There’s no place in society for you if you can’t fit in

Azura: Do not underestimate me, Gildersnake, for I am the good witch Azura, warrior of peace.

You’d think this would be an opening dream sequence or imagine spot, but the truth is far more mundane.

It’s a book report, which understandably got Luz sent to the principal’s office, what with the live (and evidently vicious) props.

Camilia: Mija, I love your creativity, but it’s gotten out of hand. Do you remember why you were in the principal’s office the last three times?

Evidently Luz has gotten in trouble for bringing live “vermin” to school before (these were spiders), and also just freaking people out by bringing her own gore to a Juliet audition and other random grossness. It’s clear that she doesn’t mean to hurt anyone, but her antics still tend to scare the other kids…which doesn’t exactly do her any favors socially.

Camilia: We all love that you express yourself, but if you can’t learn to separate fantasy from reality, you may need to spend the summer here.

Yes, this is exactly as horrible a way to spend the summer as you’d expect. We don’t actually get to know her mother Camilia’s perspective on this until much later, but at least she appears to be doing what she thinks is best for Luz.

Camilia: Mija, your fantasy world is holding you back. Do you have any friends? Real ones, not imagined, or drawn, or reptilian. Summer camp is a chance to make some friends, but you have to try. Can you do that?

Spanish note: “Mija” is an abbreviated form of “mi hija”, or “my girl”. The random Spanish is yet another thing I love about this show.

But also, I can kinda relate to the struggle to make friends (even if I managed to fit in better then poor Luz).

So Luz is waiting for the bus to take her to Camp Square, when this little fellow comes along and steals her precious book.

Luz: Tiny trash thief! […] Stop adorably hopping away!

The tiny trash thief hops on over to a creepy abandoned house, leading Luz down the Owl hole!

And to the titular witch!

But as she’s unaware of how awesome this witch is (and what sort of adventure she’s wandered into), she first attempts to run away…

Only to be confronted with this fever dream. Fun fact: The art of Hieronymus Bosch was a huge inspiration for this aesthetic.

Luz: Where am I? Did I die? Am I in the bad place?

Eda: You wish!

Once Luz is fairly certain that she’s not gonna be eaten, she’s able to turn her attention to lighter matters. Eda’s got tons of junk from her portal, and Luz endears herself to her by fixing a TV, making it worth far more than the “box that reflects only sadness”.

Eda: Well, Luz, that was pretty clever. For a human.

Luz: That’s kind of a weird thing for another human to say…

Eda: Oh, dear child. I’m not like you.

Eda: I’m Eda, the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!

Then she promptly gets busted, because she also happens to be a wanted criminal (for as yet unrevealed reasons).

But of course, she makes a clean getaway.

Luz: Welp, I’ve had enough adventure for today. This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about, so can you help me get back home?

Eda: Only if you help me first.

Yeah, I don’t care for the meta humor here, especially because she is LITERALLY in a PG fantasy world (well, Y-7, but that’s basically equivalent in TV ratings). Just because someone threatened to her in her first five minutes in the world…eh, she might have a point there. It took half the book for people to start trying to eat the protagonists of The Silver Chair, and at least a chapter in The Hobbit. Still, the implication that this show is even PG-13 is big stretch.

Eda: Welcome to the Owl House, where I hide away from the pressures of modern life. Also the cops. Also ex-boyfriends.

Then Eda leads into her request by introducing THIS little guy.

Luz: Ai cariño! Eda, he is so cute! Who’s a widdle guy, who’s a widdle guy? Is it you, is it you?

King: No! I don’t know who your little guy is! Eda! Who is this monster?

It’s so cute when Luz spontaneously breaks into Spanish (BTW, she’s basically calling him “sweetie”, which I don’t suppose he would appreciate).

Eda: If you help us retrieve his crown, we’ll send you back to your realm. So what do you say? […] I mean, we’re kinda your only way home.

Luz: So I don’t really have a choice, do I?

The thing they need Luz for is to break into a high-security vault which will only open for a human…but it’s a little suspicious that, in a world full of monsters (or “demons”, as the residents are technically called), there would be such a vault in the first place.

Luz: Meow meow!

They’re trying to break into a “conformatorium”, which is basically just a nice way to say “prison”.

Foodie: Hey Cat Lady, how’d you get out of your cell?

Luz: Oh, no no no. I’m not a cat. Also I’m not a criminal.

King: Not yet you’re not!

Foodie: Neither are we! Stupid warden likes to lock people up who don’t fit in.

One of them is really into conspiracy theories and/or generally questioning reality, another enjoys eating his own eyeballs (which doesn’t actually hurt him or anyone else), and the third just writes slashfics about food.

Luz: Wait, these aren’t crimes. None of you actually did anything wrong. You’re all just a bunch of weirdos…like me.

Warden Wrath: Let this be a lesson to all of you. There’s no place in society for you if you can’t fit in.

And here we get to the central premise: Empowering weirdos to be weird!

But first, Luz has a bargain to make good on.

Luz: That crown doesn’t give him any powers, does it?

Eda: Uh, no. Ah, look at us, Luz. 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. Besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?

King’s one of her few weaknesses…but naturally, it’s a trap. Eda gets her head cut off…

But she seems more annoyed that the Warden is asking her out.

Warden Wrath: You’ve always eluded our capture, you’ve always been the one who got away. I found that alluring.

[…] Eda: Get over it! You had your guards stalk me and then you cut off my head! I am not going out with you!

Gotta respect a witch with standards!

But this leads into a fight with the Warden, which Eda thinks is a bit too dangerous for a human, so she hands Luz the key to the portal and tells her to leave.

But she’s not ready to abandon Eda without a fight, so she sets out to rally the inmates they set free.

Luz: So you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things. That may make you weird, but it also makes you awesome! Don’t you see?

Foodie: Why are you helping us?

Luz: Because us weirdos have to stick together! And nobody should be punished for who they are. Now let’s get him!

Then she actually lands the finishing blow!

Luz: Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath. For I am Luz, the human, warrior of peace. Now eat this, sucker!

King: That was actually one of her better breakups…

Eda: Not a breakup. Anyway, let’s bounce, before anymore monsters fall in love with me.

Luz: Okay…I know you got your head cut off, and we started some kind of prison riot, but this was the most fun I’ve ever had. I don’t fit in at home. You don’t fit in here. If I stay, we could not fit in together!

Then, when faced with the dreary prospect of Summer Camp, she makes up her mind.

Luz: I want to stay and become a witch like you, and Azura!

Eda: What? Alright, that’s crazy. Humans can’t become witches.

Luz: Maybe that’s because they haven’t tried.

Luz had conveniently packed for camp already, so she’s all set to move in (at least temporarily), and she figures her mom won’t worry about her as long as she thinks she’s at camp, so she has three months until she actually has to tell her mom what’s going on…it’s a bad decision, but it’s also a very relatable mindset.

King: Your sleep cocoon looks fluffy.

This, however, is a wonderful life decision.

Until next time…