Recap / WITCH Animated S 2 E 1

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While Meridian is celebrating Phobos' defeat, Trill gives Elyon a jewel that belonged to her mother - Queen Weira. She names it the Heart of Meridian.

Frost the Hunter returns to kidnap Irma, Cornelia and Hay Lin; he now works for a new enemy that unites several captured villains to form the Knights of Vengeance.

The episode contains the following tropes:

• Call-Back: Several are made by Nerissa as she recruits the Knights of Vengeance
  • Nerissa rescues Raythor from the Abyss of Shadows, referencing how he was falsely imprisoned there by Phobos after being framed as a spy by the Guardians and Vathek.
  • She gives Gargoyle a new metal mace to replace the hand he lost fighting the Guardians.
  • She resurrects the Sand Pit, using quintessence to turn him into a fully sentient being.
• Can't Get in Trouble for Nuthin': Taranee makes several attempts to get in trouble at school, including being late for class and starting a food fight. However, due to her spotless record of good behaviour, she doesn’t receive any serious punishment.
• Determinator:
  • Vathek is determined to keep Phobos and his minions from escaping from their imprisonment, and when Nerissa traps him by wrapping him in his own chain and mace with Quintessence, he immediately breaks free upon seeing her freeing Miranda and tries to stop them from escaping, only for him to be stopped by Miranda wrapping him up in her webbing.
    Vathek: Don't know who you are, sorceress, but you'll never free Phobos!
  • Nerissa comments how praiseworthy it is of Raythor to have spent months climbing up the Abyss of Shadows to escape it.
• Don't Celebrate Just Yet: Everyone is celebrating Phobos's defeat, believing their troubles are now over, unaware that Nerissa is now plotting against them.
• Double-Meaning Title: The title refers to Taranees's fear of feeling anonymous now that the Guardians' adventures are (seemingly) over. It can also refer to Nerissa, who spends the entire episode operating behind the scenes, thus remaining anonymous to the heroes.
• Good Girl Gone Bad: Taranee, who is a typical model student, starts breaking rules in hopes of seeking attention. Not that it comes easy for her either.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: When Nerissa arrives to the Infinite city prison, she soon incapacitates Aldarn, Tynar and Vathek by using her powers to bring their weapons to life to fight against their owners, allowing her to free Miranda while they're distracted.
• Hostage Situation: Frost captures Irma, Hay Lin and Cornella, forcing Taranee and Will to mount a rescue.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: From this episode onwards, the alphabet and the word in the titles are used and said by one of the characters.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Taranee's main motivation in the episode, afraid that she will go back to being unremarkable without the Guardians, which causes her to act out for attention.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: When Nerissa arrives to the prison and defeats the guards, Phobos assumes she arrived to free him only to see that she only wanted to free Miranda instead, leading the former prince to demand the girl to release him immediately, but Miranda refuses by sarcastically repeating what he told her moments before. This will come back to bite her later, through.
• Ironic Echo: Phobos sneers at Miranda's attempt to play a helpless little girl by telling her that she's only embarrassing herself. When Nerissa disperses the bars of Miranda's cell and Phobos demands the shapeshifter to free him, she responds with a smirk "Oh master, I would try, but I might embarrass myself."
• Knife Outline: Nerissa uses her magic to take control of Aldarn's arrows that pin him to the ground.
• Legion of Doom. By the end of the episode, Nerissa has successfully formed her Knights of Vengeance to combat the Guardians.
• Long-Distance Relationship: Cornelia is displeased that Caleb chooses to remain on Meridian, putting a strain on their relationship.
• Make Way for the New Villains: With Phobos now imprisoned, Nerissa immediately sets herself up as the new Big Bad of Season 2, joining up with all the previous villains to do so.
• Recruited from the Gutter: Nerissa recruits' previous villains from Season 1, who were either beaten by the Guardians or are now on the run following Phobos's defeat.
• Rewatch Bonus: On second viewing, it's notable that the new Big Bad appears to free Miranda immediately after the Mage leaves the scene. It's almost as though she was waiting for the Mage to leave — or that they're actually the same person and Narissa was just briefly ducking out of sight to drop the disguise before walking right back in.
• Revenge: The main incentive that Nerissa offers to Raythor and the other Knights of Vengeance by joining her.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: When incapacitated by Nerissa, a defiant Vathek tells her that she will never release Phobos and she soon proves him right as she only frees Miranda instead to recruit the girl into serving her.
• Title Drop: Now that the Guardians' mission is seemingly over, Taranee is afraid of becoming boring Shrinking Violet "Anonymous Taranee" again.
• Unishment: Taranee all but begs the principal to give her detention, purely to satisfy her need for attention.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Miranda tries this when imprisoned to trick the guards, by pretending to be a helpless little girl crying for her mother, however none of the guards buy it with Vathek calling her a monster and telling her she isn't fooling anyone, with Phobos even mocking her attempt as well by pointing out that everyone knows she's a shapeshifter.
• You Have No Idea Who You're Dealing With: Taranee eventually confronts her stalker and tries to scare him with this line. He responds that he does know who he's dealing with and reveals his true form as Frost.