Understanding Willow on The Owl House

The Owl House Episode 15 Review

If I had to choose the most interesting character on The Owl House, I wouldn’t choose Luz, King, or Eda. Instead, I’d choose Amity Blight. At first, we thought she was a condescending jerk. Then we learned that she was more complex than that. She puts a lot of pressure on herself, her older siblings can be a pain, and her “friends” are shallow as they come. The only real friend she had was Willow, yet she broke that off years ago. We had our theories as to why she ended her friendship with Willow, but it’s this episode that confirms them.

Amity Scrambles Willow’s Brains

While Luz learns how to turn memories into photo’s using Willow as her subject, Amity sees an old memory-photo of her and Willow as kids. So, she tries to burn her face out of the photo. But then the other photos catch fire, and since they’re linked to Willow, it scrambles her brain. It leaves her as a babbling moron.

I don’t know what’s more surprising: the fact that Amity resorted to such drastic measures, or the fact that, for once, Luz is only partially at fault. I say partially because Luz didn’t hide the photo’s from Amity.

There’s only one way to fix Willow: Luz and Amity go inside her to fix her memories and set things right. It’s a mind-scape episode!

Don’t You Just Hate Nasty Parents?

The resulting trip down the literal memory lane shows us that Amity and Willow were about as close as friends could be. They played together, got in and out of trouble together; they were inseparable! Until Amity’s birthday, when she broke off their friendship. As a result, Willow’s got a lot of repressed rage and bitterness over it that manifests as a fiery spirit trying to burn Amity alive. However, we then learn that this decision was not of her choosing.

As many people predicted, Amity’s parents are complete jerks who care nothing for their daughter’s happiness; only that they remain in good social standing. So they gave Amity an ultimatum: break off her friendship with Willow and hang out with the friends they chose, or they make sure Willow would never get into Hexside.

I’ve seen a lot of abusive parents in fiction before, and while they may not be the worst I’ve seen, Mr. and Mrs. Blight are pretty high up there. There’s just something about watching parents treat their kids like tools that angers me beyond reasoning. More so because of the knowledge that the kid is often unable to do anything to stand up for themselves. This revelation manages to calm Willow down and restore her damaged memories, though.

Where Does Amity Go From Here?

So we know for a fact that Amity’s actually a good person. It’s just that her parents toxic influence molded her into what we first saw. That’s because she was a kid who couldn’t stand up for herself. But things are different now.

Amity and Willow aren’t helpless kids anymore: they’re teenagers, able to make their own decisions and stand up for themselves. While it may take a while to mend their friendship, I think they’re already on the road to doing so. And if Amity’s parents try to object, Amity will need to stand up for herself; with some help from her real friends, though.

I doubt we’ll see this sub-plot resolve itself in the month left of Season One, but I know this isn’t the last we’ll see of Amity and Willow’s character development. Plus, if there’s one thing I love, it’s seeing children standing up to abusive parents. Sue me, I’ve got a rebellious spirit at times

I Give “Understanding Willow” a 4.5/5

Stray Observations

• Willow seems to have two dads! Can we all stop to appreciate how far the portrayal of same-sex relationships have come in kid’s shows in just a few short years?

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