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Thinking about how Hollow Mind was the first time Luz ever saw a Hunter/Belos interaction. We, as the audience, are already used to the way Belos treats Hunter, so it didn’t come as a surprise. But Luz?

Aside from a few concerning comments about the emperor not being a merciful man (which could be assumed to JUST be applying to criminals, surely he wouldn’t be like that with his own guys), his general stress levels, and the fact that he’s a child soldier, Luz never really… had any indication that Belos was actively malicious towards Hunter. And let’s face it, Luz isn’t going to think too hard about Hunter being a child soldier, SHE’S doing crazy, dangerous stuff, and he’s actually older than her. It’s fine. Sure, Belos might be putting pressure on Hunter to do well, but that’s just how the emperor’s coven IS, she has no indication that Hunter is being physically abused by Belos, or even necessarily that he’s being emotionally abused besides the immense pressure and expectations.

Amity got a better grasp on the emotional abuse, she was able to recognize that “Hey! Hunter’s got some messed up stuff going on in his life!” but you know what? She’s still staying with her parents! While she advised him to find a support system, she doesn’t know that he’s not physically safe. Emotional abuse is just as bad, but Amity is sticking it out. She’s staying with her parents, who, as far as we know, she is physically safe with. The exception there is Escaping Expulsion, of course, but Amity could have left that fight at any point. The abomaton was after Luz. And none of the other shows every put her in any danger. So while she might note that Hunter’s not okay mentally/emotionally, she doesn’t know the FULL extent of what Belos is up to.

Gus and Willow got a better look at the physically abusive side based on the comments Hunter made on the trials he had to go through, but that doesn’t point to BELOS. That’s just messed up emperor’s coven stuff, and maybe Belos is the one who put all those trials in place, but it’s still general. No thought that Belos would single Hunter out specifically.

All that to say, Hollow Mind is the first time ANYONE other than the audience got a good look at what Hunter’s home life is really like. And there’s an IMMEDIATE tone shift. The first interaction Luz ever sees between Hunter and Belos is Belos snatching the key, making him actively flinch like he’s bracing himself for worse, then snapping at him. And everything changes. She was just trying to convince him that Belos was evil before, and despite the Horrors, it was still kind of… lighthearted. Teasing. Obviously the whole “Oh, man, I thought you were going to kill him” “nah, not for now” thing was concerning, too, but that moment was a shocker for her. A real dose of “Oh, our interactions aren’t just a funny little back and forth to him. Me tackling him in the middle of a mission, the fact that he let the Emerald Entrails go, all that is serious. This has active consequences for him.” She legitimately didn’t know what Hunter was going through. And then the moment she did, there’s an active shift in how she interacts with him. The teasing dropped. She offered him a place to stay. She started actively defending him. Trying to save him from getting sucked down into Belos’ mindscape, yelling at Kiki to back off, warning her friends not to “scare him off,” Everything changed for her the moment she saw how Belos treated Hunter. Sure, they still have a kind of “annoying each other relationship,” and she doesn’t have to worry so much about those active consequences now that Hunter’s away from Belos, but there’s definitely a gentler undertone to the way they interact now.