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"Welcome to the Owl House, where I hide away from the pressures of modern life... also the cops... also ex-boyfriends." —Eda
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Meet 14 year old Luz Noceda (Sarah Nicole Robles), She lives in an average house in an average town and goes to an average school; but she’s doing badly in school.
Not that she's disobedient or doesn't want to learn; oh no. She loves to read, especially her favorite series of books, The Good Witch Azura. Problem is, Luz is a little too "creative" in her approach to learning. She acts as the lead role in the school's production of Romeo and Juliet, using fake intestines for Juliet's death scene; her art project includes live spiders. Finally, after using live snakes as a visual aide for a book report, the principal decides her overactive imagination has become too disruptive, and Luz is sentenced to a summer at the Reality Check "reform camp".
But no sooner does her mother drop her off at the bus stop does a strange owl steal one of her books, causing Luz to chase it through a mystic portal and into a fantasy world where all of Luz's dreams are given life.
Or so it seems... The Boiling Isles may not be quite what she expected of a fantasy world.
She quickly meets the rebellious outlaw witch Eda (Wendie Malick), and her tiny and adorable demon roommate King (Alex Hirsch). Despite lacking any talent in actual magic whatsoever, Luz eagerly assumes the role of a witch's apprentice, exploring the secrets - and braving the dire hazards - of this new world, making friends and trying, with difficulty, to find out where she belongs!
The Owl House is an animated fantasy/horror comedy series produced by Disney Television Animation and created by Dana Terrace, known as the director of DuckTales and a storyboard revisionist of Gravity Falls. It is often regarded as a Spiritual Successor to the latter show.
You can watch the first episode here. The show was renewed for a second season ahead of the series premiere, which debuted on January 10th 2020, with the first season ending on August 29th 2020. The second season aired from June 12th 2021 to May 28th 2022. The third and final season consisted of three forty-four minute specials, airing from October 15th 2022 to April 8th 2023.
- An Aesop: Many, but the two most prominent are:
- Be Yourself, reject conformity.
- Nobody is truly The Chosen One; everyone's destiny is their own to fulfill.
- All for Nothing: Eda's curse came about because Lilith hoped to sabotage her in tryouts for the Emperor's Coven only for Eda to forfeit the contest.
- All Myths Are True: Supposedly, all stories about mythical and fantastic creatures told by humans originated as a result of beings in the Demon Realm bleeding into Earth, including tales of vampires, gryphons, and giraffes.
- Alpha Bitch: Amity started out as a typical one but eventually evolved into a Lovable Alpha Bitch before pulling a Heel Face Turn.
- However, Boscha remains both this Trope and a female version of a Jerk Jock; Skara and the rest of Amity's Girl Posse eventually softens, but Boscha seems firmly cemented as such. Despite being part of the Posse, Amity isn't all-too fond of them.
- Ambiguous Gender: The Collector. As they have the appearance of a child, they have a high-pitched voice and an androgynous appearance. Word of God is that the Collector uses he/him and they/them pronouns.
- Ambiguous Situation:
- It's unclear if the Titan who forms the Boilings Isles is truly Deader Than Dead. The denizens believe that he's still alive in some form. And while Belos can't actually commune with the Titan, he notes that Luz picked up mastering glyphs, powered by Titan blood, much faster than he did. Notably, Luz always seems to learn new magic should King be in danger. "Watching and Dreaming" reveals that the Titan is still technically alive, showing up just long enough to be Killed Off for Real.
- Whether the Emperor's Coven was behind sending the Greater Basilisk to attack Hexside or whether the Basilisk was a "lone wolf". The Coven denies it, but that doesn't stop Bump from "writing a very stern letter".
- "For the Future" establishes that they was once a whole race of Collectors. While the Collector has records of them and the Archive House has murals dedicated to their kin, there's no indication given as to the status of the larger Collector species.
- Ambiguously Evil: Several characters:
- King talks about being a demon king who once led armies of such beasts, but it's later suggested that this is In the Blood for his species and a phase he'll grow out of. The memories of leading armies into battle are implied to be King's memories of his father and his battle against the Collectors.
- Principal Bump straddles the line between a Dean Bitterman who happens to be a wizard to an Evil Teacher. In his first appearance, he tried to dissect Luz to see if she was human; on the other hand, he was willing to admit Luz to the school later (after confirming Luz was human) so long as Eda undid all the damage she did when she was a student.
- Amnity's siblings Edric and Emira are definitely on the darker side of the morality scale, but just how much is debatable. Their fondness towards Luz may be genuine, or they may just be using her as a tool in their schemes.
- Emperor Belos at first. While he seems to be an oppressive dictator, almost nothing is known about his motives or goals. Of course, given the small amount of info we do have on him, he doesn't look like someone you'd want to cross. The Season Two finale removes this ambiguity before Season Three dives into what a bastard he truly is.
- Amusement Park of Doom: The setting of "Really Small Problems". The rides include the Bumper Carcasses, Molar Coaster, and Scariss Wheel (sort of like a Ferris Wheel, but gives you lasting nightmares), games are living creatures that try to scam players (although Luz manage to get the skeetball game to relinquish its tickets by tickling it), and vendors sell Rotten Candy (it's like cotton candy) which the heroes actually use to their advantage more than once. All this the protagonists actually find enjoyable until recurring villain Tibbles shows up and tries to feed them to his diminutive unicorns and manticores, in front of an audience, no less. Worst of all, the place is run by Monster Clowns - who have their own "Fun Police" as security - who do not tolerate scammers like Eda. Unless, of course, the scammers are working for them.
- Angel Unaware: For most of the show, the main characters have no idea what kind of demon King is. "O Titan, Where Art Thou" reveals that he's a baby Titan.
- Animal Motifs:
- Luz has many snake motifs. Though hers lean more into the Ancient Greek idea of snakes being symbols for healing, emphasizing the positive impact Luz has on the Boiling Isles.
- As indicated by the title, Eda has a lot of owl motifs, though this is more related to appearance rather than Eda's personality. Her sister Lilith has raven motifs but again, this is more related to her appearance and serve as a foil to Eda.
- Amity has a lot of cat motifs, including her palisman. And like cats, she starts out as cold and aloof before becoming more affectionate.
- Belos has an amalgam of them. He starts out the series as a mixture of various birds (to show how he's above the Isles and watching over them) but the amalgamation is actually a hint that he's an outsider and doesn't naturally fit into the Isles. As the series progresses, he gains an appearance most like a deer. This has no deeper meaning other than to show that he's best represented by an animal that people would not normally associate with witchcraft, highlighting his nature as a outsider who has perverted the Isles for his benefit.
- Author Avatar: The Conspiracy Theorist imp-like creature with the big nose, Tinella Nosa or Tiny Nose, is supposed to be a caricature of Dana Terrace, who is also the character's VA.
- Bat Out of Hell: The Bat Queen is nasty and scary enough; looking after her nestlings quickly turns Eda into a Badly-Battered Babysitter.
- Big Beautiful Women: Willow Park and Camilla Noceda may be both chubby, but they're both pretty attractive.
- The Bet: Eda is such an avid gambler that this Trope directs the plots of three different episodes:
- Episode Three:
- The Terms: If King proves he can be a better teacher to a slug-like creature than Eda is to Luz, Eda has to wear a dunce cap and live in the tool shed. If he can't, his name is officially changed to Mr. Wiggles.
- The Results: King initially wins, Eda begrudgingly accepting the punishment, but once he runs out of food to feed the now-giant slug, it turns on him. Seeing as Eda saves his life as a result, they agree to forget the whole thing.
- Episode Five:
- The Terms: This bet is made by Luz and her rival Amity after the former challenges the latter to a Wizard Duel. If Luz wins, Amity has to apologize to King for ruining his cupcake and admit - in public - that humans can become witches. Amity wins, Luz has to give up learning magic forever, and to make sure she complies, places a Magically-Binding Contract on both of them.
- The results: Eda and Lilith both cheat to help their respective proteges win, so Luz and Amity are both disqualified. This leads to a real duel between Eda and Lilith, while Luz and Amity have a heart-to-heart talk for the first time.
- Episode 8
- The Terms: Eda does a three-person Freaky Friday Flip on herself, King, and Luz (Eda becomes King, King becomes Luz, Luz becomes Eda) and states that whoever has the easiest time living with the new body and identity doesn't have to help clean the house.
- The Results: All three lose. Eda is nearly turned into a lobotomized living doll by some Evil Old Folks who think King's body is cute, King is nearly killed by a group of teenagers after trying to get revenge on them with Luz's body, and Luz uses Eda's magic far too blatantly, getting herself arrested and nearly conscripted into the Emperor's Coven by Lilith. It's only via a series of Contrived Coincidences that the trio manage to find each other and change back. And they all have to clean the house, which by now, is much messier than before.
- "Wing it Like Witches" has two in one episode:
- The Terms, Main Plot: Luz challenges Boscha to a game of Grudgby on Willow's behalf. If Luz and Willow win, Boscha has to stop picking on Willow. If Boscha's team wins, they get to use Willow for target practice.
- The Terms, B-Plot: Eda challenges Lilith to cutthroat Grudgby, promising to turn herself in if she loses.
- The Results, Main Plot: Borcha wins, but after losing her entire posse to Willow immediately afterwards, seems to forfeit the condition.
- The Results, B-Plot: Eda wins, but gives Lilith her ring so she can prove to Belos she actually put up a fight.
- Episode Three:
- Beware the Cute Ones: Willow is a sweet, adorable kid, but she can use her plant-magic to create some rather ferocious-looking flower-monsters...
- Big Bad: Emperor Belos.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Kikimora. Belos even takes a moment to drive home how her quest for power was All for Nothing.
- Make Way for the New Villains: The Collector in "King's Tide" and Season 3.
- Big Brother Bully:
- Both of Amity's older siblings are manipulative troublemakers who view Amity as a killjoy and take out their irritation by humiliating her in the nastiest ways. Even worse, they think being family gives them permission to do it.
- The Archivists to the Collector. They banished him to the Demon Realm so he would stop bothering them. Then wiped out the Titans he'd befriended after they learnt that Titans are Anti-Magic to their kind.
- Bi the Way: Yes, Word of Gay (via Alex Hirsch on Twitter) confirms this is true for Amnity, making her the first confirmed case for a Disney character. "Thanks to Them" confirmed that Luz is bi as well.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Luz meets a lot of magical beings who fit this Trope. To give one example, one of the girls at the slumber party in "Hooty's Moving Hassle" has a large vertical jaw on the top of her skull, a lolling tongue from this jaw giving an illusion of a hairstyle. For some reason, the animation actually makes this work, and it doesn't seem horrific in the least.
- Butt Monkey: Downplayed with Hooty. He does seem to bear the brunt of abuse and insults from Eda and King, but he does get even now and then; he's their house and have to live inside him, after all.
- Cain and Abel: Describes Eda and Lilith's relationship pretty well, although which is Cain and which is Abel depends on who you ask. Lilith has at least shown a desire for reconciliation with her sister, so long as it's on her terms and Eda joins her side.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: In the episode where Amity and Willow are introduced, Luz tries to help Willow pass her test by disguising herself (Luz) as an abomination. Unfortunately, her ruse is uncovered when Amity sees her eat a sandwich (actual abominations do not eat) and Luz is nearly dissected as a result, Willow ending up with detention. Downplayed slightly, as this does convince Willow's parents to let her switch classes, which was the intent.
- The Collector: An entity calling themselves this appears as Belos' Mysterious Backer in Season 2, though they have no interest in collecting, acting more like The Imp. Season 3 reveals that the Collector is an oddball among their race, also called the Collectors, as the rest subscribe to the more traditional trappings of this trope. Unless a planet resists being collected.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Each coven and class at Hexside can be identified by the color of their clothing or uniforms: Bard practitioners wear red, Plant magic members, green, Illusion, light blue, Oracles purple, Beast Keepers orange, Construction brown, Healing blue, Abominations lavender, Potions yellow, and Emperor's are gold. Luz convincing people to colour outside the lines eventually leads to people wearing uniforms of different colours.
- Cool Old Lady: Eda, definitely.
- Cursed With Awesome: Members of the Detention Tract are troublemakers who are not allowed to learn magic; however, at least three of them know that the classroom has a secret door to a room that allows access everywhere in the school, letting them learn whatever courses they desire when the Apathetic Teacher who watches them falls asleep. It is later revealed that Eda used to do so after magically building the room. Bump likely gets rid of it later, but after Luz and those students save the day, they're allowed to study multiple courses, possibly even starting a new policy at Hexside.
- Cute Witch: Every female student at Hexside; even Amity has moments.
- Death World: The Boiling Isles are not a nice place. Luz finds it hard to tell friendly or helpful occupants from ones that want to eat her (and the groups aren't mutually exclusive). The weather is hostile to pretty much everyone, the wildlife is dangerous... Not a place you'd want to live. Worse, it's A World Half Full where the folks in charge impose draconian laws that encourage conformity.
- Deal with the Devil: According to Lilith, Belos can grant any favor or privilege desired to a member of the Emperor's Coven, and could easily cure Eda's curse if she consented to it. However, this also makes the beneficiary eternally indebted to Belos, the biggest reason Eda won't consider it.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Lilith was this to Emperor Belos. Until he became directly involved in the plot, Lilith was the main antagonist by default.
- Eccentric Mentor: Eda, definitely. in fact, some would say she's a lousy teacher, as she seems unable to truly teach Luz magic, although she does (maybe inadvertently) point Luz in the direction she needs to make her own discoveries.
- Elephant Graveyard: Downplayed. The inhabited areas of the Boiling Isles are built on one skeleton, but it's a huge one. The being was a Titan, an ancient magical being whose kind was wiped out in a war against a race of god-like beings known as the Collectors. The particular Titan that forms the Isles died trapping the Collector in the In Between Realm and was King's father.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Much like the protagonists of Gravity Falls, Luz gets into a lot of trouble mishandling magic.
- Familiar: Palismans act similar to a familiar for a witch that are a part of their education in magic. They are loyal friends along with being a powerful tool with different abilities. One such ability is turning to a Witch's staff that can act as an external source of magic.
- Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: Ultimately why Belos sought to destroy the Boiling Isles. He's a puritan witch hunter and a realm full of witches had to be "cleansed".
- Fictional Document: The Good Witch Azura, Luz's favorite book series, the title character being a sort of Magical Girl heroine. The series has at least five titles. Somehow, whoever publishes it is able to market it in the Boiling Isles. (Or maybe it is published in the Boiling Isles and can be marketed on Earth.) Whatever the case, Eda hates the series, claiming its "flowery prose" is an insult to witches.
- It's hinted that Amity is a fan, and may have even cosplayed as the heroine when she was younger; in the episode "Adventures In The Elements", she also draws fan-art of herself with a handsome male character from the book. She also seems to compare Luz to Hecate (Azura's rival in the series); Luz seems to support this notion, as at the end of "Lost in Language", she gives Amnity the fifth book in the series, where Amity and Hecate are shown to have a friendlier rivalry.
- Fictional Sport: Grudgby, a popular sport at Hexside, formerly played by Bump, Eda, and Lilith, currently played by most of the younger main cast. It's very similar to rugby, but on a field with numerous magical hazards, and more of a contact sport. Spell-casting may or may not be allowed depending on consent of the players. Team Grudgby requires three players per team, but as Eda and Lilith demonstrate, it can be played one-on-one.
- Fluffy Tamer: At Hexside, students sent to detention are thrown to a huge plant-like beast that traps the disobedient students in pod-like pseudopods and then uses brainwashing gas to "convince" them to behave. However, when Luz and Guz make it angry, Bump simply snaps his fingers to convince the creature to heel.
- Food Fight: One of many hints that Eda and Lilith used to be closer than they are now, Principal Bump's files show Eda started one of these in the cafeteria after another student stole Lilith's lunch money, the ensuing melee causing several abominations to turn rogue.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Eda is usually depicted as the foolish one opposed to Lilith being the responsible one, although Eda does have her responsible moments and Lilith her foolish ones.
- Friendly Enemy: Lilith honestly believes her quest to arrest and conscript her sister is For Her Own Good and would much rather Eda join the Emperor's Coven by choice rather than have to force her too. Eda, for her point, still cares deeply for Lilith, although exploiting Lilith's reluctance is not beneath her.
- The Gambler: Eva seems unwilling to turn down any wager, no matter how trivial or how dangerous, and has a notebook full of the times she's made them with King and won.
- Genius Loci: The eponymous Owl House is a living creature named Hooty, who can talk through an owl-shaped bust on the front door. Eda and King tend to get annoyed with him a lot.
- Gilligan Cut: In "Wing it Like Witches", Luz assures Willow that Boscha will eventually go away, saying she can't follow them all day. Cut to a scene with them sitting outside, covered with garbage and graffiti:
Luz: She followed us all day! |
- Good All Along:
- Season 1 hints that whomever has taken Luz's place on Earth is an agent of Belos and acting out his villainous agenda. "Yesterday's Lie" reveals that the imposter is Vee, an innocent basilisk who fled persecution and quickly befriends Luz.
- "King's Tide" reveals that the Titan who forms the Boiling Isles was the Big Good, having sealed away the Collector in the In Between Realm.
- "Watching and Dreaming" reveals that this is the case for the Collector. His Blue and Orange Morality makes him so Obliviously Evil that he genuinely does not see what he's doing as wrong. Even the Titan banishing him to the In Between Realm was a case of Mistaken Identity, the Titan mistaking the Collector for one of the Archivists.
- Great Offscreen War: The Collector/Titan war. The show hasn't revealed how it went down but only one Titan is confirmed to exist afterwards.
- Hate Sink: Deconstructed with Amity. Her first appearance seems to be setting her up for this role, but she quickly gets Character Development with Hidden Depths as early as her second appearance, edging her into Lovable Alpha Bitch territory.
- Played straight with Boscha, however, who quickly becomes much nastier than Amity ever was.
- Heel Face Turn:
- Lilith pulls one in the Season 1 finale, seeing that Belos has no intention of healing Eda and ends up moving into the Owl House being a Cool Aunt to Luz and King.
- In Season 2, Coven Heads Darius Deamonne and Eberwolf defect to the Owl House's side when they realize how batshit crazy Belos is.
- Hunter/The Golden Guard defects after interactions with Luz make him more willing to question Belos' rhetoric and The Reveal that's he but the latest in a long, long line of Expendable Clones.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: Many:
- Belos' true motives are shrouded in mystery for most of the series. As Season 2 progresses, it's revealed that Belos is a human and seeks to harness the Boiling Isles' magic to return home. His conflict with wild witches like Eda is so he can use them as further batteries.
- It is also not known for what reason the Collector cursed Eda, and the scene at the end of "The Intruder" suggests he isn't done tormenting her.
- Also, if the Emperor's Coven is indeed beside the Greater Basilisk's attack on Hexside (as Bump suspects they are) their motives for the attack are as yet unknown.
- Hostile Weather: The Boiling Isles has plagues instead of weather, and it's hazardous to both humans and the natives. In the fourth episode, Luz witnesses a boiling rainstorm, prompting Eda and King to tell her that they have even worse conditions; like gore-nadoes, shale-hale, and painbows, which is sort of like a rainbow, but turns you inside out.
- Inspector Javert: Lilith. She's determined to bring Eda in, and is willing to forcibly conscript her into the Emperor's coven.
- Amity too, towards Luz, at least at first, being something of the "Concerned Clair" type of The Stool Pigeon.
- Irony: Luz uses magic drawn from the Boiling Isles themselves, meaning her magic comes from the Titan, an entity whom Belos - the Big Bad claims to be a servant of.
- The Jailer: Warden Wrath is one, who arrests and locks up anyone he deems "weird". Of course, exactly what you have to do to be considered "weird" in the Boiling Isles is hard to say, given that the whole place is a Dimension of Weirdos. Long story short, he starts off the whole, "conformity is good, individuality is bad" attitude the villains as a whole have.
- Karma Houdini: Piniet, the villain in the episode "Sense and Insensitivity" is a publisher who punishes clients who fail to meet their deadline by turning them into small cubes (and even steps on one of them when he's angry). He's also willing to use extortion to get a client to comply, kidnapping Luz to "persuade" her and King to write a sequel to King's first book. He not only gets no comeuppance at the end of the episode, he gets a client who he believes writes better than King.
- Kill the God: The Titan Trappers, at the behest of the Collectors, killed several Titans, the Monster Progenitor species of the Boiling Isles.
- Last of His Kind: King and the Collector appear to be the last of their respective races. Or at least the last active ones.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The very last scene of the Grand Finale is everyone waving goodbye to the Collector, all the while looking directly into the camera.
- Let's Get Dangerous: In the Season 1 finale, Eda shows Lilith why she's considered the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. Not wanting to endanger Luz is probably the only reason Eda didn't outright disintegrate Lilith as a first attack.
- Man of Kryptonite: The magic of the Titans can cancel out the magic of the Collectors.
- Magical Academy: The Hexside School of Magic and Demonics; both Eda and Lilith are former students (Lilith graduating with honors, Eda being a dropout) now attended by the kids Luz befriends, and as of season 2, Luz herself.
- Malevolent Masked Man: The City Guards that are always after Eda wear bird-like masked, probably standard-issue for the Emperor's rank-and-file soldiers.
- Meaningful Name: Luz's last name - Noceda - literally means "she doesn't back down" in Spanish, which is fitting for her.
- Medieval European Fantasy/Heroic Fantasy: Both averted and lampshading destructed by Eda in the very first episode, when referring to her home realm, as pretty much different than Luz comparing it to her favorite book series. Plus when you think about it, she right. As her realm's style is more closer to either Dark Fantasy and/or Mythpunk.
- Medieval Stasis: At first it looks like straightforward with the first few episodes, but for the rest of the series so far. The realm is likely subverting or even maybe double subverting this, due witches like Eda, who taking human technology for cash. But in turn, to mimic your technology and media... but with Witch theming.
- Mythpunk: The show does have elements of this genre via witches using human smartphones-like mini magically virtual scroll tablets, some of the scary-looking monsters and demons in their world, that isn't making out to be, including King for example, and also was even by the creator, that some of the realm's architecture is modeling off medieval Russian. Along with Eda and Lilith as of episode 19, half-cursed transformation(s) which turns both them into potentially Owl sphinx-like demonic monsters, through the former was a full-curse transformation is very likely based on the La Lechuza (or in Spanish as "The Owl Witch"). As well in one episode where Hooty (when he was possessed by the Moon spell), essentially and unwillingly becomes the show's version of the Chicken-leg house from Baba yoga tales.
- No Name Given: If the Titan whose corpse forms the Isles has a proper name, it was never uttered.
- Noble Fugitive: While not truly evil, Eda is a wanted criminal, both for peddling snake-oil and refusing to join any coven. She boldly operates her business in a town where her Wanted Posters are hanging in plain sight.
- Noodle Incident:
- It's bad enough that a Humanoid Abomination like Warden Wrath has a crush on Eda, but King claims her last boyfriend was even worse. "Not my boyfriend!" insists Eda in reply.
- The Stinger of "Something Ventured, Someone Framed" shows that Eda's school records have lots of things like this.
- The pixie infestation that causes Hexside to be closed during "Really Small Problem". Willow starts to explain what happened to Eda, but King's antics drown her out to the viewers.
- Lots of them in "Understanding Willow" regarding Willow and Amnity when they were younger. The one with the egg pit stands out, Amnity telling Luz that, "that one is kind of hard to explain".
- The Nose Knows: The hall monitors at Hexside (possibly meant to be parodies of the Dementors) can smell "trouble", using this ability to find misbehaving students.
- Not So Similar: The Titan flags this about Luz and Belos in the Grand Finale when a Heroic BSOD leads Luz to fear she's Not So Different from Belos. Luz is someone who's willing to learn and listen. Belos is a delusional madman who was Evil All Along and has fully embraced Believing Their Own Lies in his delusion that he's a hero. As the Titan says, Luz and Belos are worlds apart.
- The Not-So-Harmless Punishment: In "Something Ventured, Something Framed", Luz first assumes being sent to detention won't be all that bad. Unfortunately, in Hexside, detention means being thrown to a giant, tentacled beast who traps the students in pods, and then applies brainwashing gas to "convince" them to behave.
- Obliviously Evil: The Collector is a horrifying Reality Warper who is The Omnipotent but is ultimately just a child who wants to play and sees nothing wrong with their horrifying actions. King outright lampshades this in "For the Future".
- Obviously Evil:
- Warden Wrath, especially when he takes the mask off.
- Piniet from "Sense and Insensitivity". Most viewers likely realized he was bad news long before King did.
- The map-seller, also from "Sense and Insensitivity" was easy to identify as a con artist from the start; even Eda was onto him, only using the map he sold him on the off chance he was being truthful.
- The Greater Basilisk in "The First Day" is even creepy when in disguised form.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Eda's attitude towards Lilith; she rescues Lilith from a Giant Spider in "Senses and Insensitivity", claiming that if anyone is going to whack Lilith, Eda is going to be the one who does it.
- Our Centaurs Are Different: Bizarrely played for laughs when Luz meets one with no head, his face on his chest.
- Our Demons Are Different: King claims to be a deposed demon lord who has lost his powers; whether he is or not is for now, subject to debate. Whatever the case, he's willing to give Luz a few pointers on how to fight them, like telling her that their two weaknesses are purified water and and passive-aggressive comments. "Even demons can have inner demons," he claims.
- Our Elves Are Different: Eda, Lilith, and most students at Hexside are called witchlings, and seem to have most traits of fantasy elves, including pointy ears and magical ability.
- Our Homunculi Are Different: Abominations are jars of magical slime that can assume vaguely humanoid forms to act as magical servants. Presumably a profitable and lucrative profession for wizards, as Willow's parents insisted she take the class, even though she had no talent in it. Amity also specializes in this school.
- Our Titans Are Different: The Boiling Isles are formed from the skeletal remains of an ancient Titan. The Titans hatch from eggs, a process that can take centuries, and start out the size of a small puppy before they grow to massive size. Their body is roughly humanoid while their head is animalistic. They're also Men of Kryptonite when it comes to the Collectors' magic, something that caused the Collectors' forces to wipe out the Titans.
- Our Werebeasts Are Different: Eda is called the Owl Lady because she suffers from a curse that causes her to change into a demonic, owl sphinx-like beast at night. This was inflicted upon her by a wizard whose identity she doesn't remember, and also doesn't remember why. Eda takes a potion to avoid the transformations, but starting with episode 10, its effect is starting to fail. By the end of season 1, however, she was no longer controlling her curse, as she was succumbed by it, which making it permanent in episode 18 and 19. Well, that was until her sister successfully infusing her curse into her to, causing both them for the moment into half-cursed demonic, owl sphinx-like beasts.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Dottie and Roselle, two sweet-looking old ladies who run the Kitty Cafe are in fact vampires who kidnap cute creatures and brainwash them with constant babying. Unlike typical vampires, they aren't bothered by sunlight; it's not known what other traditional traits of vampires do or do not apply to them.
- The Owl-Knowing One: Eda claims this is why she's called "The Owl Lady", although King claims its because she coughs up rat bones and Hooty claims its because she's attracted to shiny objects. While all that is true - and as a wizard, she is likely rather wise, if eccentric - the actual reason is she suffers from a curse that causes her to turn into a demonic, owl-like beast at night, making her far more like the other sort of owl.
- Perfect Solution Fallacy: Gwen Clawthorne had no interest in treating Eda's (and later Lilith's) curse, she only wanted an easy one-shot fix, leading her to waste resources and neglect her daughters for years.
- Poisonous Friend: Played for Laughs with King, his hubris and pride nearly leading him and Luz to their doom more than once. He grows out of it in Season 2.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: Luz is a Nice Girl on the surface and means well, but many times, she pursues her goals by cheating, lying, stealing, and other types of dishonesty. While Amity might call her out on it a few times, she's Easily Forgiven by most characters and never truly held responsible. This, of course, tended to be a problem for the protagonists of Gravity Falls as well.
- Poor Communication Kills: Quite a lot of the conflict in the show is down to people either not telling their friends and allies important information or them stopping eavesdropping too soon.
- Power Limiter: One of the biggest plot points in the series involves the covens, which are sort of like guilds. Each specialize in a specific school of magic, the most powerful ones being : Bard, Plants, Illusion, Oracle, Beast Keeping, Construction, Healing, Abominations, Potions, and Emperors. When a wizard joins a coven - which is required by law - they receive a magical branding that prevents them from using any magic other than the coven's specialty. Eda refuses to join a coven, meaning she is not limited to one school of magic and is potentially one of the most powerful of sorcerers. Unfortunately, members of the Emperor's coven - like her sister - are also allowed to use all schools. They do have their own brand, however - one that presumably ensures obedience.
- Pyrrhic Villainy: In "Wing it Like Witches", Boscha's team wins the Grudgby match, but Boscha's entire posse rejects her and joins Willow and Luz. Clearly, this is not the outcome Boscha had wanted.
- The Quisling: Odalia Blight will always support the tyrant with the most power.
- Reality Warper: The Collector. And it seems he's only one of a whole race of beings like this.
- Really 700 Years Old: It's not known how old Principal Bump is but he's obviously many centuries old, because in "The First Day", he's mumbling, "only 300 years to retirement". If he is indeed a Witchling, this Trope might apply to Eda and Lilith.
- Replacement Flat Character: After Amity pulled a Heel Face Turn, Boscha took up the Alpha Bitch duties, with no Hidden Depths.
- The Rival:
- Amity started out as Luz's.
- Eda and her sister Lilith have a love-hate relationship that goes back and forth.
- Hexside has a rival school called Glandus High.
- Sacred Hospitality: Eda is safe from the law at Hexside because Principal Bump is, in his own words, not a "snitch". Even if she did cause him a lot of trouble when she was a student.
- Seldom-Seen Species: The Greater Basilisk is believed to be extinct - the episode "The First Day" proves otherwise.
- Shadow Dictator: Emperor Belos has yet to appear in public, and even relays orders to Lilith through his assistant.
- Shared Universe: A Freeze-Frame Bonus in "King's Tide" shows that the show takes place in the same universe as Amphibia.
- Silver Fox: While of Vague Age, Eda is clearly an old woman, but far from your typical old hag. Luz even says she's "surprisingly foxy for her age".
- Snake Oil Salesman: Eda is the Lovable Rogue type; one of the things she sells is literally called snake oil. "For oiling snakes", she claims. She also pilfers objects - mostly junk - from the human world and sells it as "Human Collectibles" for a high price.
- So Proud of You: Eda has a weird idea of when she should be proud of her apprentice; the first time she has this reaction to Luz is when Luz does something that results in her face appearing on Wanted Posters. Later, she seems equally proud when Luz coerces her into teaching her a new spell by appealing to her pride.
- Spiritual Antithesis: Though the series is often seen as a Spiritual Successor/Affectionate Parody of Harry Potter, it's many ways a repudiation of it and its themes.
- On the surface Harry Potter and Luz Noceda are similar, both outsiders to the Wizarding World from a broken home and find greater comfort in their Chosen Family but take that concept in different ways.
- Harry hated living with the Dursleys and at his best only tolerated them, thinking that, even for all their flaws, they didn't deserve to be murdered by dark creatures or wizards and ultimately left them behind when he came of age. Luz by contrast loves Camila with all her heart, welcoming her into the world of magic.
- Likewise, Harry was The Chosen One, having a clear path and destiny, while entering into a society that knew and respected him greatly. Luz is The Unchosen One, entering the Boiling Isles as a complete nobody who has to prove herself by her own merit.
- Despite being the title character, Harry is largely a passive character, nothing and no-one changing due to his direct influence. Luz by contrast throws herself into everything, being a massive force for change to the point that by Season 1's end, Nothing Is the Same Anymore.
- The Boiling Isles also provides a marked contrast to the Wizarding society. Despite all of its systemic flaws, the Wizarding world was presented as an overall just place, the problems that made it a Crapsaccharine World in later books largely being the result of Voldemort and his legacy. The Boiling Isles is shown to be a Crapsaccharine World right from the start, the series not being shy to discuss the unfair Fantastic Caste System and other issues. While Belos is the most prevalent source of that injustice, defeating him is only one step of the problem. To properly fix things, the Owl Housers have to dismantle the corrupt system and the bad actors that allowed him to ascend to and maintain power. Dumbledore's Army by contrast doesn't fix the system, instead assuming the roles of the corrupt old guard, thinking that the system can function with the right actors but don't enact much in the way of change.
- On the surface Harry Potter and Luz Noceda are similar, both outsiders to the Wizarding World from a broken home and find greater comfort in their Chosen Family but take that concept in different ways.
- Starter Villain: The first villain in the show was Warden Wrath, a Jailer villain with an unhealthy crush on Eda.
- Take That:
- The show has quite a few Affectionate Parody scenes derived from Harry Potter, but the scene in "Wing it Like Witches" where Boscha wins the Grudgby match by catching the Rusty Smidge (and Luz's angry reaction) is clearly meant as criticism towards such an unfair game mechanic as the Golden Snitch, something even the most diehard of Harry Potter fans are hard-pressed to deny. In "Watching and Dreaming", King outright says that Grudgby's rules make no sense.
- "Keeping Up A-fear-ances" towards believers of "alternative medicine" who spend extreme sums of money on obvious fraudsters, homeopathy in particular, rather than trusted and proven traditional medicine.
- This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman: The Greater Basilisk is a malevolent beast that eats magic, and as a result, it is able to defeat the students and faculty with relative ease. However, it seems it cannot easily consume more than one type of magic at the same time, and finds trying to consume the mixed-magic assaults Luz and the members of the Detention Tract throw at it Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth.
- The Un-Reveal: Much of Belos' past in "Watching and Dreaming". While the Titan knows the answers, he notes that Luz knowing them wouldn't change who Belos is or the threat he poses.
- Villains Want Mercy: Emperor Belos. Whenever he's not holding all the power, he makes transparently false excuses to try and get out of the fully-deserved Laser-Guided Karma about to drop on his head.
- In "King's Tide", when the Collector is freed, despite Belos reneging on their deal, Belos' fire vanishes in a second, making every excuse he can. The Collector doesn't buy it.
- After being utterly foiled by Luz in "Watching and Dreaming", Belos claims he was under a curse before rains starts to melt him. He switches track to demanding Luz saves him, saying she's just as bad as the witches for not helping him. Luz refuses to even dignify his pathetic display with a response, letting Eda, King and Raine get their well deserved revenge on Belos.
- Void Between the Worlds: The In Between Realm. It's a bizarre place full of Alien Geometries populated by ambiguously sentient black cubes who show any visitor people on either Earth or the Boiling Isles via reflective surfaces. It also served as the prison for the Collector after the Titan sealed him there. And appears to be a halfway station between the afterlife and the living realm.
- Weapon as Familiar: Palismans can transform into a Witch's staff that can cast spells or as a mode of transportation through flight.
- Wanted Poster: Eda's are everywhere, and she displays one of them in her house with a sense of pride; she is very proud of Luz when she gets her first one.
- Weaksauce Weakness:
- Demons have two weakness that King relates to Luz, purified water and passive-aggressive comments. "Even demons have inner-demons," he claims.
- The otherwise Reality Warper race of Collectors are vulnerable to Titan magic.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: In the Distant Finale section of "Watching and Dreaming", Odalia Blight is notably absent.
- What You Are in the Dark: When Belos manages to body-jack the Titan, he drops his Faux Affably Evil facade and goes full religious crusader mode and becomes an Omnicidal Maniac against the Boiling Isles.
- Wild Magic: Eda practices this, claiming that using Wild Magic draws power from the natural magic of the Boiling Isles itself.
- Worthless Yellow Rocks: Eda has an odd perception of what is valuable among the stuff she steals from the human world. In the first scene she appears, she throws away a golden chalice, considering it "garbage", but perceives a pair of novelty goofy-glasses as priceless.
- Younger Than They Look:
- While Eda has been stated to be the older of the two siblings, she seems a little too much older, and it had been all-but openly stated that she is aging rapidly as a result of her curse.
- The Collector is said to predate the Boiling Isles themselves (which would put their age somewhere over 4.6 billion years), yet they don't look older than ten.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Most witchlings have green hair, although Amnity's brown roots suggest she dyes hers. The memory scenes in "Understanding Willow" show that her hair at least used to be completely brown.
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