History Recap / TheOwlHouseS2E5ThroughTheLookingGlassRuins

* TheBigDamnKiss: Downplayed. At the end, Amity gives Luz a quick kiss on the cheek spontaneously after Luz helped get her job at the library back, after an entire episode of incredibly smitten behavior. With Luz in StunnedSilence, Amity instantly gets embarrassed.
-->'''Amity:''' ''(after another CrushBlush)'' Okay! Good to see you! Farewell forever! ''(quickly walking inside)'' Why did I do that, why'd I do that, why'd I do that, why'd I do that?!

* GenderNeutralWriting: Edric has an upcoming date with an unseen someone, and Emira notably uses gender-neutral pronouns when referring to the date in question.

[[caption-width-right:350:''Those who constantly try to impress others will quickly depress themselves.'']]

* TheSocialDarwinist: Glandus is described as a place where the strong rule the weak. Bria initially claims that she wants to use the Galdorstones to change that, but it's soon revealed that she and her friends actually possess this mindset as well and plan on using the stones to assert their own dominance.

* TitleDrop: Bria says the episode's title when she tells Gus where she and her group are going.

* RightForTheWrongReasons: Downplayed. Luz’s reasons for borrowing Gus’s library card are far more urgent than seeing Amity, but Luz figures why not pay Amity a visit while on her mission to figure out how to get home? And, she needs Amity’s help anyways to get her what she’s looking for.

* BrickJoke: Emira claims Edric has boils to drag him away from Luz and Amity. At the end of the episode, she tells him not to pick at them, indicating she was being serious.

* ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument: When Amity and Luz find the diary of Philip Wittebane, they open it and see a rodent ate through all the pages inside. It's subverted at the end when the rodent in question turns to be a species known as an "echo mouse", which [[AbstractEater consumes]] [[IngestingKnowledge knowledge]] and can playback anything it's eaten like a film projector.

* LoveEpiphany: Luz apparently had one about Amity either during [[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E2EscapingExpulsion "Escaping Expulsion"]] when the latter rescued her, or offscreen between that episode and this one, since, here, she's shown to have just as big of a crush on Amity as Amity has on her, not denying it when Emira and Edric bring it up and outright admitting it to Gus.

* MacGuffinGuardian: It is revealed that the Looking Glass Graveyard is traditionally protected by an Illusionist to keep the Galdorstones from being stolen. Since illusion magic is the only form of magic that isn't amplified by the stones, this makes Illusionists perfect for the job since they won't be tempted to use them for ill-purposes.

* NerdInEvilsHelmet: At first, Malphas appears to be a scary-looking being wearing a hood with glowing eyes beneath it. He is later shown to be a lot less intimidating than he looks, being a dragon-like demon with feathered wings.

* NoSell: The magic-boosting properties of Galdorstones don't work on illusion magic, because the spell's output has to be "real". This is why illusionists have been used to guard them, they won't be tempted to misuse their powers because they ''can't''.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Some of the books in the forbidden wing at the library have been there for centuries. Without any upkeep or pest control, damage to them is inevitable as Luz and Amity learn for themselves. This includes the diary being eaten by an Echo Mouse. Ironically, Echo Mice are considered valuable after making the forbidden wing their home--they consume and record the knowledge so that it doesn't get lost. Plus, the books disintegrate with time.
** Ordinarily in a show like this, Amity kissing Luz would lead to a RelationshipUpgrade. Not here though, instead it leads to PostKissCatatonia on Luz's part, and Amity seriously embarrassed while questioning what she just did.

[[caption-width-right:350:''Those who constantly try to impress others will quickly depress themselves.'' [[labelnote: Or...]]''[[Film/{{Nope}} This dream you're chasing, where you end up at the top of the mountain... It's the one you never wake up from.]]''[[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''Those who constantly try to impress others will quickly depress themselves.'']]

[[caption-quote-right:350:''Those who constantly try to impress others will quickly depress themselves.'']]

* AbsenteeActor: For the first time this season, Eda and Hooty are absent from an episode (save for a picture of Eda appearing in an old newspaper article), with King only making a small appearance as a recording.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Bria, Gavin, and Angmar act polite and supportive to Gus, but turn out to be jerks who want to use the power of the Galdorstones to take charge at Glandus. Bria, in particular, stands out for putting on a facade of being a sweet, cheery NiceGirl who wants to change TheSocialDarwinist attitude at Glandus High before dropping the act and revealing her true AlphaBitch self once they get the stones.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Mattholomule had no prior knowledge of the ruins actually being a graveyard, and drops his Stone in disgust when he realizes that they're RobbingTheDead.

%%* SeriesContinuityError: The episode establishes that [[UnequalRites Illusion magic is looked down upon due to being intangible]], despite prior episodes showing it to be capable of having tangible effects -- a student accidentally removing their face in [[Recap/TheOwlHouseS1E9SomethingVenturedSomeoneFramed "Something Ventured, Someone Framed"]], Gus granting Willow's plant-monster muscular arms in [[Recap/TheOwlHouseS1E13TheFirstDay "The First Day"]], and Edric and Emira conjuring "Hex Me" notes onto peoples' backs in [[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E2EscapingExpulsion "Escaping Expulsion"]].

'''Emira''': Nah, [[DoubleEntendre looks like you've got that covered.]]

* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: In a bit of {{Worldbuilding}}, it is revealed that Illusion Magic is looked down on by other tracks as being all style and no substance, ostensibly making it a {{Useless Superpower|s}} when compared to the ability to magically conjure {{Blob Monster}}s or [[DishingOutDirt pillars of solid rock]]. By the end, it's implied that it's a WeakButSkilled power, Gus being able to use it against Bria, Gavin and Angmar masterfully with an awareness of his surroundings, psychological tactics and a bit of imagination.

%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

* AmplifierArtifact: Galderstones amplify magic, so long as it has a tangible effect. Illusion magic isn't affected, which is why the Illusionist Coven was tasked with guarding them.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Bria, Gavin, and Angmar act polite and supportive to Gus, but turn out to be jerks who want to use the power of the Galderstones to take charge at Glandus. Bria, in particular, stands out for putting on a facade of being a sweet, cheery NiceGirl who wants to change TheSocialDarwinist attitude at Glandus High before dropping the act and revealing her true AlphaBitch self once they get the stones.

* FriendToBugs: Angmar has a fondness for bugs, even expressing the idea of using the Galderstones to make a butterfly sanctuary.

* MacGuffinGuardian: It is revealed that the Looking Glass Graveyard is traditionally protected by an Illusionist to keep the Galderstones from being stolen. Since illusion magic is the only form of magic that isn't amplified by the stones, this makes Illusionists perfect for the job since they won't be tempted to use them for ill-purposes.
* MineralMacGuffin: The Galderstones are a set of crystalline {{Amplifier Artifact}}s under the protection of an illusionist at the Looking Glass Graveyard.

* NoSell: The magic-boosting properties of Galderstones don't work on illusion magic, because the spell's output has to be "real". This is why illusionists have been used to guard them, they won't be tempted to misuse their powers because they ''can't''.
* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: Bria tells Gus that Glandus is a very tough school with a very strict pecking order, where the strong ruthlessly bully the weak. She tells Gus that with the Galderstones, she could "change things for the better". Only later does it become clear that she really meant "change things for the better for just me".

* RobbingTheDead: The Galderstones are actually the sacred relics of an illusionist graveyard. When Gus warns Bria and the others, they rather insultingly brush it off, cementing them as {{Jerkass}}es who only care about themselves.

* TheSocialDarwinist: Glandus is described as a place where the strong rule the weak. Bria initially claims that she wants to use the Galderstones to change that, but it's soon revealed that she and her friends actually possess this mindset as well and plan on using the stones to assert their own dominance.

* UnequalRites: Illusion magic is apparently considered rather weak by the other covens, seen as all style and no substance. Galderstones don't affect illusion magic, because there's nothing there to enhance (even though, in theory, it should make a bigger illusion).

* WellDoneSonGuy: While walking to the ruins, Gav states he wants to use the power of the Galderstones to make a giant abomination that could finally get his dad to pay attention to him. Later, Gus uses this desire to his advantage by creating an illusion of Gav's father (or at least [[PaperThinDisguise Gav with a moustache and deeper voice]]) that tells Gav he's proud of him to separate the Glandus pack.

* WithFriendsLikeThese: Bria is all too quick to abandon Gavin and Angmar to get all the Galderstones to herself.

* ScaryLibrarian: Malphas looks like some demonic gargoyle-like figure who can subject you to some horrific punishment for breaking his rules. Subverted when those turned out to be idle threats, and he just calmly, but bluntly tells Amity she’s fired. It helps that Amity actually knows the guy.

** Luz also finds an article about a box of human literature that was washed up on the shore. It are ''The Good Witch Azura'' books.

** Gus creating a pretty lady version of a male creature to distract it was teased back in "Escaping Expulsion".

* FreezeFrameBonus: When Luz searches up "human" on the library's crystal balls, several search recommendations briefly pop up underneath, including "how to survive a giraffe", "hungry what eat", and "hexside or st epiderm?". One article also appears for a split second titled "Box of Human Literature Washes Up", showing how ''The Good Witch Azura'' books ended up in the Demon Realm.

* BadBadActing: When Emira and Edric are attempting to LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone, they speak in flat monotone voices with DullSurprise.