The Owl House Recap, Episode 13
By: Priya Sridhar
Tags: Witch, Schools, Magic, The Owl House, Disney

School has always been hard for me. I could not pay attention until I got some wake-up calls, buckling down, and studying in high school and undergrad. Even then, I liked the routine more than actually sitting down. Luz is relatable in that sense for this episode, and even if she wants to learn magic, she doesn't want to be boxed into one track or station in witch life.

“The cost of personal gain” is the theme of this episode. Luz wants to study every track, without hurting people’s feelings on disparaging theirs. Principal Bump faces the dilemma of sucking up to Coven inspectors to get the money needed for school repairs. Their desires end up clashing on Luz’s first day at magic school, where she finds unfair rules in place.

The First Day

Eda takes Luz to her entrance exam at Hexside Academy. After a fit of nerves, Luz passes by showing off her two spells for light and ice. Luz brings a puppet Eda to reassure herself about not being a screwup, while King stows away in her backpack to eat from the school garbage bins. Principal Bump insists that she needs to stay on one coven course, and assigns her to Potions. It makes sense since Potions require stirring and ingredients without needing a bile sac, but Luz ends up in a Detention track where “troublemakers” don’t learn magic just because she wants a crystal ball to verify she’s on the right track. One of the kids, Biney, shows her a secret passage out, made by a mysterious witch named Lord Calamity. She meets Jerbo and Barcus, who mix magics up and got in Detention as well for the crime of liking multiple tracks, as well as Jerbo’s bird assistant Puddles. After the camaraderie, worry that Luz is too arrogant and doesn’t like them after overhearing some remarks from Gus and Willow.

Soon after, an Emperor’s Coven inspector is revealed to be a basilisk, stealing the energy from all the students and teachers. She uses the pretense of seeing magical demonstrations to drain everyone. Luz is revealed to be immune since she’s a human and not a witch with a bile sac. Her wild magic with paper glyphs also can hurt the basilisk. She rallies the Detention Kids to defeat the basilisk and save the school. Then Luz points out to an irate Bump that the kids risked their education for his bacon, so they shouldn’t be punished for him wanting to impress the Emperor’s Coven. He admits that she’s right. As a reward, Principal Bump lets them attend multiple tracks, and for Luz to try a little bit of everything. He also reveals that Eda was the only other witch that wanted to study every track. Luz can’t help but beam in pride. She has the best teacher on the Boiling Isles, after all.

Meanwhile, King ends up being mistaken for a substitute teacher. He decides to go with it and teach the kids about stealing. The students, much to his surprise, are really into it. King, however, realizes that he can’t handle a school-relevant emergency even if there are demon-like monsters involved. Bump also points out a reality check: he didn’t hire the little guy and has the right to ban him from the school at least. A broom does the trick, and King runs while yipping like a scared dog.

The more we learn of the Boiling Isles, the more it seems that “every witch for him or herself” has become engrained in society. Eda hates the system for how it privileges some witches over others, and that the Emperor’s Coven members are no better than attack dogs. Emperor Bump tries to encourage this attitude, much to Luz’s consternation. She has a big heart, and it shows.

Luz’s ADHD tendencies return, and I strongly suspect that she has learning troubles even if she’s never been diagnosed. We saw that she couldn’t focus on regular human school in the pilot, with her pranks to liven-up activities landing her in the principal’s office. Even in magic school, one track isn’t enough for her. She wants to learn everything. Luz also notes that she’s not slated for a Coven because when the summer’s over, she has to return to Earth and her normal life. I can relate to her indecisiveness and wanting to do everything. Albeit in my case, it’s writing calls and laundry rather than magic.

We also don’t know if a Coven brand or tattoo would work on Luz. She lacks the bile sac and has to learn magic from glyphs. Yet if a spell could restrict her from learning magic, perhaps a brand would perform the same trick. Luz maintains she’s not joining a Coven, since she only has three months to attend school. Eda also trusts her to be smart enough and not join one.

The detention kids take their situation in stride. They tell Luz matter-of-factly about how they ended up in a dull room with a constantly sleeping teacher. Magic misadventures and being a kid can ruin your witch life. It’s when they think she was demeaning them that their face fall. Luz apologizes by telling them the school is in danger, and she earnestly defends them. She’s a friend you want in your corner, who will defend your right to be different.

Principal Bump is quite reasonable here. His main protest against Luz wanting to tackle multiple tracks is that it goes against tradition and he needs to make a good impression on the Emperor’s Coven representative. If she breaks tradition, then there’s more damage to repair than just the Detention Room. He’s certainly right, given that every time Luz sets foot on the school grounds, great chaos occurs. Yet she causes good chaos, to excite the students and point out flaws in the status quo.

The principal can also be extreme in how he handles troublemakers. When she tries a crystal ball tentatively, Bump moves her to that temporary track until “next year” when she’ll be in regular school on Earth. Yet when the inspector is revealed as a basilisk impostor, Bump’s first reaction is to protect his students. He also admits that Luz has a point that he shouldn’t be hurting his students to get the necessary donation money. As we see in later episodes, Luz knows how to hide from the Emperor’s Coven. Bump’s only limit is letting King teach a class, chasing him out of the school with a broom. He’s absolutely right unless King can demonstrate knowledge of demon lore. (I hope we do get another episode of King teaching that.)

Amity is certainly kinder than she was before, sincerely congratulating Luz for getting out of the baby track. She also does her best to put up a fight when the Basilisk reveals her true colors. Sadly, traditional magic circles are no good when placed against an energy-stealing monster. We also see the hints of how she’s feeling adorably nervous around Luz, whispering to herself that it means nothing they’re in the same school.

Then we have the Basilisk, who poses as an Emperor’s Coven inspector. Her character design is nightmarish, though Adeghast was much worse in terms of visual terror. She also drained the Hexside rival and left everyone on the floor to die, showing no empathy whatsoever. Amity tried her best to put up a fight but goes down in a matter of seconds.

Eda has less to do in this episode but she has an impact nonetheless. She left behind her secret passageways for future students to learn from multiple tracks. It emphasizes that for all of Eda’s conniving and thieving ways, she was more generous than greedy in her days at Hexside and afterward. Eda also found ways to subvert the established system. There seems to be a hint that Luz is helping Eda become the witch she used to be: caring, brave, and generous. No wonder her apprenticeship seems healthy for both of them.

Overall, the episode felt like a good introduction to Hexside and Luz’s time there. One can hope she passes all her exams with flying colors, and some light spells.