"Once Upon a Swap" is the eighth episode of the first season of The Owl House, and the eighth episode overall.[5]
It premiered on March 6, 2020.
Synopsis
A simple disagreement leads to a complex situation when Eda, King and Luz triple-down on a wager, leading to many problems.
Plot
While selling human treasures in the market, Luz, Eda, and King get into some disagreements about each other's hardships. Luz lets herself get bullied by Boscha and her friends while King insists she attempt to take a stand, only for them to fawn over him when he does so. Eda tries to sell Boscha's gang some outdated human clothes, only for them to laugh at her and leave. Eda then takes down Luz's new light-up sign for her stand, knowing it would attract the law's attention. Luz fails to understand why she worries so much when she is the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles and can simply "magic away" her problems. King is fed up with everyone pampering him like a baby while Eda thinks it's an easy life. Eda proposes that they all swap bodies for the day and see who has the easiest life. The one who proves it gets out of house cleaning duty (namely out of cleaning the notoriously filthy Hooty.) Luz switches with Eda, King switches with Luz, and Eda switches with King.
Eda's Catastrophe
Eda (as King) wanders around town, receiving a lot of affection from everyone she passes, even from an Emperor's guard. She then bumps into two elderly ladies, Roselle and Dottie, who take her to a Kitty Cafe they run. Eda enjoys the attention and hospitality the two old ladies provide until they refuse to let her leave, even dressing Eda (as King) in a bee costume. She discovers a room containing all the pets the two ladies have abducted. They're stuck in a trance, their minds turned to mush after being pampered for so long. Eda manages to escape, but the ladies catch her before she can get out of the café, and they lock her up in a room to display her as the best cat in the café.
King's Brush With Death
King (as Luz) usurps command of Boscha's friends, and leads them on a spree of mischief and mayhem around Bonesborough. This angers Boscha, and she decides to teach "Luz" a lesson. She challenges King to a race around Dead Man's Curve on giant rat worms. King (as Luz) accepts, but soon regrets it, as he falls down on the teens' Treasure Shack, destroying it. Angry at losing the shack, Boscha's friends chase after King (as Luz). He hides in the same Kitty Café where Eda (as King) is, and gets caught by the two elderly ladies for violating their "No teens" policy.
Luz's Deals in Heels
Luz (as Eda), struggling to walk in heels and controlling Eda's magic, uses her newfound abilities to attract more customers to the stand, making lucrative profits. However, she also attracts the attention of the Emperor's guards who arrest her, and take her to the station. Luz (as Eda) is taken to the interrogation room where she meets Eda's sister and leader of the Emperor's Coven, Lilith. She tries to convince everyone that she is not Eda, but nobody believes her. Lilith reads out the charges against her, and offers her a chance of redemption by joining the Emperor's Coven. She almost has her branded, until Luz (as Eda) accidentally casts a fire blast spell when she tries to resist. She flees, and helps Eda and King escape from the Kitty Café.
They soon find themselves surrounded by Lilith and the Emperor's guards, Roselle and Dottie, and Boscha's gang. All three of them have come to an understanding that none of their lives are as simple as the others perceive, and return to their original bodies. Eda then casts the body-swap spell on everyone else, allowing the three of them to escape in the chaos. However, they're now left with the question of who's going to clean Hooty, as both he and the Owl House are long overdue for a cleanup. As Luz is about to suggest working together, Eda and King count themselves out and leave a disgusted Luz to clean.
Cast
- Sarah-Nicole Robles as Luz Noceda
- Wendie Malick as Eda Clawthorne
- Alex Hirsch as King and Hooty
- Eden Riegel as Boscha and Amelia (uncredited)
- Cissy Jones as Lilith Clawthorne and Dottie
- Jake Green as Mr. Tuxedo
- Grey DeLisle as Roselle
Additional voices
- Kimberly D. Brooks as Skara, Woman, Goblin Customer, and Flowers
- Matt Chapman as Green Monster Man, Blue Cat Demon, Delicate Man, Elf, Blue Monster Customer, and Orange Bucktooth Customer
- Arin Hanson as Coven Guards and Oracle Student
- Roger Craig Smith as Potions Student, Man, Mugshot Photographer, and Coven Guards
Title in other languages
| Language | Title | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Spanish (Latin America)
|
Cambio de cuerpos | Change of Bodies | |
 Portuguese (Brazil)
|
Cuida da Minha Vida | Take Care of My Life | |
 Mandarin
|
奇妙換身咒 | Fantastical Body-Swapping Spell | |
 Czech
|
Výměna těl | Swapping bodies | |
 German
|
Körpertausch | Body Swap | |
 Arabic
|
التبادل | Exchange | |
 Spanish
|
Érase una vez un intercambio | Once Upon a Swap | |
 Finnish
|
Ruumiinvaihto | Body Swap | |
 French
|
Échange de corps | Body Swap | |
 Hebrew
|
היה הייתה החלפה | There Was a Replacement | |
 Italian
|
Scambio di corpo | Body Exchange | |
 Japanese
|
肉体交換 | Body Exchange | |
 Korean
|
몸 바꾸기 | Body Swap | |
 Malay
|
Adegan Pertaruhan | Betting Scene | |
 Dutch
|
Er was eens een wissel | Once Upon a Swap | |
 Portuguese
|
A História de uma Troca | The Story of a Swap | |
 Russian
|
Рискованный обмен | Risky Exchange | |
 Turkish
|
Bir Zamanlar Bir Değişim Varmış | There Was Once A Change |
Transcript
| For a full transcript of "Once Upon a Swap", click here. |
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
Trivia
- Viewership: This episode was watched by 0.51 viewers on its premiere.[2]
- This is the first episode where Luz, Eda, and King each have segments, with the screen coming back from the black screen fade and transitioning to the next main character. This would later happen again in "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door". The names of each main character's segment:
- Eda (in King's body): Eda's Catastrophe.
- King (in Luz's body): King's Brush with Death.
- Luz (in Eda's body): Luz's Deals in Heels.
- This is the first episode to have a 2020 copyright date in the credits. All episodes that aired before it, as well as five others that aired after, were produced in 2019 according to the credits. However, the actual first episode produced in 2020 was "The First Day".
- This is the first episode where the airing number doesn't match with the production number. This episode aired is the eighth in airing order, but its production code is 116 which means that it was the sixteenth episode produced.
- The production code 116 implies that after "Something Ventured, Someone Framed" (109), another six episodes were produced first, but aired outside the corresponding production code number. These episodes, respectively between the aforementioned episode and "Once Upon a Swap", were "Adventures in the Elements" (110), "Sense and Insensitivity" (111), "Really Small Problems" (112), "The First Day" (113), and "Understanding Willow" (114).
- Despite the debut order of 109>108>116, they aired in the 108>109>116 production order during an April marathon of all 10 episodes.
- This is the first episode where the airing number doesn't match with the production number. This episode aired is the eighth in airing order, but its production code is 116 which means that it was the sixteenth episode produced.
- Eda's booking number is W92038.
- The following wanted posters were at the precinct station:
- Lord Ham for $300
- Snake Eater for $300,000
- Mean Slime for $100
- Leech Boy for $13,000
- Poor Eddy for $90,000
- Trash Noble for $200,000
- Mass of Skulls for $100,000,000
- The headline of the newspaper being read at the egg stop reads, "Giraffe Sighting Stokes Panic".
- Luz was able to bring Eda's power down to a level she could control by wearing a pair of oven mitts with holes in them for her pointer fingers. This strongly suggests that a witch's power can be restricted by confining their hands.
- Additionally, Eda can perform magic with her staff in King's body, even though his body doesn't have magic, and Luz was capable of calling Owlbert with her hands tied meaning this restriction doesn't affect the staff.
- This is the first episode to star Boscha as an antagonist, after her supporting role in "Hooty's Moving Hassle".
- When Eda (in King's body) jams the door to prevent Roselle and Dottie from making her wear the bee costume, the eighth rune code is visible on a small bookshelf:
, which translates to "hearts". - The next air date for this episode in Southeast Asia and Latin America broadcast got skipped.
- This is the only episode where Boscha refers to Luz by her name. After this episode, Boscha exclusively calls her "human".
- Even then, she only calls Luz by her name while King is in her body.
Revelations and significant events
- According to her mugshot, Eda is 7'6" tall. This is in heels and to the top of her hair. Although, this could be a different form of measurement.
- Eda wanted to be in the Emperor's Coven as a child.
- Hooty is 20% mucus.
Allusions
- Once upon a time - The title of the episode is a reference to the opening statement of various European fairy tales.
- Freaky Friday - Freaky Fraturday (which Luz says is her favorite early 2000s movie) is a parody of the 2003 film.
- Dead Man's Curve - The race Boscha and co. participate in takes place in a place called "Dead Man's Curve". This is a nickname in America given to sections of a road where numerous crashes have occurred.
- Final Fantasy XII - A depiction of a Gil Snapper from this game can be spotted on a poster in the scene where Luz (in Eda's body) knocks over a lamp.
Errors
- King (as Luz) appears to flinch for a single frame while being challenged by Boscha.
- When Boscha and her gang chase after King (as Luz), Skara is momentarily layered above Boscha despite being behind her.
Edits
- "Dumb" and "ding dang" (with all the other "dang" words) were cut in the English audio track in Southeast Asia broadcast.
Memorable quotes
Video
References
- ↑ Once Upon a Swap concept by Mattieu Cousin 4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Metcalf, Mitch (March 9, 2020). SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Friday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 3.6.2020. Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 2, 2020.
- ↑ Disney+ Channel UK [@DCUK_NEWS] (August 9, 2020). "Don't miss out BRAND NEW Show The Owl House starts tomorrow at 9:30pm! Monday to Fridays at 9:30pm" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Disney Channel UK HD, Monday, Aug 19, 2020". TV24.co.uk. Retrieved on January 8, 2023.
- ↑ "Disney Channel March Premieres -- Updated 3/18". cabletvt.powerrangermail.net (February 14, 2020).