[8.5/10] Look, as a resident Reviewnicorn, who has a line of sight into the world of writers and publishing, I thought this was a Tour de Horse! An irreverent take on authors and the industry that they survive within is right up my alley, so The Owl House was playing with house money for this particular audience member.
Suffice it to say, I loved all the spoofing here. The flavor-of-the-month quality of literary fame, the literal snake (I think?) of a publisher, the conflict between “gushy” ship-filled YA fiction and more violent action-y alternatives, the squishing of other successful authors into frankly adorable little cube people, the gags about three act structure and “save the cat” screen-writing and story circles -- they all played like absolute gangbusters to me.
But I also like the personal angle to all of this, and the message of collaboration. King enjoys his fame, the closest thing he can currently achieve to the fealty and admiration he thinks he rightfully deserves, and as he eventually admits, he lets his success go to his head. For her part, Luz is still toiling away in obscurity on her passion project, and struggling to be happy for the friend who bailed on their creative partnership and hit it big. Both approaches take something pretty loony in the show’s outsized parody of the writing experience and ground it something human and relatable.
I also like that whether they’re penning stories in opposition to one another, or cooperating to free one another from the literal box they’re put in by the publisher, it takes the two of them working together to truly achieve something. There's an interesting question of credit and inspiration to all of this. King struggling to write a sequel to his bestseller and acting entitled to Luz’s help isn’t a great look, but one that he eventually learns from.The two reaffirming their partnership and their friendship, and freeing their fellow cubed colleagues at the same time they free themselves, is a wholesome note to end on. But any treacle there is cut by the little nosey creature becoming the new writer du jour, in an amusingly cynical subversion.
I also enjoyed the B-story featuring Eda and Lillith’s separate and eventually joint efforts to track down a fabled bloom of eternal youth. Thematically, there’s a lot of resonance to Eda’s resentment at being considered “frail” and other coded language about her age, trying to find a cure-all for aging at the same time she wants to pretend it doesn’t get to her. It’s an interesting note to play in a kids show, and something I imagine strikes a greater cord for the grown-ups in the audience.
But I also enjoyed the chance to see her and Lillith team up rather than antagonize one another. You can tell that despite their different personalities and philosophies -- Lilith the joiner and Eda the rebel -- they care for one another. They don’t want to actually harm one another, and if anything, Lilith wants Eda to join the Emperor's coven of her own volition. The fact that for all her implicit fears of getting old, Eda turns down reuniting with her sister, and turns down a possible cure for her curse and her predicament from the Emperor to save her independence shows how much it means to her.
(As an aside, my Star Wars-esque guess is that the Emperor is her father, but presumably we’ll see!)
Overall, this is a hilarious episode, with an A-story that balances great commentary with superb character development, and a B-story that brings two of the show’s big players together in an endearing and important way.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-05-26T01:21:41Z
[8.5/10] Look, as a resident Reviewnicorn, who has a line of sight into the world of writers and publishing, I thought this was a Tour de Horse! An irreverent take on authors and the industry that they survive within is right up my alley, so The Owl House was playing with house money for this particular audience member.
Suffice it to say, I loved all the spoofing here. The flavor-of-the-month quality of literary fame, the literal snake (I think?) of a publisher, the conflict between “gushy” ship-filled YA fiction and more violent action-y alternatives, the squishing of other successful authors into frankly adorable little cube people, the gags about three act structure and “save the cat” screen-writing and story circles -- they all played like absolute gangbusters to me.
But I also like the personal angle to all of this, and the message of collaboration. King enjoys his fame, the closest thing he can currently achieve to the fealty and admiration he thinks he rightfully deserves, and as he eventually admits, he lets his success go to his head. For her part, Luz is still toiling away in obscurity on her passion project, and struggling to be happy for the friend who bailed on their creative partnership and hit it big. Both approaches take something pretty loony in the show’s outsized parody of the writing experience and ground it something human and relatable.
I also like that whether they’re penning stories in opposition to one another, or cooperating to free one another from the literal box they’re put in by the publisher, it takes the two of them working together to truly achieve something. There's an interesting question of credit and inspiration to all of this. King struggling to write a sequel to his bestseller and acting entitled to Luz’s help isn’t a great look, but one that he eventually learns from.The two reaffirming their partnership and their friendship, and freeing their fellow cubed colleagues at the same time they free themselves, is a wholesome note to end on. But any treacle there is cut by the little nosey creature becoming the new writer du jour, in an amusingly cynical subversion.
I also enjoyed the B-story featuring Eda and Lillith’s separate and eventually joint efforts to track down a fabled bloom of eternal youth. Thematically, there’s a lot of resonance to Eda’s resentment at being considered “frail” and other coded language about her age, trying to find a cure-all for aging at the same time she wants to pretend it doesn’t get to her. It’s an interesting note to play in a kids show, and something I imagine strikes a greater cord for the grown-ups in the audience.
But I also enjoyed the chance to see her and Lillith team up rather than antagonize one another. You can tell that despite their different personalities and philosophies -- Lilith the joiner and Eda the rebel -- they care for one another. They don’t want to actually harm one another, and if anything, Lilith wants Eda to join the Emperor's coven of her own volition. The fact that for all her implicit fears of getting old, Eda turns down reuniting with her sister, and turns down a possible cure for her curse and her predicament from the Emperor to save her independence shows how much it means to her.
(As an aside, my Star Wars-esque guess is that the Emperor is her father, but presumably we’ll see!)
Overall, this is a hilarious episode, with an A-story that balances great commentary with superb character development, and a B-story that brings two of the show’s big players together in an endearing and important way.