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| “ | Sister, time and again I've offered you my help, yet you foolishly run back to your worthless life. I'm tired of trying, Edalyn. Your days of running are over! | „ |
| ~ Lilith to Eda in "Once Upon a Swap". |
| “ | Then why were you so easy to curse?! | „ |
| ~ Lilith accidentally reveals that she was the one who cursed Eda - her infamous quote. |
| “ | Being in the Emperor's Coven was my dream. I wanted to work alongside the most powerful witch on the Isles and make the world a better place. | „ |
| ~ Lilith in "Young Blood, Old Souls". |
Lilith Clawthorne is a major character in the Disney Channel animated series The Owl House. She is Eda Clawthorne's older sister, as well as the disgraced former head of the Emperor's Coven.
Once an aspiring young witch, Lilith would curse her sister with a spell meant to seal away her magic in an effort to win the tryouts for the Emperor's Coven, only for Eda to forfeit in favour of letting Lilith get her way and the spell turning out to be a permanent curse forcing Eda to transform into an owl beast every so often. As such, Lilith would spend most of her adult life trying to capture Eda, hoping to get Emperor Belos to heal her curse under the guise of bringing her to justice. However, after realising Belos's lies Lilith would redeem herself and eventually become a fully-fledged hero.
She is voiced by Cissy Jones, who also voiced Norma in Telltale's The Walking Dead: Michonne. When she was young, she was voiced by Abigail Zoe Lewis as a child (who would also voice her later pre-teen appearance), and in the same episode as a pre-teen she was voiced by Lily Sanfelippo (uncredited).
Personality[]
In contrast to her sister Eda, Lilith is conservative, straight-laced, and generally law-abiding. She takes great pride in her role as a mentor and was initially surprised to see Eda at the latest Covention, believing she had finally decided to join one of the covens, only for her sister to laugh at the notion. Though at first, she appears to be everything her sister is not, Lilith is revealed to also not be above cheating, having secretly given her top student, Amity Blight, a power glyph to amplify her magic, knowing full well her sister would do the same (although, it could be argued that since she knew Eda would cheat, she was just leveling the playing field).
Despite her ruthlessness and not being above endangering bystanders to achieve her goals, Lilith later revealed that she wasn't as heartless as she seemed to be; though she cursed Eda out of envy and feelings of inadequacy because the latter was always better than her in the past, the deed traumatized Lilith so much that she firmly believed Belos' false promise that he would remove Eda's curse if she would capture her, only to later learn it not to be the case. Another reason for her stepping onto a dark path was her ignorance to the Coven System's more sinister purposes, which are unknown to most other inhabitants of the Boiling Isles except a select few (ex. Eda), showing how naïve Lilith was.
It's worth noting that at the Covention, Lilith put capturing/saving Eda on hold and hosted a Witches Duel between their respective apprentices for the sake of seeing Eda defeated/humiliated. This isn't the last time Lilith does something like this either. In Sense and Insensitivity, Lilith's quest to capture/cure Eda initially took a backseat first to finding the Bloom of Eternal Youth, and then later when Eda is right in front of her it took a backseat to beating Eda in a race to the Bloom. In Wing it like Witches, Lilith was willing to gamble her mission of saving Eda on a game of Grudgby. The only Lilith episode prior to Agony of a Witch where she isn't focused on her grudge is Once Upon a Swap.
Throughout Season 1, Lilith is a character defined by contradictions. Lilith loves her sister and doesn’t want her to suffer from the curse. Lilith also resented Eda and wanted to humiliate her. Lilith behaved like she had the moral high ground, even when she knew for a fact that she didn't. Lilith always looked down on her sister and thought she was better than her; deep down Lilith has always known this wasn’t true. Lilith thought of herself as the more mature and responsible sibling, yet her action tells a different story. Lilith felt guilty about cursing her sister, but also derived a twisted sense of pride/superiority from the fact she pulled it off and was never discovered. During Sense and Insensitivity, Lilith repeatedly mocks her sister for the curse. Lilith smiles whenever she describes how weak the curse has made Eda. We see this again in Wing it Like Witches. We see it yet again during the witches' duel at the end of Agony of a Witch. Lilith wanted to absolve herself of guilt without having to apologize or admit she'd done anything wrong.
After seeing the dark side of Emperor's Coven and acknowledging her errors, Lilith aimed to atone for her mistakes, starting by sharing the burden of the very curse she placed long ago.
Appearance[]
Lilith is a tall, slender middle-aged woman in her mid to late forties (two years older than Eda). She has white skin, pointy ears, navy blue lips, long, dark navy-blue hair (formerly red when she was younger), and cyan eyes. She has dark claw-like nails and an inverted kite-shaped sky-blue gem on her sternum. After splitting the curse between herself and Eda in "Young Blood, Old Souls", Lilith's right eye becomes gray, and she obtains a gray streak on the right side of her hair.
She wears a long-sleeved two-tone dark gray dress and dark gray laced boots. In season 2 after leaving the Emperor's Coven, she wears a graphic tee (supposedly from the human world) of a "low battery" symbol and a ragged skirt that reaches to her ankles.
In her childhood, she had fluffy strawberry red hair. Back then she wore glasses with round lenses and a Hexside school uniform with yellow sleeves and leggings, signifying her as a member of the potions track.
Biography[]
Past[]
Nothing is really known about Lilith's past except that she was the older sister to Eda. At a young age, Lilith wanted to join the Emperor's Coven more than anything and worked hard so she could apply. She and Eda also went to Hexside together with Darius, Alador, and Odalia and used to be the captain of the Banshees, the school's grudgby team in her school days.
In "Agony of a Witch", it is revealed by Lilith that Eda used to continuously brag about being better than her, relentlessly making Lilith feel inferior to the point where Lilith acted out. Lilith snuck into Eda's bedroom one night in a cloak and was the one who put the Owl Creature Curse upon her sister, which she accidentally reveals to have done by asking "Then why were you so easy to curse!?!" during a duel with her.
In "Young Blood, Old Souls", it's shown that Lilith and Eda were once good sisters until they both wanted to try out for the Emperor's Coven, but there was only one spot left, so they had to duel to get it. Lilith was worried about not being able to beat Eda, so she went to the Black Market and got a curse to suppress Eda's magic. She thought it would only last one day, so she then cursed Eda. Once the duel came, Eda refused to fight, making Lilith realize the curse was pointless, and worse, the curse was actually permanent. After Eda left, Lilith was automatically welcomed into the Emperor's Coven, where she served as a scholar and was mentored by Flora D'splora in her younger years with the coven. She eventually rose to become the leader of the coven and made a deal with Belos. If she could convince Eda to join the coven, he would lift her curse, completely unaware the emperor had no intention of keeping his word.
The Owl House[]
Convention[]
Lilith first appears in "Convention" where she is training Amity. When Amity and Luz participate in a Witches' Duel after the former deliberately steps on King's cupcake, which prompts the latter to challenge her, during the challenge, Eda plants various traps in the ground to help Luz. When one of them activates spikes, Lilith calls out Luz for cheating and believes that she won. However, Eda sees a Power Glyph sticker from the Construction Coven on Amity’s neck, which reveals that Lilith was helping her cheat as well. After Amity runs off in embarrassment and Luz follows her, Lillith and Eda start their own duel, which goes back and forth until Eda distracts her and leaves.
Once Upon A Swap[]
In "Once Upon a Swap", she has Luz (who is in Eda's body) arrested and tries to convince her to join the Emperor's Coven since that's what she used to want. However, Luz escapes with Owlbert, and she gives chase. By the time she catches up, Eda switches Luz and King and herself back to their own bodies, and being surrounded by not only her and the police, but those who were pursuing her in King's body and King in Luz's body, Eda uses her spell to swap the bodies of all their pursuers, including Lilith, who ends up being swapped into the Emperor's Coven four-headed dog's body, much to her dismay. The main trio then escapes amidst the resulting chaos and confusion. The body swap was later undone offscreen.
Sense and Insensitivity[]
In "Sense and Insensitivity", she goes on a journey to find the Bloom of Eternal Youth. When Eda discovers this, Lilith calls her aged and weak because of her curse, so Eda obtains a map to look for the Bloom and prove her wrong.
The two of them race each other to the Bloom only to find that it was a trap by the market seller who gave Eda the map. However, they beat him up with little effort, and in the aftermath, Lilith tries to smooth things over by extending another offer to her to join the Emperor's Coven, which Eda politely refuses.
She apologizes for her insults.
Wing It Like Witches[]
Lilith is seen by Hooty in the forest near the Owl House, possibly spying on Eda. When she notices Eda looking through her old Hexside things, she decides to make a bet with Eda. If she beats her in a game of Grudgby, Eda joins the coven without a fight. Soon both sisters are tied, with the next point winning. Eda manages to win Lilith, but not before she gives her sister her ring so she won't return empty handed. Lilith then leaves, but not before promising to return.
Agony of a Witch[]
After a brief conversation with Kikimora, Lilith leads a raid on The Owl House with a battalion of Coven Scouts. However, they are all quickly defeated by Hooty before they could even get in the house. When Lilith returns to the castle while the students of Hexside were being given a tour, she is summoned by Emperor Belos to meet with him. Tired of her failures, he tells her to bring Eda to him before the end of the day, and he cure her curse. If she fails, she will be banned from the coven. Not wanting to lose her position, Lilith agrees to this. When Luz and her friends try to steal the healing hat, Lilith corners them and decides to use Luz as bait. She quickly overpowers Willow and Gus and accidently destroys the hat, stating it wouldn't have worked anyway.
She then sends Willow and Gus to send a message to Eda, who comes to rescue Luz. The two then have another fight, and Lilith angrily reveals that she was the one who cursed Eda. Enraged, Eda attacks Lilith with all her power, nearly putting Luz in danger when she falls off the bridge. Lilith realizes Eda was losing power and endangers Luz more so her sister will use up all her magic. When Eda finally falls to her cure, Lilith restrains her and captures Owlbert. She then tells Luz to return to her realm, and that Eda was with her real family.
Young Blood, Old Souls[]
When Lilith brings Eda to Emperor Belos, he demands she give him the portal to the human realm. When she refuses, he decides to have Luz give it to him, and has Eda taken away. When Belos reveals he had no intention of curing Eda and instead decides to have her petrified, he hands Owlbert to Lilith and tells her to destroy him, something she refuses to do, however. Shocked that the emperor had lied to her, and that she spent so much time serving Belos for nothing, Lilith decides to help Eda escape.
After a brief rumble with Luz, she explains why she cursed Eda, and leads her to where the petrification ceremony is done. However, Belos catches them and throws her and King in the same cage as Eda, planning to petrify them as well. When Eda starts turning to stone, Luz destroys the portal door to stop Belos from getting it and stops the ceremony. When the Coven Scouts surround them, Eda flies everyone back to the Owl House. Lilith then uses a spell to share the curse with Eda, effectively crippling both of their magic. Having lost her magic, and her position in the Coven, Lilith moves in with Eda, King, and Luz. Meanwhile, Belos manages to salvage the portal and begins to rebuild it.
Analysis[]
The lessons we fail to learn[]
What makes Lilith the perfect antagonist for season 1 is that at the core of her villainy is the same refusal to grow up and accept reality which characterized Luz at the beginning of the series. Up until the final episode of the season, Lilith fails or refuses to learn the same lessons which Luz is learning.
One of the first lessons Luz learned after coming to the Boiling Isles, was that if something seems too good to be true then it probably is. Lilith should have learned that after her plan to curse Eda went horribly right, but she didn’t. Luz’s story in Episode 2 episode parallels Lilith’s story throughout season one. Luz and Lilith were each sent, by a male figure they looked at as wise and benevolent, on a misleading quest whose ultimate purpose was to dispose of Eda Clawthorne. Adegast and Belos were able to lie to and take advantage of Luz and Lilith respectively, because Luz and Lilith were already lying to themselves. Luz Noceda wanted a way to become a hero/witch that didn’t involve hard work or patience or growing as a person. Lilith Clawthorne wanted a way to absolve herself of guilt without admitting she’d done anything wrong or growing as a person. Neither wanted to change, and both wanted their feeling of superiority to be validated. This naivety and ego allowed Adegast and Belos to take advantage of Luz and Lilith respectively. Luz Noceda was sent on a fake quest for the Celestial Staff; until Young Blood, Old Souls Lilith Clawthorne was sent on a fake redemption arc. But Luz learns her lesson, and Lilith fails to learn it for the next 30 years.
In Covention we get two sets of rivalries; Luz vs. Amity, and Eda vs. Lilith. Luz is willing to humble herself and admit “I’m not a witch” even when she’s morally in the right; Lilith can’t swallow her pride and has to behave self-righteously eve when she knows she’s in the wrong. Luz is willing to talk things out like adults with Amity, in spite of how Amity has treated her. Lilith on the other hand responds to less than a minute of teasing by violently lashing out against Eda. In other words the adults are fighting like children will the children talk things out like adults. By the end of the episode Luz has won Amity’s respect through humility and honesty, and Lilith has lost Amity’s respect through her arrogance and cheating.
There’s a moment in Once Upon a Swap that really makes it clear that Lilith is failing to learn the same lessons Luz is learning. It’s during the interrogation room scene when Luz (in Eda’s body) says “I can’t just poof my problems away” then Lilith immediately says “But we can. You getting caught was clearly a cry for help. Join the Emperor's Coven, like we dreamed about when we were girls.”
In Sense and Insensitivity, Lilith and Eda’s subplot parallels Luz’s story in Witches Before Wizards. Lilith and Eda; due to their naivety and ego respectively are hoodwinked by a man selling maps to a nonexistent treasure, trying to lure them to their deaths.
In Wing It like Witches Luz tries to make Willow and Gus take part in a sports movie narrative, not listening to what they have to say or caring if it’s what they want, because Luz has decided this is what’s best for them. This is similar to what Lilith is trying to do by forcing Eda to join the Emperor’s Coven, so they can live out a childhood fantasy Eda has outgrown but Lilith still holds onto. The difference is that Luz didn’t need to wait thirty years and almost get her friends turned to stone in order to learn her lesson.
In a twisted way Lilith achieves a version of what Luz was hoping for in Witches Before Wizards; Lilith took a lazy and selfish shortcut, and it paid off. She got to achieve her dreams without actually earning it. Lilith got what she wanted, but her selfish choice still hurt Eda. Lilith looked the consequences of her decision in the face when she saw Eda transform into the Owl Beast for the first time. Instead of grounding her in reality, this event just made Lilith retreat further away from it. For the next 30 years after cursing Eda, Lilith is trapped in a fantasy. She wants to absolve herself of guilt in a way that doesn’t involve admitting to anyone, even herself, that she did anything wrong.
Luz leans several important lessons throughout the 1st season but her track record conditions her to expect neat and tidy resolutions at the end of every adventure. Until "Agony of a Witch", no matter what obstacles she faces or trouble Luz got into, she’d always be able to get out of it with a little ingenuity, magic, luck, or the help of a friend. From Luz’s perspective there were no long term negative consequences. Similarly, Lilith's guilt over having cursed Eda was always mitigated by the lie that Belos would heal the curse and that the damage she'd caused could simply be erased.
The end of Season 1 represents a Loss of Innocence for both Lilith Clawthorne and Luz Noceda. If you take Agony of a Witch and Young Blood, Old Souls to be two halves of one story, then that story is about (among other things) tearing down Luz and Lilith's fantasy of neat and tidy resolutions.
Sacrifices[]
| “ | Emperor Belos always said, "To be great, you have to make sacrifices." What would he do in my situation? I found a spell that would take away her powers. | „ |
The quote Lilith relates from Belos explains why Eda is a stronger witch than Lilith. Eda was the one was willing to make sacrifices. Eda refused to fight her sister, and sacrificed a future in the Emperor’s Coven. Eda chose the path of a wild witch. She took the road that would ensure she could never rely on law enforcement for protection and would always be hunted by them. She chose a path that was harder, a path which required her to be independent, but ultimately this path was more rewarding and liberating. Lilith not only chose the easier road, but also took a lazy and selfish shortcut to get there. Lilith was unwilling to make real sacrifices, and instead decided to throw her sister under the bus and cheat Eda out of a victory and a job that she had earned.
The fight scene between Eda and Lilith at the climax of Agony of a Witch parallels their fight in the backstory in Young Blood, Old Souls. In one Lilith was supposed to fight Eda to get into the Emperor’s Coven, and in the other (among other reasons) Lilith has to fight Eda if she wants to stay in the Emperor’s Coven. In both situations Lilith knew/feared she’d lose to Eda in a fair fight, so Eda decided to cheat. In the first fight she cheated by cursing Eda, and second she uses Luz Noceda as a hostage and a shield. The first fight doesn’t start and the second fight ends; both because Eda makes a sacrifice. Lilith isn't willing to make personal sacrifices, instead she tries to sacrifice someone else to get what she wants.
It's not until Young Blood, Old Souls that Lilith is finally willing to make sacrifices. To restore Eda's humanoid form, Lilith has to split the curse, accepting onto herself the same injury she inflicted on her sister long ago, at the cost of her own magical abilities.
Quotes[]
| “ | Thank you, all. It wasn't easy for me to rise to the top. I also started from humble beginnings. Now I have the highest honor of enforcing the Emperor's will. So be more! The Emperor's Coven awaits you! | „ |
| “ | Sister? It's been so long since I've seen you last! What are you wearing? You look like some sort of trash collector. Oh, right. You are. | „ |
| “ | You think being covenless makes you so much smarter than everyone else. But while you run from the law like a degenerate, I'm mentoring the next generation of powerful witch students into the world. | „ |
| “ | I only did that because I knew you would cheat! | „ |
| “ | Rhyme one more thing. I dare you! | „ |
| “ | You make it so hard to want to help you, Edalyn. | „ |
| “ | Your days are numbered, Edalyn. | „ |
| “ | Sister, the charges against you are long and many. Operating a stand without a permit, owning a hocus without a pocus... | „ |
| “ | Sister. Time and again I've offered you my help, yet you foolishly run back to your worthless life. I'm tired of trying, Edalyn. Your days of running are over! | „ |
| “ | And of course you would be here just to be a nuisance. Why don't you go home and rest? Wouldn't want you breaking a hip. | „ |
| “ | Woe to us whose fates are sealed. | „ |
| “ | Oh, Edalyn. Not only is the curse affecting your hair, but your memory as well. | „ |
| “ | Remember, dear sister, you may have been star player, but I was team captain for a reason. | „ |
| “ | I will be back for you. And next time, I won’t be alone. | „ |
| “ | I haven't forgotten what you've promised me. I will bring you my sister, Emperor Belos. | „ |
| “ | Rest assured, Kiki. I have everything under control. Today, we capture Eda, once and for all. | „ |
| “ | Good. That infernal house demon is asleep. Surround the house! | „ |
| “ | Lilith, think! You've given your entire life to this coven, you can't lose it. What's Eda's weakness? She has no attachment, no friends. Think! | „ |
| “ | Why, if it isn't Eda's human pet. How perfect. Aren't I lucky to find you here. | „ |
| “ | Sister! I see that you got my invitation to a Witch's Duel! | „ |
| “ | You can have her back, provided you do as I say. Renounce your wild ways and join the Emperor's Coven. He can help heal your curse! | „ |
| “ | Maybe you are stronger than me, but that made me work smarter! I became smart, crafty! | „ |
| “ | You always thought you were better than me, that I could never beat you in anything. | „ |
| “ | Then why were you so easy to curse?! | „ |
| “ | A-And I have the power to remove it, if you would just let me explain. | „ |
| “ | Leave, human! Edalyn is finally with her family. Her real family. Go back to your world. This one is ours. | „ |
| “ | Don't look at me like that. This is for your own good. Emperor Belos will heal you, and we'll be in his coven together. Isn't that wonderful? | „ |
| “ | I will not fall prey to your childish games! | „ |
| “ | My Lord, I apologize for my sister's rash behavior. She is still in her cursed form. Once you've healed her, as promised, I am sure she will become a useful asset to the coven! | „ |
| “ | With this spell declared, let the pain be shared. | „ |
| “ | Being in the Emperor's Coven was my dream. I wanted to work alongside the most powerful witch on the Isles and make the world a better place. | „ |
| “ | I made my sacrifice for the Emperor... and it was time to receive my reward. | „ |
| “ | I've been pursuing Edalyn because if she joined the Emperor's coven, Emperor Belos told me he would heal her curse. But he lied to me. I know how to rescue Edalyn, but I can't do it alone. | „ |
| “ | No, human. No amount of elixir can heal her now. Oh, sister. I should have done this a long time ago. With this spell declared, let the pain be shared. | „ |
Trivia[]
- The name "Lilith" has its roots in Mesopotamian mythology as a malicious goddess that prey upon little children, and in Abrahamic mythology as the first wife of Adam — who was created along side Adam, only to be replaced by Eve, as she was banished from Eden for her rebellious behavior against God. Due to all the historical and mythological contexts surrounding the name, it has become popular in modern depictions of witches, vampire's, and succubi.
- In "Wing It Like Witches", it is revealed she and Eda used to play grudgby matches and Lilith was the captain of the grudgby team.
- When she was younger Lilith was in the Hexside school choir, until Eda pranked the choir by replacing their music books with the incantation to summon a horde of demonic music critic rats, resulting in the choir's disbandment.
- Originally, Lilith was the Hexmaster of Hexside and a more villainous character in the pitch pilot and pitch bible. Instead of cursing Eda when they were kids, she cursed Eda as adults under the orders of Obron.
External Links[]
- Lilith Clawthorne on the Heroes Wiki
- Lilith Clawthorne on the Disney Wiki
- Lilith Clawthorne on the The Owl House Wiki
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 Villains
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