Once upon a time, in a small village surrounded by dense forests, there lived a witch named Esmeralda. Esmeralda was not an ordinary witch; she possessed extraordinary powers that made her both feared and revered by the villagers. Despite her fearsome reputation, Esmeralda was actually a kind-hearted soul who used her magic to help those in need. One fine day, a young warden named Benjamin arrived in the village. He had been tasked with the responsibility of protecting the villagers from any external threats. As soon as he set foot in the village, rumors about Esmeralda reached his ears.
Recap / The Owl House S1E1 "A Lying Witch and a Warden"
Luz Noceda is a self-assured high school girl with a wild imagination and a love of fantasy novels, especially the tales of The Good Witch Azura. Unfortunately, a school project gone awry sees her sentenced to spending the summer at the Reality Check "reform camp". But after her mother drops her off to wait for the bus, Luz is distracted trying to get her book back from a mysterious owl, which she follows through a mystic portal.
On the other side of the portal, Luz encounters Eda the Owl Lady, a powerful witch who also happens to be a dealer in human artifacts. Luz catches Eda's eye when she gets an old portable TV working, and even helps her escape from the authorities who come to shut down Eda's operation.
As they fly back to Eda's home, the Owl House, Eda properly introduces Luz to the Boiling Isles, a world of magic and strange creatures that's apparently inspired a number of human legends. Eda also introduces her room-mate, an adorable but boastful demon named King, and offers Luz a proposition: in exchange for her help in retrieving King's "Crown of Power" from behind a magic-proof barrier, Eda will send Luz home.
Luz and King sneak into the Conformatorium, a prison for outlaws and misfits run by the ruthless Warden Wrath. Luz is surprised to find most of the inmates she meets are locked up just for being "weird", doing things like writing food fan-fiction or swallowing their own eyeballs. Deeper in the Conformatorium, they meet with Eda and find where Warden Wrath keeps his confiscated items. Luz easily bypasses the barrier and finds. a cardboard crown from a fast-food restaurant, which is perfectly ordinary but happens to be the most prized possesion of Eda's only friend King.
Eda: Now let's get out of here before the Warden shows up and loses his head.
Warden Wrath: (looming behind Eda) Too late.
Before they can escape, they are ambushed by Warden Wrath and his men, and Eda is decapitated! Fortunately it's only a nuisance to someone like Eda, but then Warden Wrath makes Eda an offer. to go out with him? It seems Wrath has become infatuated with the one criminal who's evaded capture for so long. Eda naturally rejects him, and after Luz helps reunite her head and body she tells Luz to escape while she still can.
Luz has other plans, however, and manages to free some of the other prisoners in the Conformatorium and rally them to create a timely distraction. With Luz's quick thinking (and some fireworks she conventiently had saved) she, Eda, and King all manage to escape the clutches of Warden Wrath.
Back at the Owl House, Eda prepares to send Luz home, but Luz starts to have second thoughts.
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!
Luz offers to stay and become Eda's apprentice and servant. Despite the witch's skepticism that a human could ever learn magic, Eda accepts her offer. That night, Luz gets a text message from her mother, and without quite revealing what's happened today Luz replies "I think I'm gonna like it here."
As soon as he set foot in the village, rumors about Esmeralda reached his ears. Benjamin couldn't help but feel intrigued by the stories of her magic and wanted to meet her personally. One evening, he approached Esmeralda's humble cottage, hesitatingly knocking on the door.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Anomalous Art: One of the shops in the market seen when Eda and Luz escape is a stand selling cursed paintings.
- Anti-Magic: The warden keeps the items he confiscates in a room with an anti magic field that blocks magical beings from entering. Luz can pass through it since she has no magic.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Luz tries to argue there's nothing wrong with her being imaginative, Camila soberly asks if she has friends outside of reptiles, fictional characters or imaginary friends. This silences Luz, who can't argue that her eccentric imagination does tend to chase away people.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
- The last three times Luz got sent to the principal's office was for using fake guts during a try-out for Romeo and Juliet, making a "baby griffin" in art class with real spiders, and. turning her eyelids inside-out at cheerleading try-outs.
- Eda lists the sort of strange creatures from the Boiling Isles as "griffins, vampires, giraffes. "
- Eda is established as a thief and a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. She still gets furious at the Warden for beheading her, hurting King's feelings, and threatening Luz and says she'll never date him.
- Luz refuses to leave Eda and King to the Warden's mercy, and is grossed out by the Warden being a creep towards the witch. When they try to Shoo the Dog with the magic staff, she decides to Take a Third Option and encourages the prisoners to riot.
- When Eda packs away her shop, a hat that looks like Dipper's hat can briefly be seen among the items.
- When Luz sets off her fireworks against Warden Wrath, the explosions take the form of fire glyphs for just an instant.
- King's Big Shadow, Little Creature moment looks nothing like him, but the design before it shrinks looks like another character linked to King that won't be introduced until the next season.
- Eda tries to burn Luz's book as kindling, not knowing how special it is to her. Luz blows her cover getting it back.
- Later, she tells them that they have a chance to move as the Warden is distracted torturing someone. Luz, having been there when said someone was seized, is greatly disturbed to hear this; especially since the prisoner was only there for "being a weirdo".
- Furthermore, telling a stranger they're worth more alive than dead sounds rather like "I'll spare you until I no longer NEED you." Being raised by a protective mother, poor Luz must have been TERRIFIED!
- The Warden cruelly crushes King's Burger Queen hat, which he stole to lure Eda to the tower. He had already surrounded the trio and didn't have to do that.
- Earlier his guard attempted to arrest Luz, actually grabbing her by the collar, for merely speaking with a criminal! It was only Eda he wanted, so why punish a random teenager?!
Eda: Nope! Now, we've got no time to lose.- The scene where Luz uses fake guts during Romeo and Juliet is reminiscent of a scene from the school play that opens Zootopia.
- The guesswork spells Luz mutters trying to get Eda's staff to fly ("Expecto flying magicus escapeacus!") are all faux-latin words that wouldn't seem out of place from Harry Potter.
- When Luz first realizes she's not on Earth, she wonders if she died and went to "the bad place".
- Eda gets this in the climax. Realizing that she and King are trapped, she sends Luz away to safety, with her staff. It would have been very easy to force the girl to stay or leave her behind.
- Luz also reveals her heroic side. Though she could return home, she turns around and saves Eda and King, as well as the other prisoners in the tower. Less heroically, she asks to stay with Eda for the summer to learn how to be a witch, and lies to her mother via Exact Words when the latter sends a text.
A Lying Witch and a Warden
January 12, 2020 (Canada)
March 4, 2020 (Australia)
March 20, 2020 (Southeast Asia)
April 4, 2020 (Latin America; Disney Channel)
April 6, 2020 (Turkey)
April 11, 2020 (Belgium)
April 13, 2020 (Brazil)
April 15, 2020 (France, Switzerland)
May 23, 2020 (South Korea)
July 1, 2020 (Israel)
July 3, 2020 (Latin America; Disney XD)
July 16, 2020 (Taiwan)
July 23, 2020 (Japan)
August 10, 2020 (United Kingdom, Malta) [4] [5]
August 24, 2020 (Netherlands)
August 31, 2020 (Germany)
September 14, 2020 (Russia)
October 3, 2020 (Spain)
January 2, 2021 (Bulgaria) [6]
January 4, 2021 (Poland)
January 8, 2021 (Quebec)
January 11, 2021 (Portugal)
February 5, 2021 (Italy)
February 15, 2021 (Scandinavia)To his surprise, the door creaked open, revealing the witch herself standing before him. Benjamin noticed her piercing green eyes and the aura of power that surrounded her. Esmeralda, recognizing Benjamin's genuine curiosity, welcomed him inside her cottage. She offered him a warm cup of herbal tea, and the two began conversing. Benjamin soon realized that Esmeralda's reputation as a dangerous witch was nothing more than baseless gossip. She was a wise and knowledgeable woman, well-versed in the ways of magic. As their friendship grew, Benjamin confided in Esmeralda about the challenges he faced as a warden. He was torn between fulfilling his duty of protecting the villagers and ensuring that justice was served. Esmeralda deeply understood his dilemma and offered her assistance. She taught Benjamin the art of using illusions and shape-shifting, enabling him to uncover hidden truths and identify the true intentions of those he encountered. With this newfound knowledge, Benjamin became more perceptive in his role as a warden, and the village thrived under his watchful eye. However, rumors about Benjamin's newfound abilities started circulating among the villagers. They began to fear that he was using black magic to attain his insights, just like the witch Esmeralda. Benjamin, still grateful to the witch for her guidance, defended her fiercely. Together, they decided to prove their innocence by organizing a magical spectacle in the village square. Esmeralda showcased her mesmerizing magic, while Benjamin used his illusions to dazzle the crowd. The villagers watched in awe as the pair demonstrated their abilities without causing harm or chaos. After the spectacle, the villagers' perspective slowly began to change. They now saw Esmeralda as a benevolent witch, and Benjamin as a warden who relied on his wits rather than dark magic. The villagers, grateful for their combined efforts to protect and serve, started to accept them wholeheartedly. In the end, the lying witch and the warden proved that appearances can be deceiving. Through understanding, friendship, and the power of magic, Esmeralda and Benjamin overcame the prejudices of the villagers, creating a harmonious bond between themselves and the community they served..
Reviews for "Breaking Free: Escaping the Clutches of the Lying Witch and the Warden"
- John - 1/5 stars - I was really disappointed with "Lying Witch and a Warden". The plot was incredibly predictable and the characters were one-dimensional. I couldn't connect with any of them and found myself not caring about what happened to them. The writing style was also very bland and lacked any unique voice. Overall, I found the book to be a major letdown and wouldn't recommend it to others.
- Sarah - 2/5 stars - "Lying Witch and a Warden" had an interesting concept, but it fell flat for me. The pacing was extremely slow, and I struggled to stay engaged with the story. The world-building also left a lot to be desired; it felt underdeveloped and lacked depth. Additionally, the dialogue was often awkward and forced, making it difficult to fully immerse myself in the conversations between the characters. While the book had potential, I found it to be a forgettable read.
- Michael - 2/5 stars - I really wanted to like "Lying Witch and a Warden", but unfortunately, I found it to be a tedious read. The writing lacked finesse, with overly descriptive passages that slowed down the narrative and made it hard to stay engaged. The characters were also quite unlikeable and lacked depth, making it difficult for me to root for any of them. The book had an interesting premise, but the execution fell short for me. Overall, I felt underwhelmed and wouldn't recommend it.
The Lying Witch and the Warden: A Dance of Deception and Desperation