Spoiler Alert: This story contains spoilers for the two-part Season 2 finale of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” ended its second season by revealing a big secret about Alex Russo (Selena Gomez). Well, she’s Billy’s (Janice Leanne Brown) mother.
At the beginning of the 2024 spin-off Wizards of Waverly Place, Alex sends Billy to live with his brother Justin (David Henry) in order to train him in magic. As a member of the law enforcement agency Wizard Tribunal, Alex meets this powerful young wizard after learning of a prophecy stating that he is the only person who can save the world from an impending apocalypse. No one knew who Billie’s family was or where she came from. But that’s due to a memory erasure spell, which is revealed in the two-part Season 2 finale titled “The Wizard of the End of the World.”
In the lead-up to the finale, Billy learns that her crush, Quentin (Wrecker Eanes), is actually an orc who had gained her trust on behalf of an evil wizard named Lord Morsus. Quentin eventually develops feelings for Billy and decides to confess to her before running away. Billy tries to find him, knowing that she is in danger for betraying Lord Morsus, but Justine places a hexagon in the house, making it impossible for her to sneak out. In response, Billy casts a spell that fills every room in the house with gummy bears, forcing Justin to temporarily move his family into Alex’s apartment.
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Alex, Justin, and his wife Giada (Mimi Gianopoulos) leave their children at home and go to the Court of Witchcraft to find information about Lord Morsus. There they discover that a member of the court, Bigelow McFigglehorn (Kirsten Vangsness), is under a spell that forces her to work for an evil wizard, and they free her. Meanwhile, Billy sneaks out and finds where Morsus is holding Quentin captive. But when she gets there, Quentin is alone. Morsus disguised himself as Justin in order to trick Roman (Arcaio Thiele) and Milo (Max Matenko) into entering Alex’s apartment. He brings them to Billy and Quentin, and upon seeing the orc, Roman immediately uses his desire to send Quentin to the “Nowhere Zone”.
Back in court, Figlhorn says that Morsus’ first name is Trodos, and Giada realizes that “Trodos Morsus” is actually an anagram of “Doom to Russos.” A talking statue called “Gossip Stone” tells them that his real name is Penwolf. That sounds familiar to Alex. When he returns home, he finds a wooden box with a golden pen and a wolf on it, and a golden locket inside, but he cannot open it. More importantly, the children are gone. On the ground, she and Justin find and press the button that Billy received from Quentin. Pressing the button takes the user directly to Lord Morsus.
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Morsus is still pretending to be Justin, so Billy finds out which one is real by asking him if he’s mad at him for sneaking out to find Quentin. Morsus tries to convince Billy that he is not, but Justin admits that he is and Billy knows he is telling the truth. Morsus reveals his true self and uses magic to bind everyone but Billy, forcing her to help him open the rift that connects their world to the world of dark magic. Seeing Billy’s pain working on the portal, Alex begins to cry and tears fall onto Penwolf’s locket. As a result, forgotten memories appear in front of everyone in the room.
In the memory, Alex cries as she and Justin drop young Billy off to wizard boarding school. “I don’t want to go. I want to be with my mom,” says Billy, who looks about seven years old. “I would do anything to be with you,” Alex says. “But now someone is trying to find you, so we can’t let that happen.” Justin reminds Alex that they have to go and that Billie’s grandfather will never know of her existence, and Alex promises Billie that they will find each other again, erasing her and Justin’s memories of Billie and vice versa. That way it will be difficult for them to lead evil wizards to each other.
When Morsus learns that Billy is his granddaughter, he says he would never have allowed his son to erase his memory. Alex retorts that it was his son’s idea. (At the end of the episode, Gossip Stone explains that Nicodemus Penwolf, aka Morsus, was the father of Damien Penwolf, who was evil until he fell in love with Alex.) Milo manages to reach the staff and casts a spell to unbind everyone, but it’s too late. The crack is open and can only be sealed from the other side. After a tearful hug with Billy, Alex decides to sacrifice himself. She tackles Morsus and they both fall through the portal, which closes behind them.
The episode ends on a warm note, though Billy sheds tears as he finally finds his mother and then loses her soon after. Billy and the Russo family decide to find a way to save Alex and share a group hug, realizing that Billy is family in more ways than one.
