Chapter 35: To Serve
Art by Crash X Fusion: Everytime they have a conflict between their work and their personal lives, work wins.
Everything begins getting set to change as secrets, as well as the Boiling Isles themselves, are threatened.
Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Rather than the spiteful witch hunter from the human realm that he was revealed to be in canon, Emperor Belos AKA Philip Wittebane and his brother were raised by witches in the demon realm after being taken there as children.
- Adaptation Name Change: William, Philip Wittebane's brother, falls into this as his name is Caleb in the show.
- Animate Inanimate Object: Luz brings a spider muffin to life to show off her animation spell to Lilith.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Even though they don't talk much, Simon still cares about Boscha and thanks her for making him a team member. She also takes his offer to play grudgby together again under consideration.
- Behind Every Great Man: A variant. Belos' rise to power came as a result of listening to the Weird Sisters' warnings without asking for credit.
- Berserk Button:
- Upon hearing that Anu Bist was ordered to bring Puck to the Order by Oberon, Puck reacts in anger.
- Boscha's button about liars is pressed after watching Amity's memory photo and learning she's working with Lilith to spy on Luz's family.
- Black Comedy: Luz brings a muffin to life as a demo of her magic to Lilith, then proceeds to take a bite out of it, much to the muffin's horror and Lilith's surprise.
- Broken Tears: Puck sheds these after he realizes he damaged his friendship with Luz and Amity by hurting Boscha.
- Call-Back: Amity tries to be affectionate with an embarrased Luz in front of Eda, saying she won't mind; it refers to Luz doing the same thing to her in front of Amelia and Cat earlier that day in the previous chapter.
- Calling the Old Woman Out: Luz questions Lilith on why she doesn't believe Luz can be a witch.
- The Cameo:
- Gus, Bo and Elliot only appear at the beginning of the chapter.
- Simon briefly appears to check on Boscha while Dolly gives her an envelope that holds the key to their revenge on Luz and Amity.
- Katya and her father appear, the latter selling Boscha a book about witches from the human realm.
- Viney and Emira are shown hanging out in the former's room while discussing Luz's condition.
- Athena briefly appears before Boscha shows Nicole the memory photo.
- Cassandra Truth: Lilith genuinely wants to protect Luz, but her belief that Eda doesn't know what's best for Luz and that Luz just can't be a witch pushes her away.
- Cerebus Retcon: Back in "Witch's Duel or Don't", Luz implied that she had never met her adopted grandparents. Here she reveals that she has met Gwendolyn, who doesn't even acknowledge her existence.
- Continuity Nod:
- Luz brings up her adapting to Boiling Isles cuisine and her initial disinterest in school.
- Nicole sends Athena outside their house to clean the graffiti Eda and King left in "Grom: the Musical (Part 2)".
- Crazy-Prepared: Puck had expected Anu Bist to come after him, so he's been armed with an iron dagger all this time.
- Crush Blush: Viney does this when Emira calls her caring and smart.
- Dope Slap: Ms. Traveler bops Anu Bist on the head with her umbrella when he scolds her for letting Puck escape.
- Everybody Knew Already: Belos lets Lilith know that he's been aware of her using Amity to spy on her family.
- Exact Eavesdropping: King ends up overhearing Amity talking to Lilith and when she leaves, he follows her and sees her talking to Lilith, learning of her spying.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: The Weird Sisters' vision shows many witches from adults to even children being murdered by monsters of some kind.
- Fighting for a Homeland: This is Emperor Belos' overall goal: the Weird Sisters' visions say he will save the Boiling Isles from an otherworldly being so witchkind won't be killed off. He won't stop until he prevents this outcome from happening, and asks Hunter to accomplish it if he dies before then.
- Foreshadowing:
- Belos has been seeing visions of great despair as the Boiling Isles are laid waste to by an unknown yellow-eyed creature.
- The book Boscha gets from Vanz Ator was written by someone called G.B. Gates.
- Freak Out: Seeing the Weird Sisters' vision is too much for Hunter and he has a panic attack.
- Genre Savvy: The Wittebane brothers know that the cave emitting a glow is most likely a trap, yet they go check it out, anyway.
- Given Name Reveal: Emperor Belos is Philip Wittebane and his brother is named William.
- The Ghost:
- Mattholomule is mentioned to have left the game with Bria.
- Edric is absent but he is mentioned.
- Boris is brought up as upon seeing Boscha, Katya recognizes her because she's friends with Boris.
- Gwendolyn is brought up by King and Luz.
- Luz mentions Dipper as one of the people who have faith in her becoming a witch to Lilith.
- Glowing Eyes: Puck's eye's glow as he fights Anu Bist.
- Hidden Depths: Luz is shown to be skilled in oragami like Lilith is, and was obsessed with it for six months.
- Ignored Expert:
- Boscha refuses to listen to Ms. Traveler after receiving the memory photo from Dolly.
- Originally played straight when Belos doubted the first vision the Weird sisters gave him, but averted since he has since learned to trust them.
- Immediate Sequel: Things continue from Luz's last line from the previous chapter.
- Implied Death Threat: Ms. Traveler makes it clear to Puck that she will follow through with killing him if he ever comes near Hexside again.
- In Spite of a Nail: At last, Luz is told of her mother wanting to be part of the Emperor's Coven when she and Lilith were her age.
- Internal Reveal:
- Hunter officially meets the Weird Sisters and learns how they're allied to Belos.
- Lilith learns about Luz's type of magic wielding and her previous meeting with Raine, while Luz learns of Eda's previous dream of being in the Emperor's Coven.
- Emira learns that Viney is trying to help Luz with her condition.
- Emperor Belos admits he is aware of Lilith's attempts to get close to Luz and Hunter's relationship with Edric.
- King and Boscha learn about Amity's spy status; the former after overhearing Amity and Lilith, and the latter from an undamaged memory photo Dolly recovered and gives to her and watches with Nicole.
- Kick the Dog: An unintentional case, as Lilith tells Luz to her face she doesn't think she can be a witch.
- Malicious Misnaming: At one point during her argument to get Lilith to leave the Emperor's Coven, Luz calls Belos "Emperor Bellodonna".
- Mythology Gag: William Wittebane is named after Sir William, a character from the pilot of The Owl House.
- Named by the Adaptation: Philip Wittebane's brother is named William.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As stated above, Lilith telling Luz she could get hurt or worse in the demon realm trying to prove she can be a witch ultimately causes Luz to see her as another adult calling her a weak human.
- Noodle Incident: Eda reveals one of Luz's to Amity, much to her embarrassment.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Dolly tells Boscha they're the same in the fact that they're people Amity has humiliated before.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Belos gives Lilith one last chance to bring Eda and Luz to him by sunset the next day or he'll find someone else to do it.
- The Omniscient: As per canon, Belos. Cranked up to eleven however, as he's aware of things that happen outside of his castle.
- Open-Minded Parent: Belos has no problems with Hunter seeing Edric, encouraging him to help in his plans so they can keep Ed and the rest of the isles safe from a future catastrophe.
- Out of Focus:
- Willow doesn't appear in this chapter because she went home with Skara after the game in the last chapter.
- Jerbo's lack of an appearance is due to going camping with his family while Barcus is hanging out with the Cerberus sisters.
- Edric doesn't appear at all with Emira for the first time. He is, however, mentioned by Emperor Belos.
- Passing the Torch: In the highly likely scenario that Emperor Belos dies before the impending catastrophe arrives, he's prepared to have Hunter follow through on fighting the creatures as Emperor.
- Persona Non Grata: Puck messed up big time attacking Boscha during the grudgby game, as it cost him Luz and Amity's friendship. After Anu Bist tries to capture him to bring him to Oberon, Ms. Traveler arrives while they're fighting, scolds Puck as his actions will have grave consequences, and threatens to end him if he ever comes near any students from Hexside, especially the girls, again. Puck takes the warning and teleports away.
- Point of Divergence: Luz is informed of Eda's old dream to join the Emperor's Coven exactly 9 episodes later than she did in the show.
- The Reveal:
- Anu Bist has been ordered by Order to capture Puck. He later learns from Mr. Traveler that Oberon, the fae and the member of the Order who gave him the command, is Puck's stepfather.
- Emperor Belos is Philip Wittebane, he and his brother William were adopted by witches and they were raised in the Boiling Isles. He learned he would be emperor after meeting the Weird Sisters as a teenager and they told him of an upcoming catastrophe which he reveals to the Golden Guard and mentions that he visits the sisters every year and receives the same vision every time. Belos later tells Lilith that he's known about her goals for some time.
- Jerbo has left on a ski trip with his family (as in the fated ski trip) and Barcus has hooked up with the Cerberus sisters.
- A minor one, but Luz became skilled in oragami after reading a book Eda got from a human arts and crafts store.
- Boris runs a shop in Bonesborough and is friends with Katya.
- Ms. Traveler seems to have knowledge on the Order.
- Dolly recovered one of Amity's memory photos (the one of her making the deal with Lilith) undamaged and gives it to Boscha.
- Sand In My Eyes: After Amity says her life is better with Luz, she notices Eda's eyes are watery. She attributes it to the onions being mixed into the hot sauce.
- Saying Too Much: Lilith realizes this as Luz begins to leave the café.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Lilith says she can't be a witch, Luz decides to leave the café because Lilith sees her as nothing but a weak human.
- Serious Business: Luz has been calling Lilith "Aunt" ever since they met. The moment Lilith tells her she can't be a witch, she drops it entirely.
- Sequel Hook: The meaning of the visions, Boscha's plan to expose Amity and Lilith having to capture her sister and niece.
- Shoo Out the Clowns:
- Gus disappears after the beginning of the chapter and Willow doesn't appear at all.
- Edric doesn't appear alongside his twin but becomes the reason Hunter will fight to save the Boiling Isles.
- Steve asks Lilith to return to the Emperor's Castle on Belos' orders, then gets dismissed and quickly leaves.
- Shout-Out:
- Before going to collect spices, King tells Amity that the spice demons who control the spice also control the isles and are very protective of their goods, similar to Dune.
- When Luz brings her muffin to life, it says "Happy Birthday!"
- One of the weapons an Anu Bist duplicate wields against Puck is a large butterfly net. Since fae and fairies are the same, Bist figures it's worth a shot.
- One of the books Boscha finds is "The Playbook for Azura Horror Picture Show".
- One of Nicole's plans to get revenge on the Clawthornes is to turn Luz into a bug with a potion, put her in a box, then another box, then ship her around the Isles for days until she arrives on their doorstep and smash her a lá Yzma.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Apparently, the Weird Sisters had a colossal influence in the rise of Emperor Belos: centuries ago, they told him (back when he was known as Philip) that he was meant to save the Boiling Isles from an impending threat and continued to maintain annual contact.
- Song Parody: To "Epiphany" from Sweeney Todd.
- String Theory: Parodied. Nicole has several photos connected by red string on a wall trying to figure out how to get revenge on the Clawthornes.
- That Man Is Dead: Belos doesn't acknowledge himself as a Wittebane, saying the name means nothing to him.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: After Belos gives Lilith her final chance, she proceeds to puke in a nearby potted plant.
- Wham Episode: Belos is trying to prepare to face a threat against the isles and orders Lilith to capture Eda and Luz, Boscha and King discover Amity's spying for Lilith (the former deciding to use it to expose her as a liar and acquiring a book about war on witchcraft), and based on the Weird sisters' predictions, things will go From Bad to Worse.
- Wham Line:
- From Ms. Traveler to Anu Bist about Puck:
Julia: "I am afraid that Puck is more than just a disgraced henchman of Oberon. Puck is also his step-son."- From the Weird Sisters at the end of the chapter:
The Maiden: "Looks like happy hour is over. Oh dear, there's going to be a heartbreak…"The Mother: "Followed by a deal..."The Crone: (nods) "And then finally… a death." - Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: Boscha goes wide-eyed upon seeing the content within "The War on Witchcraft".
- Witch with a Capital "B": Dolly refers to herself and Boscha as "pageant witches".
