#but it would lead to luz struggling to see amity as a person beyond the 'rival' trope

[talaofthevalley]

I have no clue why they didn't make Amity more akin to a rival character instead of a bully. Because it would have solved A Lot of problems in regards to Amity and Willow, and Lumity becoming a thing.

The thing is that Lumity feels Super Weird at the start when Luz is trying to befriend Amity long before the girl shows any remorse for bullying Willow and making up for it. And it's not something easily brushed off when Amity is introduced being condescending and a dick to Willow. The bullying isn't something of the past, it's still going on.

Willow comes off as an afterthought in this dynamic, when she's the one who's been wronged by Amity the most. Their arc never feels like it resolves itself either, it just kinda peeters out.

If you've watched Little Witch Academia, Diana is who I think Amity should have emulated more. Diana is the top student at the school, she's stern and no-nonsense, a bit stuck-up, she comes from a prestigious family, she gets in conflict with the protagnoist, Akko, not because of bullying but because they have very different personalities and butt heads because of it. Akko considers Diana her rival, but this is one-sided on her part.

Willow and Amity could still have been friends in the past, but Amity instead pointedly ignores Willow's existence after their friendship has ended. She doesn't call out her friends for bullying Willow(that would make it seem like she cares) but she doesn't participate or encourage it. She's still not a good person, she still has to apologise to Willow, but changing their relationship from 'active bullying' to 'pretending Willow doesn't exist' would do a lot going forward for them I think. Still terrible, but more palatable in my eyes.

[night-rise]

RANT!

(Do not read if easily offended. These are just my own personal thoughts and experiences and don’t even come CLOSE to speaking for the rest of the fandom.)

I am honestly ready for this series to end.

I have been WAY too hooked on this show, and have spent way too long hoping for certain outcomes to happen in the series only for disappointment to hit me every single time.

With the series end I can move on in peace.

Don’t get me wrong, I really do love this show. From its characters, to its story, to its visuals, to its fandom.

However even though I do love this series they’re were SOOO many plot points I personally was holding out for!

Lilith and Amity never formed a mother/daughter bond like Eda and Luz. This was MY “Lumity” moment. This is what I wanted out of EVERYTHING in this series. Since episode 5 this was literally all I needed. I am beyond disappointed my two favorite characters never had a chance to become close and have Eda and Luz adventures. If this would have happened I wouldn’t even CARE about everything else, I would’ve been too happy to notice the other plot points. (Lumity fans can relate to that a bit lol)

Amity’s story was not as great as it could have been. Meaning at times her development and story was at times, blain and or rushed. More side story than main story. Her story didn’t get involved with the overall situation plot points at all. Very disappointed about that. She became more of the lead sidekick/ girl next door, than a key player. Everything Hunter is I wish Amity was.

No Eda and Lilith vs Belos fight. I was really hoping for that one at least and am not holding my breath for season 3 due to it being so short. But who knows.

Eda and Lilith didn’t talk more about the curse. Lilith’s redemption arc was a lot shorter than I hoped it would have been.

Not enough of Hunter being a villain. I was really hoping for more Golden Guard mayhem and battles. Specifically with his artificial magic staff. But this could have been due to shortness on time.

Not enough Eda and Luz mentorship/training/bonding. Most of everything Luz learned she learned from school or on her own. I would’ve loved more focused screen time just on Eda and Luz alone.

And finally, the Day of Unity. Belos needed this screen time. That should have been his episode ALONE. His moment to shine. But he kind of got overshadowed with the Collector taking over and him struggling against CHILDREN. I was looking forward to this guy soloing EVERYBODY. This guy was praised by witches for generations, and has been built up for so long, and to see him go out like that was definitely disappointing. I know he’s not “dead”. But he’s pretty much nothing at this point. He’s probably going to posses Hunter or something and Hunter will have to gain control over himself or something. Overall, Belos is no longer the main problem. I blame Disney for this one. If there was more time, Dana could have made the Day of Unity ALOT more intense.

Maybe it’s my fault. My expectations were too darn high for this series. That’s why my disappointment.

My overall mind was always on Episode 5, Convention. My all time favorite episode.

It was perfect. It had everything. Literally everything. Awesome character introduction. Character development. Hint of a romance. Rivalries left and right. Amity being involved with the main plot by being introduced as Lilith’s apprentice, the woman who is working for the enemy. Eda and Luz having hilarious and heart felt moments.

It was literally the perfect episode and it was only the 5th out of the series.

I was hoping for more episodes like that. And we definitely got some here and there, but not to the level I was hoping it would reach moving on to new season 2.

Anyway, like I said I am ready for the series to end. It was a fun ride, and I will remember these characters for literally the rest of my life.

Moving forward from here though, I’m keeping expectations down and will just enjoy whatever happens next. No theories, no expectations. Just enjoying the Owl Gang while I have them.

[the-lone-witch-and-secret-room]

So, i'm seeing people saying that Amity may sabotage Luz's attempts to get home, judging by the episode's title Yesterday's lie. What are your thoughts?

This post just about sums it up. Amity isn’t even mentioned in the episode synopsis, and it’s not like Luz is planning to leave for good. I feel like people are jumping the gun on that one.

I don’t think we should be taking the “yesterday” in that statement so literally. I don’t actually think it’s about what happened the day before (we don’t even have confirmation that Eclipse Lake takes place a day before this episode). It seems way more likely that it’s just referring to something that just in general happened in the past. On that note, keep in mind, they have to keep the titles in line with the message that the episodes spell out. There’s only so many words that begin with Y and would make sense in this context.

(Also nobody would title an episode “that lie from three months ago”, lol)

And consider: we’ve had episode titles that were intentionally misleading before. “The Intruder” was meant to trick the viewers into thinking someone actually broke into the house, rather than the monster being cursed Eda.

Rather than Amity lying to Luz, there’s a way more obvious ongoing lie related to Luz in the show that I’m pretty sure this is referring to. It’s how she’s been lying to her mom about what she’s up to. Since Camila is in the trailers for the season 1A promo, I feel like the episode is about Camila finding out the truth/Luz being forced to come clean to her once she’s stepped back through the portal into her world. That’s what Luz isn’t sure she’s ready for.

Also I feel like the whole “Amity tries to prevent Luz from going home”-idea is kind of stupid to begin with? Amity was in love with Luz before the portal blew up. We didn’t see her attempting to destroy the portal back then.

Like guys this girl is fourteen, not some manipulative evil mastermind??? I like angst as much as the next person but like… that’s taking it a bit far. Amity attempting to force Luz to stay in the Boiling Isles would cause a major falling out, and not one they could just bounce back from. We’re likely only getting this one season and then three 40 minute specials. That’s not enough time to cover Luz and Amity trying to repair their relationship after a mess like this and everything else that’s been set up to happen.

There’s also another reason why I don’t think this title is referring to Amity, and that’s how Amity in general has been portrayed so far. She’s been raised to think of love as something conditional. Something you need to earn and something you lose if you don’t do what that person wants—which is why she tries so hard to prove herself to her parents (something she’s now finally starting to break out of). She is used to putting other people’s wishes before her own when she seeks their approval.

Amity loves Luz. And I think more than anything, she wants Luz to be happy. She wants to be with her, but she’s not going to force Luz to stay if that’s not what Luz wishes to do. Amity has been forced to do a whole bunch of things throughout her life by people that supposedly love her, and I just can’t see her doing the same thing to Luz when she’s been through that kind of manipulation a million times over and knows exactly what it feels like.

If she manipulates Luz like that and Luz catches her, she’d also risk losing her for good, and Amity doesn’t take risks that big easily. She’s used to having to give 120% because even 110% aren’t enough for her parents, and if there’s the ghost of a chance she could fail, she doesn’t even try. Up until she meets Luz, she doesn’t do anything against her parents wishes, despite knowing how much the twins get away with, because there’s a chance that she wouldn’t get away with it. She’s afraid of rejection, and since there’s a chance Luz could say no to her, she doesn’t ask her out. She’s also lost the most important person in her life (Willow) through her own actions once before, and I just cannot see her risking that again.

Amity is starting to take more risks now, because Luz inspires her to, but she’s changing as a person way beyond “she’s willing to take more risks”.

Screwing other people over to get what she wants (which is very much something she probably internalized considering the household she grew up in) is something Amity would’ve done before she met Luz, before Luz inspired her to be better. She cut Willow off because her parents asked her to. She used to tattle on the twins all the time because she wanted her parents’ approval. She burned Willow’s photo so people wouldn’t find out they were friends, even if it meant hurting Willow in the progress.

She did everything she could so her parents would be proud of her, so they would love her, even if it meant hurting others.

And Luz slowly changed everything. Luz, who is reckless, and selfless, and always stands up for the people she cares about, even when it means putting herself in harm’s way in the progress. Luz, who helped Amity fix things with Willow. Luz and her current friends inspire Amity to be a better person. “They’re nice to each other. They listen to each other. They make me think about the kind of person I really want to be”, to directly quote Escaping Expulsion. And that person isn’t the kind of manipulator her parents are, who will stop at nothing to get what they want, even if people get hurt in the progress.

That person is selfless, and does the right thing, no matter what. She made her first step towards that in Understanding Willow, when she fixes her mistake and faces her past misdeeds in the progress, even if it’s hard, even if she doesn’t want to, because it’s the right thing to do. Because she owes it to Willow, and she owes her an apology. In Wing it like Witches, she follows through on her promise to stand up for Willow and breaks ties with her old friends, even if her parents will definitely hear of that. Even at the risk of painting a target on her back for Boscha, Skara and their friends. Heck, she puts herself in harm’s way in the literal sense to give Luz a chance to win the game.

And in Escaping Expulsion, she even risks angering her parents to help Luz and her friends. The parental approval that she’s worked for for so hard for so many years is at stake, and she chooses to do risk everything to do the right thing, to help her friends. She chooses the people who treat her right, who make her happy.

Her powerful speech would be meaningless if Amity would then turn around and sabotage Luz. It says a ton about how much Luz trusts Amity that she trusts Amity to get something portal-related for her in Eclipse Lake, and I just cannot see Amity betraying that trust. It’s possible that Amity struggles with the thought of Luz going home in that episode, but I cannot see her doing anything to sabotage something that’s this important to Luz. That would be a huge disservice to her character in my opinion.

Seeing that episode title and going “this means Amity is lying to Luz and sabotaging her for her own selfish desires” is to completely ignore all of Amity’s character development. Amity isn’t that person anymore. She’s trying really hard to be better. If she were to sabotage Luz’s attempts at going home, and choosing that over open communication, it would be a huge step back for her.

Honestly, it feels more likely that Amity ends up choosing to openly communicate her feelings, which would be a huge, huge thing for her. Maybe when they say their temporary goodbye she says something like “you better come back soon” and kisses Luz before she leaves (which would align with her allowing herself to take more risks if they’ll make her happy that we’ve seen a bunch of lately).

To circle back to the beginning, like I said, it’s very likely that Yesteday’s Lie focuses on Luz’s relationship with her mom, and Luz freaking out at the prospect of telling her everything. How much of a role her friends and Amity play in it is very up in the air, even if as mentioned I could see this scenario leading into a confession scene.

[sairenharia]

The Chosen One in The Owl House

So I binged The Owl House a few weeks ago and been reading posts and watching videos and just been wondering about what is Hunter’s ‘place’ in the narrative. (I love Hunter, btw. I love a constantly stressed person who never sleeps who needs a hug.)

He is clearly a foil of sorts. He is Luz’s love of magic, someone who wants to learn and explore more and is denied that. He is Amity’s pain and restriction of her parents. But both Luz and Amity have developed where they are the foils who know better, and can show their growth, but he may not necessarily be in a place to push them to grow.

And then when I rewatched, I realized what is Hunter’s ‘point’ in the story. Something the show hasn’t really talked about since episode two.

Hunter is the one who is given a destiny.

Its a point that Luz is not the ‘chosen one.’ She is not the ‘worthy hero.’ Her every achievement isn’t decided by fate, but her own willingness to listen and change the world around her. She takes what the island offers in glyphs. She sees people who are hurting and offers support and kindness. She is extraordinary because she chooses to go against the status quo because its the right thing to do and in a land where not fitting in is a crime, this is a major choice.

Amity had expectation. She had a dream hundreds of other kids had, but the talent and pressure to actually get there. But she was not chosen. She worked hard for her ability, first from her parents pressuring her, and then from being inspired by her friends. But its notable even if she wanted to join the coven, Amity did not ‘fit in.’ If fanfic is a crime, is fanart any better? When she saw the Emperor’s Coven didn’t meet her ideals, she was easily able to let that dream go, and when given the chance to be herself, she chose it, even if she struggled. But she was expected to become part of that system, to work and force herself to have a part to play.

Luz is the outsider. Amity is the one who could have been.

The others all have different roles in society.

Eda was rejected by society, so she decided to reject it back.

Raine is the one who tries to change the system from the inside.

Lilith had spent too much to join the system so stayed with it out of that guilt, and also in the hope she could use it to help her sister.

Willow is the one who was forced to try and be something else to be ‘better’ in the system until her talent showed her as too invaluable elsewhere.

Gus knows what he wants to be, even if he doubts sometimes, and is looking at a future where he’s not limited.

King is the seemingly mascot sidekick, but he has his own history, his own family, his story exists beyond the role people may assume.

And Hunter is the Chosen One. While everyone felt pressure to conform to the system in one way or another, they are still able to make a Choice at some point. Even Amity’s rebellion against her parents still has wiggle room. She may not be Emperor’s Coven, but she could lead SOME coven and that is still good for the family. As long as she advances their status, she is given freedom.

Hunter does not. Hunter is told what he is to be. Who he is. Because the Titan has Plans for him. Out of everyone, Hunter is the only one whose been sincerely told his destiny is decided for him.

And what a horrible thing that is.

Hunter is a good boy in his heart. He is someone who wants to make friends, he is someone who keeps his word, he sincerely thanks people, he protects a tiny bird even if it would give him the validation he wants to give Rascal up. He is an anxious mess who doesn’t sleep. He wears a mask that is cheerful and he sasses his opponents and he fights criminals.

He is guided by a mentor who he calls uncle, someone important to him, someone he trusts, who gives him responsibilities, but also pushes him to do more then a kid his age should be doing.

Hunter’s role in the story is to show just how much its a terrible thing to be chosen. How Luz is lucky to be able to choose the destiny she wants. To be allowed to still be uncertain. Because Hunter cannot afford to be.

Because Hunter is miserable and yet despite this, he believes in what he’s doing. At least believes Enough. He isn’t using the coven like Lilith was. He doesn’t want power like Kikimora. He isn’t blinded like the other witches. He knows the coven will sometimes do underhanded things, will hurt people, but it is for the Greater Good. And it is for a person he trusts and loves without question.

He believes in Belos wholeheartedly. He believes in the destiny he’s been told he must fulfill. And he’s terrified of being replaced, of being told what he is meant to be, and he STILL won’t be good enough. If he can’t perform, then what worth is he? Even if he loves wild magic, its dangerous and shouldn’t be trusted, though maybe he’s just Special Enough to use it to at least do one good thing?

In other stories, Hunter would be the hero. The strange boy with no magic, but chosen to do something special that only he can, but he must work to be capable of it. To have a powerful and beloved mentor. To have respect and admiration for the skills he learns quickly despite his obvious disadvantage. He works to stop criminals and those deemed dangerous. He does it all because he’s special and the only one who can and he’s too good of a person to say no even as he suffers.

But not having a decision in the person you will be just means you can easily be made to do something terrible instead. Or just be an ingredient in some grand plan you can’t even see.

Hunter is the hero who needs to be rescued from his own destiny.

I wonder if Belos wears sandles under those robes.