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sepublic · 2 years

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Livestream Lore Analysis

To analyze the canon-relevant content we got from the TOH charity stream yesterday;

Pretty sure we just got a decent glimpse at the Collector’s true face! Like with the 2020 stream, Dana had ‘half of a new character’s face’ on the incentive wheel, but she specified that this mysterious character is one we’ve technically seen before; Albeit not their face. In the 2020 stream, she said the same thing about Hunter, who we’d seen in Season 1 as the Golden Guard; So this seems to be a similar case with the Collector here, as a character whose cloaked and hidden appearance was viewed in the last batch of episodes, the upper part of their true face reveal via Dana!

And we can guess it’s the Collector, based on the fact that our mysterious face has their face split into two colors; Blue, and yellow-orange. The yellow-orange half of their face (the right side) is shaped like a crescent, which perfectly matches what we’ve seen of the Collector. The Collector is also a character with celestial imagery, and this mystery character has star-shaped freckles! Plus they look like a kid and the Collector definitely sounded like one.

It is worth noting that before drawing the Collector’s face, Dana asked herself if she could do it from memory; So this glimpse might not be 100% accurate, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Dana also referred to this character as ‘them’, which COULD mean they’re nonbinary, since the show has already broken ground with Raine, plus that’d fit for what seems to be some sort of cosmic, otherworldly deity. However, it’s also possible Dana just doesn’t want to give away their pronouns; IIRC she did the same for Hunter during the 2020 stream, who we now know is He/Him.

We also got audio of a letter from Lilith, directed to Hooty! It takes place after the Lumity confession, which Lilith is glad to hear has happened; So we can guess it’s Lilith’s response to Hooty’s letter about the events of Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door. We know there’s a Frostbite festival at the very tip of the Titan’s toes (previously mentioned by Gwen to have swamps), which Lilith is writing from, further cementing the idea that this season is transitioning into fall/winter.

Lilith is happy about Eda making peace with the owl beast, but she’s still clearly got some jealousy going on over her little sister outdoing her again; However she’s self-aware and makes a point to remind herself it’s not a competition! Glad to see Lilith still struggling with her inferiority complex, but also addressing and making progress on it… It’s so sweet to see, her growth! Given how she has to correct herself from ‘wrest control’ to ‘make peace with’ when talking of the curse, I imagine Lilith still needs to recognize her curse beast as its own entity.

She mentions being spoonfed elixir by Gwen, so evidently she’s still struggling with the curse, and outright calls it a Raven Beast; Which could suggest that Lilith has an internal beast that takes the form of a raven! Given what we know of how the Collector sealed the Owl Beast into a curse, is this some strange consequence of magic meeting magic in the shared-pain spell, creating a new beast that has never actually known what it’s like to be free, nor possessed a physical form? The fact that Gwen has learned to be better about the curse, and knowing how Eda can make progress, is likely to help Lilith make hypothetical peace with it; I’d love to see Harpy Lilith later in Season 2B, or even Season 3!

Gwen has been teaching Lilith recipes handed down ‘from one Clawthorne to the next’, which I think indicates that Clawthorne is HER surname, and Dell took it when he married Gwen. This might contradict with Dana saying birds are a Clawthorne motif, if we consider the idea of Belos, Hunter, and Dell being related; But then again it’s just as likely that it applies to both sides of the family, since Gwen has Hawksley. Regardless, I still think Dell is a descendant of Philip’s brother, but the Clawthorne name seems to come from Gwen’s side; But we can’t say for sure and Gwen could’ve just been saying it as a shorthand, since surnames can change a lot across generations of marriages.

Gwen’s work in the Beast Coven causes her to come home with plenty of parasites, morbidly enough; I wonder if Eberwolf struggles with that? Lilith also mentioned she couldn’t help Dell carve palismen, which I think is huge news; This tells us what his job is, but also links Dell to palistrom wood! Again, if we go the route of Dell as a Wittebane, it could imply that his ancestor, Philip’s brother, worked closely with the magic of the island itself. Since Gwen is already in a coven, I wonder if this means Dell is carving palismen as part of the coven system? Could Belos have gotten palistrom wood with Dell’s help?

It also makes me wonder if Dell will help Luz carve her own Palisman as well… And if he has anything to offer to the Bat Queen, or Hunter’s palisman; Maybe in identifying the latter? Regardless, I have to suspect Eda got her respect for palismen from Dell, whose creation and passion for them led to Dell respecting the palismen as living creatures and not just tools; I then assume he has one of his own, and I wonder what his relationship with it is? Assuming his palisman wasn’t destroyed… If the show discusses the palistrom trees more (or would’ve had Season 3 not been shortened), I suspect Dell is going to crop up.

Lilith is also working at a museum now in an entry-level position, cataloging artifacts! This no doubt ties into this Season 2B screenshot we got from Dana;

Here, it seems Lilith is fascinated in ‘Deadwardian Balusters’. We know the Deadwardian Era is when Philip’s journal was donated, so I imagine this is how the subject comes up. No doubt her museum connections play a role in both Lilith’s passion for history, but also how she helps Luz learn more about Philip, if she knows so much about the Deadwardian Era. Lilith is also looking incredibly happy with her job, and is wearing glasses again! Her hair is still blue, but here’s hoping for some roots later down the line… Anyhow, Lilith is dismayed to see her employes/coworkers still asking about the whole ‘being banished from the Emperor’s Coven’ and whatnot, predictably.

Lilith is also invested in King’s island, which makes me wonder if she’ll play a role in King reconnecting with his father; Although due to her absence in the promo, probably not. That’s a shame, would’ve loved to see Luz, Lilith, King, and Port-a-Hooty reunite for another King-backstory adventure to another island! Lilith mentions consulting a colleague named Flora Desplora(?) about this island… Based on the name, I have to wonder if this is the head of the Plant Coven, since we know she’ll be more relevant soon.

Her being a coven head fits with Lilith once leading the Emperor’s Coven, hence how they know one another as ‘old colleagues’. According to Lilith, Flora has traveled far and wide doing all sorts of ‘historical feats’, but also doubts if Flora would even remember her. Considering Lilith had only recently been banished from the Emperor’s Coven, this would be a strange question to ask if Flora was a fellow Coven Head; So on further consideration, I’m starting to wonder if the two really aren’t the same, alas. That’s a shame; But we’ll get a name in our first episode back to the show, so I imagine five more days isn’t too hard to wait!

Lilith’s delight for Luz and Amity’s relationship does segue into her discussion of her own experiences with romance; A female suitor bought Lilith a bouqet of spiders ‘the other day’, but despite Gwen and the museum co-workers’ excitement, she confesses that she’s not interested and doesn’t think she ‘ever has been’. She’s got a lot to think about clearly and Lilith turned down the offer, but this HEAVILY points towards Lilith being aromantic, which; GOOD FOR HER! ARO REP YEAAAHHHH THIS SHOW KEEPS GIVING!!! Because why not, it’s already being cancelled for queer rep, why not go whole-hog and further??? I don’t think this letter will even appear in the official episodes, so this type of side material is practically beyond Disney’s jurisdiction anyhow.

Anyhow, Lilith is turning down another suitor who’s offered a bouqet of rat(?) eyes, but she IS keeping the eyes to send to Hooty; She knows Luz loves trying new Boiling Isles foods (which creates the hilarious image of a disappointed Luz finding out which ones she can’t digest), so she’s thinking of her! That’s so sweet and I’m glad to see Luz and Lilith’s relationship developing, Lilith thinking of her niece like that… Can’t wait to see them interact, hope to see them nerd out together! I’ve talked before about their similarities and I want to see them SHINE!

And because Hooty is WEIRD, he’s been asking Lilith to include a lock of hair of hers for him to remember her by; Although Lilith is mentioning this is giving her increasing bald patches that are harder to hide now. So it’s not the curse, it’s just Hooty being creepy lol… Given what we’ve seen in that screenshot, I presume Lilith doesn’t need the shawl to hide that, and it’s just for fashion/travel.

We’ve also got new end credits for Season 2B! There’s an updated version of Luz and her Hexside friends walking together; Luz and Amity holding hands, while the latter and Willow are updated with their new hairstyles! Gus is accompanied by two clones of himself and looks confident; Given what we see in the promo, I suspect Gus has been learning a lot from the keeper of the Looking Glass Graveyard, and it’s really cemented his certainty in his track! I’m starting to bet we’ll see Gus really show off the full extent of his illusions, maybe constantly accompanied by two; I’ve loved the idea of Gus always having a double to bounce off of as a character quirk, so this would be really fun to see! Willow’s plant has also grown more since the previous Season 2 credits; A nice reflection of her growing power but also emerging personality!

We’ve got Harpy Eda and King flexing his WEH power… And a shot of Camila and Vee, looking out the window as it’s raining; A raindrop positioned over Camila’s face like a tear! I’m so glad see them BOTH remembered, and look forward to being reminded of the two constantly at the end of each episode! Vee really is Camila’s daughter and Luz’s sister now, I love it…

Raine is seen in this final shot; Darius and Eberwolf to the side. They’re ensnared by the Plant Head’s vines, curiously enough… Given how she’s fighting Eda during her attempted rescue of Raine, and is accompanying the bard alongside Kikimora; Does the Plant Head have something to do with the coven binding vines? Did she help create and ‘program’ them, implement some plant magic of her own? She looks older than Gwen, which indicates she’s been a follower of Belos since he began his crusades; I can see the Plant Head being trusted by him for this sort of thing.

From a meta standpoint, the Plant Coven is the only one aligned to one of the four glyphs (Illusions could be seen as an extension of Light tho), which I thought was interesting. Obviously plants are much more varied and diverse than the other glyphs, but I’ve always wondered if this unique position meant anything for the Plant Head, being aligned with such a primordial form of magic. Again, her vines ensnaring Raine (and HERS specifically, not Kikimora’s) makes me wonder if the Plant Head has a connection to the coven bindings.

Will they grow on the Day of Unity, their vines connecting with the land and the Titan itself; Was the Plant Head an instrumental part of Belos’ plans since the beginning, hence her age and the implied trust? Did he learn from her to create the coven bindings? It’s all so fascinating, I love the Coven Heads and this one in particular intrigues me, and I hope her and Willow interact with each other and explore the latter’s unusual magic! Especially if Willow reminds the Plant Head of Belos, which was why she supported him since the start… Regardless, I suspect the Plant Head has an understanding of the coven bindings alongside Kikimora, hence why both are in charge of Raine; And thus why Raine and the Plant Head are there for the Coven Day Parade.

Luz has a diary entry! Originally another video for her mom, but Luz’s phone is being fished out of Hooty’s stomach… Will this lead to them finding the letter from King’s dad, I wonder? Luz and Amity canonically went shopping for Abomination supplies; Fanfic authors, work on that! Luz has also read through more of Philip’s diary… Just realized the parallels now between Luz and Philip both having one, even if diaries are such a common trope.

Luz seems to admire Philip’s intelligence (so I can’t wait for the broken pedestal when she realizes he’s Belos), and she specifically discusses how Philip’s portal instructions weren’t enough; Luz openly suggests that Philip had someone help him with it. I’ve already aired this point beforehand, since it was mentioned in the beginning of Yesterday’s Lie, and it’s made more explicit here; Philip needed someone to help him. And I that perfectly explains why Belos can’t make a second portal; He’s missing that same friend.

And I have my own theory on how that person was King’s father, whom Belos attacked in order to coerce him into making a second portal, before giving up and just searching for the first one instead. Ultimately, the decision to have Luz mention this is deliberate, and I’m glad to see this point emphasized; It’s already been stated before, but now it’s obvious. This explains and cuts away the supposed discrepancy between Philip and Belos.

What really grabs my attention though is that Luz ‘knows’ that Camila would like the Boiling Isles, if given the chance to actually know it and the friends Luz has met there! Obviously Luz is concerned about filtering her past dangers and the conflict with Belos for Camila’s sanity; She also notes that Willow and Amity seem to be ‘friendly’ again but are also probably still working on things. Here’s hoping this comes up in Season 2B! Willow gave Luz some recipes that her dad likes to cook, further cementing her love for the Boiling Isles cuisine, which she hopes can bring Camila to her side. We also learn that Luz got her lactose intolerance from her mother!

From Hunter, we finally learn the name of his palisman; Flapjack! Hunter talks about how he doesn’t recognize the term and neither do the Coven Heads he asks, indicating it’s a human-exclusive term… We know that Eberwolf tends to hiss at Hunter, while Darius ignores him. Hunter also observes that Raine is ‘weird’ lately, and a lot more ‘quiet’… This indicates that Hunter doesn’t know of Raine’s betrayal and brainwashing.

…Naturally, BELOS knows what flapjacks are, they’re pancakes; Which Hunter doesn’t know of either, so either he’s just really secluded, or the Boiling Isles doesn’t have those. Belos is specifically ‘suspicious’ when Hunter asks further, causing him to stop asking; So it’s clear this dude is Philip. He recognizes ‘Flapjack’ as the name of his brother’s Palisman; And since the isles doesn’t have flapjacks, the only reason that term would come up, much less Hunter knowing about it, is via a cardinal’s name! Belos knew Flapjack, and may or may not know Hunter has him; The fact that he ‘got’ suspicious could mean he doesn’t already know why Hunter would know of this term. Maybe Belos knows Hunter has a palisman, but doesn’t necessarily realize it’s Flapjack…

Hunter also canonically says ‘Damn’ in cursing pancakes. CANON swear y’all. Since these letters and journal entries seem to be more outside Disney’s jurisdiction, it seems Dana is using them to get away with a lot more stuff she otherwise couldn’t… Now I’m really hoping she continues to do this even after the show ends, maybe during the wait for season 3; Adding to the lore, the characters, and including some fun details and tidbits here or there! Maybe one day we can have Eda, not Wendie Malick, but EDA, say fuck.

Flapjack won’t tell Hunter who his original owner was, but he DOES pull at his hair when he does so… Probably because he recognizes Hunter as a clone of his previous owner, or at least notices the uncanny resemblance. Flapjack is obviously traumatized, but does he know that Belos is Philip? Who Hunter is, and not just a coincidence? Is he hiding this info from Hunter, because he knows who these people are, and how that information might break him?

We see Hunter do a scientific experiment with Flapjack, showing us what a nerd this kid is, not unlike his uncle Philip/Belos and probably not unlike his father, either! Hunter offers Flapjack a goreberry (a fruit that palismen hate), and anticipates a violent reaction as proof of wild magic’s danger, wearing a suit of armor for protection… Only for Flapjack to simply split the berry to share with Hunter.

What’s concerning however is how Hunter is so clearly looking for proof of wild magic’s danger, to the point of borderling hysteria; His whole world and indoctrination from Belos is being shattered, so he’s trying to preserve and reconcile this with what he’s learned… Only to once again be proven wrong, and by consequence, so is Belos. Hunter is so clearly surprised, disappointed, and touched by Flapjack’s gesture; And no doubt questioning everything he knows and assumes, about his uncle and wild magic.

Finally, let’s get to our Season 2B screenshots! We’ve already discussed one via Lilith, who seems to have a new fulltime outfit as a museum worker now. We see Hunter and Luz in a hallway in the Emperor’s castle, lined with propaganda paintings of Belos, portraying him as a godly figure. Luz is wearing the letterman from Eda, indicating this is indeed a fulltime addition to her appearance as well, I hope. She’s clearly hearing Hunter smugly say some Pro-Coven crap that she knows is wrong.

We get a look at a previous outfit for Belos, which shows his hair; I presume this means that at first he wasn’t hiding every inch of himself… But as the curse worsened, he had to hide it in order to maintain the holy, invincible image. Belos is depicted rescuing witches from fire that represents the wars of the Savage Ages, before being celebrated by them in a moment of peace; Showing off green fire and a purple spell as proof of his power. It seems these paintings are in chronological order, if you look at them left to right…

So past two paintings too distant and obscured to observe, we have Belos in his modern-day appearance; But we see a painting of him fighting off Owl Beast Eda! I hope it’s Owl Beast Eda… If it’s Harpy Eda, that indicates her rescue mission for Raine at the Coven Day parade goes VERY badly; I suspect it’ll fail, but I hope it’s not too disastrous and doesn’t make the rebellion look worse-off, especially if Raine is made to renounce the wild witch sentiments. It’s possible Belos recently commissioned this painting (or even made it himself) to celebrate his victory over Eda the Owl Lady, who represents the wild magic and rebellion he’s been against; Only for her to be overtaken by her own twisted curse…

But others have pointed out that this hallway heavily resembles the one we see this ghostly Belos kid in;

Then there’s the comparisons with the ghost kid with Inner Willow… In other words, THIS might be Belos’ mindscape! Not only is it cool to see how other characters’ minds look, but obviously this is huge in terms of lore; We’re seeing Belos’ memories! How Hunter and Luz even ended up here is a question I really have to ask… I suspect this episode is Hollow Mind. What’s interesting is that Willow’s memory photos are just that; Photos, but Belos’ memories take the form of stylized propaganda paintings. Obviously this says a lot about Belos; How he views himself as a savior, as a holy, higher being and whatnot. He’s distorted and twisted reality to create an artist’s take on things, his own…

I also suspect this is where we’ll see that shot of a shadowy Belos covered in blue eyes. It could be another Inner Belos who guards his mind, just as Willow had two inner versions of herself; And/or it’s his curse beast itself, which Hunter and Luz will directly interact with! Either way, this episode is going to be INTENSE and I can’t wait… I wonder if Luz going into Belos’ mind is prompted by what she learns of Philip, and it comes from her connecting the dots by this point; Or is simply building up to her and Hunter figuring it out.

I also wonder if Hollow Mind will be an A/B plot structure like many episodes before, referring to Belos’ mindscape, but also an attempt by Eda to undo Raine’s brainwashing! I don’t know if we’ll have multiple changes to Season 2B’s end credit sequence, to reflect different episodes… But if they’re not too frequent, this could mean that Raine is going to be brainwashed for a while, hence that image of them being ensnared by the Plant Head’s vines; This is a constant.

We see Luz and Amity, in school uniforms, talking to each other; Apparently in Bonesborough! I wonder if this is Reaching Out… They’re sad and Luz is leaning against Amity, so I’m wondering if she’s talking to Amity about her problem with Camila, and Amity is expressing sadness over the situation, over the idea of not seeing Luz again; And/or the shared experience of parental conflict. I presume Luz will establish ASAP that Camila is NOT like Odalia, of course!

Finally, King and Steve! We were outright told that Steve ascended to memetic status because of fandom reception, so good for him; That’s why he’s getting more relevance! He seems to be a biker now, while also wearing his coven mask, and is talking to King; Is this Steve’s day off? Is he smugly making a point to King about how the coven rocks? Did he capture King? There seems to be snow, so it might be the knee, or it’s just winter coming in, as I mentioned earlier. Steve also has what appears to be either a cauldron and/or a passenger car; So I wonder if we’ll have a humorous B-plot of King and Steve teaming up together! I hope the Emperor’s Coven isn’t targeting King because they know of his dad…

All in all, that seems to be everything! I might do a much shorter list later on, condensing my takes into a couple of bullet points; But for now, this has been an ENORMOUS lore dump, just like the 2020 stream! It’s everything I hoped for and more…! It’s really neat to get these treats as both a reward for the fans, and also an incentive to encourage donations for the queer community; I admire how Dana has chosen to do this in specific reaction to Disney’s homophobia, and doesn’t care about spoilers if it means helping out!

We already have Season 2B in like five days, but it’s just so nice to see, and maybe plays a part in her willingness to show it anyway if we’ll see it soon enough… Still, I presume those audio letters are definitely bonus content, so THAT is just such a nice treat! I love this crew’s passion for the show and the setting and its characters, they all feel so immersive and REAL, there’s just so much heart. They’re really just giving us so much because they care and love it too; From the countdown art for each episode, to this! Bless you Dana and crew, you guys are the real ones and have been such a WONDERFUL fandom experience for me, I’ll miss it when it’s over!

#the owl house #lilith clawthorne #luz noceda #the owl house hunter #the owl house flapjack #the owl house collector #speculation #analysis #charity stream #dana terrace #the owl house steve

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