Owl House Spoiler Recap: Edge of the World
I wasn’t sure how The Owl House was going to top last week’s game-changing episode, but “Edge of the World” delivered in a completely different way. While there were many lore and plot reveals, this episode anchored itself in the emotional journey of one of the main characters.
King’s origin has been one of the biggest question marks of the show. Season two has been feeding us breadcrumbs here and there. But finally, Dana Terrace and her team presented a big chunk of the story in the most gut-wrenching way possible. “Edge of the World” confirmed that King’s people are the Titans, the very same ones whose bones are where the Boiling Isles are built upon.
It’s amazing and heartbreaking how much this episode recontextualizes The Owl House and makes it far more tragic. I was watching “Reaching Out” over the weekend, and seeing all the skulls and bones in the background, knowing they were King’s fallen family is a horrible feeling. Those smallest ones were babies, slaughtered before they could ever get a chance to truly live. It means that King will have to pass by them all the time because the bones and skulls are everywhere. He’s essentially living in his family’s mausoleum.
It changes the narrative too if the entire society is built on the bodies of King’s family. Though, maybe we can read into the past a little bit. Perhaps the witches and the Titans once lived in harmony. Maybe when a giant Titan passed away, the witches were honored to live on their bodies to make their own lives in a ‘circle of life’ kind of thing. Then, the lies of the Collector broke down that relationship, making it all fall apart. What happened in the past and looking back at The Owl House as a whole where it stands now, the entire paradigm has shifted about the world.
I have to think it is not common knowledge either. No one ever recognized King as a Titan. If they did, then Belos’ entire plan falls apart. Maybe Belos does know and is waiting to act on it. Belos is the king of misinformation so he’s not going to share with the citizens that their world is built on top of a fallen race. Even though that’s the perfect kind of colonization I’m sure Belos is down for. But I’m leaning towards he doesn’t know because he had King in his clutches in the season one finale. I have a strong sneaking suspicion that the Collector is lying to Belos and setting him up to fall. More on that in a minute.
King’s emotional motivation is what makes this episode work so well. Once again, Alex Hirsch is so good at that balance between King’s cuteness and turmoil. The episode sets up the goal right away with King’s dream that is too good to be true. While his search for his family and the ups and downs of that has been one of the side plots this season, it’s finally reached a moment where King personally can’t ignore it any longer. It also helps that they all discover the letter Hooty swallowed many episodes ago. Everything starts coming together with Belos knowing that Luz was in his mind and Eda wanting to protect her kids. Our heroes have the perfect reason to set out to find the truth.
Along with King, Eda has one of the emotionally resonating moments in “Edge of the World.” She breaks down in tears in front of Lilith, expressing her fears about her children being in danger. Lilith comforts her sister in a move that is earned and satisfying. Their relationship was so broken and strained in season one. Lilith put in the work to earn her sister’s forgiveness. Now, they can have a relationship just like the one they had as kids before everything fell apart.
This is also my favorite kind of YA/all-ages story. I love when the adults are actually portrayed as adults for a younger audience to see. I hate when grownups are just basic obstacles in the protagonist’s way. Or they’re portrayed as silly or stupid (I used to be a nanny and that drove me crazy watching shows like that). Eda has stepped up into her mom role, strongly coded in stories about adoption, and truly cares for her kids. She wants to help them be their best selves. In “Edge of the World,” it means she’s worried for their safety. It’s such a realistic portrayal that lets Eda resonate not only with an older audience but also show the youngest viewers that adults don’t always have all the answers. They get scared, sad, and angry. They’re not perfect, but they’re trying their best. It’s an important portrayal.
There’s also a ton of blame going around. Luz feels like a pawn in Belos’ plot. Lilith fell for his schemes in the past and helped the groundwork for the Day of Unity. Eda is scared her choices are going to lead to her kids getting hurt by the emperor. But there is one key factor here that is at the center of all this blame which is Emperor Belos. He is the one who hurt them and made our heroes have these doubts. It’s so important to remember they are victims which is why it’s really nice to see Lilith comfort Eda. They can’t fix their past mistakes, but our heroes can come together to support each other, heal, and fight for a better future.
But King really is the heart of the episode. The ongoing desire that all he wants to do is play catch with his father resonates in “Edge of the World.” It’s that trope that’s been built up for decades in media. Everyone knows what that story beat means. Dana Terrace and her crew use that writing trope to devastating effect. Every time when King is about to play catch, it is continually ripped away from him again and again.
It’s also a nice little callback to Gravity Falls with Soos wanting to play catch with his dad that left him behind. Since Dana Terrace and Alex Hirsch had both worked on that series, I have to think it’s a little nod.
There is an emphasis on the importance of not only a found family but a blended one too. Even if King had found his blood family, his blood parents, and an entire society of people like him, it would not erase the fact that Eda raised him and he’s a Clawthorne. He calls Luz his sister when introducing her. That dream at the beginning was about bringing his two families together. Each family holds its own important emotional weight for King. They’re equal feelings but very different.
For example, I have a very blended family with parents, step-parents, half-siblings, and step-siblings. I love my parents and step-parents. They’re both very strong emotions. But they’re also very different emotions. One is my parents that raised me and the other is my more recent step-parents who are just as important but in a very different way. If anything ever happened to my dad, I know my stepdad would be a father figure to me. But he would never, ever replace my dad who raised me. My feelings towards these two men are strong but very different. Blended families are a very unique structure and no two blended families are the same.
I bet King’s dream is a bit of foreshadowing too. Luz has created a family on the Boiling Isles. But that doesn’t make her family back on earth any less important. While Eda sees Luz as her child, Luz has Eda in a role as a mother figure along with her own mom, Camila, back on earth. This blended family grew more in “Yesterday’s Lie.” Vee is staying with Camila. This helps get Camila used to what it’s like to be around someone from the Boiling Isles. It is a big first step in blending the two worlds as Luz’s two families will eventually come together. King’s dream felt like a precursor to that. Maybe the final scene of The Owl House will be Camila hosting Luz’s found family from the Boiling Isles in a little party in their back yard. I like to imagine Gus freaking out at all the human stuff.
King’s fear of Luz leaving is a valid emotion and his drive for the episode. Our heroes are also in constant danger with Belos hunting them and the Day of Unity only a week away. There’s always the chance that King could lose Eda as well. It makes sense that he wants to build another support system in case his current life falls apart. But with the emphasis on blending families, personally, I can’t see Dana and her crew breaking everyone up for good when the show ends. But hey! I’ve been spectacularly wrong before, so we’ll see!
While King has always been a main character and important, he is now suddenly one of the most key characters of the show. Being the last Titan, he is incredibly valuable. He has Titan’s Blood in him, something that can power the portal door. His blood is something that both Luz and Belos need.
It also connects King to the Collector who is more and more looking to be the true big bad of the show. Building on my theory from last week that the Collector will actually backstab Belos, the leader of the Titan Trappers, Bill, added to this theory. He specifically noted he’s older than Belos’ rule and thinks very little of the emperor. Bill even calls him an ‘upstart,’ sneering out the word. If Bill can actually talk to the Collector, either he’s being fed the Collector’s true feelings about Belos or Bill is being lied to. Either way, it shows the Collector’s reach and power.
The Collector is controlling the people who destroyed all the Titans as well as probably manipulating the Emperor of the Boiling Isle. They’re the oldest being in the series and showing just how powerful they are. The Collector is coming, and they’re going to be far scarier than anything that Belos can do.
The final scene of the episode where King looks over the fallen bones of a Titan is exactly how you use simplicity to its fullest potential. The little “Hi” from him holds so much emotion behind it. Not only is it a hello, but it’s also a goodbye for King. A goodbye to the notion that there are more Titans out there. It’s a confirmation in his own mind that the journey of looking for others is over. He is the last of his kind, a new burden put upon such a young child. With the gorgeous background mixed with Hirsch’s excellent performance, it’s a showstopping moment letting the emotional weight tell the story. I almost wished they ended the episode there instead of the cliffhanger with the Coven Scouts surrounding the Owl House. It was a perfect end to “Edge of the World.”
Some random thoughts to round out Edge of the World:
-Luz in her Grom outfit! I also adored Owlbert in his little hat too!
-I’ve missed Hooty and Lilith together! Their friendship is so pure!
-I love that they gave lore to King’s little “Weh!” he always yells.
-I thought they were going to have a moment where Tarak was going to side with King. Nope! He double-downed on wanting to murder our sweet baby boy. I like when they take those story tropes and turn them on their head.
-If Hooty took a blood sample from King in “Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door,” does that mean they still have some Titan’s Blood hanging around?
“Edge of the World” giving us King’s origin on top of the work “Hollow Mind” put in last week are all huge narrative steps up. With only a few weeks left until the season two finale, it’s only going to get crazier from here.
