Chapter 127: The Roots of Evil
Art by Crash X Fusion: To trim a problem, go for the root of it.
To stop Terra and the Inner Demon, our heroes divide and conquer to take them both on at once.
Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In canon, Belos' monstrous form is the result of him mishandling the glyphs by carving them into his arms. Here, it's a curse inflicted on him by the Horned King due to their deal.
- Adaptational Karma: In canon, Terra's fate is left ambiguous following Belos' demise. Here, her soul gets devoured by Belos.
- Amplifier Artifact: The Galdorstones, of course. Terra uses them to expand the Forest of Fear's mists and boost her magic to fight off anyone who comes to the Looking Glass Ruins to stop her.
- And This Is for...: During the fight against Terra's first double, Lilith shoots a lightning spell for what she did to Vina.
- Apologetic Attacker: Eda apologizes to the memory-Emily right before she freezes her.
- Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence:
- Vina's fate once she proves that she does care about Lilith, telling her former apprentice to finish off Terra for her.
- Anyone who was a victim of the Forest of Fear is able to move on to the afterlife once Luz traps the Inner Demon.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The Inner Demon grows to giant size when he comes across the witches in Gavin's mind and stays that way until he's captured.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Saving Lilith from being killed by Terra leads to Vina moving on to the afterlife, as she needed to make peace with her apprentice rather than take revenge against her killer.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: While the heroes defeat Terra and the Inner Demon, the pair are ultimately finished off when Belos devours Terra's soul for her treachery, and Luz hands the Inner Demon over to the Baron as part of her deal to settle Lillith's debt.
- Battle Aura: Combined with Glowing Eyes of Doom, Boscha emits a flaming aura when she stops holding back against memory-Nina.
- Big Brother Worship: After their heart-to-heart regarding their relationships with Darius, the Inner Gavin tells Hunter that he wishes they met sooner, revealing that Gavin has come to see Hunter as a big brother figure.
- Big "NO!":
- Vina, after she realizes that Terra was about to kill Lilith.
- The Inner Demon shouts three of these once he figures out Luz has a way to trap him and get him out of the Mindscape.
- Terra, as Belos proceeds to steal her soul and thereby kill her off.
- Big "WHAT?!": Terra after her carnivorous plants cower from Willow shooting a Death Glare at them.
- Bookends: The Inner Demon's first and last victims from his introduction and his death here are abomination users.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: When Summer summons Ghost Rick at the end of the chapter, he's shown wearing chains. When asked about it by her, he claims he wanted to make his comeback with Yet Another Christmas Carol parody, but the series had already done that with Odalia back in October.
- Brick Joke: While preparing for the worst, Summer says her crystal ball has been acting wonky. In the final scene, she discovers that Witch Rick (now Ghost Rick) has been trying to get into contact with her.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Jacob Hopkins is seen again since "Resolutions", clearly not in good shape since we've last seen him.
- Rick, after being killed off back in "The Hunting Witch", returns as a ghost.
- Call-Back:
- Boscha is still mad at Kadabe for attacking her during her Glandus orientation.
- Hunter remembers Terra being dismissive about the spreading mist from the Forest of Fear.
- Eda reminds Gilbert and Sully about how the Ninja Supreme whooped their butts when he kidnapped Willow.
- When Prof. Snope tries to talk Boscha and Hunter out of facing the Inner Demon, Hunter brings up the Demon keeping him in a coma and nearly driving Boscha to suicide.
- Once she's facing off against Willow, Terra identifies her as the witch who killed Coach Grease.Willow: Why do people keep bringing that up?!
- Eight chapters ago, the Alchemist predicted that Willow would grow to be more powerful than Terra. He's proven correct when Willow powers up substantially and single-handedly cuts Terra down to size.
- The Cameo: Several characters are seen noticing the dark clouds forming in the sky:
- Nina and the Brooke family, Nina sensing what was happening.
- Morton is shown being dug out of rubble by Drillborg and healed by Kyle as LOWTH continues helping Bonesborough civilians.
- Edric, Emira, Geist, Ghost and Acorn at Pour-ta-Geist with Emira checking in on Viney's family.
- The Jeepers family, preparing to take shelter in their crawlspace.
- The Barkowskis, with Mewstic prepping for what could be her final podcast.
- The Smith siblings are shown in their home, which sensed what what was happening and initiated an automatic lockdown.
- The Harwitch siblings are shown at home, Cat and Dog worrying about their parents and Moose going to bed since he thinks it's nighttime.
- The Regals, also in their home with Harlan grateful he wasn't at the Plant Coven.
- Ban, Jak, Socrates, Beans, and Ms. Hicky at Scooter Crane's orphanage.
- Principal Bump and Ms. Traveler at Hexside, the latter recognizing the omen.
- King, Hooty, and Maurice playing cards at the Owl House, where Hooty proceeds to freak out once they see the clouds outside.
- Dell, Gwen, and Blazer at the old Clawthorne home.
- Gavin at his home, where he was in the middle of burning his letters to Darius.
- Cross and Emily drop Lindsay off at her place, where they, the Shystreams, Tracy, and Jackie see what's happening.
- The BAT's, Judd, Webstor, and Ludo are shown to have gotten out of the Conformatorium through the sewer.
- Leonte and BIG are combing a different part of Forearm Forest.
- Felicia doing a report on her vlog.
- Jacob Hopkins is stumbling through the wilds when he catches what's going on.
- The Shadowy Secret Expozers and Scarmeron see what's going on from the castle, but Eve refuses to let it impede their investigation into their investigation.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Terra believes this is the reason Belos won't off her for her treachery, stating he still needs her as one of the nine Coven Heads for the Day of Unity. Unfortunately for her, Belos states he's already scoping out a potential candidate to replace her...
- Casual Danger Dialogue: Hunter and memory-Tito stop fighting for a moment as Boscha goes nuts on memory-Nina, deciding not to interfere and letting the triclops vent her anger out on the doppleganger.
- Continuity Nod:
- Hunter lists the hints to Gavin's behavior throughout the week, such as Sarah seeing him talking to himself, and his bitterness about Emily and Tito.
- King and Hooty have finished setting up traps in case Emily or the Emperor's Coven came around the Owl House.
- Among Gavin's memories are him, Bria, and Angmar torturing Matt, Craig and Tito torturing Bria, and his bitter reunion with Darius.
- In the final scene, Ghost Rick references the Yet Another Christmas Carol plot Odalia went through in "Understanding Odalia."
- Deal with the Devil: Subverted. Unlike Belos, the Inner Demon made a deal with the Horned King after it offered him immortality so long as it helped him feed but the Demon was never bound to the Horned King, allowing him to drain his victims without sharing his power with the deity who gave him his power.
- Death by Adaptation:
- The Keeper of the Looking Glass Ruins is murdered by Terra when in The Owl House, he lived all the way into the Distant Finale.
- Rather than living beyond the Day of Unity, Terra is murdered by Belos when it's right around the corner for her numerous crimes.
- Dragged Off to Hell: Once the Inner Demon is out of the dream snare, Baron Samedi wastes no time to make an appearance and claim him.
- Dull Surprise: Upon learning that Terra is the Inner Demon's partner, the heroes react with contempt in that it always ends up being her.
- "Eureka!" Moment: While gloating about how nobody misses Vina during their fight, Terra comes to the conclusion that the only person who would miss an unhappy spinster is the one person she cares about: Lilith. So when Terra goes in for the kill, Vina saves her former apprentice and passes on as a result.
- Eviler than Thou: According to
Word of God, Belos being the one to finish off Terra was to remind the audience that he's still the overall villain of the plot as the story moves into the "Day of Unity" arc. - Fate Worse than Death:
- Captured by Terra, the Keeper is turned to wood by the Forest of Fear's mists as they begin spreading.
- Upon her own defeat, Terra is pinned to the ground as Belos feeds on her soul, turning her body to ash.
- The Inner Demon, once released into the real world, is claimed by Baron Samedi and dragged off to the loa realm.
- Feed It a Bomb: Snope defeats the mind-Cooker and Grease by force-feeding them abomination goo and expanding it into spikes, causing them to explode in a bloody mess.Eda: Damn, brutal way to go.
- Fertile Feet: As the fauna surrounding the Looking Glass Ruins begin to heal, Alador notices that the new wildlife is growing because of Willow's newfound power.
- Foreshadowing: As BIG searches for Terra, Joana suggests the sadistic head witch is hiding out in a graveyard. After defeating the first Body Double, the attack team find her in a cemetery near the Looking Glass Ruins.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Gus states that Dolly working for the Inner Demon just to stay young is no excuse for all the grief she's given everyone.
- Given Name Reveal: Dolly's full first name is "Dollarama".
- Glomp:
- Boscha does this to Hunter after he tells her that Boris is definitely alive, along with the other remaining BAT's.
- Lindsay and her parents do this when she's brought home, Aunt Dorothy hugs Emily and Cross for saving her, and Jojo hugs Emily since he's glad she came back to the Shystream home.
- Internal Reveal:
- Eda, Boscha, Lilith, Hunter, Odalia, Alador, the Parks, the Porters, Prof. Snope, and Kitsuni/Todd learn of Dolly working with the Inner Demon.
- Everyone who isn't Luz and Lilith at the Park residence learns of Snope's beef with the Inner Demon.
- Luz, Eda, Boscha, Hunter, and Prof. Snope discover that the Inner Demon's been plaguing Gavin's mind.
- Terra lets Odalia know she burned her letter to Alador.
- In-Universe Catharsis:
- Seeing the memory version of Nina in Gavin's mindscape results in Boscha taking on a Battle Aura and attacking the werecat as payback for what she did to her at Glandus.
- The team that went after Terra ends up fighting her army of body doubles; destroying them leads to everyone lampshading how cathartic it was to kill Terra over and over again.
- The Inner Demon is gone, claimed by Baron Samedi; Luz announces that with their deal closed, Lilith is free from her debt with the Loa, and she and Eda embraces the eldest Clawthorne sister.
- It's Personal: The whole reason Hunter and Boscha want to go after the Inner Demon is because he caused them as much pain as he did their friends. Alador and Odalia agree to team up and help take down Terra after what she did to their family, and Willow goes because Terra's as responsible for Amity, Gus, and Skara's hardships as the Inner Demon.
- Karmic Death / Killed Off for Real: For their crimes, Terra Snapdragon and the Inner Demon are both put an end to here in ways that ensure there's no coming back for either of them.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: The moment Willow gets a new magic form, the rest of the attack team hides under an abomi-dome Amity made to let her deal with Terra by herself.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: Two teams are created to take down Terra and the Inner Demon at the same time. Amity, Willow, Lilith, Odalia, Alador, and Kitsuni/Todd head to the Looking Glass Ruins to deal with Terra while Prof. Snope leads Luz, Eda, Boscha, and Hunter into the Mindscape to get the Inner Demon out with the magic snare. Gilbert and Sully are tasked with staying behind and defending their home and the Porters along with the mindscape team, and Kadabe opts to stay with them as Dolly is in no condition to leave after Gus used his re-memory spell on her.
- Let Us Never Speak of This Again: After the BAT's get out of the sewers following their Great Escape, Amber immediately tells them to never bring it up again.
- Little "No": Boscha and Hunter share one when they see that the Inner Demon is in Gavin's mind.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Not wanting to risk Terra betraying him, the Inner Demon never told her he had Puck strand Luz's friends and Eve on Earth or that he had a portal door so she wouldn't double-cross him and steal it.
- Magical Girl: Willow undergoes a transformation that gives her longer green hair, Glowing Eyes, a Battle Aura, and a green robe with flowers growing in her hair.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Terra and the attack team have this reaction once they sense that Belos has come to the Looking Glass Ruins to punish Terra for her crimes.
- My Greatest Second Chance: Lilith decides to go after Terra to make up for failing to learn of the evil Terra had committed during her tenure as Head of the Emperor's Coven.
- Never Trust a Trailer: Despite the previews at the end of "Meanwhile, in the Emperor's Coven" showing Amity and Lilith participating in the final battle against the Inner Demon, they go after Terra in this chapter instead of him, with Boscha and Hunter taking their places.
- Next Tier Power-Up: In an unexpected twist, Willow undergoes a surprising power boost complete with Magical Girl transformation and outclasses Terra in magical strength, defeating her and allowing Belos to finish the old broad off.
- Out of Focus: Emily and Cross fall onto the backburner and don't participate in finishing off the Big Bad Duumvirate, instead staying at the Shystream farm during Terra's grand plan.
- Paper Destruction of Anger: When we see Gavin's doing as the chaos begins, he's burning all of Darius' letters to him, stopping once he sees the dark clouds.
- Power Makes Your Hair Grow: Willow's Next Tier Power-Up causes her to gain a new longer hairstyle. Her dads approve of the change.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Tired of the Inner Demon calling himself a god, Luz tells him he's a huge nobody since he wasn't able to beat the five people currently facing him in Gavin's mind and despite his alliance with Terra, he doesn't trust her so he's all alone, and that's when she uses the snare on him, ending his reign of terror once and for all.
- The Reveal:
- The Inner Demon was drawn to Terra through her depravity and told her of Belos's past, including how he brought the Inner Demon to the Demon Realm in the first place.
- The real reason the Tarot Guild was allied with Glandus High was aside from recruitment, Terra used it as a breeding ground for misery to give the Inner Demon more victims.
- Hunter checked on the remaining BAT's earlier in the week, so he knows Terra was lying about Belos killing them.
- Harlan and Mary weren't at the Plant Coven when Terra sealed the place up and captured everybody.
- Sonya tortured Bria for information on the Looking Glass Ruins' location.
- Kadabe's parents died in an avalanche while camping on the Knee. Since then, she's been having random visions that enabled her to save Dolly and help Willow in the Glandus War.
- Eda mentions that she knew Sheila, likely from their burlesque dancer days.
- The Inner Demon no longer remembers his old life, nor his original name. He mentions that he learned Emily was back in the Isles because he's been invading Gavin's mind before then and told Terra.
- In exchange for the Horned King saving his life, Belos agreed to feed on souls for him and was cursed as a result. He strictly feeds on palismen souls, but consumes those of witches only if necessary.
- Rule of Symbolism: With the Inner Demon's defeat comes the Forest of Fear healing and its victims being allowed to pass on, confirming his influence over the Isles is fading away for good.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Upon realizing that Belos was on his way, Amity's team wisely hightails it and leaves Terra to the Emperor.
- Sequel Hook:
- Belos now sets his sights on making Willow Terra's replacement.
- Speaking of which, Willow's new power-up needs an explanation...
- Everyone gathered at the Park residence is about to learn how Kitsuni is now inhabiting Todd's body.
- Ghost Rick gets into contact with Summer, but why?
- How will Emily take not being the one to finish off Terra?
- Gavin will now have to face his parents and LOWTH for a long talk about his behavior.
- With the Inner Demon finally gone, his current victims such as Yuki and Teri can truly start healing.
- Shout-Out:
- Terra sings the cut song, "Snuff Out the Light".
- Once Luz traps the Inner Demon in the dream snare, she says "itty-bitty living space."
- Willow makes her Heroic Second Wind to overpower Terra to "The Touch".
- Belos comments that he intends to replace Terra as Coven Head with "one younger and more powerful."
- The Baron gives one final shout-out to his former host body of Dr. Facilier, sending the Inner Demon to hell the same way Facilier was sent there in the movie.
- So Proud of You: Gilbert reacts this way after learning that Willow was the one to beat Terra, with the Porters and Boscha showing their approval and Boscha mentioning Skara will have a greater reaction.
- So What Do We Do Now?: Terra's dead, the Tarot Guild has been wiped out, and the Inner Demon has been claimed by Baron Samedi. Everyone gathered at the Park house takes a moment to feel relieved that it's all over, and then Kadabe asks "What now?" This leaves everyone to wonder what they'll do after this monumental victory.
- Stronger Than You Look: Terra shows she's physically strong despite her age, taking Willow by surprise by pinning her to the ground.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Even if it wasn't the real Emily, Eda holds back on the memory of her in Gavin's mind.
- Tears of Joy: Snope sheds some as his Arch-Enemy has finally been defeated and he has avenged his friends after 25 long years.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Terra brushes off Kitsuni turning back into Todd once they're defeated as she's just going to kill them with everyone else.
- Villainous Breakdown: Terra has one after Willow defeats her and destroys the galdorstones, which lasts until Belos makes his presence in the graveyard known.
- Weaker in the Real World: Despite being nearly omni-powerful in the mindscape, once Luz captures the Inner Demon and drags him back into real world, he's reduced to his weak human form, making him easy prey for the Baron.
- Wham Episode: Terra and the Inner Demon are at long last scrubbed off the face of the Isles, which frees the victims of the Forest of Fear, Willow gains a Next Tier Power-Up that makes Belos decide to replace Terra with her, Vina Ascends to a Higher Plane of Existence, Lilith is freed from her debt with Baron Samedi since Luz fulfilled her deal with him, and Rick makes contact with Summer.
- Wham Shot:
- Willow's anime girl transformation.
- Near the end of their bout, it looks like Willow's going to run Terra through with her thorns; really, she uses them to destroy the galdorstones Terra was using to empower herself.
- Witch—uh, Ghost Rick making a highly unexpected comeback.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Nobody in the Park house is pleases to hear that Dolly offered her parents up to the Inner Demon so she could obtain eternal youth.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Inner Gavin admits that he thinks he'll never be someone Darius would be proud of and Hunter, having been in his shoes, tells him that Darius should've done more to show he loves his son and Gavin is good enough as he is now. This encourages Inner Gavin to help defeat the Inner Demon.
- You Are Not Alone: Prof. Snope comes to see that he was never able to defeat the Inner Demon because he had always done so by himself. In accepting help from Luz, Eda, Boscha, and Hunter, he finally succeeds in his goal.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Terra meets her end when Belos devours her soul for the Horned King.
