This is Clearly Not the PG Fantasy World I Always Dreamed About

"The Owl House" may not even be a year old as of this writing, but it has already left quite the major impact in both the animation community and fans of dark fantasy in general. Sure, it didn't earn that status right away (some of the bigger factors for its success won't arise until much later in season 1), but a lot of the appeal was certainly there from the very start, as illustrated in "A Lying Witch and a Warden".

"Warden" does everything a premiere for a show like this should; set up the lead and have them kick-start the plot, establish a lot of the character motivations, and leave many things open for further exploration. In how the plot is structured and written, it doesn't break any new ground. In fact, the first couple minutes of Luz having to go to a rigorous camp to 'think inside the box' definitely feels a little heavy-handed and makes where everything is going to go pretty obvious. But it still proves to be an engaging start to the series because of the characters and the message. While the show has a pretty sizable cast, they are smart to not try introducing everyone right away because it means we get to spend a lot more time here really getting to meet Luz, Eda, and King, as well as several of the little nuances that will drive their entertainment value going forward.

Luz is established from the moment she enters the screen as a big, eccentric nerd of fantasy literature, mythical worlds, and anime. Someone who is determined to reach for her dream and to express her voice, no matter how much it's ultimately frowned upon. She clearly never aims to annoy the people in her school, but she's also not much of a thinker and thus is very prone to being reckless. This is a far cry from shows like "Amphibia" or even "Infinity Train" where the character we follow on their fantastical journey is somewhat of a blank slate, albeit with a handful of personality traits, meant for a general audience to connect with. And while both of those shows have strong leads for sure, Luz is much more of a defined character in general and that's what made the internet automatically fall in love with her.

Eda the Owl Lady at first seems reminiscent of Grunkle Stan with her criminal record and pride in pawning off valuables for the sake of easy profit, but even in this episode more of an emotional side comes up over time. While she doesn't express it, you get the feeling she's pretty lonely having to live in hiding, and values her friendship with the supposed demon lord King for that reason. Speaking of King, he (voiced by Alex Hirsch) is a young demon who likes living in his own world where he's an all-powerful lord, but always seems to come across as a little lovable pet, much to his dismay. They're both fun and intriguing enough by themselves, but together and with Luz they immediately share a dynamic that has a lot of chemistry and likability, and that's part of what makes Luz's choice to stay with Eda for the Summer feel deserved.

After basic introductions are covered, the plot is little more than a standard kind of rescue mission, albeit with a couple wacky twists that only add to the appeal. One is how, while trying to find King's crown, Luz encounters a few people who are shunned by the rest of the Boiling Isles for their bizarre habits, which ties into the message of embracing your weirdness and use it as a means of bonding instead of staying apart. It's not the strongest told in that instance, since in the climax the misfits merely get a few hits in while stating what makes them stand out, but they make up for it with how Luz learns how weird King and Eda are themselves, which of course reminds her of how much her peers don't appreciate her enthusiasm. It's worth noting all three of them have valid reasons for not being very well liked, so the fact they are able to get along in spite of their own quirks proves highly endearing and will only become more so as the series goes on.

So yeah, while "A Lying Witch and a Warden" has its underwhelming parts for sure, the strengths more than make up for it and really get one excited to watch what exactly Luz will be up to next during her stay at the Boiling Isles.

The fantasy sequence that starts the series is rather brief and generic, but this one shot is full of life in how its animated. These keyframes look strong enough as stills, but they manage to look even better in motion. And that's because this shot was given to animation supervisor Spencer Wan, who would later find his own studio named Studio Grackle. Look for his style to pop up in this and several other episodes across the season.

And here's the very first look we get of Luz Noceda. Spoiler alert, there's going to be *lots* of screencaps of her looking adorable.

Luz's weirdness is established with this montage of her doing these unsettling acts across her school. This little eyelid trick is definitely the most memorable.

Luz's relationship with her mother doesn't leave too much of an impression with how rushed the first couple minutes are, but we do get this wholesome exchange of Luz reluctantly choosing to put her Azura book in the trash bin. Granted, she does try to take it out later, but it still shows she cares about making her mother happy.

There's got to be a story behind this little shack, since it's right by Luz's house. Is it always used for this Boiling Isles owl to ransack relics from Earth or is this actually being occupied by someone? Maybe I'm just overthinking this.

Eda gets a great introduction, throwing away a diamond ring and the Holy Grail only to see value in these googly glasses. This is just a funny image all around, especially with how we're initially supposed to think she's more sinister.

Our first real look at the Boiling Isles. I love how the colors look more dreary than Earth, but still keeping to a somewhat realistic palette.

Obviously it's for the sake of exposition, but it's kind of odd how Eda is just willing to announce her identity and status as a wanted criminal in front of a crowd of potential customers. And sure enough, she almost gets caught by a jailer afterward.

This is a very quick shot, but the way this is angled and the speed of the background beautifully conveys the thrill of flying like this. I share Luz's discomfort.

I definitely have some thoughts on Hooty that I'll share as we go along, but in this episode he is able to stretch his mouth to act as a doorway. I don't think this ever comes up again, as after this point it's just opened and closed like a regular door.

Luz may be d'awwing over King upon first seeing him, but it's safe to say who comes off the cutest here.

King is set up to be this fierce monster with his crown in what is a very nicely stylized, if demented-looking, drawing.

The characters aren't drawn the best in this shot (fairly typical of Sunmin/SMIP's work on this show, unfortunately), but the perspective in the prison is very strong. Just look at how far up it appears to go.

Luz introduces her cat hoodie, complete with a couple meows. Great stuff.

This character mentions having a passion for writing shipfics out of food. Note that on the right picture they're in a boiling pot, which already makes me curious where exactly her story is going.

This little nose creature is voiced by series creator Dana Terrace, giving a cute, nasally kind of voice to essentially a baseless conspiracy nut. Pretty great. Also, this warden's ability to morph his hand into certain weapons is a cool idea.

This shot of Luz phasing into the human-safe force field is really well shot. The glow on Luz especially stands out in this big, white void behind her.

I felt like I needed to get a picture of the Burger Queen crown somewhere, a pretty humorous twist that tells us a lot about King's character, but Eda also makes a comment that's probably the first big hearttug of the series: "King and I don't have much in this world, we only have each other. So if that dumb crown is important to him, it's important to me. And besides... (chuckle), us weirdos have to stick together, y'know?"

Eda getting her head sliced off (only for her to remain alive and active) is just a taste of the dark humor that will become much more commonplace over time. The warden wanting to date Eda is... odd, and kind of pointless in the grand scheme of things, but I guess they had to alleviate the shock value somehow.

We get a few more Spencer Wan shots during the later chase scene. It doesn't leave as much of an impact as the earlier scene, but it still conveys a lot of power and impact that you don't get with the overseas studios.

The single weirdest shot in the episode. Luz looks pretty off in this still, and it's animated in a very choppy manner. Very, very strange.

Luz echoes Azura's declaration, in both words and posing. It's obviously not as well-animated, but the poses and expressions here are still full of attitude. And her shoving fireworks into the warden's mouth-head is an undoubtedly fitting solution.

Luz gives up the crown from her Azura toy to King, who modestly accepts it. I kind of wish he kept this throughout the entire series, to be honest.

Luz contrasting the Azura book cover with this expression of awe has so much powerful nuance and subtlety, which is only accentuated further when she lets out her determination to become a witch in front of Eda.

This already beautiful ending is made even better by the light orchestration courtesy of TJ Hill. Again, Dana Terrace really knows how to hype us up.