Philip Wittebane’s brother is the Owl Beast theory
So I was trying to sleep at night, and suddenly something occured to me. Somehow, I wanted to put all my thoughts that I had in a post. So what if the owl beast, Eda’s curse — is actually Philip Wittebane’s brother? I’ll call him William, because that’s how this fandom calls him.
A might delete this later? I also apologize for possible grammar mistakes, I’m not a native English speaker.
Do you guys remember the code message from season 1?
“Two Witches Torn Apart
Now Alone
Two Hearts Of Stone
A Curse Of Feathers And Mud
A Betrayal Of Blood”
“A Curse Of Feathers And Mud”! “A Betrayal Of Blood” Okay, at first I thought it was about the Clawthorne sisters. With Eda having the curse of feathers — and blood is her having a kinsman, a sister who betrayed her by cursing her. But then in “Hunting Palisman”, we saw that Emperor Belos, like Eda — is also cursed. His curse is extremely similar to that of mud.
Not only that, he has a kinsman too, a brother. Why else would Hunter call Belos uncle? What if it isn’t about the Clawthorne sisters, but about the Wittebane brothers? With Belos being Philip, having de curse of mud — and William having the curse of feathers?
We don’t really know very much about the owl beast. All we know is that the owl beast was once a living being who roamed free in the demon realm — for God knows how long, before it was captured by the collector — and turned into a curse. It ended up at the night market after being lost at sea for a long time, until Lilith found it.
Although the backstory of the owl beast is pretty sad, it’s strange that it first had a normal life before it was turned into a curse. It’s just weird that it even has a backstory in the first place! Somehow, It feels like the owl beast is important besides just being Eda’s curse — and that we were going to learn more about its previous life.
William Wittebane being the owl beast sounds pretty important to me. It could also explain the backstory of the collector — and to who she is as a whole. We’re definitely not done with the backstory of the owl beast — and the collecter, there is more to it.
What’s interesting to me is that William’s palisman was Lil’ Rascal. And yes, Lil’ Rascal was William’s palisman, not Philip’s! If you look at the picture of the Wittebane brothers from Hopkins’ book, Philip’s coat is unbuttoned up — and he’s wearing a belt, just like his statue! William however, you can see that Rascal is on his shoulder. Which means Rascal was his palisman. William’s coat is always buttoned up — and he does not wear a belt, just like his statue! Etc…
William’s Palisman represents the desire for freedom! The desire to be outside, exploring the world and the desire for knowledge. But also the desire to escape control — and to be free of any responsibilities! That’s why Rascal is Hunter’s palisman in the first place, but also because he and William looked identical — not just personality wise!
So what makes it so interesting that Lil’ Rascal is William’s Palisman? Why am I mentioning all this? Well, If the owl beast is indeed William, it’s pretty sad for such a free spirited person like him to be imprisoned for centuries — while he has always longed for freedom. I’m sure it must be terrible for him to be imprisoned like that. I don’t know, I felt like it was something I should mention. Dana also said that birds are a Clawthorne thing. Could Rascal symbolize William’s connection to Eda as her curse?
But why didn’t Belos recognized his brother when he met Eda in the finale of season 1? I don’t really know, perhaps there is a logical explanation for this.
The only counter argument is that William could not be the owl beast — is if Hunter is a grimwalker, cloned after William. You need a bone of ortet to clone someone, so William must be dead for that. Maybe you just need a piece of dna — like a strand of hair for example? Perhaps there is a logical explanation for this too?
We don’t really know much about the Wittebane brothers and their past, nor about grimwalkers. So this theory about William being the owl beast is still on the table, for now at least.
If this theory is true, I can’t help but wonder, how did these two brothers got cursed? Only time will tell.
Conclusion: William somehow transformed into the owl beast, got later transformed into a curse by the collector — and now lives inside Eda.
I know I made a theory about this before. But I wanted to make a new, and more detailed theory about it. Some of the topics will come up again.
I’m going to do my best to explain everything as best I can!
First we have to look at the secret code message from season 1.
“Two witches torn apart
Now alone
Two hearts of stone
A curse of feathers and mud
A betrayal of blood”
The message talks about two people and two curses, one of mud and one of feathers. Then the message mentions a betrayal by blood.
I suspect that the two persons mentioned in the message are cursed. These two persons are presumably related, since blood can be another word for blood relative. One of the two could presumably have betrayed the other, and that resulted in both being cursed.
But who would this secret code message be about? Well, at first I thought it would be about the Clawthorne sisters. Eda and Lilith are blood relatives, and Lilith betrayed her sister by giving her the curse of feathers. But when you think about it more deeply… What about the curse of mud? Something clearly doesn’t add up.
And then “Yesterdays Lie” came out. This episode confirmed that Philip Wittebane had a brother, and that he was in the demon realm with him.
“Elsewhere and Elsewhen” confirmed that Emperor Belos is none other than Philip Wittebane, something that the fandom had been speculating for a long time.
“Eclipse Lake,” the episode that came out before “Yesterdays Lie” and “Elsewhere and Elsewhen,” also further confirmed that Emperor Belos is apparently cursed. And what strikes me, his curse is also very similar to that of mud.
To put it briefly. Emperor Belos, aka Philip Wittebane has a blood relative, a brother that is. And he has a curse that is very similar to that of mud.
That’s when I realized, if Belos is the person in the message who has the curse of mud. What happened to his brother? Why is he gone? Could Belos’ brother, his blood relative, be the person in the message who has the curse of feathers?
If you’ve seen any of my posts on tumblr and “Any Sport in a Storm,” you know why I call the brother Caleb.
Someone on Tumblr pointed out that when Eda was fully transformed into the owl beast in “Young Blood, Old Souls,” the owl beast was destroying a banner with Belos’ face on it. This is not Eda, this is the owl beast. The owl beast has taken over Eda’s consciousness. Belos had to cast a spell on the owl beast, so Eda could regained her consciousness, and he could speak to her. Because the owl beast, and not Eda, was destroying the banner with Belos’ face on it, it felt like the owl beast was holding some kind of grudge against Belos. As if the owl beast actually recognized Belos. If the owl beast is really Caleb, this makes everything so clear.
But who could be responsible for both brothers being cursed?
In “Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door,” we found out a little more about the owl beast and his past. We found out that the owl beast is a being with feelings and thoughts of its own, and that it is suffering as much under the curse as Eda.
Not only that, the owl beast also has a past. The owl beast first roamed free, until it was captured by the collector, attached to a curse parchment, and thus became a curse.
Why is the past of the owl beast being shown if the owl beast is not important? No, there is more to the owl beast than simply being the curse of Eda. It is very clear that the owl beast is very important, otherwise the owl beast’s past would not be shown. If Caleb was to be the owl beast, is in my opinion very important though.
The owl beast obviously has some sort of connection and history with the collector. And you know who also has a connection and history with the collector? Exactly, Belos! The collector has a connection and history with both the owl beast and Belos.
i believe the collector is responsibly for both brothers being cursed. Caleb became the owl beast because of the collector, and eventually became a curse. If Belos knows the collector and has a connection to them, then Caleb must have known the collector too, right?
The secret code message talks about a betrayal of blood. These are the options what I think it could mean.
1. Blood probably means blood relative. I believe Philip made a pact with the collector. Why? Maybe he wanted revenge on Caleb. But the collector tricked him, and because of this, both brothers became cursed. Philip technically betrayed Caleb then, because he is the reason they both got cursed.
2. Maybe it’s not about a betrayal by a blood relative at all, but some kind of blood pact Belos made with the collector. Or maybe both brothers made a blood pact? But the collector tricked Philip or both brothers, and because of this the brothers became cursed. A betrayal by blood.
There are so many possible scenarios what could have happened.
I can already see you thinking. “Then what about Hunter? Then how can he be a Grimwalker from Caleb if he is supposed to be the owl beast? You have to have a bone from the person you would like to clone, so Caleb would have to be dead for this, right? And the owl beast is alive.”
Well, maybe there is a logical explanation for that. Here are three options that I can think of.
1. Maybe Belos had managed to get a bone from Caleb before he got the curse of feathers? You can lose a finger or something, and still live. Whether you can live with one less bone without amputation, I don’t know. You can also do many things with magic, anything is possible in the demon realm.
2. We don’t really know everything about the curse of feathers either. We don’t know what it is, how it happened, and how the curse goes into effect. So it’s possible for Belos to still be able to get a bone from Caleb.
3. There is a lot of evidence that there is some kind of connection going on between the Wittebanes and the Clawthornes, and because of this Hunter could be a descendant of the Clawthorne family. Caleb might have been married to a Clawthorne, and together they might have had a son. And that son might be Hunter. Hunter could be the Grimwalker of Caleb’s dead son. That explains why Hunter has witch’s ears. If Hunter were a Grimwalker of Caleb, shouldn’t he have human ears? But how could Caleb’s son have died? Caleb, as the owl beast, might have accidentally killed Belos’ sister-in-law and cousin. Belos says his family is gone because of wild magic, is that what he meant? Hunter said that Belos had found him after an accident with his family by wild magic, and took him in. Maybe Belos had found Hunter’s dead body after Caleb, as the owl beast, killed their family. Took one of his bones, made a Grimwalker, and took him in. If so, then what Hunter said is kind of true.
Speaking of a possible connection between the Wittebanes and the Clawthornes. We know that Caleb was the original owner of Flapjack, right? Dana said that birds are generally a Clawthorne thing. If Caleb were the owl beast, that’s further proof that he married into the Clawthorne family and the connection between the two families. Owls are birds!
“But if Caleb is the owl beast, why didn’t Belos recognized his brother in: Young Blood, Old Souls?” Maybe Belos wasn’t aware of what exactly happened to his brother. Who knows, maybe he only knows that the collector is the reason Caleb is gone.
What struck me, isn’t it strange that Hunter, who is an exact copy of Caleb, is the only one who wears an owl mask when he is the golden guard? Could that be a nod to Caleb being the owl beast?
I wonder why Belos summoned the collector in “Elsewhere and Elsewhen?” Could he have made a second pact with the collector? Could the pact involve his brother? The collector apparently likes to collect unique and rare things. Whether Hunter is a Grimwalker from Caleb or Caleb’s son, he is actually unique and rare. In exchange for Hunter, Belos gets from the collector his brother back, cured of his curse and an extended life so he can bring out the day of unity. Wild witches have taken something precious from him, his brother. So with the day of unity he takes something precious from the witches, their magic. The perfect revenge, right? Plus he’ll be back home with his brother by his side. Okay, perhaps this sounds a little ridiculous. It’s high likely that this probably isn’t Belos’ goal, but who knows
Okay, but the fact that we might have another huntlow interaction in Hollow Mind.
Hear me out!
If you look at Hunter’s feet, there’s a spellcircle. He is purposely doing the spell to go inside Belos’ mind. His staff is activated. It’s definitely from “Hollow Mind”. Obviously, it’s the same spellcircle when Luz and Amity went into Willow’s mind in “Understanding Willow”.
But it makes me wonder, did someone told him about it? How did Hunter know about the spell? Sure, he could’ve read it in a book or something. But what if that isn’t the case? What if someone told him about it?
Luz and Amity surely wouldn’t have told him, even though they are aware of the spell’s excistence. But as for right now, their relationship with Hunter is not so great at the moment. Gus however, also knows about the spell. He and Hunter are friends. They follow each other on Penstagram, so Gus could’ve easily told Hunter about the spell. But I feel like Gus has not enough knowledge about it. He never went in someone’s mind, and nobody went into his. He has no experience.
There is one person left who could’ve most likely have told Hunter about the spell, and that’s Willow. in “Understanding Willow”, Amity and Luz went into Willow’s mind. Willow has enough knowledge and experience, as much as Amity and Luz does.
There was immediately chemistry between Willow and Hunter since they first met. They understand and relate to each other. Hunter and Willow also follow each other on Penstagram, so Willow easily could’ve told Hunter about the spell through text or video calling.
So yeah, there’s a chance that they’re gonna interact again in “Hollow Mind”. I wouldn’t be surprised if the episode starts with Hunter and Willow video calling each other, and that’s when Willow tells him about the spell.
I wonder what Hunter’s and Willow’s relationship is going to be in like “Hollow Mind”. They must’ve texted and video called a lot during that time. Could it be that they’ve developed a crush on each other off screen by now? Or would their relationship just be platonic and it stays that way?
How funny would it be if Willow text Hunter when he and Luz are in Belos’ mind, and Luz immediately knows what’s up and starts to tease Hunter like siblings do. I would love to see it.
What if Philip and Caleb had some type of Grindeldore relationship going on, but platonic? Philip is Grindelwald in that situation, of course. And Caleb is Dumbledore. If you’ve read the Harry Potter books, or at least watched the movies, ya know what I’m talking about.
(I don’t support Jk Rowlings views, just wanna put it out there.)
Obviously it makes so much sense from a character perspective, but I continue to be extremely messed-up about the fact that over the course of the fight with Belos, we see almost all the kids make direct attacks on his monstrous form (Willow’s restraining vines, Amity’s abominations, Luz’s glyph magic, Gus’ memory onslaught) – except for Hunter, who never actually attacks Belos, just defends his friends, trying to keep them all safe from the man who hurt him and so many others but who he still can’t help but see as family.
Which also makes Belos’ attempted mind games with him during the exact same fight a particularly low blow. “Why are you hurting me, Hunter?” – actually, he is very specifically the only one who isn’t!!
Something something parallel between Caleb (dead and haunting the narrative, corpse is a plot point which creates more life in its destruction) and the Titan (dead and haunting the narrative, corpse is a plot point which creates more life in its destruction)
I guess we now know why they both died in the same pose…
Both important father figures from the human and demon realms with a lone, last-of-his kind son, a Clawthorne who is learning about and discovering the heritage he never even knew about; While confronting the respective murderer who still holds a grudge even after all this time, both from the same respective realm as the victim!
Probably nothing, but I would like to point this out.
In this scene we see Belos drop the collector down an abyss.
And we all KNOW what’s down there…
And then after this scene with Belos, it cuts back to The Gang™️ and it shows Hunter falling similarity to The Collector.
Now I’m not saying that this is foreshadowing that Hunter will be going down that abyss and see all of those dead Grimwalkers… but… I’m saying that this is foreshadowing that Hunter will be going down that abyss and see all of those dead Grimwalkers.
The show probably won’t do that, but knowing about the whole “Belos splash zone” that got cut, I don’t think the creators are afraid to make Hunter go through even more horrible, real fucked up, shit. Like, being splattered with your uncles remains?? Fucked up! Seeing all of your dead predecessors/ clones corpses? Fucked up! The creators are really not afraid of making Hunter go through morbid and gruesome shit like THAT. Honestly, the creators are just playing a fun little game at how they can make Hunters mental state even worse!! So him seeing the golden guard graveyard is a possibility that doesn’t seem too off the table.
In Hollow Mind, after seeing the palismen ‘monster’ (which looks exactly like Belos’s cursed form) Hunter tells Luz they’re probably being punished. He immediately associates this form of Belos and his goop abilities as a punishment, something to fear. He also seems to be more scared of it than Luz is in that episode.
We see a similar reaction in the latest episode too. When they first catch up with Luz, he’s the only one to not greet her because he’s too focused on Belos. During the fight scene, the only time he moved was to protect his friends, but otherwise just stood there watching in fear.
And it’s because this form is how Belos punished him. We’ve seen it (or at least, belos threatening it) once already, we’ve seen Hunter flinching away from it, and we’ve seen how trigger happy Belos is with his abilities from his interaction with the collector.
This form is what he faces when he fails. It’s like the embodiment of his physical abuse. While Belos’s 'human’ form is literally the face of his emotional trauma.
Which makes this scene all the more painful
And this all the more brave
“You’re lying!”
Btw heres some more trauma points:
Hunter was unknowingly feeding the monster hes so afraid of when he had to bring Belos palismen, and he thought the palismen were helping the curse he so desperately tried to find a cure for, since Belos made out he was suffering and was in pain (which tbf he probably was at the time) but then in Hollow Mind he openly admitted in front of the poor boy that he 'cursed’ himself on purpose so he could have these goop abilities, which means he never wanted a cure and was just using the situation to make Hunter feel bad for him and more likely to do what he says.
