Up to this point, I've largely praised The Owl House for how it has introduced much of its cast and nailing their individual charms that will persist as we get to know more about them. "The Intruder" feels like the first episode that really allows them to just breathe while getting some light development, which is nice after three straight episodes of establishing and exposition. To be fair, this episode is where we find out about Eda's curse of her transforming into a demon owl, which will become one of the most major components of the series later, but it's kept to the basics for now with the majority of the screen-time instead focusing on the relationship between King and Luz.
This is probably the episode where King really comes into his own as a character. His development is as simple as him desiring to share his self-gained knowledge of demons to Luz, and being disappointed that Luz is more interested in listening to Eda's teachings. It's a pretty general lesson about not going too far in seeking attention, but they add an endearing side to that. Even during his more grumpy moments, he is genuinely looking out for Luz, which isn't new territory for him, but it's pushed a lot further here with how consistently they interact and how at one point Luz appears to be in mortal danger. Hearing him earnestly say lines like "Give me back my boo-boo buddy!" are so satisfying. Not to say that Luz doesn't play a major role herself; at first it seems like more of the same from her, but the episode ultimately climaxes to Luz being able to decipher a subtle pattern to cast a simple light spell in a way that witches haven't tapped in a long time. The fact they hide such a major development in what's mostly a King story was an ingenious way to not make it too obvious, while making the story more than dramatic enough to warrant it.
Probably the strongest point in this episode's favor is just how chill it is. Being very deliberately kept at the titular abode, and entirely between a small handful of characters, there's certainly not too many moving pieces, even with an unnerving chase involving a mysterious yet familiar terror. It's essentially what enables the story to be this level of character-driven in the first place, which is the right call because of how extremely identifiable these personalities have proven to be. This also works in how Eda's curse is brought up. It's foreshadowed early in the episode that she's called the Owl Lady for a fitting reason, and that her elixir plays some kind of role in that, but they keep just enough hidden to make the reveal of her monstrous form legitimately disturbing. It helps that the more dramatic and atmospheric scenes are played pretty slowly, which you think would get dull or repetitive, but there's always at least one new thing happening every scene which only adds to the character development and intrigue.
One thing holding this episode back, however, is the animation from SMIP, AKA Sunmin Image Pictures. After experiencing a taste of how attractive this show can look under Sugarcube and Rough Draft, this just looks like a distinct downgrade all across the board. SMIP's work in the first episode was mostly pretty strong, albeit a little on-and-off, and while this episode does have moments of visual greatness (particularly in the second half when things start getting spooky), there's a certain sloppiness and flatness to a lot of the drawings compared to even that. I don't know what happened here, maybe a lot of the scenes were given to a weaker unit or there just wasn't as much of a budget, but there's definitely not very much to look at compared to the other episodes so far (hence there being less screenshots). Someone in charge of production must've realized this too, as they would only be given two more episodes before being entirely absent for the rest of the season, and it's honestly just as well.
Still, "The Intruder" is a simplistic but still enjoyable outing.
Almost immediately, we get a Luz that looks off. It's not terrible, but coming off Rough Draft and Sugarcube, it's hard not to notice the difference in line weight and relative lack of depth.
King states in his initial lecture that one of demons' biggest weakness is "passive-aggressive comments... sometimes. Even demons have inner demons." Clever.
This is the same shot of Bonesboro we saw in "Witches Before Wizards", just with some additions and touches to show its effects under acid rain, making for an effective compare-and-contrast.
Willow gets a voiceless cameo. Just look at how much plant life she has in there.
The return of the Dana Terrace nose goblin aside, check out that giant eyeball on the mouse's back. So disgusting yet bizarrely intriguing.
Luz's face upon King coining them "boo-boo buddies" is probably her best in the episode. Look at them eyes.
But then a minute later we get... this unsettling Luz. It looks almost dead. Sadly this kind of look isn't uncommon across the first half of the episode.
You just have to laugh at how Eda turns from a braggy crank to like a simple-minded animal upon sight of a simple shiny object. Luz using it as a means to get her way only makes it funnier.
Another genuinely well-drawn Luz to offset the last one we saw.
Really like the atmospheric shadows and layout here, making Eda's room very ominous indeed.
"Smoochie-Pie the Sweetie Baby! ...He's-(sigh), he's a lot more threatening than his name implies?" Alex Hirsch's delivery is fantastic here.
Weird but humorous bit involving a bear trap failing to catch King, coming to life, and admitting his heart wasn't it. It's hard for sentient object gags not to get a chuckle out of me, okay?
Luz juggling the elixir bottle before dropping it isn't the best-animated, but there's still a charming level of life to it with how much it flips around.
So... Hooty's dead, right? You've got the X eyes, the tongue out, the forced-open eyelid... how exactly does he live by the end of the episode?
Good work with the background here. The gold of the force field already creates a dusk-like feel, almost like it's building up to the trouble coming later, and the poofs on the acid rain as it hits the ground is strong as well.
I don't know about you, but I'm really digging the decor in this hallway. Compared to the junk we usually see around Eda, this looks like a legitimately pleasant household.
King encountering a real Snaggleback doesn't contribute that much to the story, but it still makes for a good breather and "Oh no, a twist!" upon getting eaten by the mysterious demon is a good meta line.
Cliche as it may be, this shot of the door slowly opening to the creature, still kept in shadows, is pretty dang chilling.
We get a few Spencer Wan shots as King scurries through the halls. It's not some of his finest work or anything, but the lowered frame rate helps make the movements from both him and the demon look more intense.
First full look we get at the cursed Eda. ...Looks pretty killer, I have to admit. Obviously has a lot of owl-like features, but made a lot more intimidating and plain awesome to look at.
Don't lie, you just want to hug her right now.
Luz figuring out and casting her first light spell is such a magical scene, from the compositions to how it's paced to the orchestration that almost sounds straight out of a mainline Disney film. That third shot is also pretty dang lively, being from Wan, although it suffers with Luz's head and eyes being more ovular than they should be.
Even in her demonic form, she is still innocent, allured Eda deep down. Impressive they were able to make this design look cute.
As everything winds down, we get this real chill scene with real chill colors. Of note is Eda 'finishing' her reform by sipping into the elixir, with attention being drawn into her chest orb thing.
Luz repeatedly casting the light spell on pieces of paper like this is beyond lovable.
Nothing too special about this shot, but the way Luz is drawn suggests to me it might've been Spencer Wan as well despite this generally not being attributed to him.
Had to mention Eda's brief nightmare scene. Not much to it, just kind of showing a very blurry figure with everyone (including her) kept in the dark as who cursed her. Meh.
I don't understand how a few bandaids can heal some massive scratches, but the line "Yay, I get to be a part of something!" is one of Hooty's better moments.
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