eda and Lilith's plots would've been good.

- like, the antagonist easily could've been one of the Graye's witch underlings (or even Severine or what's her name) picking up scripts for the Illusion Coven + they could've added Gus to Luz and King's plot too.

- What's with this unusually active/aware abomination in the background that seems to be actively engaged in a conversation:

Episode 12

- definitely seems that Eda tends to send out Owlbert into the Human Realm more often than going herself (good for the dariraine AU).

- The Blight twins are kinda annoying too.

- Eda doesn't seem to know/acknowledge the Blight kids or Gus - and this doesn't seem to be a case of intentional avoidance - so yeah, i really think the old hexsquad is something that was added after the shortening.

- I wish there was more time to show Eda's progress towards opening the school for wild magic. We do kinda see part of her journey towards it here.

- Lol, Eda saying she would sneak away while the Sleetherbeast will be eating the twins. (Obviously if we apply Darius' treatment she was 100% sincere here and would've let the children die to save herself, AND she also has been complicit in the Blight kids' abuse for years! Why didn't she do anything if she knew what Odalia is like?!)

- Amity's lesson in this episode seems kinda shallow and just there. But it does show the twins' progress towards becoming better siblings, i guess.

- There is definitely more of the 'talking out the lesson of the week' happening after the first 5 episodes, but at the same time still a lot of dark humor for tweens, and those don't always mesh together - which is not even really a problem and it's not unique to toh, i think kids are able to figure out what is meant to be a joke and what is serious, but sometimes the tone shifts are kinda odd.

- Luz's design is so much better when she is wearing that coat that gives her a more realistic figure compared to her actual stick thin design.

Episode 13

- Oh, hi, Perry!

- I think maybe the time on the Boiling Isles should've moved a little differently than in the Human Realm (until the finale when, after the Titan's passing, it would have became the same) just so it wouldn't seem like everything is happening way too quick.

- Bump's character development is also something that would've been so cool to see, because between this episode and the flashback episode with Eda, there seems to be an interesting progression of his character. As i see it, this is someone who initially wanted and tried to help his students but got caught in the system and bureaucracy and made some big mistakes because of it. Wish there was more of his development shown between his season 1 self and Hunting Palisman rather than his scenes ending up mostly comedic.

- I think it's funny how the school setting supposedly was only added later at the insistence of the producers, yet many of the more interesting things in the show's first season are connected to the school.

- The troublemaker kids actually wanting to study is a nice idea. Forgot how Jerbo and Barcus are barely there, lol. Kinda wish there was more actually difficult kids in the show (other than 'rich bully'), but whatever.

- A baby!

- feels like yet another missed opportunity to have deeper interactions between Luz and Willow and Gus even for a couple of lines.

- of course the basilisk's human form seems to be a woman with a square jaw. Funny, how despite the very surface level body positivity, the only women who have square jaws and/or are actually visibly tall and muscular (like Hettie) are evil.

Episode 14

- Hooty is funny though, idk why people disliked him. He is not even overdone in this season. There are characters who are much, much, much more annoying in this series.

Episode 15

- brainbow joke spotted? Now, more of this and less of the shipping jokes.

- Yet again, Willow's character is so good.

- Yep, Eda says '2 max' should go into the mindscape. So i headcanon that Eber would've stayed behind.

- But why barely any reaction or role for Gus except comedic subplot?!!! Like, this is his first and best friend! Maybe you can rationalize it as him not fully understanding or not wanting to think about the danger to Willow, but they at least could've shown it clearly and had him immediately rush to hug Willow. Is he not angry at Amity? It's like Willow and Gus, but especially Gus, are an afterthought, and for any deeper exploration of the relationships a white character needs to be involved.

- Tbh this made me upset. Just show that Gus is trying to hide that he is worried over Willow and then - to show her character growth - subtly show Eda noticing it and engaging the interview game to distract him. But King and Hooty don't understand what is going on and cause ruckus, and that's why Eda can't hear Luz and Amity trying to contact her to pull them out. Then Gus shows he was worried by hugging Willow or even crying.

- This episode yet again frames it as Bosha and her group picking on Willow, and Amity just allowing it to happen, but yet again this contradicts the first episode where not only Amity was alone, but she was also more physical about it (with abomination drawing on Willow's forehead) than even Bosha has been up to this point.

- I think Luz trying to make Amity and Willow friends again makes sense for her character, especially with how little experience she has having a group friends, but i wish her decisions here and how they affect her friendship with Willow were actually explored - either in this episode or in the next ones. Because here is a perfect base for a deeper and more complex exploration of Luz and Willow and Gus as a trio, but it all just barely gets touched.

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Conclusion:

Yes, there are a good/cute moments in episodes 11-15, but the pacing seems off, there are more racist and otherwise bad design choices, Willow and Gus are already getting sidelined and are not allowed deeper/serious moments with Luz, so I was losing interest in the show the first time i watched it and felt the same on the rewatch too.

#toh rewatch numericalbridge #toh rewatch liveblog #long post #the owl house

[numericalbridge]

TOH rewatch semi-liveblog. Season 1 part 2

episodes 6-10

Episode 6

- Why is the opening theme such an earworm.

- 'dangerous nomads' ugh

- curious about the special moon powers and how they fit with the rest of the lore.

- Willow is yet again so good!

- Wh... what? Here is Eda, carelessly saying how she would never trust Luz again if Luz messes up and causing Luz stress, even after what happened in episode 2?

And then Eda even 'threatens' Luz - who even closes her eyes in the end - and Willow and Gus have to intervene, but it turns out Eda just wanted them to clean up the house? But, sure, Darius is the evil/stupid/irresponsible one.

And I am sure everyone in the fandom was obsessed with making Eda disproportionally guilty over this behaviour and twisted her whole character to be about it... right? Like, everyone was screaming how Camila would find out about Eda's behavior and hate her? And everyone was writing out their 'funny' fantasies about slapping and beating Eda up? What, no? Everyone declared Eda the best mom and thought she was better than Camila? And jokes about her irresponcibility and mistakes were good-natured and sympathetic? Weird...

(Sorry, i don't want to rag on Eda too much, but the racist double standarts are so, so obvious. Both in how Darius is treated vs Eda, but also how Luz is treated vs Hunter)

Episode 7

- The Bat Queen is the richest demon on the isles? Another thing i've forgotten completely. I kinda assumed she was a weird half-legendary hermit.

- Yeah, to be honest i don't care about Amity's siblings. Actually i think the Blight family should've been just Amity and one of her parents.

- I do dislike the switch in regards of Amity from previous episodes to this one. My problem is not that we see a different side of her or that Luz wants to befriend her after the Convention, but that Willow just doesn't seem to factor in any of this episode's events, and the episode is pushing this 'Amity just doesn't know how to interact with others without being cold because she can't show weakness' - which might be true in general and in regards of Luz, but doesn't work with how she treated Willow in previous episodes especially from Luz's point of view.

And so the switch between Luz calling Amity out in the previous episodes to simply declaring Amity her rival in this one, as if that's the only problem with Amity's behavior, is odd. If any of that was actually intentional and was adressed and there was an equal focus on Luz and Willow's relationship, then this could've been interesting to explore, but if not then they should've changed that first interaction between Amity and Willow. Or, idk, just put some mentions of Amity and Luz's relationships with Willow in the episode.

Because no, i don't think the audience has to be spoonfed and Amity being multifaceted is not the problem, but the show is not that subtle most of the times and this shift seems more unfocused than deliberate; and Luz wanting to make Willow and Amity friends again is also not a problem and makes sense for her character (more about it in Understanding Willow liveblog), but the pacing of the character arcs seem weird and inconsistent/unfocused, and Luz constantly ends up having less meaningful interactions with Willow and Gus compared to the white characters.

-Oh, but you might ask, why do you, numericalbridge, say you excuse Eda and Darius, but not Amity's writing? Well, first i don't think you can ignore the racial dynamics here. Second, Eda is one of the main characters, and we see her in various situations and so we can conclude that, for example, the moment from episode 4 where she 'threatens' King is more of unthoughtful writing choice than anything meant to be revealing about her character. And with Darius it's the opposite - he is not a main character, so his and Hunter's development happening off-screen is much more acceptable, and if you ignore the things that the fandom straight up invents about Darius the storyline is actually pretty streamlined. But Amity and Willow end up somewhere in between, where they are supposed to be core characters, and yet the storyline is neither here nor there, neither simple nor fully developed, and Willow is the one who gets the short end of the stick.

- And the thing is Amity has so much more focus in the first season but then gets less and less and then her arc ends up completed by the end of season 2 earlier than arcs of other main characters (except Gus who just barely has anything😠), and in season 3 Amity doesn't have much to do, but if her and Willow's relationship and the rekindling of their friendship got more even development from early on, then Amity could've been more deeply connected to Willow's arc in season 3 and it would've benefitted them both.

- And the easiest solution to my problem with Amity's arc would be to make the expulsion episode in season 2 about all of the hexsquad rather than only about lumity, and have Amity call out her parents - or just Alador if she isn't ready to call out Odalia - in regards of their treatment of Willow.

- Amity calling Luz a bully is sure a thing

- The rabbit thing serving as a parallel to Amity would've been great if the show was better about Willow and more consistent about Amity.

- I think it might've been better if Understanding Willow was an earlier episode and then this episode happened after, with prior glimpses of Amity trying to befriend Willow and Gus and being awkward about it.

- I think this is the moment where the show starts to drag, and introduces more unfortunate designs as well.

Episode 8

- This episode is so stupid, but the hints at Eda and Lilith's relationship and backstory are good.

- Luz is again very inventive with the idea to light the sign up! She just doesn't think through the more pragmatic parts because she is an excitable teenager.

- Eda is so silly with the body swap idea and the decision is also soooo abrupt, it's almost like something out of season 2b when they were running out of time. I still wouldn't call it the worst episode.

Episode 9

- The first Gus episode! Luz and Gus are so funny together, and it's such a shame how they are barely allowed to interact with each other afterwards. Because Gus is the one with the experience of feeling tricked! He probably was traumatized by what he saw in Belos's mind too! Ahhh😠

- Again, love that Eda is allowed to be angry about school.

- Matt is so manipulative and funny, lol.

- Interesting that Willow is the responsible one in this episode, but overall at this point in the show she doesn't tend to assume the group leader position yet.

- "No one gets left behind" - except all the other students in the detention pit?

Episode 10

-Missed opportunity to have some deeper interactions between Luz, Willow and Gus.

- The Bat Queen's plot would've been so good if not the design choice. Can't believe Hunter's fandom manages to demonize even her in the AUs

- "Yeah, results of Eda's great parental skill" says my note, but i can't remember what this refers too.

----

Conclusion:

This is where the show kinda starts to drag down, and the inability to balance the cast and character arcs becomes obvious. Shame, because Eda and Lilith, Luz and King, and Luz and Willow and Gus - when they are not just there for comedic scenes - are all excellent character dynamics.

#toh rewatch numericalbridge #toh rewatch liveblog #long post #the owl house #sorry for shitty screenshots i usually watch without subtitles so to make screenshots with subtitles i had to use a different source

[numericalbridge]

I headcanon that Darius likes cute things considering how his unique abominations - the little one, the big any sport one and the dou models - are cutesy/slightly goofy looking compared to most of the other abominations we see.

(and from meta perspective his abominations could have easily had more 'elegant' or serious looking designs)

#silly time #darius deamonne #toh darius #the owl house #not over the top saccharine cute but more subtle cute #he would be absolutely charmed by the baby plant abomination from season 1 (innovative and cute!) #except that it is made mostly of dirt #or darius has to judge some sort of abomination creation school competition and no one can figure out the criteria for his ratings #the actual criteria: innovation and cuteness

[numericalbridge]

TOH rewatch semi-liveblog. Season 1 part 1b

episodes 4-5

Episode 4

- So, how do they make the forcefield against the Boiling Rain once Eda loses her powers?

- Yeah, i love that sometimes Luz and King and Eda are allowed to be mean or insensitive. What i don't like is Eda starting to say that she will 'break every bone' in King's body because he stole the elixir, and that it is not shown as something unusual and instead the story just moves on. With the knowledge that King is meant to be equal to an elementary school kid that kinda crosses the line. He is 8! (as in - i see it is a writing choice that doesn't really fit what season 2 does with Eda and King, not like anything that i hold against Eda as a person)

- But curious whether the King's plotline was changed between seasons because of the way the storyline here connects him with the plight of the demons.

- He also says that the demons are underappreciated, yet all the one-off villains in season 1 are demons or creatures☹️

- AU potential for King and Eber interactions is also golden.

- Transition between episodes from the dream-like sequence of Eda wondering who cursed her to Lilith's introduction in episode 5 is really good.

Episode 5

- Interesting how excited Willow in particular seemed to be about the Covens. Would've been interesting if the development from this point onwards got more focus, and if she had some kind of connection and confrontation with Terra. Or, alternatively if the dynamic between Eda and Willow&Gus that exists in season 1 was continued in season 2 with Eda working on becoming a mentor figure for various kids, leading to her opening the school in the epilogue.

- Tbh i think some of the one-off villains in season 1 could've been replaced by the Coven Heads.

- Mason's cameo. He seems very stoic and rather chill about getting thrown around. Interestingly he is the only Coven Head present at the convention. So maybe the newest Coven Head duties, or maybe he actually cares about his Coven.

- Not an actual criticism - it's just genre conventions, and too much exposition would've dragged the whole thing down, but i confess it always amuses me when very important bits of information about the world - for example how the goverment works - are not explained to the main character until much later even when the absense of that info is dangerous (same happened with WHA too)

- What track is fire spell magic or is it a general thing?

- Luz seems quite reasonable when she explains why she wants to check the EC to form her own thoughts (especially with the info that is available to her and the viewers at this point), and i find it interesting the way she says 'individualism' specifically (and not 'individuality' or 'independence') when describing Eda's aproach and how that connects to Eda's overall journey towards opening her institute of wild magic. I initially had conflicting thoughts about that development because i liked that Eda was allowed to be angry at the school system and never want to do anything with it ever again, but on this rewatch i definitely see how the arc is forming, so i warmed up to it. It's a pity that because of the shortening it feels like a part of her journey is still missing. And also it would've been nice to see why she doesn't seem to connect much with other wild witches - are they just scattered around and in hiding? Or is Eda shunned because of her curse?

- Why doesn't Eda ever use illusion magic?

- No, but all Eda and Lilith interactions are golden! And then season 2 happened.

- They should have, imo, shown Willow's reaction to Luz vs Amity fight, even if brief.

- Luz and King's developing relationship is also very good.

- Ahhh, but Lilith is also shown to hold some bad beliefs - looking down on humans more aggresively than other witches, throwing words like 'degenerate' around. It is clear that she wasn't just some poor nerd whose only problem was that she had to supress her real nerdy interests in the Covens, and it would've been nice to see her progression and bettering herself in s2 instead of just focusing on her relationship with her family and her geeking out. Like, Oh, Titan episode is right there to show the progress! Never understood why it prioritized Steve over Lilith, when Steve didn't even need to be deprioritized, just have all 3 travel together, show Lilith reacting to common people and helping out in the montage, then learn her lesson regarding King by the end in an actually serious manner instead of making it a joke. It is so frustrating, because I never doubted she would be redeemed, and after season 1 i was excited for her development and to see more of her, and then season 2 just went in the direction of my least favourite writing choices with her😞

----

Conclusion:

Overall episodes 1-5 mostly hold very well on the rewatch, and i found episodes 1-2 much easier to follow this time. But some problems are already obvious like Gus having less attention compared to others, and problems with certain character designs.

#it's part 1a and 1b because i watched in 4-5 episode batches but the first part was getting too long #toh rewatch numericalbridge #toh rewatch liveblog #long post #the owl house

[numericalbridge]

TOH rewatch semi-liveblog. Season 1 part 1a

episodes 1-3

Episode 1

- I didn't remember this, but pretty much the first thing Camila says is that she supports Luz's creativity, yet the fandom ignored it and demonized her with no restrain. And at the end of the episode when Luz places a photo of her with Camila - it is clear she loves her mom so much, and the photo is of them hugging openly - compared to the Blight's portrait for example - the show would've shown the true dynamic through the photo if that was necessary. And yet the fandom wanted Luz to abandon her mother, her father's grave and their culture to live with the 'more accepting' white 'mom' (which is, you know, actual colonial propaganda). I wasn't even in the fandom before season 2b, but the behavior around Camila was so gross even i knew about it.

- I would say the extra quick pacing of the first 2 episodes and meta humor 101 are much more tolerable when you are prepared for them. When i tried watching it the very first time i couldn't get past the first 10 minutes, then i tried again later, and it still felt like the first episode was way too fast, even compared to something like the Infinity Train which had 11 minutes episodes. But this time it didn't seem that bad. Luz's speech to the Conformatorium prisoners was maybe the only thing that felt too quick.

- Some humor is actually funny and some is very much dark humor 101 aimed at tweens that is probably hilarious and novel for the target audience, but seems like it was done 100 times before for anyone older. That's not a criticism, it is what it is. (when the show attempts humor aimed at older internet-based fandom, especially later on, that's what i find much more cringe-inducing tbh).

- Really like Eda's voice acting, and voice acting and music in general. Love most of the designs for non-humanoid demons. Pity that we don't see that much of them later.

- Oh, but all the things Eda does that would've made fandom hate Darius if he did the same. From pocking Hooty in the eye to joking about Warden Wrath tormenting 'some tiny creature', to only promising to bring Luz - who doesn't understand this world and doesn't know about the tyrany of the Emperor - home if Luz helps infiltrate the prison, to calling an 8 year her roomate, to not thinking about whether Luz would be able to do magic before promising to teach her... but i bet no one crawls into the notes of any random art of Eda with King to whine how "she should've been nicer from the start".

- What's with this thing:

it looks like the owl version of that cat-with-human-face gag from what we do in the shadows movie.

Episode 2

- I don't have a problem with it, considering the target audience is younger than the characters, but the kids (except King) really act younger than their ages.

- But i do have a problem when the fandom interprets it as Luz being 'less smart' than other characters and painting her as over the top reckless especially in the takes that aim to be more realistic than the show's stylized storytelling, when she is actually smart. Even in this episode Luz quickly starts to wonder whether it was the right choice to follow the quest, and only the confirmation of the magic makes her fully engage (and prior to it Eda and King just laughing at her like that surely is something that would've made any teenager more reckless)

- Puppets... kinda curious whether it was always meant to be a parallel to the finale, or the dream sequence in the final episode was added and connected to this episode after the shortening. Or maybe there would've been actual fighting with the puppets with full season 3? Who knows /desperatly hopes there was no puppets at all before the shortening.

- They've really fully intentionally murdered (and ate) the villain, lol

Episode 3

- This was actually the first episode i really liked when i first watched the series.

- Willow is so good! From the first scene they show how angry she is without painting that anger in a negative light. Could've been one of the best chracters in the show if they didn't mess up the pacing of her arc.

- King is so mouthy towards Eda sometimes. Yes, i find it funny that King and Eda are often mean towards each other - and sometimes, i admit, it crosses the line where i wish the writing was different - but supposedly the kids watching this can stomach it and understand their relationship, yet 20+ years old fandom adults can't deal with anything but the most obvious therapy talk when it comes to the precious woobie they twist Hunter into being [and by that i don't mean some awkward characterization but turning him into the same woobie type every fandom makes out of fan favorite white characters that very specifically relays on erasing or demonizing other characters, most often character of color or turning them, as others have called it, into comfort machines]

- I love that Eda is allowed to be mad at the school and how she was treated. There could've been a pretty interesting connection with Willow in this regard too, but alas.

- Luz is a fake weird animal-loving girl for not being interested in the dead slug /j

- Forgot that abominations can talk... kinda...

- Yeah, i think Amity is way too mean towards Willow in the first scene - making the abomination draw on her forehead - considering what actually happens with Amity's and Willow's arcs later, and where the focus of their relationship gets shifted. If they wanted Amity be this mean, it should've been either some unusual circumstances (like, after Willow gets the good grade over her) or there should have been more exploration about it later with more focus on Willow and with different things focused on in Amity's arc. If not, they should've toned it down to be more in line with how it is written later on.

- And Luz and Willow's chemistry is so, so great! It's such a shame how quickly it was abandoned😞

- I feel bad for the slug... interesting how all the more obvious one-off 'villains' in the first season are less humanoid demons or creatures.

- And yes, i really believe the old hexsquad as a friend group was something only added later, otherwise Eda never reacting to Gus (or even the Blight kids later on, but especially Gus considering how he gets less focus from early on) is surely a choice.

----

I bitched a lot in this post, but i actually like the first 3 episodes, and the first 2 i definitely like better on the rewatch.

#toh rewatch numericalbridge #toh rewatch liveblog #it's part 1a and 1b because i watched in 4-5 episode batches but the first part was getting too long #long post #the owl house

[numericalbridge]

prev tags: #this this this#i think of him as probably one of the most nurturing coven heads. but not the sharpest yeah so eternally kinda just going with the flow#toh mason#the owl house#toh

headcanon: the ironic parallels where Mason thinks of himself as a nurturing type and a family man (and he is actually like that normally) but because of unquestioning following the propaganda and turning the blind eye on what had to be done for the DoU 'paradise' to be achieved, he contributed to the draining spell almost killing everyone and even things like marking the kids with the sigils. Meanwhile at that point Darius probably sees himself - and is seen by others - as a hardened and difficult person, but because he was questioning the DoU and tried to help he ends up as a better mentor and parental figure.

I find it interesting actually that Mason is the only Coven Head present at the convention episode in season 1 (I assume he is already a Coven Head because he is on the banner in a later episode).

He seems quite stoic and unbothered by being tossed around too. So this might point towards some characterization - maybe he actually cares enough to show up unlike the others, and he isn't a type to throw a fit over a member of the public bothering him and thus might be less drunk on the power.

[my personal headcanon is that he cares about the members of his coven and has teaching tendencies, but isn't very sharp when it comes to the politics, and he had never expected to get raised that high, so he doesn't question the decisions around him and finds his new role disorienting]

#toh headcanons #toh mason #toh darius #darius deamonne