Chapter 99: Brawl Night, Part 1
Art by Crash X Fusion: We already know they're competing. The question is who else is stepping into the ring.
Luz and Amity train to prepare for the Bonesborough Brawl as a way to vent from their recent drama.
Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- Adaptation Expansion: Minor as it is, it wasn't mentioned in canon how long Warden Wrath had been the reigning champion of the Bonesborough Brawl; in LC, he's said to have won 10 times.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Felicia begs for mercy when Luz takes her revenge on her. Luz's response?Luz: Mercy is for beggars, and you're too well-off to be a beggar.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Luz asks Felicia if hurting Amity, her family, and Lilith was worth pleasing someone who isn't a good mother to her. When Felicia attempts to counter this, Luz simply swings her sideways which gets her to say it wasn't.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- Raine and Star rescue Steve and Hikari from some scouts attempting to arrest them after an imp sells them out.
- Odalia would've been killed in the explosion of the old Grungar home had it not been for Darius pulling her out of the blast zone and bringing her to the Bat Queen for treatment.
- Brutal Honesty: Bindell doesn't hold her tongue when she has to tell Lilith that she's been suspended from work because of the trial making her bosses at the museum consider her a liability.
- The Bus Came Back: After having flashback appearances in the previous chapter, Cain physically appears for the first time since getting arrested in "What is it Good For?"
- Call-Back:
- Eda remembers her interview with Felicia in "Shaping Up or Nothing", blaming herself for mentioning she forgave who cursed her to Felicity, which is why she dug into it.
- Geist recalls how Odalia used Alador winning the Bonesborough Brawl to jumpstart their version of Blight Industries.
- Everyone sees how Edric falling into a bad crowd resembles Gus doing the same thing a few weeks back.
- Boscha still feels guilty about her breaking up Luz and Amity, and takes responsibility for Amity's deal with Lilith continuing to hurt them.
- Amity decides to use the Sword of Adam for the Bonesborough Brawl, having not used it since the end of the Glandus War.
- Ulrich Hammers mentioned in "What is it Good For?" that he has kids, and they appear here helping Cain while he's serving out his punishment for his actions in the Glandus War.
- Mel and Trini's interactions with Luz and Amity when they meet them at the site of the Brawl is eerily familiar to how they met Emily at the Gland Prix back in "The Ballad of Eda, Part 2".
- Card-Carrying Villain: Terra is a prime example of this due to upholding her Wicked Witch beliefs.
- Connected All Along: Firebees turns out to be a Tarot Guild member, and came back to town on the Producer's orders.
- Continuity Cameo:
- Bindell has a vocal cameo when she informs Lilith of her suspension.
- Felicity is shown on a news broadcast the Clawthornes are watching at Eda's old home.
- Ms. Traveler shows up at the Owl House to give Amity a therapy session over her feelings about the trial.
- Nicole and Sonya are seen on wanted posters.
- Murray Tholomule is seen working with Cain at the Construction Coven when Simon comes to visit.
- Illusion Vaggie is seen in Gus's room before he goes to watch the Brawl with the Parks.
- Baum is seen when Matt and Bo are watching the Brawl.
- Alador and Gibson are shown working at the Abomination Coven before Alador decides to watch the Brawl on his crystal ball.
- Continuity Nod:
- Eda recounts her interview with Felicity and regrets not kicking her to the curb.
- Clarice, the woman Eda roasted for her past mistakes in "That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles", gets burned again when Eda singles her out once again for shaming Lilith.
- Dell mentions the upcoming Clawthorne family reunion.
- Geist mentions how Odalia used Alador winning the Brawl to help them jumpstart Blight Industries.
- Simon mentions Nina avoiding Boscha and joining Hexside's cheer squad.
- Spectators at the Brawl bring up Luz and Amity being "war heroes" and Luz burning Terra's face during the riot at the Coven Day parade.
- Amity recalls her babysitting Braxas being the reason she's on civil terms with Warden Wrath.
- Donna's recent encounter with Lupe and Eda saving her from him twice is referred to.
- Conversational Troping: The Nocedas casually namedrop the Tournament Arc trope when discussing the girls competing in the Brawl.
- Crazy-Prepared:
- Bunker's emergency bunker has everything one needs for survival should a zombie uprising occur on the Boiling Isles.
- Lampshaded. When Ukla questions why Emily shouldn't just be outed as the Golden Guard, Hunter, Boscha, and Lilith explain how Belos would just discredit the claim, have a stand-in take Emily's place, and possibly take Hunter away from Lilith and her parents.
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: In the middle of her rant about her broken family, Amity says that she wishes Eda was her mom... only to realize she said it in front of Eda, her friends, and Luz who had just returned from torturing Felicia.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Arthur and Destiny refute Terra's claims about marriage being pointless since their Unholy Matrimony is still strong after so many years.
- Expy: Zakrai "Bunker" Burrows is a Conspiracy Theorist who believes in zombies and built a shelter for when they take over. He's a witch version of Shawn and his name is a play on his voice actor, Zachary Bennett.
- Fate Worse than Death: Lilith and Hunter assure Boscha's group that they don't really have to do anything about Emily since she's in the Emperor's Coven and will get eaten alive working there. This brings Ukla some comfort since she was just ranting about going on the attack the next time she saw the Golden Guard.
- Foreshadowing: Bunker mentions that his emergency bunker was designed with hammerspace capabilities to accommodate his girlfriend and a friend of hers.
- The Ghost:
- Percy, Gwen's spider-cat, is brought up by Eda during her Shaming the Mob moment.
- Ukla mentions Tom and Athena when ranting about Emily being released from prison while they're still locked up.
- Boscha brings up Glinda when she hears that Lindsay fell for the Golden Guard without knowing it was Emily.
- Given Name Reveal: The girl Emira and Viney found at the end of the last chapter is named Leni, at least according to her.
- Hammerspace: The bunker that Bunker, Steve and Hikari have been staying in has this feature.
- Hate Sink: Mel and Trini both push Lumity's buttons by repeatedly bringing up the trial and making not-so-Stealth Insults. Thanks to Mel's Emotion Control, Edric begins to sink as well by insulting his little sister before walking off and ignoring her.
- Hope Spot: Right as Odalia decides to call Lilith and talk about everything, Firebees blows up the Grunhar home and informs Terra that the job's done.
- Immediate Sequel: This chapter continues the day after the trial, returning to the main series of events that began in "Blight vs. Blight".
- In Spite of a Nail: Amity enters the Brawl in an effort to find common ground with her father and Luz joins in.
- Internal Reveal:
- Beocrow meets Willow, Gus, Skara, Jerbo, Barcus, Amelia, Cat, Bo, and Mattholomule for the first time, with Boscha learning he's Luz's cousin. He also gets some hints at what happened between Lumity and Gus after the latter learned about Lilith's deal with Amity.
- Boscha, Angmar, and Ukla learn from Lilith, Hunter, and Gavin that Emily's now the Golden Guard with Gavin telling them about Lindsay's brief crush on them.
- Steve learns that Raine's alive, meets Star, and is told about the Bards Against the Throne.
- Odalia discovers that Darius is alive and Eberwolf has been with him since they disappeared.
- Amity and Kay meet Tabrella for the first time.
- Simon tells Cain about Nina avoiding Boscha since she got re-admitted to Hexside.
- Nina hints at her bad history with Boscha to Lambi.
- Luz and Amity meet Mel's gang, specifically Trini, for the first time.
- I Owe You My Life: The Masterskulls feel this way toward Eda saving Donna's life twice, and Donna suggests they invite the Clawthornes over for a visit soon.
- It's All My Fault:
- Lilith and Odalia both take everything that happened because of them after the trial to heart, while Eda and Boscha blame themselves for their indirect roles in it all (Eda for humoring Felicity's interview instead of turning her away and Boscha for exposing Lilith's deal with Amity to begin with).
- Amelia also mentions that Mary is also blaming herself for the outcome of the trial.
- Cain wonders if Boscha has avoided visiting him at the Construction Coven because she blames him for her misfortune at Glandus, which he takes full responsibility for.
- Lilith and Odalia both take everything that happened because of them after the trial to heart, while Eda and Boscha blame themselves for their indirect roles in it all (Eda for humoring Felicity's interview instead of turning her away and Boscha for exposing Lilith's deal with Amity to begin with).
- Laser-Guided Karma:
- In addition to Eda subjecting the mob rioting against Lilith outside their parents' home to a beatdown, Hooty swallows Kikimora whole for exposing Lilith as Eda's curser and selling anti-Lilith merchandise on the front lawn.
- For helping Felicity with slandering Lilith and Odalia, Luz hangs Felicia upside down in a tree before forcing her into permanent service to her.
- Lampshade Hanging: In regards to history repeating, Gus and an uncomfortable Boscha point out Edric hanging out with Mel's gang after the scandal with the trial mirrors Gus falling in with Bria due to his grudge against Amity for hurting Luz.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Felicia honestly had no idea what her mother had planned with her interviews about Lilith, not that it makes things better or gets her off the hook with Luz.
- Luminescent Blush: Luz and Amity each blush when planting a kiss on each other during the Training Montage. Amity later has one when Mel embarrasses her by bluntly saying Odalia "banged" Lilith.
- Meaningful Name: All of Ulrich's sons have names based on tools, with Jack's being a play on "jackhammer".
- Multi-Part Episode: This chapter continues the buildup to the Bonesborough Brawl that's been occurring in the previous chapters, finally diving into the events of "Reaching Out".
- Mythology Gag: King agrees to support Luz and Amity at the Brawl so long as Luz doesn't dress him up as a cheerleader again. Eda did this to him near the end of Season 1.
- Point of Divergence: To the first half of "Reaching Out": needing to blow off some steam from their recent frustrations, Luz and Amity both sign up for the Bonesborough Brawl from the start. Due to circumstances from previous chapters, Eda watches the Brawl from a different location, Boscha attends the event, and numerous characters including Luz's friends appear.
- Precision F-Strike: Ukla uses one to describe the coven system as being useless after hearing that Emily's both free from custody and working as the new Golden Guard.
- Psychotic Smirk: Luz gives two devilish grins to Felicia when she tells the fox she's going to really sell out with what Luz has got planned for her.
- The Reveal:
- Firebees was working for the Tarot Guild, and was ordered by Terra (at Arthur and Destiny's request) to blow up the old Grunhar home with Odalia still inside. Unbeknownst to them, the Abomi-monster saves Odalia.
- The misshapen abomination is confirmed to be Darius, and he and Eberwolf have taken up residency with the Bat Queen.
- Arthur and Destiny are building a contraption for Terra.
- Belos knows that Terra's been holding Perry hostage, and it's implied by Terra that he'll use this to his advantage.
- Skara mentions that Calypso competed in the Bonesborough Brawl.
- The girl that Emira and Viney found with a stab wound in the previous chapter is Leni, Blazer's date for the Brawl. It's implied she's a witch from another realm.
- Tabrella has a baby sister named Katie, although it's strongly implied that Katie is actually her baby.
- Lilith mentions that there's only two weeks left before the Day of Unity.
- Ulrich has three sons named Driller, Picket, and Jack Hammers.
- Boscha hasn't visited Cain at the Construction Coven unlike the rest of his family.
- It's a family tradition for the Saltstars to enter the Bonesborough Brawl, which is why Simon's going to compete.
- Cain knows about Nina having been paroled.
- Firebees was working for the Tarot Guild, and was ordered by Terra (at Arthur and Destiny's request) to blow up the old Grunhar home with Odalia still inside. Unbeknownst to them, the Abomi-monster saves Odalia.
- Shaming the Mob: Eda calls out the mob protesting in front of her parents' house and calling for Lilith's death, saying by doing so they're also harassing their parents and wasting time they could be using for themselves. When that doesn't work, she sics Hooty on them.Eda: Oh would you all just give it a rest! Listen up! What the hell are you guys doing here in the middle of the fucking morning? Do you not have anything better to do on a Splatterday? Did you all even care that I've already forgiven my sister for cursing me? I've already got my closure. If you all want to speak up for me, this isn't the way! My sister doesn't just live here, my parents live here and you're harassing them too! My mom's hearing is easily damaged and you're waking up the spider-cat! Why are you all even here? To defend my honor? I don't need defending. I think you just like a target that makes you feel better about yourselves, especially you, Clarice! [...] Yeah, my sister was complacent in a lot of messed up shit, especially during her time in the Emperor's Coven, but she is not the only one. [glares at Kikimora] So why don't you just do yourselves a favor and go do something meaningful. For Titan's sake, go spend time with your families, watch a game, go to a bar, a brothel, anything better than just screaming your lungs out! Cause you all are not doing yourselves any favors right now!
- Shout-Out: "Son of Titan" is a parody of "Son of Man" from Tarzan.
- Something Else Also Rises: When Amity pecks back Luz on the lips during their training, Luz blushes hard and her wings pop out.
- Song Parody: "Son of Titan", the song for the Training Montage, is one of Phil Collins' "Son of Man".
- Stealth Insult
- Suspiciously Specific Denial:
- Upon meeting Mel, Leni claims that she's not a witch from another realm. She does not buy it, but plays along.
- Tabrella says that her mom's been a big help with Katie but when Amity questions this, she changes it to the other way around.
- Swallowed Whole: Hooty eats Kikimora in one bite as revenge for exposing Lilith and selling protest mechandise against her at the old Clawthorne home.
- Synchronous Episodes: This chapter is set on Saturday, the day building up to when Nina took Lambi to the Brawl for their date in "Nina on the Couch" and when Donna arrived at the orphanage to watch the event with Eda in "A Very Special Donna". It's also set during the events of the previous chapter with Emira trying to find Edric and later going with Tina to find Viney, Firebees returning to Bonesborough to cause trouble, and Leni arriving.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Amity and Luz reaffirm their friendship with Boscha, with Amity and Boscha agreeing to give being friends a second shot.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Edric officially starts going down this route following his snubbing Amity and ignoring her, continuing from his earlier confrontation with Emira due to Mel's influence over him.
- Tournament Arc: The first part of a Multi-Part Episode about the Bonesborough Brawl. It's lampshaded by both Luz and Camila.
- Training Montage: Luz and Amity go through one that involves using training staves, flying through obstacles, and learning to wield the Sword of Adam once again.
- Trash the Set: The Grunhar home ends up burning down in a fiery explosion caused by Firebees in an attempt to murder Odalia, which fails.
- True Companions: Not only do Amity and Luz assure Boscha they don't hold her accountable for exposing the former's deal with Lilith being used in the trial, they tell her she's their friend with Amity wanting to start their friendship over, to Boscha's joy.
- The Un-Reveal:
- Terra commissioned a new contraption from Arthur and Desriny which will be completed in a week's time.
- Who is Leni and why did she come to the Demon Realm if she's a different kind of witch? She poorly tells Mel and her gang that she's visiting for as long as things go well at the Brawl.
- There's some slight implications with how shifty Tabrella became when she said her mom's been a big help with Katie (her sister) after Amity catches it.
- Raine offers Steve, Hikari, and Bunker spots in their new rebellion with them and Star, but we don't get to see them answer.
- What are Jackson, Eustace, and Serpentina up to?
- What the Hell, Hero?: Averted. Luz tries to lay into Edric for abrasively brushing off Amity when he sees them and assumes she's already gotten over the trial only to be stopped by Trini.
- Wicked Witch: Terra admits she embodies this, saying that "cruelty, pride, and depravity" should be what defines witchkind and wishes the rest of the Boiling Isles would come to see things her way.
- Worth It: Subverted. Luz gets Felicia to admit that hurting both her and Amity's families wasn't worth trying to getting her neglectful mother's attention.
- You Owe Me: As if Felicia didn't already have a debt to Luz after outing Amity as nameless, now it's grown following her role in helping her mother mess with Luz's family and the cambion forces Felicia under her debt and says she'll help her with something that makes the fox fear for her life.
