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httyddragonfox · 1 year

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Observations on Palismen: Differences between holders.

I noticed something when comparing life goals for connecting Palismen to their owners, and that's that some goals are kind of similar. That got me thinking...what differentiates the Palismen to their specific owners? I realized...it's the conviction or the certain feeling behind the dream that makes it different.

For example, one kid wanted to make it to graduation. When talking about Luz's goal didn't work at the time, ("I want to be a witch") I compared it to "I want to be a human" or "I want to live in this world." That sounds similar to "I want to make it to graduation," which most people end up doing. The difference here is the conviction. "I want to make it to graduation," the feeling behind that is endurance or survival, the kid probably had trouble thinking he was going to make it; that is why he got a sloth, a creature that takes life as it comes and just tries to survive. Luz saying "I want to be a witch," that's not her saying she wants to make it in the world because she has doubts, that's not her saying that she just wants to take life as it comes. She wants to do more than that. She wants to become a great witch, like Eda or Azura, she wants to shine at what she's good at and be recognized for it. That's not enduring, that's not survival, so what she said wasn't the brass tacks. She had to get to the heart of what she wanted for a Palisman to connect to her, she had to understand what she was, how she acts, what she wants and what she is striving towards. In thanks to them, she admitted she wanted her whole life was "to be good at something," "to not be the dummy in the principal's office anymore," this didn't make her Palisman hatch because this wasn't the brass tacks of what she wanted either.

There's also feeling involved. What she said when she said "I want to be a witch," it was full of excitement. The problem was highlighted in that episode, and as I said earlier. In a world full of witches, "I want to be a witch" is not much of a goal, especially when she's already using magic and is technically already a witch. If her feelings matched what she said it might have worked, but being a witch at that point would be to keep doing what she was already doing, it's not a dream of hers if she's already lived it. There's also the matter of "you get your wish, but now what." Luz wanted a life in the boiling isles, but she also wanted to go home eventually, so apparently she didn't want to truly be a witch. Her feelings did not match what she said, similar to when she was making her diary entry. She wanted to be good at something, but when she said it she was feeling regretful, it wasn't her true desire or conviction. It's in 'For the Future,' where she realizes what her driving goal throughout the series was. What she said was she wanted "to be understood," but I think she meant and felt that she wanted to feel okay with being herself. Throughout the whole series she was constantly judged: for being weird, a human, naive, impulsive. She wanted someone to truly accept her for herself, and she felt she could be herself on the Boiling Isles, but she didn't realize that until 'For the Future'. What she felt matched what she said about what she wanted, and thus she connected with her Palisman. Her Palisman becomes a snake-shifter, Luz's fondness for snakes and desire to be whatever she set her mind to be matched the Palisman.

This brings me to another point of discussion: Amity vs Hunter. When analyzing their desires, I found they were very similar. "I don't know what I'll be when I'll grow up, but I'll figure it out on own," vs "At least you can figure out your own (I want to decide my own future). Why didn't they both get cats/birds? I feel that had something to do with the feeling and conviction behind what they said, making their personalities distinct as every witch is different, thus the different Palisman.

Eda's family for example, they all tend to go with birds. My reasoning for this is because they are all related and thus have similar personalities to each other. Lilith it seemed wanted the power, authority, and also knowledge that came with the emperor's coven, and Eda wanted to be a powerful witch to be able to do whatever she wants, both exert an element of freedom, thus their palisman are birds. (This is important.)

When we dive into Amity and Hunter, as shown in 'Eclipse Lake,' they have a lot in common, they both have controlling guardian figures. Why are their Palisman different? Hunter didn't really get to pick the form his Palisman took, and Amity probably got hers from a Palisman carver, picking a cat because she likes cats. That's one reason they're different. Hunter and Amity, while having the same desire, are in different situations, thus have different convictions. Hunter was born without magic, while Amity did have magic, able to access a few kinds as shown in 'Reaching out.' Her mother is controlling, her father as well to a lesser extent. She has many options out of life, many paths that she could follow, but her path is being decided for her. "I don't know what I'm going to be when I grow up, but I'll figure it out on my own." Her desire is to decide her future without her parents, this could be freedom, but this is more independence. She wants to separate herself from anything that could influence her, and decide for herself what she wants, striking it out on her own away from the Blight name and legacy. Her Palisman is a cat, a creature known for their strength, elegance but most importantly, independence.

As I said earlier, Hunter doesn't have magic, unlike Amity. Hunter literally wouldn't have had a future if Belos didn't give him one. Belos holds over his head that Hunter should be grateful to him for this, and as such he's not allowed to do anything Belos doesn't like, even if Hunter thinks it could help Belos. He wants to study wild magic...but Belos said no, so despite it fascinating him he has to give it up. Hunter wishes things were not like this, not that he doesn't appreciate Belos for helping him, it's just his lack of magic is a major sore spot for him. He wishes he could be like the other witches, and have a normal life. "At least you can figure out your own," is him saying he wishes he had more than one option. He wishes he wasn't trapped in this condition. Despite his authority, he has no other option but to do what Belos wants. What Hunter desires is freedom, the freedom of choice, something he doesn't have. This drives his entire motivation, something Flapjack pushes him to achieving: freedom to act on his own despite orders, freedom of a larger social circle, freedom of doing what he wishes to do. His Palisman is a bird, hence Freedom. The difference between Amity and Hunter, Amity has choices but is being forced into a group not of her choosing (Independence), while Hunter has no choices but wants more (Freedom).

I guess I should also talk about Caleb, as Hunter's Palisman is a Cardinal and those are symbolic of being guardian angels. Caleb also has a lot to do with Hunter's being, as Hunter was made from him. Of course, just because he was doesn't mean he's Caleb. This is a similar case to the Clawthornes, the family all had birds because they had a similar personality and desires, the same could be said between Caleb and Hunter for they are akin to being father and son. Caleb is still a big influence on Hunter: it's why Belos raised Hunter the way he did, and it's where Hunter got his interest in magic and moral compass from I'll bet. Palisman awaken due to connecting to a certain emotional heart-to-heart with their owner. When their original owner gave forth their honest desires, that like minded connection to said desire rested in them forever. Flapjack's was along the lines of "the freedom of deciding one's destiny/future;" this could tell you a lot about Caleb. Caleb also wanted freedom from a future he felt he had no choice but to have. He came from a time of Witch Hunters: if you didn't join them you were against them, and if you were against them you were killed, and if you mourned those who were killed you were killed. Caleb and Phillip would have died if Caleb didn't rope them into becoming witch hunters; of course, the witch hunts of Connecticut got a lot of innocent people killed. Caleb (being the smiley person he was in Belos' memories) probably didn't enjoy hurting people deep down (also deep down Hunter didn't enjoy hurting the Palisman). In the memories he seemed very enthused about the unsavory practice, until he meets Evelyn. In that photo, the pitchfork is pointed down as he's walking towards her, fascinated by her magic (like Hunter was fascinated by wild magic). He then runs away with her, marries her and sires a child with her. He got the freedom to be who he wished to be, someone who didn't have to hurt others to survive.

TLDR: This was my TED TALK on how the covictional desires of the characters resonated with the palsiman more than the words of their desires.

P.S I totally think my Palisman would be a Bird or a Dragon if I didn't get to choose the form, but if I did it would be a dragon all the way. My desire is similar to Luz's, but not exactly. Hers was "being okay to be herself," mine is in convoluted terms "I want to be recognized. I want everyone to hear my stories, know what I believe and what is in my head." Yes, I was bullied too, but I didn't want to be understood, I didn't care about that. Even when I was accepted, I wanted more than that, I was always someone to share what was in my head like word vomit. I want to be known, I want to be heard. It's expression, so it would probably be a loud, rare or exotic animal. I want people to see me for who I am, not to be understood, but just to be accepted and known about. I'm a weirdo, who wants to express herself, so why not a dragon.

You can mention what you think your palisman would be in the comments.

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httyddragonfox · 1 year

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Caleb Wittebane and what the Hexsquad knows.

So...we didn't get further elaboration on Caleb, we didn't even get a shot of him in the finale. Everyone is saying no one really knows who Caleb was, or if he was evil or not. Of course, they may know more than we think. Let's break down the information the hexsquad has gathered about Caleb in comparison to what we have gathered about Caleb.

First indication for the audience: the grimwalker notes in Eclipse Lake. People looked up what an ortet is, and found out that 'bone of ortet' means bone of the original. The pictures in the book looked a lot like Hunter, we therefore deduced that Hunter is a clone. Before that we thought he was an artificial being meant to be in some ritual of some sort. Even after deducing he was a clone, we rationalized he the original had a purpose to serve which Hunter being a clone could accomplish.

The second indication: Yesterday's Lie. As Vee is walking around town, she passes a statue of someone who looks like Hunter. I'm not sure when people started theorizing that Belos was Phillip, but this made it stronger, so they believed that when Belos came to the isles he had a brother whom he missed and tried to bring back.

Later in the episode we get the FIRST indication of the main characters finding out about him: Jacob's research. "...tragedy struck! Two brothers met a witch and were lured into the Demon Realm, never to be seen again." The second brother is holding a glyph while the first brother has a cardinal on his shoulder, maybe a certain cardinal that Hunter has. This is where the audience learns, that if Belos is Phillip, he had a brother who he must have lost tragically (maybe at eclipse lake?) and he brought him back. The main characters would probably overlook this as a crazy conspiricist talking. So, while they learn about the fact, they probably don't remember it.

In Hunter's palisman observations, another audience tidbit, it is revealed the palisman's name is Flapjack, and Hunter does not know what that is, yet Belos does. Witches do not know flapjacks or pancakes, and Belos does. This hints that Belos is human, and so Hunter is a clone of that Human brother, and Flapjack was his palisman. Flapjack doesn't like talking about it, so he must have died tragically. Hunter knows nothing about Caleb about this point, but we know a good amount. For one, the brother must've been a friendly guy if he had a palisman, named after pancakes no less.

Elsewhere and Elsewhen: We find out that Belos is Phillip from 400 years ago. Hunter is definitely a clone of that brother, especially when Luz discovers a small drawing of him which Phillip won't talk about. We still assume he died at eclipse lake, and at the end of the episode he has all he needs to make a grimwalker. Luz was slightly curious about this other figure in the picture, as Phillip never mentioned a companion in his journal. Of course, she drops it when he claims it's private. Doesn't think about it for a while.

Any sport in a storm: we find out the symbol of Gravesfield is the sigil of the Golden guard. Belos came from there, and associates his grimwalker's allegiance to be there as well. Also Flapjack gives the name Caleb to Hunter, so we can guess that the brother's name was Caleb.

So far, the protagonists know nothing except small hints that don't focus on.

Now onto reveals for the cast, and heavy ones for us.

Hollow Mind: The memory portraits spoke for themselves, screaming about how amazing Caleb was and how Belos is a monster. Some people were not sure if they were related yet, as Belos called him an old friend. They were friends as children at least, Caleb being slightly older, them rejoicing the witch hunting and playing witch hunter. Then Caleb met the witch, happily, and ended up in the boiling ilses, eventually Phillip followed, and found Caleb had fallen in love, and started a family with a witch. Some people assumed they both went there at the same time, but got separated. Everyone just jumped on the wittewife is a clawthorne theory for how similar she looks to the clawthorne ladies. Not to mention the portal being right behind the clawthorne house. Anyways, Phillip was furious, and despite everything (including Caleb accepting his condition, willing to live peacefully with him) Phillip couldn't stand it. It's debated whether he wished to kill Caleb or Evelyn, but the brothers ended up fighting to the death. Wittewife was furious, and blasted magic at him. Phillip eventually turned into Belos, making TONS of grimwalkers. This went beyond what we originally thought, where Hunter was the only one. Oh no, Belos wanted his brother back so much, he made him several times over, "destroying them" whenever they "betray him." More hints that Caleb was a good person, as Belos is evil and they all betrayed him. He calls them all a singular "he," which he is trying to remake someone who "betrayed" him, someone whose betrayals "hurt him." Luz asks Belos what Hunter is supposed to be, and Belos says "he's a better version of an old friend." He also says Hunter "Looks the most like him."

So the audience was wrong about Hunter being an ingredient, just someone Belos wants around. Also, this isn't his first rodeo, not in a long shot. Belos made and killed his brother several times.

What can Luz and Hunter gather from this? They didn't look at the portraits, but the golden guards sounded like Hunter, Belos says they all betrayed him, Hunter looks the most like him, and he's a better version of an old friend. They know what this guy sounded like, what he looks like, that he was close with Belos, but they had a falling out.

That's a brass tacks summary of Caleb. They also learned Belos is a witch hunter. Hunter will process that in his own time, Luz is dealing with her guilt of helping the one that's alive.

In labyrinth runners, Hunter did his research on Grimwalkers while on the lamb. He knows he's probably the only one to exist at the moment, and probably learns how they're made. Bone of ortet, he learns therefore he is a clone, made from the original's bones.

Clouds on the Horizon: Hunter details to Luz what he knows about himself. He's not sure if he's witch or human, but he knows he's a copy of someone (who was human), and considering Belos killed all the other grimwalkers for betrayal he probably killed the original too for the same reason. Hunter probably just doesn't know how the betrayal happened.

King's Tide: When confronted by Belos, Belos sees Flapjack and screams out Caleb's name. This confirms for us that the brother's name was Caleb. Also confirms for us that Flapjack did in fact belong to him. Of course, in the chaos of the moment, they probably didn't register the name, it was very garbled. On the other hand, Gus got a peek into Belos' mind and worst memories, he sees the memory portraits. In Labyrinth runners, it shows his spells play the memories like videos, so Gus probably got the flashback episode we wanted. The memories he sees: Phillip going to attack the couple, the fight, Caleb being dead, and the creation of the first Grimwalker. He probably learned that Caleb was swell (not wanting to fight his brother and being married to a witch), and Phillip killed him due to his bigotry. Yet he loved his brother, so he made the grimwalkers. Gus would probably feel very sorry for Hunter, mainly because of the purpose of his existence piled onto his hard life under Belos. Gus may have caught the name, who knows?

Thanks to Them: This is the closest we get to Wittebane lore. Hunter tells Luz he believes his original was a witch hunter like Belos, who hunted witches with him. Hunter probably assumed the betrayal happened but they were both evil. Hunter does his research on the Witch Hunters to try to find out what he can about his original. He probably finds out Caleb's name and relation to Belos, but the book probably described them hunting witches. He sees Caleb in a reflection (not sure how that happened, maybe Caleb was checking up on him, maybe there was a drawing in the book?) We see him sad, forlorn, and gaunt. Maybe the struggle of living in old Gravesfield had a toll on him that Belos didn't choose to remember. Flapjack finds a box under the floorboards of the shack, which confirms for us that the Wittebanes lived there. Of course, they probably wouldn't put together how Flapjack knew it was there, and Flapjack won't tell Hunter anything. Gus and Willow see the statue that looks like Hunter, and Gus confirms later he knew that was the statue of his original. Later the kids hear the historical legend of the Wittebanes. Caleb was the older brother, they became witch hunters to fit in with the town. The older brother was spirited away by a witch, after being dazzled by magic and another world and journeying between the two worlds a few times, (Puppet drops his pitchfork), Phillip ran off to save him and kill the witch, but never returned. Masha summs it up as Caleb getting a hot witch girlfriend and Phillip getting upset about it. Hunter puts it together that the rebus they found belonged to Caleb and Evelyn, as "the code the guide mentioned, it's a rebus. We found one in the shack." Hunter may have also put together that while Caleb was a witch hunter, he gave it up when he met Evelyn; he went to live with her, and Belos saw that as a betrayal and killed him. So he probably knows now that Caleb is not terrible, but he was still a Witch hunter. When confronting Belos, Belos implaes Flapjack after calling him Evelyn, that and the cardinal in the puppet show, the group might put together that Flapjack knew that couple from hundreds of years ago. Yet, they were also in shock from what was happening, so they might have had trouble processing it.

Not much more lore is explored, except for showing us that he feels guilty about killing Caleb and the Grimwalkers but we already knew that.

So Gus probably knows the most out of the entire group, and they can assume that Caleb wasn't evil, and who Hunter is supposed to be a copy of. Yet it doesn't matter, as Hunter is Hunter.

TL;DR Based on everything gathered, the hexsquad do know about Caleb and the fallout between him and Belos. They only thing they don't know is much about Evelyn. Just upset we didn't get that in flashback form. Yet we already knew about it too.

#the owl house #toh season 3 #toh caleb wittebane #toh belos #toh phillip wittebane #toh season two #toh hexsquad #toh hunter #toh luz #toh gus #toh philip #caleb wittebane #toh analysis #toh flapjack #toh evelyn #toh thanks to them #toh eclipse lake #toh hollow mind

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