Warning: This article contains major SPOILERS for The Owl House.Emperor Belos serves as the main antagonist of The Owl House, and his timeline is one of the most fascinating aspects of the show. Belos was only mentioned by other characters for most of The Owl House‘s first season before finally making his debut in episode 18. Since then, he’s been a formidable opponent for Luz Noceda and her friends. However, the show gradually peeled back more layers of Belos’s past, revealing that there is far more to the Emperor than meets the eye.
This has made Belos’s timeline one of the richest stories in The Owl House. Many revelations about Belos are presented out of chronological order, and some details are hidden in the background for hardcore fans to spot. When all the pieces come together, Belos’s story makes him a fantastic villain and adds a great deal of lore to the show. Before The Owl House season 3 returns for its next special, here’s the complete timeline of Emperor Belos so far.
The Early Life Of Belos
“The year is 1613. Two orphaned brothers arrive in Gravesfield. Their names? Philip…and Caleb.” These opening words to “The Tale of the Brothers Wittebane” would be recited four centuries later on Halloween, one of the town’s greatest unsolved mysteries. Belos was Caleb’s younger brother, Philip Wittebane, and the two tried to fit in with the colony town of Gravesfield by participating in its unsavory practices. They became witch hunters, taught to hate all things magic and demonic.
This changed when the two met a real witch from another world, a woman named Evelyn. Caleb was amazed by Evelyn’s magic, and the two fell in love, using a secret code to travel between worlds. Philip, on the other hand, remained a witch hunter at heart. He raced off to save his brother and bring Evelyn to justice, but neither he nor Caleb was ever seen again.
Tragedy Strikes The Brothers Wittebane
This part of Philip’s life, and the order of certain events, is shrouded in mystery. Still, brief glimpses of his memories shown in The Owl House season 2, episode 16, “Hollow Mind,” help to fill in the details. After running off to save his brother, Philip and Caleb were trapped in the Demon Realm. Philip also developed a monstrous form, either from a curse or through his consumption of Palismen. Caleb tried to help him, but unfortunately, the story of the Brothers Wittebane ended in tragedy when Philip killed Caleb with a knife. Whether this was Philip’s choice, his cursed form losing control, or both remains unclear, but Philip was responsible for his own brother’s death.
Another memory in The Owl House season 2 suggests that Evelyn attacked Philip after discovering what he had done. It’s possible that she destroyed and hid any portals that Philip could use to get home, and maybe cursed him with the glyphs seen on his arms in season 2, episode 12, “Elsewhere and Elsewhen.” Whatever the case, Philip was now trapped on the Boiling Isles, with an even greater hatred for the witches of the Boiling Isles.
Philip’s New Life On The Boiling Isles
Now trapped in the Demon Realm, Philip began recording his journey to create a portal back to the Human Realm. This would suggest that he built the portal that Eda Clawthorne would use in The Owl House season 1, but the show makes clear that Philip is not an entirely reliable narrator. He may have been trying to recreate a portal built by Caleb or Evelyn, and he spent years gathering the materials he would need.
The years spent on the Boiling Isles were not kind to Philip. He struggled to survive in a world where he had no magical ability, but he did eventually discover how to draw glyphs to perform certain kinds of magic. It took him several years to discover them all, and he would later question whether the Titan was trying to keep them from him. During his years of research, he heard legends of a powerful being known as the Collector, whom Philip believed could help with his long-term plans.
Finding The Collector (& Meeting Luz)
Philip eventually discovered the Collector’s prison, though he was unable to get past the defenses alone. He tricked a demon named Blue Fang into helping him, but their attempt failed, and Philip was later attacked by Blue Fang’s brothers who came looking for him. Before the two could burn his journal, Philip was suddenly saved by a young girl who used glyphs like him. Little did Philip know that this was Luz Noceda from the future, who had traveled back in time with Lilith Clawthorne to learn how Philip created a portal to the Human Realm.
Unfortunately, Luz couldn’t have known who Philip would eventually become, and his true nature became clear when he tricked Luz and Lilith into distracting a monster while he retrieved the Collector. Lilith later repaid Philip with a punch to the face that would leave a scar, but Philip already had what he wanted. With the Collector in his possession, Philip could now begin putting his plan into motion.
Becoming Emperor Belos
After finding the Collector, Philip made a deal with them: the Collector would teach Philip magic stronger than anyone else’s and help him achieve his plans for the Boiling Isles. In return, Philip would eventually free the Collector from their magical prison. Philip developed his own staff powered by artificial magic, and cut his ears to look more like a witch. He continued consuming Palismen to survive, but the effect gradually changed his voice and hair color. Still, Philip couldn’t afford to be recognized after being run out of so many towns, so he donned a mask and changed his name to Belos.
Belos began to spread his message across the Boiling Isles, teaching witches to reject wild magic and join his coven system. He also created clones of his brother Caleb called Grimwalkers, who would serve as his right hand, the Golden Guard. Though they served him at first, each Grimwalker would eventually betray Belos, and after killing one he would create another. In time, Belos grew strong enough to declare himself Emperor of the Boiling Isles.
Belos’ Endgame
Though Belos claimed the coven system was for the benefit of all witches, it was really a means of control until he could complete his plan. For the next 400 years, Belos and the Collector worked in secret to prepare a draining spell, which would wipe out everyone on the Boiling Isles who had a coven sigil. They had to wait for the right time for the spell to work, and so Belos ruled the Boiling Isles with an iron fist, dealing out harsh punishment to any wild witches who refused to fall in line.
Once his plan had been completed, he planned on returning home as Philip Wittebane once again. He hoped that eliminating an entire realm of witches and demons would earn him the title of Witch Hunter General, though he did not know how much had changed while he was gone. He continued to search for a portal back to the Human Realm, converting more witches to covens and tightening his grip on the Boiling Isles.
Meeting Luz Noceda (Again)
Eventually, another human found herself on the Boiling Isles, a young teenager named Luz Noceda. This was thanks to Eda Clawthorne, who now possessed the portal to the Human Realm, using it to find valuable human treasures to sell at the market in The Owl House season 1. Luz befriended Eda, choosing to stay in the Demon Realm to become a witch, and the two had many run-ins with the Emperor’s Coven.
This caught the attention of Emperor Belos, who wanted the portal to the Human Realm. Eda was eventually captured by the Emperor’s Coven, and while attempting to save her mentor, Luz came face-to-face with Belos for the first time. For Belos, however, this was his second time meeting Luz, though he didn’t share that with her at the time. Luz was forced to give Belos the portal to save Eda, but after he let her go, she destroyed the portal with fire magic to keep it out of his hands. Belos began rebuilding the portal as he continued searching for Titans’ Blood to power it.
The Truth Revealed
Luz later became trapped in Belos’s mind alongside Hunter, the current Golden Guard. The two worked their way through Belos’s memories, forcing Hunter to learn the truth about the Emperor’s lies and manipulation. To his horror, Hunter discovered what Belos had done to the previous Golden Guards, just before the real Belos revealed himself. Seeing Hunter as another failure, Belos attempted to send him down into the deep recesses of his mind, apparently succeeding.
Belos then turned his attention to Luz, revealing that he was in fact a witch hunter. Luz could not believe that people could be tricked so easily, and Belos responded by playing his memory of meeting Luz in the 1600s. Luz had to face the truth: Belos was Philip Wittebane, and she had unknowingly helped set his plans in motion. Before he could attack her, Hunter reappeared and put up a shield, and the two barely managed to escape Belos’s mind in time. Hunter ran away in despair after learning what he really was, leaving a horrified Luz to tell her friends what she had discovered.
The Day of Unity
Belos’s years of planning finally came to a head with the Day of Unity. His followers believed that the ceremony would rid the world of wild magic for good, not knowing that the draining spell would wipe them all out. Once the ceremony began, Belos disappeared to his chambers underneath, where he donned his old clothes and prepared to return to the Human Realm as Philip Wittebane. He then betrayed the Collector by refusing to release them, saying that he couldn’t let them give their magic to anyone else.
Luz was captured and brought before Belos, and the two engaged in a witch’s duel before Belos gained the upper hand. After failing to convince Luz to join him, Belos attempted to petrify her, until she convinced him to spare her in exchange for being his modern-day guide in the Human Realm. Luz asked Belos to shake on it, branding him with a Coven sigil hidden by her invisibility spell. She hoped this would force him to stop the draining spell, but he instead transformed into a monster and attacked her once again.
Return to the Human Realm
To save everyone from Belos and the draining spell, King Clawthorne agreed to free the Collector from their prison. The Collector stopped Belos just as he was about to kill Luz and her friends, then sent him flying into a wall. With Belos a pile of goo, King and the others tricked the Collector into stopping the draining spell. Though Belos was defeated, the Collector began creating chaos, and in their escape, Luz and the others were thrown into the Human Realm with no way to return. They also didn’t realize Belos hitched a ride through the portal.
Luz and her friends spent many months in the Human Realm, not knowing that Belos was alive, building his strength until he could take form again. Belos was eventually able to possess Hunter, resulting in a fight that claimed the life of Hunter’s Palisman, Flapjack. Belos left Hunter’s body and used Titans’ Blood to open a portal back to the Demon Realm, returning to finish his work as a witch hunter. Flapjack used the last of his energy to save Hunter, and after telling everyone the truth about having helped Philip, Luz and her friends went through the portal to stop Belos once and for all.
What Will Belos Do Next?
Now that Belos has returned to the Boiling Isles, it remains to be seen what his plan is. While he made clear that he wants to finish what he started, the draining spell already failed, so it’s unclear how he plans to win. It’s possible that Belos always had a backup plan, perhaps involving the Collector or the Titan. Even though the draining spell didn’t kill anyone, it may have weakened everybody enough to where they can’t put up much of a fight. In any case, Belos has something up his sleeve and seems confident that he can achieve it.
The Clawthorne family may also play a role in defeating Belos. Certain evidence hints that Eda may be a descendant of Caleb and Evelyn since her father bears a striking resemblance to Philip, and Evelyn sounds similar to other Clawthorne names. This would explain how Eda found the portal behind her house in The Owl House season 2, and if Belos found out the Clawthornes descend from Caleb, he could target them or use them in some way. No matter what happens, The Owl House season 3 is sure to shed more light on Belos’s past and bring his timeline to an epic conclusion.