Chapter 88: The Return of the Witches
Art by Crash X Fusion: Welcome back.
As the missing witchlings return to their lives and catch up on what they've missed, Mel introduces Edric to her friends while Eda is offered a new job.Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- Abandoned Warehouse: To help sell their plan for covering up the kids' disappearances, Eda and Larry pretend they found them in one of the Tarot Guild's safehouses, which had been abandoned following their downfall.
- Affectionate Nickname: As expected, Luz takes to using "Sweet Potato" for Amity.
- Ambiguous Situation: Amity appears to be developing Aura Vision, but only sees auras surrounding Emira and Viney.
- Ascended Extra: Dipper and Mabel's parents never fully appeared onscreen in Gravity Falls but here, they show up in person to pick their daughter up and take her home against her will.
- Big Damn Reunion: After giving their statements, the missing Hexside Four are allowed to reunite with their families and palismen. Soon after, they all spend the day reuniting with their friends and closest associates.
- Big Eater: Korn states that the SSE began overeating from stressing out over Eve's disappearance, then Blondie clarifies that only she and Korn have been doing that.
- Bookends: The chapter begins with the Clawthornes enacting their plan to frame the Tarot Guild for kidnapping Amity, Willow, Gus, and Eve. The chapter later ends with the higher-ups deciding not to take action for the time being after learning about this.
- Brain Bleach: Acorn has the unfortunate luck of witnessing Hooty throwing up dirt on the Hexside Four to sell their disheveled appearances.Acorn: Why did I come to see this?
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: After Eda narrowly saves Hooty from the hatchet Star hurls, Hooty remarks he would've been axed out of the story if she didn't catch it.
- Break the Cutie
- Brutal Honesty: Gibson doesn't hold back his opinion of the SSE, how he considers them 'ner-do-wells and bad influences who Eve should stop spending time with. Eve is quick to critique him for this attitude despite knowing he won't apologize for it.
- The Bus Came Back: Shawm reappears following his last appearance way back in "The Ballad of Eda: Part 2".
- Call-Back:
- Eda being hailed as a hero for busting the Tarot Guild is brought up again, and it's the reason Shawm approaches her to run Scooter Crane's orphanage so it doesn't shut down, as mentioned in "Let's Dip Into the Time Pool Again!"
- The kids bring up a few true facts in their cover stories: Amity brings up her mugging while giving her statement to Le'Belle, saying she had a panic attack after being jumped looking for Titan's Blood at Eclipse Lake. Eve mentions how someone came into her room to take her, and Willow & Gus mention how their kidnapper got the drop on them.
- Calling the Old Man Out
- The Cameo:
- Felicia reports the witchlings being "found" on her blog, and Larry is seen with Eda in the provided video.
- Alador appears at the Abomination Coven where Gibson informs him about Amity's return and keeps him from seeing her.
- Le'Belle acts as the scout taking the witchlings' statements at the Coven Precinct.
- Lilith appears in a flashback to inform Odalia that the kids have been brought home.
- Braxas appears during the library scene with Malphas, Gary and the unnamed librarian to hug Amity as a "welcome home" gesture.
- Ollie appears in his bar in Lokitown when the Shadowy Secret Expozers hang out there.
- West and Winter appear in a photo Skara took of them with Nina.
- Continuity Nod:
- Luz mentions how Eda joined the League of Witches that Helps a few days back when going over "Operation: Scapegoat".
- Odalia and Matt helping to build Luz's portal door are noted.
- At the reunion party at Pour-ta-Geist, Amity and Gus finding Eve in Gravity Falls is discussed.
- Gus continues to call Las Vegas "Last Vegans".
- During the party, Luz calls Amity "Sweet Potato" as she decided to in "A Coven Day Disaster". Later, Skara shows Willow a picture she took of Nina with her twin siblings.
- Acorn avoids Hooty so he doesn't eat her again, only for him to tell her he's not going to do that anymore.
- Star raids Eda's weapons stash while exploring the Owl House.
- Luz brings up her first meeting with Donna and the joke she made about her superhero costume back in "Hexing Out for a Hero".
- A Day in the Limelight: Eve holds the main B-plot as she enjoys catching up with her friends while the other Owl House residents get the secondary plot, Eda thinking over Shawm's offer to run Crane's orphanage while trying to get to know Star and King taking care of a baby demon squirrel he names "Maurice".
- Déjà Vu: Amity experiences this when introduced to Mel, who compliments her hair in the same manner as Aurore did.
- Due to the Dead: Once Luz and her friends find the shrine to Delara in the Saltstar home, Willow places a flower on it and Amity nods as signs of respect.
- Establishing Character Moment
- Exact Eavesdropping: Gibson listens in on Eve and Teri's discussion about his late wife and her mystery-solving past. From the looks of it, he may be planning to keep them from looking into it.
- Expy: Most of Mel's gang is based off several Descendants characters, with the girl herself being based on Mal. The only exception is Jackson Hearts, who's a combination of Gambit if he had Pepé Le Pew and Gaston's personalities;
- Trini is a parody of Evie if she was a cambion.
- Blazer is based off of Carlos if he was a Dalmatian Hellhound.
- D-Josh is a djinn based off of Jay.
- Serpentina is an amalgam of Uma, Cala Maria, and Mermista while Eustace "Deepbeard" Curry is the embodiment of Harry Hook, Captain Brineybeard, and Sea-Hawk.
- Eyepatch of Power: Eda has now started wearing an eyepatch over her wounded eye.
- Flipping the Bird: Acorn flips off Hooty when trying to get away from him.
- Forgiveness: Boscha and Nina are given this by Willow and Gus for their past actions and while Amity doesn't forgive Odalia, she at least accepts her apology and says it's a good start for now.
- Frame-Up: "Operation: Scapegoat" acts as such to throw the Emperor off the possibility that the Hexside Four were in the Human Realm, and that the Clawthornes have the portal key and a working portal. They rehearse what to tell the scout interrogating them, allow Hooty to cover them in dirt, and Eda and Larry pretend to find them in an abandoned safehouse to fool the public (but not the people who are already in the loop) into believing the kids were kidnapped by the scattered organization and kept in cages the entire time.
- The Ghost:
- Alador mentions his parents, being glad Gibson's the one person he can interact with besides them.
- Willow mentions all the friends she made in the Human Realm while explaining her exploits there to her witch friends.
- Star mentions Moon when explaining to Camila what occured on Mewni: hearing that Moon was a tyrant leads to Camila comparing her to Angel.
- Arthur and Destiny are mentioned by Amity and Odalia when discussing what to do about Alador.
- Teri mentions Cross and hopes that Eve will get the chance to meet him.
- When Luz, Amity, Willow and Gus visit the Saltstar home to see Boscha, Samwitch mentions that Simon isn't at home. He also says Ms. Traveler's been helping Boscha with their sessions together.
- Girls Love Chocolate: Subverted; Serpentina admits she hates chocolate when Eustace offers her some.
- Given Name Reveal: Eve's rabbit palisman is revealed to be named Cereal.
- Glomp: Skara does this to Willow the moment she sees her again, as does Boscha with Amity.
- Gratuitous French: Jackson has a French accent and speaks the language.
- Hates Being Nicknamed: D-Josh refuses to answer to "Joshy". Inverted for Eustace, who prefers to be called by his pirate name, "Deepbeard".
- Hate Sink: Mr. and Mrs. Pines are neglectful parents who gave up their son after he was born and are unable to look him in the eye now while choosing to forcibly separate Dipper and Mabel yet again, refusing to take responsibility of Dipper by bringing him with them and making up weak excuses for it. They also don't care about how taking Mabel home is affecting her, saying she'll make new friends back home and move on from her recently acquired girlfriend when it's clear Mabel never had any friends back home.
- Heartfelt Apology: Odalia finally gets the opportunity to sit down with Amity in order to give her this for all she's done to her and their family, promising to be better for all of them. Amiry accepts it saying it's a good start for trying to forgive her. Nina also gives hers to Willow and Gus over how she treated them under Emily's command.
- Hopeless Suitor: Eustace establishes himself as one, constantly trying to win over Serpentina to no avail.
- If Only You Knew: Alador tells Gibson he's glad he has somebody besides Arthur and Destiny to be around, having no idea that Gibson's brainwashing him to keep him from leaving his work just like they are.
- Inelegant Blubbering: Skara can't stop herself from shedding tears and stuttering as she embraces Willow for the first time in a week.
- Internal Reveal:
- The rest of the Boiling Isles is informed of Amity, Willow, Gus and Eve being found and returning home.
- Amity, Willow, and Gus are caught up on everything they missed while they were gone, including Boscha's current home situation and Luz dueling Nina, with Willow and Gus learning about Puck being used by the Inner Demon.
- Eve learns that the SSE has disbanded following her disappearance.
- Amity, Willow, and Gus meet Mel, Donna and Kyle for the first time, learn that Donna and her friends are LOWTH, and have been informed about Beocrow, who is part of the group.
- Teri learns from Eve that his mother was a Shadowy Secret Expozer.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Gus gives Willow and Skara some privacy so they can have be together alone and passes it on to Nina, who agrees to let them make out behind closed doors without butting in.
- Like Parent, Like Child: Eve's parents look even more gothy than her, and her father's just as emotional as he bursts into tears when embracing her.
- Make-Out Kids: Downplayed. Once she's alone with Willow in her room, Skara starts making out with her and refuses to stop because she wants to make up for the time lost .
- Mythology Gag:
- Amity mentions trying to start a student council at Hexside only for Bump to shut the idea down, which was mentioned in "For the Future".
- Nina calls records "shiny donuts" while talking with Gus, who did the same with Luz's "Field of Deadly Fates" DVD in "Wing It Like Witches".
- Noodle Incident:
- Kyle has spilled blood on himself while working at the Healing Coven before, and last time he was swarmed by vampires.
- During Amity's stay on Earth, Malphas allowed Edric and Emira to volunteer at the library. They ended up destroying the adult section.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Hooty as always fails to respect people's boundaries, both intentionally and unintentionally in trying to befriend Acorn and Star. He tells Acorn that he won't attempt to eat her again since she's Amity's friend, but she's too freaked out and annoyed to consider his offer (not that he can understand her), and he touches a few of Star's nerves when she brushes him off by asking if she has any crushes on people.
- Not an Act: While the girls are able to pull off convincing performances in telling Le'Belle what they've endured after going missing, Gus looks and acts genuinely shaken, as he's still scarred from Vaggie and Michael's deaths.
- "Not So Different" Remark: After hearing about what Moon did to both Mewmanity and monsterkind from Star, Camila compares her to Angel as their goals led to them hurting people of their own species.
- The Nth Doctor: Morty drinks a voice changing potion labeled "Cusack", which gives him a different voice with an Australian accent.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Shawm gives Eda the offer to run Scooter Crane's orphanage. Eda and Raine know there's the high possibility Belos is trying to boost his popularity off of it, but they also know the risk of the kids going to the Conformatorium's juvenile hall and that Napoli doesn't seem capable of running the place himself. At the end of the chapter, Eda prepares to tell Luz about it hoping to see what she thinks she should do.
- Offscreen Romance: Edric admits to everybody that he and Mel officially entered a relationship at some point.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Luz refuses to forget the "no pants" dig she made at Donna's expense when they first met.Willow: No pants?
Luz: (as Donna glares at her) Little inside joke. - Parental Neglect: Mr. and Mrs. Pines don't acknowledge Dipper even once when they're preparing to take Mabel home, something Luz speedily calls them out on on top of pointing out how unfair it is to Mabel to separate her from the friends she made in Gravity Falls.
- Point of Divergence: Mabel leaves Gravity Falls before the events of "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons" and gives Pacifica her llama sweater long before the "Weirdmaggedon" finale.
- Put on a Bus: With no other choice, Mabel has to leave Gravity Falls with her parents and all her friends, Dipper, and Luz see her off.
- The Reveal:
- The Owl House residents chose to frame the Tarot Guild for kidnapping Amity, Willow, Gus and Eve by pretending to find them in one of their abandoned warehouses.
- Gibson is shown to be in on brainwashing Alador to work on their projects.
- There's a rumor going around saying Luz died while in Detention due to her escaping.
- Edric announces that he and Mel are dating now.
- Star reveals that Moon restarted the Solarian Warrior Program to win the war against Monsters before Mewni's destruction.
- Principal Bump had a hip replacement and is now considering retiring as principal once he's discharged from the Healing Coven.
- Donna and Kyle work as worm-stripers at the Healing Coven.
- Raine tells Eda that with her rising popularity, they have to leave the Owl House once they recover. They also confess to how the Inner Demon subjected them to reliving their worst memories in order to break their spirit.
- Morty's voice has changed due to one of Rick's potions.
- Skara concedes to Willow that she still doesn't fully trust Nina even though they've adjusted to living together.
- Mel is actually Melinoe of Greek Mythology.
- The Tarot Guild is working on something called "Project Chimera".
- Ripped from the Headlines: Morty having a new voice with an accent is a nod to Justin Roiland being charged with domestic abuse and no longer voicing the protagonists of Rick and Morty as a result.
- Running Gag: Continuing from the last chapter, people keep noticing that Eda's lost her eye and she tells them that's a long story that she doesn't want to explain.
- The Scapegoat: Since the Tarot Guild is the only organization who kidnaps witches to traffic, the Clawthornes use them to explain the missing Hexside Four's disappearances. Heck, the plan is even called "Operation: Scapegoat".
- Sequel Hook:
- Willow hopes to introduce Skara to the Gatesfield teens at some point in the future before they start planning out their flyer derby team.
- Raine decides to leave the Owl House after their recovery because of Eda's growing fame making it less safe for her family and them.
- Whoever left Eve the letter may have plans for her.
- Eve and Teri plan on investigating the fate of the previous SSE, and Gibson seems determined to prevent that from happening.
- The Bonesborough Brawl is coming up, and Mel asks her gang if they want to crash it.
- Being a cambion herself, Trini is eager to meet Luz and see which of them is better.
- Eda prepares to ask Luz about whether or not she should run the orphanage.
- Odalia, wanting to thank Lilith for bringing Amity home, asks to eat out. Lilith, nervous because it sounds like a date, says she'll consider it.
- Shout-Out:
- A rendition of "Rotten to the Core" is performed by Mel, her gang and Edric. Eve's father also calls her "Evie" upon reuniting with her.
- Luz namedrops Legion of Super Heroes (2006) as a superhero show she and Dipper used to watch before it was canceled.
- After confiscating a bazooka from Star, Eda tells her she'll shoot her eye out.
- Fleetwood Mac is mentioned as one of the human music bands that Skara's been listening to.
- Skipping School: Luz, the former Banshees, the multi-trackers, Matt, Bo, Ed & Em blow off school for the day to throw Amity, Willow, and Gus a "welcome home" party at Geist's bar. At the same time, Eve meets up with her friends and they all hang out.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Mel appears out of nowhere during the private party at Pour-ta-Geist, everyone questioning how she even got in.
- Tears of Joy:
- Skara and Cat sheds these upon seeing Amity, Willow, Gus and Eve are home when Luz calls all her friends to give them the news.
- Emira and Geist also have them when hugging Amity at the precinct, as does Eve and her father.
- Boscha allows these to fall as she hugs Amity when she, Luz, Willow, and Gus visit her.
- Trailers Always Spoil: Shawm giving Eda the offer was seen in the third quarter teaser shown in "The Book of Marcy Wu".
- The Un-Reveal: "Project Chimera".
- Vocal Evolution: Morty's voice has cracked for the last time due to drinking one of Rick's "voice-changing" potions, so he has an Australian accent now.
- We Were Your Team: The Shadowy Secret Expozers split up and drifted apart following the Grim Goblin's attack. Even with Eve coming back, they've got their own stuff going on so they can't hang out with her for long.
- Wham Episode: Amity, Willow, Gus, and Eve return to the public eye, Eda is given the job offer of running Crane's orphanage, Willow and Gus forgive Boscha and Nina for their previous actions while Amity accepts Odalia's apology, King starts looking after a baby demon squirrel, Mabel is dragged back home to Piedmont by her parents, Mel and her gang plan on causing chaos, and the Tarot Guild allow the Clawthornes framing them for the witchlings disappearing for now while Sonya works on something called "Project Chimera".
- Wham Line: Mel's full name being revealed.Serpentina: So when will you tell him... Melinoe?
- Wham Shot: Someone leaves Eve a letter, and all it says is "Welcome back to the game."
- What Is This Feeling?: After being forgiven by Willow and Gus, Nina starts to describe a weird feeling she's having. Skara says she's feeling a weight being lifted off her back, but Nina links it to indigestion and burps out feathers.
