Luz Noceda's biggest strength was her kindness and creativity, and it was clear from the first season of Dana Terrace's The Owl House. She had trouble fitting in at school in the human world, but her love of fantasy and magic books has helped her in the world of the Boiling Isles. She has learned magic and created a variety of useful glyphs, as well as having her own enemies-to-lovers relationship with Amity. Luz was unprepared for the current season of The Owl House, even at some of their most harrowing moments. When she returned to Earth to check on her mother, they had a happy reunion, but she was asked to stay in the human realm once she finds a way home. The show is making Luz realize some of the things she lost when she decided to stay in the Isles and become a witch. ollies at the Coven Day Parade and this week'sReaching Out put a spotlight on Luz using her helpful nature as a way to get out of addressing. She wanted to avoid telling her friends that she may have to leave the Isles, so she went into the plight of her mother and sister. Luz was hoping that helping Kiki would help her find a middle ground between going back to her family and being a bad person. Luz is put in a messier place when those family problems crop up again. When Amity comes to her looking for help in participating in a magical fight competition, she eagerly throws herself into it so she doesn't have to think about how she can be with Camila on the anniversary of her father's death. Luz is thrown into an anxiety spiral by Amity being a more than capable fighter, and she continues avoiding her emotions in the most teen way by trying to insert herself into the fight and justify it as helping her girlfriend.
Owl House's writers know how not to fall into the bad parts of this trope, as characters failing to admit their emotional problems and making situations worse is nothing new. Everyone knows that Amity has a good amount of sense, so when she calmly asks Luz what's going on, it's a breath of fresh air. Their new romance is mostly skipping over the typical we're dating, now what?' tropes, which is pretty impressive for a show that very easily could have given the couple some rocky waters. It feels like everyone is trying to say "gay" and give the couple as much material as possible with the time that they have, since the show is ending with season three.
Four episodes of the second half of the season have been released, and the connecting thread involves the characters finally starting to unpack the baggage that has hovered over them for a long time. Eda had to confront her father about hurting her when she was cursed with owl form. Dell is the most normal of the bunch, and it feels right when he tells his daughter that he has forgiven her. Forgiving herself is something that Eda has needed to be told for some time, and you can see how that simple conversation has started to pay off when she begins to use her Harpy abilities.
Eda doesn't show up and Luz and Amity are a funny B-plot, which makes Any Sport in a Storm the least emotionally distressing for its cast. Luz and Amity have both managed to befriend the Golden Guard who is the primary story. He has been offered to join the Owl House group twice, but he is still in the middle of his Prince Zuko era. Hunter sees a potential teammate in a school sport that will help boost her self confidence as a way to recruit young witches to the Emperor's Coven and prove himself to the adults in his uncle's employ.
The way Hunter interacted with Luz and Amity during the first half of the season shows how young he is. The way he becomes livelier with kids around his age, it is pretty affecting to see him make what are surely his first real friends in Willow and their teammates rather than trying to command the respect of adults who clearly despise him. Hunter is being set up to be a pawn in a larger game, which creates an understandable tension about what will happen to him. The brief mention of his training to become an effective soldier in the army throws into perspective how messed up he is as a person. It feels like a relief when he gets the show and is able to socialize with other like-minded people. The show is doing a good job of humanizing him and helping push his story forward.
Owl House's second season works better as a character piece where its cast bounces off each other in fun ways, because it is slowly building up to an epic confrontation with Belos and his forces. The show has done a good job of building up its core cast this season in new exciting ways that also stay true to who they are. The show's biggest strength has always been its focus on its characters, and it looks like the finale will lead to some emotionally rich moments for all of them.
The Owl House is on the Disney Channel. The first half of season two can be watched on Disney+.
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