The rebellion begins…

But first, a flashback.

Classmate: I got the new prodigy to do it for me, and all I had to do was “pretend” to be his friend.

That sends little Gus into a bit of a spiral, as this is evidently not his first such experience.

Gus: You’ve done it again, Augustus. Why does this keep happening?

And the illusions of those students continue to belittle him (much more harshly than they ever appear to do in reality).

Then this abomination shows up, followed shortly by the much friendlier face of Willow.

Willow: Sorry, I was trying to be funny, but I just ended up being horrifying. I thought I was the only one that hid here.

Illusion: Who’s that?

Illusion: You might as well do her homework now. Get it over with.

Gus: Go away!

Willow: Are you talking to me?

Gus: All of you!

Willow: Hey, sometimes I get wrapped up in my own thoughts, too. But my dads taught me a little trick to quiet the voices.

Then she teaches him a little exercise to help regulate his breathing and calm him down (it’s a real technique and it actually works!), they introduce themselves, and the rest is history.

Honestly, when I first saw this episode, it took me much longer than it should have to realize that this was meant to be a flashback. I mainly chalk that up to the voice – they did actually have a different voice actor for wittle baby Gus here, and he did have a higher-pitched voice, but they seemed to be directing him to imitate the voice of the actor from the second season, when his voice had already dropped, rather than the Gus of Season 1, which this iteration would presumably be closer to. But that’s just a nitpick.

Anyway, back in the present, Amity’s trying to decipher Luz’s message from after her jaunt in Belos’ head, but it’s (understandably) even harder to make out her meaning than usual.

Amity: All I could decipher was, “Learned a lot of bad stuff,” something something, “Day of Unity” something something, and “don’t scare him away”? I don’t know what any of it means.

Gus: What about all those hearts?

Amity: Oh, those are for me.

This is the only scrap of Lumity in the episode.

Willow: I went by and checked out the Owl House, it was crawling with coven scouts. I was thinking of capturing one for information, but…

Amity: It’s okay, Willow. They’re tough. Not everyone can stand up to them.

Willow: But I didn’t want to bring more attention to Luz and Eda.

Amity and Willow are friends again, but evidently that means Amity is being all overprotective, since she’s used to Willow being a “weakling”.

Willow: We just started hanging out again, and she needs time to get to know the new me.

Gus: You mean, the real you.

Gus: I remember you!

So Gus chases Flapjack all the way to Hunter’s hiding place in an old auditorium.

He’s in rough shape (although under the circumstances, he could be doing much, much worse).

Gus: What are you doing here, Golden Guard?

Hunter: Wouldn’t you like to know. But rest assured, Gus, I-[scrambles to hide his trash]

Gus: I’ll ask you one more time. What are you doing here, Hunter?

Hunter: Okay, fine! Truth is, my living situation has been…compromised. Maybe! So I just need a place to crash. Temporarily! Hexside was the only place I could think of.

Gus: How…vague of you. Do you know where Luz is, by any chance?

Hunter: She’s not with the Owl Lady?

I get the impression Flapjack alerted one of Hunter’s teammates on purpose. He’s a good little friend like that.

But Hunter has to unlearn his way of interacting with others, because he’s used to having authority (real or implied), and now, for the first time in his life, he needs help, all because he’s rejected that authority.

Gus leaves him with his lunch bag (because Hunter had been surviving on snack mix for a while and he needs real food), before the plot calls (as in, the whole school is called to an assembly).

Graye: Hello, everyone. My name is Adrian Graye, head witch of the Illusionist Coven. Unfortunately, I’m not here with good news. The Emperor’s Coven has plans to stop multitrack studies by inducting every Hexside student into a coven before the Day of Unity.

Evidently the multitrack program has become rather popular – Matty has even started working on illusions. And considering what Belos means to do on the Day of Unity (namely, kill everyone), it’s downright horrifying that he means to kill CHILDREN (although we’d hardly expect less).

Bump: Don’t worry. No one’s magic is going to be sealed away. Head Witch Graye supports us and has come to help.

Graye: Before any coven scouts come by, I’m going to make illusions of sigils on your wrists. They’ll be temporary and harmless.

But naturally, there’s a catch.

Gus: Stop! Don’t trust him. He’s hiding behind an illusion!

Surprise surprise, he was just planning on branding all of them with real sigils! Because if he were really on their side, he’d already be plotting with Raine & co.

Graye: Well, you just ruined any chance we had of making this something.

Gus: You were gonna trick us into getting sigils!

Graye: Uh, yeah. I work for Belos. Kind of my job. But let’s make sure you can never use your little illusion tricks again, shall we?

And then Gus panics and (accidentally) covers half the school in an illusion.

But Hunter grabs him and gets him and gets him out of there before anyone else can respond.

Graye: Find that boy, the one who did this.

Once they’ve realized the situation, Principal Bump gathers everyone he can and sets up a base in the healing homeroom.

Amity: Watch out, Willow!

Willow: I got it.

Amity: Lucky shot, Willow!

Scout: Hey, don’t listen to her. You totally got me.

I love when the scouts have personality. Like Steve and his little existential crisis.

Gus: My spell, it’s still active.

Hunter: Well, you’re a witch. Un-spell it.

Gus: No! I don’t know how. I’ve never made one this big before.

As usual with spontaneous magic born from self-defense, it’s no simple task to undo it.

Gus: Hunter, why’d you save me back there? From getting a sigil. Don’t those guys work for you?

Hunter: I owed you. For the food.

Gus: When we first met, you were tying to trick me into joining a coven. And now you’re helping me stay away from one. Because of a sandwich?

Hunter: It was a good sandwich.

What he means to say is “thank you!”

Then they run into some scouts, and a little more of Hunter’s situation comes out – they say that the Emperor’s been searching for him (even if the scouts don’t know why)…

And once they escape, Hunter freaks out because, y’know, that reminds him that Belos wants him dead now.

Hunter: Oh, Titan! He’s looking for me! He’ll know I’m here. I gotta run. I gotta hide!

Then Gus teaches him the breathing exercise he learned from Willow, so they manage to have a calm discussion.

Gus: Did you run away from the Emperor’s Coven? Why?

Well, they have a calm discussion after Gus takes a roundabout approach to the subject.

Gus: Not too long ago, when I showed a little talent and started taking more advanced classes, it always felt like anyone who wanted to be my friend had an ulterior motive. Until I met Willow, and eventually Luz, and some others. So yeah. Not everybody’s great. But not everyone’s bad, either, you know? For what it’s worth, you can trust me. I promise not to mess with you.

It’s nice that Gus is finally getting more development, and if it’s not an experience I personally relate to, it’s still something I can imagine resonating with someone else’s experience.

Hunter: That’s not worth anything. Stop acting foolish.

Gus: Alright, tough guy. Let’s keep moving, then.

When someone you love and respect betrays you, I imagine it’s hard to trust again.

Meanwhile, Willow and Amity, for all their respective talents, are struggling to work together.

Willow: What are you doing?

Amity: I just got you back as a friend. Let me protect you!

Willow: I don’t want your protection! I want you to see who I really am!

Then they find the base…

Just as Hunter and Gus encounter Willow…

Gus: Willow, you’re okay!

“Willow”: Augustus! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. […] Whoa, what is he doing here?

Gus: Oh, don’t worry. It’s cool. He helped me escape from Graye. I think he ran away from the Emperor’s Coven. Also, he hasn’t showered. In a while. Be nice.

NOW I’m just wondering how magical showers work…

“Willow”: Let’s find the others before these illusions get any more [fake screams].

And that’s the tell for Hunter.

Hunter: Who are you?

Gus: What are you doing? Willow’s on our side.

Hunter: That’s not the Captain.

“Willow”: You’re scaring me, Hunter.

Hunter: Have you ever seen her play Flyer Derby? There’s no way she’d be afraid of me.

Graye: Oh, again? Cut! Severine! You had your chance and you blew it!

To be fair to the scouts, they’d have no way of knowing about their previously established bond with Hunter (even if they heard about the Flyer Derby incident, the only ones who witnessed the fallout were Hunter and Darius). But her calling him “Augustus” rather than “Gus” should’ve tipped him off, too.

Graye: You two are making my job very difficult.

But this illusion is much more effective, particularly on Hunter.

Seeing no other options, Hunter tries just commanding the scouts to stop.

Scout: Technically, he is our superior.

Graye: Well, right now, he’s just a runaway, and our dearest emperor wants him back, so tie him up.

Well, he tried. But gets knocked out anyway.

Hunter: This is an illusion! Gus! Are you-

It’s REALLY sad when he wakes up in a peaceful (if strange) environment and that’s the first thing out of his mouth.

Viney: Woah! It’s okay. Try noy to stand so fast.

Skara: This isn’t an illusion. You’re in the healing homeroom.

Bump: Well, Mr. Golden Guard…

Hunter: Hunter.

Bump: We saw you being dragged around, and the Flyer Derby team was determined to save you. But I am not yet convinced of your innocence. Where have your scouts taken Augustus?

I mean, he has a right to be suspicious. Up until like, two days ago, Hunter would’ve happily commanded a mission like this (well, not exactly like this, but his previous adventure at Hexside was certainly along the same lines).

Hunter: I’m not with them, I swear! I was with Gus the whole time. I was trying to get him to you.

Professor: Maybe we can trade him for Augustus. I’m sure the Emperor would want him back.

Hunter: I’m not lying! Gus was showing me around. There was a sandwich, he showed me this breathing thing- please! You gotta believe me.

Willow: He’s telling the truth. And he can help us drive Head Witch Graye and his scouts out of the school.

Seeing this boy grow makes me so happy.

Evidently, Graye wanted Gus partly because he knows where the Looking Glass Graveyard is (but you know, also to control his sizable power of illusions). But that’s not what’s bothering Gus right now.

Gus: You’ve done it again, Augustus. You couldn’t even tell Willow apart from an illusion!

I mean, he was in a really stressful situation and didn’t know where any of his friends were, so it would make sense that he’d like to believe at least one of them was okay. But he also somehow blames himself for the whole situation, when he just saved his classmates from getting sigils! And whether or not it was intentional, the illusion he made allowed them all to escape.

Then, when Gus doesn’t talk, Graye seemingly performs a spell to recover his memories…and Gus gets all glowy-eyed again.

Meanwhile, the rest of the students (and Bump!) intend to rescue Gus and kick the scouts out of their school!

But by the time they get there…

Willow: Gus is trapped in his head! And the others are being affected, too.

Evidently the spell rebounded on Gus’s captors. But there’s an Abomaton to deal with, too, so Hunter is left to try to reach Gus on his own.

Gus: What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I learn? I let myself get tricked, again. Everyone thinks I’m the smart one, so why do I keep acting so dumb?

Hunter: Gus, can you hear me?

Gus: I can’t even trust myself anymore.

This is one thing I can definitely relate to: Just because you’re intelligent doesn’t mean you understand people, especially people who deliberately deceive you.

But self-doubt is one thing Hunter’s been experiencing a lot lately, too.

Hunter: It’s hard, when you can’t trust yourself. I’ve spent my whole life believing I was doing something good, for someone good. But it was a lie, and some part of me still wants to believe in that lie. Just like you want to believe you’re dumb or whatever. But it’s not true! I promise. I wouldn’t mess with you. Now, how did that breathing thing go again?

It’s not exactly the same thing, but Gus takes accepts Hunter’s attempt to reach out to him for what it’s worth, at least snapping him out of his self-pity.

And since Gus effectively took Graye out, he picks up the mirror-amplifier thing, like loot when you beat a video game boss!

Hunter: What is…this?

It’s called a hug. You need more of it in your life.

But after hugs for fortification, Hunter has to deliver the bad news.

Hunter: Listen, Emperor Belos has been lying to everyone. The Day of Unity isn’t about the Titan or magic. It’s much scarier than that. Sorry. There’s a lot to explain.

Bump: Then you’d better get started.

Until next time…