I’m surprised I haven’t talked about The Owl House before.
It’s a lovely little animated series that features compelling storylines, great worldbuilding,
and refreshing representation.
I just really appreciate the work that Dana Terrace, the show’s creator, and her team
have put into crafting the world of Owl House, and I wanna celebrate it at least a little
bit.
Especially given it’s being canceled while it’s in its prime.
“Doesn’t fit the Disney brand.”
Oh, you mean the gay energy is too strong for the mouse?
Regardless, we’re gonna try and keep the vibes positive today.
There’s no real thesis for today’s video.
I'm just gonna shoot the shit and gush about this show for far too long.
So if that sounds good to you, grab a snack and get yourself comfortable, because this
is why the Owl House is… a hoot.
I’m not sorry.
To say I adore Luz Noceda would be an understatement.
She’s such an unapologetically dorky little cinnamon roll who I would absolutely jump
into a lake of tar for.
She’s got the usual traits of your typical teenage protagonist: optimistic, kind, and
completely braindead.
But Luz is rather unique given how relentlessly dorky she is, which isn’t something you
get to see a lot of from female protagonists.
I can’t quite speak to how well she serves as representation for women leads, but I will
say as an enby, I definitely appreciate the fact she sported a gender-noncorming outfit
to a formal event?
A fusion of a suit AND a dress?
You go, girl.
Blur that binary.
God, say that five times fast.
But as a character, so much of her story is about overcoming barriers between herself
and learning magic because she’s human.
She can’t use magic naturally like the people of the Boiling Isles, but that doesn’t stop
her from wanting to learn the craft.
And eventually, she learns how to use glyphs to cast her spells, and combines them to create
entirely new spells.
It’s a great way to showcase her initiative, her skills, and how barriers people accept
as impassable after decades - or even centuries of tradition (and in this case, propaganda)
- can be overcome.
She’s so loving and caring towards the people in her life, but that also drives her to be
fiercely protective of them.
And given she’s grown up an outcast for her interests, she’s always rooting for
the underdog, and challenging unjust systems.
It’s a perfect example of strength through compassion, and proof that you do not wanna
fuck with aggressively nice people.
“TALK TO THE GLYPH, WITCH.”
I still absolutely love the second episode where Luz goes on this wish-fulfillment quest
where some random old guy is like, “You are the chosen one,” and she realizes that
her desire to be special and need for external validation were preyed upon by malicious forces.
It really hit home, given we’ve all had to unravel that narrative we’re given when
we grow up that we’re the best there ever was, especially in a chaotic world we were
never prepared for.
That little talk with Eda at the end of the episode about making your own way instead
of waiting to be told what your destiny is?
Now that’s a wonderful, timeless lesson.
And I also love the fact that even though Luz’s mother doesn’t really get that geeky
part of her, it’s still clear they love each other.
That episode where Luz is temporarily able to interact with the human world, and they
have that touching reunion in the rain, it still fucks me up.
It’s honest in the fact that parents aren’t perfect, but even when they fuck up, they
can still have the best intentions at heart, and Luz recognizes that.
She isn’t resentful of her mother in the slightest.
If anything, she probably wishes her mother would try to understand her more, which I’m
sure she will, given how loving Camila is.
Not to mention, how protective she was of Vee even after discovering she was a basilisk.
“I’m the good guy here!”
(Camila) “Yeah… a lot of bad guys say that.”
Honestly, just give Camila a few minutes with Emperor Belos, and he won’t be a problem
for anyone ever again.
Also wanna mention that while I can’t speak to Luz as Afro-Latina representation (given
my whiteness), I will say it is nice to see a nonwhite lead in this kind of story.
The lead character of my book is actually half Hispanic (Mexican, specifically), so
seeing how Luz’s culture is present while not her entire character definitely helped
give me a guide of how to approach writing Felix.
Specifically how both Luz and Felix both use Spanish as a way to connect to their mothers,
and to express strong emotions.
“Deja una luz puesta para mí.
Te quiero.”
That did involve some work in distinguishing Dominican dialects and cultural aspects from
Mexican ones, but it’s work well worth the effort.
Eda is quite possibly one of my favorite characters from any media.
Chaotic, rule-breaking, but still loving.
“You’re kinda sorta… banned.”
(Eda) “That’s my girl!!!”
Though she’s been pushed to the fringes of society from both her curse and her unwillingness
to join a coven, Eda’s still able to find happiness with her little found family in
the woods.
Sure, she may be feared as the Owl Lady, but Eda knows who she is.
Eda’s snark is endlessly entertaining, and relatable.
She’s a lot like Luz in feeling like an outcast, but seems more cynical of the world
at large from her experiences, especially with her family.
But it’s thanks to Luz she’s able to warm up to the idea of trusting people again.
And seeing that dynamic of not just the student learning from the teacher, but vice versa,
is so heartwarming.
But that said, it is clear Eda’s still loving through her relationships with King and Hooty…
well, mostly King.
(Hooty) “YOU WANNA HEAR ABOUT MY NIGHT?”
(Luz & Eda) “No!”
(King) “That’s not a thing anyone ever wants!”
Though I do love Hooty, that terrifying owl demon is a goddamn mood.
“The roughhousing was fun, but I like this part of our playdates even better!”
Fuckin’ weird bird owl tube thing…
But seeing how Eda and King have always been there for each other when they had no one
else, and how Eda is willing to go to the ends of the earth to get back a Burger King
crown because of how much it means to King?
I’m gonna cry, fam.
(Eda) “King and I don’t have much in this world.
We only have each other.
So if that dumb crown is important to him, it’s important to me.”
But in addition to found family, we also have themes of mending relationships with biological
family as well.
Lilith ruthlessly clawed her way to the top to excel in the system that Eda rejected,
including the curse she’d inflicted upon her own sister.
Eda and Lilith are polar opposites, but it’s clear that Lilith regrets her actions and
just wants to be with her sister.
“Join the Emperor’s Coven, like we dreamed about when we were girls!”
When it’s clear that Belos’ plan is to kill Eda, that’s what makes Lilith turn
against the corrupt system she’d previously devoted herself to.
And on the note of the curse, I think it’s pretty clear that Eda’s curse - and now
the one that she and Lilith share - works as a metaphor for any kind of chronic or mental
illness.
“No one likes having a curse, but if you take the right steps, it’s manageable.”
Again, can’t speak from firsthand experience, but I do think it’s valuable to see that
Eda is able to live with her condition and manage it without losing herself, and that
handling it gets much easier alongside others like Luz and, eventually, her family sharing
the burden.
And even with Eda’s mother turning to “alternative medicine,” basically serving as a stand-in
for parents who forgo actual medical advice from doctors and professionals and instead
turning to pseudoscience, conspiracies, and even pyramid schemes-- I mean, MLMs.
(Gwen) “According to this, we just have to… buy the next volume???”
(Luz) “BITCH IF YOU DON’T--” Damn, if that’s not relevant in today’s
age, I don’t know what is, but it’s also nice to see that Eda’s mother was able to
pull herself out of that trap for the sake of her daughters.
It’s nice to have a bit of hope sometimes.
Especially because the show makes a point that people like Gwendolyn aren’t bad people
at all.
Much like Luz’s mother, Gwendolyn wants the best for her daughters, but her concern
leads to an overprotectiveness that can be exploited for profit, at the cost of her daughters’
well being.
Just all around, any story that involves Eda, I’m a fan of.
From found family, to biological family, and to her becoming a badass harpy lady.
(Eda gaining Harpchantix) Oh my god, and RAINE.
RAAAAIIIIINNNEEEE.
We love some good nonbinary rep.
Oh also, when I was watching Hot in Cleveland for the first time, I am not ashamed that
every time Wendie Malick spoke, I envisioned Eda in her stead.
“I fired one of the 99% and now she’s occupying our living room.”
Hot in the Boiling Isles.
Can we just all agree that it’s fantastic to see this kind of LGBT representation in
animation, let alone a goddamn Disney show?
Like… holy crap, Dana and her team must’ve fought tooth and nail to have it even involve
Luz and Amity calling each other girlfriends, let alone the fact they’re both main characters.
“Do you wanna go out with me?!”
“Nooooo, I was so ready!”
So often, any kind of queer identity is seen as inherently sexual and deviant, even more
so than cishet identities.
And that’s used as an excuse to “keep the gay away from children,” which…
yeah, that seems to be on the rise sadly with certain states’ legislatures.
But if kids are allowed to have crushes on the opposite sex and it’s seen as cute and
wholesome, why don’t queer kids get the same luxury?
Why don’t they get to see themselves in their media?
Why are they just forced to watch cishets make out all the time?
“How could you subject the children to Snow White?!
Think of the children!
You and your heterosexual agenda!”
It’s important for kids to see relationships like this, not only for cishet kids to learn
queer people exist and they’re normal, but also for the queer kids to know their feelings
are perfectly normal.
Unless you want them to grow up hating themselves, which I’m sure…
some of those people actually do feel that way, they’ll just never admit it.
And yes, I’m proud to announce to all the “protect the children” people that queer
children do in fact exist.
But no one thinks to protect them from homophobia or transphobia, do they?
In any case, I wanna thank Dana and her team for the work they’ve done with Owl House’s
representation.
I know it could not have been easy trying to get that past Disney of all things.
Oh, also thank y’all for Raine.
My nonbinary heart very much feels seen.
It’s so refreshing that these kinds of feelings are explicitly discussed and confirmed instead
of the usual subtext.
Granted, subtext historically has been the only way for decades to protray same-sex relationships
and queer identities in mainstream media, but certain other properties that have way
more freedom seem to use that as a crutch to avoid delivering actual representation…
y’all know what show I’m shading.
Admittedly, Luz and Amity don’t use the words “gay” or “bi” or anything like
that, but the fact they even say they have romantic feelings for each other, that they’re
dating, and that they call each other their girlfriends is a huge milestone.
Though I will say, you can in fact say gay.
“I’m gay.”
“Oh…
OH, I totally misread your signals.”
Thank you, Kipo, for Benson’s entire existence.
I need to talk about Kipo.
Kipo deserved better, Kipo was good shit.
And even beyond the representation factor, these characters’ relationship is so compelling.
Legit, this alone has made me fall in love with the enemies to lovers trope.
Seeing how Luz is able to get Amity to open up and reflect on what she actually wants,
and seeing Amity put in the work to breaking away from her family’s control, is delightful.
And Owl House also confirms that you can have characters date during the show and not have
them repeat tired toxic tropes while also giving them conflict to work around.
Once they start dating, we see them struggle to communicate with each other or support
each other, but they always put in the work to learn what to do, then talk about their
issues openly, because they want to be there for each other.
“I know this situation is crazy, and I’m okay taking things one day at a time.
But…
I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.”
No dumb jealousy plots, no unnecessary miscommunications, none of that to be seen.
And thank god.
And even then, I’m just grateful they didn’t drag out the slow burn the whole way through
the show to keep them from confirming their relationship until the very last second…
like a certain other 3D show will probably wind up doing.
Oh, and I also love the fact that there’s no homophobia.
Queer people have enough of that bullshit to deal with in real life - we’d like to
be able to just have a normal existence in our media to keep ourselves sane, please.
That’s why we have shows like Pose to deal with real-world issues.
(Elektra) “I’m sorry that you won’t allow yourself to see me.”
Also Luz is best bisexual disaster, I love (or lover lol typos) her so much.
This section’s gonna be sort of a catch-all for other characters I haven’t talked about,
namely these three dorks.
I don’t have much to say about Gus, but I would die for him.
He’s such a goofball that I can’t help but find his obsession with the human world
precious.
I would like more Gus content please.
Willow, though?
A queen.
We love a nature character who’s clearly a powerhouse, but only shows off that power
when the situation calls for it.
Also loved seeing her childhood friendship with Amity, with all the nuance of how it
fell apart due to Amity’s family, good lord I wanna fight her mom.
That episode where Luz and Amity go into Willow’s memories to see the truth of what went down,
followed by Amity trying to make things up to Willow?
Oh my god, we love character development.
And also the mindscapes, holy fuck what a brilliant idea, I’m still shook.
Especially after “Hollow Mind.”
We won’t talk about it here, but “Hollow Mind” fucked me up.
Also love the twins.
Edric and Emera are absolutely chaotic, teasing the shit out of Amity while clearly loving
and supporting her.
Oh, they absolutely knew Lumity was a slow burn, and they were her for it.
And I would absolutely deserve to be smited if I didn’t talk about Hunter.
Oh my god, this doofus is adorable.
And oh my god, again “Hollow Mind,” he’s been through some shit.
Even when he was introduced as the Golden Guard, his sassiness and teasing made him
an immediate favorite for me.
I love a villain who’s having a good time.
(Hunter) “The Emperor is not a merciful man…
BYEEEEEEEE~!”
But learning more about his true identity, why he’s so devoted to Belos, yet seeing
how he just really needs connections with others?
Oh my god, this boy needs so many hugs, and also to be adopted by Darius immediately.
And therapy.
Actually yeah, he does genuinely feel like Zuko, except replace the angst with tomfoolery.
Part of why I love this show is its worldbuilding.
As an original setting, it does pull from the traditional fantasy tropes of wizards,
witches, and the usual magical creatures, but it presents them in a rather grim way
that feels almost ‘80s in how terrifying it would be to a normal child?
“Hello little fairy!
Are you going to tell me this is all a fantastical dream?”
“GIVE ME YOUR SKIN.”
“OoO” And I love that.
I’m here for the twisted shit to give the kids a good scare… except for the painbows,
because they genuinely sound disgusting.
“We have plagues, gorenados, shale hail, painbows…”
“It’s like a rainbow, but looking at it turns you inside out!”
Then there’s the magic system.
Admittedly, I struggled with this a bit when writing my own book, especially when it comes
to how it would be integrated into a functioning society.
But I love the coven system in Owl House.
It basically presents magical approaches to everyday needs, and has witches dedicating
themselves to one track to join said covens.
It feels very pragmatic, like this could actually help the world of the Boiling Isles exist.
But where it gets messed up is how Belos uses the coven system to control the isles.
Every witch naturally can use multiple types of magic, but when they join a coven, all
but one type is sealed, essentially to keep them in line and make them less likely to
stand up against the emperor’s forces.
Especially given the Emperor’s Coven, wielding all forms of magic, would quickly quash any
resistance.
Owl House said all cops are bastards, goddamn.
On a lighter note, palismans are ADORABLE.
I’m sorry, I just need something nice to make me want to die less.
“Oh my god I love you so much…”
They’re such a charming idea, blending the aesthetics of woodcarving and crafting with
having cute little familiars to strengthen your magic.
It’s a brilliant twist on magical companions that also works for the fucked up worldbuilding,
given Belos… ya know, murders them to sustain himself, OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL IS “Hollow
Mind”?!
But thank god for the Bat Queen, protecting all the orphaned palismans.
That episode still fucks me up.
Every episode fucks me up.
If it’s not clear, I adore this show.
I’m so sad it’ll be over soon, especially given season 3 is supposed to be a bunch of
specials instead of a full season?
What the hell?
Even so, I’m grateful for what we’ve gotten, and I hope more shows follow in Owl House’s
footsteps in pushing the boundaries of classic genres.
More weird shit, more gay shit, just more chaotic fun please.
“Griffins, vampires, giraffes.”
“Giraffes?”
(Eda) “Oh yeah.
We banished those guys.
Bunch of freaks.”
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I’m the Unicorn of War, and Lumity is everything Bumbleby should’ve been and more.