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Following its 2020 debut, Dana Terrace’s The Owl House quickly became a beloved and acclaimed series, recently earning a Peabody Award for its contribution to Children’s & Youth Programming. Set in the fictional realm of the Boiling Isles, the story follows teenager Luz Noceda as she stumbles into the world of magic and demons on her way to summer camp.
Beginning its sophomore season on June 12th, The Owl House picked up right where it left off in the season one finale. According to Terrace, the season will have a “darker” tone close to the original vision she had when she first created the series. Having already aired three episodes at the time of writing, The Owl House and its crew have not disappointed.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
10 Adapting Itself With Its Cast
Though a relatively small accomplishment compared to the rest of this list, The Owl House should be given credit where credit is due. Other animated cartoons—most notably The Amazing World of Gumball—often rotate their cast out once a voice actor/actress reaches a certain age due to the changes in adolescent voices.
Gus’ voice is quite different from when viewers last saw him in season one. Instead of recasting him, Gus was aged up slightly, going through “witch puberty.” He is noticeably much taller than before and his face was changed to have a sharper, more mature look than other characters and his previous design.
9 Realistically Explaining Why The Cast Isn’t On The Run
Since her introduction, Eda’s status as a wanted “criminal” has been a main part of the story. Not wanting to commit herself to the restrictions of a Coven (which would limit her magical abilities), Eda was wanted by Emperor Belos for both her talent and for the gateway she had into the human realm.
Naturally, it would seem like Belos’s attacks on The Owl House wouldn’t let up, and it seemed rather odd that Eda wasn’t more afraid of being hunted down. Following the season one finale, however, Belos has no need for Eda anymore. Her curse—though split between herself and her sister—limited her magical abilities, making her much less of a threat in the Emperor’s eyes.
8 Making Sure To Establish The Overarching Plot From Episode One
The sad truth of it is, Luz isn’t where she belongs. The circumstances of her arrival were purely accidental and there’s no doubt that her mother is extremely worried about her (after she finds out whoever is responding to her letters is not the real Luz). When Luz destroyed the portal in the season one finale, she essentially trapped herself.
Emperor Belos was shown to be hard at work reconstructing the gateway, though his use for it is still unclear. Luz and co. are unaware of this at the moment, and it will be interesting to see how they discover Belos’s plans.
7 Lilith Getting Some Much-Needed Character Development
The older sister of Eda, Lilith Clawthorne, hasn’t been an underdeveloped character per se, at least in the terms of a series’ villain. However, during the season 1 finale, “Young Blood, Old Souls,” Lilith officially defected from The Emperor’s Coven. Lilith also revealed that she was the person who cursed Eda when she was younger. Though her switch was welcome, it ultimately felt a bit rushed.
Up until that point, everything viewers knew about Lilith came from Eda’s perspective, and though a sisterly bond had been well established, it was clear that the two rarely saw eye to eye. Lilith’s attempts to atone for her actions from the get-go was an excellent choice and helped to fully integrate her into the cast of protagonists.
6 Having The Golden Guard Replace Lilith
First seen in a non-speaking role in the season 1 finale, The Golden Guard made his official debut in the season 2 premiere, “Separate Tides.” A member of the Emperor’s Coven, The Golden Guard quickly made enemies out of Eda and Luz, demanding that the two kill a creature known as the Selkidomus or he would harm King, who he captured.
Like Lilith, The Golden Guard quickly established himself as a serious threat through his magical abilities and tact. In addition, he seemed to handle both Luz and Eda’s glyph spells with ease (though it is worth noting that Eda’s proficiency with glyphs is still rather underdeveloped). Regardless, the mysterious Golden Guard is sure to keep the stakes high and interesting.
5 Giving Hooty A Friend Who Actually Likes Him
The guardian of the titular Owl House, Hooty, is Eda’s “state-of-the-art defense mechanism.” Able to stretch himself over vast distances and possessing enhanced durability and strength, Hooty has lived up to his title by beating up the best of the Emperor’s Coven and Lilith when they attempted to capture Eda in season 1.
Of course, since Lilith moved into The Owl House, she had to adjust to the presence of her former enemy. The two bonded in the season two premiere, giving each other nicknames and expressing their need for companionship. Lilith even said she would protect Hooty from King, Eda, and Luz’s pranks and jokes on him. Their dynamic is unexpected but entirely welcome.
4 Setting Up ‘Lumity’ For The Rest of The Series
In perhaps one of the most discussed episodes of the series, it was shown that Amity Blight had developed a crush on Luz during the events of “Enchanting Grom Fright.” Fans and critics alike were quick to rally in support of the pairing’s groundbreaking potential. Though Amity’s affection for Luz was entirely apparent, Luz didn’t show any definitive signs of reciprocating it.
That changed, however, during the conclusion of “Escaping Expulsion,” the second episode of season two. Amity’s parents expelled Luz, Willow Park, and Agustus Porter from Hexside for “distracting Amity,” prompting Luz to strike a deal with the Blights to get the three reinstated. As Luz battled the Blights’ Abomination creations, Amity leaped into battle to help. The two then shared a mutual blushing glance moment.
3 King Becoming Fully Integrated Into The Series’ Mythos
Introduced as Eda’s roommate, King is a small horned demon who quickly becomes Luz’s best friend. King was originally thought to be the literal “king of demons” who’d been cursed to his current tiny form. He would often recall how his loyal subjects would both love and fear him, offering him their loyalty as well as great feasts of tribute. This did, however, turn out to be untrue. Eight years before the start of the series, Eda had found the infant King in a tower that had just “appeared” off the coasts of the Boiling Isles.
King’s memories of grandeur and power were apparently all invented by his imagination, but Eda never told him the truth because she felt he was finally happy. King’s father, however, is very much implied to have been some all-powerful demon ruler. Some fans even speculate that the Boiling Isles is the body of King’s father, and the mystery behind his fate is well on its way to becoming a central plot point.
2 Amity Evolving Outside of Her Relationship With Luz
While ‘Lumity’ has been widely praised, some commentators felt that Amity’s character was being reduced as a whole to develop the relationship. Originally portrayed as an antagonist, Amity’s friendship with Luz made her question her ways, and it even helped her start to patch up her relationship with Willow—who she’d been close to as a child.
“Escaping Expulsion” helped to develop Amity just as much as it helped to set up Lumity. Amity defiantly stood up against her parents and explained that her relationships with Luz, Gus, and Willow made her want to be a better person, a sharp contrast from the popular mean-girl Amity was introduced as.
1 Balancing Itself Between Humor & Powerful Storytelling
From the get-go, The Owl House has always mixed elements of comedy and horror, usually in the same visual gag or joke. As a result, it’s a formula that works wonderfully in helping keep the air light-hearted enough to explore more complex themes and heavy-hitting character moments.
Usually, when series does a tone-shift, it can often lead to some of a show’s beloved elements that initially drew viewers in to fade. However, that’s not the case with The Owl House. Keeping true to its heart, the show continues to blend itself with both genres, even as it gets more serious.
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