After two episodes mostly kept between Luz, Eda, and King, it's the third episode "I Was a Teenage Abomination" that finally introduces several characters and concepts that will quickly become highly prominent going forward. And although this is admittedly what the episode is most notable for, it does its job pretty well and has so many fun moments along the way.
So, it starts with Luz hearing about this prestigious magic school known as Hexside through Eda smack-talking at. But of course, it sounds like a much more promising and magical environment than the dirty work the Owl Lady has her dealing with, so after encountering a timid, struggling student named Willow, Luz devises a plan to act as Willow's 'abomination', a sort of pet project involving creating a magical sentient creature out of purple goo. And things go well at first, earning her the position of top student in her class, much to the dismay of pompous former top student Amity Blight. Eventually, Amity's cunningness gets the two caught, but Willow saves the day through her prowess in plant magic, allowing her to transfer to that field.
What this episode gets right is, much like what we saw in "A Lying Witch and a Warden", easing us in to introducing a sizable number of characters. We get introduced to Willow and Amity within the same scene, which is smart because the conversation between them tells us all we really need to know about them for now, while leaving a lot of open for nuance by suggesting they have some kind of history together. It helps that the personalities, even reduced to the basic traits, are instantly memorable. Willow is, as stated before, timid and determined to prove herself, but she has a heart of gold and a clear conscience. Amity, by contrast, is smug and likes to put others down specifically to prop herself up, and is focused on keeping her reputation up on top by any means necessary. Neither of these break any new ground, but the way they're written and voiced makes the most of them as archetypes, especially with this being a starting point.
Luz is a little more on the mischievous side compared to the other episodes so far, as she knowingly trespasses into private property, but that's just her being eager to exploit a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as anyone with her kind of curiosity would, and she does have great intentions with how she does so as a means to help Willow. King and Eda get an entertaining subplot with them making a bet over who can raise a student better (with King using a newly-hatched slug), with a lot of great lines and moments coming out of it and even a couple brief but effective emotional beats. However, its initial purpose gets kind of derailed into a kind of basic monster attack, plus this is the start of a pattern in the episode format that I will be sure to discuss as it becomes more apparent.
Visually, it's also here we get introduced to the third and final animation studio of the season, Sugarcube, who have previously worked alongside Rough Draft on other Disney cartoons such as "Star vs. the Forces of Evil" and "Big City Greens". Their style is pretty similar to RDK's, but with a bit more of a cutesy, pastel look to it. While it can feel out of place, especially alongside certain backgrounds (as mentioned below), for the most part its used quite well, probably the best work they've done for any Disney TVA series so far. So yeah, pretty strong episode all around, if somewhat paint-by-numbers.
Probably the most 'Eda' thing we've seen in the series so far: fishing for junk out of a dead, beached trash slug. Check out all the miscellaneous garbage on that thing. I'm especially curious how the heck a satellite got on there.
Innocent Luz look especially adorable under Sugarcube, probably one of the biggest upsides to their work here.
However, one of the biggest downsides is that the characters and the backgrounds sometimes don't quite mix. You can see a certain 'grainy' look to all the background elements, including the slug and the sky, while the characters all have flat color fills. It's a little jarring in shots like this.
This time, King doesn't seem to mind Luz's cute, baby-like tickling at all. This was the first episode written without Rachel Vine, so that might be part of why.
One of the first things we see Willow is magically revive a plant after accidentally stepping on it. There's a certain beauty and grace to just how tranquil she looks when performing this spell.
And of course, the first look we get of Amity Blight. This frame alone is enough to communicate she's purely focused on being the best there is, and likes to look down on those she thinks are below her. She doesn't go out of her way to ruin Willow's day, but she acts notably patronizing all the same with lines like "You don't have anything to show, do you?" and "Even you can get a passing grade someday."
There's something to be said about how Luz's first-ever look of Amity is easily the grumpiest we've seen her yet. She even blows a raspberry. But we'll get to that when we get to that; believe me, there's a lot to cover later.
Probably the most egregious example of the background problem I mentioned earlier; the way King's steps are animated simply doesn't match what the background beneath him implies.
Luz attempting to cover her human ears makes for a fairly meme-worthy visual.
Luz's talk with Willow is full of great expressions, especially upon devising her plan. The first image looks so humorously dark out-of-context, and the second expression is just incredibly strong in general.
Here's a creative concept; monster-lockers that open upon being tickled.
I haven't even mentioned Gus yet, mostly because his role in this particular episode feels a little arbitrary and seems to only exist for introduction purposes. Despite that, his interest in human culture and initial meeting with Luz makes for a first impression just as good as the girls, enough to make one especially excited to see more of him.
King's relationship with this young slug is genuinely endearing despite how underdeveloped it ultimately is, and his back-and-forth with Eda keeps the entertainment rolling.
But in terms of entertainment value, the peak of it here has got to be Luz acting as Willow's abomination. Those zombie-like poses are just so deranged, especially with Luz's dazed-looking eyes. And the third image has a really well-delivered line: "I may be your abomination... but you are my a-mom-ination!"
Note that Amity only turns sour once she loses her 'Top Student' badge to Willow, which is enough to communicate that she's less a bully and mostly just has a bad superiority complex, laying a solid groundwork for all the future stories that will later be told with her.
Eda looking in horror at a few rooms at Hexside upon realizing Luz is there is also good for a laugh or two, thanks to the social commentary in her lines ("Blind obedience!" "Pointless busy work!") and how these wholesome images are contrasted with the horror overtones.
Luz is having way too much fun playing the part here. That dead look is almost legitimately convincing.
This scene is good at communicating what makes King tick as a character. He has huge ambitions, but is extremely simple-minded at trying to carry about it, as he tries to make "Prince Jr" wreak havoc only for it to immediately attack him upon running out of treats.
Luz teaching Gus 'high-fives' is such a straightforward, to the point scene but Gus's enjoyment in such a mundane action ("Oh man, what a rush!") is really funny.
Here's Professor Bump, a character whose introduction doesn't leave as much of an impact as the others, but damn if this bit of him showing his knife at Luz (still thinking she's an abomination) isn't oozing with menace by how it's shot and lit.
Wendie Malick's performance really stands out here. She obviously uses this time to revel in correcting King's overconfidence, but there's a warm sincerity to those same lines like she still wants the best for him.
The seed that Luz picks up from the trash slug at the beginning very ingeniously pays off here. Not just in how it allows Willow to channel her magic, but also it allowing Luz to learn her lesson about appreciating Eda's methods without necessarily putting down what we saw at Hexside or otherwise being over-the-top about it.
The actual animation on the vines is rather standard - it definitely would've looked better had it gone to Rough Draft - but the final result is pretty dang attractive, almost out of an anime.
And the last we see of Amity in this episode is her being downright furious. And keep in mind, this is basically her first impression of Luz, so keeping this in your head will only make what follows between them all the more impactful.
As much as I've said this relationship isn't explored too much, King dropping salt to reduce the fierce slug (not kill... for some reason) honestly does leave a good emotional punch with his initial hesitance.
Nothing to warm your day but a nice, charming image of three friends sharing such a tight hug.
Luz being banned is humorous by itself with how abruptly it's thrown at us, but Eda's line "Baby's first wanted poster" drives it home.
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