#the owl house season 2 episode 6

[misccy27]

Why Any Sport in a Storm is so satisfying to me

Hunter's storyline in this episode builds off of his previous episodes in a way that just works so well in the context of his narrative. Hear me out:

Hunting Palismen establishes that Belos is abusive and controlling towards Hunter. Hunter loves Belos and acts to help him. Hunter has good intentions and can be persuaded to do the right thing, but there are consequences for it.

Eclipse Lake deals with these consequences. Hunter thinks he's being pulled off of the mission as a punishment for “failing” his last one. This feeds his desperation to gain Belos’ approval by proving that he is still useful. Hunter is so desperate for love and approval here that he makes the wrong choice in the end, rejecting Amity’s help and attacking her. 

But that isn't where the episode ends for him. It ends on Hunter bonding with Flapjack. Flapjack defended Hunter and stuck by him even during the fight, leading to Hunter accepting that Flapjack isn't going to abandon him now, no matter what.

Hunter's story ends on a positive note despite Hunter doing the wrong thing. This is still satisfying because we understand the source of Hunter’s problems: what he needed more than anything else at this point in his life was just to be loved. Flapjack came along and loved him. 

However. Hunter did still do the wrong thing. Flapjack's actions establish that he is willing to enable Hunter to make the wrong decision if that is what Hunter chooses to do.

This is where ASIAS picks up.

The episode starts with Belos ordering Hunter to run the coven head meeting as a “test”. Hunter fails to do this from the get-go. Darius is then introduced as a stand-in authority figure for the episode.

The stakes are lowered immediately. Darius is established as a foil for Belos from the beginning: where Belos threatens physical violence at Hunter speaking out of turn, Darius is “just” mean and condescending. Where Belos only cares about how Hunter can be useful to him, Darius doesn’t care about Hunter at all. Where Belos demands total subservience, Darius derides Hunter for blindly following orders. 

It’s still a bad situation, of course. But it’s also such a promising setup. Since Darius doesn’t care about Hunter completing his mission, there is space here for Hunter to make his own decisions without severe consequences. The only thing at stake now is Darius' approval.

And again, Eclipse Lake shows us the terrifying lengths that Hunter is willing to go to for an authority figure’s approval:

That is the main issue that's addressed in ASIAS. And that's what makes this setup so good: in Eclipse Lake, Hunter is driven by a need for both Belos' love and his approval. With Belos, these concepts are too deeply intertwined to ever really be explored. But Eclipse Lake managed to address the love aspect with Flapjack. ASIAS tackles the approval aspect as its own standalone problem by introducing an adult that Hunter has no established relationship with yet.

Now, the solution here has to be handled differently than it was in Eclipse Lake. Hunter needed Flapjack's unconditional love; Hunter does not need unconditional approval. Particularly with Belos as his parent, it is vital that Hunter learns to stop relying on the approval of authority figures to drive his actions. If he doesn't, he's going to keep sabotaging potential friendships like what happened with Amity and Luz.

And that is why it is so important that things play out the way that they do in ASIAS. When Hunter "successfully" completes his mission, he naturally seeks the approval of his designated authority figure:

And Darius doesn’t tell Hunter that he’s wrong.

Darius doesn't give Hunter anything to work with at all here.

This is necessary. Eclipse Lake starts with Hunter disobeying Belos' order to stay in the castle in order to instead try acquiring something that Belos wants. As Hunter explains in ASIAS, "even chances have to be earned." So it is necessary for this to work that Hunter has no idea what, if anything, Darius actually wants from him. He can't even hazard a guess. Hunter's decision to do the right thing has to be fully disconnected from his initial motivation of trying to earn his authority figure's approval.

That's why it falls on Steve. Steve is the one to hit on the one thing that ends up getting through to Hunter. This works because Steve is not an authority figure. He's framed more as Hunter's equal:

This is good. Hunter can now do the right thing without an authority figure influencing his decision making at all. Hunter's motivation and priorities have changed, so he goes to rescue his friends and sabotage his own mission.

This is the point in the episode where it becomes so incredibly important again that Darius is Belos’ foil. Because Darius was mean to Hunter. But there are enough differences in the way that Belos and Darius treat Hunter, and in the way that Hunter views each of them in turn, that Hunter is able to behave in a way with Darius that he simply wouldn't be able to with Belos:

Darius appears here as an enraged authority figure giving Hunter a direct order. We can see the contrast in how Hunter handles confrontations with Belos later. This scene is the only time that we get to see Hunter confront an authority figure in this way: consciously and freely choosing to act in accordance with what he believes is the right thing to do. It is so satisfying.

This is also where it gets fun. Because in order for Darius to fulfill his role in the narrative here, the only thing he really has to do now is to just be a relatively safe authority figure for Hunter to stand up to. All he has to do is to not punish Hunter for standing up to him. That is what is consistent with the foil set up between Darius and Belos at the beginning: Darius is a relatively neutral authority figure.

But the episode goes and pushes it so much farther than that.

Darius praises Hunter for doing the right thing. Darius becomes the first adult that we see actually reinforce Hunter’s decision to do the right thing.

And then it goes and escalates even beyond that. Like. The narrative is over. Nothing that happens after this is at all necessary. The episode is already ending on at least as much of an optimistic note as HP and EL.

But instead of just ending, this all happens:

Darius changes opinion of Hunter and admits that he was wrong, suggesting that his treatment toward Hunter will improve from here. It also foils Hunter viewing Belos as infallible.

Darius undermines Belos' abusive efforts to control and isolate Hunter by giving Hunter a scroll and encouraging him to make connections outside of the castle.

Flapjack and this mission will be kept secret, establishing Darius as Hunter’s ally. He's willing to prioritize Hunter's well-being over both Belos' rules and his own personal motives.

Darius confirms that he does approve of Hunter now. It is important that this is addressed last; this happens despite the narrative.  

So like. Darius got a little growth arc here. He is no longer just a neutral foil to Belos. Every single one the things that Darius does at the end here is now in direct opposition to how Belos views and treats Hunter. Darius has become a definitive positive authority figure in Hunter's life who can and will challenge Belos' negative influence.

The scene ends with a Darius telling Hunter that he could still use a sewing lesson, opening up an opportunity for their relationship to grow.

It is so satisfying to watch.

And that's when I get back to the broader narrative, like. Up until now, Hunter has always been in a lose-lose situation. His situation has been improving thanks to Flapjack, but it's still impossible: even when Hunter knows what the right thing to do is, he can't really afford to do it. Belos will punish him for it. And because of his isolation and abuse, Hunter often doesn't know what the right thing is. His perspective is too skewed.

But now Hunter is not only loved; he also has an authority figure who will encourage him and guide him and reinforce his decision to do the right thing. Hunter is finally put in a position where he can start to become the good person that he wants to be.

And Hunter also now has a viable way out of his abusive situation. Hunter still doesn't realize that he needs help yet, but the support is there for him when he's ready. There is now an adult in his corner who is finally paying attention to his situation and is willing to intervene to help him. Between Flapjack and Darius, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel for Hunter.

It makes ASIAS the first (and only) unambiguously happy ending that Hunter gets. It is such a good episode.

#toh hunter #darius deamonne #toh flapjack #the owl house season 2 #and then HM happened #and darius could've been dropped from hunter's narrative so easily there #instead he’s been brought up in 4/6 hunter episodes since asias #and i am totally normal about it i swear #this is my emotional support episode #finale can't hurt me here

[trasho-pando2011]

The Owl House season 2 intro but I replaced it with Americano by Lady Gaga

#i only watched like 6 episodes of the owl house cuz i don't have any money #the owl house #toh #toh season 2

[yahoo201027]

Day in Fandom History: July 17…

It's Palisman Pairing Day over at Hexside and when Luz didn't find her ideal Palisman of her own to be paired with, she finds herself on an unexpected journey and comes across with an old foe. “Hunting Palismen premiered on this day, 2 Years Ago.

#Day in Fandom History #2 Years Ago #The Owl House #Season 2 #Episode 6 #Hunting Palismen #Cartoon #Animation

[twoidiotswatchcartoons]

(ignore the black screen, im still figuring out how to get around disney+’s hate of sharing content)

Hunter, when we meet him as a boy and not The Golden Guard in 2:06, says “Belos found me.”

As in the guy who LITERALLY MADE HIS BODY found him. Where did he find Hunter. Did he at some point lose Hunter? Did he really create a boy and then kick him out only to take him back? What the heck Belos?

#toh #the owl house #owl house spoilers #season two #season 2 #toh season 2 #hunter #witch hunter #toh hunter #palisman hunting #2:06 #episode 6 #spoilers #toh spoilers #spoilers toh #the owl house spoilers #seriously belos what the fuck

[perrypixel]

I’m noticing that cutting down episodes is not such a good idea

#imma be honest and say that the writing in the past two episodes don't feel as solid as the first half of season 2 #i blame disney #and netflix #soooo dumbbbbbbb #the owl house #anyways I'm lowkey kinda scared #text post #there's like only 6 episodes left of the show #i'm sad #and i know that the 3 eps are 40 mins long but eh #i'd rather have another full out season #stupid disney

[lizard-dumbass]

Okay so I have a thought,

By now we all know that The Owl House is being cut short (thanks a lot Disney you bunch of shitbags). If Dana Terrace wants to and has the time, she could make a continuation of the show in the form of a comic where she could put all the things that didn't fit into the show (like additional world-building, episodes that had to be cut, flashbacks to develop the relationships between the characters).

Idk how possible this would be on a legal basis, but I want it to happen so I'm just throwing this out there

#lizard-dumbass talks about stuff #text post #the owl house #dana terrace #we only have one episode of season 2 left and then only like 6 episodes worth of content for season 3 #i'm not ready to let this show go laöenfjjf #i just got into the fandom

[citricacidprince]

Can I give another massive sorry to the Owl House crew and Dana here?

Looking at the first 6 minutes of season three and I can tell they wanted to make a whole episode of Hunter discovering that book and cutting his hair. They wanted to have an episode of Luz finding out a way to come out to her mom about being bi and dating Amity. They wanted to have an episode of Vee finally figuring out how they want to look like since the can't look like Luz anymore. They wanted to have an episode of the witch kids making up human disguises and seeing what the human world has to offer. They wanted to have an episode that shows the kids working on the door and failing time and time again to get it to work. They wanted to have an episode where all the kids, yes even Luz, struggling to adapt being in the human world. They wanted to have an episode of the witch kids discovering human things for the first time, like rain, and falling in love with Luz's world.

They wanted to, but they couldn't.

Disney said the show didn't "fit their brand" and now all these moments we would've had episodes for are forced to be in a 2-3 minute long montage. And while I'm happy we get to see these moments at all, a part of me is very bitter knowing what Disney did to Dana and her crew.

I hope they know that I appreciate all that they could do with what limited time they had.

I hope they know I want to kill Disney with my bare hands knowing how they cut this amazing shows lifetime short.

Edit: In honor of some of the comments I've been getting I made this

#i was happy watching the teasers but i got hit with such a bittersweet feeling afterwards that i just had to share #the owl house #toh #toh spoilers #the owl house s3 #the owl house season 3 #toh s3 spoilers #toh s3 #toh season 3 #disney #disney critical #disney channel #dana terrace #luz noceda #amity blight #hunter wittebane #hunter deamonne #camila noceda #vee noceda #prince rambles in this chilies tonight #prince's gold star posts

[rius-cave]

I dunno if you know bout TOH but this is so them-coded

Adam: Bla bla bla I don’t even want to be here bla bla bla I’m the fucking Ada-

*Charlie puts her hand over Adam’s mouth to shut him up*

Charlie: Listen, you, are a bad person and I do NOT like you. But, half of the hell/Alastor is trying to kill you and UNFORTUNATELY, I’m too nice to let that happen!

*Adam licks her hand*

Charlie: Uggh, are you licking my hand?! IM TRYING TO HELP YOU ASSHOLE!

Adam: AND WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU BI-

Watch that scene of season 2 episode 6 of The Owl House if you want a clearer image of that moment lol

I DO KNOW THE OWL HOUSE but I don't remember the details from that show, rip. I can totally see this happening though haha. Charlie is a sweet soul but she does NOT like Adam. "You will become a better person, dammit!"

#hazbin hotel #adam #charlie #ask

[candyskiez]

Fuck it, I've seen other shows have these things, so I'm making one for Owl House and y'all can't stop me.

Ask me TOH questions!

1. What episode got you invested in the show? Why?

2. Ramble about your favorite character of all time as much as you want. We're listening

3. Favorite episode? Why? Ramble as much as you'd like.

4. Favorite romantic relationship?

5. Favorite platonic relationship?

6. A character you didn't expect to love? What made you start liking them?

7. Has the show ever made you cry? What scene(s)?

8. Any headcanons? If so, which are your favorite?

9. If the show had a full three seasons, whats something you genuinely think would happen? Not a wishful thinking, what do you think is something that would've happened?

10. What's something you wished would happen? Can be as nonsensical as you'd like.

11. Any songs from the soundtrack that stick out to you?

12. What do you consider the most memorable scene? Why?

13. Which season do you like best?

14. Do you like aus? Any aus by someone else that are a favorite of yours? Do you have any of your own?

15. Favorite antagonist? Why?

16. Common theory that you disagree with?

17. Character you want to like, but don't? Why?

18. Character you used to dislike, and now like? What changed your mind?

19. Least favorite episode?

20. Which character do you relate to most?

(Send me some, and send some to anyone who reblogged this! If you want.)

#the owl house #toh #owl house #feel free to add ones

[cr0cutacr0cuta]

Loving Darius Deamonne: A LONG tumblr essay about my favorite character from The Owl House, and why I think his potential was missed but hinted at.

Hey heres an edit: forgot that Gus existed, my bad. :sob: I love him too just not as much.

Darius Deamonne is a great character and you should love him too and here's why.

It goes beyond me just loving him for being black and pretty obviously gay (at least some sort of mlm) in my eyes. Which is good! He's black and somewhat feminine and it's never played for laughs. He's still treated like a threat and like a very powerful and influential person. Which I wholeheartedly appreciate it.

Which is the first thing I wanna touch on I guess?

I also want to say that some of this is based off of interviews that Dana Terrace has done for the show, as well as piecing theories together based on the information we DO know about Darius.

And no I won't proofread this because I have anxiety about re-reading anything I write, so sorry for the typos in advanced. :,)

I was going to do this in parts but everything is bleeding together so much that I can't. I'll sum up all the most important things in bullet points at the end!

This will probably be my shortest section here. Darius is very reminiscent of effeminate Disney Villains such as Scar or Gaston. He's very into fashion and self pampering. He even has a menacing sounding French/Greek roots last name that DOES invoke demons. Even if that's not the true meaning behind the name, but we'll get back to that later in this section.

Darius is first hinted at in Season 1 Episode 13, "The First Day". His simplified visage appearing on the Abomination Coven banner.

Man, look at how sinister and mysterious they made him look. He also appears to MAYBE be wearing a different outfit than he does in the rest of the series proper. There's not a lot to say or analyze here, I just think his banner is super neat.

The second time we see Darius is in the flashback segment of "Young Blood, Old Souls". We see his younger design first before we even get a glimpse of his present one. I just really like that detail and the implication that Darius was a character that was very heavily on the writer's mind from the jump.

Now his real, first proper appearance is very wild. Very important. I don't know too much about cinematography and framing, but I do know a little bit of the basics.

Let's look at his first true appearance in Season 2 Episode 6, "Hunting Pailsmen".

We do see his shadow in the shot before this, but I just want to point out that Darius is straight up the first coven head we see in the introduction to all of them. (We do see Mason in an earlier episode but it was in a more comedic role and he doesn't speak.)

This framing putting Darius front and center doesn't stop here.

In the first proper serious group shot of the coven heads, Darius is in the middle. Firstly, the perspective frames Darius as the biggest person in the shot. Maybe besides Hettie, but she's also pretty tall and scaled down because of the perspective. He's also the one in the center of the shot, in the center of some of the most powerful people and most influental people in the isles.

This does imply importance.

It even goes further in the next shot.

Darius is at the side here, sure. But he's put next to Mason who probably has the plainest design out of all the coven heads. (I'm sure he's fine.) But it almost feels like he was put next to Darius to make Darius' framing look more important. With the rest of the more uniquely designed coven heads smaller, at the back, and rendered in less color because of the light from the cauldron (?) in the shot.

Even in the storyboard, Darius seems ot have a bit more detail than everyone else. And if not that, his expression is more clear and intense than the other's.

This makes me wonder how important Darius was to the narrative before the show got canceled. Like yes, Raine ended up being the most important person here in the end. Rightfully so. I still just wondered what was there intention with the compositions of these scenes. Was Darius meant to be more important, or was this a misdirect?

He's in such a unique spot in the story, that I doubt it was unintentional. Darius was supposed to be explored much more according to Dana.

Snippet of the interview from TV Tropes.

So we know Darius was supposed to be explored more as a character in a hypothetical, fully realized season 3. I really would have done anything to see that, honestly.

That's all I have to really say for this section. I'm just bummed that all this foreshadowing and planning was destroyed because of Disney's mismanagement of the show. It also sucks that the main black character we see in the show is one of the biggest causalities from it. Moving on.

So back to Darius being like renaissance era Disney villains...He's vain, he's powerful, and quite possibly...He's manipulative. Mainly, it seems, towards the other coven heads.

Remember what Hunter says in "Any Sport in a Storm" about the coven heads...

This is very much speculation on my part. But I think Darius has been in the rebellion game for a while. I can't say he's a direct leader and I can't say he has an entire group behind him until Raine comes along. But I wouldn't put it above him to use mind games to help slow Belos' progress. I think Darius may have been purposely sowing discourse between the other coven heads.

Mind you, a lot of them are already conniving on their own. But I don't put it past him to stoke the flames to cause chaos for Belos' plans.

This does beg the question, how long has Darius been at this? How long has he been TRYING to dismantle the Emperor's hold on the Isles?

Again, speculation warning, but I do think Darius may have been at least skeptical of Belos and looking into what he was doing since his mentor died.

Imagine, your mentor is the leader of the Emperor's Coven. The Emperor's personal right hand man. Then he just...dies one day. And since Belos says that all the previous guards had in fact, betrayed him, what's to say that the previous Golden Guard didn't tell Darius he was going to betray Belos?

Like yes, he could have not told Darius in an attempt to protect him. Darius obviously meant a lot to him and he obviously meant a lot to Darius. Though I also think that he would want to save Darius and everyone else. And if he couldn't, he would want Darius to save himself and everyone else. I can't prove that Darius was told anything, but I wouldn't be surprised.

So Darius may have just...Straight up been in the trenches for years at this point. He does say that he rebelled because he found "The Day of Unity suspicious"...But Darius has exaggerated on screen before. He's also been straight up lying to a lot of peers for possibly years. He can be an unreliable narrator here.

This also means he is a stereotypical renaissance villain turned on it's head. He looks very evil, but my mans is just semi goth, loves fashion, and is an anarchist. He's not a villain, just an anti-hero.

With that said, let's talk about his relationship with Hunter, which seems to be pretty complicated.

Darius starts out seemingly looking at Hunter with distain. I think about what Dana says about Darius' main motivations not only being to help people, but to care about the ones that he loves. The implications that Darius' main driving force is love, not only for people personally in his life, but for his community, the people of the isles, seems pretty significant.

I think love maybe Darius' main, true character trait.

Love, especially when it ties into grief, can really make people lash out. Not everyone reacts this way, but we've already established that Darius can be pretty full of wrath when he wants to be.

To me it's very clear that Darius is projecting the anger he feels from his grief onto Hunter. Which yes, is messed up. There's no excuse for it. He eventually seems to grow and change at least, and that's good.

I can definitely see WHY he would feel the way he does towards Hunter at first though. Your mentor is murdered one day and you get little explanation, he also may have hinted at something deeper and darker happening within the leadership of your community before he does. Then he's replaced by some kid that, probably to you, came out of nowhere. He's the emperor's nephew. Didn't his family die a long time ago? Did his mentor have a child that he didn't even mention?

Which does beg the question...Does Darius know that Hunter is a grimwalker? I don't know? I don't think so. I think he's very suspicious of the whole situation at the very least. You're also frustrated with the kid about being a follower, about not looking at the bigger picture, about just being a soldier and not his own person. Because you're sure that being a follower, being subservient, is what lost your mentor his life.

Darius definitely could have handled this better. He could have not projected his grief onto Hunter. He could have been more open about what he wanted him to do. He could have told him to go be a kid and make friends. But he let his grief get in the way of it all. He's flawed, and that's relatable.

Seeing Hunter make friends and show some sort of autonomy seemingly broke him from seeing Hunter as just a replacement. He started seeing Hunter as his own person as Hunter did. I think that's a very important step in their growth together. I find that super interesting and very poetic.

There's also the fact that Darius probably couldn't tell Hunter about the scope of everything because he wanted to protect him from it all. I don't think Darius ever wanted Hunter to get hurt. Even if he was cruel to him initially. He was so upset in "Hollow Mind" that he shoves Raine out of the way when hears about Hunter being stuck in Belos' mind.

He also may have been scared of what Hunter would see if he had known that the Emperor had something to do with his mentor's death.

Also I guess I should mention it here because of it all tying into Darius being part of the rebellion but...There's a scene in "Eda's Requiem" where Darius is more angry about his clothes getting messed up than the fact that Raine has committed treason...Which is great foreshadowing, actually. I love the fact that Eberwolf has to remind him of the treason part so their cover doesn't get blown, probably.

Let's keep the ball rolling on the most important relationships in Darius' life.

We've covered Hunter and his mentor, so let's move onto Eberwolf.

Eberwolf is pretty heavily implied to be like a sibling to Darius. There's a lot of unexplored territory here and it makes me really sad. So this'll probably be the most sparsely talked about relationship here despite the fact that Darius and Eberwolf spend almost all of their screen time together.

I think the thing I want to point out was that Darius was not willing to let Eberwolf harmed or possibly killed during their fight with other coven heads on the day of unity. I feel like this may elude to a few things.

Darius cannot bare to lose someone in his life again. Or can't bare to see it, possibly again. He backs off immediately and the fear in his eyes is real.

Which shout out the animators for making that very apparent.

It's also very apparent in Eberwolf's expression as well. The expressions just say so much and tell so much of the story between the two that we don't get to see. We get shown and not told...Even if we weren't shown in a more direct way.

Saw this in another post but the scenes following where Eberwolf and Darius appear, also imply pretty heavily that when the spell started working, Eberwolf wanted to run to Darius. But he was in too much pain himself to make it over to him.

Darius knew they were all going to die if he didn't do anything but he chose not to anyway because the pain of losing Eberwolf right in front of him in such a terrible way stopped him. Darius let his fear of loss of someone he really cared about potential damn everyone on the isles. Another flaw, but another important note to tack onto his character.

Like yes, he would have saved everyone else but he probably would have caused him more heartache that he couldn't handle. He'd already been through a lot losing his mentor (and his best friend/possible love interest, but oh we will get to you, Alador Blight.), and this kind of implies that he probably couldn't do it again.

Though Darius acts smart and kind of logical, he's very driven by his emotions, his love and grief in particular, seemingly.

That being said, let's move on from Eberwolf. We're going to skip the obvious for now, and go onto why Darius is probably the best coven head or at least in the running next to Raine.

I'd like to let you all know that the abomination coven is pretty consistently stacked. Not only do they have Principal Bump, who has been shown to be a powerful which in his own right from his debut episode, but Alador, who's Darius' rival yes...But it's pretty lightly implied that Darius and Alador had shared their innovations and interests in abominations when they were younger. Alador probably knows some of what he knows from Darius. Though you could probably say the same the other way around, Alador didn't end up becoming the coven head. Darius is obviously the more skilled abomination user of the two.

Then you have up and coming prospects like Amity who's consistently been shown to be pretty powerful.

Willow even says in "I Was A Teenager Abomination":

"There are better opportunities on this track." when referring to the abomination tract at school.

Now don't get me wrong, coven system = bad. But I don't think the sense of community the coven system provides for witches is ALL bad.

I think the implication here, though subtle, is that Darius is fostering probably the most powerful coven in the entire system.

He's investing and nurturing new prospects. He's providing opportunities for witches in his coven that other covens are not. Darius truly cares about his community. He truly cares about his craft and furthering it through communal growth. He even wrote a book to show his knowledge with the people of the isles.

Darius has been shown to be on of the few characters who can change his form. He does this at will (seemingly) without the help of a curse of any kind. Darius is just powerful enough to change into an abomination monster and he's the only character who can do it. Which is impressive considering how stacked the rest of the abomination users in the show are.

Even Alador has made pretty rad innovations to the craft, even if Darius doesn't completely agree with them.

I also want to say that this points to Darius maybe being a engineer like Alador...but to contrast Alador being a mechanical one he's a genetic engineer, and that might be what's going on with his form. But that's again, pure speculation just from his seemingly opposite theming to Alador.

So it seems like Darius is also a good leader. One with a sense of duty and nurturing towards his community.

Now last but not least...

Let's fucking talk about.

AlaDarius.

Man I have so much to fucking say about these two HOLY SHIT.

They are literally only on screen together like 4 times and it's in the epilogue but just the implications we get from the little breadcrumbs we do have...Oh man.

So Darius and Alador were friends. We can prove that. They seemed to be on good teams in "Thems the Breaks, Kid." Alador talking to Darius and laughing once he flicks some abomination goo onto his face. With Odalia observing, unfortunately.

There's a lot that can be inferred by this. I don't think Odalia was always like she is now. But power, and maybe the prospect of it, corrupts. There's a lot that could have happened between these three.

Some theories:

It's possible that Odalia didn't have as many prospects as Darius or Alador coming up. Which might be why she pursued Alador in the first place. Alador's family has money, Odalia has a manipulative business sense, Alador is socially awkward and probably can't conduct business as well so that maybe got her in good with his family.

Maybe she even manipulated Alador into loving her over Darius by whispering lies in his ears and fueling the rivalry between them. Maybe she got Alador to push Darius away.

There's also the prospect that Alador's marriage to Odalia was arranged for whatever reason. Maybe his parents also told him to push Darius away because of that because they knew Alador and Darius were catching feelings for each other. Alador could have thought that this was normal and had a sense of duty to his family that he put over his love for Darius.

This could also be why he was okay with Odalia telling Amity to cut ties with Willow. Alador may have been forced to do the exact same thing.

And we've already established that when Darius cares about someone, he cares about them very hard. He loves and he loves deep. He already lashed out at Hunter because he loved his mentor so deeply, so why wouldn't he lash out at Alador for essentially abandoning him?

I think it's very clear that Darius loved Alador. Maybe he still does after all these years considering how he acted in the epilogue.

I mean look at him.

He shakes Alador in excitement and pride and pulls away all embarrassed. Pretending he still doesn't have feelings. He even like, touches his chest it's insane and insanely cute. Alador not knowing how to feel is also funny because he probably thinks Darius had either let go of his feelings or he's just surprised that he'd show him any kind of affection after everything.

I also have a theory that Darius possibly been wanting to reconnect with Alador for years. I think the rebellion and wanting to protect Alador from possibly getting threatened if he himself got caught might be a reason. It also might be anxiety. Maybe he's scared Alador might find a reason to abandon him again. Maybe he's actually actively traumatized by that prospect and he has work through it (god I wish this show had more time). Maybe it's all habit at this point too. He's just used to pushing Alador away at this point. Hell, maybe he even thinks that Alador should just be focusing on his children considering their mother is no longer in the picture and they're all healing as a family and he feels like that has nothing to do with him.

There's a lot of speculation.

I'm willing to bet SOME of this is right.

I also don't think this should be downplayed considering that Darius never mentions Odalia when seeing the abomaton in "Eda's Requiem." He didn't have to say anything at all but he's so hurt and so petty about being hurt by Alador SPECIFICALLY that he tells Kikimora to tell him that he's a hack.

There's something going on and I want to know what it is and I'm 80% sure that it's romantic.

I also want to also point out that we see Alador and Darius standing together in the very last shot of the show.

Like they do genuinely look like a family unite here and I truly appreciate it. It might take some time but but that's alright. I think they can figure it out. I think they genuinely can mend their relationship with each other since Darius was able to mend his with Hunter and Alador with his children.

They're both so flawed and had to grow in similar aspects. They're both so different but have these little bridges that truly connect them. Their love for abominations. How they both weren't the best father figures at first but learned to be better for their kids.

There's a lot of undertones with this relationship I truly enjoy.

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT HIS DESIGN.

I've been writing this essay for over 3 hours so I'm going to try to make this fast.

I won't go into how Darius is very effeminate Disney villain again, so I'll jump straight into his color palette.

Darius has 5 basic colors/shades in his design.

Black: Black invokes a few things. They all kind of pertain to Darius. Black can mean mystery. His past is very mysterious. He's basically a spy, which are mysterious. Black can also mean elegance and power. He loves fancy clothes and is very powerful.

Purple: Darius has a few shades of purple on him. This can be a nod to his craft as the abomination coven head. Purple also invokes regality which might be a nod to his influence in the witch community at large. Though not a ruler, he does have a presence that does seem almost like royalty. It's also the color of imagination. The abominations are somewhat like living sculptures, like art, eluding to imagination. He also sews, probably making his own outfits, which is a very creative endeavor. Purple also invokes compassion, enlightenment, and encouragement. It's also attached to those who are emotional and sensitive and sometimes immature.

Green: Green is a fantastic contrast to purple. I'm guessing this is why Darius' eyes were changed from purple to green. It made more sense with his design and gave it a bit more pop. While green is the color of envy (possibly eluding to his possibly jealousy of Odalia and Alador's relationship), it's also the color of judgement (again, looking at Alador) and materialism (my man loves his clothes). The positive side to this is green representing healing and growth as well. They represent things that Darius needs to let go and things that he actually needs.

Gold: Gold represents luxury, success, triumph, and loyalty. I feel like that's all pretty self explanatory considering all I've discussed so far. Darius studied hard under the olden guard to be successful, he triumphant and became the coven head, he's loyal to everyone he loves and his community. And he does enjoy a bit of luxury, too. :)

White: White actually means a lot of things. The ones I think pertain to Darius most are actually cleanliness, coldness, and purity believe it or not. Obviously he likes to be clean. Coldness because of how distant he starts towards Hunter, and how he maybe pushing away certain people because he doesn't want them getting hurt if he gets found out in the rebellion. This cold also be why his gloves are white. They're a symbol of his coldness over his hands. His coldness keeps him from touching other's, literally. It keeps him distant. Now purity maybe the surprising one here, but it's most so about his intentions, and his sense of duty, and his need to protect. Those things all come from a pure place, a pure good. Even if he himself isn't pure good. It's still in him. Also shout out to perfection as a meaning too but it's not confirmed but he seems like the type who would be a perfectionist.

Overall, his palette actually tells you everything you need to know about him. His silhouette is also pretty memorable. You can look at just that and know, yeah THAT'S Darius Deamonne. You can also tell little things about him from his silhouette through his posture and shapes of his clothes.

I'll also briefly mention his name.

Darius is a name of Persian/Greek/Latin Origin. It means "possessing goodness". And man that feels like a dead giveaway for him not being a bad guy once I type it now. The name can also mean "rich/king like" which...TRUE. And also it can mean "he who holds firm to good". Which is also true. It's also a very popular name among Black folks in the US.

Deamonne is... A little more complicated. It's both French and Greek oddly enough. There's not a lot about this name out there, honestly. Usually when you look it up on google most of the results pertain to well...Darius himself.

Deamonne might be a reference to the word daemon, itself a previous form of the word "demon"...But Daemons themselves are pretty different. The Greek meaning of the word seems to be "A divinity who or supernatural being of a nature between gods and humans." I wonder if MAYBE it's a nod to his status of being able to transform into abomination matter, making him maybe a hybrid or somewhere between being a witch or abomination? Who knows? Hard to say with this one.

I guess that's it! Maybe I'll reblog with an update if I can think of more. But this is my genuine exploration of why Darius means so much to me and why he deserved way better than he got.

These are all breadcrumbs really, and that's what makes his story so, so alluring. Because if they could tell this much with this little, I wonder what the could have showed us if he had even just a full episode to himself.

Here's the tl;dr with all the important points:

Darius probably had a bigger part to play in the Owl House's plot that got cut because of it's cancelation.

Darius' main driving emotion and motivation seems to be love.

Darius may have been planning to betray Belos for longer than we thought.

Darius is probably very scared of losing someone he loves again.

Darius come off as a little cold and distant because of those fears.

He'd lay down his life for people he loves.

He might be the best coven head in terms in leadership.

His color scheme and name lay out his character pretty bare.

I'm sure there's more here but thanks for reading. Sorry this ran long. I actually probably forgot some things in the summery above because I've been writing this for hours.

Have a good day and remember:

I'd give my soul and all my money for a Darius Deamonne spin off.

#long post / #the longest post of all time #darius deamonne #alador blight #hunter deamonne #eberwolf #eberwolf the huntsman #aladarius #dadrius #darius toh #the owl house #toh #literal essay #character analysis #alador toh #hunter toh #eberwolf toh #previous golden guard #etc etc etc #warnings for talk of loss of loved ones and eluded to parental and spousal abuse #as well as manipulation #yeah

[starrclown]

How'd you rank each HB episode from worst to best and why?

Ooooooo! Hi Mutal!! Here's my list!!:

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Pilot (No I don't care it's not canon): 7/10

Why: This episode is nice. It's a introduction to I.M.P, the kid is a asshole and it's funny. The only thing I don't like is that the baby in the stroller died. :(

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 1 Season 1: 10/10

Why: Genuinely this is my favorite episode. I can and will make a whole other rant about this episode. I love the dynamics everyone has. The joke make me laugh, I love the antagonist and the family. (I love the family so much.) The only thing I don't like is Stolas. I know he can hear Blitzø getting shot at because when Martha says she can hear Blitzø and Blitzø curses, Stolas says "Annnyyywayy." Go back and check. Genuinely love this episode. So much.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 2 Season 1: 5/10

Why: Stolas is a horrible father. Octavia is cool though. ALSO STOLAS MAKES BLITZØ UNCOMFORTABLE AND NO ONE SAYS ANYTHING. I hate that owl man. But that episode introduced me to Stella so it's fine.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 3 Season 1: 7/10

Why: Verosika was cool. Tex was cool. I liked this episode!

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 4 Season 1: 8/10

Why: Most people don't like this Episode but I like it! It has issues but it's what this show should have been. I.M.P fucking around in the human world.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 5 Season 1: 9/10

Why: This Episode proves that Striker and Blitzø are a better couple than Stolas and Blitzø. As a Southern Belle myself I liked them in the country. (I hate being from the south, it's complicated.) Only think I didn't like is that this is Moxxie Episode and not a Millie one. ALSO STRIKER WAS A BETTER VILLIAN IN THIS THAN ANY OTHER EPISODE!! Striker also makes some good points.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 6 Season 1: 4/10

Why: OH WOW! BLITZØ, WHO IS LITTERALY AT STOLAS'S MERCY IS AGAIN UNDER STOLAS'S MERCY!! IT IS SHOWN THROUGH THE CHAINS! WOW!! 🤯💥 (This episode isn't exactly bad but Blitzø is being abused, plain and simple.)

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 7 Season 1: 8/10

Why: Loved how they called out Stolitz and I liked how Ozzie ans Fizz are jerks. It was great. Miss that so much. House of Ausmoedus slaps.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 8 Season 1: 6/10

Why: Don't like Beelzabubs design but I like her personality. Loona and Blitzø had a soft moment. It was fine.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 1 Season 2: 0/10

Why: Hate this episode. Hate how they met as kids. Hate how we don't see little Barbie. Hate how they treated Stella. Hate how they mad Blitzø the abusive one. Hate how they wussified Stolas. Hate hate hate this episode.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 2 Season 2: 3/10

Why: Octavia got sidelined. The pacing was off. M&M didn't need to be there. Lonna's spech is awful. Blitzø's wasn't in the room.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 3 Season 2: 5/10

Why: It was fine. Crimson was fine I guess. Moxxie's mom I think is one of my favorite characters ever. Crimson should have died. Chaz was annoying as fuck. Hate how they sidelined Millie tho. Love Blitzø but he didn't need to be there.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 4 Season 2: 2/10

Why: This episode is messy and Striker is such a weakling in this. I also hate how Andrelphus and Stella are. It's icky.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 5 Season 2: 0/10

Why: Don't act surprised.

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 6 Season 2: 4/10

Why: I am not a BlitzFizz shipper. I actively hate the ship. Their brothers in my rewrite because I feel like it fits their dynamic more. This episode was average. Hate how the circus burned down because of a cake. Also hate how they pinned that on Blitzø. He knocked over a cake. Really?

☆★☆★

Helluva Boss Episode 7 Season 2: 5/10

Why: I was bored. FIZZAROLIE BECAME SUCH A LITTLE BITCH!! I HATE HOW THEY WUSSIFIED HIM!! Mammon was just boring. Wasn't my favorite.

Sorry if this seems scattered. I didn't wanna yap to much incase Tumblr had a word count.

Thanks for the question!!

(This is fun!!)

- ⭐️StarClown⭐️

#helluva boss criticism #helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #anti stolas #anti stolitz #Questions!!☆★

[wwwwaaaaazzzzzaaaapppp]

Hopefully making this post will help me find more people in my situation, so here’s my TV adventure of me being forced to watch shows only with actors that I am familiar with. This all started about 2 years ago when I started watching the Afterparty a hilarious mystery show that I will forever love, this show introduced me to the actor Ben Schwartz I loved his character he was funny he was very interesting as *SPOILER* the villain and I wanted to watch more stuff with this actor.

This was when TikTok introduced me to Rise of The TMNT. I remembered seeing a comic of the show when I was younger so I was already intrigued during this time my parents had also decided to start watching Our Flag Means Death as a family during dinner and I was super thrown off when I found out that the lead actor in OFMD Rhys Darby played one of the main villains in ROTTMNT and it was really cool and I found it intriguing.

Just to quickly say this might become a little out of order because my brain struggles with keeping 3 years perfectly accurate in my brain.

Later on after finishing both of these shows I then watched the I think sitcom (if that is the accurate way to describe it) Fresh Off The Boat with my mom because I kept seeing clips of it on TikTok and it looked really good and I was completely shocked when Rhys Darby randomly ended up playing a character in an episode in the show the main focus is a family moving to Florida and if you watch the show you will know that there is a son in this family named Emry. Keep him in mind for later in this story he becomes important.

After a while of watching random shows that are not important to this story like Owl House I came across another show on TikTok that looked good and had just come out on Netflix due to it being said to have a movie on the way weirdly enough just like ROTTMNT This show is called Community, I started watching it and I became obsessed I loved the characters I was constantly making references to it and accidentally got my family hooked too. I think in season 5 there was an episode where it was entirely GIJoe themed and there were fake commercial breaks where there would be kids playing with the toys from the show including one very familiar boy by the name of Forrest Wheeler aka EMRY FROM FRESH OFF THE BOAT. I know it doesn’t sound that interesting but it felt very weird at the time. Community also has a reoccurring joke which is a parody show in the universe called Inspector Spacetime poking fun at the show Doctor Who somehow this was my first time getting an idea of what Doctor Who is and I just kind of laughed it off. Considering community has 6 seasons it lasted me along enough time without having to look for another show to watch.

I think a very long time after I finished Community I started getting clips from a show that I recognized. Good Omens was finally getting a new season after 5 years. I wasn’t very interested because when the first season came out I was young, apparently stupid, and had a short attention span I was also discovering the idea of having a phone for the first time if that’s an excuse. But I was spoiled on the fact that there was going to be a kiss seen and I was very excited because I desperately wanted find a show with LGBTQ+ representation and I was actually interested in so I convinced my family to watch. And the season was great and after finishing it I was constantly looking at good omens stuff online. During this I was slowly becoming more interested in the happenings of the actor David Tennant so I ended up stumbling upon a treasure trove of new shows to watch and I started it with watching staged which I was having a fun time with until I felt like I had experienced whiplash and saw Ben (mister blue man) Schwartz goofing around on my screen and I had no idea what was happening but it was fun and everyone was funny and entertaining.

If only I had know what was in store for me coming in the form of aquatic birds.

FREAKING DUCKTALES

ALMOST ALL OF THE ACTORS THAT I LOVED WERE THERE. Dani Pudi aka Abed from community was playing Huey Duck, Ben Schwartz was was Dewey Duck , Bobby Moynihan who I knew from SNL but didn’t really care about at the time was playing Louie Duck, and the crown jewel, the focus of it all ✨David Tennant✨ was playing the adventuring Scrooge Mcduck. I was driven mad this was getting too much I can’t just watch a show immediately because of these actors. This was very much a kids cartoon I can’t humiliate myself like this…

So I watched it anyway

and

I

LOVED IT

I thought it was funny weirdly angsty at points and it was perfect and even better there were so many more people from Community in it. But it was always supposed to come to an end so I finished it and continued my hunt for content.

That was months ago but David Tennant’s acting still has a chokehold on me so I am now a self proclaimed Whovian and watched of anything David Tennant related that my parents will let me watch and my Mom is along for the ride.

I have also found a deep love of Newsies because I am now playing Albert in my school production just to put it out there for people to know how far my love of random stuff goes.

Thank you for reading.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #the owl house #troy and abed #good omens #crowley #good omens s2 #ducktales #the afterparty #rottmnt #ben schwartz #david tennant #fresh off the boat #staged #doctor who #tenth doctor #rhys darby #newsies #albert dasilva

[yahoo201027]

Day in Fandom History: July 17…

It's Palisman Pairing Day over at Hexside and when Luz didn't find her ideal Palisman of her own to be paired with, she finds herself on an unexpected journey and comes across with an old foe. “Hunting Palismen premiered on this day, A Year Ago.

#Day in Fandom History #1 Year Ago #The Owl House #Season 2 #Episode 6 #Hunting Palismen #Cartoon #Animation

[theoneandonlygothicrainbow]

An Essay on The Owl House’s Huntlow: A Blossoming, Golden Relationship

The Owl House is no stranger to relationships. Couples such as Lumity and Raeda are universally praised for their amazing writing and being a monumental step in LGBTQIA+ representation in the media. Fans loved seeing these relationships develop in such a natural way, and shipping has been a big part of the fandom as they wonder if another couple would become canon. Oddly enough, the show’s newest relationship, Huntlow, (Hunter and Willow Park), has been met with a mixed reaction. Many love it, some are indifferent, and others outright hate it. While the dynamics between them are brief and not very numerous, the ship gets a lot of things right and is quite believable.

Episode Analysis

Any Sport in a Storm

Hunter and Willow meet in Season 2, Episode 13, an episode titled Any Sport in a Storm. The title is a play on words of the expression “any port in a storm”, which is an expression that means you will use whatever means necessary in order to get help in a bad situation. This is exactly what happens with Hunter and Willow. The episode starts off with Hunter sewing his Golden Guard sigil, symbolizing how he wants to restore his title. His uncle, Emperor Belos, tells him he will be in charge of leading the coven heads in a meeting, and states that it will be a test. Hunter finds that the coven heads ignore him and have canceled their meeting. Darius sees Hunter and his half sewn Golden Guard sigil, and he says Hunter doesn’t deserve the sigil and is inferior to his predecessors. Hunter, wanting to prove himself, asks Darius what to do, and Darius replies sarcastically to find new and worthy recruits for the Emperor��s Coven. Hunter tells him he’ll do it, and Darius replies “Of course, you’re good at doing exactly what you’re told.” The introduction to this episode shows how Hunter feels the need to prove himself and defy the expectations of those around him due to the atmosphere he’s grown up in, which further illustrates his social ineptness when he doesn’t understand Darius’s sarcasm.

We cut to Willow and we see her trying to build her self confidence with her working out. She gives herself a pep talk in the mirror, saying she can do this, but then immediately says “right?” with a worried expression. This scene alone shows how she’s worried about failure, just like Hunter. Unlike Hunter, however, she’s able to boost herself up again by looking at a picture of her parents, reminding herself that she has people who love and support her. She gets to school, and we see her confident and excited to start finding recruits for her team at the club fair.

Hunter arrives at Hexside, looking to see if people are interested in joining the Emperor’s Coven. His interactions with some of the students, while quite comical, provide tragic insight for Hunter’s character. We see that he’s been sheltered from normalcy all his life and is unable to understand other teenagers. He talks as if sleeping in until 6:00 am is a privilege and leaving friends and family behind would be no big deal. Due to Hunter’s toxic relationship with Belos, he misunderstands how valuable a true family is, and thinks that other people are just as disattached and abused as he is. Hunter’s interaction with Jerbo showcases Hunter’s fear that Belos might be a bad guy, and this gets Hunter to bump into Puddles.

We cut back to Willow trying to hype up her team, only for the Abomination professor to come up to her and try to make her step down as Captain, or she won’t be able to start her club. Willow and Gus resist, and the Abomination professor states that if she wants to stay as Captain, she needs to get a team together and beat his team. Willow, like Hunter, is also given a test to prove her worth from a person who contributed to their horrible life. Right after this exchange happens, she spots Hunter getting chased by Puddles, who steals Hunter’s shoe. Hunter pulls off some maneuvers to get his shoe back, which results in Willow pulling Hunter down to the ground after escaping Puddles. She asks Hunter if he wants to join the team, introducing herself as a future Captain and complimenting his fly skills. Gus asks why he hasn’t seen Hunter before, which forces Hunter to give himself a fake name. Hunter initially turns down the offer, stating he has his own task to achieve. But upon taking a pamphlet, he sees the “best of the best” description and is convinced he will be able to find people who will want to join the coven. So he decides to try Flyer Derby. Wanting to help, he proposes ways to evaluate participants by listing out trials used in the Emperor’s Coven. Willow and Gus are shocked and disturbed, and Willow tells Hunter to show off his “sick” fly skills. Hunter doesn’t understand the slang, and remarks that he doesn’t feel sick, thinking she was talking about an illness. Again, it further shows how disturbing Hunter’s life is and how his perspective is not normal.

Willow promotes the team, using Hunter as a model, and interest quickly spreads. Willow remarks to herself that he’s great, and that she’ll be able to find good players now. While this is happening, Hunter remarks to himself that she’s a perfect Emperor’s Coven candidate and that he’ll be able to complete his mission if he finds more witches like her. Both of them at this moment are on quests to prove themselves and see each other as hope that they’ll be able to do so.

Willow recruits her team, which Hunter is not impressed by, calling them pathetic based on first impression alone. She states that he should give them a chance, to which Hunter replies that “where [he] comes from, even chances have to be earned, especially if you’re considered half a witch like him.” Upon hearing these words, Willow has a surprised expression. It is at this moment she learns that Hunter is not a bad person, but a kid in a bad situation who needs help. She relates to him because she was also considered to be “half a witch.” So Willow shows Hunter how capable Skara, Viney, and Gus are, and how they were also overlooked but then were able to prove themselves. Willow helps give Hunter a safe space of people that Hunter can relate with.

The team plays the game, and Hunter has a lot of fun, complimenting Gus with an excited smile and goofing around with the Abomination Professor by stealing his flag while he yells at his team. During the game, Willow falls off her Palisman and Hunter has a terrified look on his face. It is interesting because Hunter has dealt with several forms of pain, as seen by Belos and Kikimora’s treatment of him, the scars on his body, and the past painful memories stated earlier in the episode. Willow is the first person Hunter worries over her safety for, which implies a deeper connection compared to anyone else in Hunter’s life up to this point. Hunter is able to retrieve the flag from Willow and they accidentally interlock hands for a brief moment. We also see that Hunter was trying to grab Willow rather than her flag, as his left hand was over most of her hand. Willow creates a flower to get herself to the ground. Hunter is moving slowly, possibly worried about Willow, so Gus has to push him forward. Hunter ends up attaching the flags and wins the game for the team. Thanks to Hunter, Willow was able to achieve her dream of starting a Flyer Derby team. We see Hunter’s growth in defying expectations when he proposes the team name “Emerald Entrails”, since he says “there is more to us than you think.” The team likes the name and Willow takes a selfie with the team, and we see Hunter have a genuine smile.

Hunter talks about how grateful he is, that they gave him a chance too, and that he apologies for doubting them. This is when Hunter reveals his true name and how he’s with the Emperor. Suddenly, several coven guards show up to pick up the recruits. Hunter is shocked by the influx of guards, but then reassures himself that it’ll be ok. He states how the Emperor’s Coven is “the best coven there is”, that they’ll want this, that he’s their friend now, and that they can trust him. Hunter says these things in earnest, thinking that he’s helping his new friends. Gus tells him that “friends don’t stab each other in the back” to which Hunter replies “sure they do, the coven heads do it all the time at the castle.” This scene really highlights how Hunter doesn’t understand friendship and has a twisted perception on what a good relationship is. Hunter asks Willow if he’s on her side, to which Willow blames herself for this situation, saying “we’re here because I made a bad call. I’m just half a witch Willow.” Hunter has a look of shock in the background when she says this, highlighting how he is surprised and upset to see Willow feel bad about herself because of this situation. Willow feels that she failed to help Hunter, whom she knows is a good person in a bad situation, and made a “bad call” in the way she helped him. This scene plants the seed of doubt in Hunter’s mind: that Belos may not be the morally upstanding ruler he thought he was.

Darius takes the recruits, and gives Hunter his sigil back. Hunter looks at it, and with an unsure tone, he says “I can wear this proudly now, right?” Darius then replies “Can you?” This scene shows how Hunter is seeking validation and like Willow, has seemingly proved himself in this scene, but he doesn’t feel good about it. We see Hunter have another conversation with Steve, who recounts how the Emperor Coven trials were brutal and that Belos would take away their palismen. The minute Steve mentions the Palismen, Hunter has a look of horror on his face. From his connection with Flapjack to the fact that the team needs Palismen to play Flyer Derby, he realized what he had done. Hunter is filled with regret, and gets on Flapjack to fly towards Darius’s ship as fast as he can. He lands on the ship, yelling at Darius and pointing Flapjack at his face. Palismen are forbidden in the Emperor’s Coven, and yet Hunter shows Flapjack off to Darius, which could be dangerous for himself. For one of the first times in his life, Hunter is being completely selfless and only caring about his friends’ safety.

The team escapes and the ship crashes. Darius uses Abomination goo to surround them and summons an axe to potentially kill the team. Willow stands guard, ready to defend Viney, Skara, and Gus, but Hunter runs in front of Willow, telling Darius to stop. Darius tells Hunter to move out of the way with a scary face and tone, as well as the words “little Prince.” Hunter tells Darius “no” and that the team is not fit for the Coven, and that he doesn’t deserve the sigil, dropping it to the ground. Hunter could have gotten the title he so desperately wanted at the beginning of the episode, but decides to give it up. It’s a monumental moment in Hunter’s arc, because we see that he has other desires besides serving Belos: one of those things being doing the right thing. Hunter tells Willow she can go, and we see Willow hold back her tears. Despite having her life threatened mere moments ago, she is more upset and worried about what will happen to Hunter. He just stood up to a man who has an ax, and from her assumptions about Hunter’s life, it is very likely that Hunter will be killed. She’s left with a dilemma and is hesitant to leave Hunter, but Hunter begs her to, saying “Please Captain.” Upon hearing these words, Willow decides to leave with the team, stating that they need to find a new player because “it’ll be 52 weeks before Caleb’s next day off.” This line implies a sense of forgiveness, which is something that Hunter has not received from anyone, not even Luz or Amity, and it causes Hunter to blush and look at Willow with wide eyes. Willow forgave him because she sees that despite Hunter’s terrible life, he was able to stand up to his environment very quickly. Willow would appreciate that due to her experience with Amity, who took years to make amends for what she did to Willow. She also probably related to Hunter’s need to prove himself to someone he didn’t like, as she did something similar in Hootys Moving Hassle. In that episode, Willow peer pressured Luz into doing a conjuring in order to prove herself to Amity, who bullied her for her lack of magic. Similar to how Darius seemingly looked down on Hunter for his lack of magic, at least that’s how Hunter interprets it.

Hunter is touched by Willow’s forgiveness, because in a sense, he feels that he failed his friends because of his betrayal. But Willow forgave his failure and implies how she hopes to see him again, as “Caleb” rather than the Golden Guard. Willow is the only person at this moment who treats Hunter like a person first. Darius, seemingly angered by what Hunter did, winds up like he’s about to hit Hunter, to which Hunter braces for. Again, Hunter is willing to die in order to keep the team safe. Thankfully, Darius instead expresses how he’s impressed with what Hunter did, and fixes the sigil for Hunter, as Hunter proved himself by sticking to his own morals. Darius gives him a Penstagram account so Hunter can stay in contact with his new friends. The first person Hunter messages is Willow, and the team is lightheartedly watching him text, seemingly warming up to him.

Labyrinth Runners

The next episode Hunter and Willow interact in is Season 2, Episode 18, titled Labyrinth Runners. We find that Hunter is staying at Hexside after the events of Season 2, Episode 16, Hollow Mind. This fact highlights Any Sport in a Storm’s, and furthermore Willow’s, importance to the narrative. If Hunter had never made a connection with Willow, he would have never found a safe space for him to stay. Willow was the only meaningful connection he had at the time, and it’s enough to make Hunter feel a semblance of hope for his dire situation. It’s possible he resides in Hexside in the hopes of seeing her again, or to simply feel as happy as he did when he was playing Flyer Derby with her and the rest of the team. This is further highlighted by Hunter’s clothes, which is his Flyer Derby uniform.

The first meaningful Huntlow interaction happens when Gus and Hunter first escape the illusion casted on the school. Both of them notice Willow on the other side of the corridor, and while Gus is running up to greet her, Hunter looks at her with wide eyes and blushes. Willow tells Gus that they need to find other people before the illusions get scary, which she implies by making a scared sound. Hunter sees this behavior and becomes suspicious of this Willow, and calls out the illusion for being an imposter. He suspects this because he states that Willow would not be afraid in this situation, asking Gus “have you ever seen her play Flyer Derby? There’s no way she’d be afraid of me.” What this scene shows is that Hunter has a fresh perspective on Willow. Like Willow sees Hunter as a normal kid first, Hunter sees Willow as a strong witch first. Hunter sees Willow as who she wants to be seen as, which is highlighted in the B plot with Willow, where Amity is struggling to accept the fact that Willow is a strong witch. Huntlow is a relationship built on respect for one another, which is a healthy trait for relationships to have.

Later in the episode, Hunter is being interrogated by Hexside, as people are suspicious about him being on the Emperor’s side. Hunter begs for them to believe him, stating that he was trying to get Gus to safety and that Gus showed him a breathing technique. This breathing technique was one taught by Willow, and the moment Hunter mentions it, we see Willow go from having a look of skepticism to a look of shock. It’s a facial expression that looks very similar to Hunter’s when he saw the Willow illusion. Willow stands up for Hunter, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving Hunter a warm smile. Hunter, flustered by Willow standing up for him, continues to talk about how to rescue Gus. What Willow sees in this scene is that Hunter, like her, is also determined to protect the people he cares about, even if doing so would pose great risk to their safety. Hunter saving Gus from Graye was dangerous because the Emperor’s Coven was looking for Hunter, and yet he chose to disregard that in order to help his friend.

The fight scene to rescue Gus further shows Willow and Hunter’s trust and care in one another. We see Hunter save Willow by knocking out a guard about to attack her, which makes Willow smile at him. In the next scene, we see Willow tell Hunter to save Gus while she and Amity take out the Abomatons, trusting Hunter to save him. Hunter, trusting Willow to handle the fight, goes in to save Gus. When he enters the illusion of painful memories, Hunter ends up recounting many, one of which being Willow in the cell in Any Sport in a Storm. Hunter has many horrors as a child soldier who recently found out his entire life is a lie, and yet making Willow feel bad about herself is one of the most painful things for him to remember. It conveys how highly he thinks of Willow and how he doesn’t want to see her hurt. Hunter is able to get through the memories to help Gus, as like Willow, he is able to persevere to help their friends despite the pain. Willow is grateful for the gesture, as she pulls Hunter into a group hug and whispers “thanks Hunter” in a very soft yet happy tone of voice, causing Hunter to blush.

Clouds on the Horizon

The next episode with Huntlow moments, that being Season 2, Episode 20, Clouds on the Horizon, is extremely light in terms of content, but there are still some moments worth mentioning. Hunter deeply cares about Willow and wants her by his side. So he avoids telling her, as well as Gus, the fact that he’s a Grimwalker, fearing that Willow would hate him. This choice shows how meaningful of a person Willow is to Hunter.

We also see a brief scene of Hunter shielding Willow when Kikimora lands an attack with an Abomaton. The way Hunter shields Willow implies a special romantic connection. When Hunter protected other characters, such as Gus, he would drag them to safety by taking their wrist and pulling them with him. With Willow, however, he hugs her and uses his body as a shield, ready and willing to take any damage for her. This is a behavior similar to Amity shielding Luz in a hug in Escaping Expulsion, which was also against an Abomaton.

Of course, Willow is unaware that Hunter shielded her, as Gus created an illusion that swapped Luz’s and Hunter’s appearances. When Kikimora grabs Luz, Willow thinks it’s Hunter and she attacks Kikimora ruthlessly, with her green eyes glowing. In most fight scenes, Willow’s eyes do not glow. They only glow in cases of extreme emotion when using her magic, as seen in I Was a Teenage Abomination where her eyes glow because she is angry and determined. So Willow’s eyes glowing in a scene where she thinks Hunter is simply in danger conveys how emotional Willow gets over Hunter’s safety. This is further seen when Kikimora uses Luz as a shield and Willow pulls her vines back in a fearful expression, worried that her vines will hurt Hunter.

We see Willow’s determination to get Hunter back at the very end of the fight scene, where she is the only person who looks angry after it ends and is the first to run to the airship. She exclaims “come on stupid thing, we have to follow them!” in a very anxious tone. Again, it’s extremely unusual for Willow to appear panicked in such a circumstance, as she is usually the calm and collected person in most fight scenes. It’s also another Escaping Expulsion parallel, as Amity ran away from the group to save Luz and Willow called out to her. This scene shows Amity calling out to Willow. The whole fight scene shows how desperately Willow and Hunter want to protect each other in a way that implies they see each other as more than friends.

King’s Tide

Season 2, Episode 21, King’s Tide also doesn’t have too many Huntlow moments, but there are some. One of which is actually shown right off the bat. In Clouds on the Horizon, we saw Willow in a panic when she thought Hunter was being taken, but here, we see that Willow is a lot more composed, especially compared to Amity or Hunter. This change in attitude further demonstrates how Willow was specifically afraid of Hunter’s safety rather than Luz’s, which implies a romantic connection.

Later in the episode, the team needs to take out some of the airships that have spotted them. Hunter flies over to take one out, only to fall off his Palisman in the process. He falls for a long distance before Willow ends up catching him, which causes him to blush as he looks at her. This scene implies that Hunter is attracted to Willow’s strength and heroism, as she was able to catch his entire body with one arm and save his life. It’s also a good callback to Any Sport in a Storm, where Willow fell off her Palisman and Hunter helped her.

The rest of the episode shows moments where they are constantly protecting each other. Hunter helps Willow stand up after the ship crashes, asking her if she’s ok with a very concerned look on his face. He holds her hand when she’s on the ground and she uses it in order to stand up. Willow looks up at him with a very sweet expression, most likely grateful for his help. There’s also a moment where Willow is trying to hold Monster Belos down with her vines, and Hunter protects a rock from falling on her head. This came right after a shot of Luz and Amity fighting Belos, which presents a parallel. It is worth noting that Hunter is doing all of this while the draining spell is still active, meaning that he was dying due to his Emperor’s Coven sigil. So the fact that Hunter still consistently goes out of his way to protect Willow despite dying from the spell shows that Hunter’s main priority is keeping Willow safe.

Later in the episode, when Belos is about to annihilate Luz, Amity, Willow, Hunter, and Gus, we see the group brace for impact. We see that Luz shields Amity by hugging her, and Willow does something similar for Hunter. She hugs his head and puts her arms in front of Hunter’s head, simultaneously shielding him and shielding herself. Willow wants to protect Hunter and also views him as a safe space, further implying a deeper bond. This is supported by the moment when the draining spell is unactivated, as we see Hunter leaning on Willow for support and once the draining spell is lifted, she is the only person of the group to smile. While the rest of the group is focusing on the Collector, Willow is only focused on the fact that Hunter is ok.

Thanks to Them

The first Season 3 special, Thanks to Them, has several Huntlow moments that really show why the relationship works so well. One of the first scenes of the episode is Hunter and Luz talking to each other about how they’re scared of their friends finding out their secrets. In one shot, we see Luz and Hunter look at a group of people in the kitchen, but the group only has two people: Amity and Willow. We know that Amity is the most important person in Luz’s life, so this scene shows that Willow is the most important person in Hunter’s life. He cares about her so much that he is worried about her knowing his secret on the same level as Luz is worried about her girlfriend knowing her secret.

In the montage introduction, we see Hunter look at himself in the mirror and he’s jumpscared by an image of Caleb and Belos. Hunter fears his connection to them and his grimwalker identity. This fear causes Hunter to try to cut his hair, which Willow notices once she sees hair outside the bathroom. Willow steps in to help Hunter cut his hair and Hunter lets her. He blushes, sweats, and fidgets, as well as moves the grimwalker book away, while she cuts his hair. Willow likely knows that Hunter is in a bad place mentally and she was willing to go out of her way to help him out, even if he isn’t ready to share about what is bothering him. She also probably has an idea of what Hunter is going through, as Willow also changed her hairstyle to match her identity in Follies at the Coven Day Parade. Hunter has had trust issues throughout his whole life in the Emperor’s Coven and only recently started learning how to trust people. So letting Willow touch and cut his hair shows how safe Hunter feels when he is with Willow. This scene shows how Huntlow is a relationship built on trust, support, care, and personal connection, which conveys how healthy the relationship is for both of them.

There is a small Huntlow moment that shows Hunter’s brightest blush in the show as of this special. The group has found a rebeus that may help them find a way back to the Boiling Isles, and Willow is trying to psych everyone up into figuring out the rebeus, saying that they’ll figure it out “using our buff brains.” The minute she says “buff brains”, Hunter blushes a bright red, seen in both his cheeks and ears. Also, his eyes are widened and his eyebrows are raised. He then nervously giggles and imitates her pose, while still looking at her while everyone else’s eyes are closed. This scene shows how Hunter is flustered by Willow’s confidence. Consultant Psychologist Dr. Neha Mehta states that “men want women who are confident and self-assured.” Both of these traits describe Willow very well, which further supports why Hunter would be so attracted to her.

The next scene starts off with everyone getting ready to head out to get answers on the rebeus and Hunter comes out in a costume. When Hunter emerges, the first person to react is Willow, saying she likes his look and takes a photo of it. After that, Hunter starts talking about why he’s cosplaying as O’Bailey, and Vee takes the book and mentions the year 2008 with a confused expression. Gus then talks to Hunter about Cosmic Frontier, the book that Hunter got into. Gus is at first very excited to see Hunter happy and fixated on something. But when Gus tries to correct Hunter on an interpretation of the story, Hunter covers his ears for spoilers, and Gus looks at Hunter with a less excited expression. Amity, like Vee, is also judgemental about Hunter’s outfit, and she asks him to change his outfit. Willow stands up for him, saying “don’t listen to her”, while covering Amity’s mouth and Amity looks at Willow with an “are you serious” look. Hunter agrees to change and says he’ll catch up, so most of the group leaves, with Willow staying behind. Willow tells Hunter she’s going to read the book after he finishes it, and gives him a wink and a point, which causes Hunter to blush and smile. Right after all of these events, we have Hunter staring at the mirror, stating that he likes who he is despite “not being who he’s supposed to be.” Out of all the characters in this scene, Willow is the only one who is completely unjudgemental. She likes seeing Hunter be who he is and didn’t want Hunter to listen to people who were weirded out by it. Perhaps Willow relates to being somewhat judged and wants to help Hunter feel accepted. She also takes interest in what he likes by saying she wants to borrow the book, which is likely proof that Willow is crushing on Hunter. Marcelina Hardy, MSEd, has a masters in counseling, and she states that when someone is interested in someone else, “he or she becomes overly interested in your hobbies.” Despite Hunter receiving unconditional support from only Willow, it’s enough to make Hunter love himself. Huntlow is monumental in Hunter’s arc, as it helps him heal from something so life shattering. This is supported by a subtle metaphor, where light is shown on Hunter when the door to the house is open, but the house gets dark when Willow leaves. Willow is the light in Hunter’s life.

Willow showcases her photo album in the episode and there are a few Huntlow details. One of which is a photo booth compilation of Hunter, Gus, and Willow. Next to it, Willow puts a yellow sticker and a green sticker, with a red heart in the middle. Considering how a cloud in between Hunter and Willow in Any Sport in a Storm was shaped as a heart, as well as the chalkboard drawing of a heart between the two in Labyrinth Runners, this is likely deliberate. Willow is crushing on Hunter and puts heart stickers in between them, similar to how teenagers will draw hearts in between themselves and their crush.

While all of this is happening, Hunter believes he saw Belos in the abandoned house and goes to tell Luz about it. They go back to the house to see if he’s in there, only for there to be nothing. Hunter then concludes that he was shaken up, and states how he just wants to make sure everyone is safe. Luz reminds him that they are going to keep Hunter safe too, because he’s family, and that causes Hunter to break down crying. This scene highlights a trait Willow and Hunter have in common: selflessness. Both of them desire to protect the ones they care about, and are easily flustered by kind words of care, as seen by Willow in Wing it Like Witches, where basic compliments cause her to blush.

There’s another implied connection between them when Willow’s Halloween costume is shown to have a W patch on it, which shows the audience that Hunter has sewn a patch on her costume for her. We also see that they spent time together with just the two of them in a photo where Hunter and Willow are in the garden alone. Thanks to Them demonstrates that Willow and Hunter have spent a lot of time together, which likely made them grow even closer.

The before and after of the fight scene against possessed Hunter also shows Willow’s overwhelming sense of care for Hunter, one that differs from everyone else. When Luz and Hunter go missing from the group, Willow is the only person to call for Hunter, while Camila and Amity call for Luz and Gus calls for both of them broadly (saying “guys”). The aftermath of the fight scene shows Willow being incredibly worried about Hunter’s safety. She tells Camila to be careful with Hunter when she and Camila were dragging him out of the water, and then she lets Hunter’s head rest on her lap. Throughout the scene, Willow continuously looks at Hunter with a sad and worried look, even when Belos leaves Hunter’s body and leaves to go to the Demon Realm. She shakes his body lightly and is the first person to notice that Hunter is unconscious (and likely dead). The minute Vee starts calling for the hospital, Willow starts to cry, doubting that human doctors would be able to treat possession. Willow is the only person in this scene to cry before Hunter is presumed dead. Once it is implied that Hunter is dead, Luz also starts to cry briefly, and then Flapjack revives Hunter back to life, sacrificing himself in the process. When Hunter wakes up, he’s aware that Flapjack is dead and starts crying. Seeing Hunter cry makes Willow really upset, as seen by the increase in tears on her face. She then proceeds to give Hunter a hug, to which Hunter closes his eyes and stops crying. Even after such a terrible event, Hunter finds some comfort in Willow’s embrace and it makes him feel slightly better. Willow also has a strong empathetic connection with Hunter, as seeing him upset makes her just as upset. Willow continues to provide more comfort to Hunter after he sits up when she holds his back and puts her hand on his shoulder, which is a common gesture Willow has done to Hunter in episodes such as Any Sport in a Storm and Labyrinth Runners.

Debunking Arguments Against Huntlow

Huntlow is a very polarizing ship among the Owl House fandom for a wide variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are as simple as preferring certain fandom ships, which is certainly justifiable, as long as these people are respectful of the canon and people’s opinions on it. Others also like to come up with their own sexuality headcanons for Hunter and Willow, common ones being the gay and ace respectively. While their sexualities were debatably implied in the show, with Hunter possibly being bisexual and Willow possibly being pansexual, it is not direct confirmation so unless their sexual orientations are stated by the show’s staff, particularly Dana Terrace, then anyone may headcanon Willow or Hunter as whatever they would like. But they need to realize that people may disagree and that once the Owl House crew states the canon sexualities, those headcanons are null and void. That being said, there are a wide variety of reasons that are, quite frankly, illogical and contradictory given the information we have about Huntlow.

Age Gap

One common voice of concern is the age gap between them. Hunter is canonically 16 years old in the show, and there is some debate about Willow’s age. Dana Terrace, the creator of the Owl House, has stated that Willow was 14 by the end of Season 1. Many, however, believe that she may be 15 due to a Birthday photo in Labyrinth Runners with Willow blowing out candles in her plant track uniform and Season 1 hair. This photo likely implies that Willow turned 15 sometime in between Season 1, Episode 19, Young Blood Old Souls and Season 2, Episode 11, Follies at the Coven Day Parade, the episode where we first see Willow with her Season 2 braided hair. So we can assume that her age is somewhere between 14 and 15 years of age. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Willow is 14, which is the age that people who voice disdain for the age gap believe in.

With Hunter being 16, this would mean that Hunter and Willow have a 2 year age gap at most, similar to a freshman and junior in high school. Two year aged gaps are perfectly normal and healthy among couples, even if they’re teenagers. The Oarsman, a high school website, states that “teens in high school need to avoid getting into a relationship with someone who is over 18.” Since high school starts at around 14-15 years of age, it’s likely that a freshman dating a senior is the most questionable type of relationship. But anything with a smaller age gap in high school is ok. This is also assuming that Hunter and Willow have the same emotional intelligence, which is not true considering how Hunter’s traumatic life experiences have made him less emotionally intelligent and the fact that Willow, the female, is likely to be more emotionally intelligent than Hunter, the male. Research states that women tend to be more emotionally intelligent than men. Krystnell Storr, who has a masters degree in science, health, and environmental reporting, states that this is because “the female brain establishes connections and "prunes" itself faster than the male brain.” Since Willow is younger, it removes any semblance of a power dynamic that was unlikely to be there in the first place. Again, this is assuming that the age gap is 2 years. It could be even less depending on Willow’s age, and the same argument could apply, even though almost all would agree that a one year age gap in couples is perfectly fine.

Hunter Needing Therapy First

Speaking of which, some people who may have seen the previous comment about Hunter’s upbringing are probably thinking that Hunter shouldn’t be in a relationship at all because of it, or at the very least not until he receives proper mental health treatment. This argument implies that Huntlow is a toxic and unhealthy relationship that would only harm Hunter mentally. This statement is objectively incorrect. We’ve seen from previous episodes that Huntlow helped Hunter feel genuine happiness, find new friends he can start to trust, and break away from his toxic environment. It gave him a new sense of comfort.

Furthermore, a relationship can have a variety of different effects on someone’s mental health depending on the state of it. Someone’s psychology is more complicated than “this thing is good” and “this thing is bad.” A lot of factors come into play that can have different effects on people, and those effects could be good, bad, or neutral. In Hunter’s case, his whole arc is about loving himself and finding people who care about him. We see that he has trust issues, so a relationship would actually be helpful in this case, because it gives Hunter the opportunity to trust again, and even love himself. On top of that, Hunter has been dealing with a lot of concerns about his life, some of which may have been hidden or unresolved in some way. So a relationship with someone who can deeply relate to him would actually provide a safe space where Hunter can open up about problems he has. Therapist Wendy Wray, PHd, states that when you are in a safe space “you allow yourself space to be vulnerable.” This is a feeling Hunter desperately needs, as he’s been in a dangerous coven all his life. Having a relationship would help Hunter let his guard down and feel more at ease and at peace with his life.

While he also has his friendships with characters such as Luz and Gus, they don’t know Hunter deep enough for him to approach them about deeper psychological issues he may be having. They deeply care about him, but they aren’t as understanding about his thought process and how he takes things in. Willow is, because they have a much deeper connection and relate more on an identity and value level, rather than an experience level. The Encyclopedia of Adolescence states that “[r]omantic relationships have been found to impact physical and psychological wellbeing, as individuals in healthy relationships report heightened emotional support, self-esteem, and quality of life (Sedikides et al., 1994; Voss et al., 1999; Pateraki and Roussi, 2013).” Alas, an intimate connection can go beyond the platonic ones and can provide a different and monumental kind of support.

It’s also worth noting that many people who have gone through some type of family trauma or mental health problem state that being in a relationship is fine, and in some cases, extremely helpful. Bridges to Recover states that “love and positive social support increase feelings of happiness and reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.” So the therapy argument can send the message that people with mental health problems don’t deserve love until they get their “issues” sorted out, and that is extremely damaging. Relationships can help heal someone and they don’t need to necessarily fix themselves before they end up in one. In fact, blocking them out completely could prevent someone from healing in some way. If people needed to be completely mentally sound before ending up in relationships, we would have significantly less relationships today. After the toxic relationships Hunter has been exposed to throughout his life, he needs to develop healthy ones. Finding a soulmate who unconditionally loves you for who you are, relates to you, and is willing to provide comfort would help many people, especially Hunter. Now of course, a relationship is no substitute for actual mental health treatment. But it’s ok for people to be in relationships while going through traumatic experiences. Both Lumity and Raeda are similar in this regard, so the same applies to Huntlow.

Bad Introduction

The age gap and therapy arguments that were previously stated are ones that try to paint Huntlow as a problematic ship, which is, of course, untrue. Another one that tries to portray Huntlow this way is that Hunter trying to get the Emerald Entrails into the Emperor’s Coven is such an immoral act that it means that a relationship with Willow would be abusive. Now of course, what Hunter did in that episode was terrible, but it says less about himself and more about his situation. Hunter is desperate to prove himself and genuinely believes that he was helping the Emerald Entrails when recruiting them for the Emperor’s Coven. He was deeply manipulated by Belos and thought he was doing something good. Eventually, Hunter empathizes with them, and is willing to stand up to an authority figure and sacrifice his life in order to save the team. It’s a daring sense of selflessness that is a milestone for Hunter, which makes up for the minor inconvenience he brought onto them that he didn’t think would make them upset in the long run. And even then, after Hunter breaks out of said manipulation, he has intense regret, as seen by the painful memories in Labyrinth Runners and his overall protective nature of everyone in the Hexsquad. All of these are not excuses for what he did, but they are things that make up for his poor choices. Frankly, it’s quite obvious Hunter is not an abusive person, so it’s baffling that this argument exists at all, especially when Lumity also started off on the wrong foot for similar reasons.

Rushed or Forced

On a more writing level, some people believe that Huntlow is rushed or forced. Cristen, an award winning ghostwriter, states that rushed means “going from one event or scene to another without showing the reader why.” So they are events that happen seemingly without a reason to connect them together. This is not what happens with Huntlow. What people need to realize is that Hunter and Willow are still in the crush like stage as of Thanks to Them, which is about 9 episodes after they first met. The progression of their relationship on screen makes sense. They meet in ASIAS and bond over their similarities and desire to prove themselves, then Hunter rights his wrong, which makes Willow hopeful that she’ll see him again. Hunter later comes back in Labyrinth Runners to help Gus, who he cares about and feels the need to protect. Willow, who’s main aspiration is to protect her friends, is extremely grateful for what Hunter did, especially since it was really dangerous for him to do so. This not only helps make up for what Hunter did in Any Sport in a Storm, but it also makes Willow appreciate Hunter more. It’s also heavily implied that they’ve interacted off screen. There's implied Penstagram messaging in episodes such as Reaching Out, where Luz says Willow gave her Hunter’s contact information and Hunter sends a photo to Luz he didn’t mean to send. The fact that Luz mentioned Willow implied that Hunter meant to send the photo to Willow. Plus, there are also two time skips where they likely spent time together: one in between Labyrinth Runners and Clouds on the Horizon and another in between Kings Tide and Thanks to Them. It’s clear they’ve spent a decent amount of time together, even if it wasn’t all shown, so it makes sense that they would develop a deeper bond. Even if we haven't seen a lot of the relationship, there are valid reasons behind why they got closer, so therefore the ship is not rushed.

Many claim that the ship is forced or unnatural. But Any Sport in a Storm shows that Willow and Hunter bond over the desire to prove themselves, evident in the half a witch dialogue and overall conflict parallels in that episode. They’re also similar in personality, as they’re both extremely selfless and protective of others, and they’ve been looked down upon by others for a lot of their life. They clearly have a good amount of chemistry that feels natural, so it makes sense that they would develop a romantic-like bond.

Not being LGBTQIA+

There’s one last reason that may be why Huntlow is criticized by many people. It’s actually quite simple and in the grand scheme of things, pretty insignificant: it’s a m/f relationship. These reasons are purely skepticism, but considering how the Owl House was famous for LGBTQIA+ relationships like Lumity and Raeda, and the fact that mainly fandom ships with Willow and Hunter were also LGBTQIA+, it’s likely people are disappointed that a seemingly straight relationship was added. Almost all can agree that LGBTQIA+ is needed in the media, and the Owl House was monumental in adding this type of relationship while the show was still airing. It really helps normalize these types of relationships, especially in shows that are shown to children. When a straight passing relationship is added to a show with LGBTQIA+ relationships, it’s very likely for it to be viewed with a more negative lens. This is because straight relationships aren’t in dire need, as there have been countless ever since media has been a thing. Plus, LGBTQIA+ themes receive a lot of hate and prejudice in day to day life, so adding those types of relationships is important.

But what people seem to fail to realize is that a straight relationship doesn’t take away the LGBTQIA+ representation. If anything, it enhances it more, because both LGBTQIA+ and straight relationships are treated equally, which is the main goal of LGBTQIA+ events and representation: to normalize LGBTQIA+ relationships and put them on the same level as straight relationships. On top of that, romances can be great representation in other ways. Huntlow is very good at deconstruction of gender roles and ideal body image. It’s a relationship where a scrawny boy falls for a plus sized girl who is incredibly strong and independent. It’s incredibly significant to show people that any body size can be seen as beautiful, as it’s rare to see a man genuinely fall for a plus sized woman. It’s also refreshing to see Willow not depend on Hunter for protection. It's more likely to be the other way around, as after Hunter’s trauma, it would be nice for him to have someone look after him. On top of that, neither are really conventionally beautiful. Hunter has eye bags, scars, and a tooth gap, and Willow wears glasses and has some less than flattering screenshots in Thanks to Them, such as Willow sleeping and Willow watching a movie. Huntlow is a relationship that has untraditional beauty and gender standards, and that can be just as monumental and important as LGBTQIA+ representation. Now of course, there’s also the idea that not every m/f is straight, as it’s possible for at least one of them to fall under the bisexual umbrella. So it could still be a form of LGBTQIA+ representation that shows that a straight passing relationship does not necessarily mean the people in it are not queer. It’s important to mention that because this type of biphobia is a problem that can lead to further discrimination.

Conclusion

Huntlow is a relationship built on the idea that they can prove people wrong. With Willow, she can be strong, help and protect others, and find people who appreciate her for her strength. With Hunter, he can become good, heal from his trauma, and also help and protect others. And in a fandom sense, it proves people wrong about how abuse victims can find happiness in romantic relationships and that despite unfortunate circumstances, both in the story and behind the scenes, that a romantic relationship can blossom in such a natural, interesting, and trail blazing way. Like Hunter said in Any Sport in a Storm, “there’s more to [Huntlow] than you think.”

Sources

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Espinoza, S. (2016, October 16). Age Really Does Matter in Teen Relationships. The Oarsman. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://veniceoarsman.com/2328/opinion/age-really-does-matter-in-teen-relationships/

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Wendy Wray, P. D. (2019, July 10). 5 Reasons Why Feeling Safe is the Key to Healthy Relationships. LinkedIn. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-reasons-why-feeling-safe-key-healthy-relationships-wendy

#the owl house #toh #toh hunter #hunter #hunter noceda #the owl house hunter #the owl house specials #toh season three #hunter x willow #huntlow #willow park #toh willow #willow the owl house #analysis #romance #relationship #toh season 2 #psychology

[spopsalt]

(This is an HB ask) Hey so just so you know uhhh season 2 is going to try (and fail) to retcon it's way out of making Stolitz not toxic while flipping the victim and abuser roles to daemonize Blitzo for not loving the poor owl boy who sexually abuses him. And it will paint Stolas as a UwU soft boy who did nothing wrong when that ain't the case. Oh, and one scene in episode 6 may or may not piss you off.

So basically a male version of Catradora

(Also I see you're an Owl House fan, nice)

Thanks for the ask and warning! Also yeah I do see some parrels between Stoliz and Catradora, they are both heavily toxic queer couples but are extremely romanticized by the show and fandom. Even before I knew about the full moon deal and just watched clips of Stoliz I still didn't like it. Blitzo just seemed uninterested while Stolas flirted with him. It became worse when I actually watched the show. And yeahh it's really depressing when shows do that, instead of just having them not get into a relationship because it's toxic and have them be with someone who was better for them and not toxic because for some reason the creators just seem to love toxic couples. (Also yeah, definitely a big owl house fan, it's disappointing that shit like spop gets 5 seasons and Owl House only got three when it's far superior in so many ways not just representation)

#helluva boss salt #helluva boss critical #spop crit #spop critical #spop salt #anti spop #spop criticism #antic//a #anti catradora #spop discourse #anti catra #anti c//a #anti stoliz #anti stolas #blitzo deserves better #adora deserves better

[metalshootingstar]

ngl though, I think Hazbin Hotel is suffering from the pacing issues that comes with only having 8 episodes. Like look, I'm not saying it can't be done. Owl House had a phenomenal last season despite it being three specials. However, the three specials were longer. Thanks to Them was 48 min., For the Future was 51 min., and Watching and Dreaming was 57 min, compared to the 20 minutes that Hazbin's episodes have. We're 6 episodes into an 8 episode season, and yes there's a season 2 on the way....but idk the story feels a little....rushed...and honestly? I blame the 8 episode format. It's a stupid format. Pls give us 22 episode seasons again. If only so writers can tell the stories they want to tell.

#hazbin hotel #i love this show but the pacing is..not the best #i blame the 8 episode format #want to know whats ruining television and tv shows? making seasons 8 episodes long #bring back 22 episode seasons