#but they apply to her role as Luz's mentor as well

[pancakesandpessimism]

Hey. Hey, remember Eda in season 1?

Remember how she clearly didn’t put much, if any, thought into agreeing to teach Luz magic? Remember how it took days of begging and eventual bribery before Eda showed Luz her first spell, or explained how magic works for witches? Remember how she clearly hadn’t considered the implications of mentoring someone without a bile sac, and didn’t seem to have a plan beyond showing Luz spells that she was physically incapable of replicating and hoping for the best? Remember how she openly laughed (in King’s own words mean-spiritedly) at Luz when she got excited about possibly being ‘the chosen one’? Remember how she didn’t seem to think twice about putting incredibly dangerous traps around an arena two teenagers would be fighting in despite the fact that either girl could have been severely hurt (or in King’s case KILLED) by them? Remember how she initially tried to discourage Luz from even trying to attend Hexside because of her own beliefs about the school system, even though Luz was clearly interested and obviously wanted more education than Eda was (and could) give her alone?

Remember the first time Eda recognized Luz doubting herself and her place on the Isles? Remember her understanding exactly what Luz needed in that moment, AKA a pep-talk, a gentle reality check about the concept of chosen ones, a promise, and a new perspective of the Isles that Eda knew Luz would find beautiful? Remember how she willingly spent a whole day filling out paperwork and undoing her teenage-self’s handiwork despite hating every second of it because she recognized that Hexside was better equipped to help Luz’s growth as a witch then she was on her own? Remember her in Adventures in the Elements, trying so freaking hard to help Luz take the next step in a journey that she didn’t understand much better than Luz did, but had worked hard to try figuring out for Luz’s sake? Remember how she started spending her free time researching older forms of magic in the hopes of MAYBE finding information that could help her teach Luz? Remember her patience despite Luz’s obvious skepticism and eventual disobedience on the Knee? Her immediate praise for Luz managing to discover her second glyph all on her own even though she’d almost gotten Eda eaten by a monster ~10 minutes prior? Remember how she spent Grom stressing because she understood what Luz’s capabilites were at the time and was concerned she was expecting too much from herself and would get hurt physically, mentally, or emotionally during the fight, despite originally planning to do nothing but relax and have fun? Remember how she was 100% ready to face a monster that displays your worst fears to everyone watching, despite having very good personal reasons to be concerned about doing so, without so much as an ‘I told you so’ because what Luz needed at that moment wasn’t a lecture, it was someone supporting her when she was faced with something she wasn’t properly prepared to handle, and letting her know it was okay that she couldn’t do it yet because Eda would be there to help until she was ready?

Remember how she started this series as an irresponsible, negligent teacher? Remember watching her learn and grow as a mentor over the course of the show, gradually taking more kids under her wing (hah) as she went until she became someone that every member of the Hexsquad who’s spent more than 30 minutes with her trusts implicitly and looks to for guidance and support during times of crisis, and who several kids who aren’t part of the main squad (ex. Edric and Emira) respect in a similar way?

Remember this expression from I Was a Teenage Abomination? Her genuine surprise and shock, almost disbelief, at being considered a good teacher? 

Look at her now.

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It’s fascinating to me that Darius seems genuinely protective of his mentor’s image and reputation, out of a sense of real loyalty and fondness for him; Actual principle instilled by his teacher, a guard to the Golden... Guard. Which makes Darius’ criticism of Hunter’s misdeeds and blind obedience over it feel more compelling, because to Darius, this kid who didn’t earn the title and only has it by nepotism is just. Parading around with his mentor’s image and name, without any understanding nor respect for what it means, he basically appropriated it thanks to Belos. Hunter wearing a flimsy, bootleg copy of the Golden Guard’s sigil that he can’t even make look good is just the cherry on top; It feels genuinely disrespectful to someone Darius knew and held dear, someone personal to him. For all we know, Darius is still grieving to an extent?

He’s still kind of a gatekeeper, but considering the compelling relationship we’ve seen between Luz and Eda, I wonder if that’s a good frame of reference to work with; If Luz grew up and found this nepotism kid using the Owl Lady title without having actually earned it, acting in ways contrary to Eda’s values as a person, basically appropriating the aesthetic for coven propaganda. It’s not a one-to-one situation since the previous Golden Guard presumably DID still work for Belos, and Luz isn’t as judgmental of a person as Darius.

But still, I think this perspective gives him more nuance, given how this episode is about judging and misjudging people, your perceptions of them; And getting to consider their perspective and where they actually come from, the context of who they are because this one glimpse you have isn’t necessarily representative. Besides, is the golden guard even an actual rank, or someone’s personal title that Belos stole for himself and gave to Hunter, without any permission? That would add to Darius’ indignity, if the Golden Guard persona was someone else’s personal invention that Belos has basically begun to take credit for, since he IS a colonizer; ‘Honoring’ the name by making it official sure, but still very much making what was supposed to apply to just one person into a role in his system.

Anyhow, I freaking LOVE Darius. He’s literally only been in two episodes (technically three but as a brief non-speaking cameo) and there’s already just... SO MUCH depth and implied background, story, and motive to this dude. Parallels and foils, relationships that define Darius, from his mentorship by the Golden Guard, his feelings about Hunter; His disdain for Belos’ flaws and endorsement of the Abomatons; His camaraderie with Eberwolf, and finally his rivalry with Alador, whom the latter is likely going to give us more insight into in Reaching Out. And that episode will likely expand on Darius’ thematic relationship with Amity, which might evolve into an actual in-universe interaction between the two; And what he represents for her, compared to Alador!

Darius also introduces us to a new and advanced type of Abomination magic, expanding on that spell set compared to the minions we’ve seen before; One unique to himself that says a lot about Darius, and conversely says a lot about other Abomination witches we see by contrast and comparison. He seems more dedicated to the ideals of the Golden Guard than Belos; Both Golden Guards now, it seems, so there’s this gray nuance to his allegiances and morals.

Darius has such brief screen time but he uses it so well and establishes so much in so little. I love his highly-opinionated personality that borders on pretentious and gatekeeper, he’s so effective and amazing y’all. Any Sport in a Storm wasn’t just Hunter and Willow’s episode, it was also Darius’ too, because you don’t judge an episode by its cover! It’s more than its initial promise of Huntlow, Wittebane and Gravesfield lore, and the Azura book club.

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Lilith learning from her mistakes

           A while ago I made a post analyzing and dissecting Eda and Lilith’s role as teachers, and the different ways they engage with this. And how Eda isn’t much of a great/academic, conventional teacher herself, while Lily is… but on the flipside, Eda is much more of an emotional role model with life-lessons, while Lilith is kind of a bad influence both as herself and as a medium for the Emperor’s Coven and its propaganda. But then a recent reblog just made the joke, reminding me of ANOTHER joke-post I made about Lilith…

           And I’m just considering that while Eda is the weird academic teacher and Lilith is the normal one- Eda is the conventional role model in that she has her stuff put together, and generally is experienced and street-wise, and well aware of her own shortcomings and tries to improve them… While Lilith serves as an unconventional purpose in that she’s a cautionary tale, of explicitly what NOT to do! It’s a very unorthodox, but in some ways potent, way of showing kids why you REALLY want to do the right thing, because the wrong thing can really mess you up in its own way…

           So you have Eda and Lilith; One is conventional as an academic teacher, the other not so much. But on the flipside, one is conventional as the kind of mentor that teaches you life-lessons and encourages you to grow, while the other… Isn’t. And it’s a hilarious duality, because in a lot of ways Eda is unorthodox while Lilith isn’t- But in just as many ways, Eda is the more conventional, in contrast to Lilith! 

          These sisters really are two sides of the same coin and parallels, I love it, and it’d be hilarious if Lilith herself came to this realization in-universe… Maybe with Luz admitting that after seeing how Lilith screwed up with Eda, Luz knows better than to lie to Camila about what happened, and will tell the truth as soon as she gets the chance. And Lilith just has this weird epiphany… And realizes that if others can learn from her mistakes, maybe she can learn from her own?

           Especially since Lilith has more access to the ‘educational materials’ (AKA her memories of her own shortcomings) than anyone else… So coupled with some outside input from others who can actually tell Lily what she’s doing or HAD been doing was wrong, and I think it could be an interesting way for Lilith to really self-reflect… To finally consider where she went wrong, with information from the people she actually wronged- So that when Lilith DOES try to improve herself, she can do so as efficiently as possible. And hopefully, she can recognize the distinctions between what she did right VS what she did wrong, so she can focus on repeating and expanding upon the former…

           If Lilith becomes resigned to the idea that she can only do wrong, Luz and Eda can really show her that the reason they’re even giving her this second chance, is because Lilith HAS proven she’s not a hopeless cause to them! And considering how much Lilith hurt those two, that’s saying a lot- So it can really provide a lot of hope for Lilith that hey, if Eda really does know better than you… Then maybe she knows better when she says Lilith is worth helping and loving, compared to when Lilith insists otherwise about herself. Plus, it’d just be really surreal for Lilith to look to herself for guidance for once, to actually look to herself for the responsibility and initiative of deciding what to do.

          Especially since the last time she made her worst mistake (cursing Eda), Lilith did so by considering what Belos would do… Not what SHE would do, because Lilith was a kid, and kids don’t have the best concept of self-identity, especially not when there’s a Coven System that actively discourages this. And maybe that’s what she does and DID do, for a while… Deflecting the blame onto Belos low-key, with Lilith reassuring herself that she’s only doing what HE would’ve done, in a “I was just following orders” sort of way that really culminates, when Lilith is called out by Eda for taking Luz hostage- And Lilith gets frustrated and even takes this personally, because she’s just doing what BELOS is telling her to do, in addition to of course the threat of execution- She’s just enforcing Belos’ will, just a humble messenger for the Emperor, as the Emperor is a humble messenger for the Titan…

          And so by taking responsibility for her own actions or at least considering her part in them, it’s this kind of self-reflection that will really force Lilith to consider her own identity, her sense of self… It will make Lilith consider what choices of hers were actually HERS, or just the toxic influence/decisions of others. She’ll have to reflect on where she DID have the freedom to make a choice, so Lilith can see where she could’ve done better, and apply that to the present. And Lilith has to consider how much personhood she’s actually built up in the Emperor’s Coven, how much of her identity is wrapped around it; And what parts of herself aren’t, what parts of herself she CAN build off of, etc.

          Lilith will actually have to consider who she is and what that means, and whether or not she wants to change that, and in what way… And hopefully, it can all lead to Lilith developing a better sense of self, and feeling so much more liberated in as she can now explore who she is, and create more of that person if there’s not much depth to be found. It’s by choosing where choices are offered to her, that Lilith can form any semblance of identity and decide who she is; And now, she has SO much more freedom to make these decisions!

          It’ll be scary the possibilities, the ways things could go wrong, all the potentially-amazing choices you might miss out on without someone telling you what to do… But that’s why Eda, Luz, and King are here to guide Lilith, and make her feel comfortable with making decisions, even if that means mistakes- Because Lilith can learn from new mistakes, just as she does from her old ones! Just as Eda provides this to Luz, Lilith now has the support network, the safety net to try out different things, without fearing backlash and consequences that make her regret the power of choice in the first place.

          She no longer has to fear failure, Lilith will realize that she can both recover and even learn from it… And that can encourage her to go ahead and attempt things, be it a new look for yourself, or the effort to help someone when you think there’s nothing you have that you can provide. It can give Lilith certainty in her decisions, leave no room for doubt on what she chose after exploring the other decisions… And maybe enable Lilith to keep fighting for a better future, even if she knows she might not win. Because it’s better to be true to yourself, to go down for maintaining your own sense of identity, than to become a covenscout to the system- And Lilith knows firsthand just how terrible that is! Even if Lilith knows she’ll fail, she might still insist on fighting alongside her sister Eda anyway, because going down together is much better than living on alone, as Lilith has experience in renouncing.

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With Amity being a fan of the Good Witch Azura, I wonder what she likes in particular in the books, as since they've paralleled and foreshadowed Luz's journey in here and Covention, it feels like they might also be used to parallel and foreshadow things with Amity as well now, particularly with how attention was given to the handdrawn cover which looked like Amity with Azura's outfit and staff. Perhaps the similarities between her and Luz run deeper than just rivals turned friends, but in 1/2

opposite directions. While the books so far seem to indicate Azura's stories as a reflection of Luz's - being friends with an old lady and a small animal while dueling and eventually befriending a two-faced rival, dressed in a white and greyish blue outfit - it's possible that the same could be said with Amity, as Lillith might have a "small animal" counterpart to King, and Luz this episode could be considered her Hecate after temporarily showing her "bully side." What do you think of this? 2/2

I know we’ve already discussed some of this before, but just to officially answer...

I LOVE this idea! What I really like about Amity’s character, among other things, is that you can really see things from her perspective. You can see how she views the world, how her past experiences and upbringing have led her to do things that we, as a detached outside viewer, would initially assume as being just in bad taste, etc. 

I remember someone pointing out, before the show aired, the similarities between Amity and Azura as well! At the time, it made me wonder if the show would make a point of Amity being more of the Azura expy than Luz... But now that you’ve pointed it out, it’s really settling in how Amity no doubt sees herself in Azura, the same way Luz did at the end of Episode 1! (Some have suggested that her dyed-green hair is to fit in with Emira and Edric more, but considering how much she tries to not be like them, and the specific shade of her dye, I think it’s more likely she’s emulating Azura)

That’s another thing I love about this show- It admits that Luz is not necessarily any more special than anyone else, and the parallels between Amity and Azura evoke what we learned at the end of Episode 2. Nobody is anymore special than the rest, that everybody thinks they might be slated for greatness, etc. We realize that just as Azura resonates with Luz, it does the same with Amity... She and Luz aren’t really that different and I think it’s this realization, coupled with Luz’s natural kindness and her revelations at the end of Episode 2, that make her so willing to look at things from Amity’s perspective.

So like you suggested... Luz and Amity are both Azura. They’re two sides of the same coin. They’ve got older witch mentors with a bird theme who happen to be sisters (and Luz and Amity even parallel said mentors no less), Luz and Amity feel the need to prove themselves and don’t feel respected by someone they’re close to (to different degrees), they both have a fondness of Azura and represent different aspects of her, etc. If you put the two together, it really looks as if it would create Azura herself! If you look at it one way, Luz is Azura... look at it another way, Amity is Azura! 

...Which, makes me wonder if that’s the idea- That as the show goes on, the ‘hero’ of the story will actually be a duo, consisting of Amity and Luz as they both fulfill the role of Azura together! It’d be a really neat twist, what with the show going out of its way to deconstruct the ‘chosen one’ and ‘mean rival’ tropes. It’d also extend the show’s message of the interchangeability of the hero role, and that there doesn’t need to only be one person who succeeds (which is no doubt a lesson Amity could benefit from). You don’t have to do things alone, and Luz can show this to Amity.

(I’m still wondering on who the King parallel on Amity’s side could be. There is Otabin like you pointed out, who’s small and cute like King, but he’s also a one-off character and not even real. It’d probably be a later-introduced character, but it’s occurred to me that Amity regularly creates Abominations. Could one of them end up fulfilling the role of King? I guess we just need to wait and see, we’re not even halfway through the first season yet!)

As you also pointed out, Azura has blue on her staff (and in her name), and Hecate has an orange motif with her own staff as well! The duality of blue and orange between the two is interesting to consider. The first instinct would be to say, “They chose blue and orange for those two because they’re opposite colors to reflect the ‘different sides of the same coin’ motif, but they probably don’t apply one-to-one with Luz and Amity.”

...However, that’s no fun, so for a moment let’s just act like it does have meaning. We’ve already established as Amity fulfilling the role of Azura instead of Luz, but that also opens up Luz fulfilling the role of Hecate as well. If she ends up representing Hecate in this scenario, I could see it- Both are unconventional heroes who don’t have natural, innate magical talent. If Hecate’s antagonistic role and ‘dishonor’ is any indication, she’s probably a rule-breaker the way Luz is as well. Hecate also has multiple faces, which... 

If Luz IS Hecate, then Hecate’s orange motif could translate to Beast-Keeping like you suggested! And Luz is already affiliated with ‘beasts’ through King, who’s a demon. She was also able to ‘tame’ another beast, Cursed Eda... likewise, she’s intimately aware of at least one of the creatures from the Boiling Isles, the Gryphon, having made an accurate taxidermy of one prior to visiting the place and even predicting the spider-breath correctly! Then we have King in Luz’s body, making Luz seem like an animal... The point is, Luz definitely has that beast-keeping motif going on.

Granted, the way the show is slated suggests Luz is going to specialize in ALL forms of magic, because she’s not a part of the coven system. But that doesn’t mean she won’t personally resonate with some spells more than others. And we already know she’s pretty great with Light spells, and those could arguably apply to Beast-Keeping as well! The lights can put demons at bay, or act as a ‘guide’ to lead them!

(On the flip-side, Amity can be like Hecate in that her Abominations could fulfill the role of beasts, even if the two are separate covens entirely.)

However, there’s still a duality to Luz. So while she could represent the Orange of Beast-Keeping, the darker Blue of Healing is also applicable! She’s kind of a healer in her own way, in this scenario ‘healing’ others’ emotions. Luz fixes Willow’s problems and becomes a friend of hers, making her happier. She ‘heals’ Eda by giving her back her potion. King is lonely, and Luz provides a supporting role as an attentive friend. Amity is also lonely and has a lot of pressure, but Luz is there to help her ease off on it!

In general, we get this idea that for all of Luz’s trouble-making, she also tends to solve a lot of people’s problems in her own way! Like she’s fixing, or ‘healing’ their dilemmas! She may even ‘heal’ Amity and Willow’s broken friendship! Ultimately, Luz could fulfill BOTH forms of magic, if the interchangeability of the role of Azura continues! 

So far, we haven’t seen Amity explore Healing on her side of the duality yet. If anything, she does the opposite of healing, having ruined her friendship with Willow. However, it’s also early into the show, and while Amity is in the Abomination track, she’s also aiming for the Emperor’s Coven. The Emperor’s guard has access to ALL forms of magic as their schtick, and as an over-achiever, Amity would definitely want to expand her abilities beyond Abominations. So we’ll have to wait and see.

TL;DR Luz and Amity are both sides of the same Azura coin. Likewise, they’re both sides of the same Hecate coin as well. They parallel each others’ journeys and Azura’s closely, and Luz so far may even represent the duality more through her affiliations with the color motifs. We haven’t seen the same for Amity, but it’s also early in the show so we may just need to wait and see.

What I think may happen is that as the show progresses, Luz and Amity’s stories parallels one another’s more and more, as they continue to intertwine. Both become a lot like Azura, but as different aspects of her... And together, they complete one another as the mutual role of Azura. This would tie in nicely with Episode 2′s message on how everyone is the hero of their own story. But right now, the two have a lot of growing to do.

(On a final end-note, this all makes me wonder on how Willow could factor into all of this. She’s a mutual connection on Amity and Luz’s ends. Hooty’s Moving Hassle ends on the implication that of the Hexside trio, at least one of them has a lot of innate power. Considering how Episode 2 deconstructed Luz’s role, and Willow’s repeatedly-shown raw power... It’s like Willow is her own hero as well. Could there be three sides to the story?)