The Owl House Face Reveals: Why They Work
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Mask off! Today we will be doing an analysis of the face reveals in The Owl House--how they are executed, their relevance to the narrative, and why they're so effective.
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I really liked how the season 2 intro showed Hunter, Lilith, and Kiki "Masked" (literally for Hunter), and then showed a glimpse of the real them (Lilith begging for forgiveness, Hunter peeking out from the golden mask, and Kiki's unconstrained rage).
Right? THIS BIT MADE ME FERAL. They're also all positioned along a visual spectrum--framed at one extreme by Bonesburough on the left and the Emperor's castle on the right...and varying distances from Belos' grasp that comes in from the next shot. Kikimora, closest to him and in the palm of his hand, Hunter ambiguously in the middle, and Lillith now more affiliated with our heroes but still struggles with her brainwashing!!
Wish we'd seen more from the insane Kiki from the intro and not the comic relief villain she turned into.
She was legitimately creepy in season 1 what little we saw.
@Turai12 in season 2 she literally left her entire hometown and family behind willingly in favour of a promotion that turned out to be "being allowed to live".
I feel like the tone shifted in HOW she was rabid then
The comparison to Catholicism is probably what would hurt belos the most considering he's protestant.
Oh I meant to respond to this! I strongly suspect it's on purpose! He would have been raised to despise Catholics, and we know he has a sick and twisted sense of humor--the Grimwalkers after awhile all were just named "Hunter" as in "Witch Hunter", after all. If Belos sees all these witches and demons as inherently soulless and damned no matter what, why not use the hated Catholic's ways to bring them to heel? It also just reveals more of Belos' case of tragic irony: he can't stop becoming everything he says he hates. He's a witch hunter who hates magic, and yet becomes a powerful mage. He's a would-be crusader and becomes, best he can figure, the King of Hell. He's a HUMAN BEING here to save HUMANS, but becomes an unrecognizable goop monster animated by revenge. He's a HERO! But no one, not even the people of his former home see him that way--he's a punchline and a joke to them now! "Sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and lil bro got upset :)" ALL he has left is the pettiest, smallest human revenge--I'll make them PAY!!--wrapped up in the grandest of delusions.
@@idlescree the protestants were the ones obsessed with witch hunting, not the catholics
@@fandemusique4693 Ehh, true they were the people doing the Salem witch trials. Catholics though had this insane purging mentality (spanish inquisition anyone?) which could also be related to witch hunting
@@fandemusique4693 both were let's be honest.
@@andreeacat7071 Spanish Inquisition? I was not expecting that.
I love how the gap teeth are used to hint that luz swapped place with hunter thanks to gus even if you don't pay attention to who's dashing in that scene
As well as Luz's lips- How distinctly, Hunter's aren't pronounced, but Luz's are.
Or Gus Activating his power before it’s needed, to show, he was using an illusion the entire time
Where that little tongue thing that Hunter does when he is disguised as lose, that’s something we’ve only seen him do
WAIT WHAT THERES NO TOOTH GAP?!
Well duh. Even in 1 season body swap guys was a little different
Belos's face reveal was so "anticlimactic" that made it all the more shocking and exciting. In that scene he acts so....kindly grandpa-y. The way he says "were you spying on me just to hear these boring stories" in a gentle tease. Reminiscing on older times. Which made looking back on his past appearances all the more horrific.
I felt the exact same way, which I find crazy as even here he’s being manipulative to not just Hunter but us, the viewing audience
I really love it because there older people in the world who can seem like a wonderful grandpa or grandma but are the worst deep down.
from what I've heard, that scene was meant to make you think "oh is he going to be redeemed" to trick you into thinking he might be a good guy
The Collector's face reveal was also very good, before he looked like just some evil entity, then boom, a lonely playful child. Also Steve's, just one cool emperor's coven soldier, then "oh, he looks so normal, just some guy".
I love how all of the face reveals serve mostly to humanize the characters, every single one made me like them even more than I already did.
The Collector went from “This is a god of death” do “Get this boy a bedtime story”
What makes hunter’s face scar so much worse too is that not only does he live in a world where they have magic healing, cuts to the head and face tend to heal wayyyy faster than injuries anywhere else and rarely scar.
What I love about all the face reveals so far is that my first thoughts about any of them was: "oh. this is just some guy!"
Sure Hunter does have a very unique face and Belos face is old and scarred. But... my first thoughts on seeing them was "oh. just a guy. could be my neighbour!"
I also had the same reaction with seeing Steves face the first time. "Just. a guy."
Definitely. I remember being so jarred by both of their face reveals at the time, but couldn't explain why. The whole "that guy could be my neighbor " shtick with Belos became very alarming very quickly.
@@lillianhoigard6702 A terrifying thought and I love it. We know what Belos is like, but without his mask he just looks like some horrifically scarred old man who you might be able to have a lovely conversation with. He looks n i c e. Like, he looks he'd use be such a kind dude, but y a k n o w.
Imagine just passing by and hearing someone say “just a guy!” Over and over again in a mundane voice. That would be so funny. That or humors broken.
That reminds me a bit of an analisis i saw once about atla, specifically the fact that Ozai's face is completely obscured until book 3, and, when we finaly get to see it, it's to show that he's just a guy, that he can be defeated. He even looks a lot like his children, so there's absolutely nothing extraordinary or fucked up about his appearence. The reveal of his face symbolizes the shift from the characters seeing him as an impossible to best monster to a vile man who has to go.
I think that's the point, especially with Belos. The idea is basically an inverse Spider-Man, ANYONE can be under the mask. Belos is just an guy who is extremely devout in his beliefs. Literally go to any Midwest small town, you'll find a hundred people just like him.
First of all your bat avatar is adorable! Second, I'm glad someone talked about unmasking! Masks are so prevalent in TOH but in such a different way than usual.
Other characters wear masks too in this show-- a number of characters are introduced masked/veiled before revealing themselves later. Characters like Steve start out as masked, faceless goons that then become important to the story later and gain personality as the story progresses.
Yeah especially with hunter
I always like to ask the question of "If the character is visually conventionally attractive, then what's the point of the mask? Why are they wearing it?"
Because it's clearly not for a physical reason, so now the question has been made more interesting.
Why wear the mask, if you don't physically need to?
“Why the mask?”
Persona 5 protagonists: The _implication_
Cuz masks are cool. Could also be for symbolic reasons if a director wanted to go that far.
"Need" is subjective, a person wearing a mask tells us at the very least THEY feel like they need it. It could be something obvious like covering disfigurements, or something that shows a character wants to be perceived in a way they don't necessarily see themselves.
For example a villain who wears a mask just to look intimidating. That could be enough of a reason on a surface level, but it also implies they don't think of themselves as intimidating enough WITHOUT one, so it shows us their desire to be scary but also a hint of insecurity.
In Belos' case it was about trying to blend in. No one will question your heritage if they don't know it and think you're one of them. Ironically even his human face is a mask. His true face is that of a Wendigo. His true nature is far worse than he likes to present it.
He calls witches and demons, monsters, while they are just like us humans. All the while he is the real monster.
masked confidence, most of the characters wearing masks seemed much more intimidating when you cant tell *who* it really is.
especially for belos. like when i looked at unmasked one vs masked belos first thought is “these two are the same people!?!”
This is so good!!! Love how you pointed out the lack of shine in belos eyes. Cus I was definitely feeling it but couldn’t put my finger on what was causing it
Belos resembles more Wendigo than deer, what I find to be great choice, because wendigo are monsters that used to be human, but became the monster because they were rejected by someone close to them. By day they have human form, but in the night they turn into this monstrosity. They also feel insatiable hunger
@@SandroneEko oh my GOSH I never noticed that! That’s really great attention to detail, man I love the way TOH does cool things like this.
Another great face reveal is Warden Wrath's, it really nails home the weirdness of the boiling isles by showing us someone who wears a plague doctor's mask(a human item) with all the other human looking characters. The reveal that his face is literally just a huge maw does wonders for the worldbuilding.
Excellent point! That moment from the first episode is what first sold me on the show. It was the absolute last thing I expected to see, and was animated beautifully
At first I thought a human looking mask on a Giant Maw-face was humorous. Now I can see that Belos wants to pretend his army of witches are human. He’s standardizing them in his own image, regardless of how poorly that matches what’s underneath.
@@lifefindsaway7875 this comment put the image of severine in my head 😭poor gal
I feel a difference but it's hard for me to articulate what makes TOH face reveals different from many of the ones you've listed. They feel less about revealing peers/allies/love interests to the cast audience and more so revelations about the characters' actions. Which might be why the moments themselves don't evoke much reaction from the other characters and are shot accordingly.
Hunter might be the most conventional in all these points but it's still then about him dealing with his suddenly-revealed vulnerability and youth; Bump is less about his appearance and more about the revelation of palismen as an aid; Steve as humanising coven guards; Vee is as the revelation of the basilisk; and Belos' manipulations shining even more so as an uncle than an emperor.
Very interesting video! (and adorable bat avatar). Love seeing more TOH analyses.
Oh yeah you are totally right. I love that you bring up Steve and Vee. We are thinking about doing a Masks part 2 that gets more into the overall execution of the motif instead of just analysis of these major character reveals that would include Steve, Vee, Titan Trappers, etc--but it may not be for a while. Thanks for comment, that was really interesting!
Oooo I love the way you worded that!!
What I also like about Phillip's/Belos's constant unmasking is also his bearded design. He has a thick beard, obscuring his face shape. His hair is much darker. His eyes have shines and are more a light sky-blue, like the complete opposite of Luz's dark brown. Even his outfit covers most of his body, and his hairline appears much differently styled. Plus, his voice isn't the same as main-Belos until the end.
Alex Lawther was cast as the mask for Matthew Rhys. We're supposed to second-guess how Phillip sounds before the voices overlap.
It's the same man in different steps of his plan.
(Also, seeing Phillip's design again has me wonder how the coat and socks gained their greenish parts. Parts that aren't focussed on. The coat isn't even his.)
I want to study this horrible man under a microscope. We thought about doing his bearded look here as well but it ended up derailing into other aspects of the mess of Belos so that discussion is for another time. The way the show handled him was fascinating.
When I tell you that I just genuinely thought principle bump looked like that, I was so shocked when he revealed he was actually wearing his palisman as a mask the whole time
Opposite of a face reveal. It's a mask reveal.
Yeah, I just thought that was part of his head. The reveal that it's his palisman caught me completely off guard
@@thedragonwarrior5861Personally, I thought the little demon was like a parasite controlling a witch host or something....
Turns out it was much more wholesome than what I thought it would be.
I love how you pointed out that this Grandpa face of Belos is the face that Hunter most commonly sees. And its important to note that Belos is the only family Hunter knows about. But its also clear that Hunter is afraid of him, he is a lot more meek around him and even his height (which is supposed to be quite tall) seems absolutely miniscule when compared to Belos, because thats how Hunter feels. Also judging by what he says during his mental breakdown in Eclipse Lake, its fucked that Hunter is aware that he can be replaced. That that kind face that raised him and has told him he is valuable will also not hesitate to get rid of him when he is not useful anymore, and that realization truly sets in during Hollow Mind.
Hunter is truly my favourite character in the show. In every way, Hunter feels like a teenager who has been forced into a position of power because of who he represents and not because of who he is. And he seems to understand that because, when masked, he is incredibly more confident. He understands that the Golden Guard is a persona he needs to play, the only thing he exists for, and thats why its so important when he reveals his real name to Luz (while simultaneously unmasking again) since its probably the first time he can willingly be someone he wants to be: himself, instead of just another tool for the Emperor. Something as simple as uncovering his face and saying his name is a true act of rebellion for him.
And dude, he is just a kid. Its impossible to not feel bad for him.
I really think Belos' human face is more important thematically than the monstrous one. The whole series is a subversion of traditional storytelling - the king of demons os a little kid, the cursed old witch is a caring foster parent, what looks scary or odd is generally positive. The evil in this show is in the banal, dressed up to look good and right, just look at Odalia and that weirdo museum guy in the human realm. Noone embodies this theme than the witch hunter Philip.
Yes, I heartily agree!
something ive also loved is how they portray belos even after he has been showed as an old white grandpa. he seems less threatening at first but when you see him lash out you get that snap of realization that "oh shit this guy is evil and terrifying" and its so cool. absolutely love this show and love your summary
8:30 Hunter's VA, Xeno, actually incorporates this design choice into his voice for Hunter. He gives him just the slightest hint of a lisp and it works SO WELL.
edit: He mentions this in the New York Comic Con panel.
Belos’ face reveal strongly reminds me of Ozai’s reveal from AtLA. They’re both the hyped up bad guy who’s revealed to be surprisingly human. Later it’s revealed that they’re even more monstrous than initially believed with Belos’ true form and Ozai’s blatant insanity
This was really really good but I have to admit, I'm surprised you didn't mention Steve.
A beloved figure of the Owl House community, born from a singular line about shoulder pats way back in season 1A, and kind of one of those characters we didn't think we'd see much of initially. He seemed to be something like the coven version of Tinella Nosa (aka Tiny Nose), yet he still got a considerable amount of fanart and appearance theories. But then Steve started gaining depth, both on and off screen.
His implied prior interactions with Lilith (or maybe even a friendship, considering his invite to her job party), his comment on regretting his life choices in Any Sport In A Storm and Dana's confirmation of him being Matt's older half-brother, meaning that he was mentioned briefly in Through The Looking Glass Ruins where we got an anecdote of his relationship with Matt, who idolises him enough to copy his hair, and also had classic sibling teasing along with Steve giving Matt the map they needed. This all leads up to O Titan Where Art Thou, where we get an entire _episode_ of Steve. Through his snippets of conversations with King, we learn even more about him, how he's like Amity, Eda and Lilith in how he's always wanted to join the coven from a young age. Like Lilith, he actually followed through with it. But his doubt that he mentioned a few episodes prior seems to have grown, so much so that he questions stuff he's probably been told his entire life by everyone.
Shortly after, we finally get _his_ face reveal. And he's shown to be a normal guy. Brown hair, a few small demon traits.... nothing about him says anything new, unlike Hunter or Belos's. One in a million, like how all the other scouts must be. His reveal isn't just about his face though, but more about the mask that he takes off.
With each appearance he had over the series, he slowly lost his coven attire. First he switched his shirt to his Steve shirt, then he added his jacket and removed the hood, like physical representations of baby steps. When he takes off his mask there, it's a symbol of him choosing to leave the coven, take off the mask, and learn independence and to act out.
Each scout is identityless because of their masks, not anything special. Expected to fall in line and follow orders smoothly to the point where they just hup-hup-hup over a body (Kikimora in Follies At The Coven Day Parade). The only other scout we see remove their mask is Severine, who does it to announce her quitting. In a way, Severine could have been the set up for the metaphor of Steve removing his mask to remove himself from the Emperor's coven.
With his loss of anonymity, he gained an identity. His face reveal didn't tell about who he was, but who he was going to be, who he was _choosing_ to be. A person, something he couldn't be in the oppressive Emperor's coven. He had only one day off a year, his brother was his only family ever mentioned, and lesuire time seemed scarce. His mask was not a cover like Belos's, nor a defence like Hunter's, or an aid like Bump's. It was a burden, a cage he couldn't see.
Steve is so loved, yet his quiet character arc is so scarely talked about. He's similar to Hunter, in how he's being forcibly shown the dark side of the coven, yet he has not nearly as much parental-related trauma. But he was in the coven for years longer than Hunter, so perhaps more similar to Lilith overall, but there's no way he survived that ordeal mentally unscathed. I believe that both he and Lilith have unmentioned issues, as they both worked in the upper levels of a governmental cult, made by a man who seemed to value conformity and mindlessness and had no problems enforcing this harshly and violently.
And that's not even _mentioning_ the draining spell...
These are all WONDERFUL thoughts. Honestly, this video started off as an off-the-cuff ramble on my blog. We ended up recording the whole thing and then it was like. We're talking about masks. We can't talk about Hunter and not Belos. So we added Belos, and now it's looking like it would be very very worth it to do a Masks part 2 with all the people asking about Steve and some others. I really appreciate how thoughtful this comment was!
This comment means everything to me!!!!!! The montage of Steve and King wandering around the Isles, just vibing, really touched me for some reason. Then him removing the mask in front of King, who's having his own identity issues, was such a gentle, satisfying moment. Especially since he's Just A Guy under there.
Steve does mention having a therapist in o titan where at thou
I second this! Steve was supposed to just be a mook and minor character, but he’s become popular for a reason. His little arc ties into the theme of escaping a cult and regaining your personal identity perfectly, and his few relationships with the other characters are really interesting. The fact that he’s Matt’s big brother is both cool and funny to me. Like, Matt is introduced as a selfish little douch canoe (even if he improves later on), but he clearly loves Steve and is confirmed to style his hair the way he does to try and emulate him. The fact that one of the most mundanely awful characters is not only related to one of the nicest characters, but actually adores him and doesn’t treat him the way he does everyone else is…shocking, to say the least. Dana confirmed that Steve was supposed to have a part in season 3 and get some focus put on his relationship with Matt (probably with all the insanity going down at Hexside) that unfortunately got axed because of the show being shortened. But the relationship that intrigues me the most is his relationship with Hunter which is…weird in a lot of ways. During ‘any sport in a storm’, Hunter is still clinging to Belos and desperately trying to fight off any doubts he has. He’s the nephew and loyal right-hand of the dictator who has the boiling isles under iron-clad control; literally the last person you would want to talk about your doubts to if you want your head to stay on your shoulders…but Steve somehow feels totally safe saying openly treasonous things to him and it seems like Steve’s doubts nudged Hunter to listen to the voice in the back of his head saying ‘Maybe I shouldn’t force my friends to join the emperor’s coven. Even if I think it’s great and love my uncle, it still feels like somethings a bit off’. And there’s the whole thing with Hunter being annoyed on Steve’s behalf after Skara punches him in the face. That whole interaction really intrigues me, especially after watching Scree’s video on Hunter’s character development and death. As they pointed out, Hunter has been isolated, abused, not allowed to interact with the rest of the coven, allowed to be a smug jerk so no one wants anything to do with him, and no one outside of Belos seems to know his face or even his name. Steve is one of literally hundreds of soldiers who had to give up their names, identities, and lives to serve the emperor and have no identity outside of being disposable tools. Yet Hunter and Steve somehow seem to have some sort of professional relationship and level of trust because that scene wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Steve is honestly pretty interesting overall for a mook character and it’s a bummer he didn’t get more screen time, so I’d love any sort of analysis of him.
What chilled me with Belos' reveal was just how... CASUAL it was.
For real that's when we all should have started screaming.
this was wonderful! and I really enjoyed this video! speaking on the topic of how Hunter's features where so out of the norm also brings up another good point. things arent as they seem on the isle's, giving hunter red eyes, dark sharp brows, scars, and an aquiline nose which are usually used in "bad" or "scary" archetypes when hes so good at heart also brings the shock of belos's face up I think. hes made out to be a big bad monster but when we see his face for the first time, yes its a regular old face, but they also gave him features usually assciated with "good" characters, I dare say i even thought it was eerie when i saw him because he looked "kind". he has soft downward eyes that are usually portrayed on "inoccent" and "sweet" characters, with blue eyes that are so loved amongst the americas, he has an upturned nose and a soft smile, he even his a small chin and instead of his scar looking menacing, it looks pityable. young philip looks like he could be a kind honest man and THATS what belos believes himself to be- which is why its so eerie. because he looks like someone you could know, he looks like someone you could like. hes been hiding in plain sight! just like real life.
Yeah for both of them, when I saw their faces for the first time, I couldn't help but think "okay... not what I was expecting..." We really are so used to the idea of the "teen prodigy" being beautiful and effortless that we forget how much work it takes to get to and stay there (eye bags and scars). For Belos, the whole "looks like he could be my neighbor" bit really fits into how he operates: manipulators rarely show how evil they actually are, and could be anyone. It was really bone chilling.
Hunter's tooth gap is such a great design detail to me. It instantly signals youth to anyone who looks at him, so even when he's laying unconcious all you need is that glimpse of his teeth gap for it to click "oh that's a whole ass child". Especially useful since I've seen many who thought Hunter was a young adult or an older teenager before his face was revealed. It's also just really cute.
Something else about the scene with maskless Belos and Hunter that a tumblr user pointed out in very interesting post; the shots are constantly angled and framed to really emphasize their height difference, hammering in their unequal power dynamic. This is also a running theme with Hunter, he is always portrayed as much smaller and vulnerable with Belos, the Covenheads, hell pretty much every adult he interacts with. The only time this is not the case for Hunter is when he's with the Hexside kids. Despite towering over them and Hunter being older, they're always portrayed as being equals in the eye of the framing.
Oooh that bit with the height framing is a very good point!!!
I think my favorite part about the nonchalant face reveal, and his face looking, well, not so scary and even a little kind, is that it gave the entire fandom a false sense of security. We didn't see him nearly as intimidating in Eclipse Lake and even afterwards due to the face.... but then Hollow Mind came out and holy crap did we see his true intimidating nature DESPITE the face. THAT was his true mask off moment, I think. His own True Colors (from Amphibia) moment. So yes, Owl House has handled face reveals extremely well, and is one more reason to love this show :)
Bump using his palisman as a disability aid inspired me to do the same, so for my hypothetical palisman, it’s still a staff but most of the time it’s used as a cane since i use a cane on and off irl when i’m having bad pain days. it was so refreshing to see someone who is beloved by the main characters that is disabled and doesn’t betray them or something akin to it, like when he HAD to expel the trio, he didn’t want to and we saw how torn up he was a out it on screen.
This is very underrated, and I’m thrilled to see someone finally talking about this! I will definitely be sharing this with my friends! I love everything you covered and your really good at explaining things! It usually takes me awhile to catch onto things but I had no problem following along with this. I love your bat icon btw
Thank you so much for your support! And thanks, Anna did a great job with the bat icon, she is fantastic.
Now that I look back, scars on characters are pretty all over the place. Unless you see the scar being applied first-hand you tend to forget how severe they can be and just think "cool scars bro/sis".
An example of a scar being conveyed to both audience and characters as so severe is Zoro's scar he received from Hihawk after Don Krieg's defeat at the end of the Baratie Arc. Not only do we see the scar being applied, but we also see Arlong's reaction to the scar after he tore off Zoro's bandages at the Arlong Park Arc. This is before we even had Chopper in the crew by the way so the stitch-job was a rush at best. Arlong is horrified, and this is a guy who has committed atrocities and most likely gave people scars just as bad or worse than Zoro's, the difference is his victim's never survived long enough to suffer them and stare him in the eye. This is compounded by the reactions of everyone else present. We then finally see the scar itself, WHICH IS STILL BLEEDING PROFUSELY. Honestly I can't describe the scene well enough, it's really a hell of an experience to see.
Stop trying to get me to watch One Piece please that sounds so awesome ahh 😂😮
Belos's face looks as a bit gently and calm human is perfect when you think about how normal con artists irl appearance would be: the opposite expectations of how we would think a con-man, an evil person looks be.
It make me understand why Luz wouldn't expect Philip to be Belos when she first saw him cuz most of the times Luz know Belos as this evil monster person + don't know he could be a human from her universe cuz he was supposed to be Hunter's uncle and Hunter (and I'm not talking about his OG as being Belos's brother) having ears that still looks like people belong to the Boiling Asle (which made her lower her guard and trust him cuz he looks and sounds like a calm and intelligent person).
This also makes sense on how people in the Boiling Asle could trust him. While his mask made him looks like a higher-up, a god, his actual face made him look like a saint + his calm and collected voice (as least when you don't know how f-ing evil he is).
His later second (or should be the third when you count his younger past face) face reveal is more how people would expect the first time based on how evil he is. A monster
As for a real comment about the video: I absolutely love Hunter’s design and you’re right, he’s super fun to look at. The details are really appealing and help him stand out. It’s nice that he’s not some conventionally attractive pretty boy but rather a face with character. It all helps to make him endearing and the tooth gap is just adorable
Such a great video! I feel like I really learned a lot! The face reveals in Owl House always seemed to have such great impact, it made me think about how they compared to the face reveal in the Mandalorian, which was just... weird? I don't know what the point of it was.
Your discussion of Hunter's scar really caught my attention. I hadn't considered that at all. You're totally right, we do tend to use scars so often in media we forget it's not just a color marking - there was a wound before it.
Actually... I have a character design that has a lot of scarring, and this video made me realize they might have more complications that I realized. I've tried to do some research, but all I've really been able to dig up are posts on how to get rid of scars instead of focusing on the complications no one tends to talk about like reduced sensation or movement restriction. If you're open to it, would you be willing to take a look and suggest the impacts these scars might have? If not, I completely understand! Wonderful video, again.
Yeah, it's truly bonkers. And I feel you, it can be really challenging to learn about scars because 99% of google searches are more about how to manage them, as you've found. I happen to just have some personal experience with huge scars and our artist, Anna, has EMT training! We're spread a little thin at the moment but you can always shoot a message over to our tumblr and it might be easier to respond to such a thing there. Just remember that if it goes over joints it can seriously restrict movement, and the depth/how the thing was made will also affect how a scar heals. Scars go through a maturation process as well. Bodies are weird and different types of skin knit differently as well--to say nothing of where someone sustained an injury.
I see very few people talking about this, other brilliant examples include Lilith from Eda's curse dream, the Blight parents, and STEVE
The way you spoke of every little detail in this video is such a refreshing and fun way to talk about TOH that I haven't seen many other people do! I can't wait to see how you handle other topics and characters in this show! (it would probably be a little biased if i specified how much i wanna hear of your thoughts on the Collector buut that's not important ^^)
PLEASE CONTINUE!!
Thank you! I certainly have some thoughts on the Collector and even if they don't make it into a video we might do a written essay that you can check out on our tumblr! We just posted one on Hunter and his fighting style if you're curious. I appreciate your input, we're blown away by the response so far and it's wonderful to see what people would like to hear about!
thinking a lot about how belos revealed his face to the public to tighten his stranglehold on them, showing that he is in complete control.
meanwhile hunter doesn't get that. he's shown to be unconscious when we first see his face, so he doesn't get to reveal it on his terms. he doesn't get the power of tearing down his walls by showing his face. he does get the choice to reveal his name later, which he takes, but by that point he has already lost. it's interesting to see how his power whittles away after his face reveal. the golden guard was clearly an alter ego which allowed him to be a cocky brat, but without the mask, he's just hunter.
Ironically the trope of someone being hot under the mask is probably why dreams face reveal went over like a lead balloon
Honestly, I never noticed the shine of life in the characters' eyes, and thus the lack of shine in Belos's own eyes.
It just really nails that cold, dead psychopathy/sociopathy. Thanks for pointing that detail out?
Dana Terrace and the creators of the Owl House are masters of subverting expectations and many forms of irony, from tragic to humorous. This video showcases one of the other many things I love about this show- how much care and attention to detail was put into its creation. There is so much nuance and so many easter eggs, so much to learn about this strange and beautiful world long after I'm done watching. As Luz once said: "The Boiling Isles never stops surprising me."
13:08 this makes sense as he, as seen in the new episode possesses the bodies of the grimwalkers he makes. Which, from information we got from the scenes in the time traveling episodes shows grimwalkers are made out of palistrom wood, which is eerily similar in color to the scar on his face. Additionally, before someone says well the scar is a darker color, what do you expect he becomes a liquid form which when a liquid like water touches things like wood, the wood appears to be darker because its damp
Another factor is also that he eats the palimans souls, which caused him to get the wood texture even more
I have SO many thoughts on the nature of his curse and the whys/hows. It's all speculative based on scraps of info of course but the bottom line is this disgusting old man takes up TOO MUCH SPACE in my brain and it might become everyone's problem eventually. Thanks for watching!!
@@idlescree very true, let’s put him in those slime toy thing’s children get at Walmart
11:04 Yes!!! Yes, I knew his design reminded of something. His tall, almost shaples silhouette does really look like an Iron Maiden :D Awesome stylistic choise
i cant believe you didnt use the best face reveal of Quattro Bajeena taking off his amazing, totally fullproof disguise to reveal he's actually NEVER BETRAYED ANYONE IN HIS LIFE.
Hunter reminds me of airy's face reveal in hfjone . Airy goes from a sadistic madman who tortures people because he can , to an isolated desensitized apathetic but kind *person* who only _had_ isolating people on a planet going for him after decades . I love face reveals . 10/10
"Grrrim fucking eyebags" got me 💀💀
The reveal of the monster Belos gave me another impression, one that really explains some of his actions: he has the form of a Wendigo.
Wendigos are normally portrayed with deer-like skulls on their heads, and incredibly slim bodies that tower over people, much like Belos does.
They also are known as being living symbols of Gluttony, consuming everything living they cross, much like Belos does to all of the Palismans he gets his claws on.
Knowing about the Wendigo, and seeing the similarities behind it and Belos, makes this reveal even more amazing to me. In my eyes it's a perfect explanation as to why he's become so dependent on Palisman blood, and why his eyes are so inhuman/un witch-like.
Very interesting topic. I always liked the face reveals in the owl house, but I never thought about it as deeply as you did, with the exception of hunter, because he was quite different than I imagined. I gotta say I just love your bat icon! Bats are so cute and fluffy and I'm so glad someone actually made a fluffy batty ball as their icon. Pretty great!
We may do a Masks 2 in the future since there's so much to talk about there but yeah the dude was NOt what anyone was really expecting? I came to this fandom VERY late, but going back it seems like everyone had a very different expectation back when Dana first teased his appearance in the charity stream. As to the bat stuff--thank you! Bats are so underrated and the little brown always looks so aggrieved. We love adorable creatures with bad PR teams here at Idlescree :D Thanks for the comment!!
@@idlescree A part two would be great! I didnt ecpect so much scars and tiredness in his eyes, but I absolutely loved it! Especially his hair. Bats are my favourite animal. x3
I hope you do more Owl House videos I do love your take on the show!
We've got more Owl House in the pipeline! Keep your eyes peeled :D Thanks for watching!
What I love about all the face reveals so far is that my first thoughts about any of them was: "oh. this is just some guy!"
YES, exactly!!!
@@idlescree I love how the gap teeth are used to hint that luz swapped place with hunter thanks to gus even if you don't pay attention to who's dashing in that scene
I can't believe that I only just now realized about the discussions of scars 😂 the most prominent scar on Belos's face is actually the one across his nose. To really remind you that that particular scar was from when Lilith punched him in the face all those years ago. Funny how in all those years, that particular scar never healed or faded away. Maybe to symbolize his refusal to let go of his petty hatred of witches and ironic how he got his just deserves given to have gotten that scar in the first place he betrayed them?
Yet another interesting use of contrast in storytelling!
This was very well done and high quality (particularly the audio), especially for a such a new channel. I bet youll grow quick
Also as an aside, Caitlyn from Arcane is a character that has a gap tooth who wasnt played as a joke, but was i think was more to humanize what would otherwise be a fashion model running around as a detective (and was pretty effective i think).
Thank you! We're pretty blown away by the overall response. As for the teeth...yeah, that is the comment that is probably going to age the Most Poorly. Right as the video was exporting I became aware of how the designed Kaylie from the Legend of Vox Machina, Caitlin and then like...even Millie from Helluva Boss lol. Ah well.
Wait, Caitlyn has a tooth gap?! I never noticed that lol
the scar on his face actually came from luz slapping him to wake him up
"stop manipulating children for five minutes or draw +25"
*belos draws +25*
Belos sees a child asks "is anyone gonna traumatize that" and doesn't wait for an answer
Fantastic laser accurate aim with attention to detail, and a high class production. Your team makes this look easy~ will recommend 10/10 again and again!
Another feature to note with not only Hunter's appearance but most of the witches we saw on the Boiling Isles (or at least the main cast of witches) is how they have feature's that Lombroso concluded made someone a criminal. Although I'm sure that this could've been entirely coincidental .
For Hunter (and by extension Caleb and the other grimwalkers) it's the aquiline nose which Lombroso claimed supposedly mrdrs had. It's a ironic seeing as it ended up being Philip/Belos who was one to do the y'know instead, despite (particularly for Hunter and the grimwalkers) they are originally made to hunt witches just like Belos wants to do but eventually betray Belos and by extension their purpose/nature. An argument could probably be made for Philip/Belos' nose shape as well, which would be on point considering his actions throughout the show.
For most of the witches it's the ear sizes, which are visibly not the same as that of a humans. If by some chance Philip happened to have known Lombroso's theory (which, I'm assuming would be highly unlikely) then, alongside the actual magic happening, I wouldn't be too surprised that he linked the two together along with his protestant beliefs into viewing all the witches as criminals as well as belonging in hell. It's interesting to note that Belos did change his ears to fit in with the other witches, which could also be subtly showing his turn to being a criminal or becoming worse than how he views the witches considering he would (following Lombroso's ideas of born criminals and being on the side of nature in nature vs nurture) supposedly be going against his very nature as a "pure bringer of justice" that Belos sees himself as.
I think it's important to note, that Lombroso's theory was based in atavistic views and he was openly racist to facial features that did not fit the European stereotypes. Futhermore, I don't agree with his theory.
I never noticed that Belos never had the same eyes shine or lighting that the others did
Hey Idle, good movie with a non comedic-relief gap-toothed character? Hogarth, the protagonist of The Iron Giant.
Bonus: It's animated. Beautifully.
OH HOGARTH HOW COULD I FORGET HOGARTH. You are so right. Hogarth's prayer scene still makes me cackle unfailingly. Thank you for reminding me akfjsdlagkj
I really want to see a follow-up video on the ideas you introduced at around 8:10 in!!! Can't believe this is your only video omg
Ok i did not even realize he had ashy skin tones. this just makes the fact the more he and luz became friends, the healthier he looked, just all the better. The gap in his teeth is one thing that made me really connect with hunter as I have a gap in my own teeth as well. He tries to come across as all powerful, dangerous and smart, but we learn he is essentially a middle schooler who was bullied for much of his life to the point he looks so heavily rugged. I cannot say I ever disliked hunter as the cockiness of the right hand of belos was truly entertaining as we saw him with king. We saw how he was not allowed to truly give his own thoughts, but instead we saw the perfect little soldier he was meant to be
Belos's design was truly perfect. from his high and divine but evil motif of his masked self, to the soft, gentle look upon his face once it is removed. to the true monster he is under all the facades.
his pope-esc design gives off a divine feel, with a deer and avian-esc mask. All 3 connected tells us he has some form of connection to old Christianity. His unmasked self shows an old withering man who looks tired and is ready to sleep but cannot just yet. His eyes dead as if no joy can possibly come from himself. And his true, monstrous state, shows that he has had eyes, everywhere. an eary infectious goopy look that only barely has resemblance to that of a witch or a human.
Belos's bizarre magic, as if it was not operating under his own rules, always felt off, and more blood magic based. More, forbidden. Wild in this case. But instead of the free wild magic eda was teaching luz, his wild magic felt...wrong or corrupted. how it used the corpse of the titan itself as a weapon
ps. Gwen stacy from into the spiderverse has a gap in her teeth but was more to make her look more cute/innocent
My personal headcanon for Hunter's ear to have a part of it missing is because of how much he looked like the Emperor's brother... maybe Belos wanted to make him look even more human-like before stopping himself.
Ozai: *permanently scars and only tries and fails to kill his son*
Belos: pathetic
DUDE I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR LITTLE BAT CHARACTER I LOVE BATS!!!!!!!!!!!
WHY YES THANK YOU, WE BATS ARE UNDERRATED. Whats your favorite species? :Dc
The best face reveal was obviously when King took off his cubone skull and revealed his raw bloody flesh in agonizing pain
Interesting look at masking and such. Might you attempt an analysis on how this was done to another character, Lord Dominator, from Wander over Yonder and how her overall point to the story was executed in the show's second season? Or how "Star vs the Forces of Evil" handles certain coding related to beauty, morality, "race," villain status, etc?
This is an excellent video, however one small point that I see a lot of people missing: Belos isn't catholic, he's Puritan. This lines up with the real-world history of Massachusetts and his rhetoric of witch-hunting. See Skullrot's (I believe) video on what makes Belos such a terrifying villain for more info. They explain so much better than I can.
Thank you! I appreciate your meaning. I truly regret being so flippant there, it confused a lot of people. I know he’s Puritan. I meant that the way he styled his rule-the pomp, the costumes, the huge stained glass windows and ceremony-even the way he claims intercession for the Titan are all (at the very least) aesthetically very Catholic! The things someone like Phillip would have been raised to despise and find grotesque and decadent and sinful.
@@idlescree I see thank you.
my favorite thing about the initial belos face reveal is that it's also disappointing to the characters. willow and gus were like oooooooh he's gonna be HOT, he's gonna be HIDEOUS, he's gonna be INCREDIBLE TO BEHOLD. and then he's just... an old white man. and they're like ........oh
What blew my mind about Belos' face reveal was when Luz and Lilith travelled to the past... Lilith punched his face... and I recognized his nose.
His nose is... bent/previously broken. And when to me THAT was the big reveal. When Lilith punched his face centuries in the past... THAT was the face reveal for me, that blew my mind since his book was, for a long time, the compass for Luz's way back home. And now I knew that it was full of lies, it was written by someone who never made it back, and that the Emperor of the Isles had a grudge against the main cast from BEFORE the beginning.
god that episode was so shit
I love dramatic identity reveals with trauma so much it’s my favorite trope
This was a phenomenal video. There was not only a lot of heart put into the video but a startling amount of detail. Well done.
I started watching The Owl House back in 2021, when season 2 was just starting to air. After the finale two weeks ago, I felt the nostalgia hit, and yesterday I finally decided to rewatch the whole show (kind of with the excuse of watching it in my first language, which is Spanish, after having watched it all with the original dub). And, just now, I'm realizing how much foreshadowing and how many set ups the show offers from the beginning. Knowing how the story ends, it's incredible to go back to the first few episodes and watching the origin of a catchphrase, the way many characters start from a point and end up on the opposite side, the locations change overtime from menacing and fascinating to familiar and cozy... The creators (I'm assuming Dana Terrace did the majority of the creative work) planned everything with such care and patience, I can only respect and admire this type of analysis that people keep bringing up. There's ton of details everywhere
Also, watching the outro of the first season after a year of show made me tear up. This show was meant to last and tell its story step by step. Disney is losing every bit of respect I have for them (witch was barely a thing to begin with)
I think what makes these characters feel so real, too is that they look like people you'd see in a city (Belos without the rot, of course but could be facial tattoos too). And it makes sense because drawing people she sees in cities is one of Dana's hobbies in her art-she draws horror and real people.
What I love about Belos’s face reveal and character design is how they use his Palisman scar. It acts as a shadow, signalling that while Hunter and the public may think they know who he is, the dark undertones are very clearly hidden underneath.
This is backed up by how Luz is the only person to see him without his scar, as though she as the fellow human and the person who set everything in motion is the only person who knows his true colours, as though that shadow isn’t hidden for her
Sorry for going off on a tangent just something I noticed
Thank you for sharing your observation, that's very interesting :D
I honestly love when face reveals also tend to just be… tame. In a sense. If they don’t do it in a big dramatic scene, it’s usually when the masked character feels most(?) comfortable. Belos/Philip’s face reveal was incredible in all different ways. It showed that the writers and artists weren’t trying to convey some extreme form of “totally sympathetic” or “totally evil” but just… a person, scarred from the consequences of their actions.
What honestly shocked me a bit more was that Belos *is* Philip. Even when it showed Philip taking in the essence(??) of Palismen, Hollow Mind still threw me through a loop. The fact that his inner self can truly take on any shape but is ultimately, still himself. It shows how comfortable he is with all forms of himself. He’s able to fluidly move from being a child, to Philip, to Emperor Belos and have no problems at all with taking either form. He sees them all as himself and is so strangely content with it that it’s almost unsettling in a way. It’s unnerving for a person whose committed such horrible acts to be perfectly content with being perceived as all these different variants of himself. Whether he’s become forced to accept all of this due to his years of living or that’s his true feelings, is another question entirely. Emperor Belos/Philip Wittebane can move through identities easily and seems so calm through it all that it’s somewhat scary, in my opinion (he even states he had to change his name after “Philip” got kicked out of too many towns). He’s a very interesting character and villain.
ah ur so under rated!! I love this analysis
I'm so glad you mention the difference in ear size - I noticed this and then when I looked through the production artwork for Hollow Mind, I was like, OH it was INTENTIONAL!!
Also, I never thought about that introduction scene between Belos and Hunter as being intentionally comparing their features, but it really does do that effectively! You get to see their similarities and it leads the audience to think of them as being truly family, even as the emphasis on 'nephew' makes the audience question whether that is a lie or not. It's interesting how their differences are highlighted as well - Hunter's appearance and expressiveness makes him look like a genuine person, albeit exhausted and kinda fucked up - but Belos' appearance and LACK of expressiveness makes him look dead inside, makes the audience think that THIS face is the true mask, which in a way, it kinda is.
Yesssss indeed! Thank you for the thoughtful comment!!
I’ve just been recommended your channel and I looooove your bat character. So cute!
Hey, just found your channel and I love it already. Masks should be used to as a story tool, there's a lot to work with in the writer's toolbox and the masked person trope is no exception, you either have the ability to portray the character significant to the story and The Owl House made masks both good and evil. It's a nuanced trope, and one I personally love because the character is trying to hide who they are for better or worse.
Belos would have been Puritin as 1600s witch hunter from Connecticut. Puritins were known as religious extremists even in those days, especially by Cathloics and Anglecans (the other major Protestant type at the time). The Witch Trials were almost entirely run by Puritans, so it makes sense for him to be Puritan. I only point this out because he essentially does, as you say in the video, turn the Boiling Isles into Cathloics, by saying they can only speak to the Titan (who he basically turns into their god although I'm pretty sure its implied in Hollow Mind that The Titan wasn't before him) through him, which Catholicism believes through the Pope.
off-topic but one thing i love about the owl house is that in a world of witches, demons and monster thingies, the villain is a human being. more importantly, belos didn't have any magic. the glyphs are useful but not as effective as natural magic and belos' only tool are his incredible manipulation skills. he rose to power literally by just brainwashing and lying to people, and any magic he used was something he worked on relentlessly, not something that came naturally. he's a terrible person but you gotta admire his perseverance and work ethic lmao
Brand new channel? Good luck and have fun
this video is fonominal
as some one who is really interested in character designs I loved it
i love this video but you forgot another face reveal- Steve the Guard
Oh I love that you included Bump. Lots of people would just brush over his face reveal so it's real nice you didn't.
The tooth gap is foreshadowed by guss. Quote: "Can you believe humans strap barbed wires to their children's teeth?".
Fantasy analysis! I barely picked up on even the set up and the attention to detail. I loved the unconventional face reveals in this show, but I never considered how purposeful Hunter’s bustedness contradicted the archetype established. Really cool to watch!
🤓: Actually Hunter has magenta eyes
i really like what they did with the hunter's mask in thanks to them, where despite it being a really poor paper imitation of the golden guard mask, the mere act of wearing it helps him gain the confidence and bravado he was usually able to use as the gg. he even repeats his threat word by word from one of the eps like it was a script. subverting that trope before did wonders for when they tried to use it again but explicitly for the audience
8:27
Varian from Rapunzel's tangled adventures maybe (?)
Hunter Wittebane/golden guard is hot under the mask..
I always wanted someone to point out how Belos looked more like Hunter (in extension, Caleb) than Philip. I feel like the blonde hair and nose just freaks me out in that his mortal body might be more intentionally Caleb looking.
Ironic
Belos face reveal in season 2 episode 9 and 11 showed just another "mask".
Belos' rot form looks like a wendigo- and they are scary cannibalistic winter spirits.
5:14 that caption on Flapjack was EXTREMELY uncalled for and still way too soon
First time here. Are you a myotis?
Something else to consider: Bump has been using Frewin as a visual aid since he was a teenager. Which means he received his injuries as a child. What on earth are they doing to these kids in the BI??
Deer don't represent anything specific in Christianity. Especially not martyrdom. And Belos isn't remotely a Christian name. It's a title for the highest god in the Babylonian pantheon. It comes from the same root word as Ba'al. Belos may have been raised in a Puritan culture, but he's certainly not a Christian.
I love you for this bat question. Yes, I am a brown myotis (a little brown bat)!
As for Bump and his scars, they mentioned something about defeating the previous school, building Hexside on top of it and that there was a battle that took place that also shows Bump and his cohorts? The BI is a weird freaking place.
As for deer in Christian art--they're certainly a motif that does show up. It's a bit like saying the unicorn similarly has some associations with Christian thought (the contrast of wildness vs holiness and similarly sacrifice). Broad statements like that are a bit imprecise sometimes if only because of how Christianity spread and became part of existing cultures, and then transformed over centuries and centuries. It's probably more accurate to say something along the lines of deer may not necessarily have a specific role in Christian doctrine or dogma, but they do have interesting roles associated with sacrifice and martydom in art made by Christian people throughout history. Similar to how one might say wolves in Christian thought are associated with mostly negative imagery (outside of exceptional stories like that of St. Francis of Assisi or something)
Oh you're right about Belos not being a Christian name (although Phillip is). It's interesting you bring up Bel as a possible influence for that title though. I feel it necessary to clarify that the "Bablylonian" pantheon wasn't a monolith--who the chief god was varied from region to region, and Bel is a little squishy in that it's applied to a number of deities of the region. HOWEVER I had totally forgotten that the title Bel was sometimes represented as Belos in Greek and can sometimes be fully applied to a god of sages or Ba'al. Honestly I had assumed Belos was actually coming out of the Latin for "beautiful" in an ironic reference possibly to Lucifer and his deceptions! That's really interesting of you to point out and I had not considered that possibility! Fascinating. I do hope to talk about Belos at some point.
As for Phillip Wittebane and his religion--he was born either in Britain or a colony in New England and was almost certainly named something along the lines of Phillip Fornicate-Not Lastname (as I suspect Wittebane may have been the last name Caleb gave them when they adopted their witch hunting profession in Gravesfield). I'm not going to get into the semantics of he is a "true Christian"--although I do genuinely wonder about his relationship to his religion over time, since it's all kinds of twisted! That seems extremely interesting to me--but he was certainly raised in a famously paranoid and religiously extreme society.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and asking about bats. I'm always ready to talk about bats.
@@idlescree I do think Dana modeled Philip's personality and rise to power after Oliver Cromwell, who was shaped by his bitterness at Catholics and Anglicans who had persecuted Puritans and Separatists. Cromwell deified himself with the title Lord Protector. Wolfwalkers does a really good job of capturing how he viewed himself as God's only mouthpiece, if not as God Himself. Something similar seems to be what happened with Philip. So that's another ingredient to add to the list of How to Make a Belos.
@@idlescree Regarding little brown bats, they're certainly the cutest species where I live. But have you seen the Honduran white bat? If I ever visit Central America, I might as well get pre-exposure rabies shots because if I come across one of those, I AM going to pet it.
I find it hilarious that Idle Scree just popped into existence from God damn nowhere just to talk about the owl house with mysteriously acquired and shockingly good video. Fucking amazing
Hahaha not to pull back the curtains too far, but The Bat is definitely like this in day to day convos as well. (The Bee here, but the entire IdleScree team can vouch for me on this one! 🐝)
It takes very little prompting in a conversation for The Bat to respond with what feels like an engaging and fully fleshed out informative essay- although there are significantly fewer swears in the IdleScree versions!
As always, thank you for watching and commenting; this one in particular made us all laugh ❤️
"This is a BUSTED-ASS teenager"
I love this so much!!
Okay, did NOT expect to see you here, but it was a pleasant surprise!
i literally thought "oh,,,, he's just a little boy,,," when i first saw him
Omg ur bat is so cute! I love hunters design as it tells such a sad story of a child soldier while also giving him fratures that don't get a lot of rep ie his scars tooth gap and hooked nose. He's such a good character and the reveals of both his face and belos' was very well executed.
Well, you say that instead of "omg there so pretty" trope, they did the opposite and was like "what am I looking at?" But like idk...
It's amazing just how much symbolism masks have for some characters in this show
Y’all notice how Belos still has the scar from Lilith punching him? Like dang girl, your punch created a scar that lasted centuries.
Hunter is a golden retriever wearing the mask of a bloodhound