Alador Blight is not a Good Parent! (The Owl House Video Essay) (2K Subscriber Special)

[@Lboogie0711]

I feel like alador was probably in an arranged with odalia. Maybe he grew to love over time, plus alador follows along with whatever odalia wants to please her.

[@jbcatz5]

The focus on social class and standing, not inconceivable. She’s the face and personality that sells his products.

[@Lboogie0711]

@@jbcatz5 yeah true

[@msk-qp6fn]

I wonder who married into the Blight name tho From what we see i think Alador actually married into Odalia's family

[@regularguy2807]

@@msk-qp6fn But remember what Alador said that a blight always upholds their end of the deal. I think odalia was the one who married into the blight family, his family.

[@StonedHunter]

to me that makes more sense if she is the born Blight as it's him holding her to her own family's standards.

[@astripedgoon6579]

There's a phrase saying that the opposite of love isn't hate, but rather apathy. I would argue that Alador is worse because he's not passive to Amity's abuse but rather completely disinterested. The only time he does anything for Amity is when he realizes that Amity could become a coven head, which is to say the only time he even thinks of her is when she's useful to the family, any other moment in the episode he doesn't care.

[@cutiepie120048]

Yep, exactly - good point 👏

[@pxix8209]

I think, that he might not be so bad, but only depresed, or completly domined by his wife. Maybe just he lose all his selfdependence?

[@astripedgoon6579]

@@pxix8209 An interesting thought, but he didn't seem like that to me. I wonder how they're going to be portrayed in futured episodes because one episode of screentime isn't enough to fully understand them.

[@lilliluna1410]

honestly the "strong enough to become a coven head someday" felt a bit like he was telling Odalia what she wanted to hear not about what he was interested in

[@msk-qp6fn]

@@lilliluna1410 yes, i saw it that way as well but i still am not convinced that alador is better than odalia. or even if he is as a person, i am not sure as a parent he is better.

[@Caspariana]

I think Ed and Em are being ignored by their parents because they are illusionists, wich is a coven that almost no one seems to be taking seriously. Illusionists are considered weak and since you can't change a witches magic, they ended up ignoring the twins, once they had Amity, who showed an affinity for abominations.

[@msk-qp6fn]

now that i think of it, maybe em and ed decided the illusionist coven as an act of rebellion.

[@kyliviie2903]

What if Amity's parents MADE her choose the abomination track?

[@shannonhensley2942]

@@kyliviie2903 they 100% did.she sucks at it and ends up really struggling. However she get better over time due to the amount of practing including using the wand. She gets good because she's expected to be good.

[@mercipurrs]

Most likely that's why Odalia and Alador never get E&E in trouble when they do something bad-- They just don't care enough to put in the effort.

[@idiotgaming6376]

I think he's a shitty parent but not a shitty person just neglectful and distracted easily finding it easier to just let his wife do what she wants

[@kichisokoinkling]

Ngl I have a hunch that's why she married him, so that he wouldn't get in the way while using her children for business & to abuse his skills making these monsters for *HER* to sale and auction on. Honestly, knowing he's distracted, I think he just got himself into this without knowing and was like "oh ok, I'm doing this now" or he was kind of dragged into it. These are just some of my theories and thoughts though.

[@idiotgaming6376]

@@kichisokoinkling I think he also was fine with the buisness opertunity the only thing that seems to be able to keep his attention is his work so he's like cool she can help make stuff *fallows butterfly*

[@kichisokoinkling]

@@idiotgaming6376 yeah! Hopefully we get more character development for him, plus there was a scene in Eda & Lillith's backstory where his wife and himself were watching them battle

[@izzieb.2926]

That's what I was saying

[@cami7829]

I agree, he’s a terrible parent but I hope we see some sort of character development bc I still rlly like him as a character. I’ve never seen anyone word it like you did, you explained it rlly well, he lets his wife do these things bc it’s easier for him not bc he’s a bad person, but over time he’s grown to do unkind things himself to make her happy.

[@darthestar8791]

Here's how I see it: Odalia is a manipulative controlling mother. Meanwhile Alador is a goofy yet neglectful father who enables Odalia's behavior. Both of them are strict parents that put harsh standards on their kids, or at least in Amity's case that's what's happening. And both are bad parents, Alador just so happens to be the lesser of two evils.

[@ericbrower611]

I think it's not so much neglect, as it is resignation. Alador shows no real compliance to Odalia's wishes. He has simply resigned himself to the fact she will do what she wants regardless of the consequences. His comment to her during the demonstration regarding the proven effectiveness of Abomiton 2.0™ shows this. The light in his eyes, and the smile on his face, during Amity's act of defiance, shows he recognizes her potential being realized. And he realized the best way to fulfill that potential is to stop being so controlling. Thus his own challenging of Odalia's authority. Which is the central issue. Odalia wanted control even if it stifled potential. This incident gave Alador a chance to show her better results could be achieved by simply loosening the choker chain.

[@rockbainer7515]

yo dar the star

[@SaKura-il8op]

Odalia is the abusive parent and Alador is the neglecting parent.

[@47ratsinahoodie]

Neglect is a form of abuse, I think you'd have to be more specific with Odalia

[@roses4641]

@@47ratsinahoodie Odalia is the active abusive parent while Alador is the neglectful one

[@msk-qp6fn]

@@roses4641 odalia is active, alador is passive but both are abusive in their own form

[@roses4641]

@@msk-qp6fn Oh sorry I meant that Odalia is active abuser while Alador is the neglectful abuser

[@tigerslikewater]

Odalia is controlling I don't think she physically abuses her definitely mentally but not physically and agadir is neglectful

[@pockystyx4087]

I've mentioned this in other places; but Alador is pretty much the kind of parent who seems to care only about the work he does, and the power/status it gives his name. He only "steps in" when Amity shows she's gained enough power to rival something he worked on; and even then, he was totally cool with just letting a kid die on stage. I also brought up that this is still the same guy that threatened baby Willow; and I cannot forgive him lol

[@KittyMonk]

I think what makes the scene with Luz worse is this is in public, where people can see the Blights. What if the Abomiton demonstration took place in private? Would he step in then?

[@pockystyx4087]

@@KittyMonk he also didn't exactly "step in" for Amity; more to uphold the family motto. The thing that actually seemed to matter more. then he went off to catch bugs again.

[@GracefullyAutistic]

@@KittyMonk Yes that's very true! My mom has always taught me that people are always on their best behavior when in public, including abusive people. So if abusive people like the Blights are already showing behavioral red flags out in public, then what exactly are they hiding in private?

[@doges6467]

@@pockystyx4087 to me it felt more like he was calling out his wife’s hypocrisy instead of actually caring about a motto. Then it just seemed like he told her amity could become a coven head because it’s something odalia wanted to hear

[@pockystyx4087]

@@doges6467 I'd be more inclined to agree with that; if it wasn't him who had the most damning lines in the flashback. Odalia gets an entire episode to be her abusive self; but Alador's first lines have him playing up his family's importance over other witches, and how he could hurt his kids' friends if they didn't do what he wanted them to. I just don't think his "funny" and "quirky" stuff make up for the years of intentional/indirect abusive manipulation.

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

Jeff and Hayley is so point on. "Babe, l only have two emotions: Sad and not sad." fits Alador's character design to me.

[@_NIKOS9_NIKOS]

One could argue that Alador is much worse than his wife if you consider that he could easily putt his foot down and simply tell her to stop being such an abusive A hole. I mean we all saw that his wife will actually back down when he atually gets serious and we also see that he is not afraid to speak his mind when she does something that he doesnt agree with meaning that he is straight up neglectfull to his children

[@jbcatz5]

He could also try to have a relationship with his children. He doesn’t show any personal affection for them, he only steps in because he sees magical and career potential in Amity having a relationship with Luz. His exact wording shows he has more ambition for Amity’s career prospects than her emotional wellbeing. Neither parent has been shown to interact or be in the same room or scene with the twins. The twins are like Fred and George Weasley in that their lack of ambition and potential means their parents, or specifically their mother, has long given up on them making something of themselves but the twins still look out for their sibling.

[@GFHGGDJHJHJ]

@@jbcatz5 The Blights are Nothing like the Weasleys! The Weasleys are GOOD parents!

[@maem7462]

I didn’t even think about that. That’s true though

[@maem7462]

@@GFHGGDJHJHJ Yes the Weasley’s are good parents. I think the commenter was more saying the twins are kinda like the twins. I think the Weasley parents have a kinda difficult time giving attention because they have so many kids but they do their best. While the blight parents just don’t seem to care

[@jbcatz5]

Mae M You can also see shades of how Fred and George treat Percy in the Lost in Language episode, the twins seeking to take the serious minded over achiever and point of pride down a peg or two.

[@DragonGoddess18]

Whether or not, he was forced into marrying Odalia or he fell out of love with her, it's no excuse to neglect his kids. Maybe, divorcing her will help but leaving an unhealthy relationship is not easy. You're right about him being an enabler. As the saying goes, "The only thing needed for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing." Maybe, Alador will improve,maybe he won't.

[@KittyMonk]

If you wanna see a good take on this, Stolas is Alador done right, because a point is made he’s miserable and probably didn’t want to marry in the first place, but that doesn’t keep him from being a model father.

[@DragonGoddess18]

@@KittyMonk Stolas?

[@KittyMonk]

@@DragonGoddess18 stolas from Helluva boss. He starts off as a plot device/joke character until we see his home life.

[@DragonGoddess18]

@@KittyMonk And he's decent to his kid(s)?

[@KittyMonk]

@@DragonGoddess18 He's an excellent father to his daughter. That's the whole conflict of the second episode. Totally recommend Helluva Boss! It goes The Owl House route of starting off funny but becoming gritty and serious.

[@robby7499]

Thank you! people seriously try to turn a blind eye to Alador because he is not psychologically abusive towards his kids. His problem is that he is detached from the lives of his children and really only encourages Amity's happiness with Luz because he saw that it was making her stronger rather than legitimately caring that Amity was happy for once.

[@robby7499]

What I mean is that while he may not psychologically and/or verbally abuse his children (but he obviously would know about the necklace), he is really detached and neglects his kids. No wonder Emira and Edric are troublemakers. He just doesn't seem to care. Heck, I don't even know if he legitimately loves his wife. I mean, besides the sweet cake, don't see why anyone would want to be tied down and henpecked by her. Again, while I Ido acknowledge that he put his foot down to remind Odalia that she made a promise to their daughter, it is really pragmatic on his end. They might have been legitimately in love once, or they were likely pushed into marriage. But whatever the case, he is also at fault.

[@garyforsheejr3711]

His first comment was blights don't break promises so at some point to me that better than her and belos who say anything to get what want

[@meganmarchionda1165]

Honestly I like the Blight parents as characters but not people/parents. It's clear Odalia does most of the abuse and from what we've seen Amity gets it the hardest. Anyone else notice that Amity hair was dyed so all three have green hair yet Amity's hair is closer to her mother's than the twins. Odalia is clearly living through Amity for some reason and Alador isn't stopping it. He stands up to her once and that's it. He is neglectful and doesn't give his children the love they deserve he's almost as bad for Odalia for that. And yeah I would like to see the twins interact with their parents more I don't think they have it good either

[@KittyMonk]

Dana Terrace said in a Reddit AMA Amity was forced to dye her hair green because Odalia likes the children to be "color coordinated" but she didn't elaborate. I think it's criminal we didn't find out how Odalia and Alador reacted when they saw the new hair, and I love your idea Odalia is some kind of stage mom. Other than that, I agree they're cool characters, but awful parents. I love King Zog but I don't call him Father of the Year.

[@ANP4158]

@@KittyMonk remember when Darius said “And tell Alador that thing is a hack” what if when he said amity was strong enough to become a coven head some day to his wife, did he just wanted her to keep her end of the deal so that amity could one day overthrow Darius as the abomination coven head because of how much he and Darius might hate each other

[@KittyMonk]

@@ANP4158 I never thought of that. I wanna know how coven hierarchy works!

[@Kris-wo4pj]

I honestly think the twins are the forgotten children to the prodigy. Its like scapegoat and golden child only more subtle. The twins cant give the parents what they want cuz they arent as talented so they act out for attention while amity can give them what they want since shes so gifted. They want a coven head and they want to live through her and also get influence and more power through her so they push her to the point of breaking and try to destroy anything that brings her happiness or gets in the way of their goals for her.

[@Ich-Existiere-Nicht]

I could imagine that they don't get much attention and their parents choose Amity often over them and that's why they play pranks all the time. As an result of neglace.

[@disguisedzoroark]

Im really happy this is getting adressed in the show itself. In Reaching Out, Amity basically calls him out on this sort of behaviour, though its more focused on him not being there in general. And its clear Amity doesnt forgive him, considering that she decides not to hug him near the end of the episode. Also i like that he, at least says, he'll try to do better

[@quijotapazos2750]

THANK YOU Abusers' enablers are part of the problem as well. Im fed up of people idealizing him calling him cinnamon roll

[@SandyTheDesertFox]

Some people seemed pretty surprised that i dislike Alador which in turn surprised me. if we got more indication that he's also being abused by Odalia i could be more sympathetic but he just seems so indifferent to Amity's well-being beyond 'hmm idk honey maybe we shouldnt kill her friend?' So for now he's just a shitty rich dude

[@KikzoTheDemonJackal]

Something to put some thought to I'm not defending Alador. Dana said that her favorite Blight to write about was Alador and that later on in s2 we will get to know more about him and that he is much more complex and there is more to him then just what the fandom sees him as or accuse him for being. She also said he is her favorite of the Blight parents and that she can't wait for the fandom to see why she loves Alador so much and why she had fun writing him. This was all stuff she said in an Q and A livestream.

[@vee-bz7pz]

ooh i can’t wait for more on that!!!!

[@sarafontanini7051]

I just hope this doesn't mean he's suddenly portrayed as a nice guy who is totally not at fault for anything he's said or done or how he enables his wife.

[@meepbeep2464]

Reaching out is now out, any thoughts about Amity and Alador's talk?

[@cristyflaherty4902]

I have a feeling them being abusive is why people like them. I personally like to hate them, mostly Odalia, but I do find them interesting because of how manipulative Odalia is and Alador because he gets distracted by butterfly's and Fridan's tail and his redeeming traits, but I do agree he is a bad parent( another thing is he probably neglects his kids a little because of how busy he is with work).

[@TheSoulArchitech]

I think a lot of people like him cause 1. He's kinda quirky and 2. In the background of the Luz/Amity vs Abomiton scene, he makes a lot of "approving" faces, even smiling when he notices Luz and Amity have a thing for each other. I am _not_ defending Alador here, he's still an enabler and bad parent, I'm just pointing out why some people _are_ defending him.

[@rosecandy8922]

I don't think he was approving their relationship. He was smiling because he noticed Amity's strength.

[@maem7462]

I do agree that Alador still isn’t a good parent. The line abt Amity being strong enough to be a coven head is still the mindset of putting a lot of pressure on her which is a big factor of her character development. They’re still putting pressure on Amity

[@randomguy7946]

Thanks so much. This made me realize that Alador and Odalia have the same wants but Alador just simply sees Luz as a tool instead of a distraction.

[@MasterThunda22]

Yeah I was thinking lately that even tho people see him as the cool parent, he's basically the enabler in the abusive family relationships

[@decristal48]

The image of Alador watching a butterfly while Odalia is being abusive... summarizes how bad parents they both are.

[@adammyers7383]

Yeah I’m totally there with you, Amity’s dad is not any better than her mom just because he’s not explicitly causing the same kind of harm. As for the twins, I ABSOLUTELY think they’ve been ignored, and that that directly led to their prankster ways. Something worth noting however is that while they act rebelliously and support Amity doing the same, they always ask her to not tell their mom about it. This could lead to some harsh circumstances, because while Amity’s sister helped her die her hair pink she probably wouldn’t speak up if Odalia began yelling at Amity for it. Just something to consider.

[@garyforsheejr3711]

Disagree a person who standard is always better than one who has none

[@mattm2451]

Thank you! While I'm interested in learning more about Alador, everyone acting like he's a precious dad always rubbed me the wrong way. He does not challenge his wife, which means he is letting her abuse the children without doing anything. I'm interested in how the twins are treated as well

[@imwatchin8807]

Alador is just someone who either shouldn't have kids or need a lot of guidance, either way his abuse come from his lack of reaction to said abuse, wich make him a *great* character, not a good parent, but an interesting character that I hope we'll see more of

[@ari4822]

Yeah the thing about abusive parents. Just because one parent did abusing and the other parent did nothing and let the abuse happen. The enabler is just as bad as the abuser. Because if the enabler does nothing they allow the abuser to cause more trauma upon a child. Trauma could have been prevented if the parent did something to help their child

[@roguetrick4590]

I once said that between odalia's tiger Mom style of parenting and alador's disinterested parenting, people simply prefer aladors because it's not as obvious

[@ANP4158]

Alador: I’m not a bad parent I just feel indifferent and neglectful towards my children. Luz: 😒

[@vixxdaemon3874]

I'm actually really curious about how Dana will write him in the future, considering how she mentionned that he was interesting to write. We've seen him acting as an enabler in Odalia's abuse towards Amity, but overall, he was pretty much in the back of the picture. We already got some details about him, when Darius mentionned that he was "a hack". I really wonder what he did or who he is to be disliked by one of the covenheads, the covenhead of his own faction that is.

[@nagisashingetsu4274]

God thank god someone made a video on this, I've seen plenty of people just ignore aladors abuse cause he's a "fun, quirky character that's easily distracted" completely ignoring the threatening their 8 year old child to ruin their freindship in order for social status, using amity in their display shows, being absolutely fine with using Luz as a test subject and he only stops when amity reveals how strong she's gotten. He's not immediately made a good person because he shows signs of ADHD (as many people suggest/claim/point out) He is a well written character just a horrible parent and as many people here have stated it could be argued it's even worse

[@RevRa-3]

Alador just seems like he's constantly exhausted, and just goes along with what his wife says because it's the easier solution

[@BennyKman]

Aladore may not be as harsh and loud as his wife , but he is unfocused, inattentive, and definitely an enabler to his wife's bad habits

[@jbcatz5]

Based on available evidence, the Blight parents are not ready to be parents even though they’ve got three teenagers. The twins they have never acknowledged on screen, and Amity they treat as a successor, the daughter they brag about at social functions, or a demonstration dummy. Even worse is that for the latter category they appear to treat Amity as both, using her academic reputation to demonstrate how good their product is. These are the parents who will, when their kids turn eighteen, either emotionally manipulate them into never leaving home or wonder why their kids don’t keep in touch after leaving home and get passive aggressive at family events.

[@krystalglaude6299]

THANK YOU! It felt weird to me that everyone was like Amity's /mom/ is abusive and I was just like "Excuse me- how about Alador?🤨"

[@moondivine2288]

All I can say is Alador is complicated. You see things as black and white. But after Steven universe I would love to see another morally grey character and I’m feeling Alador would be it. Dana loves writing him for a reason and I can’t wait what she has is store.

[@possums154]

Yeah, he's still pretty bad. I really like him in the sense of character, because I'm always up for a mad scientist/tired genius character

[@0rangeeige199]

@@moondivine2288 Ngl but I think you have a bias, identifying abuse is not seeing things as "black and white". He's proven to show little to no interest in his children whilst also neglecting them, he enables his wife's toxic behaviour and is capable of putting a stop to it but still does nothing, he and his wife manipulated his daughter into severing her friendship with her former best friend, he and his wife both have insanely high expectations of their daughter, i'm convinced they've completely forgotten about the twins, etc. Point is that he has little to no positive traits going for him other than his "quirky" personality. At the end of the day both parents are responsible for their child, and if you're going. to hold the mother accountable then the father should be too.

[@moondivine2288]

@@0rangeeige199 am I being bias? No but I get the feeling you are. For example I have to get all the details before I pass judgment. There’s still a lot that we don’t know about Amity’s parents. I pointed out that Dana loves writing for Alador for a reason. She has more to share about him. Are you forgetting Amity was terrible to Luz in the first season. Even going as far as wanting to see her harmed? Living with an abusive person will do that. Women like Amity’s mom can and will take the kids away from the father after a divorce. Stuff like that can make a person numb or obedient to the abusive partner. At the end of the day it’s Dana’s story to tell and the owl house isn’t over.

[@0rangeeige199]

@UCIUPh0doV96yfg2jXy6c2Fg I never said the owl house was over? And I never said there wasn't more to the story, I'm only making a judgement on what we've been given so far. You say you haven't made a judgement yet here you are typing your opinions away. "If people have compassion over an abused woman who in her hurt is numb to her children" You're straight off the bat assuming that he's being abused, yet here YOU stated this: "But for example when I read a book I like to read the whole book before I pass judgment." If you're going to say something then stick to it, literally contradicted yourself. Also here you go with the gender roles, literally nobody is talking about gender so stop being such a pick me and turning this into a debate about men's and women's rights. Literal proof you have a bias. You're forgetting who forced amity to adapt to that toxic mentality in the first place, who you ask? Oh, none other than the blight parents. The fact that you're victim-blaming though- Amity mostly mentions her mother because she is the active abuser, she's the one who directly punishes her. That doesn't invalidate the damage Alador has done as well. He's the passive abuser, he'll simply stand by and let it happen whilst also encouraging this behavior. He's just as bad as her. "The fact that woman like Amity’s mom have taken the kids away from the dad after a divorce is another thing I keep in mind. " When did a divorce happen? Also you're making it sound like the wife is the only abuser here. Proof again that you have a bias, it has been confirmed that both are abusers. Stop acting like this is one sided, both are guilty of it.

[@theotter7021]

As someone who has experienced this kind of dynamic more than once, I just can't bring myself to even expect something good from him in the future. Even if he does, I don't know if I'll forgive him. I haven't even seen him do anything genuinely good for his kids yet, so I'm not really expecting him to change. He obviously doesn't care.

[@lizbizwiz1238]

I know this might be a long shot, but do you think you could cover Camilla next? After the mid-season finale, there’s been so much hate towards her for making Luz promise to stay in the human world, and making it seem like she’s abusive. I’d love to hear your opinion on the matter.

[@KittyMonk]

I’ve been considering it. I just wanted the hate to die down a little.

[@jbcatz5]

I don’t get that Camilla is abusive. She’s known to entertain Luz’s more eccentric side, and clearly Reality Check camp was a last resort. The episode Yesterday’s Lie puts her in a tough emotional position because within the timespan of a couple of hours she learns magic is real, there’s a demon realm where her daughter has been for months and is trapped in, the girl she raised for that period was an imposter and that Luz chose to stay. That’s a lot of emotional turmoil and she made Luz promise when she wasn’t thinking straight. Something like that would have any good mother second guessing everything that could have led to this happening, and Camilla doesn’t strike me as a bad mother. She’s noticeably worried seeing Vee throw out the things that made Luz Luz.

[@KittyMonk]

@@jbcatz5 I think it’s a mix of she’s misguided and Luz didn’t have enough time to explain her situation. I actually wanna discuss that, probably in two weeks.

[@WhimsicalNessa]

Right? The hate is ridiculous and also a lot of the fandom comparing the business/educational (?) camp that she wanted to send Luz to a concentration/conversion camp is straight up ridiculous.

[@SandyTheDesertFox]

I didn't like that she made Luz promise but like, how would you expect someone to make perfect decisions when she just learned about the existence of a demon realm, realised her kid is STUCK there, and Luz literally gets pulled away from her. In that moment she just wants assurance that she'll have her baby back, and i can feel nothing but sympathy for that. I'm sure that when this comes up again and she has more time to think, she'll support Luz

[@dragon9261]

the bit where he goes "She'll be strong enough to be a covenhead someday" Didn't give vibes like he had realised that what they were doing was wrong. For me at least, it seemed alot more like he realised that the friends she had made had put in her in situations where she grew more powerful. Thats what he cared about, that Amity was stronger and that they could gain favour and control with a potential coven head.

[@silliestsharks111]

Maybe Amity’s parents did try to expel Amity’s old friends but whoever did make a deal didn’t have it as bad as Luz, and that’s why Odalia and Alador went so harsh on Luz’s deal

[@bugbow2838]

Let’s be honest- even though he isn’t as “bad” as Odalia, he is a pretty deadbeat dad who never even stuck up for amity, until he saw progress in her magic, and even after that he doesn’t bother to tell his daughter he’s proud of her or anything

[@razyart201]

I feel like Alador pays more attention to what's happening than people think. And only steps in when he knows he'd win. And stays out of it when it'd cause him any harm

[@haleyrussom4997]

I feel like he’s neglectful and an enabler. All we see of him is him not paying attention and working, which might be why the mom is scarier in the children’s eyes. Dads not around and mom is abusive, which doesn’t mean he’s better, it just means he’s neglectful.

[@fnafonfire3704]

Because of Reaching Out, we hope he will get to be good

[@cutiepie120048]

THIS!!! THANK YOU!!! I adore this analysis. THAT LAST LINE OF HIM TELLING HIS WIFE ABOUT AMITY'S POTENTIAL IS SHADY AF 👏👏👏 He's a different kind of toxic parent, but a toxic parent nonetheless. Keep Up The Good Work~!

[@moondivine2288]

his last line shouldn’t be shady. Alador said it so his wife will back off. Offscreen reason it’s too early for them to call out Odalia. Dana herself still has plans. We still have more to see

[@ee8002]

The glorification of Alador by the fandom didn't start from escaping expulsion. In one of the AMAs on Reddit Dana said that Alador was the most interesting character for her to write, so people immediately assumed that he will secretly be a good parent. You can find art and comics about it that were created before S2 premiered

[@NightWarriorsStar]

This is exactly what I thought, it's so rare when the enabler parent is touched upon because people think that just because they don't do anything that it means that they are a victim too. When in actuality the sheer fact that they don't even try to do some thing about it makes them just as bad as the abuser because they just let the abuser do what they wish to the victim so that they themselves do not become a target, or they just can't be bothered to do anything about it.

[@herpderp3916]

Alador seems to get spared a lot of the hate because he has some traits that could be viewed as being on the autism spectrum, as if it's impossible for someone to be autistic and also just a bad person.

[@saphiriathebluedragonknight375]

I have autism, but when I misbehaved my parents punished me just like the rest of my siblings. Of course it wasn't too often as I was a teenager when I was diagnosed, and the "well behaved one."

[@nitroblaze6696]

I wish everyone friends with the main characters would turn on the blight parents and team up to make sure they never be the same again

[@lexuamzaled5515]

Honestly, that's one of the things I couldn't understand when I watched people's reactions to Alador online. Maybe Odalia is, like Rebecca Rose said, "the one wearing the pants" (my god, I do HATE that expression), but that doesn't mean Alador is less abusive or guilty. He is not interested in any of his wife's shows because he isn't there to sell the products: he is there to make them. And, just like you said, he recognizes that Luz and co are good for Amity, but right after watching what she was able to do for them. Odalia might get obsessed about some things, but Alador is no idiot. He doesn't want her daughter to be free of Odalia's control, he just sees her more useful this way.

[@HackiePuffs]

I do think the Blight twins have their own form of abuse that they receive. I just think it’s more noticeable with Amity because she’s younger and more easy to push around but she found a support system to help her break away from the toxicity. Aside from the hinting at Edric getting a date in Through the Looking Glass Ruins we don’t really see the Blight twins have any support system aside from each other and Amity. Also in Dana’s AMA she revealed that Odalia likes her kids to be “color coordinated” and she made a post with some art of the twins with the caption “color coordinated”. So yeah I think Odalia picks out the twins’ outfits and it’s why they’re both in the same track. Also in Enchanting Grom Fright they reveal their worst fears. Ed’s is being alone forever and Em’s is being stuck with Ed forever. Odalia doing this has 2 different affects on them. Edric feels like that with his mom choosing his life and forcing him to do almost everything his sister does he has a place. Emyra feels that she has no sense of individuality and can’t be who she really wants to be cause she’s stuck with her brother. If they were to suddenly have their own freedom I’d expect Emyra to immediately take the chance and be ecstatic but Edric would be completely lost and have a HUGE meltdown. So yeah in short they definitely are abused by their parents but they do a better job of hiding it than Amity.

[@Egg_Sandwich1]

They make it pretty obvious towards the end of season 2 that Odalia is verbally abusive and controlling towards alador as well, and that she views their relationship as purely transactional. He isn’t enabling Odalia’s abuse, he’s afraid to stand up to it because it’s already been targeted at him quite a lot. We also see in situations where he’s by himself and there is no Odalia present that he genuinely cares about his kids and what they want, like when he actually listens to amity’s about her not wanting to not join the emporer’s coven anymore. And yes, when we do see his silhouette in s1 he does seem as much like an equal participant in the abuse, that doesn’t really mean anything. The show has retconned character’s parents before, like how when we first met Willow her parents seemed to be the stereotypical Asian parents who care more about their child’s success then their actual child, but then when we actually meet them they’re completely different. And what we see of alador is a ten year old memory that amity could have just been misremembering, so that makes it even less valid.

[@endamcnabola]

You might wanna update this video given the recent episode.

[@sarafontanini7051]

I mean the man WAS the one whosuggested they'd do soemthing about WIllow themselves in that flashback, NO his wife. So either the WRITERS forgot that, or the FANS did. Plus given his last lines it seems he's only tolerating Amity's new friends because they seem helpful to their social status, rather than because they make amity happy. and yeah, he never outright tells his wife to stop, even supposing he didn't know about the whole weird psyhcic amulet thing, he was still with her in seperating amity and williw in the first place and doesn't seem to bothered about people getting hurt on a moral standpoint.

[@theluigifan1]

I definitely agree Alador isn’t a good parent. I just think, unlike Odalia, he has the capacity to finally realize it and apologize to Amity. It obviously won’t make up for the years of abuse, neglect and controlling Amity’s social life but it’s a step in the right direction. I don’t even want Amity to forgive Alador nor do I think he deserves a full redemption arc in the same vein as his youngest daughter or even Hunter, I just want him to own up and apologize one day. It’d be the first decent thing he’s done for Amity. That said, a thing I’ve noticed is with the twins, they never say things like “Don’t tell Dad” ever. It’s always Odalia they bring up when they don’t want to be caught doing something they think they’ll get in trouble for. So yeah, that definitely tells me Alador isn’t actively parenting the twins like that.

[@mariaclarabaptista2615]

I think Alador is as much or worse than Odalia, he can stop Odalia as we seem , but he simply doesn't cares to, he only sees Amity as someone he can use for personal gain, and don't care at all about her feelings or how much his wife is abusive, he obviously likes power as much as Odalia does He is a shitty parent AND a shitty person

[@47ratsinahoodie]

I've said on like three other vids that as obvious as it would be, I'd love to see Alador end up being the big bad between the Blight parents and just having Odalia be the face while he manipulates behind the scenes.

[@LuzzysCartoons]

I feel like Emira and Edric are neglected and the reason why they do pranks, skip school, and get into trouble is because this is the only way that their parents will pay attention and focus on them And honestly I forgot about what Mr and Mrs. Blight told Amity when she was a kid. I forgot about that episode and I bet a lot of people did when season 2 came out and we finally met Mr. And Mrs. Blight I forgot personally and I bet a lot of people did as well but I remember when I first saw the episode with them, I thought that he was a victim to Mrs. Blights abuse but I re-watched the show ( from 1st to 2nd season ) and I realized that he’s playing a role in the abuse He just stands to the side and in a way ignores and let’s his wife do and say whatever she wants to the kids And he’s allowing her behavior to continue. He also sides with her and agrees Sure at the end of the episode he makes Mrs. Blight keep her end of the deal and that may seem like a “ redeeming quality “ and that he’s a “ good father “ and that would be true if he didn’t remind his wife that Amity is getting more powerful and that she’s more powerful with friends What bugs me also is that it seems that the twins are neglected and they act out because of it. And if their parents really where worried about their children, they would most definitely likely get them in trouble because their “ ruining the family image “ but it’s like they don’t care about the twins and let them run amuck

[@Nimatoir]

Just because he stands on the side doing nothing doesn't mean he's not a bad parent. He is enabling his wife's behavior and does nothing except zone out. Sure some of his scenes are funny but that doesn't excuse how bad he is as a parent.

[@dylans.1741]

"Sometimes, the worst action to take is taking no action at all" - Li Ren, RWBY

[@bigpulgalokes]

Inaction is action, he’s showing who he is by doing absolutely nothing to stop abusive behavior

[@dutchstewart9462]

I have a potential theory for "The Owl House," could Luz (and humans in general) possibly be something of an amplifier for magic cast by witches? The reason I bring this up is because some of the most impressive feats (outside of Eda's) were performed with Luz either being directly involved or in close proximity to the spell being cast. Do you find this theory plausible or am I just finding something where there is nothing?

[@owenbaker2.084]

Hear me out but what if the two are BOTH horrible parents and people in general.

[@nickioleary8577]

I always thought the twins were treated the same as Amity, albeit possibly to a lesser degree as they don’t have natural talent like Amity seems to. The reason I think they seem mostly ok is that they’ve always had each other. They’re the same age, in the same track, and likely participated in most activities together. Amity didn’t have that luxury, and based on all the teasing we see them doing to her in season 1, it’s likely they weren’t really able to be her emotional rock the way that Luz is for her now. That’s just a educated guess tho, hopefully the show talks about it more in the future

[@0rangeeige199]

They could be teasing her out of jealousy, in their eyes she is the one who gets the most attention.

[@anonymousnoone7035]

Norman Osborn, The Green Goblin, is more like Alador if you ask me. First: He only cares about strength. Odalia gets the Blight name from him, AND the Blight family lessons. "A Blight always holds up their end of the bargain." and "Blights only associate themselves with the *strong.*" Those come from Alador. Alador taught Odalia those lessons, and he enforces them. He told Amity that Blights only associate themselves with the strong in the flashback, he noticed Amity's strength when she saved Luz, and he stopped being bored ONLY when Amity showed her strength. When Amity proved herself strong enough to someday be a coven head, only then did he give a crap. So what of Ed and Em? He thinks they're weak, not worth acknowledging. Same with his wife, he really just goes along with her because she's a strong speaker. But otherwise, doesn't care. Second: He makes the best weapons, designed to incapacitate or even *kill* using those part mechanical, part chemical, things called abominations. And gladly profits off of this. And what is Norman Osborn, The Green Goblin, known for? A company that does the same thing called Oscorp, where he gets all his weaponry (chemical and mechanical). I say he's like a bored Norman Osborn if anything.

[@anonymousnoone7035]

​@RCTaliesin Well, it might be a possibility, but that still means he was raised with the toxic mentality of putting strength, and strict adherence to business practices, above all else. After all, he's the one who said "Nonsense, Blights only associate with the strongest of witchlings." And the only time he stood up to his wife was when she was about to break from the family lesson about honoring bargains. So he certainly adheres to the lessons more strictly.

[@jadedawes2556]

Honestly, I think that scene makes him worse. It shows that he could stop her if he wants to, but just decides not to... He doesn't care how his wife treats her, as long as she isn't doing something that he thinks could get in the way of her power and their use of her. He just cares about their family image and power... I'd say the twins are probably ignored, so there isn't really any scenes of them with their parents. Though, I do feel like they dress the same due to their mother wanting them to or because they're illusionists, so it would be easier for them to be mistake or pose as the other.

[@AuntieCupid]

What I'm hoping for is some form of character development with either of the blight parents for future seasons, I hope they slowly realize how much they are hurting their children and become better parents

[@parlinmains]

Odalia is a clear narcissist, so she probably never will. Alador I can see, though.

[@gesai4677]

I was in a toxic family relationship with my paternal grandparents (my father was already out of the picture) where my grandmother was the abuser (just emotionally and psychologically I was never hit) and my grandpa was the enabler eventually my grandmother disowned me and I have not, nor do I have a desire to talk to either them but I could never bring myself to hate him maybe if she passes first I’ll reach out but that’s doubtful

[@Jimmy2106]

This aged like milk.

[@catlover.triangleheadprod4887]

Alador is not the worst parent but the thing he dose wrong is letting his wife basicly tourter there child hopefully he ends up growing a pair and stands up to her. Im pretty sure alador has just been used by his wife there's more things we have yet to see.

[@Linaxlin]

Yeah at least he's kinda getting better when his wife tried to break the deal he kinda stand up for amity and let her stay with her friends I don't think Amity's mother is gonna change a bit but I think alador will

[@tourmelion9221]

Maybe He's kinda letting it happen I don't think he necessarily disagrees with odalia Nor really likes his kids enough to change I just think he does less in the family Not necessarily any better just more submissive

[@waranontwiwaha9385]

I don’t think he was being submissive to Odaria. At the end when Odaria threatened to break her deal with Amity, he could easily stepped in and prevented his wife just fine. He just doesn’t care about what his wife does most of the time, as long as it is for the good of their family name. I could see him being even more calculated and sly, might even using Luz to pull out Amity’s potential and discarding her later when he thinks she is no longer needed.

[@jordanloux3883]

Maybe Amity's 'friends' parents are big investors in the company?

[@peebleeble]

i think the problem is that theyre both abusive in opposite ways, shes a micromanaging matriarch that you daren't oppose, and he's a neglectful businessman who spends too much time on his work and doesn't have any attention for his kids unless his wife tells him to. thats what we've been shown anyways. also i think theres something to be said about the theory that he's also being abused? because she is an oracle and she could very well be muddling his mind to make him so spacey (then again sometimes dissociation do be that way) idk just some thoughts, great vid i dont see ANYONE else talking about this and its very true and important to call out like spoilers they both suck haha

[@vizhnikke]

I have this type of parents. My mother is an emotional abusive person and my father just goes with the flow and responds to her at all times. He isn’t abusive but he does nothing to stop the abuse.

[@0rangeeige199]

Then he's an enabler and sadly that does count as abuse.

[@crazyinvaderfangirl1]

Finally someone said it. The quiet ones are not innocent. 😤

[@josephblanc1729]

To quote Mae Whitman (I think): "You get the 'not as much of a jerk as you could have been' award"

[@galehunter2519]

Wonder how this will be update after Reaching Out.

[@kaykay8855]

I actually forgot that episode where they blackmailed Amity into stop being friends with Willow or they keep her out of Hexside. At first, thought he was an enabler.

[@ToxRadio]

I’m not gonna lie, I kinda forgot that he had any dialogue, but I’m not entirely sure that he isn’t secretly an abomination, an incredibly fancy one, but still, we have only ever seen him contradict his wife to remind her of something that was said earlier in the episode, and he seems to need to be prodded to do anything that she wants him to, I’m not saying this to excuse his actions- or lack thereof by any means, but as a famous abomination specialist, he could have made a perfect replica of himself which his wife may have found more convenient to keep around, when Luz was pretending to be an abomination, if I remember correctly, no one seemed suspicious of the fact that she wasn’t entirely abomination goo, or that she was very clearly shaped instead of being just kind of a blob. I know that this is very unlikely, especially since I don’t really remember the scenes all that clearly, and once again I’m not trying to excuse anything, it’s just some thoughts I had that I didn’t think anyone else has said yet

[@msk-qp6fn]

So far I was the only one playing the devil's advocate by saying that Alador is a bad parent and he isn't any better than Oldalia in parenting among the the circle of friends we watch the owl house together. People forget that Alador was also discouraging Amity from playing with Willow and implied something bad might happen if she didn't listen to them. Alador may be less stressful to be around with but as a person or parent he really isn't that better from Odalia and his one redeeming act was reminding Odalia that she made a deal with Amity makes people think he's some sort of saint of something like people NO that doesnt make him better at all if anything as of right now it shows he could stop Odalia's controlling behavior but doesnt bother 🤦‍♀️ and Odalia is definitely living through Amity, the way she looks at her oracle gem pendant when Alador mentions that Amity could be a coven head someday implies she probably wanted to be a coven head

[@parlinmains]

It’s worse because he’s quiet. That makes his moments of abuse so much more impactful.

[@0rangeeige199]

Right? Just because he's not as upfront about it doesn't mean he's not as sly as his wife

[@the_fluff_punks]

(spoilers for episode 20) In light of the most recent episodes, Alador has been pushed around just as much by his wife that he probably thinks it's normal. I mean heck she has been making him work for five years without a day off, no wonder why he doesn't know much about all the things she puts Amity through. And he was planning on changing that once the day of unity happened. It doesn't excuse his lack of parenting so far, but it brings more understanding to it.

[@ITDBruins]

I guess for the "how are they work friends" thing, it's not entirely obvious how long Blight Industries has been active, so for all we know, Odaliah and Alador could have had jobs at another company where they did work with the parents of Boscha and Skara

[@KittyMonk]

Good point :/

[@gameman7871]

I just can't wait for his character development (ik this was made pre-season 2 but will talk about it) but he's very clearly a character that's made to be developed more and have an arc where he starts to understand how his and his wife's actions really affect their children.

[@marianavitoria8881]

Odalia didnt want Amity to be friends with Luz, Willow and Gus because in her eyes they are nothing but distractions for Amity, to her studies and at her ''job'' in the blight industies She doesnt care if this is good or not for amity she just want things to go her way, if she told amity to something she has to do it, or else she'll blackmail or mistreat her Its horrible if you think about it!

[@yaboimagnus4776]

i like the blight parents (and also belos) bc they're really interesting and they have very visually appealing character designs so they're fun to have on screen, but they're also 100% abusive pieces of shit and like, its really weird when i see people defending any of them (okay well, defending alador, i havent seen any for the other 2) also i personally disagree with the abusive/unhappy marriage take, i just dont see any evidence for it and even if there was, its not an excuse for alador's behaviour

[@everforward5561]

His outline/attitude is very different in the flashback. Almost like they changed their mind on his portrayal between S1 and S2.

[@KittyMonk]

In-universe, I think you can go with because we saw it from Amity's perspective, that's how she remembers it, when really he likely just parroted what he was told and Odalia did most of the talking.

[@teamblack204]

Both Odalia and Alador are abusive, but they're abusive in different ways: *Odalia' case:* narcissistic. She's entitled, self-centered and uncaring of her children's needs. Basically, she's malicious in many ways. And also very controlling. *Alador's case:* is not exactly uncaring, he is rather careless. He basically doesn't give a duck about his wife's treatment of their children. He is a neglectful parent. So it wouldn't be really right to say that Alador is malicious as well, it's more like he's not protective though he seems more pragmatic than his wife. But at the end of the day, they were both emotionally abusive towards Amity and possibly Edric and Emira too.

[@dondog3123]

Welp, it turns out these 2 are more of a businesses partner rather than an actual lover.

[@acesaidbye]

Yes! it's awesome to see people can agree absent parenting is still bad

[@cars1-2isthegoat]

Here's what I thought: Odalia was pulling a Belos and was forcing her family to do something like how Amity ended her friendship with Willow. Alador couldn't do anything because Odalia threatened to divorce and take the business and the kids. Alador loves his kids and worked a lot. He would lose everything he had. So he couldn't do anything.

[@daze_akapoelvr]

I used to think Alador was the better parent because he did nothing- but now I know that he was the worst one BECAUSE he did nothing

[@crazyinvaderfangirl1]

It’s also annoying because letting Alidor off the hook and blaming Odelia for everything is misogynistic. He’s clearly an enabler and just as bad as she is but nobody wants to see that because, “loud, bossy, woman” 🙄

[@moondivine2288]

Me who’s brother had a toxic ex girlfriend 🤦‍♀️ Actually in media people sympathize when the husband is the abusive one and the wife is the quiet victim or the enabler. Like poor thing she has no choice. She doesn’t have to think of her children. Her mental health is first! Rarely is it shown the other way around. Though Alador isn’t 100% innocent I think he’s going to be the perfect morally grey character. Dana herself loves writing him. And I feel she’ll end up laughing both at the anti and pro Alador people

[@owenbridgers]

I feel like he’s the only one of the two to realize all the awful stuff that they’ve done to their kid

[@JayAshBranAudioScripts]

I’m sorry! I need to nerd over Knock-outs appearance at the beginning! I love that wheel rolling Con!

[@KittyMonk]

TFP is one of my favorite shows! It’s my favorite incarnation of the decepticons, sucks what happened behind the scenes! Deserves more recognition!

[@KittyMonk]

@RCTaliesin TFP is one of the worst shows that came to communication and budget. The reason the show had so many plots where nothing came of them went back to that: breakdown was supposed to join the autobots but budget said they needed to kill someone off and so it was him, for example. One of the writers posted about it on tumblr the link is on tv tropes.

[@garyforsheejr3711]

The think one difference u are missing alador has conviction meaning something willing uphold no matter what notice his 1st words are "you promised and blight never breaks a promise" which something even belois can't claim even tho I don't like the way does thing his statement says so much that a promise is worth keeping

[@xyrhus]

reaching out: yay am evolving

[@Oliviagarry69420]

Love that American dad reference!!!! Seriously it’s one of my favorite shows!

[@ApoIIogetic]

I once had to argue with someone who called Alador "best dad"

[@WolvericCatkin]

3:58 FYI: That's a misuse of the term, _"macguffin"_ ... macguffins are defined by a focus and driving force within the plot, due to being desired by the majority of the cast, while exhibiting no practical influence on the plot through its use... Amity's photo itself, is practically a footnote in the plot, and in no way influences it's direction in its pursuit. A proper example of a macguffin within *The Owl House* in contrast, is *The Bloom of Eternal Youth* , an object of both Lilith and Eda's desire for an episode, with ultimately completely zero functional application, though driving the plot through its perceived value. In the case you want to take an angle of critical examination in a piece of content, it'd definitely help to look into this stuff, or at least proofread against them... 👌

[@luzcayman4998]

*Laughs in S2E14*

[@Estelle434]

I think the reason why people thought he was less bad than odalia is because of how he acts, he seems distracted, uninterested, and kinda clumsy. However, well, indeed, he doesn't do most of the abuse, he's neglectful and doesn't stand up for amity and seems to agree with odalia most of the time, but correct me if I'm wrong Also those tfp clips made me excited haha, I'm glad someone else watched tfp

[@jaohonaxa]

I think the only reason some people thing he's "good" is that on the surface he does seem better than Odalia at least, which isn't saying much. The way a friend of mine puts is it that he's still a bad parent, just bad in a different way, more subtle control and neglect.

[@celestialdragn]

every time I think of him I think "we sell abominations and abomination accessories"

[@47ratsinahoodie]

Wait people think Alador's a good parent?

[@megandarrah7035]

The blight parents remind me so much of my own. being an enabler of abuse is just as damaging