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Whenever something like a great animated TV show impresses you so much, it’s not surprising that you’d want to talk about it whenever you get the chance. For that reason, a new season of that show coming is a time of great excitement. In my case, a new season has dropped for one animated series that I personally think about all the time. As one of two major modern story-driven animated series from Disney, I am unsurprisingly excited to share my thoughts on what lies ahead in:
The Owl House (Season 2)
Basic Premise
In just one season, this show has reached some very
impressive heights, showcasing the essential qualities for a remarkable
work of animation. From its fantasy
setup, one would hope that it would go all out with creativity and lore, and
that thankfully is the case. Through
radical character and setting designs and foreboding undertones that grow with
every episode, it’s certainly impactful on that front. However, making it truly impactful are two
particular areas. One is its universal
themes of learning that there is a place for absolutely anyone, regardless of
how much they deviate from the norm.
Watching the events unfold shows little wonder why it resonates so well
with people of different customs, races, and sexualities. Helping make this theme so
inspiring is the amazing cast of characters, all with their own personalities
and several layers making them feel so believable, well-rounded, and deep. In fact, some characters make for
major studies and insights based on how much there is to them. Again, it’s a real achievement that this show
is as strong as it is in just one season.
Now, the second season is available to us, and it’s all
set up to build upon its established greatness.
The way the first season ended definitely raised stakes significantly
for the cast, opening up new challenges, and giving a taste of the true power
of the antagonists. This season is said
to be much darker than what was shown before as well as reveal even more to its
characters, so it’s anyone’s guess as to how the execution will go. I only hope that it takes as much advantage
of its interesting story and character threads as possible.
Also, be sure to watch out for the color-coded episode ranking at the end of each review, where the episodes' placement will compare to the Season 1 ranking. To tell each episode apart, Season 1 titles will be colored blue, and Season 2 titles will be colored red.
With all of this said, it’s finally time to venture to the
Boiling Isles once again and join the escapades of Luz, Eda, and everyone who’s
made this show as great as it is. As we
cover the season, let’s only hope that one day, the higher-ups at Disney realize this quality
work of animation that they have as part of their repertoire.
Now on with the reviews:
Separate Tides
Sometimes you don’t know how much you really missed a show
until it comes back from a long hiatus.
Now, don’t get me wrong; I’ve been thinking about this show constantly
ever since the hiatus began, but watching this season premiere feels like
experiencing its strengths anew. It’s
mainly here to establish new dynamics on plot threads for the coming season,
but keeps everything together with its undeniable heart that must be seen to be
truly felt.
As a general rule for kicking things off, the first moments
inform the audience of where the main characters are now, and how their lives
were affected by the previous season’s end.
Like how Season 1 ended with Luz recording a video message for her mother
in the human realm, Season 2 more or less begins this way. In addition to emphasizing her own goal for
the season of finding a new way back to Earth now that the portal there is
lost, it reintroduces her daily life among the Owl House inhabitants. There’s Eda trying to compensate for the loss
of her magic powers; Lilith, Eda’s sister who foolishly cursed her when they were
younger, adapting to living with her for the time being; and King just being his usual
power-crazed yet endearing self. As for
how their dynamic has changed drastically as a results of the finale, it’s felt
through all the challenges they have to work through just to get by. Eda used to make good money from getting junk
from the human realm and selling it to the townspeople. Now, without the portal, they have to resort
to any odd job they can get; in the case of this episode, bounty hunters. Even so, it’s kind of sad to see Eda unable
to build up the reputation to the populace she once had. If that’s not enough, despite the honest
effort gone into this entire video, Luz has no reception to send it or any
others to her mother. She wants to tell
the truth, but has no way to actually do it.
This has enough of an emotional toll by itself, but it turns out to be
rather small compared to what the rest of the episode has to offer.
Witnessing firsthand the lack of income Eda’s getting, the
lack of her image, and the general somberness since the end of Season 1, Luz is
driven to major guilt and regret. She
blames herself for all the problems her found surrogate family is facing and
even believes that things would be better if she never even came to the Boiling
Isles. Not to mention, she constantly
labels herself as a burden which is borderline depressing. While it’s admirable to see some
accountability on her part, it’s still a sorry state of emotion for the usual
good-natured spirit, Luz. She’s putting
herself down for everything that’s happened, even things that were
ultimately inevitable, and doesn’t give herself any credit. I could write volumes of all the good things
that happened to the Boiling Isles because of her in fact. From her state of mind however, Luz’s
feelings are somewhat understandable given how everything even happened. For that, you can support her ultimate
decision to help everyone in the Owl House.
To bring some financial stability, Luz joins a pirate crew to hunt down
the most expensive bounty, a creature known as a selkidomus. All throughout the quest, it’s clear that Luz
is putting in great efforts to be worthy of being part of the crew. Starting on the low end of status doing
menial work around the ship and later putting her unique and powerful glyph
magic to good use, it’s plain to see she’s certainly no burden. Her glyphs further show their powerful
productivity when finally tacking the selkidomus and later going after a rogue
pirate who steals the money. The complex
feelings Luz experiences here bring a lot of insight to how deep her
personality is and lead to some strong shining moments. However, once she uncovers the identity of
that rogue pirate, these feelings lead to a true standout for the episode.
It turns out the pirate who took the money was Eda going
after Luz to make sure she was safe.
Taking the money was part of the plan too, but that cause turns out to
be in vain as it washes into the sea. It
also grabs the attention of a mysterious figure on the ship called the Golden
Guard, the Emperor’s Coven member tasked to spy on the Owl House gang at the
end of Season 1. The general atmosphere
of that coven as well as Dana Terrace’s promotional material suggested the
Golden Guard to be all serious and threatening.
Like many characters on this show though, he turns out to be far more
than he seems. He’s really a teen
prodigy with a rather youthful voice who just happens to be of the highest
ranks. He’s capable of pulling off
serious tasks and means business as shown when he shows no hesitation in
threatening to take out his enemies, but has a lot of charisma too. His one-liners are humorous, his wit is
energetic, and he seems to be a fair man by offering Luz and Eda a way out of
potential imprisonment and servitude. If
they slay the selkidomus for him, he’ll clear them of charges. Luz agrees to this, but there’s a major point
of concern with Eda insisting that the selkidomus is a peaceful creature who
doesn’t deserve any harm. Luz, the usual
good-natured soul who has brought out the best in everyone she’s met, is
willing to do something so dark to solve her problems. That’s extremely telling of how far she’s
fallen into despair. Still, it makes
what later unfolds all the more endearing.
As Luz heads off to face the selkidomus, Eda follows her wanting an explanation for her pupil’s sudden depressed state. The further they venture, the more Luz comes clean about how the loss of Eda’s powers as well as her near-petrification are her fault and how she feels like a burden to everyone. By actually talking about what’s been bothering her, Luz ultimately gets the best reassurance possible with Eda further proving herself to be great as a surrogate parental figure. She’s quick to save Luz from trouble and doing anything brash, and knows exactly how to console her. She doesn’t try to argue Luz’s guilt, but makes it clear that she’s brought a lot of good to her life too, right down to saying it’s great because she’s friends with this human. This is enough to make Luz feel touched, like validation and acknowledgement from others is what she truly needs in life. To further prove this, Eda’s pep talk allows Luz to come up with a logical way to deal with the selkidomus without harming it. Upon realizing that it’s a mother trying to provide for her baby, Luz takes initiative to teach Eda her first glyphs.
They manage to trick
the Golden Guard into thinking they slayed the beast, letting them off his hook
as he leaves with a demeanor that further clashes with his serious disposition. In addition, their problems get more of a fix
as the selkidomus offers them goods that can bring in good cash, and Eda is on her way to adjusting to glyph magic.
Ultimately, this pirate adventure is brought to a fitting conclusion of
clever twists to get out of situations and genuine character-based
endearment. These are, after all, the
things that make the show as great as it is.
While the main focus is on Luz’s pirate adventure, attention is also given to a subplot giving insight to Lilith’s new life at the Owl House. As former head of the Emperor’s Coven, she has a lot to make up for regarding all of her past actions. She ultimately got to where she was through the harmful mean of cursing her sister, and while she thought getting Eda to join her would cure her, that doesn’t make things better. She was still a part of Emperor Belos’ tyrannical rule over the Boiling Isles, thus corrupting a whole generation of witches. Now that she’s betrayed the Emperor’s Coven, she’s lost every bit of the life she led for years and has to live at the bottom the social ladder with her sister. It’s understandably hard to put the weight of Lilith's past actions behind, but this episode starts up a strong path to redemption for her. Considering that her actions caused legit harm to others, it’s fitting that she spends her time trying to make things up to Eda and prove herself as trustworthy. She decides to go out and get ingredients for a spell that can help Eda spy on the Emperor’s Coven, and takes great pains to make it happen. However, as getting honey from a hive of fire bees shows, with weakened magic and no reverence of a coven to her, Lilith is not the witch she used to be. Yet, she still insists she needs to do this alone so she can feel like a true witch. In many respects, you wouldn’t be wrong to find that she and Luz parallel each other a lot when it comes to feeling the regret of past actions. The thing is though, Lilith’s guilt is far more warranted than Luz’s.
Out of Lilith’s attempts is a surprising yet
pleasing dynamic with Hooty, the ornate owl of the Owl House. For the entire series, Hooty’s always been
seen as the high-pitched one-liner filled comic relief best used in smaller
does. His interactions with Lilith
though bring out a stronger than ever instance of heart to him. There’s sympathy to him wanting friends and
wanting to be friends, as well as a genuine desire to help Lilith’s cause. In fact, he becomes extremely productive in
the end as it’s because of him that Lilith is able to get that honey and other
ingredients for that spell. Productive
good comes from this team, bringing spying access to the Emperor’s Castle that
also has the audience seeing that Belos has big plans for them in the episode’s
last second. What’s more, Lilith and
Hooty seem to get along very well at the end of the episode, showcasing a lot
of promise for a dynamic that I bet very few expected to like so much. Then again, character dynamics like this are
the main source of appeal for this show.
The world returns to the Owl House with great style with this
episode. While other stories have been deeper
and more insightful, this one brings an interesting adventure, well thought-out
scenarios, and heartfelt character dynamics to come back to. Like a good season premiere should, it nicely
reintroduces the old as it sets up new things to come.
A
Fan Art
 |
Series Ranking
1.
Enchanting Grom Fright
2.
Agony of a Witch
3.
Understanding Willow
4.
Lost in Language
5.
Adventures in the Elements
6.
The Intruder
7.
Covention
8.
Young Blood Old Souls
9.
Separate Tides
10.
Escape of the Palisman
11.
Wing it Like Witches
12.
The First Day
13.
I Was a Teenage Abomination
14.
Witches Before Wizards
15.
Something Ventured, Someone Framed
16.
A Lying Witch and a Warden
17.
Sense and Insensitivity
18.
Hooty’s Moving Hassle
19.
Really Small Problems
20.
Once Upon a Swap
For the next Owl House review, Luz's friends from Hexside magic school make their reintroduction for the second season. In the process, it brings about hardships when expulsion strikes Luz, Willow, and Gus, though it this leads to a shining moment for fan-favorite character, Amity Blight.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the start of another review set covering the second season of Amphibia.
If you would like to check out other Owl House reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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