Agony of a Witch

"**Agony of a Witch**" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of *The Owl House*, and the eighteenth episode overall.

It premiered on August 22, 2020.

## Synopsis

*On a school field trip to the mysterious Emperor's Castle, Luz strays from the group and into danger.*

## Plot

In the Emperor's Castle, Lilith is having a conversation with Kikimora. She promises Kikimora that she hasn't been letting Eda roam free and that she will capture her sister this very day.

Later that day, the Emperor's Coven, led by Lilith, attempts a raid at the Owl House to capture Eda, but they are utterly beaten and humiliated by Hooty. Eda laughs at their attempt and brags about how nothing and no one can get the better of her, except maybe her curse. As if on cue, the curse suddenly begins taking over Eda's body. While Luz and King deal with the Owl Beast, Eda finds herself in a dreamscape recreation of the night she was cursed as a teenager. When she sees the shadowy figure, she voices annoyance with the continuous mystery and demands that the shadow reveal its face. Before she could get a good look at the unknown individual who cursed her, she awakes to Luz and King with numerous empty bottles of elixir covering the floor. Luz notices that the gem on Eda's chest is still dark, realizes that the curse has been getting worse, and that Eda's has been hiding it. Luz worries about her, but Eda reassures Luz to not be so worried and sends Luz off to school. Luz is still worried about Eda but hurries to school after she sees Hooty throwing the Coven Scouts a tea party. She passes Lilith who receives a call from Kikimora who tells her Emperor Belos wants to see her.

The students of Hexside are being taken on a field trip to the Emperor's Castle. At first, Luz doesn't intend to go, given how much trouble the Emperor's Coven had caused Eda, but she changes her mind when Willow and Gus reveal to her that the Emperor is in possession of the Healing Hat, a magical hat that can cure any sickness and lift any curse. Luz decides to take the Healing Hat so she can use it to lift Eda's curse.

During the students' ride to the castle, Willow explains to Luz how Emperor Belos is the most powerful witch on the Isles, overtaking Eda contrary to her own belief about herself. Willow also talks about how Belos improved the Isles and taught its inhabitants how to "correctly" use their magic to please the Titan, which Luz doesn't buy.

Upon arrival at the castle, the students are led on a tour by Kikimora, who educates them about Emperor Belos and how he and the Boiling Isles came to be where they are today, as well as showing them many of the rooms in the castle and many priceless objects that belong to the emperor including the Healing Hat. Luz notices Lilith is about to meet the emperor, so she breaks from the group and follows Lilith. She sees Lilith enter the emperor's throne room and peeks in through the keyhole but witnesses Emperor Belos consuming the essence of a palisman and leaves in horror and disgust. Belos reminds Lilith that she promised him she would capture Eda as soon as possible, so he tells her to bring in Eda by twilight or she'll be kicked out of the Emperor's Coven.

As the Hexside field trip group is leaving, Luz stays behind so that she can get the hat. When she looks out the window to watch her class leave and ensure that her absence isn't noticed, she sees another Luz leaving with Willow and Gus. After being tapped on the shoulder, Luz jumps and finds Willow and Gus behind her and discovers that the Luz, Willow, and Gus she saw leaving were each one of Gus's Illusions. Willow and Gus show Luz the notes that Luz had left unattended and confront her about wanting to take the Healing Hat. Luz starts to explain about Eda's curse, but Willow and Gus reveal that they already know about Eda's curse because they found out about it by reading Luz's notes and that they want to help Luz get the Hat. Together, they pass the guards and enter the relic room. While trying to steal the hat, they are discovered by Lilith. She easily overpowers Willow and Gus, captures Luz, and destroys the Hat. stating it never would've worked anyway. Lilith sees this as just the weakness she needed that she could exploit against Eda. Lilith orders Willow and Gus to notify Eda about Luz being captured.

Once Eda receives the message that Lilith captured Luz and is challenging her to a witches' duel, she immediately thunders into the castle in a more extreme display of magic than she has ever displayed in the known past.

During a trade of insults in the midst of the duel, Lilith accidentally reveals that she was the one who cursed Eda. While Eda and Lilith are fighting, Luz manages to break free from the magic bubble put around her by Lilith. Lilith laughs as she points out to Luz that the bubble was for her protection, and then proceeds to knock Luz off the bridge and down into the pit of spikes below. Eda saves Luz, at the cost of her using up all her magic and transforming into the Owl Beast. Before succumbing to the curse, she gives Luz her last words and sends Owlbert to save Luz.

Eda, now transformed into the Owl Beast, is captured by Lilith. Lilith captures Owlbert as well and tells Luz, "Go back to your world. This one's ours." Luz returns to the Owl House, where she is then happily greeted by Hooty and King, the latter asking what happened to Eda. Luz then collapses to her knees and bursts into tears, with both Hooty and King comforting her, as the episode ends with "To be continued...".

## Cast

* Sarah-Nicole Robles as Luz Noceda
* Wendie Malick as Eda Clawthorne
* Alex Hirsch as King and Hooty
* Tati Gabrielle as Willow Park
* Issac Ryan Brown as Gus Porter
* Mae Whitman as Amity Blight
* Cissy Jones as Lilith Clawthorne
* Mela Lee as Kikimora
* Matthew Rhys as Emperor Belos
* Bumper Robinson as Principal Bump (uncredited)

### Additional voices

* Dee Bradley Baker as Eda's cursed form
* JB Blanc as Coven Guards
* Arin Hanson as Glasses Abominations Student
* Eden Riegel as Amelia, Mary, & Bird

## Trivia

* **Viewership:** This episode was watched by 0.51 viewers on its premiere.
* In Eda's flashback to her childhood room, there is a code on one of the books. This is the eighteenth code, which is "of".
* This is the first appearance of Emperor Belos and the Golden Guard (the latter as a non-speaking cameo).
* This episode has a different credits sequence from the first seventeen episodes, with it featuring the Emperor's Castle in the background and the music removed.
* This is the last episode to feature Eda's design from "A Lying Witch and a Warden".
* This is the last episode to feature the Season 1 opening.
* This is the first episode to end on a cliffhanger.

### Revelations and significant events

* Emperor Belos has an unknown condition, which he uses palismen to quell.
* Lilith is revealed to be the person who cursed Eda.

### Continuity

* Eda explains to Luz and King that the elixir has been losing its effect, which she first noticed in "Escape of the Palisman".
* Amity still has her cast on from "Wing It Like Witches".
* This episode is roughly set one month after "Covention" since it is around the time when Lilith promised to capture Eda.

## Allusions

* ***Nymphs Dancing to Pan's Flute*** - The mural in the Emperor's Castle depicting the Savage Ages is based on this painting by Joseph Tomanek.
* **Prince** - One of the posters in Eda's childhood room is of a witch who closely resembles this artist.
* **Madonna** - Another poster in Eda's childhood room is of a witch who closely resembles this artist.
* ***Cats*** - A poster in Eda's room is very similar the poster for this musical, but is titled "Rats".
* **Betty Crocker** - The box of "Insta Mix" cake mix used by King has a packaging design similar to that of this brand.

## Errors

* Although Bump speaks in this episode, his voice actor is not listed in the credits.
* King doesn't have a shadow as he walks over to Luz, even though Luz is clearly shown with a shadow in the same light.
* Eda's gem goes back and forth between being fully orange, and then half orange and half dark, like it should be.
* In one shot, the healing hat is tinted blue rather than purple.
* In Eda's flashback scene, where Lilith curses her, young Eda doesn't appear on the bed when the flashback starts, she appears only after the camera changes angles.

## Edits

* In Southeast Asia, "bonehead" and "you coward" were cut.

## Memorable quotes

“
sleepwalking... sleepwalking... SLEEPHOOTING!
”

—Hooty

“
HIYA, LILITH! PEEKAHOOT!
”

—Hooty, to Lilith

“
You're always your best self.
”

—Illusion Gus

“
Maybe it is the curse, but then how pathetic are you? That you can't best me at my worst!
”

—Eda

“
Then why were you so easy to curse?!
”

—Lilith

“
All right, kid. Listen to me. I'm going away, and I don't know if I can bounce back this time. Watch over King. Remember to feed Hooty. And Luz, thank you for being in my life.
”

—Eda

## Videos

Eda's Sacrifice (Clip) Agony Of A Witch The Owl HouseEds vs Lillith Showdown (Clip) Agony of a Witch The Owl HouseThe Owl House Credits (Agony Of A Witch Ending)Witches Duel Gone Wrong 😱 The Owl House Disney ChannelFrom Animatic to Animation - The Owl House - Disney Channel
## Notes

1. ↑ The length of months in the Demon Realm do not necessarily correspond to the lengths of human months, as shown by "Them's the Breaks, Kid".

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "August 2020 Programming Highlights". *Walt Disney Television Press*.
2. ↑ "From Animatic to Animation". *ShowBuzzDaily* (August 11, 2020).
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Metcalf, Mitch (August 25, 2020). Top 150 Saturday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.22.2020. *Showbuzz Daily*. Archived from the original on 2020-08-25.
4. ↑ Disney+ Channel UK [@DCUK\_NEWS] (August 9, 2020). "Don't miss out BRAND NEW Show The Owl House starts tomorrow at 9:30pm! Monday to Fridays at 9:30pm" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
5. ↑ "Disney Channel UK HD, Monday, Sep 2, 2020". *TV24.co.uk*. Retrieved on January 8, 2023.
6. ↑ Disney Television Animation News (July 10, 2020). "Season 1 episodes".

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