Rewatching TOH Season 1 with hindsight...
Rewatching the first season of Owl House with online friends made me realize something. It's pretty much the regular human world just with more fantastical elements, particular with Hexside. Sure it's more authoritarian, but it felt like a world that was independently founded by witch culture, including the whole Coven system.
Belos at first fits into the world perfectly, back when he was considered an actual witch. Getting visions from the Titan, using them to justify his rule, and then planning on mass conversion and supposedly invading the Human Realm in the name of witch imperialism. He's a generic cult leader but he fits well with the theme.
Until you incorporate Philip Wittebane into the equation. Philip Wittebane is a very different character. He is not a cult leader. He is a zealous witch hunter driven by revenge. Revenge against all witches. Such a character would not have come up with such an elaborate plan to kill all the witches with a convoluted plot that takes 400 years to complete, requires him to pretend to be a witch, and requires the witches to blindly trust him. He would have simply amass an army of loyal soldiers that obey him to massacre the witches. And these soldiers would have been his fellow witch hunters or clones of his witch hunters that share his hatred for witches. Genocidal hatred.
This is the paradox of Belos' character. He's far more interesting as Philip Wittebane in that you want to know more about his backstory and why he went from this adorable kid to a lunatic witch killer. But if you ignore that backstory and just focus Belos in terms of present day context, he's a confusing mess of a villain that gives off different, unintended messages.
He's a Puritan yet somehow is respectful of LGBT, blacks, and women in the Boiling Isles despite already forcing their society to convert to the Coven System. He hates all witches and loves humans, yet his entire scheme in Boiling Isles relies on a covoluted plan that would take centuries to complete (and requires him to dress up as a witch) rather than the simple "build the door portal" and rally the witch hunters to a genocidal war against witches. He's the reason why the Boiling Isles went from a utopia to a jackass place, yet it's not really different from the regular human world (and if anything, it's actually better) and thus, it feels more real than the "utopian" past.
Honestly, Belos and Philip should have been two separate characters on opposite sides, with Belos' rise to power being a response to Philip's fanatical attacks on witch societies. Imagine what kind of conflict and grey area would that be for the audience. Heck, what if Belos was actually Caleb and Caleb, in an attempt to defend witches from his brother, became sort of a Magneto tyrant who hates all of humanity and that's why he wants to invade the Human Realm.
And imagine how Luz has to resolve the conflict that cannot be easily resolved.
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Wittebros With A Wittesis Headcanons
Original headcanons
Ao3 version
Caleb:
• He loved his little sister very much. She meant the absolute world to him, and he would shower her with so much big brotherly affection.
• Caleb carved Wittesis a wooden doll, which she named Miss. No Name, as she was unable to come up with a more suitable name for her new play pal. Although Caleb was not a skilled seamster by any means, he and his sister managed to sew a little dress for Miss. No Name using the fabrics that they had at home.
• If the weather was pleasant and sunny and Caleb wasn't occupied with work, he and Wittesis would go outside and get permission from a local farm owner that Caleb knew to feed his flock of chickens. One time, a red cardinal came swooping down into the mix to get in on the sunflower seeds that were being tossed at the flock, which excited both siblings immensely.
• Planting a seed together in a flower pot, they each took turns watering and caring for the seedling, and watched it develop over time into a beautiful flower.
• Caleb was quite protective of Wittesis, but unlike his younger brother, he didn't go overboard with his protection.
• He was fond of setting a good example for his little sister.
• When Wittesis became a teenager, she served as an almost mother figure to Caleb, while the eldest had a tendency to behave as both her brother and father.
• One of Caleb's biggest regrets in life was leaving behind his sister in the human realm.
Philip:
• Like Caleb, Philip was also very loving of his little sister. Besides his older brother, she was his bestest, most closest companion.
• Middle child Philip Wittebane.
• His protective older brother instincts really kicked in as a child. Once, a big, old toad slowly walked up to Wittesis while she was playing alone outside, which caused her to get really scared as she shrieked for help. Philip, quickly rushing to her rescue, took a protective stance in front of Wittesis. Slipping on his mask, he pulled out his wooden sword and directed it at the beastly toad. The toad stopped and stood there, its eyes fixed on the weapon in its face with a blank expression. Turning around, it proceeds to slowly walk away. Once the toad was gone, Wittesis gave her Wittebro a big hug! He was a hero, her hero.
• They played a lot of typical children's games together as kids, such as "Tag" and "Hide-And-Seek".
• Philip taught her how to read and write, making him like a second teacher to her.
• Wittesis once wanted to bake a cake and asked Philip if he could assist her in doing so since she was far too little to bake on her own. So the two did, or at least tried to, and ended up making a massive mess in the kitchen that Caleb ends up cleaning once he arrives home.
• His protective older brother instincts grew tremendously when he became a teen. In Philip's eyes, boys were dangerous (except for him and Caleb, of course), especially boys who could be or were witches. If they were wise, they would refrain from going near his sister in his presence, or else.
• Getting back to his little sister was the main objective in his life. Before departing from the human realm, Philip made a promise to her that he would come back, but never did. Centuries later, despite knowing that she's likely not alive anymore, Philip still ponders on what his sister would think of him if she knew what he did to Caleb, along with his various other sins.
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...this parallel right here.
Caleb's ghost with the bloody knife hanging over his head, coldly staring at the brother who murdered him.
Luz, back from the dead and infused with the Titan's powers, the ball of light floating above her head, the same thing Belos reduced her to, giving him that same cold stare.
Both of them killed by the same man, one of them coming back to haunt him, the other coming back to put an end to him.
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They can't be happy, can they?
Previous AU content (More related to Hunter and Willow than Caleb and Evelyn)
1 // 2 // 3
More
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it’s just. in the end it’s about family. it's about Camila pulling Eda into a hug because she took care of her baby. it’s about Hunter thinking he has no one looking for him only to find Darius over his shoulder. it’s about King’s dad telling Luz to tell King he loafs him. (it’s about Caleb falling in love with Evelyn, Philip betraying him for it.) it’s about Gus and Amity and Willow finding their dads. Vee graduating alongside Luz. The Collector being a lonely kid who was abandoned.
Luz having her quinceañera on the Boiling Isles with everyone she loves around her. This show is about family.
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