Luz’s palisman hatched in Owl House, and Stringbean was the big payoff

The penultimate episode of The Owl House aired on Saturday, and it brought the show’s teenage witches back to the Boiling Isles to fully realize the havoc that the mysterious Collector had wreaked upon the realm.

But amid the reunions with some minor characters and some insight on just what tiny demon King, kooky witch Eda, and her sister Lilith have been doing these past few months, The Owl House’s second season 3 episode also showcased some big character moments for Luz and her friends. Most notably: Luz’s palisman finally hatched — and the form it took was hugely symbolic of her character arc.

[Ed. note: This post contains major spoilers for “For the Future.”]

In the world of The Owl House, palismen are magical animals that not only serve as companions for the witches, but also transform into their staffs. They’re carved from a special wood and when they “hatch,” they bond with the person who created them. Palisman wood is increasingly rare, however, so many witches end up adopting abandoned palismen. But in the penultimate episode of season 2, Eda gives Luz a piece of rare palisman wood for her to carve. Since then, it’s been in egg form, unhatched as of yet. The last episode of season 2 left Luz and her friends stranded in the human realm, where they remained for a few months. During that entire time, Luz’s palisman remained unhatched, despite her best efforts. But with the gang finally able to return to the Boiling Isles at the end of the season 3 premiere, the time for magical happenings to occur is nigh.

Early in the new episode, Luz and Amity talk about their palismen. Amity tells Luz that her palisman, a white cat named Ghost, only hatched when she admitted her deepest wish to herself: Her greatest desire wasn’t to be a great witch or a great author, but to be able to choose that path for herself. Luz confesses that she has two big wishes — being a witch and helping her friends — but neither of those things seem to work well together and also clearly have not helped the palisman hatch.

After a heart-to-heart with her mother, in which Camila confides in Luz about why she misguidedly tried to protect her and apologizes, Luz finally admits that her deepest wish is simply to be understood. The realization causes the palisman egg to glow, turning into a staff that allows Luz to channel magic without the use of the usual glyphs she writes. During the big battle, the palisman is still forming, so it’s mostly just a glowing orb. But after the dust settles, Luz reveals her newly hatched friend…

A snake-shifter! Luz names the little gal who can warp her appearance Stringbean. Not only is she very cute, but throughout the show Luz has had an affinity for snakes — one that made her stand out back in the human world (the whole series kicked off because Luz got in trouble for using live snakes in a book report). And as many fans guessed, Luz’s palisman would end up being some sort of snake. Palisman can be both “normal” animals and magical ones, but the fact that Luz got a magical version of an animal she loves is particularly meaningful.

Season 3 has seen Luz debating whether or not she did want to stay in the Boiling Isles. For one thing, as a human, she doesn’t really belong in the witch and demon realm. But for another, she’s felt like all her attempts to help her friends have only messed things up for them. In the first episode of this season, Luz had basically decided to stay with her mother in the human world — though only Camila knows about this and is trying to get Luz to follow her heart instead of doing what is expected. The fact that Luz’s palisman manifests as a magical creature speaks to the fact that Luz should stay in the Boiling Isles and that she belongs among the witches and demons even though she is a human.

However, before Luz can make the decision to stay in the Boiling Isles, she and her friends need to save it. The teenagers and Camila still need to reunite with Eda, King, and Lilith. The Collector remains at large, though their relatively innocent childlike whims might be warped by puritanical Emperor Belos’ desire to wipe out all witches. There is a lot of saving the world to do and only one more episode to do it in.

“For the Future” is available to watch on Disney Channel’s YouTube.