Not a bad mid-season finale, but its conclusion is bittersweet for we have now entered the dreaded…HIATUS! Honestly, I hadn’t even heard of the concept of a mid-season finale before rubbing elbows with my cronies in the Owl House Discord server. Even if I had, I don’t think I’d lend it as much weight. The only finales I’m primarily concerned with are those capping seasons in their entirety. For them, on the other hand, expectations were running a bit high, for which this fairly low stakes episode left wanting. I, for one, saw a different side to this entry and firmly enjoyed it. The Owl House has so far spoiled us with a small, yet steady, drip-feed of plot-relevant information, even in more casual fare. This entry is no different.

This episode is centered on Luz borrowing Eda’s staff without her permission and using it to transport her friends to a school sporting event. However, in the attempt, she mishandles the staff and ends up chipping its head-piece, a living creature named Owlbert. The wounded little owl then takes flight and takes refuge with the Bat Queen, a recurring character from a previous episode, who will only allow Luz to reunite with Owlbert after completing a series of challenges to prove her worth. Overall, it reminds me of a similar premise from a bizarre episode of Avatar…

As canned as the premise may sound, Luz actually does express a healthy amount of trepidation at absconding with Owlbert. When she initially went to ask Eda for permission, King played a dodgy game of gate-keeper. You see, this episode’s B-plot revolves around Eda slowly transforming into her owl-monster persona despite imbibing the wolfsbane potion she uses to keep it in check. She’s only partially transformed, making her suggestive to King’s commands, which he exploits to help him settle a juvenile playground grudge.

Though at first, it seemed to be only one of his many delusions of grandeur, we see more hints with each episode that King might really have once been a Demon King. While others see his self-centered, and frankly cruel, manipulation of Eda as damaging to his likeability, to me it only makes sense. If the theory is true then King a vicious tyrant trapped in the body of a toddler. In that case, it’s a wonder more of his sadistic streak doesn’t bleed through his cutesy exterior.

Meanwhile, Luz is busy performing her trials which at first don’t seem any more harrowing than overly taxing chores. This may have been Owlbert’s idea as a way of simply teaching her better responsibility. The Bat Queen has other ideas, however, going so far as to imprison Owlbert and attack Luz. We learn that she was once a creature much like Owlbert, a “palisman”, a totem animal crafted by witches to adorn and guard their staves, but not always treated with the respect they deserve.

The Bat Queen protects spurned palismans like herself in an Isle of Misfit Toys scenario. She’s then surprised to learn that Owlbert has forgiven Luz and wishes to be reunited. She finally agrees to release them and part amicably, with Luz even resolving to help the Bat Queen find the cruel master who harmed her. This will no doubt lead to an interesting episode where we see what titanic being once owned such a vast receptacle of power…the Emperor of the Demon Realms perhaps? We have yet to see what he truly looks like, so for all we know, he could be the gigantic figure the Bat Queen describes.

While that transpires, King’s grip on Eda begins to wane and she ends up captured by the Demon Hunters from Hooty’s Moving Hassle, now demoted to glorified dog-catchers. Out of options, King tries to change Eda back by reminding her of the cutesy squeal of rage he displayed earlier in the episode, which works a charm, oddly enough. It’s a bit inconsistent as to what can actually trigger or reverse her transformations but in this case, I suppose we can say the potion is still doing its job, just not all the way. After their escape, both King and Luz try to downplay their involvement in the episode’s hijinks (though at least in Luz’s case it was Owlbert fibbing on her behalf). Eda easily sees through their lies but is too exhausted from her ordeal to dwell on it, and now has bigger problems either way.

While some rightly found their behavior offputting, I think it’s a poignant aspect of their relationship that may come into play later in the series. As part of Luz’s learning to separate fantasy from reality, she comes to realize that they aren’t on such good terms as to be called a heroic band of happy misfits as she likely sees in her fantasy novels. They are a dysfunctional family or vitriolic best-friends who have legitimate issues with trust.

Thus far, Luz has gone behind Eda’s back on several occasions, pried into her past and generally sewn chaos. Eda, on the other hand, has dragged her heels on her promise to teach Luz magic after using her for menial labor, only recently beginning to own up to it (Something Ventured, Someone Framed). Meanwhile, King has shown to be self-serving and borderline sociopathic, not to mention demonic if the theories are true. I can only imagine that tensions will build and tempers will flare at some point down the road, with incidents like these laying the foundation.

Some people dread this sort of drama, but I think, if executed well, it can be a healthy form of duress with which to flesh out a convincing friendship between these characters. After all, you only truly know who your friends are when you’ve been through hell together. One could say the same about the relationship between a popular television show and its fans…who must now endure the torments of…THE HIATUS…

Hopefully, given the series’ wise move towards a weekly format, we won’t have long to wait before we’re reunited with our friends from the Boiling Isles.

Overall: 8/10