nitrogen

"When I found you, you were young, wayward, lost in the cold Pulled up to you in the Jag Turned your rags into gold" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

Ok, so obviously what I'm getting at is Owen's relationship with the other vampires - particularly Pyro and Shelby.

From Owen's perspective, when he met Pyro and Shelby, they were both very much "young, wayward, lost in the cold" -- the cold, of course, being human. And though he didn't personally turn them, he did, in a sense, take care of them. Letting them into his "family", feeding them, giving them advice. From his point of view, becoming vampires and joining the coven is a massive improvement from their earlier condition (human ew). This can follow the sentiment of the speaker in Father Figure, who claims to have swooped in and turned a person's life around.

He says many times throughout the series that vampirism is a gift. So, to him, Shelby and Pyro have gained this massive privilege and thus should be nothing but grateful.

Let continue...

"The winding road leads to the chateau "You remind me of a younger me" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

I mean, come on. They literally have a winding road to a chateau.

I have also been thinking about the claim "you remind me of a younger me.". To be honest, this doesn't really fit with Pyro or Shelby (both characters being so different from Owen), however..... I'm crazy and will start pointing at Avid. I'm not the first person to point it out, and I will not be the last, but the way their characters parallel is so beautiful. That's off topic. I'm sure someone has written a great essay on that. But we aren't here for Avid. Back to the fledglings.

"I can make deals with the devil because my dick's bigger" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

Giggle with me for a second please. hehehehehe. Ok done.

"This love is pure profit Just step into my office I dry your tears with my sleeve Leave it with me" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

The chorus of Father Figure set up the narrator as a helping hand who brought someone under their wing and fostered them to greatness, but not without a cost.

Owen cares for Shelby and Pyro; I truly think so. I think he enjoys having his little coven and wants them to be successful... He even claims in episode 5 that he felt he, "I belonged amongst the creatures of the night". He did love the coven, or at least felt somewhat comforted and accepted by them. This was a place he could finally belong. And he made that place with Shelby and Pyro (and Scott, but we're not talking about him right now).

However, their place in the coven was without strings. Owen still had an expectation that the vampires remained staunchly separated from the humans. They didn't have to hate humans like he did, but he would absolutely prefer if they weren't friendly. He figured the fledglings would learn their lessons about humans in due time.

He "fosters and cares" (episode 5) for Shelby and Pyro, not because he cares about them as individual people, but because he has yearned for a sense of belonging his entire life. By bringing them into the fold, teaching them and protecting them, he ensures the coven he created is forever a safe space for himself and that the new fledglings remain loyal out of a sense of obligation towards him. They should, after all he has done for them, be respectful and grateful.

"I protect the family" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

Such a good line, right? And so in line with Owen's quote in episode 5, "I just got this family, I'm not about to lose it."..... I love music and Minecraft roleplay.

But really, Owen is actually protective of his little vampire family. His changing the gift/message from Avid into a stake/threat is an attempt at keeping Shelby suspicious and distanced from the humans. Keep in mind that Owen wholeheartedly believes that humans are an existential threat to the coven. By keeping Shelby away from them, he feels he is protecting her (and by extension the rest of the coven) from the inevitable violence the humans will bring.

He also justifies his violence towards humans a lot with this rhetoric. Essentially, following an "I'll kill them before they get the chance to kill us" ideology. It's actually.... really sweet when you think about it.

"Said, "They want to see you rise. They don't want you to reign."" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

Small divergence from Owen but this got me thinking.

Shelby asks a really good question to the humans in episode 5. Paraphrasing, it was something like "will you still let me come back if I stay like this (a vampire)" and the answer she got was pretty uncertain.

It's giving "we absolutely want you to be happy, but only in a way we recognize as acceptable".

Yes, from the humans' point of view, we have seen them coming to terms with vampire morality, blah blah blah. But if you only watch coven's POVs, you can understand why the vampires may feel that the kindness of humans is contingent on their accepting a cure.

Anyway. (guys, we aren't even halfway through the song yet wtf)

"I showed you all the tricks of the trade All I ask for is your loyalty... My dear protégé" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

Do I need a paragraph to explain this? We can make 1-to-1 comparisons here using what we talked about earlier.

Owen helped Pyro and Shelby as young vampires. He gave them advice, gave them blood, and organized them into a little family. He "showed [them] all the tricks of the trade," and in return, he expected a degree of acceptance and respect.

"I saw a change in you My dear boy... They don't make loyalty like they used to" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

*cough* pyro *cough*

Why did Pyro do that? Owen, the coven, did so much for him. He betrayed them by revealing where that secret mineshaft is. Then LIED to them. Absolutely horrible. It's understandable why Scott and Owen were upset about this. But Scott settled it? So what's the matter?

From Owen's POV, it's worse. Pyro has gone against everything Owen has taught him. Trusting humans and "squandering their gift" (episode 5) by searching for the cure.

And of course, despite everything, Pyro shows him no respect. We all watched episode 5. Owen's 'care' and protection for the coven was so quickly disregarded, leaving Owen to suddenly realize that even in the one place he felt he could find acceptance, he was still an outcast. Everything he's done for them has been tossed away. In that moment, Owen realized he couldn't trust anyone, not even the fledglings he built from the ground up.

The lyric, "They don't make loyalty like they used to," is about Louis, and Owen's own relationship with him. Owen would have never spat on the gift Louis gave him. He loved Louis and had so much respect for him and vampirism. But it's more than that. Louis was the one person Owen felt safe with. He's realizing that these new people will never be able to replace that bond/are incapable of showing the same kindness Louis had.

"You want a fight, you found it I got the place surrounded You'll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you're drowning" (Father Figure, Taylor Swift)

So at the end of episode 5, Owen vows to... "unite the humans and vampires via the one thing they have in common: they both bleed" (episode 5).

So a little awkward, but I fully support it. They wanna be haters? ok. He's gonna set Oakhurst on fire. He's going to kill every other vampire. He's literally centuries old. What are you going to do about it? (I also love the idea of the lyric: "You'll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you're drowning" relating to Pyro because he... ya know...)

He's fully justified in it because they disrespected him. They got the gift of vampirism and mocked it by trying to find a cure. They let him believe he finally had a group of people that cared about him, then turned their backs. From his point of view, he gave them so much and they wasted it; he is justified in now taking that all away.

Conclusion :)

That's the thing with Father Figure. It depicts this generous narrator who kindly brings a lowly individual into fame. They teach them, protect them, raise them up to be a star, only to one day find their generosity betrayed. But the narrator in Father Figure is more reminiscent of a mob boss. Their kindness is conditional, and the act of betrayal is grounds for their dear protege's destruction.

I love listening to this song and thinking of Owen, and his most recent arc in episode 5, because I think it relates wayyyy too well. Owen is also an incredibly powerful figure who brought two young vampires under his wing. He helped them navigate their new gift and, with them, created a new family. Yet, despite his constant warnings, the new fledglings refuse to cut ties from the humans and even go as far as to search out a cure. This is, justifiably, insulting to Owen. And like the narrator in Father Figure, Owen severs his trust in his new brood, deciding that if they cannot stand with them, they must stand against him.

Oh, it's so good and I really hope it works out for him :)

this was written after episode 5, so I don't know how far Owen will go. I was considering waiting until after episode 6 to write this, but that's too far away, and I actually can't stop thinking about it. I'm so curious to see how this analysis ages.....