Why Hunter Had to Die | The Owl House
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2024
- Blood, blood, blood and DEATH! Today we will be taking a look at the themes of death in the Owl House through the lens of Hunter's arc--how it is deployed, why it was necessary, and how it impacts our perceptions of death and transformation in stories.
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Eyes On You" (Instrumental) - The Owl House ORIGINAL SONG [Oh Geeez]
• "Eyes On You" (Instrum...
Skincrawl" (Instrumental) - The Owl House ORIGINAL SONG [Oh Geeez]
• "Skincrawl" (Instrumen...
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS
polyhexian @ / polyhexian
theprincessofdenial @ archiveofourow...
imperfection-you-will-find @ / imperfection-you-will-...
lollytea @ / lollytea
FABULOUS POSTS REFERENCED
Eclipse Lake from Flapjack's Perspective by Lollytea
lollytea.tumbl...
Hunter's Possession Scenes and the Theme of Enmeshment by imperfection-you-will-find
imperfection-y...
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Thank you all so much for watching, ENJOY THE FINALE, and have a wonderful day!
The fact that Hunter had to do a trial by water is symbolic not only to the fact it was common when Philip and Caleb were young, but the Boiling Isles is NOTORIOUS for the boiling water oceans and bodies of water. The way we meet Hunter, masked as the golden guard, is by him rising from the ocean in a steaming fist.
YES. YESSSSS YOU GET IT--
I just realized that
YES! Water also has themes of rebirth and redemption, which is definatly relevant here.
@@basillemmie4595 The act of boiling is also heavily associated with the theme of purification which could also definitely be symbolic for Hunter as you suggested with the rebirth and redemption themes!
With belos's voice saying the "nooo!" I'm pretty sure belos jumped not hunter. With the takeaway that belos was so focused on his hatred that he would literally jump headfirst to his own death for a shot at "vengeance"
I never questioned how quickly Hunter was sinking. Now that I look back on it, the theory that he swallowed water to make sure belos couldn't escape is BONE-CHILLING and you're probably right!
the part that chilled me is we only see a couple air bubbles. not a gasp or a stream, just a few. to me this means he had already expelled all of his air and probably with that next breath as he turned around it was all water
@@whitemoonwolf13 That would also help explain how quickly he sinks.... if you make sure there's as little air in your lungs as possible before getting in, that will make you way less buoyant. (sigh) the things you learn when you're hanging out at the pool with your siblings and can't think of anything better to do with your time.
Hunter, having been raised in the *Boiling* Isles, where the seas are... ya know... *Boiling* he's likely not familiar with swimming like Luz, Philip, or Camila would be.
@@WizardTobyI get where you're coming from, but there's no way Belos wouldn't have Hunter learn to swim as his right hand man. But also Hunter is made of wood...
@nerf_or_nothin9551 well they can't swim in boiling Iles, hint "boiling"
>child dies in s3e1
dana: "and i'd do it again"
Well you know younger siblings, they always want to copy their big siblings
Im gonna bite you both how dare but also LMAOOO
@@somedragonbastard LMAO
in my opinion the most impactful moment of his sacrifice is the fact that the first words out of his mouth when he opened his eyes was "hey guys. is everyone else ok?"
This shit haunted me. I think a lot about what passed between him and Flapjack. He's so hauntingly calm and able to ask how everyone else is doing.
AAAAUUUUUGGHHHH WHY DANA
Yeah cuz idc bout myself i just want everyone to be oki 🥲👍
Damn… btw hunter im getting you therapy 😜 hunter i stalk you and make videos of you@TheReal_Hunter
@KittyGacha_10 nooo i dont want therapyyyyy
I think that "I'd like" means "I want to but I can't". He really wants to live free of belos, but the only way to defeat him is to sacrifice himself. Maybe that was said in the video and I didn't notice it, but just thought that I'd put that out there :).
Yep! You got it! Thanks for watching :D
This was my thought as well! It's a great choice of wording as mentioned
Thankfully, now he can make his own destiny.
pretty much! it feels like it's him mourning the life he won't get to live. he's expecting to die and take belos down with him.
I was absolutely certain it'd end with: "I'd like to live"
Once you pointed out the "I'd like" lines, I realize that I had interpreted it as Hunter telling Belos these things via Belos' own language. Belos had a habit of using 'gentle' wording to manipulate others, but especially with Hunter (probably to maintain the illusion of familial/blood bonds).
OHHHHH what a fantastic observation!!
I think we shouldn't forget Hunter's body was literally rotting by Belos' possession. I would've discuss instances of clinical and biological death(possibility to revive Hunter by... Brutally forcing CPR in the magical story which feels... Wrong), but! A lake and fewer minutes would've enough for poor kid.
Flapjack not only revived him, but also restored his body. R. E. S. T. O. R. E. D.
It feels like Hunter knew that(detioration aspect) which for me actually adds to the that crushing feeling. He knew. He decided. He grieved.
P. S. Oh my good, the lore, the explanation, the perspective, the love for the character oozing~! And cute bat squeaks.
YEP. I have absolutely feral opinions about this, I know a lot about scars and things like that and the only way Hunter is able to like, move his body or even speak despite what his new scars look like is if Flap restored huge parts of his body. Like heavy scar tissue over joints would make it impossible for him to move. And yeah, there's no way he didn't feel himself dying. But he did get the last word.
Thank you!!! Thanks for watching!
Yeah their voice is so cute 💖
So basically in every sense of the word Flapjack gave hunter life
Cute bat squeaks are a special that comes at the end of each video, and every time a swear word is said, which makes it *even better*
I like to think when flapjack sacrificed himself to save Hunter? That changed Hunter from a grimwalker into a full on witch biologically.
It always felt like hunter likes wolves because wolves are the natural preditors of deers and deers remind him of belos because of the antlers
It certainly felt intentional!
Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
I like this Headcannon
Now its mine too
@@Random_Hooman Your welcome
@@Random_Hooman🤣 Lol
I LOVE THEM
19:50: If you look closely though, that "jumble of lost and found rags" is actually an important transitional look. It's a recreation of his Golden Guard uniform *but* one that is made up of clothes he got while making those first emotional connections: the gray bandana from his time with Luz, his flyer derby jersey from when he met Willow and Gus. The patch where his should guard would normally be is Flapjack red and right where Flapjack first perched on him, and I think you could even make an argument for his yellow bag as a stand-in for Amity's abomination goo jar.
Even the next "non-descript bland outfit" is made up of his signature yellow layered on top of Luz's signature purple. The important context is this is the first time Hunter has seen Luz since they connected in Hollow Mind and he's been specifically sent to look out for her by Darius (coincidentally another purple palette who cares about Hunter). The outfit is basic and blank-slate in design, yes, yet still telling of how Hunter is slowly making decisions for himself about who he is and which connections have become precious and valued to him. It's also extremely identical to what he's wearing when he first teams up with Luz -- makes that first real connection -- in Hunting Palismen. He spends most of that episode in a purple shirt underneath a yellow top. ("Everything's come _full circle,_ baby!")
Between the non-descript outfit, followed by his yellow sweatshirt, and then finally his yellow Halloween costume, his outfits start in muted colors and get progressively deeper and deeper color saturations as he discovers who he is through S3. He started this story in an outfit he was forced to wear that copied the gold/white colors of his abuser, and ends (minus the epilogue) in an outfit containing ONLY HIS COLORS and his "part of the pack" wolf shirt, that he made entirely himself.
HEY, thank you for this really thoughtful comment! I didn't wanna get into the LR fit in the video for time reasons but you know what this is super illuminating and I'm glad you shared it!! Thanks for watching!
@@idlescree You had a specific point you were on a mission to make, and the outfit was clearly a tangent. I respect that you didn't get into it in the video! Just couldn't help myself, I just love how character design relays character development. :)
God the more I go through this comment section the more I realise just how considered every aspect of this show is. My brain will be chewing on this non-stop for months! Years, even!
I just realised that darius mentioned sewing lessons. And hunter makes himself the wolf shirt. With a sewing machine.
I just realised that darius mentioned sewing lessons. And hunter makes himself the wolf shirt. With a sewing machine.
the boiling isles is 100% based on whale falls, which is an ecosystem that is created on the carcass of a whale that falls to the sea floor. the titan still being alive is symbolic of how even after a whale dies, it still allows for life to bloom in the earth’s abyssal plane, an ecological biome which covers like 70% of the ocean floor, located in the midnight zone. the theming of this show runs so deep, and the setting is no exception.
Oh thats a very incredible observation!
Oh thats so interesting! Thanks for sharing!!
I noticed that as well, its such a cool element to the world building
This is actually so accurate! Thank you for pointing this out. I never made this connection and I'm a huge ocean nerd. But this is so real. If it whernt for whale falls entire species and biomes wouldn't be able to exist and live. If it whernt for the titan witches and demons wouldn't have a home.
Thank you again for pointing this out. I really love this.
One thing that really got me in this video is that Hunter was trained to take beating from ANYONE. Idk why but that is just so heart breaking to me, he's been trained his whole life to just follow orders. if not from Belos then literally anyone else. Really takes the lack of freedom to the next level. No wonder he lowered his head to Camila, it's what he's been trained to do the moment he was created.
I put off watching this video for a bit, but it suddenly hit me: The Reason Camilla cries in doll form (why the main crew all stop) when the Luz Lights begin to fall in the final special, is because they know what it means. I had forgotten that was exactly how things went with Flapjack, and it just clicked. I need another rewatch suddenly.
I thought that on my first viewing of it! And how when she comes out of doll form and isn't sure where Luz is, she just says she'll be fine and they'll find her or something like that - I feel like that was for the sake of the children around her as much as her own. She couldn't handle thinking of or admitting that light meant Luz was gone, so she lied to herself and the others so they could keep going to get out of this situation. The need to help everyone else let her push it aside and decide to deal with it once others weren't in danger anymore
Well, that's what I thought anyway. And even if it's not for sure the case, i still like to think it in my head lol
OH MY GOD
this has me cartoonishly slack jawed bro oh wow :((
Yeah, of course she knew! Even if they hadn't seen Flapjack die, I think she would have realized.
Might i point out, hunter flinched HARD when he let everybody go and darius looked like he was going to hit him, hunter thought he was going to take a beating if he did that, and still chose to do so
25:16 "I'd like vs. I want"
32:13 "flapjack left him his eyes, and his wings"
• I love this. Because flapjack basically gave him a new perspective to life. To *see* the world in a much brighter perspective. And the wings indicating that his free.
• I think the I'd like can also mean he would want to but can't. Because he was already ready to sacrifice himself. Basically "I'm going to end myself so I know I wouldn't be able to do this". Or it can also be him wanting to do something but because he was so caught up not being able to do what he wants. He doesn't know the word "Want" because he was never given what he *want*.
Thank you for that!! I'm glad you liked it--it just struck me so much...
one thing that I also noticed about Belos' posession of Hunter is something that I haven't really seen anyone else discuss.
You mentioned Belos undoing a lot of the things that Hunter altered to make himself look different from Caleb. I noticed something else. Hunter has two distinct scars, one on his right cheek and one on his left ear. When Belos possessed him, where on his head does the 'rot', so to speak, show up most prominently? His cheeks, particularly the right one, and his left ear. Belos covered up Hunter's scars.
Translation from my head: Belos became a mask to an unwilling Hunter.
I didn’t even think about something before this video, but in the scene where he jumps into the water you made me think of it! Hunter sank, he was a grimwalker and a witch and he passed the “test of innocence,” whereas when Belos left his body he rose into the air like guilty witches are supposed to. He was out of the water at that time but I am certain that if Hunter was left in the water for a little longer, Belos would have risen out of the water like a guilty witch. I don’t know if I’m just reading into things, but I just find the idea of Hunter the witch willingly subjecting himself to a trial by water and passing as innocent, and Belos the witch hunter failing is really interesting. Also just the visuals of Hunter sinking and then Belos rising from his body after he “passed”the test really symbolic.
Anyway, thank you for the video! I’ve been binging your videos after I found one that I really liked, and your ideas and analysis are really fantastic! Thank you for talking about trauma and abuse in such a realistic and honorable way, a lot of people don’t understand that shit and talk about it in a really disrespectful way, but you’re very eloquent and I really appreciate your viewpoints!
Holy shit this is SUCH an incredible interpretation I absolutely LOVE IT THANK YOU FOR LEAVING your thoughts here! I'm going to be thinking about that for the next week oh my gosh. Brilliant.
I grew up in a cult and was able to leave now as an adult. the only reason I was able to because I finally found someone who trully loves me, and who was able to give me a family that was kind and caring. and was able to help me fully and competently leave. I absolutely relate to Hunter, the fear you feel right after leaving is really strong. I would have nightmares every single night of them finding me and taking me back. I remember at one point breaking down for the first time in front of my now husband because he simply told me "no one will ever control you again. I love you, you are family" I cries so hard. because that idea of being free, and control of my own life was so far away from me. I do bear a lot of mental scars still which has made me unable to work. But I absolutely love hunter, I related to him from the start and could see myself in him so much. You hit the nail in the coffin when it comes to being views as an extension of your abuser and only able to look and act like them, and going from that to being a bit lost with looks and style and yourself, until finding yourself fully. thank you for this amazing video
I'm so sorry that this was your experience...I've known a number of cult survivors and it was just a thing in this story that simply cannot be ignored in any analysis of this little guy. I'm so glad that the video meant something to you, and thank you for your comment!
I grew up in a deeply religiously fanatic environment bordering on cult, so I wanted to say I hope you can continue to heal from your experiences. Distance from it helps so much, and I just about cried when the video author discussed the emotional equity and the value of feeling part of a group. I didn’t expect to relate to so many different characters in this moving series, butbhealthy attachments?. It’s inspiring and wholesome af
I wasn't in a cult but had similar experience, that's why I relate so much to characters like him
I am so sorry and I am glad that you found happiness
notice how he says, "You're lying!" then "I don't believe you!" it shows that he knows that belos is lying, while if he said "I don't believe you!" he doesnt know if belos is actually lying, he just doesnt believe him
flapjack to me meant a lot. my family believes in cardinals being whispers of dead relatives, we always have. whenever i see a cardinal i think to myself 'hi wannie/pops' depending on the cardinal. so when i first saw flapjack i felt so many things all at once
Yeah! It's common, but I never see it come up in every day conversation--usually cardinals are representing romantic love and loyalty but that they were deliberately using BOTH symbols in this show through Flap...my heart
i didn’t know anything about this but it fits so perfectly with Hunter's character. Flapjack is the spiritual embodiment of Hunter's predecessor Caleb’s witch girlfriend Evelyn. that's the reason why Flapjack chose Hunter
I named my pet chicken after flapjack
also him specifically dying in a body of water is important bc water is associated specifically with birth (waters of the womb, baptism, etc) so he’s emotionally (and physically in Thanks to Them) dying and being reborn
Was looking for this comment❤.
Jesus, that part when you were list off "who exactly is Hunter?" at 20:28 hit me real hard
Being an autistic, adhd person with a history of self-loathing problems who is just dipping her toes into transitioning, and having failed college, TWICE
What I would give for someone to just go through my head and list MY traits off like that would be so appreciated.
I've always felt like the ignored one, so much so that I don't even know who I am MYSELF, so if someone listed my traits out like that I would feel so seen!
It's funny, intrinsically, if I were to relate to anyone in the show I always thought it would be a combination of Luz' ostracization and Williows lack of self confidence, but after this there's a surprising amount of Hunters story I relate to too, that being the struggle for self identification and thankfully not the abuse that caused it.
This is all to say, I loved this video!
I remember watching you Unmasking video and instantly subbed, but youtube didn't notify me of any other videos untill this one so needless to say, I binged them all.
So yeah, keep doing you and adding your wonderful thoughts and insight into this community!
Wow, thank you for sharing this! It's incredible how these things can affect the way we look back on our lives. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video!!
Hope your having a good year and continue to have a good year
TIMMAH
Agreed 100%. I was also surprised to see how much I shared with Hunter after realizing my fascination/favoritism of him was not just edgy, sheltered boy trope. It was a lil scary ngl but I learned a lot because of the show and I thank the team immensely.
I want you to know that this BROKE me, I was crying for half of it and actually still am. I have a friend who is so like hunter in every way it’s almost painful, and he was all I could think about while I listened. I thought hunters ‘death’ was a perfect rounding to his arc and thank you for explaining it so beautifully!
I'm glad the video meant something to you! Thank you for watching!
I’m a disabled person… I find hope in my scars because while yes, I was hurt, I got back up and kept fighting…. Hunter, and by extension Flapjack, did the same thing… that’s what brought them together in the end of “Thanks to Them”
It is so hugely important that these themes are in a show that is for kids. Children absolutely /can/ understand these themes, and they are presented in a very accessible way to kids here in a way I had never thought I'd see. My children love talking through the complexities of this or asking why characters act like they do and working out the details. It's so important that they have a way to discuss that with fictional characters before they see this in the real world.
EEee thank you for your lovely thoughts! And I fully agree!
That’s why Hunter was brave enough to say that to Belos. He believed he would not survive this.
Your videos always give me chills! The bowing his head like he's presenting himself for execution is a punch in the gut! Looking back he even bows that way to Camila when thanking her for letting them crash in her basement. No wonder she instantly tells him to never do that again
It's entirely possible that as a nerd herself she recognized the gesture but even if she didn't a child doing that under any circumstances in real seriousness would be incredibly disturbing. It telegraphs a lot about his relationships with adults in two seconds.
@@idlescree Camila really is just best Mom
I honestly shed a tear while watching this. Going into the owl house I never thought I'd love it as much as I do. I'm so glad there are people like you who can articulate why the show impacts people in such a way.
The part about Hunter saying "I'd like" instead of "I want" got me to realise some things about myself. Hunter's flinching, self deprecation, interests, chattiness, and inability to hide his emotions (good and bad) are all things I relate to that I would have loved to see in media growing up. Hunter is so much more than the 'sad bad white boy' stereotype.
The creative staff are so talented and clearly put so much passion into the owl house. Season 2 and 3 are some of the most lovingly and delicately handled pieces of children's media in recent years.
He has meant a lot to so many people! I'm so glad you enjoyed the video :D Thanks for watching!
Hunter's posessed and dying scene are not at all too much. I think it really shows how much struggle Hunter had gone through his whole liefe and how powerful he has to be to overcome Belos. I've never seen it that way, that the sinking scene is in comparison to the method of finding out if you are a witch or not. A very itneresting and deep interpretation. I was so shocked that Hunter died, especially because he is my favourite character. Then Flapjack died it wasn't any better. This scene broke my heart but it was powerful story telling.
Agreed! I found them so moving, and really brave on the part of the writers. Just a fantastic handling of some really complex, heavy but also inspiring material! Thank you for sharing your experience of it, I love seeing how people felt about these moments!!!
As someone who’s been through severe abuse their entire life, hunters story is one of the most important character arcs I’ve seen on tv. At least for me. Thank you for going into it like this so others may understand why so many people latched onto him so tightly.
Hunter is one of my favorite characters, if not my favorite character. Hunter telling Belos everything HE wants to do, not something Belos wants to do made me sob.
I also get the chills seeing all the Golden Guard skeletons, its a big reminder that Belos basically threw them away despite them resembling his brother.
A reminder Hunter could be among them if he didn't find out the truth and that Belos never cared for him.
Another fantastic video essay! And I never realized the significance of Hunter's obsession with wolves. As the Golden Guard, he fits the stereotype of a lone wolf, out casted with a need to prove himself superior over others. But the idea of lone wolves is a fiction and so is that version of Hunter. Him embracing his friends shatters the role Belos made for him and the idealization of isolating yourself. He's not just reclaiming his name he's reclaiming his life.
I think your analysis also hits on a point so few people realize: how little Belos truly cared about Hunter. I don't just mean the abuse he suffered (as horrific as that is), but the way Belos can possess Hunter, literally eat away at his body, and still view Hunter as an afterthought, a means to an end, to hurting Luz. Even in Hollow Mind, Belos never tried to kill Hunter. He was going to resign Hunter to his subconscious, to slowly decay there and be forgotten like all the other grimwalkers. He made a calculated effort to confirm Hunter's deepest fears of being replaceable in telling him he's a grimwalker, and then he never seems bothered by the fact that he's alive.
And now Hunter is alive because of the love of his friends. And not only that, but he's become Belos's greatest fear: a spitting image of his brother who is fully independent of him and is made of wild magic. That's the one thing I'd like to see from Hunter in this finale, for his existence to not bother Belos, but to psychologically destroy him. After everything he's overcome, Hunter has become one hell of a force to reckon with.
Thank you!! And YES THIS THIS THIS. Belos doesn't give a shit about him, it's insane! The serial killer has literally gotten bored of his victim's pain at this point, and lets him just. Run around. He's paying so little attention that he didn't notice Flapjack! Hunter can't lie! So those reveals in Hollow Mind are even more painful because I, like a lot of people, assumed there was *some* truth to the whole "huhu the Titan has BIG plans for you". I assumed that Belos was going to use Hunter as a blood sacrifice as a being made of "two worlds". HOWEVER IT WAS WORSE. HE MEANS NOTHING TO BELOS. No name, no personhood, he tries to murder him like he's throwing out the trash on his way to torment the person whose opinions and feelings actually matter to him--LUZ. It's WILD.
And yes, I would LOVE to see a conclusion like that between them. For Belos to SEE Hunter, the person. Not Caleb, not the Grimwalker, but the actual kid. And so help me Titan, I want Belos to be AFRAID! Screeeeeee
I wonder how that conversation goes?
You're quickly becoming my favorite owl house youtuber, please keep making owl house content after it ends.
I JUST GOT OWL HOUSE IM NOT LETTING TO GO THAT SOON--don't worry, we do have more Owl House planned :D Thanks for watching!
@@idlescree This is your fifth video. I watch a lot of video essays on my favorite shows all the time. You do a lot better than some. There are people who bring up their points in a video with little evidence too, leaving a dissatisfied audience that isn't convinced. You have skill here, how do you do it? 5 videos, already a few thousand subscribers? For a video essayist. You are a legend.
@@hannahmiller4663 For what it's worth, we're astonished at our reception. I'm pretty sure a huge part of it it just "right place, right time, right topic + getting VERY lucky". From a technical position though, it helps that we are a team. The three of us all have very different skillsets that combine very well for something like this. For my part (the Bat), I have training as an orator and vocalist. The Hog is an editor, and the Raccoon is a pro artist.
@@idlescree oh my gosh! I forgot about the team! It's so easy to think about the voice, but you all are so talented. What are all of your plans for the future of your channel when the content that the Owl house gives will dry out? What inspired you guys to take the big step of making videos?
@@hannahmiller4663 We plan to do more Owl House as time passes, but as of right now we have plans to work on a a variety of other things too. I don't want to promise too many specifics in the comments because these things are highly subject to change. But as of right now, we have hope to release some stuff for Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Arcane, Dragon Age, at least one anime (I've dragged it a few times and there is one that I'd like to get into with you guys), and possibly some fandom stuff. But we'll see. We're VERY new to this and figuring out our scope, interests and workloads! As for big steps--the Hog and the Racoon and a lot of our friends had been after me for about a decade to do this and I was like...the market is too saturated, no one needs to hear me. For a long time I was like, there are a million people smarter and better than me making stuff like this. The other thing is that a lot of video essayists, especially if they're one-man-shows, tend to burn out. I'd already been recovering from a bad injury at that time, and didn't want to get hurt again. So I was like, "Look guys, I can't do this. I can't edit video anymore. If you wanna edit the video, I'll write the essays and perform." and Hog and Raccoon were like, "Bet."
Life is short. We started just wanting to do something for fun together, and I'm really glad we took the chance on each other--that they decided to have faith in me to try.
I just realized that Hunter's flapjack tattoo replaced the emperor covens sigil (don't know how to spell it). I find that to be such a cute detail, the symbol that reoresented belos abuse on hunter has been replaced with the same one who saved his life and made him be his best self
I can’t believe it never occurred to me until now how much the threat of disfellowship was carefully constructed by Belos to cripple and trap Hunter, and just how much more fucked up that makes some things. I guess I always noticed it in the way most of the coven heads seemed to dislike him, but it never consciously clicked.
More than that, the trial by water. I somehow missed both the parallel of the lake to Eclipse Lake, and the imagery of a trial by water witch-hunt, which seems so glaringly obvious looking back.
Some of the fandom was clearly several steps further ahead than I was, and I’m glad we have them.
My siblings are always laughing at me for my love of the owl house but I simply adore how deep it can go, I may not be a great trama survivor but I relate to the characters at some very deep levels.
And you don’t have to be to love them :-)
Hunter: *feels happiness for 0.5 seconds*
Belos: Not on my watch
They did not have to go this HARD with Hunter's character arc but I'm glad they did btw Eyes on You and Skincrawl playing in the background really emphasis this
They really didn't--it was very very bold of them. Still boggles me. And yeeaaahh! I am personally a huge Oh Geeez fan (may their hiatus be very healing for them!), and their decision to let us use their tracks meant a lot to us. They were perfect tracks.
Man, this video makes me wish we had finished the arc of Hunter in relation to Belos' story. The past of Belos was all but gone from episodes 2 and 3.
"Transformation through death" and how much it has within the Owl House really saved like fine wine didn't it? Props to completely calling every little bit of it there!
Thank you! We are looking to add such features soon. It's an incredible compliment.
I’m surprised I didn’t notice Hunter’s eyes changed color until you brought it up. I had to rewind to double check and also look at Flapjack’s eye color. XD
this is quite literally the best analysis of a piece of media i've ever seen. you understand hunter and belos and the boiling isles on such a bone-deep level i'm mad that you weren't in the writer's room when all this was being created
Oh jeez, thank you, that's a high compliment indeed. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Oh my gosh this was amazing😭 I’m coming to this video after the finale and One thing I’ve recently noticed is how Hunter is a lot like Caleb in some notable positive ways while still being his own person. Such as his protective big brother instincts towards his friends, fascination with wild magic, and becoming a palisman carver as an adult. Which I think is both fitting and kinda ironic, given that Hunter is initially freaked out because he thinks he’s the clone of someone who’s an evil monster like Belos, but that’s not true. The person he was cloned from was (seemingly) a kind and loving person who’s only “crime” was realizing that the witches he was hunting were just people and choosing to live among them and start a family with a witch, which triggered his racist brother. It’s also hilariously ironic cause, in way, Belos did bring his brother back. It’s just that his brothers good nature manages to shine through in the grimwalkers and he considers that a failure cause he doesn’t really want his brother back; he wants a mindlessly loyal puppet who is just as genocidal as he is and happens to wear his brothers face. This is just my autistic brain word vomiting, but I really like that, in addition to the symbolism of breaking free from his abusive family, there’s also the symbolism of him sharing positive traits with one of his sane and healthy ancestors. I personally really would have liked to see Hunter fully find out about who the person he was cloned from really was and what actually happened between Caleb and belos. Mostly just cause it would have been cool, but I also appreciate the fact that he didn’t need that specific type of closure. He was able to accept who he was and break the tie with belos and he didn’t need that past knowledge because he was able to accept himself as an individual person and reject the view of himself tha his abuser had pushed on him. He is Hunter and his personhood and identity is wholly his and isn’t dependent on his past, his “family”, or the desires of his creator. And it even extends to the end of the show. Like a lot of people complain that he didn’t do anything in the final battle with belos, but I honnestly love how it fits with Hunters character development He’s been able to break free from his connection to belos and doesn’t need anything like seeing the guys death for closure cause he’s already won. He wants belos to be defeated so no one can be hurt again, but he doesn’t need to be directly involved and instead chooses to protect the civilians caught in the crossfire of the fight. Considering how controlling belos was over the grimwalkers and how he would snap and murder them for developing a conscious and showing the slightest amount of individuality, it’s an appropriate slap in the face for the “thing” he created to no longer have any interest in in even his defeat. Even if we couldn’t have everything we wanted out of the finale, it was still amazing and managed to mesh with everyone’s character arcs so well! And who knows, maybe there will be a season 4 that takes place in the 3 years that passed before the final scenes that will be able to return to the things we wanted/things that had to be scrapped? And it would still fit because, even if you have a breakthrough, all of your trauma isn’t just gonna go away; the show wrapped up really well but still left room for future stories and further character growth. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk😂keep it up! I’m now watching all you’re videos cause I LOVE your takes and you’re cute bat!💜
Beautifully done and well said, Hunter isn't a character I kin, so to speak, but I fell deeply in love with his character from the first time I saw that dumb gap tooth and hair noodle. It's telling that Hunter is what pushed me to write my first fanfic for Owl House, and even more so that he as a character has helped drive a lot of my creativity over the past year. His death and resurrection shook me when it happened but I was one of the people who saw the necessity to tell that part of his story.
The Huntlow server has their spoiler chat, and the night it aired was a night I spent in that chatroom, but I had to end up muting the chat because so many people were yelling about the choice of what they did to Hunter that it made me feel physically ill. I liked the way it was done and my opinion of it being far more meaningful than other recent possessions in Disney shows was drowned out by cries of "it was unnecessary and cruel" and I felt like a bad person for enjoying the episode. The server is not a toxic place and I was reassured, it was even admitted that the negativity towards the episode went much too far, but his death sticks with me.
Also, I have to say that as a Huntlow shipper, watching him die in Willow’s arms and for her to just gently hug him when he was awake again was a massive gut-punch. Especially given that she was openly flirting with him earlier in the episode and he's just so awkward with her.
As far as Flapjack's death goes, it's another discussion I've had that Flapjack represents what Hunter the Golden Guard needed in his state of stunted emotional growth and abuse. FJ was needed as guidance and a somewhat parental figure for Hunter who had no other options. Now that Hunter is truly coming into his own he needs something else, especially because he now has Camila to fill that parental role. He will most likely receive or perhaps even carve another palisman in the future, one that will more than likely be a wolf, and an idea I've had in line with that (one I've made clear in my fic Garden of Holly) is that the wolf could also function as a sort of emotional support animal for Hunter, providing comfort, stability, and helping him know when to take a break. It's something Flapjack did to some degree and the wolf would absolutely carry that with them.
Hunter has another journey of healing ahead of him, one that will ultimately begin with Belos being defeated for good. He has support in the form of Camila and the Hexsquad (and perhaps Darius but I'm not letting him off the hook yet, man has a long way to go before I trust him), and he'll need that support as he is given the space to fully recover from his experiences.
Also, I do have to say this: you are 4 for 4 on amazing analysis for The Owl House and I'm so looking forward to what you do in the future (a video on Willow, perhaps?)
Amazing work!
Thank you for your thoughtful comment! It's always nice to see how the work affects people. I really appreciate it!
now i'm curious what your thoughts on the epilogue are
This video is very well-thought out. As someone who began to fixate on Hunter since I knew about his existence, it's nice to see someone else acknowledge his growth as a person.
I think hunter loving wolves is also awesome because wolves are very commonly misinterpreted as aggressive murderous predators when in reality they are extremely loyal and caring towards their pack and in most circumstances would rather avoid human interaction unlike the older rumours about them going out of their way to hunt and kill people.
It shows how when hunter was first shown to us he came across as someone who would become a big threat but instead ends up being a bit of a dork and a great friend to those who have earnt his loyalty.
It's honestly crazy how much this show has affected me, and especially seeing how Hunter was changed by finding people who cared about him. I actually lost a lot of my old acquaintances because of this arc, as I realized how much they simply didn't care about me at all unless I was providing a service. Since then I've found a place of people who I really care about and care about me, and the reason for me trying to see if there was a better world for me was this show.
Love the introspective take you have here, and adore how much you care about the story and how you present the nuance. Hope this wont be the last time you look at the owl house and share it with us!
Awww. Thank you so much for sharing that experience...and no, we aren't done with The Owl House yet, I just got here. We've got more on the way ;3 Thanks for watching!!!
“He gave Hunter his wings and eyes” ah just like that blorbo song everyone uses for Hunter
Which blorbo song? Asking for scientific reasons
@@idlescree Fish in a Birdcage by... Fish in a Birdcage lol
32:20 I literally did the same thing as you, talk about an empty void when I realized that while I still had 1 more episode to look forward to.... it was only 1 more.
Binged all of Season 1 through Season 3 episode 1 in a single sitting and woke up the next morning ready to spend another couple hours or so watching this awesome new show. I was heartbroken when the next episode button didn't show up.
I actually panicked--when KT ended I was like. Where's the rest and scrabbled around looking for it and it was like hang on it's not on Disneyplus?? WHEEEERE---oh and then the rabbit hole deepened I have obviously still not emerged
I had a feeling hunter would die and made a whole 3 page essay about it!
There's so much to discuss! This essay was over ten pages.
@@idlescree Yeah! I just lost motivation..
I have kind of a messed up interpretation of why Hunter might not have learned to swimming. Belos has killed so many grim walkers in so many different ways overtime he made sure that each new grim walker would have had a slimmer chance of surviving whatever Belos killed them with. not knowing how to swim could have been like how Hunter was taught to bow or had a coven sigil a way to make murdering them easier, Belos has raised and killed dozens of grim walkers so I could easily see him taking precautions to make the process of killing them more efficient
Not only that, where would he learn to swim if the water literally boils?
That's a long theory when "no one swims in boiling water" makes more sense.
@@carlotta4thamity and willow canonly took swimming lessons ( we find out in understanding willow)
Really good analysis, tho i would like to say something about the swimming part: you gotta consider the fact that belos and hunter have lived on an island which is surrounded by boiling water, so there really would be no chance for hunter to learn how to swim, and while there is his first appearance- hunter there was using his magic/staff to protect himself from the boiling sea (and make the most dramatic entrance possible lol)
And yes while there would have been time to learn in the human realm, they were pretty busy trying to get the portal to work again, so there would have been no time for that either (and fun fact: humans dont have a natural ability to swim like most other animals do, which is why we have to take swimming lessons) Either way, great video as always and i cant wait to see more!
the boiling isles have at least one lake which eda mentions her and lilith learning to swim in, so it's not *impossible*!
Thank you for the comment! Luz and Willow were taking swim lessons in freshwater as children. So if they were learning to swim, I find it would be strange if a soldier didn't! If there was no evidence of swimming in the actual text, I probably would have gone with your interpretation for sure!
@@idlescree ohh i see, yknow i totally forgot about that (which is funny because i literally just rewatched season 1 and am in the middle of season 2) i could see then belos just not considering learning to swim being important or something. Thank you for the response!
There was one bit that I realised watching this that only became relevant in retrospect.
For most of the series, Hunter always wore gloves. He always had an insulative layer between himself and not only others but the world in general. It was only once in the comparative safety of the human realm that he finally had the chance to lower his defenses and make personal contact.
This comment is fucking me up man you're so right
The lake scene was one of my favorites in the show :)
I interpreted it as this:
Belos did possess Hunter, yes, and had the intention of killing his nephew just as he planned to do in "Hollow Mind" when Hunter found out the truth. Harming Flapjack is Belos's continued resentment of Evelyn, the wild magic witch who he sees as having corrupted Caleb to the point of him needing to kill Caleb. Hence why he said "Goodbye, Evelyn" when Flapjack was... uh... broken (?). I was happy to see Hunter regain control and assert his true feelings to Belos. There was a lot of pain in his words, but I'm glad he could express himself openly to his abuser. Throwing the vial Titan's Blood into the deep water is him preventing Belos from getting to it. However, something I think you missed is that Belos then reasserts control when he shouts "NO!" and dives in after the Titan's Blood to try and get it back. It was pretty clear that Hunter himself of his own will threw the blood in the water independent of Belos's possession. And then Belos tried to take it back by diving in after the vial of blood. The difference is obvious by the change in eyes (glowing blue when Belos takes over) and the creepy Belos voice takeover. I assume the "death" part as the damage done by the posession (we see the scars as a result)
But again, this is my interpretation and how I saw it and I'm just glad Hunter made it out okay and didn't die.
TLDR: I don't think Hunter tried to drown himself. It was more of an accident from Belos's extreme desire to get the Titan's blood and return to the boiling isles to continue his attempt to wipe out their society.
I think this is a very interesting take and while you're def right about Belos taking back control over Hunter's body and being the one to throw them into the water- rather than Hunter himself diving into the lake-, I don't think this was an accidental outcome on Hunter's part- especially given it is he who staggers towards the water first. I think he accepts that he's not making it out of this situation alive, esp considering Belos is rotting him from the inside out and he's already dying/on the verge of death, and by flinging the vial of blood into the water, he probably knew Belos would dive after it, in my opinion. Since I interpret it that Hunter already knows he's not making it out of this, I suppose he figures he might as well try and take Belos down with him, if possible. But of course, everyone is entitled to their own interpretations and I don't think yours is wrong or invalid by any means!! I just wanted to share a different take on it!
@@fyreice3697Excellent take. That was my interpretation as well.
@@fyreice3697 Your take is also very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Another thing I thought of is that Hunter, Amity, Gus, and Willow probably don't know how to swim given that they grew up in a world where bodies of water are literally boiling and would be lethal to swim in. Hence why Hunter would drown in the deep lake when Belos made his possessed vessel dive in. Luz and Philip, being from Earth where water is... normal... most likely know about swimming.
And this is why Hunter is my favorite character. I really love your videos, keep going. ❤
Thank you so much! This is a high compliment! ; w ;
I never viewed the government of this show as a cult or Hunter as a cult survivor. But I can’t wait to rewatch this show as not only with fresh eyes. As well with this in mind!
This made me cry (in a good way, don't worry). As a victim of manipulation I've always seen myself in Hunter, but I also project onto him because I'm a big nerd and would 100% fall for Willow. I'm the type of person who really enjoys TRUE sadness in fiction. I almost NEVER cry watching sad movies, and it takes a lot to make me really feel for a character. If a character I like has a sad scene, trauma, or is going through something, I feel bad for them, but it doesn't take much for me to move on. I know it's just fiction. But with Hunter it's completely different. I could genuinely have like a 30 minute cry over a fictional teenager; I guess you could say this dorky white boy made a dent in my stone heart💀. It's hard for me to feel this much for a character, so it makes me enjoy TOH more because I feel true sadness from it, which barely happens for me.
I love how complex each and every character is in The Owl House, but Hunter is my favorite. It always disappoints me when fans overlook or misunderstand complex characters, and this happens a lot with the TOH fandom, especially when it comes to Hunter. I'm really impressed by your videos that break down complex characters because they do an amazing job and cover all the bases. This even helped me learn a little more about him, which seemed impossible, so great job.
An artful and nuanced take. Thank you for this. As always, a stellar video.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it!!
Another amazing analysis. You have such a good handle on storytelling. I also came late to this show and bonded to Hunter much more heavily than I expected. The story telling in this show is fantastic and it will be missed. At least we'll have all the wonderful fan creations.
Much appreciated! Im glad youre enjoying it! And yeah! Thankfully, the fandom is FULL of amazing talent
I LOVE your videos. as someone who has had a disability like eda, and has faced sacrifice like hunter. Can't wait to see more from you, you are so good at your job.
Thank you so much!
Gotta be honest, was distracted by Eyes on You during the intro. Such a good song
We couldn't resist it's SUCH A GOOD SONG
thank you
What I would have given for this show to have existed when I was a kid. But as it is, Im SO Glad it was here for you, and that this story has helped you in all its many ways. Thanks for watching!!!
"You can't convince me that someone with that much military training doesn't know how to swim"
To be fair: how many bodies of water are there on the Boiling Isles...that aren't boiling?
The one where Amity and Willow learned to swim at at summer camp when they were 6, so there's at least one
"Flapjack left him his eyes and wings.
And Hunter, the boy who wished for freedom, can now never be truely bound by anyone or anything ever again."
Beautiful.
This is a fantastic analysis! I cant wait to see what awaits Hunter in the finale now that he can’t be trapped anymore.
And yes, just like you, when I was watching the show, the last character I expected to fall in love with was a white angry boy named Hunter but here we are.
I am going to look REMARKABLY silly if he does end up trapped or fully puppeted--I can be as dramatic as I like with "he can't be bound ever again" because that is mathematically what's being communicated...but also, they're fighting GOD. I am SO NERVOUS. But I Am glad you liked it! ; w ;
You really make me see toh in a different light, and this is an incredible analysis.
Oh this was a great video. Hunter is by far my favorite character (with Luz, Willow and Eda being right behind him) and his story really touched me. The way you told his story just shows just how well the creators of the show used their time wisely. I am going to miss the show when its gone, but I will always be thankful for it existing.
He's my favorite too! The crew did such an amazing job executing on these stories. It's been such a pleasure--this show was very special. So grateful to Dana, the crew and their fight for this project
As a victim of abuse I can testify with the fact that holding the gaze is hard, like really hard
Hi there! I don’t usually comment on videos but I decided that I simply HAVE to let you know how much I LOVE this video! I currently have a pretty strong hyperfixation on this show, and Hunter especially. I spend almost HOURS searching for videos that just do something as simple as TALK about Hunter, and this video is literally perfection! You don’t skim over a single detail that is shown in a scene, and the way you perfectly explain the details in the scene is just incredible. I have chills, seriously. I truly believe I could sit here and listen to you talk about Hunter for hours on end! You perfectly explain some of the exact thoughts that I’d had while watching some of these scenes but had never heard anybody else talk about before. The explanation of his mannerisms, his facial expressions, how he probably feels! Words cannot even describe how much I love this video. Just so much. When you talk about the way Hunter “presents himself for execution” to Belos, actually ACKNOWLEDGE the fact that Belos gave Hunter his scars(believe it or not, I’ve seen so many people dodge this fact), the “who exactly is Hunter”, the IMPACT on Hunter’s mannerisms due to his abuse, just the way you talk about it all makes me kick my feet in excitement because I have seen NOBODY who can just explain all of this so perfectly! I really hope you continue to post more content because I absolutely love everything about this! Thanks so much for having the one and only platform that actually helps to fuel into my Hunter addiction💋💋
asdfdjg Thanks! I could honestly probably talk about him for hours too--and I'm certainly not done talking about him. We've got more in the pipeline. Thanks so much for sharing what you loved, and thank you for watching!!! I'm so glad you liked it.
@@idlescree ofc!! excited to see your future content😁🫶
Same!
Something I noticed with Hunter cosplaying Star Trek that I haven't seen anyone else mention that I'm certain was deliberate,
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, there exists a hivemind of robotic husks of people known as The Borg whose entire goal is to assimilate, and for a time the Borg are able to successfully assimilate this series's captain, Captain Piccard, and for that given point of time where he had no control over his body or his actions, he had a similar covering over his face to what Hunter wears in his cosplay, which really feels like overlooked referential foreshadowing to what was gonna happen to this poor boy
On another note, absolutely brilliant video, the theme of death is such an incredibly prevalent and human topic even if not referenced directly, it's always there
OH YESSSS I NOTICED THIS TOO!! We had to cut stuff down to keep this thing from being a million pages long but yes, I absolutely noticed that. It could also be an allusion to a character from DS9--pretty much anything Borg related in that way gets the point across and it was GORGEOUS.
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed!
After everything, I really hope that Hunter loves long and prosper. 🖖
i only started watching this show a month ago and idk why i waited so long. feel kinda sad i got here so late, at the very end, but it’s such a beautiful story i’m glad i watched it finally
FR this is literally always me. But this fandom probably isn't going anywhere, and there is SO MUCH to enjoy!
This video is great cause I have never watched the owl house, like ever, but I stayed and watched the entire 30 minutes of the video without even realizing it because the concepts were so deeply and well thought out, and the way you connected and analyzed things was really interesting.
That is an incredible compliment, thank you so much for your kind words!!!
am i the only one who heard the song "eyes on you"? (great song btw!)
anyways, great video!
You would be correct! Oh Geeez graciously let us use their tracks ; w ;
@@idlescree oh geez is a great artist! it's cool that they let you use their tracks! i really enjoy them! and it's funny how you hid it in the background of this amazing video! i was silently vibing while listening to your explenation.
I didn't even think about how the trial by water is symbolic in anyway and now I can't stop thinking about how *he sank because he's not a witch??*
funnily enough, the biggest thing i took away from this is the fact that i somehow COMPLETELY missed hunter's bisexual patch upon multiple viewings while doing my own study of the show. as if i didnt relate to him enough already, now hes also a bird lovin' bi boy like me lmao
FOR REAL it was so nice to see...
On his satchel he has a blue ribbon, which represents child abuse survivors.
I love Hunter so much he's made me feel so seen and so much less alone and seeing how he managed to make it out of such a horrible situation and find happiness gives me so much hope for myself
He does that for so many it's crazy! Thank you for watching and subscribing!!
A beautifully written essay! You guys make a great team :D
Thank you so much!
I'm a domestic abuse victim and I see my abuser every day the only time I've been able to look them in the eyes was when we were fighting and I admitted my fear of them. To look them in the eye terrifies me because I only ever have had to look them in the eyes when it was forced so I truly feel for Hunter in all of the moments that his abuse is shown because it's so well shown how abuse affects people when their abuser is someone so close in both distance and emotion and it breaks my heart to see it but I'm also happy to see things like this shown so well in media
I've loved all of your video essays on the owl house so much, it's one of my favorite shows and it's always cool seeing people interpret it's meanings and characters. Can't wait to watch this one!
at about 3/4 into this video i stopped and was like "HOW AM I NOT SUBSCRIBED?!" because I didn't realize that this was one of if not your first owl house video, and you've explained everything expertly. I'd like to apologize on Dana's behalf for the emotional rollercoaster, we've all sent in out bills for therapy to the toh crew. welcome to the fandom💛
Yeah we're pretty new! But we still have a lot of Owl House to go...bwahaha
Hunter is one of my favorite characters in The Owl House, but also one of my favorite characters from basically any media that I've seen. This video and your analysis of Hunter's character is inspiring and moved me in ways that I honestly did not expect. I started watching TOH pretty late in the game too, and also binged it in about a week, lol. I'm probably gonna go back and watch it through again because I realized I've missed a couple details and story elements that your video covered.
Yessss join us in the pit
Damn I'm late to this but I needed to put in my two sense too as I am recovering from the finale!
I feel like the '"I'd like" speech also had a lot to do with Hunter grieving the childhood he never got to have, and finally coming to terms with just how awful the abuse he endured truly was.
To me, Hunter saying "but most of all I'd like to make sure you never hurt anyone again-!" includes himself. Finally being able to say out loud that he does not want Belos to hurt anyone anymore, including him, means finally accepting he is included in Belos's victims. Hunter was talking about all of the things he wanted to do with his life, free from Belos, and admitting he wanted to live his life away from the abusive dynamic for one of the first times in his life. That is so incredibly hard to do as an abuse victim, sometimes especially someone young who grew up in that cycle.
Grieving the fact you did not get a loving childhood, freedom, or the opportunity to experience a healthy relationship with someone who raised you is heart wrenching. It takes so much strength to reclaim yourself enough to say, to your abusers face no less, what YOU would like to happen, what YOU want to experience. Saying "I'd like" instead of "I want" really does make it sound like Hunter was convinced that none of that was something he could truly have in his life. Maybe both because he knew Belos was going to kill him, and because Belos's abuse felt so absolute sometimes.
Anyway, yeah, seeing Belos and Hunters dynamic was always heart breaking for me.. but that also made it feel so amazing to watch Hunter break out of it with the help of found family, friends, and so much personal growth.
The theory of hunter dying is supported from the finale, as when he dies, the lights fly out of him, just like luz when she does or atLeast goes into the in between, also meaning that he wasn’t fully dead, and I think flapjacks titans blood revived him, like how (I think) the titan revived luz
I think it's just the nature of Titan Magic and how before Papa Titans death, it was pervasive in everything. I don't think Belos could have even lived after all Glyph magic was used from the exertion of the fight between him and Luz.
I guess think of it like radiation/ magic doing the impossible, but not being limitless.
The other bit of Hunter's name that I really loved was that in the beginning its a play on Witch Hunter, or a Hunter that indiscriminately hunts and kills. And later on, it becomes Hunter, someone who hunts to maintain balance and preservation. Hunting and Hunters in present day are often seen as coldblooded killers, while some do it for sport and the sense of power and control, most partake in it because of their love of nature, wishing to become part of it for a period of time, they enjoy the the elements of the outdoors, and keeping craft, tradition and outdoor skills alive though they may have a goal of taking home game, many times they accept that just like any creature, that they wont, but they still enjoyed the time they were out there. On top of that many hunters are strong supporters of environmental conservation and often provide biologists valuable information of migration patterns and population information, many of them have connections with scientists, researchers, educators and artisans that they may share their knowledge and parts of game that they dont need. And many hunters have a strong affinity to certain animals (and its not always a predator). Their knowledge of animals, the subtle signs of weather or potentially dangerous situations, survival skills, bushcraft skills, the ability to quickly prep and preserve food or parts, what plants are useful while which are not or potentially harmful, the calls and sounds of certain animals are all valuable lessons that should be passed onto the next gen, so the next gen doesn't get disconnected with nature and the value it has.
Which brings back to the boy Hunter. Hunter starts as that indiscriminate Hunter, and later becomes someone who helped bring back the palismen trees, the art of carving, and supporting pairing existing palismen with new witches. On top of that, he went from a Cardinal to a Blue Jay, which means confidence, communication, protection, new opportunities and exploration, which is what Hunter ends up doing. The kid plays on the duality of what a "Hunter" is.
You nailed it and put together some things I noticed but couldn't put words to
Glad it helped! Thanks for watching!
Hunter being protective of friends and family also kinda reminds me of how he's the clone of Caleb who was a big brother which is kinda sad because its like no matter what he does he's always gonna have a connection to Caleb beyond being a grim walker
i also remember seeing someone say Belos coming back so abruptly in Hunter's life is a big thing of how healing from abuse is never linear and how at any moment all that progress can be destroyed so quickly
Yeah! Our ancestors (which is the closest we've got for Hunter) don't stop being part of us, and vice versa...crazy stuff.
There’s also a link to the guard before him Darius’ mentor (who for this I’m going to call William). Both Hunter and William developed an older brother relationship with a child prodigy (we can at least presume that’s the case with Darius with him one being the head of abomination and two was the previous student of the Emperor’s right hand man so while not on Gus level of prodigy but probably Amity level).
Belos balling
ur abilities to make content out of this show truly amaze me, the deliberation and skill you have to disect characters and writing choices are rare to find on this platform, u deserve a WAY bigger audience but I'm glad I found you when I did. Thank you for this video
quite honestly after seeing your mask video and now this, i can say i deeply adore your videos and am I so glad I come across them. I am now subscribed and I hope to see more of your stuff in the future, owl house related or not.
AHHHH thank you so much, that's such a kind thing to say. Thank you for the sub!
My guy has been through some stuff.
I feel extremely bad for Hunter. I’m glad they made him a good character. I’m glad he learned friendship. And I’m glad he is the way he is. He is perfect the way he is. :)
The owl house is such a wonderfully deep and symbolic show and it definitely gives you a lot to work with but your analysis themselves are so fascinating and well presented! I love your videos really! Can't wait to see more of that now that the finale is out🤩
Oh thank you! I am glad you like them and I hope you enjoyed the finale!!
"Shame that it took so long to rescue me
From the guilt you used to tie me to your family tree"
Man, why does Hunter better represent this RWBY song, than the character it was made for?
24:45 I definitely see the “I’d like” here as sort of a “I wish I could” he’s saying “I want to do all these things, but most importantly I want to protect everyone, and if that means giving up everything else I want? So be it”
After watching this, I felt a lot better about how it actually ended(and the changes in Hunters look).
When his little hair noodle was removed, I thought “WHAT? But he’s not Hunter without it” but after watching this, it just makes me feel so much happier with certain changes.
I’ve been watching The Owl House since the very first trailer and after years of waiting for a finale to bring tears to my eyes, I was relieved with how it actually ended.
Really interested in any further thoughts you have on this--I am incredibly interested in the evolving fan reactions and responses and right now I'm trying to do archaeology about it.
Thanks for watching!!
Aaah I just hate for the series to end it given me so much
Anyways this is amazing hunter has got to be my fave character in the entire series and it’s clear why I only have a few oc (original characters) that can even match up to him and his story not even my creepypasta ocs can despite how traumatic there backstory’s are hunters is one of the most traumatic and crazy character story’s iv even seen and it’s done hecka well the owl house has sure done it’s job and done it well (the series is ending today at least the main one maybe aaaah)but I can not talk about how well hunters is it just drags me in and if any one hates hunter well we gotta hunt them down because how dare you
I ADORE these videos! Thank you for your in depth analysis and care for one of my favourite characters
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed it, thank you for watching!
I love your analysis on this show. Honestly the way you describe things and detail them could genuinely help people with writing stories or making them.
28:17 I have to agree so much it's not only a transition but a spiritual and physical transformation, notice how his eyes changed from red (that of a grim walker) to gold, it was because of flap jacks' essence that he became a real human being, he has become a superior shell of himself.
When I first saw Hunter, the character everyone's been obsessing over, I really thought he was annoying XD A few episodes later he became my favorite character.
Great video! I wanted to mention that while Hunter "overcame" Belos's influence during the posession scene, in reality cptsd can last years or even decades. Hunter would probably be recovering from Belos's influence for years to come, unlearning all the subservient and harmful behaviors for a long time.
But his victory in that moment is symbolic of understanding and accepting that your abuser shouldn't have control over you. Hunter's "You're lying!" still had so much doubt packed into it, but his speech to Belos was sure and confident in what he believed. Belos was not his family. He didn't care for Hunter. Belos harms people. And Hunter REFUSES to let himself be used and influenced. While it doesn't mean the end of Belos's influence on Hunter's life, it's still a huge step in asserting himself and refusing to be a tool, a victim in Belos's plan.
I love this so much. 🪄
Hunter is too my favorite character, he's a good dude with illuminative perspective. Among his heritage, he was given the chance to break the chains, both Belos' withhold of him, and his family's history.
What I hate is I was introduced to the Owl House approximately one month after the series finale. I really wish I would've been aware of it throughout its continuation---to have had a chance to know the "experience."
Whatever. Hunter's a gem, and Owl House is a majestic, illustrative conceptualization archive.
If you don't mind me asking: when did you first watch the show? How was your first impression of it? What stood out to you best in terms of its representing plots, lore, and/or messages?
I have to disagree with one thing from that video. Hunter doesn't know how to swim. The water in the Boiling isles is literally boiling (at some points only the steam can cause third-degree burns). Where would he have learned swimming in a place where you can't dive into water at all and where you can travel without coming near to it?
That he sinks so quickly probably is due censorship, or it's because his heart is literally a stone.
I believe that Hunter in that scene knows that diving into the lake is his death because he can't swim. So he says his goodbye, things how he imagined his life would go if Belos was gone, and throws the blood in the lake, knowing that Belos would go after it and would drown with him.
That was my personal interpretation of that scene.
Amazing analysis on that topic though. I absolutely love your videos. Keep up the great work
(English isn't my first language, I hope my comment is still understandable)
I would normally agree! However, we know Amity and Willow got swimming lessons as children if you go back and look at Understanding Willow. If two random school-aged kids got swimming lessons at a specific named lake, it tells us that the practice is common and safe. Therefore, it would be very sensible to agree that a soldier would know how to swim. Either way though, I really appreciate you sharing your interpretation in a comment! It's always interesting to see what people are thinking. Thank you for watching (and yes, its very understandable)!
@Idle Scree Ah yes you are right, I totally forgot about that part
i just found your channel and it is PERFECT for me to watch while crocheting!! its more words information than visual, making so i dont need visuals for context to the words, but the visuals are perfectly put together that when i do have time to look up, i can be visually entertained!! its the perfect mix to have running while doing crafts and i thank you for that!!
Exactly!! I sometimes have her videos on in the background while playing games or doing stuff where I can't look away, and when I'm able to look the visuals are amazing! It's genuinely the perfect type of content and I wish more channels were doing this!