The Owl House is the New Gravity Falls

The Owl House Episode 1 Review

After months of waiting, The Owl House finally premiered last night. The brainchild of Gravity Falls alumni Dana Terrace, I’ve spent the last few days hyping up this show. And why shouldn’t I? It’s got the magical setting of Star vs The Forces of Evil mixed with the mysteries of Gravity Falls. It’s one thing to get hyped about something, though, and another to be genuinely satisfied. So, having seen the pilot “A Lying Witch and a Warden”, was I satisfied? Yes and no, but mostly yes.

Gonna Get Weird

Right off the bat, the show does a great job establishing the personalities of the main characters, starting with Luz. You should watch the episode for yourself, but I’ll say this: people think Luz is weird. She’s excitable and goes over the top with her actions, often getting her in trouble with adults. As a result, its hard for others to understand her. Even her mom, though she means well, doesn’t really understand her. She thinks the best thing to do is send to a camp to teach her how to be normal so she can make friends.

Growing up, I also had a hard time fitting in with others; heck, I still do at times. I got along with people well enough and had plenty of acquaintances, but few friends I could hang out with. Part of it was my tendency to keep to myself, while the rest was not sharing the same interests as other. So, I can sort of relate to what Luz is going through. That said, I think her mom’s decision is the wrong one. Instead of trying to get Luz to fit in with others, she should encourage her to find others like her to hang out with.

So, instead of going to a camp to make her “normal”, Luz follows an Owl into another dimension, where she meets Eda and King, who are also seen as outcasts in their world.

Not Fitting in Together

From here, the pilot becomes such a whirlwind of events that it serves as both a boon and a detriment to the show. On one hand, it’s setting up a lot of potential plot points. On the other hand, things go by so fast that The Owl House doesn’t it really explain why Eda and King are outcasts. It explains their personalities well enough: Eda’s a snarky nonconformist, and King’s delusional about his self importance. How that makes them outcasts, though, is only vaguely touched upon. If the show’s really following in Gravity Falls footsteps, though, it will answer that down the line.

Long story short, the trio bond over a shared adventure, with Luz finding friends who embrace her weirdness. Thus, she says screw it to normal camp and decides to stay with Eda and train to be a witch. And she lies to her mom about it!

My spider-sense tells me that last parr’s setting us up for some major conflict down the road. Luz has found a place where she’s accepted for who she is, and that’s great. However, sooner or later, her mom will learn that Luz did the opposite of what she wanted and will come looking for her. That means that Luz will either have to reconcile between what her mom wants and what she wants or choose her new life.

The idea of the misfit finding a place where they belong and then having to get people from their past to accept that isn’t new. Steven Universe mastered this kind of story without making it cliche. The Owl House has the potential to be the new Gravity Falls alongside Amphibia. It’s going to have to make this story about embracing the weird as unique as possible, though.

So, in short, I think the pilot, while a little rushed, sets us for what may be one of the big cartoons of the 2020s. Time will tell, but I’m hopeful. I’m also waiting for someone to write fanfic crossovers with Amphibia, Star vs., and Gravity Falls.

I Give “A Lying Witch and A Warden” A 4/5. Good Start

Stray Observations (there’s a lot of them)

• Alex Hirsch voiced no less than four characters in this one episode! That man’s a master of voice acting!
• The show establishes that Luz can go back using Eda’s magic key. So she’s not stuck.
• How is turning your eyelids inside out able to cause a panic?
• I am now more concerned with fan art regarding Eda than I am Luz
• A “normal camp” where they teach you to balance check books and appreciate public radio?!?! That’s almost as bad as St. Olga’s Reform School for Wayward Princesses!

• Since when are Luz’s interests considered “weird”? Making Anime Music Videos and reading overly complex fantasy novels is becoming the norm.
• Eda’s a female version of Grunkle Stan
• Normal is subjective and Boring
• The bottom had “yadirf” on it. What could it mean?

Favorite Quotes

• “NO, MY ONLY WEAKNESS!! DYING!”
• “GIVE ME YOUR SKIN!”
• “Soon, Mr Ducky, we shall drink the fear of those who mocked us!”
• “Try to catch me when I’m covered in grease. I’m a squirmy little fella!”
• “THE WORLD IS A SIMULATION! WE ARE BUT PLAYTHINGS FOR A HIGHER BEING”
• “Nooo! my weak nerd arms!”
• “Aww, he gets so cute when he’s thrusting for power”
• “Us weirdos have to stick together”
• “You there! Nightmare Critter! I shall call you Francoise and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness!”
• “You there, Plant! You are now under my command!”
• “Your sleep cocoon looks fluffy”
• “Us weirdos have to stick together”

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Also, click here to watch the first episode on YouTube! And Jiraiyan, thanks for subscribing!