Belos Prepared Everything
With the information given about Philip in “Elsewhere and Elsewhen”, there is something strange. We learned Philip is Belos due to Lilith’s recognition of his manipulation and seeing him absorb palisman magic to keep his imprinted Glyph curse from going haywire, From Philip’s actions in the episode he is manipulative, smart, has a deep hatred for witches, and willing to do anything to keep his plan in fruition. This is a man who is thorough in his planning. However there are some odd discrepancies in Belo’s/Philip’s actions and events throughout the series.
There are a few things throughout the series that would hinder Belo’s plan. First we have the journal left in the library. Belos’s past is a mystery and he would want it to keep it that way to hide his identity as Philip. However, Luz got that knowledge from Gwendolyn and was able to use the echo mouse to gather information about Philip and create the portal door. This increases the chance of exposing his identity. Next we have the portal door. Philip was able to create a portal to the Human and Demon Realm. Meaning he could have returned home, but it seems he has bigger plans. But how would he lose the portal door if it was crucial to Day of Unity? Also the door was buried in the Clawthorne estate where Eda found it. The fact Eda is a known criminal who sells human items, Belos could have captured her or procured the door easily. There are other discrepancies such as letting the main characters get away with crimes according to his society, letting Hunter go on missions and roaming around instead of hiding him, not chasing after Lilith after her betrayal, and ignoring/destroying potential obstacles that don’t make sense. Why make an elaborate plan when there are many obstacles to stop or hinder it?
What if Belos purposefully created those discrepancies because it was all part of his plan? Belos buried the portal at the Clawthorne estate to have Eda find it and travel between realms. Years later, Luz enters the Demon Realm. Belos waited for Eda to be captured and Luz to return the portal door to him. Since he had no use for them, he set them free and created a lie to favor his rule over the citizens. Then he assigns Hunter to random missions which could prepare him for Day of Unity. He donated his journal for Luz to find it. Because Luz wants to learn more about the portal, She and Lilith go back in time to meet Philip. The journal seems to be missing information, and from Philip’s betrayal, he could have purposefully left information out and created a fake narrative to lure Luz and Lilith Not only does he learn about the light Glyph from Luz, but was able to acquire a device to communicate with The Collector thanks to Lilith and Luz. All these discrepancies are not hindering his plan, but were a part of his plan all along. This would explain his calm demeanor to all these hindrances and why they are not a top priority to stop these obstacles.
How would this be possible if Philip is a human with no magical powers outside his Glyphs? Although he has multiple combinations, there doesn’t seem to be one to see the future. Other witches wouldn’t help him because he is human and seems to have a bad reputation. There is a way he could prepare with a plan: The Collector. The Collector was not a part of creating the portal door, but for him to help Philip’s plan. It is still unknown who or what The Collector is but he seems to be a being of great power. Powerful enough for Philip to seek to help with his plan. Since The Collector is related to astrology (stars, sun, and moon) there is a possibility he could have helped Belos with seeing the future or predictions of future events. This does not mean time travel but seeing the future or using predictions to help his plan. Hence how he was able to prepare everything. However, this power is not full proof. In “Young Blood and Old Souls” , he did not expect Luz to stab his mask and destroy the portal door. It seems there are obstacles he cannot foresee even with The Collector’s help. It could be that The Collector can only foresee certain events and Belos's sight from The Collector or some Glyph magic could be limited. Even with certain hiccups, Belos still concocted everything from the beginning to bring his plan to fruition.