Top 10 Darkest The Owl House Moments
#10: Titan Trappers
“Edge of the World”
As if this poor baby’s past wasn’t dark enough, he had to be swindled by a bunch of bloodthirsty hunters too! King so desperately seeks to know where he comes from and who his biological family is. So, when he’s led to a group of beings who look like older versions of him, he’s ecstatic. He just wants to play catch with his dad, dammit! Unfortunately, the beings turn out to be regular old humans and they’re looking to kill the last living Titan… who would be none other than King. Between learning the truth about how Eda found him to this devastating betrayal, King has really been through it. Understandably, the whole experience is also traumatizing enough to show up in King’s nightmare in “Watching and Dreaming”.
#9: The Story of the Owl Beast
Various
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Does it get much darker than a lifelong curse? Oh, yeah, wait, it does. How about a lifelong curse put on you by your own sibling? The first time we meet the Owl Beast is pretty terrifying but that’s nothing compared to what would come. Eda would end up captured, almost Petrified, and sacrificing herself to save Luz. Can we also talk about Petrification for a second? What a horrific way to go. Then there’s the fact that Eda, in her Owl Beast form, hurt her father pretty badly and has appeared to live in shame ever since. Eda would grapple with this throughout the entire series and, although she eventually made peace with the Beast, it’s still a horribly tragic story.
#8: Odalia’s Abuse
Various
Ah, yes, the mother who uses her daughter’s crush as a punching bag to demo a new product. Odalia’s behavior isn’t just self-centered, it’s oftentimes plain wicked. Throughout the course of the series she makes it clear that she would sacrifice anyone if it means gaining status or wealth. In her debut, the very first thing we see her do is police who her daughter befriends. And, of course, we know it only gets worse from there. There are hints that even Alador, her husband, feels trapped in their marriage. Belos may be coldhearted and evil but Odalia really does give him a run for his money sometimes.
#7: Eda & Raine Give Themselves Up
“Eda’s Requiem”
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This has all sorts of darker undertones and self-sacrifice for the greater good is only half of it. Eda is in a terrible state of mind here, which makes her willingness to give herself up that much more heart-wrenching. Backed by such mournful music, this scene is one of the hardest to watch in the series. It’s visually stunning but we can’t help but hold our breath when everything, including Eda and Raine, begin to decay. Raine’s realization that Eda has kids counting on her and Eda being so clearly affected at the mention of them always gets us.
#6: Everyone Turned Into Puppets
“For the Future” & “Watching and Dreaming”
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This is not presented as super dark – in fact it’s bright and colorful – but that’s probably because the concept alone is horrifying enough. This feels one of those “fates worse than death” that somehow make it to PG kids’ programming. Obviously, this is reversible so that’s all fine and good, but for the moment when we make it back to the Boiling Isles after King’s rule, it’s heartbreaking to see so many familiar faces puppet-fied. Willow’s reaction to her dad is hard to watch. And some very important people face the same fate not long afterwards. Raine’s capture hurts the most though. Which is worse: being turned into a marionette or being hallucinated into your own personal nightmare sequence? This whole storyline is ridiculously dark.
#5: “I Think It Missed Me”
“Watching and Dreaming”
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If there’s one person in a show we don’t normally expect will die, it’s the protagonist. While it’s not permanent, it’s definitely a scary moment, especially seeing Luz’s reaction as it happens. It also calls back to Eda after she was overtaken by her curse – and now we’re all emotional again! The reactions to Luz’s death are probably the worst part; the dying is never so bad, it’s the people we leave behind. We see her dissolve into light glyphs, her palisman fall to the ground and the Collector becoming desperate and failing to understand what death means.
#4: King’s Sacrifice
“King’s Tide”
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This entire episode is a doozy. Tensions are high and stakes are even higher. In the gang’s big face off against Belos, King’s safety is a priority, and he’s pushed to the sidelines while everyone else fights. During this time, King frees the Collector in order to stop the draining spell, which only replaces one problem with another. The mark of him growing up is when he sacrifices himself to keep Luz and her friends safe. His speech to Luz hits us right in the feels, especially as she fights so hard to stay with him.
#3: Golden Guard Graveyard
“Hollow Mind”
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Here’s the episode that helped the fandom piece together Belos’ past, or at least part of it. The frames on the wall tell the story of two brothers, one of whom looks suspiciously like Hunter – or he would if his face wasn’t crossed out. The sight of all the broken Golden Guard helmets is enough to send shivers racing up our spines, but once we know the whole story, it makes things even worse. It’s implied that Belos murdered his brother, Caleb, for marrying a witch and has since been creating grimwalkers in his image. The worst part is that, clearly, these grimwalkers don’t get to hang around for very long.
#2: The Draining Spell
“King’s Tide”
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It’s a sucker punch to the gut watching the draining spell actually take place after so much planning to stop it. The resistance’s efforts have failed, Belos’ lies have won, and all those who picked the wrong side had no idea what they were really in for. We watch as every character we know and love who was unfortunate enough to be branded with a coven sigil sinks to their knees and has the life force drained out of them. The spell does end before anyone dies, but not everyone was able to come out unscathed.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Luz Is Almost Petrified, “King’s Tide”
She Comes Dangerously Close
Pretty Much Any Scene with Emperor Belos, Various
Is There a Stronger Word Than “Ew”? How About “Eugh!”
Gus’ Graveyard Illusion, “Through the Looking Glass Ruins”
The Bleeding Eyes Will Do It
The Basilisks’ History, “Yesterday’s Lie”
They Were Effectively Just Science Experiments
Hooty Without His Skin, “Follies at the Coven Day Parade”
It’ll Take Years to Recover From the Sight of This
#1: Hunter’s Possession & Flapjack’s Death
“Thanks to Them”
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You know those episodes in children’s cartoons that make you forget who the target audience is? Yeah, that would be this. Hunter’s been suffering at the hands of Belos for his entire life and, just when he frees himself from his abuser, wouldn’t you know he ends up literally possessed by him? While beautifully animated, it is so much to take in. Flapjack was his first friend and it’s poetic in this horribly devastating way that Hunter is saved by him. It’s probably the saddest moment in the whole series and a terrible blow to the entire friend group. Children’s shows often skim by death by reviving their characters in some magical way or not completely killing them off, but not this time…
How would you rank “The Owl House’s” darkest moments? Leave us your 1-10 in the comments below.
