Witches Before Wizards

"Witches Before Wizards" is the second episode of the Disney Channel animated series The Owl House. It premiered on January 17, 2020.
==Synopsis==
When an ancient wizard gives Luz a map for a mystical quest, she wonders if she is actually a Chosen One.
==Plot==
Luz wakes up, happy to find herself still on the Boiling Isles and it was not a dream. She is looking forward to her first day as a witch apprentice. She finds a closet full of what she claims to be witch clothes. She waits for Eda, who has just woken up. Luz is eager to get started on learning magic and getting her own staff, but Eda at the moment is focused on having her morning cup of apple blood. She explains to Luz that becoming a witch takes time and they are awarded their staffs from school. Since Luz is under Eda's teachings, she will be taking a different approach: She will have to work for her staff. Eda gives Luz a sack of potions to deliver to the locals of Bonesborough. She advises her to be careful while in town, as she has many rivals who would go to great lengths to put her out of business. To make sure she does not get lost or eaten, she sends King to accompany her.
While in town, Luz learns that she is the only human on the Boiling Isles, and starts to believe that there must be a special reason for it. However, she learns first-hand that there is nothing special about life on the Isles. Everyone lives in despair and nobody cares about her human background. Before heading home, they have one more package to deliver, which happens to be at a brightly lit castle home to a kindly wizard named Adegast. He invites them for tea and scones. Luz tells Adegast that she is Eda's apprentice, and starts to express her honest feelings about it. When she first came to the Isles she thought she was meant for something special, but instead, all she does is chores while everyone on the Isles screams at her or tries to eat her. Adegast sympathies with Luz, and offers her to embark on a noble quest, which she accepts without hesitation. He gives her a map and tells her of the prophecy of a young girl who would claim the Celestial Staff and free the Isles from an ancient evil. A staff that can only be wielded by the "Chosen One".
When Luz shows off the map to Eda and King, they laugh at her. They tell her that everything Adegast told her was all nonsense and the map he gave her was a fake. This bums Luz, so Eda and King give her time alone to process everything. However, when she puts the map in the light, words appear reading "The chosen one, the path will only appear to the worthy". This encourages her to believe what Adegast said is true and chooses to head out on this quest alone. Meanwhile, Eda asks King about Adegast and suspects something sketchy about him. When she goes to check on Luz, she finds her missing. According to Hooty, she went to the forest towards Bones Borrow.
While Luz is out on her "mythical" quest, seeing enchanted lands and making new friends along the way, Eda and King head back to Adegast's castle, which turns out to be abandoned. They even find more maps similar to the one Luz was given. All this gives Eda a bad feeling. They follow Luz's trail to the enchanted lands she passed through, which also turn out to be abandoned wastelands. They find a puppet which gives them a hint that Luz is walking into a trap, and they want Eda to follow her. Meanwhile, Luz is at the end of her quest and claims the Celestial Staff, fulfilling the assumed prophecy as the Chosen One. Suddenly, everything around her dissolves and a strange tentacle creature appears with the Wizard and all the friends she had made on each tentacle. It turns out the whole thing was a ruse and the creature was a demon Puppeteer who specialises in scamming and manipulating people. He also happens to be one of Eda's rivals in the potions business and has been using Luz to lure her into a trap. Eda and King arrive at her rescue but quickly get captured while Luz is coerced into her fantasy. She almost gives in, but snaps out of it and frees Eda and King. Together, they defeat the Puppeteer and all his puppets.
Afterwards, Luz is left feeling confused. She has mixed thoughts of quitting the apprenticeship and disappointed of how the Boiling Isles is not the fantasy world she had always imagined. To cheer her up, Eda takes Luz on a mystery flight on her Staff. She shows her a spectacular view of the Boiling Isles. Eda and King tell Luz that while the Isles may seem gruesome up close there is a sense of beauty to it if one looks from a different perspective. Luz asks Eda how she knew that wizard was lying. All Eda can say is that instead of waiting for a prophecy to make her special, the best thing is to choose for herself.
==Cast==
*Sarah-Nicole Robles as Luz Noceda
*Wendie Malick as Eda Clawthorne
*Alex Hirsch as King, Hooty
*Robin Atkin Downes as Adegast, Centaur
*Billy Kametz as Nevareth
===Additional Voices===
* Arin Hanson as Sea Monster, Sword, Chris, Cat
* Eden Riegel as Princess
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*This is the first episode to have the episode title at the beginning.
*This is the first episode to be animated by Rough Draft Korea.
*One of the items that Eda sells is snake oil, an obvious joke at the fact that she is a "snake oil salesman" (or rather saleswoman).
*When Eda summons her staff, it crashes through various things before entering the room where she, clumsily, grabs it. This gag is almost similar to the one in Thor: Ragnarok where Thor summons his hammer in the Sanctum Sanctorum, causing damage within the building, though unlike Eda, he actually manages to grab it on his first try.
*Although Luz does not meet Amity until the next episode, she unknowingly describes her while deciding on what kind of chosen one she should be.
**"Or should I be like a bad girl Chosen One with black nail polish and a mysteriously withdrawn attitude? 'I act like I don't care, but I secretly do.'"
*In the Russian release, the episode is re-titled "Witches vs Wizards".
*When Luz and other puppets walking into the forest, the second code got revealed on the rock, its got cracked into "W-I-C-H-I-Z" and translated into "Witches".
*Although this episode premiered in 2020, it was produced in 2019 according to the credits.
**This episode completed production on July 26, 2019.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11409484/locations
==Goofs==
*When Eda and Luz are talking, Luz's eyes disappear for one frame.
==International premieres==
*January 19, 2020 (Canada)
*March 20, 2020 (Southeast Asia)
*April 15, 2020 (Switzerland)
*April 20, 2020 (Latin America, Brazil)
*May 23, 2020 (South Korea)
*July 23, 2020 (Japan)
*August 11, 2020 (United Kingdom, Malta)
*August 25, 2020 (Netherlands)
*September 1, 2020 (Germany)
*October 3, 2020 (Spain)
*October 6, 2020 (Russia)
*January 3, 2021 (Bulgaria)
*January 5, 2021 (Poland)
*January 12, 2021 (Portugal)
*February 5, 2021 (Italy; Premiere on Disney+)
*February 16, 2021 (Scandinavia)
==External links==
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==References==
Category:The Owl House episodes