Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the season finale of The Owl House.
The Owl House was up against many tough tasks in itsfinal season,not just for its characters but for production as well. The show was canceled and given only three specials to wrap up all that was left which included: finding a way back to the Boiling Isles, defeating Emperor Belos (Matthew Rhys), saving everyone from The Collector (Fryda Wolff), and figuring out how to undo the effects of The Day of Unity. It was a tall task but the capable creators behind this beloved children’s animation were more than up to it. One of the more interesting things to come out ofthe show’s finalewas the nuance with which it treated both of its villains. The Collector was salvageable but in the end Emperor Belos was not, andLuz Noceda’s (Sarah-Nicole Robles) ability to get through to these people (or fail) speaks volumes about what this show considers “villains."
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Redemption Arcs Abound in ‘The Owl House’
The Owl Houseis a show that likes to believe the best in people. It’s why Amity (Mae Whitman) has such a quick turn-around in Season 1 after meeting Luz, why the school improves so much from Luz’s presence, why so many baddies end up switching sides, and why characters like Camila (Elizabeth Grullon) are allowed to shine for their growth even if they didn’t necessarily start off “bad." Everyone has the potential to grow, and it’s a great message to impart to kids. Believing in people and trusting them is a virtue, and that’s why it hurts so much more when that trust is betrayed. Belos uses Luz to learn the Isles’ magic and enact his own plans. It’s her actions that inadvertently led to his chokehold on magic on the island. So Luz spends a large part of the latter half of the show blaming herself. She tries countless times to reason with Belos, but he never learns and whatLuztakes away from that is the fault lies with her. What the finale argues instead, is that it’s the fault lies with those who break trust, not those who extend it.The Owl Housebelieves the best in people but forgiveness and redemption must be earned. And that’s where the biggest difference between Belos and The Collector lies.
Emperor Belos Is Arrogant
Belos is a classic villain. Power-hungry, arrogant, a tyrant with genocidal plans and a British accent to boot. He came to the Boiling Isles centuries ago as a witch hunter from the Human Realm and has been keeping himself alive since with a bastardized version of the Isle’s magic as he worked out his plan to gain power and, eventually, rid the world of magic. From day one Belos has been completely convinced of the righteousness of his cause. Luz has tried countless times to get through to him and stop him peacefully, but it has always failed. He very nearly got what he wanted and was only stopped because King (Alex Hirsch) managed to free an even more formidable opponent and sway them to help, that being The Collector.
The Collector Is Ignorant
The Collector is a sort of celestial being with near-limitless power. He’s not the only one of his kind, but he is, crucially, still a child. He’s lacking in more than just common sense being content to use his untold power totake over the Islesas his own personal playground. Like any child he’s stubborn and naive. We quickly come to see he doesn’t understand how horrifying his actions are, he simply sees it as another means of playing.The Collector keeps King close to him as the person who freed him from Belos and his only companion, he seems to long for a genuine connection. Unlike Belos, who simply uses the people around him to his own ends, there’s a clear and poignant loneliness to The Collector that, from the beginning, sets him apart from Belos. Both bend the people of the Boiling Isles to their own will for their own selfish desires, the real difference lies in their respective abilities to recognize their wrongdoing.
Forgiveness Is Earned
We see less extreme examples of this throughout the show. Changing sides isn’t enough, you have to fully understand the weight of what’s been done wrong to earn forgiveness. Amity has to work to actively treat Willow better when they finally start to rebuild their friendship. Similarly, Amity’s father has to put in effort to make amends with his daughter.Hunter(Zeno Robinson) slowly unlearns all the lies he’s absorbed from Belos and works to earn the trust of Luz’s friends after all he’s done to hurt them. It’s not on the victims to be the bigger person automatically, if the party at fault wasn’t willing to work for it these bridges would never be mended. But they are. And that’s the key difference between Belos and The Collector. Despite their many similarities in enacting cruelty, The Collector did it from a place of misunderstanding as opposed to Belos’ deliberate acts of cruelty. Belos has been pleaded with time and time again over the course of the series, a 15-year-old child repeatedly having to try and be the bigger person to save them all. But Belos remains steadfast until the very end, still pleading for Luz to have mercy on him and join him as he melts away in acid rain. He’s been given countless chances to change and denied them all. If he can’t even admit he was wrong there is no way he could ever be redeemed.
But The Collector, after realizing what death and pain can truly mean, after feeling loss for the first time in his life, immediately changes his ways. He did unspeakably cruel things just like Belos, turning the citizens of the Boiling Isles into his own literal puppets. He was betrayed by Belos, who promised to free him and to be his friend so when he finally got his freedom he was extremely reluctant to trust anyone again. But he’s still a kid, and he’s so lonely, and eventually he starts to listen. When he sees things aren’t going his way he eventually lets Luz, King, and Eda (Wendie Malick) show himtheir way of doing thingsand quickly starts to understand better. Once Luz “dies” and he sees the pain it causes King and Eda, he’s willing to see what he did wrong, and he immediately jumps in to help. Countless times, Luz tried to offer the same compassion to Belos that she later shows to The Collector, and we see how powerful it is. The Collector undoubtedly did terrible things, but the show understands there is nuance to redemption and who deserves it.
Not everyone is worthy of forgiveness. That can be a hard pill to swallow, but it’s something everyone, especially kids, deserve to know. Some things are unforgivable, so are some people, and you’re able to attempt to reach out to help them, but it’s ultimately up to them to take your hand and pull themselves back up. The Collector was wrong, but he was also a child. He was lonely and betrayed and when he finally gained some perspective he was able to see his own faults. Belos was similarly lonely, losing his only brother to the world of magic he hated so much, but instead of growing and changing in the face of contrary truths, he buckled down even more. Redemption isn’t a silver platter you get handed for siding with the good guys, it’s earned through retributive action and continued growth. The Collector was “redeemed” but still has a lot of growing to do, as evidenced by the fact that they headed back to the stars to learn from their family after everything was set right. It’s not a single action that condemns someone to be a villain, and it’s not a single good deed that saves them.The Owl Houseshowed us two possible paths for villains where redemption is offered, but they must decide to take it for themselves.
