Chapter 123: Caught Up
Art by Crash X Fusion: A dark presence looms over many of them.
Everything falls into place when an outside force brings Hunter, Emily, and Boscha together for a nefarious purpose.
Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- Ability Mixing: As Zee shows off her dragon form to Emily, she combines water and fire magic to make steam.
- All for Nothing:
- As predicted, Batters' efforts to replace the Titan with Mel as the Boiling Isles's god has been stomped out once Belos announces that Emily has been "forgiven by the Titan". All of Batters' followers abandon him and he's left to get arrested.
- Given that Emily returned to the Emperor's Coven to seek revenge against Luz, it would seem that Eda, Cross, and Lindsay bringing her back to the Isles and the latter two and Zee trying to help her change for the better might have fallen into this just as Luz predicted.
- All Your Colors Combined: A massive light beam serves as the finishing move against Nicole, composed of Boscha's yellow light spell, Hunter's gold, Zee's blue, and Ukla's violet.
- Alternate Species Counterpart: A witch version of Soos is seen as a member of the Melvins, who leaves with the other members since Belos has declared that the Titan has forgiven Emily for her crimes.
- Amazon Chaser: Emily is shown to be one again, this time blushing over how Zee looks as a dragon.
- And Then What?: Gavin gets asked this by Tom when he voices getting revenge on Emily and the top students. Sadly, it doesn't stick enough to make him abandon his need for revenge.
- Atomic F-Bomb: Nina's F-bomb from the end of "The Alchemist's Mutant Mayhem" is finally completed here now that the audience is all caught up on how Emily rejoined the EC's ranks.
- Big Damn Reunion:
- Downplayed between Emily and Pretty, as Emily finds the palisman by coincidentally being transported into the part of the woods he was located in.
- Once Emily has returned to the Emperor's castle, she's brought to Adrian's office where he envelops her in a hug and crying in regret over his past treatment of her.
- Bittersweet Ending: Emily returns to the Emperor's Coven with the intent of getting revenge on Luz for Sonya's death, unaware of Terra being the Producer and planning to kill her, Nicole escapes capture again, Nina, Gavin, Tito, and Cain aren't taking the news of Emily's return lying down, and Donna seems to have lost trust in Cross, Lindsay and Zee for not telling her that they knew Emily was back in the Isles. However, Boscha makes it clear to Nicole she no longer wants anything to do with her, Star and Tom reunite on less hostile terms, Vee takes Megan and Ivy back with her to the Human Realm while Tres joins the CAT's, Lilith offers compassion to Blazer and learns from Ulrich the truth about the Day of Unity, Amity is implied to have moved into Geist's bar to be with her siblings, and Emily unlocks a new kind of magic while gaining Sonya's palisman Pretty as her own.
- Both Sides Have a Point: The argument about Gavin wanting revenge. On one hand, Boscha, Hunter, and Tom point out that he's better off not seeking out the former top students as killing them would make him no different than them, which Ukla agrees with. On the other hand, Gavin and Angmar say that they're basically being expected to just accept their former tormentors being free from custody without facing justice for their crimes and that they haven't forgotten how Tito was the last person to see Bria before she disappeared, not knowing he didn't know what happened to her. It makes Boscha doubt if she did the right thing not telling them before.
- The Bus Came Back: Pretty, Sonya's palisman, returns after disappearing since his debut in "Glandus War: The Invasion".
- Call-Back:
- Back in "Coming Off a Little Shystream", Zee mentioned to Emily that she and Cross are half-siblings with the same father. Now, she takes the time to tell her about her birth mother.
- Sonya's death ends up being the catalyst in Emily returning to the Emperor's Coven, as she wants revenge on Luz for not keeping her promise to not let her adoptive sister die.
- Belos once again uses Eda to further his agenda, likening his giving Emily another chance to his sparing Eda from petrification.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: Zee refers to Clair by name rather than call her "mom", which Emily points out. This leads to Zee explaining that Clair's her step-mother.
- Calling the Old Woman Out: Boscha tells off Nicole for continuing to force what she thinks is best for her onto Boscha and interfering with her life. Once Nicole is taken down, Boscha makes it clear she'll never turn out like her because she has good people looking out for her best interests while Nicole has no one left due to her inability to let go of her grudge against Eda.
- Chick Magnet: Zee takes the time to brag about being one upon seeing Emily's reaction to her alternate form. In her own words, she has her dad's charm and her birth mom's beauty.Zee: Come on, tell me if I look hot?
Emily: [blushing and stammering] W-Well, you do.
Zee: [smirks] I knew it. I am a hot dra-gal and a Drakescale charmer. - Clone Army: Nicole, once outnumbered by Boscha, her friends, and Zee, conjures up a shadow army to deal with them so she can kill Emily.
- Continuity Cameo:
- Aqua is seen eating a leaf while Zee and Emily are talking about Emily's magic.
- Among those watching the broadcast of Belos' announcement are Tito, Napoli, Mosquita, Cain, Glinda, Kadabe and Dolly.
- Continuity Nod:
- Emily's love of snow globes, started from Sonya giving them to her as presents, resurfaces.
- Zee makes good on her promise to show off her dragon form to Emily.
- The Drakescales considering themselves naturally attractive is noted again.
- Nicole reminds Yuki about Emily impersonating Ukla and attacking her. Unlike with Ukla, Yuki does accept the truth this time.
- Horace is seen as a Forgettable Character again, as he's the only one of Sonya's victims who isn't identified and referred to by name upon being found in the bunker at the zoo.
- Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears: As the news broadcast shows the mangled body of Sonya's chimera form, Bloom covers Jojo's eyes while Lindsay turns away from the crystal ball.
- Curse Cut Short: Eda's response to Belos using her to justify Emily's salvation.Eda: Oh that shit-stained nutjob is using me to further his agenda again! [angrily punches the counter] Son of a-!
- A Day in the Limelight:
- While the chapter culminates in the closing of the story arcs from the last three chapters, Emily receives more focus than Boscha and Hunter as everything builds up to her return to the Emperor's Coven. Nonetheless, Boscha's still given a great deal of focus as she completely disowns Nicole for good.
- Zee gets a lot of attention as well, her further connecting with Emily, her familial bonds, and her dragon form being the cornerstone of her role in Emily's storyline.
- Deal with the Devil: Before Kikimora and Pugsley arrest Hendrick for being a covenless witch, Emily appears before them and makes Kiki a better offer: spare Hendrick, take her in his place, and the former Emperor's aide can take the credit for bringing her in and receive more glory than the Golden Guard. Giddy at the thought of one-upping Hunter, Kikimora accepts the deal and Emily returns to the castle with the scouts.
- Didn't See That Coming: Yuki uses a bard whistle to knock Boscha out of the way so she can get to Emily. It ends up dispelling Nicole's shadows including the ones restraining Zee, leaving Nicole to face her and Boscha.
- Dragon Rider: Emily becomes one when Zee gives her an aerial tour over the Boiling Isles.
- Exact Eavesdropping:
- Nicole meets with Boscha while she's alone and confesses to have been spying on her and her friends.
- Donna spots Cross and Zee exiting Geist's bar during the broadcast of Belos pardoning Emily; when she follows them, she overhears them talking to Lindsay about Emily returning to the coven to protect Hendrick, which causes Donna to figure out that all three of them knew Emily was back.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: As Luz tells everyone at Pour-ta-Geist about her promise to Emily to not let Sonya die, she concludes that's why Emily went back to the EC, which means she's coming after Luz to take revenge in the future.
- Family of Choice: Even though she and Cross are half-siblings and she isn't biologically related to Clair at all, Zee accepts them as her family and Clair loves her like her own daughter.
- Given Name Reveal:
- Bangles's last name, and thus Brenda's, is Settu.
- Sonya's lion palisman is now stated to be called "Pretty".
- Having a Blast: Emily seems to have some level of combustion creation, given how she blew up a scarecrow while having a breakdown.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Anna Bell. Her criminal parents went after her hybrid daughter and tried to kill her partner and his father. To keep them safe, she killed them but perished herself.
- Holding Hands: Subverted. Disregarding all the times Zee was Offering a Hand to Emily, the two move to grab the other's hand after hearing about each other's Family of Choice only to be prevented when Nicole's shadow tendrils capture Emily.
- In Spite of a Nail: A coven head provides a member of the rebellion with a diagram of the Draining Spell, which may be needed for the Day of Unity.
- Internal Reveal:
- Hunter meets Ollie for the first time.
- Hunter warns Boscha, Angmar, and Ukla that Belos is cracking down on giving kids coven sigils before the Day of Unity.
- Hunter tells Gavin, Angmar, and Ukla that he requested Tito to be put on parole and that Boscha knew.
- Zee encounters Boscha, Hunter, Ukla, Tom, and Nicole for the first time without learning who they are, learns that Hunter's the Golden Guard, and she, Boscha, Hunter, and Tom also encounter Yuki for the first time.
- Boscha, Hunter, and Emily discover that Nicole has joined the Tarot Guild.
- Everyone on the Isles learns of Sonya's death due to a news broadcast on the bunker bust.
- Star and Tom discover that they both survived Mewni's destruction with Star promising to explain how Eclipsa survived to him.
- Boscha meets Star, Tres, Megan, and Ivy & Tom meets Vee for the first time.
- Luz and Eda explain to Willow's dads, Emira, Lambi, Geist, Slasher, Diana, Gladys, Clair, Damien, and Drayden how they rescued Emily and that she's been staying with the Shystreams. Luz also explains to them, Amity, their friends, and Edric how Sonya died.
- Donna discovers the former two facts from Cross and Lindsay and that Zee was in the loop about it, causing Cross to explain their promise to not tell her for Emily.
- Karma Houdini: Boscha proves to Nicole that she's done dealing with her shit, and her ex-mother escapes before Hunter can arrest her.
- Locked Out of the Loop:
- Gavin has no idea that Tito was dismissed by Craig before Bria disappeared.
- By the end of the encounter with Nicole, Zee leaves with Emily completely confused about who Boscha, her ex-mother, her boyfriend, her friends, and Yuki are; Emily just tells her that most of them are Glandus students she hurt.
- Boscha and Tom don't learn what the basilisks are as Vee tells them her siblings are a human acting troupe from Gravity Falls wearing concealment stones.
- Missing Mom: Zee confides in Emily about her birth mother, Anna Bell, who died when she was no older than a year. It's zig-zagged seeing as how Clair raised Zee as her own child.
- Mythology Gag: The appearance of Witch Soos brings to mind the Easter Egg from the Amphibia episode, "Wax Museum": "There is a Soos in every dimension."
- Next Tier Power-Up: Somehow, Emily gains the ability to conjure red fire, combustion attacks, and teleportation from red smoke.
- No, You: After the fight against Nicole ends and she escapes, this happens:Zee: Okay, this has been a weird day.
Ukla: Um, who are you?
Zee: Who are you? - Offering a Hand: Zee does this to Emily a few times while they're spending time together, the most significant one being before she takes Emily on a flight over the Boiling Isles.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Hendrick panics and hides behind George when the Emperor's Coven arrives at the Shystream farm, and Lindsay has one soon after when Kikimora says she and Pugsley know there's a covenless witch in their home.
- Batter rants about his fellow Melvins abandoning him the second Belos has declared Emily pardoned for her crimes, and then a coven scout makes himself visible and questions if he's the leader of the cult he's been hearing about. All Batters can say is "Oh, newtburgers".
- Opening Shout-Out: Emily has now gained the red fire powers she was shown to have in the arc's intro.
- Out-of-Character Moment:
- Once Adrian reunites with Emily, he embraces her and tearfully apologizes for how he mistreated her, promising he'll be better from now on. Emily is understandably confused by this showing of emotion.
- After Donna brushes off Cross for not telling her about Emily and leaves, he expects Zee to make a zinger at his expense, but she's too saddened to even try. This is clear proof that she's just as devastated as Lindsay about Emily going back to the Emperor's Coven.
- Power Incontinence: While talking about the magic she can use, Emily admits that her power has weakened ever since the Glandus War. Zee theorizes that it's probably due to her no longer having a staff.
- The Reveal:
- Nicole found out Emily was back and told Terra, who ordered Emily's death due to considering her a liability.
- Zee's birth mother, Anna Bell, met Damien at the Toes sometime after getting her criminal family arrested by the Emperor's Coven. Almost a year after Zee was born, Anna received death threats from her parents (who escaped petrification) and died killing them to protect her daughter, Damien, and Drayden. Zee carries her oracle amulet in her pocket.
- Zee's full dragon form is revealed to have fin-like ears, orange stripes, and curved horns in her scalp. She shows that she can use water, fire, light, and ice magic (the former being her strongsuit in her dragon form) and is skilled in steam and cloud manipulation.
- Pretty ended up lost in the woods somewhere after Sonya was killed.
- Adrian got the idea of the Boiling Isles Guardians from watching a human superhero show that Hunter got into.
- Scary Stinging Swarm: To deal with her Nicole clone, Zee summons a swarm of fire bees. Rather than have them attack the shadow however, she has them make their flames more intense so the clone is destroyed by the light.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once Gavin has convinced himself that Hunter and Boscha don't care about having to deal with the former Glandus top students, he leaves and Angmar follows him.
- Sequel Hook:
- The Shadowy Secret Expozers are left to solve the mystery of Howard Hatesew's death.
- Hunter is told by Ollie of a superhero team that the latter considers BIG to be ripping off, all of whom are keyblade wielders.
- Due to Vee choosing acting as part of the basilisks' cover story, Ivy takes an interest in actually performing. Tres notes that this is going to be a thing with him.
- Hendrick is going to have to join a coven now or else he'll be arrested.
- After Belos' announcement, Kadabe and Dolly decide to leave the isles.
- Ship Tease: Zee takes Emily into Satorius Acres for a girls' day out topped with showing Emily her dragon form as promised and taking her on a flight above the Boiling Isles. Both girls open up about their families (Zee about her mom, Emily about Sonya), Zee fights to defend Emily from Nicole and Yuki then shows shock and heals her after Ukla slugs the illusionist. After dropping her back at the Shystream farm, both look forward to their next hangout which they playfully call a first date, and Zee shows concern and sadness over Emily apparently throwing away their friendship to return to the EC.
- Shout-Out:
- The title is based on the Usher song of the same name.
- Hunter is shown a photo of the Foretellers.
- Zee's dragon form takes inspiration from Ember the Dragon of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
- While demonstrating her magic to Emily, Zee spells her name in fire. Sounds similar to a few other kids who've done so, one of whom has orange hair.
- Batters says "Aw, newtburgers" once he realizes he's in deep doodoo, reflecting how Butters would say "Oh, hamburgers" in such situations.
- Skewed Priorities: Pugsley stating the obvious down below and being ignored by the glory-crazed Kikimora shows she will do anything to get her former position back, even letting a wild witch off with a warning if there's a bigger prize to collect.
- Smoke Screen: Using her steam manipulation, Zee is able to camouflage herself while flying in her dragon form to avoid detection from coven airships.
- Stating the Simple Solution: After Emily makes her proposal to be taken by Kikimora in Hendrick's place, Pugsley asks why they can't just take Emily and Hendrick together. Kikimora, blinded by the potential of a promotion, tells him to shut up and release Hendrick.
- Stealth Pun: While shopping at a mom and pop store, Zee has Emily try on a pair of heart-shaped glasses. In other words, Zee wanted Emily to look at her with hearts in her eyes.
- Talk to the Fist:
- Pissed at Nicole for using her shadows to attack her friends, Boscha launches herself into the air and socks Nicole right in the jaw.
- Once things have settled down, Ukla punches Emily off her feet for everything she's done, especially to Yuki.
- Technicolor Fire:
- When Zee transforms into a dragon, she's surrounded by blue flames.
- After her breakdown due to Sonya's demise, Emily finds that she can now emit red flames.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Once Batters sees that he's been busted for leading a cult, he knows that he's about to be grounded for his shenanigans again.
- Tragic Keepsake:
- Zee carries the oracle amulet that once belonged to her birth mother in her pocket.
- Pretty becomes this for Emily, serving as her last connection to Sonya.
- Transformation Sequence: Unlike with Cross whose transformations into his dragon form are instantaneous, Zee goes through one of these for her first time transforming.
- The Un-Reveal:
- How does Ollie know about the Foretellers?
- With her fin ears, would that mean Zee is a type of water dragon?
- How is Emily teleporting and emitting red flames despite having an Illusion Coven sigil?
- With the narrowed glare Emily shot at Terra, does she suspect her of having some connections to the Tarot Guild?
- Villainous Vow: Emily, consumed by sadness over Sonya's death and anger over believing Luz had caused it, goes back to the Emperor's Coven vowing to avenge her surrogate sister.
- Wham Episode: Emily gains some new powers and a new palisman before she vows to get back at Luz and avenge Sonya (thus revealing why she went back to the Emperor's Coven), Star and Tom meet again, Donna's trust in Cross and Lindsay has been shaken up, Megan and Ivy go to Earth with Vee while Tres joins the CAT's, Amity officially returns to the Boiling Isles, and Ulrich reveals to Lilith that the Day of Unity may be centered around a Draining Spell.
- Wham Shot:
- While Emily yells in anguish at Lindsay over Luz breaking her promise, nearby a scarecrow blows up and Emily disappears in a puff of red smoke.
- After Emily declares that she wishes to avenge Sonya, Pretty turns into a staff: he senses Emily's conviction and becomes her palisman.
- "You!" Exclamation: Star and Tom say this to each other once they see each other again in Newt Burger.
